Orange Juiced

Neither you nor I really know what is best for him. So we're both speculating. What I understand he needs is to pitch a certain number of innings, ideally in the rotation. But if he can get his innings in partially pitching out of the pen for the Red Sox, and that helps the Sox deep into the playoffs, then that's a win all the way around. That won't retard his development. Being "stretched out" is more about the number of innings than it is how deep into a game he can go as a starter. Next year is when his innings limit will go up considerably, and he'll have to be stretched out again during spring training anyway for that. There will really be no lost time this year if he manages to get his innings in.

First of all, there really is no evidence to suggest that him pitching in relief the rest of this year would "set back the kid's future". Second, you said there was no reason to pitch him out of the pen this year in Boston, and I gave you one. If he can help the MLB club win a world series this year, that's a really good reason to have him do it. As for your last sentence, I agree. We do not know if he'd be an effective reliever at this point. I would think, given his stuff, that he probably would be. But we don't know. So here's how I'd handle him. I'd start him for another two starts in the minors and then have him pitch in relief a few times. It's not going to retard his long-term development to do that for a couple of weeks. And if, by the end of July, he shows he can do this well (he warms up quickly, he gets outs right away, etc.), then it's worth him coming up to Boston to pitch out of the bullpen the rest of the season. Then next year he goes back to being a starter and ramps up his innings. And if he shows he can't be an effective reliever, then they keep him in the minors and put him back in the rotation to finish out his innings limit. Yes, maybe for the first few starts back in the rotation he'd only go 5 innings due to coming out of the pen, but who cares.

Yes there is. If they think he can help the team win a World Series this year.

If he stays as a starter, he'll reach his innings limit long before the season is completed. Then he'll have to sit and not pitch at all. This way he'll accumulate his innings in smaller chunks, but over the entire rest of the season, which means he'll still get all his work in, but he'll be helping the major league club in the process.

Parnell's career stats: 2008 (23) - 5.0 ip, 5.40 era, 84 era+, 1.00 whip, 5.4 k/9 2009 (24) - 88.1 ip, 5.30 era, 77 era+, 1.66 whip, 7.5 k/9 2010 (25) - 35.0 ip, 2.83 era, 140 era+, 1.40 whip, 8.5 k/9 2011 (26) - 59.1 ip, 3.64 era, 101 era+, 1.47 whip, 9.7 k/9 2012 (27) - 68.2 ip, 2.49 era, 153 era+, 1.24 whip, 8.0 k/9 2013 (28) - 41.0 ip, 2.41 era, 151 era+, 0.90 whip, 7.7 k/9 Dating back to 2011, his last 138 games have produced the following line: 138 g, 132.0 ip, 36 er, 107 h, 41 bb, 114 k, 2.45 era, 1.12 whip, 7.8 k/9 That's essentially two full seasons' worth of stats, from mid-2011 til the present. That's a REALLY good relief pitcher. I would never give up JBJ for him, of course, but Brentz? Sure.

Parnell isn't pitching in Kansas City right now. He's pitching in New York. If he can handle New York, he can handle Boston.

Parnell is a high quality, late-inning power arm. That's exactly what this team needs. They have tons of OF depth in the minors. I like Brentz, but he's the kind of guy that can be moved to add a necessary piece like a Parnell. Just my opinion, of course.

Brentz and a smaller piece for Parnell would work for me.

Buchholz has ace ability, but he can't stay healthy. Lester has ace stuff but for some reason sucks. Lackey has pitched like an ace this season but I think we should be a little wary given that he's coming off TJ surgery. So no, this team doesn't have a true "ace" right now. When they're all healthy and right, the Sox do have one of the better 1-2-3 punches in baseball though. Who knows if we'll ever see all three "healthy and right" again, however.

Not sure if this has been reported elsewhere, but the Mets offered Bobby Parnell for Jackie Bradley Jr. Sox said no. Thankfully. http://fenwayrefugees.com/red-sox-reportedly-reject-bobby-parnell-for-jackie-bradley-jr-trade/

Yep. But the weird thing is this: He's a really, really good pitcher at the major league level. 3.22 era 1.21 whip 12.1 k/9 Those are terrific numbers. The problem has been his last 4 games: 1.0 ip, 2 h, 2 er, 3 bb, BS 1.0 ip, 1 h, 0 er, 0 bb, S 1.0 ip, 3 h, 2 er, 0 bb, S 1.0 ip, 1 h, 1 er, 1 bb, BS, W TOT: 4.0 ip, 7 h, 5 er, 4 bb, 11 baserunners, 2 blown saves So yes, to your last sentence, he *does* need to get it together. But he definitely has the ability to do just that.

