You said 'De La Rosa was brilliant until Farrell started talking about him starting in Portland, or at best, Pawtucket. Then he started sucking. Probably started trying to do too much, overthrowing, etc.'
You suggested probable causation, no?
I had a front row seat for another forum (Sawxheads) blowing up because the 'positives' and the 'negatives' developed such a hate for each other. It got to the point where the posts were much more about people fighting with each other than they were about baseball. It was sort of funny but mostly ridiculous.
This offseason was different. There was a shortage of talent and a surplus of money. The contract the Rangers gave Berkman indicates they could have been after Ortiz.
But he's guaranteed $11 million for one year after missing almost the entire 2012 season and talking retirement. It does tend to support User's position that the Rangers would have been willing to pay Ortiz close to what the Sox did.
Yeah, ST is all about the pitching, and most of the results there so far have been encouraging.
I would like to see Ellsbury square up on a few balls. It'd be nice to see some of that 2011 power stroke back.
I think a big part of the reason they gave Ortiz the 2 years was that they really did want a much more harmonious clubhouse this year. They showed that in the 'character' signings as well. I'm not saying it's right or that it will work. But I think there was a reasoning behind it.
My point is that many of these contracts are extremely risky. You can't avoid major risk if you're a team like the Sox or the Angels.
If Ortiz can play by May and puts up a .900 OPS, the deal looks OK.
If is the operative word.
I don't think anyone is unaware of the worst case scenario here.
I agree it was a risky signing and I agree it was partially motivated by box office considerations. But that's what major league teams do. The Red Sox risked 26 million. The Angels risked 5 times that much on Josh Hamilton.
Ortiz is doing his utmost to get back on the field. It's one of those frustrating injuries that not even the best doctors in the world can predict the recovery time for.
There are a few possible explanations for that, none of which are pleasant.
I'll just speak for myself. The offseasons get longer as I get older because my life, generally speaking, gets more boring, and my need for the narcotic of baseball gets stronger.
This would be just the right time to announce the suspension for Cano.
Seriously, with the offseason losses and all these injuries, if the Yankees make the playoffs it will be one of the great achievements in team history.
Doubront has only had one full season. There are a lot of things about Doubront that remind me of Lester in his early development. Lester was also a nibbler who racked up high pitch counts until he got it together. And look at his ERA his first two part seasons.