Dojji, you're fighting a losing battle on Eckersley. The man ended up with 390 saves and a .998 WHIP as a reliever. The A's converted him to a reliever in 1987 and in the next 6 years they went to 3 World Series and 4 ALCS.
Aviles hit over .300 for KC in two seasons of 100+ games. He's hitting well over .300 in about 60 games for the Sox. His stroke looks great. Maybe he's just a good hitter?
I'm not certain at all. But I think he's earned a shot. They signed him and he's pitched much better than expected. If they don't bring him up he can walk May 1.
Duquette did lay the foundation, no question. But there were a lot of pieces added in 2003 and 2004. Duquette gets a good share of the credit but to say Epstein did little to improve on what he had is crazy.
He had a .455 OBP in September though. He was getting walked a ton.
I think maybe the expectations of the guy are a little too high sometimes. He's a great hitter.