The way Cora used Whitlock last night was a perfect example of the relief ace concept, pitching the 7th and 8th instead of the 9th. (Obviously not one of his better outings this time.)
Part of the strategy is that it gives your team 2 innings to tack onto the lead so the 9th inning is easier for the closer, or you don't need your closer at all.
Porcello made $95 million for his 5 years with Boston.
His total dollar value for those years per FanGraphs, based on average productivity of free agents, was $104.7 million.
Solid Starter is 2-3 WAR.
So based on that:
1 year Superstar
2 years Solid Starter
2 years Role Player
5 year Average = Solid Starter
How you get horrible out of that I don't know.
That's exactly it.
The funny thing is I remember a number of times when Ortiz was pinch run for late in a game, and it came back to haunt us, and fans would heap abuse on the manager for it.
It can be a thankless job.
One thing I'm sure of is that Cora was not snoozing on the play, it was a conscious decision.
Porcello was slightly above average in quality, well above average in quantity.
There's a lot of value in being able to take the ball every 5th day and deliver 5-6 innings as he did.
Fans are brutal, basically LOL
For some reason Story's first season with the Red Sox reminds me a little of Drew's first season with us. Of course Story won't get the chance to hit a postseason grand slam.
Kind of an ignominious experience for a player, isn't it. Your team puts you out on the street for anyone who wants to take you. If nobody wants you, you get shipped to the minors.
I was there, man. The first game I saw in Fenway was in September, 1974, right in the middle of one of their epic collapses.
That year they were 7 games up in the AL East on August 23, and ended up 7 back.