Spitball
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Everything posted by Spitball
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http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/10-year-disabled-list-trends/ I found this interesting. The Red Sox are quite high on the list for total trips but not for time lost. -
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Back to the pitches needed discussion. It depends. A great fastball can make mediocre secondary pitches effective. It (mostly) depends on ability to locate that fastball. Kevin Brown, for example, had a sinking fastball that he could locate on either side of the plate. It was an awesome pitch and set up his average slider and a split finger which was never thrown for a strike. In many cases, it has more to do with command and location of the fastball setting up the secondary pitches.
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I think this is obvious. If nothing else, it allows the team to focus on baseball and not worry about speculation as to why a particular player was not on the bench in the late innings. If Josh Beckett needs to see the trainer, he needs to do so without radio show hosts making a big deal of the whole event.
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I really like it. Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, also has a replica left field wall called the Maine Monster. I love watching games there.
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Batters who have stances that require added and extreme movements almost always have to make adjustments as they age. Yaz and Tony Perez both lowered their hands when they grew older. Bret Boone and others also made adjustments with positive results. Hopefully Crawford can adjust and improve.
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Varitek to Announce Retirement on Thursday
Spitball replied to a700hitter's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Tek smashing A-Rods face in 2004 ranks with Bobby Orr's flying horizontal celebration after scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal ("The Goal") in 1970. Both were classic moments and remain classic images in Boston lore. I will miss Varitek and appreciate his class and loyalty to the Red Sox. -
The bottom of the order is under-rated but important. Crawfords' OBP does not warrant him hitting in the top six spots, but he can be an important component to the bottom of the order. He has some power and speed. Let him empower the bottom third. My biggest complaint with Francona was his penchant for letting the order take care of matters. He had two of the best base runners in baseball in Ellsbury and Crawford, yet he tended to play conservatively. With Crawford batting seventh, the Sox have a bottom of the order force capable of powering or stealing his way into scoring position. With Crawford in scoring position, the Sox need only one hit from their eighth or ninth hitter to produce a run. Too often bottoms of orders are limited to three hits or on base chances to produce a run. The Sox have Crawford to energize the bottom third, and that is a plus.
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I am excited. I have worries and concerns about this team, but any team can come together. No one expected anything from the 1967 Red Sox. The 2004 Red Sox appeared dead after three games versus the Yankees in the ALCS. I want to believe. The Cardinals won last year despite losing Adam Wainwright in the spring. The Tampa Bay Rays made the playoffs after losing Crawford and Garza. Teams can surprise.
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I can't say I'm sorry. I really dislike Damon...now.
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I'd have him working with marginal prospects to develop another knuckleball/Wakefield story.
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We won't make it this year. I will miss it...and I bet the tiki bar at the Clarion on Cleveland Avenue will miss the money we have spent there.
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Former catcher Dave Duncan is one of the greatest pitching coaches of all-time.
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I will not miss J.D. Drew. He played an excellent right fielder and had a sweet swing, but he was not worth $14 million a year. He had trouble staying healthy and never drove in as many as 70 runs a season. He was basically Trot-Lite for far more money. In fact, I have always been suspicious that his signing was part of some sort of extortion plan by Scott Boras involving the Red Sox interest in reaching an agreement with Dice-K.
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He provided some great memories and will be missed. I'm glad he decided to retire rather than keep hanging on.
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Players unhappy with the Valentine as manager?
Spitball replied to SCM33's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
I understand Valentine will wear #25 to honor Tony Conigliaro. That is cool. -
Okay, I see you guys are right. I appreciate each of your prompt responses. I guess I was just hopeful Cherington had a strategy we had not yet realized. Apparently not.
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But the wording says, "...after Opening Day -- after the salaries are established for 2011 CBT bookkeeping purposes." Do either of you have a link to clarify your contentions? I can't find one to contradict Verducci.
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Hopefully, the Sox will be close enough to a playoff spot that a deadline deal for a starting pitcher can be made. I assume an acquisition after the season starts would not count against luxury tax.
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I am betting this has a lot to do with the lack of interest by almost every club in Oswalt. He apparently has two degenerative discs in his back. http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7181719/source-new-york-yankees-scared-roy-oswalt-back-woes He is a name we recognize as a one-time ace, but it is best to pass on the ghost of baseball past.
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I'm with you on this. I don't get his quest. The teams he wants don't need or apparently want him. The only team interested isn't his first, second, third, or whatever choice. So why doesn't he just announce his retirement and stop our desperate hoping?
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In the last two years, Ortiz has averaged 30 HR and 99 RbIs while OPSing over .900. His production has been excellent and improving from his 2009 slump. By cutting his K totals by an amazing 62, I think it is safe to conclude he has learned to make adjustments to his approach. Arbitration was not a definite mistake on either side. Players like Ryan Madson and teams like the Cardinals learned that there are no real gaurantees or loyalties to count on. That said, with Otiz's age, I wouldn't want the Sox to go multi-year with him.