Quick look at the standings and we see that the Red Sox, one of the worst teams in baseball last year, have the 2nd best record and the 3rd best run differential in all of MLB. They are on pace to win 98 games. #1 in runs scored #1 in ops #10 in era In the offseason, some folks really criticized the Red Sox for making lackluster moves. Clearly, so far (45% of the way through the season), things have worked out swimmingly.

I don't know what percentage of it is luck, but for sure, you can make a deal for a normally healthy and productive player and then he gets his ACL torn on a weird play at 2b and the trade ends up being terrible. Or sometimes you add a middling player and then he just puts it all together and blossoms. Still gotta do a good job making wise decisions, but so much of it is out of your control.

What's done is done with WMB. Let's just hope he gets it going from this point on. Who cares what his final season stats look like if he plays pretty well from here on out.

My list that I would *consider* (note, not necessarily do, but consider): - Trout - Harper - Kershaw - Puig - Machado - Harvey - Strasburg (though the injuries worry me) - Stanton Probably a few more, but the list is indeed short.

Sorry...I am new enough to talksox to not even know that there was a minor league forum.

Red Sox' top prospect. Crushed a homer last night in his second game in AAA. Last two seasons he's done this (as a 19 and 20 year old): 2012: 476 ab, 37 2b, 20 hr, 81 rbi, .307/.373/.523/.896 2013: 226 ab, 12 2b, 7 hr, 37 rbi, .314/.410/.513/.923 Plays a premier position (SS). 6'3", 185 lbs, incredible athlete. Again, just 20 years old. The question at this point is this: What is the list of players you would trade this guy for? It has to be a very short list. To give you some idea, here is the list of major league SS (that qualify) with an ops over .800: Tulowitzki, Col - 1.048 Segura, Mil - .909 Peralta, Det - .875 Desmond, Was - .802 Obviously you can't just say his minor league ops would = his major league ops, which is why I dropped the standard down to .800, when he's got a .923 right now. In other words, right *NOW* he would have one of the very best bats in all of MLB at the SS position. Solid defender too - not Iglesias good, but solid. So what's the list of players you'd trade this guy for? (no, I'm not looking to trade him...this is a "holy crap this kid is unreal and my favorite team has him!" thread)

Not at all. GMs lose leverage if they say they're shopping guys.

Who are the likely SP options on the trade market? - Cliff Lee: Absolute stud. Incredibly expensive salary. Given the huge contract, might not cost as much in terms of prospects. Or you trade more prospects and Philly eats some salary. - Matt Garza: Been injured and not effective this year. But has proven he can pitch in the AL East and is a solid pitcher. - Ian Kennedy: Not having a good year, and Arizona has some excellent pitching prospects that are nearly MLB-ready. Arbitration eligible in 2014 and 2015. Potential free agent in 2016. Would probably take a lot to get him, but he'd be a really nice piece to add. And Arizona has some holes. - Tim Hudson: In the last year of his contract, not having a great year, but has a superb track record. Not sure Atlanta would want to move him as they make a playoff run, but I don't think they'll re-sign him after this year so they may figure they should get something for him while they can. Would add a solid veteran presence for this year (and maybe next if you want him for another season). - Bronson Arroyo: Makes a lot of money (over $16 mil), and is a FA after this season. But he's been here before, knows the drill in Boston. Last two seasons he's been pretty effective. 36 years of age, if you can believe that. - Jonathon Niese: Decent pitcher, not great. Could be useful. Mets have a TON of holes, so there's no doubt the Sox would have a match in terms of prospects. - Tim Lincecum: Was talked about last year. Has really declined...not sure what the issue is with him. Would be a rental for the rest of this year as he's a FA in 2014. But obviously when he's right, he's tremendous. Hasn't been right in a couple of years though. Probably wouldn't cost that much though, given his contract, his current level of effectiveness, and that he'd be a rental for the year. Might be worth a flier for the stretch run. There may be more guys available, and it's possible that none of the guys I listed here are, in fact, available. I don't know what GMs around the league are looking to do. But these are some guys that come to mind as potential targets. What are your thoughts on any/all of these possibilities?

Yeah, I'm pumped about Bogaerts to AAA. Kid is just 20 years old. Phenomenal talent. And it sounds like they'll be playing him all over the infield. When the September callups hit, I want this kid in Fenway. (though I don't know if that starts his service time clock...not sure how that works)

Yep, it isn't going to be very much. Just someone they can keep in the organization is all. Not much to see here.

