DocHolliday

Looking at 0-5 on this road trip, 10 losses in 13 games. Again, unless they start to win some games, V may not make the trip back with the team from the west coast.

In other news, Beckett gave up zero runs in the 1st inning of his start in LA against the DBacks.

Didn't take long for the former Sox onslaught to continue. 14 RBI in this series from former Red Sox players and we are barely into the 2nd game. Misery loves company.

Through a handful of games so far this season, we can all agree Iglesias has had difficultly at the plate to the point that he has not been able to get his first hit. There's no question that he has issues with the bat that he will have to work out to stick. On the other hand, here are the pitchers he has faced in the handful of games he's played: - Jered Weaver - CJ Wilson - Zach Grienke - Brandon McCarthy Again, not saying his current approach will cut it at the ML level, but let's give him some more time to see ML pitching for a longer period of time. There's a big difference between the pitching at AAA and ML - particularly with the upper group of pitchers he has faced so far.

When I made the original comment about the O's record in 1 run games this season, it wasn't to say that they are where they are do to luck. Clearly, they have been a better team this year than the Red Sox. As I write this post, they dropped a 1 run game to the Yankees. Instead, the point I was making was that they were fortunate to have such a higher record than any other team in close contests. I tried to use the analogy of a hot shooter at the craps table to say that they were in the midst of a good run of 1 game outcomes. In the long run, teams tend to play around .500 in 1 run games. Teams with good bullpens and good pitching in general can have an edge in close contests, but their 24-6 pace was unsustainable, for any team. There are so many other elements that can affect the outcome of a close game that are outside of the team's control. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if next year they returned the same pitchers and their record in 1 run games was below .500 because of the variance in the game that is random and uncontrollable.

As much of a step in the right direction as the megatrade was a week ago, the week that followed is a clear sign that much work still remains to get this organization back in track.

If they hire a manger that ISN'T a "PR driven move", it would be the best PR move they have made in a calendar year. When will they figure out that the best baseball driven moves will also the best PR driven. These aren't mutually exclusive. It's simple - if the team wins on the field consistently, they win in the PR department. Name me one successful team right now that got there with the PR moves taking precedent over the baseball moves.

Francona was fired after a 7-20 finish to the season. The Sox just went 9-20 in August, have lost 9 of the last 12 games, and are lifeless on the field. If they weren't already out of it by the beginning of August, this would have been just as publicized.

New poll: does V survive September?

What a way to cap off 1 full year of daily misery than to see the Oakland A's score 18 runs, with what seems like 14 of them coming from former Red Sox farmhands. This road trip is shaping up to be the final straw for me with V for next season. The megatrade and firing of Bob McClure should have taken the pressure off him and the team he manages. These guys have nothing to lose and should be playing with something to prove. Instead, V continues to manage this team to "new ends of the earth". In my view, there is absolutely no way you can justify bringing this guy back next year if he can't manage this team through a pressure less month plus end of the season. I think Callahan said it best this morning where it would be like electing a new president and vice president into office but keeping the secretary of state from the previous regime in place.

Is it possible that the pitching has either stayed the same, or even gotten worse, since the megatrade and firing McClure? These are the Oakland Freaking A's and they have scored 13 runs. There have been times this year when they could not score 13 runs in 2 weeks.

I'm not saying the division isn't competitive, but I have my doubts that next year will be a repeat of the kind of outcomes we are seeing now. Take Baltimore's success this year as an example. The majority of teams, good and bad, hover around the .500 mark in 1 run games, some teams with good bullpens give their team the edge in those games. The O's have been 24-6 in those games. 24-6 is not sustainable for any team in the long term. It reminds me of a "hot" shooter at the craps table - in the long run, eventually the dice will crap out due to simple probability. Next year, I would be shocked if they can replicate this level of success in close games. Above league average (giving credit to their bullpen) would put them around 18-12 in these games, making them 67-64. Tampa's pitching has been incredible for years, but some of their guys will begin to near FA (Shields this or next offseason) or will see big pay raises through arbitration (Price). This year, their offense has been completely non existent at times when Longoria is out of the lineup. His health has become a legitimate question over the last couple of years. Their economic situation forces them to rely heavily in the young pitching and hitting on offensive pieces each offseason. They will have to get even more creative in the coming years unless their budget changes considerably (maybe the new ESPN deal will help). At some point, the Yankees aging core will finally have a much overdue year where they lose their effectiveness. Their ability to spend will be able to offset the decline to an extent. I'm just not convinced that they are going to have the replacements on hand if that decline happens to come, say next year. Maybe one of these years, Toronto will put it all together with their young pitching and be a serious threat. I wouldn't be surprised if that comes next season. Not saying all of these things are going to happen at once - just saying the sport is dynamic and no one season necessarily reflects how the next season will be decided.

