SoxSport
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They do well in contract years, because they bust their tails and have a huge incentive. But when they get their guaranteed multi-million dollar contracts, where's the incentive? After a few years, they have more money than they'll ever spend. Human nature.
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Hey dude, you don't have to fk'n read them. This thread covers a lot of stuff. Try reading a few posts-- including my posts on CC.
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What are they working on right now-- getting a manager, or the Epstein compensation? Maddon is supposed to be unavailable, yet there are stories the Cubs might interview him for manager. Wake up, Cherington.
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I'm reading in the Herald (a Chicago story) that the Cubs might go after Maddon for manager. And it might cost them Castro. Now, this is a just a Tribune guy pipedreaming, maybe, but Friedman interviewed the Angels for GM. So why aren't the Red Sox considering Maddon? And why are the Red Sox haven't such a hard time getting ANY player in return for Epstein, while Castro has been suggested as a possible payment for Maddon? Maddon hasn't won any championships. Are the Sox soft? Or maybe that Chicago story is full of crap.
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I have been saying this is a no-brainer. Turning CC around is the team's biggest priority. A $140M investment. Do you think Henry sees that, too? I would think so.
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I hope they go by the unconventional wisdom, and not re-sign Pap and Papi. The smart organizations are the ones that develop their own closers--it's not that difficult. look at how many newbies blossom every year. The Sox have a closer in waiting in Bard. It's almost a no-brainer, except this is a team that has a very hard time cutting the umbilical cord. The other obvious no-sign is Papi. He can do better elsewhere, and should be encouraged. This is a classic buy high of an ageing player. They need to replace him with another RHD power bat in the lineup, to go with Youkilis.A guy who can play in the field. A one-dimensional DH like Papi is a big negative, in terms of team depth. Another point missed by the media.
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If it's Salty, he trailed off badly at the end, which distorted his final numbers. He also started slowly in April--like everybody else. He looks like a guy who can hit .270, 15-20 HRs. .340 OBP. But he needs a real backup catcher to share the load. If it's CC, his numbers won't be the same next year--not with Dave Martinez as his manager. And it better be Dave Martinez, because the prime job of the new manager will be to turn $140M Crawford around. Plus the team conditioning. Forget the beer and chicken-- media fodder.
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This was another one of those media "gotcha" questions to LL in that news conference. It caught him off guard a bit. The person asking the question knew damn well what Epstein meant when he said that, because he explained it in a news article. He did not want to pick a new manager with one year left in his contract. That's the crux of why they both had to leave. I don't think Henry was going to extend either of them. He had decided it was time for a change.
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Bingo. The problem is sabermetrics. It's a conflict between scoring runs and minimizing outs. Sometimes, it's beneficial to risk an out to score a run--especially in close games--by trying to get the extra base and move a runner into scoring position--a higher chance to score. They wouldn't have gotten to the 04 world series, for example, if Roberts hadn't stole 2B against the Yankees in the 9th. You can't be too rigidly ideological--in sports or politics. Stolen bases, for example, are sometimes worth the risk of an out. Sabermetrics is good, but has to be used properly--just like pitch counts. The Sox haven't quite figured out the the right balance. Especially with stolen bases and pitch counts. The stolen base issue will come to a head next year with Ells, Kalish, CC and Pedey in the lineup. They have to make speed a weapon. Absolutely.
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John Lackey to undergo Tommy John surgery
SoxSport replied to WhiskeyBreath's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
They will have to cut payroll to sign any new players. They have Tek, Wake and Drew coming off the books to pay for AdGon. But they will have to unload Pap or Papi to create salary to sign anybody new. Cherington sounds like he doesn't want to tamper much with the status quo. I think he has to be a bit bolder than that. These guys can't tread water, particularly with older players. They have to cut the cord. The talk in the Globe about trading Youks is unwise. The guy is a salary bargain, and a great replacement at DH who can play positions. Besides, he's the only RHd power bat in the lineup.They can't trade him. If they want to be bold, they should unload Pap and Papi, use the money to get Cuddyer and a pitcher, and make Bard the closer. It's Bard's time. That's what he's been groomed for. Next year, he'll be a better pitcher than Pap.This year, their WAR's were close--Pap--2.0, Bard--1.7. Even though Pap had a contract yearand Bard faded in Sept from overwork. -
You guys are right about the noise. I remember Fenway in the 50s when the only sound was the organ between innings, and Frank Fallon's voice announcing the batter. Never any noise while a player was batting. And not even a mouse was stirring when Williams was at bat.