The Drew signing was a superb signing. Just one year, so you're free from him if you want to be after this season. After a rough start, which essentially for him was his spring training, he's been really good. Since May 6: 30 g, 15 r, 4 hr, 17 rbi, .267/.358/.476/.835, with good defense If Iggy continues to impress, you could definitely move Drew at the trade deadline for something very useful. And if he doesn't, then Drew is playing SS at a high level for you anyway.

What we fans see with respect to a manager are his in-game decisions. Lineups, bunting, hit-and-run, bullpen usage, etc. And we evaluate the quality of a manager in light of that sort of stuff. But, and I've argued this over many years, baseball managing is about MUCH more than the X's and O's. In fact, I'd say over the course of an entire season, X's and O's comprise a very small part of the job. The most difficult aspect is managing *people*. Think about it. You have a group of 25 players (really around 35-40 when all is said and done), and a half-dozen coaches, plus staff. You're together from February through October. That's 9 straight months, almost every day, together. Managing the egos and personalities and situations with all these people is an immense task. Case in point. Peter King's MMQB article today talks a little about some good books, and he highlight's Francona and Shaughnessey's book. Here's a snippet: "For instance: I always felt Francona coddled the immature and disruptive (and, as this books shows, likely disturbed) Manny Ramirez, for instance. But Shaughnessy gives a clear picture of what happened with Ramirez, and how Francona constantly had to weigh what was best for the team winning games with keeping the team together. How do you deal with a player who, for instance, takes himself out of the lineup more than a few times, once complaining of vague knee pain, but when the team MRIs both knees not even a minor irritation shows up? As GM Theo Epstein told Shaughnessy: "We were constantly walking a tightrope with Manny. We understood if we asked Manny to live up to everything we expected from the other players, we wouldn't even get past the opening series of the year.'' In 2007, Francona exploded at one of Ramirez's agents, Gene Mato, on the phone, screaming, "You're half the f------ problem here, telling Manny all that s--- about being disrespected ... Knock this s--- off!" In the last year of his contract, 2008, Ramirez got worse and worse. At the end of June, Ramirez assaulted the team's traveling secretary, Jack McCormick, in a spat over player tickets to a game in Houston. As Shaughnessy writes: ... Francona called Epstein. "Theo, we've got a bad problem,'' said the manager. "We've got to do something. We've got to send Manny home.'' Manny was not sent home. Ramirez was brought into a meeting with Francona and McCormick and apologized to McCormick. He started in left field the night of the incident and hit a game-winning home run a day later. Once again, Francona had to go before the media and say things he did not believe ... He had to bite his tongue, more than at any time in his tenure as Red Sox manager. Ramirez was a great talent. He knew he could get away with murder, and did. The ownership group had the attitude: Don't tell me how tough the pregnancy was, just tell me if you delivered the baby. And it was up to the manager to make it all work. The book is a succession of those stories explaining how, through it all, Francona helped deliver the first two world titles the Red Sox won in a zillion years. Even if you're apathetic about baseball or the Red Sox, it's a very good sports read." (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20130610/robert-griffin-iii-peter-king-monday-morning-quarterback/#ixzz2VpZNH4AF) This is why we fans really don't have a clue what's going one. Why did the manager use pitcher A instead of pitcher B in a given situation? Well, it may have *NOTHING* whatsoever to do with a better matchup or whatever. It may have everything to do with stuff that we're not privy to at all, and that we'll never know about. Managing a major league baseball team is really hard. Francona was as good as it gets at managing PEOPLE. Valentine.....eh.....not so much.

The assumption I was making was that Arizona would be given a window to negotiate an extension for Lester, and that they'd want to do that. I should have made that clear though. My bad.

I think Lester would net a pretty serious haul. He's a terrific pitcher and being a lefty makes him even more desirable. I think in many ways it all depends on how the development of Webster and Ranaudo and Barnes goes (first two especially). If by the end of this season they're convinced that those guys could step in and be solid major league contributors, then they might be ok. Especially if Doubront develops into a legit #3 starter. Let's say Webster is ready for prime time next year. They could enter 2014 with this rotation: Buchholz (who might be a CYA winner), Lackey (having a terrific season), Dempster, Doubront, and Webster. That would be a pretty good rotation, assuming, of course, that Doubront and Webster are ready to step up. It would be much cheaper, and they'd add a really nice piece or two in any deal for Lester. This next offseason I'd love to see them trade Lester, a minor league OF (Brentz?), and another 1b type bat (Alamanzar?) to Arizona in exchange for Paul Goldschmidt and pitching prospect Archie Bradley. Arizona could use a good OF prospect and Lester would give them an incredible rotation of Lester, Kennedy, Cahill, Corbin, and Miley. The Sox would get a power-hitting 1b for the next half-decade or more (Goldschmidt is nice) and a top pitching prospect.