mvp 78

It seems like JD may be a very very dumb person. At least he can hit the ball into orbit. Other than that, seems to as dumb as rocks.

I picture that it was just like the opening of any Doogie Howser episode.

Slugger J.D. Martinez was the focus of a skirmish yesterday in the war of words, with some sparring over the fact that the Red Sox have not upped their longstanding offer — which evidently still stands at a previously reported five-year, $125MM level. Per Nightengale, the only other offer on the table right now is from the Diamondbacks, but it’s just a one-year deal. Clearly, all involved have reason to anticipate that there’d be greater interest than that from other organizations, but it’s a notable point in relation to Martinez’s hopes for generating pressure on the Sox. Notably, too, the Red Sox are perhaps still aware of other means of fulfilling their desire for right-handed power. Nightengale says the organization spoke with the Guardians earlier in the offseason about a potential deal that would have brought Edwin Encarnacion to Boston. Whether or not there’s any plausible hope of reviving those discussions isn’t clear, though, and the Sox are said not to have been willing to send Jackie Bradley Jr. to Cleveland. Clearly, that’s no surprise, as Bradley is a much younger and more affordable player who still offers plenty of value to the Sox. Indeed, it’s amply arguable that Bradley is a more valuable overall performer than is Encarnacion.

@JonHeyman Steve Selsky has minors deal with red sox

"It was just different for me," he said. "Coming from Tampa, from that environment to that environment was so different I didn't really understand what I was getting myself into. I think that was the big thing. There was just such a big difference from what I was used to. "I definitely wouldn't have went to the highest bidder. If I could have done it over again I would have gone into more detail into everything. I didn't do any research about nothing. I didn't know much about Boston, only when I played there. If I went into a little more depth as to what I was getting myself into things probably would have been a little different." He added, "Once I realized it and I had seven years I didn't know what to do. It was just one of those things I had to sit out and wait. I was dealing with the struggling at the time and a bunch of other stuff. I had been in Tampa so we had been shielded from a lot of media stuff. I didn't have to go through that stuff. That was new for me, dealing with the media and stuff like that. I didn't how to handle all that stuff up there and it showed in my game. Then I started getting hurt all the time. It was just always bad, bad all the time. When he complains about Boston, he's always throwing the media under the bus (for good reason). However, he hasn't outwardly called out the fans for poor behavior so saying that he was "crucified" by fans here seems wrong to me.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/carl-crawford-apologizes-red-sox-fans_n_969408.html Carl Crawford in 2011 talking to Boston fans: “I want to end the diary saying something to the fans of Boston. I just want to say I’m sorry for the year I’ve had,” he wrote. “You guys have been really supportive and I appreciate that. Hopefully when we get into these playoffs, I can be the real Carl Crawford that I know I am. We’ll see.” He had problems with the media, not really with fans.

Maine is not Boston. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/07/07/red-sox-outfielder-carl-crawford-alleges-fan-called-him-racial-slur-during-minor-league-rehab-game/dB770zPldw9wpyu0upERlN/story.html Boston fans went easy on him.

In Texas? Here in Boston, nobody was ripping CC. Even watching the games on tv you wouldn't here much grumbling.

How is JBJ getting $20M in this market? Last year Dyson signed a 2.8M deal for one year. JBJ isn't worth 7 times that much.

Where in this is he crucified? Every player gets booed from time to time. Sox fans took it easy on him.

Dealing with the media is not the same as being crucified. And how bad was the media to him? Not very IMO.

He started out 2016 really hot, but was at best league average after mid May.

@ChuckGarfien I think I found my top buy low free agent pitcher to help the White Sox rotation next year. Clay Buchholz. If I knew there was decent money in shitposting like these people, I'd have A700 numbers.

@NatsPost @RonJuckett on a #Nats pursuit of Clay Buchholz, who could serve a role similar to that of Edwin Jackson. https://districtondeck.com/2018/01/06/washington-nationals-clay-buchholz-worth-flier/ All these crazy people are thirsty for Clay.

@EBNAdvertising Why The New York Yankees Should Go After Clay Buchholz For Rotation Help http://www.inquisitr.com.ridder.co/vQQPwe

When was he crucified? He got off easy. He never played well, was overpaid but never really heard it from the fans.

https://twitter.com/CTXAthletics/status/960960651408691201 Looks like he threw in a college bullpen in Austin, Tx yesterday. Last week he was at a high school HR derby with some old friends. @ByZachSmith At Vandegrift HS for the Viper home run derby. An impressive list of MLB veterans on the guest list including Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Kevin Millar.

LOL. I don't know if he's even back to pitching yet. He was hoping to be ready to go in Sept, then that fell through. After the season, he said he wanted to be ready by the start of the season. I've seen no reports suggesting how close he is to coming back.

Bryce Brentz deserves a chance as the 25th man on the roster making MLB minimum. Porcello is overpaid and underperforming. Hard to equate the two situations.

Crawford was overpaid and started slowly. He never got buried. Once the fans get back to watching the games, the first HR will get rid of most of the ill will.

Tim Lincecum will hold a showcase next Thursday, auditioning for Major League teams. Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner with the San Francisco Giants, has been working out with Driveline Baseball this offseason in an effort to make a comeback. As we noted in December, when photos of him at Driveline surfaced, Lincecum looks to be in pretty amazing physical shape. Still, it’s an open question whether or not he can pitch in the bigs again. He hasn’t pitched since 2016 and even then he didn’t pitch well, going 2-6 with a 9.16 ERA, 5.4 BB/9 and 7.5 SO/9 over 38.1 innings with the Angels. At the same time, he’s only 33 and he’ll obviously be open to a minor league deal with eye toward making a team in spring training, so it’ll cost teams almost nothing to give him a chance. A lot of clubs will be taking in his workout next week, no question. If Lincecum is even close to what he was a few years back, someone will likely take a chance on him. Baseball is all about finding cheap talent these days. I'd give Lincecum a MiLB deal before I'd give one to Buchholz.

Beyond the lack of competition for Martinez on the free-agent market, Dombrowski also suggested that the trade market could yet be a viable approach. The veteran exec called it “amazing” to be hearing of so many players available in trade talks at this juncture of the offseason. “At this time of year, you normally don’t get phone calls out of the blue about such-and-such being available,” said Dombrowski. “I have. I don’t know what’s going to go on.” Also, this is kind of interesting.

“I don’t have a (timetable) on it because I really don’t know,” said Dombrowski to Rosenthal. “Perhaps if I was losing options, juggling three guys, or if we were in the starting-pitching market where there are four (top) guys, I would say, ‘Hey, I need an answer now, or I’m going to turn to this guy.’ But we’re really not in that situation.” He must think there is another guy he can grab if he wants to.

I think Fangraphs WAR is heavily influenced by innings pitched. 200+ innings is great, but when attached to a 4.60 FIP... Not so hot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Boras Bigger list.