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Glad you noticed that. Too bad this stuff flies above the heads of those Globe guys. And they get paid. The Sox have a lot of dysfunction regarding fundamentals. I'm still trying to figure out why they paid a king's ransom for such a low OBP, low power guy like Crawford. Billie Beane must have flinched when he saw that. A definite sign of Epstein's values in decline. Imagine getting a stolen base guy for a team that doesn't value stolen bases. Wow.
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I think this quote was taken out of context. Theo was saying he didn't want to pick a new manager with just one year left on his own contract. If Tito had stuck around one more year, then he wouldn't have had to do that. I don't think it was anything personal about Tito. He just didn't want to choose a new manager with one year left on a contract he wasn't sure would be extended (or wanted to have extended). The media never lets the facts get in the away of opinions. It looks to me both were sent a message, and reacted appropriately.
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The music at ballparks these days sucks. In fact mainstream music--the stuff on TV, in the commercials, etc, is a bunch of electronics crap they can play without musicians. Did you hear those two girls singing "God Bless America" the last two WS games in Texas? They couldn't even sing "My home sweet home" in the end properly--no voices. It would have made the great Kate Smith shudder. The Phillies had the late Harry Kalas' son, Kane Kallas, do the national Anthem a couple of times during the season. That kid has a big opera voice he could break glass with.
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John Lackey to undergo Tommy John surgery
SoxSport replied to WhiskeyBreath's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Cherington says they are looking for "low price steals" for another pitcher. And yet they want to pay big bucks to ageing Papi? That strikes me as business as usual. -
I think the stealing is more on the pitchers than the catchers. The Red Sox pitchers don't hold runners on base very well--I suspect that's their policy with that slide-step? delivery.The Sox simply don't value the stolen base--even to defend against. I showed that was pretty stupid in the SB-Run stats I posted above. They gave away 33 runs last year just on stolen bases. About .2 runs per game. That's significant on a pitcher's ERA. Did you notice Napoli throwing out all those Cardinal runners? That's because the Texas pitchers are holding the runners on, and they aren't getting good jumps. Both these clubs are much better coached than the Red Sox.
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Better said than done in Boston. Sabermetrics says stolen bases aren't worth the risk of making an out. But are they? the formula: SBRuns= .3SB - .6CS I.E. a SB is worth about .3 Runs; if you get caught stealing, subtract .6 runs. simple to see: you have to steal 3 bases to make a run; but you get caught stealing, you lose a base AND make an out. Last year the Sox scored about 5 runs from stolen bases, but had 33 runs scored against them on stolen bases. That's a net of 28 runs scored by opponents on SBs. A whopping 312 SB attempts by opponents (76% success!), compared to a mere 102 by Boston (71 % success) Since the Sox scored 138 more runs than their opponents last year, -28 runs is a big chunk of net runs, about 20%. The bottom line is other teams are using SBs against them much better than they are. With Kalish, another speedburner, added to the lineup with Ells and CC, they better get on their horses this year. And hold runners on base better.
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They wanted him for developing the farm system and the draft. That's what he was best at in Boston. Plus he's a "name."
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Best offensive WARS (Fangraph) of the Sox players in 2011: Ellsbury--6.8, Pedey--5.9,AdGon--5.5,Papi--3.8,Youks--3.6, Scutaro--2.6. Crawford--0.3 Crawford's OWAR of .3 was horrible for a player of his stature. Ells had close to a superstar year. Pedey topped AdGon, though AdGon dropped off the 2nd half from shoulder weakness. Scutaro will be a bargain to pick up his option. Papi is a risk for his age and contract demands. Top Pitcher WARs: Beckett--6.2, Lester--4.8, Aceves--2.9, Buchholz---2.2,Pap--2.0, Bard--1.7. These are the numbers that Cherington will go by. Aceves is a winner. A sure starter next year. All the other Sox WARs were
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I think they were both gently eased out. That would put Theo in the same boat as Tito. Comrades in defeat.