The problem with using these numbers as indicative of anything is that: A) They're a small sample. B ) Gonzales, as mentioned by Bellhorn last night, was simply not being pitched to. C) You have a pet peeve with it.
Numbers with runners in scoring position are numbers with runners in scoring position. Trying to nitpick them to include situations where Gonzales was clearly not going to be pitched to if a at all possible is dishonest.
.977 OPS in September last year. .975 OPS with men on.
I'm sorry, but the stats disprove your opinion. I watched every game of that dreadful September last year, and he, along with Scutaro and Pedroia, were the only dependable players.
No he doesn't.
Gonzales has a .685 OPS with no men on base, but OPS's of .954 and 1.359 with runners on and RISP respectively. He's also OPS'in 1.357 in 2 out, RISP situations.
If the current total is 187.17, when (because supposedly it will exercise before the season's over) Lackey's option becomes viable and the relative savings from the Byrd trade, they would actually end up around 183 million.
Reason #102 why they should try to trade Youkilis for low-cost pitching,
That's kind of the problem. Was he going to be able to replicate his Tampa performance playing half his games in a stadium that reduced his middling power and on-base ability? Crawford always tormented the Sox a lot more at home than in Fenway, and with good reason. He's a career .715 OPS hitter at Fenway, significantly lower than his .804 OPS at Tropicana.
But the removal of that player's skills from another team so it doesn't harm yours has to be a far-behind second to what you think that player can bring to the table for your team.
In other words, what he could do for the Red Sox had to be far more important than what he did against them.
I think ORS's point (and certainly my point) is that although you need a certain mindset to be a closer, it's not that rare to find a relief pitcher who possesses that mindset. Most closers over the last few years have lost their jobs due to injury-related ineffectiveness, not a mental inability to do their jobs, a la Brad Lidge or Craig Hansen (who never developed after his psyche was crushed).
This brings me back to the point of the perils of long-term commitments to relief pitchers. Too many good closers with great dossiers falling victim to injuries after signing big paychecks.
Good question. It seems they're not too worried since his velocity has increased marginally the last couple of starts. I'm thinking they assume he'll be back to normal soon.
Doubtful. They probably got him because they thought his speed would remain intact but his power production would increase a la Johnny Damon. Your reasoning is not sound. You don't spend 100+ million on a player because he makes you look bad.
If that was the case, Ted Lilly would be a Red Sox right now.