mvp 78

After saying "When it comes to bullpens, I like a lights out closer , a good set up man , a couple of good 6th and 7th inning guys , a good lefty and a long reliever . Everyone knowing their role . It is a tried and true system for success . I would not mess with that ." You called the guy a jabroni and said that you knew he'd blow the save. I was just pointing out the reasons the Phils used him in that situation. You'd like a lights out closer, but there really aren't that many around. Kimbrel was definitely not lights out during the playoffs either.

My post doesn't simplify the issue. It makes it more complex. Your question was either/or. I stated it should be both.

@redsoxstats Sox aren't linked to any of the top July 2nd prospects this year... could they be hoping a Cuban defector (Yolbert Sanchez), who was ranked #5 and is free to sign now, waits another month and a half? Also the Sox were linked with Cuban pitcher Yeinier Cano last fall and he's not signed either. https://calltothepen.com/2019/02/18/mlb-free-agents-yolbert-sanchez/

I'm not entirely sure where @redsoxstats pulls their info from though.

JBJ had a WOBA above 500 in May 2016 and above 540 in Aug-Sep of 2015. He didn't seem to have a stretch like that in 2017 or 2018 from what I've looked at.

@PeteAbe Benintendi, Bradley, Leon and Vazquez taking early BP here in Toronto. Alex Cora doing the pitching.

Nicasio's gave up zero earned runs in his previous 10 outings. https://www.thegoodphight.com/2019/5/21/18635104/your-closer-juan-nicasio-cubs-3-phillies-2 To be fair, this was a tough spot for Nicasio. He was never intended to be more than a back-of-the-bullpen option, but with Hector Neris, Adam Morgan, Seranthony Dominguez, and Pat Neshek (he must have really tired himself out warming up on Monday) all apparently unavailable, he was the only option left.

If JBJ takes a while to pull out of this, I expect the number of JBJ posts to keep growing.

Yup. It looked fine when I watched it back. Chavis took forever in the box and called time for no reason. He deserved a quick pitch.

Upside is that he'll get paid enough to retire on his contract if his injury doesn't go away. Give me the extra $5M everytime.

It'd be hard to get much worse though.

Actually, YOU created the 2nd thread this year. This is the third.

@redsoxstats Devers is insanely hot again, two weeks ago he peaked at a .487 expected wOBA and right now he's at .496 in 50 plate appearance rolling averages. Context: Betts topped this in April and May last year, Bogaerts has topped these hot streaks once, and Benintendi never has.

Right now, JBJ has the lowest fWAR and oWAR in MLB. This is more than just "JBJ is struggling again." Per metrics, he's arguably the worst starting player in the league. Will he be there at year end, I don't believe it.

I'd say catcher unless you have another catcher that is decent (not great) behind the plate but kills it with the bat.

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1776019 Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora had some choice words for Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman following Tuesday's game between the two clubs. Cora wasn't thrilled after Stroman - known for his demonstrative nature on the mound - tossed an apparent quick pitch against Red Sox rookie second baseman Michael Chavis in the fourth inning. "I was telling (home plate umpire) Alan (Porter), if he's going to get on our guys, get on him," Cora said, according to Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto. "It's the same thing with him every day. He competes a certain way and people don't like it. "It seems like whenever a team comes in, somebody screams at him. I don't know, that's the way he acts." Chavis and Boston ace Chris Sale also appeared to direct some words at Stroman during the contest, but the Jays pitcher didn't seem bothered by the exchange following the game. "Don't know (what Sale said), could care less," Stroman told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. "That was between me and (Chavis). That's it. I could care less what anybody else says." Stroman threw six innings of one-run ball and now owns a 2.81 ERA in 2019. "That just tells me my stuff is exactly where I thought it would be," the 28-year-old said. "My stuff's nasty right now and there's times when I lose it because almost it's too nasty and I can't find the zone with my sinker. "I'm not scared to face anybody at any time and I'm able to bear down and make big pitches in big moments." Stroman on Twitter: @MStrooo6 I compete. That’s it. Didn’t know I had to cater to opposing teams to like me. Everyone messes with timing, deliveries and pitching mechanics these days. Everyone. Get over it. I’m going to keep that dawg mentality always. Pops raised me right and approves of it all!

My fever was in remission for a loooong time. It's going to come back though.

I can't keep up with who rants about what anymore, especially in regards to JBJ. All posters that don't have avatars are grouped as one single hive mind to me. It took me years to know the difference between sk7326 and cp176.

Would be nice, but I haven't seen much evidence of him turning it around. Maybe they'll make him retool his swing for the 20th time.

I'm sorry, but my eye test doesn't show JBJ to be doing anything superhuman this year. He had one nice game saving catch that Mookie would have made as well. He's fine defensively, but he's not the best CF even in his division.

The arb process sucks. I don't think the Sox are intentionally screwing with it though.

It's going to be a long climb back since they dug quite a hole for themselves in April. There was no way they'd be in 1st place by June. Sox are playing much better so fans need to be a little more patient at this point.

Marco Hernandez went 4 for 5 for PAW with one tater (first since 2016). Dalbec, Gorkys and Ockimey also had taters. Brian Johnson gave up 3 runs in 1 2/3's. Daniel Gonzalez went 8 innings and gave up just one run, 9 k's, 0 bb's.

According to statcast, he was 27.8 ft/sec last year. He's down to 26.8 this year. Big shift for him AND Beni.

There's room for both Leon and JBJ on this roster. I'm not sure why the conversation the past few days has been "pick one."