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Spitball

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Everything posted by Spitball

  1. Spitball
    I am not sure how to fix the Red Sox, but the offense needs a lot of help. This is just a thought, but with Texas floundering with injuries and needing to rebuild, I'd offer Texan Will Middlebrooks to them for Adrian Beltre and the remaining two years on his contract. I'd then basically platoon Drew and Bougaerts at short.
  2. Spitball
    That might be true, but if you cut Sizemore, you are assuming the 31-year-old Nava will capture last year's sudden magic. If you keep Sizemore, you have both as options.
  3. Spitball
    I'd keep Sizemore and keep Nava at triple-A.
  4. Spitball
    You are correct. I guess 2013 and the future of the franchise means nothing if the team does not win it all again this year.
  5. Spitball
    http://www.fangraphs.com/not/wily-mo-pena-goes-crank-a-doodle-doo/ I still wish he had made it in MLB and with the Red Sox. I am not sure I can remember anyone who could crush a ball quite like Wilt Mo Pena. If you watch this video carefully (and it is not really clear), the ball hits way up there. He still has unbelievable power.
  6. Spitball
    Good point. The Sox front office played basic economic planning this winter. Ellsbury and Saltalamacchia would both have required long term deals and for lots of money. With salary cap issues and a core of young players coming up, they had to let them go. Perzynski was a gamble that hopefully will pay off if Vazquez is ready. I wouldn't want Ellsbury on that contract going forward. I wouldn't want Salty blocking Vasquez when he is ready. I would not want Drew long term for what he was expecting to get. The players that are replacing the departed for this season are not as talented yet, but the plan is to be fielding a talented, young, and affordable team going into the future. 2014 might be a bust...but the goal is to contend for a long time.
  7. Spitball
    The Red Sox are not playing well yet, but there are several teams that have under performed to date. Playoff teams from last year and teams with high expectations like the Cardinals, Rays, Pirates, Reds, Rangers, Angels, Nationals, and Dodgers are all with the Red Sox around .500. I am not sure I can remember a year like this. The Rockies, Marlins, and Brewers are all playing over their heads, but we should not expect the unexpected to continue. The Red Sox are a top level team and likely to improve.
  8. Spitball
    I hope the Sox stand pat unless they can pick up someone like Lee on a salary dump without sacrificing top prospects.
  9. Spitball
    I admire Cole's aggressive reaction. Give me a pitcher who has the balls to say, "*******, you were a lucky punk and don't stand there admiring your piss ant drive off the wall like you are Babe Ruth." If Gomez had pulled that against Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale, or Jim Lonborg, he would be sporting a black eye or a cracked skull. Gomez could have yelled back at Cole or run to confront him...but not cowardly throw his helmet and hide behind a wall of players. His actions and reaction ignited the rhubarb, and he ended up running to safety behind the crowd. Cole backed up third as he was supposed to. He yelled at Gomez...so what? So what? Cole was being competitive and telling a batter not to be an *******. Good for him. I remember Dallas Braden yelling at Alex Rodriguez for crossing the mound. I admired him for demanding his space. A pitcher needs to be strong and intimidating.
  10. Spitball
    Like he should, Cole was backing up third. He verbally expressed his opinion of Gomez's behavior which was bush league by major league standards. Gomez way overreacted when he threw his helmet at Cole.
  11. Spitball
    http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10822556/major-league-baseball-issues-penalties-milwaukee-brewers-pittsburgh-pirates-scuffle Martin Maldonado, MIL 5 games, Carlos Gomez, MIL 3 games, Travis Snider, PIT 2 games, and Russell Martin, PIT 1 game. Were these penalties justifiable? I think Gomez got off too lightly.
  12. Spitball
    I want the Sox to resign Lester...but at a reasonable price and years. Whether paying for past performance or paying for future expectations, we are looking at calculated gambles. Pedroia and Ortiz signed reasonable extensions. Napoli was brought back at a reasonable two-year deal. I would be more than happy to see Lester signed to a reasonable extended deal, but I just hope they don't sign him to contract that pays him $20 million per season for his declining years. Bill James uses 27 years-old as an age in which a typical player reaches his peak. This number is not an iron-clad guaranteed age but a typical age. Lester's K/9 rate has declined for ages 28 and 29, but his other numbers are fairly consistent. I hope he is resigned, but I hope it his not for too much nor for too long.
  13. Spitball
    Times are changing. The qualifying offer changes the free agent game quite a bit, but that is really besides the point. The Sox don't want to pay Lester for his past performances when he is in his declining years. Just look at Papelbon's and Sabathia's declining velocities and performances. I believe teams will soon (and should) start to look at long term contracts in terms of future and potential performance rather than past performance going into the declining years. I keep seeing Homer Bailey's six-year $105 million dollar contract being used as a comparison for Lester. The difference is that Bailey is three years younger, and Cincinnati must overpay to retain their best young players. Boston just won a championship and has a strong farm system. The Cardinals played hardball with Albert Pujols and have benefited from that decision. The Sox need to move forward and trust the changes that are coming...and their farm system.
  14. Spitball
    This is from MLB Trade Rumors:
  15. Spitball
    In my opinion, Nava and Carp are role players. They come and go depending on their production. They may have one good season or two, but they are replaceable. When they are producing, they will be part of the equation. I am not about to worry about them otherwise.
  16. Spitball
    I guess that depends on your definition of piling up innings.
  17. Spitball
    I'm not overreacting at all. I am just explaining why Mujica, an all-star reliever last year, had a bad outing. I do not believe 6 1/3 is a sufficient amount of innings to get ready.
  18. Spitball
    Lots of relievers are struggling early in the season. I believe Mujica pitched 6.1 innings this spring. I am not sure that was enough to prepare for the season.
  19. Spitball
    I watched several of Cordero's appearances this spring. He hit 90 MPH only once and that fastball missed the zone by quite a bit. He seemed to sit around the mid to low 80s. That said, I was rooting for him but understand the concerns about his velocity. I have to believe the Sox wanted to see him reach at least the low 90s with some regularity. I hope he signs with an NL team like the Reds who need a closer and bullpen help due to injuries. He seemed to induce a lot of ground balls this spring. Cordero produced some decent numbers this spring, but the innings were too few and the MPH were too low to warrant keeping him around.
  20. Spitball
    I suppose some concussions have resulted from foul tips, but home plate collisions involve much more impact.
  21. Spitball
    I don't think that was a WTF comment. There is validity there. His average velocity from 2007 through 2011 was pretty consistently near or above 94 MPH. In 2012, it dropped to about 92.4. In 2013, he was averaging about 91 MPH. This spring, he has been in the high 80s. We can assume an elite power pitcher with declining velocity is in some sort of decline. We will see, but there is no "WTF" with that decline in velocity over the last two years and into this spring. His ERA in the last two years are his two highest since 2005. He has averaged 205 innings per season for the last two years after averaging 240 from 2007 through 2011. His 2013 WHIP was the highest of his career. He is still good but showing signs of decline from his elite status. Sabathia has been an elite pitcher. He is still a very good pitcher, but he is getting older and has thrown a lot of innings. Decline does not mean he is now terrible. It simply means he is obviously in decline.
  22. Spitball
    This is from an August 2013 Hardball Times article:
  23. Spitball
    I don't have a statistic, but plenty of catchers have been injured in home plate collisions. Some of these are pretty scary.
  24. Spitball
    I am not sure how much I pay either since it is automatically renewed, but it is well worth any price. I have a Roku and watch it on my regular television.
  25. Spitball
    Miller Park in Milwaukee, Target Field in Minnesota, and Citi Field in New York (Mets).
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