It's amazing to me that we are less than an hr from the beginning of September and the A's and O's are leading the wild card. These were teams that nobody had on their radar at the beginning of the season. The O's were hot out of the gate and haven't faded out like they have in recent years - thanks in large part to a statistically defying record in 1 run games and hits on all of their young pitchers. Meanwhile the A's stumbled out of the gate and caught fire at about the time the Sox were in Oakland in early July. In a way, their run this year is similar to their "moneyball" years when they we're ridiculously hot during the 2nd half. If you include the Rays in the conversation, that is 3 of the 8 legitimate contenders for playoff spots in the AL with either weak fan support and/or small market challenges. Without the thrill of a 1 game wild card game, a Orioles/Rays, A's/Rays, or Orioles/A's playoff matchup in a 5 or 7 game series would likely go down as the least followed playoff matchup in years.

If you're going to extend Ellsbury, the starting point has to be Crawford's contract (7 years, $142 M). The 7 years would cover his age 29-35 seasons. $ wise, you'd be looking at around $20 M AAV. There has been talk that Ellsbury isn't worth that kind of $ because he's been hurt and hasn't put up the deserving numbers outside of last season. With Ells being so close to FA and Boras being his agent, you'd have to think that they will have to be blown away to accept an extension. If you're committed to him LT, you make the deal this offseason so you can make the most of his prime years. Otherwise you risk him having another break out year next season and having to pay him more to stay while also losing an additional prime year. Waiting to resign him as a FA, you also only gain a compensation pick. Say the extension talks don't get anywhere, you have to explore trade options and get back a piece for the LT or to trade to acquire a guy like J Upton. Perhaps the Rangers decide to let Hamilton walk- they aren't likely to move Kinsler into CF and their other OF won't be able to replace his production. They also have a log jam in the infield with guys like Profar and Olt coming up and Beltre, Young, Andrus, and Kinsler committed long term. Maybe an Ellsbury for Olt swap (or a similar type of deal with another team) would be a possibility. Either way, the direction of their offseason and LT plans (outside of managerial or upper management changes) start with what they do with Ellsbury.

Gordon and Hosmer from the Royals are both intriguing to me. Both are under control through 2015, with Gordon under contract for a lit $11 M per season and Hosmer Arb eligible for the first time this offseason. Just wondering how the Sox are going to be able to trade for BOTH an elite starter AND a young, talented, cost controlled position player. If I had to pick one to acquire through FA, it would be the position player. This organization has an awful track record recently evaluating FA pitchers. Of course they aren't going to find the young, talented, cost controlled position player in FA. Instead, they will find a plethora of guys who won't command top dollar but can play adequate defense and can be suitable 5/6 hitters (Napoli, Ross, etc).

Right now, we are looking at getting the 10th-12th pick in the draft next year. There are several teams in the NL (Phillies, Mets, Marlins, and Padres) who could possibly finish with a better record than us. I don't see us falling behind Cleveland, KC, or Minnesota. At best, we end up with the 7th or 8th pick in the draft next year. Draft position is something I want to very rarely speak of again when trying to bring a positive light to the end of a season.

I agree he needs to show more but let's give him some time. If you think about it, he really hasn't had a ton of professional AB until this year. He's had injury issues that kept him from getting more AB lower in the minors. He's obviously not Pedroia with the bat, but Pedroia took awhile to show improvement at the plate when he first came up in 2006 and into early 2007. And we all know what happened after that. Let's give the kid as many AB as possible and look for improvement in the approach, not necessarily at the stat line.

Good to see V giving the kids consistent AB. :thumbsup:

If that was their strategy with Crawford, their strategy with Hamilton should start with 4 years $15 M. If the market doesn't develop, you sign him at a reasonable rate for short years. If the market develops as it should, you maintain your due diligence and maintain yourself as a presence. I can tell you that despite the reports of Profar taking over at 2nd and Kinsler moving to the OF, they will make a push for Hamilton to stay. I'm not sold on Kinsler being an option in LF or CF, both of which are a lot of ground to cover in Arlington. Cruz is under contract for next season already, and they already have the DH spot used by Young and Beltre when he needs a day off.

Crawford is a great example of what could happen to Hamilton if he came to Boston. Think about it... For years, Crawford killed the Red Sox while he with the Rays and put up above average numbers on a team that nobody cared about (as did Hamilton, until the Rangers started winning and people began to care about them). Crawford comes to Boston where he is paid to be a $20 M, average 5 WAR player similar to what the OP suggested a player getting paid that much is worth. And it turns out to be a colossal mistake. Fans, media, other teams fans all came to the same conclusion "wow, he really doesn't fit what their team is all about and many of his skills will be reduced. His superb defense and range in the OF won't be needed with LF at Fenway. They are a team that doesnt like to steal all the time when they get players on at the top of the order. Don't they already have that type of player in Ellsbury at half the cost, etc" While Hamilton is far more gifted and talented than Crawford will ever be, like Crawford, can't be expected to consistently fit the mold of what the Red Sox do best when they win. He has injury issues, he will be north of 32 years old by the early part of next season, he has documented issues of addiction relapses, etc. It doesn't take a "private investigator" to figure out the risk that comes with Hamilton.

My hope is that the Sox kick the tires in Hamilton and use their influence to drive his price up for the Rangers or whichever other team is willing to take a flyer on him. Having seen him play on a regular basis since 08, I can tell you the issues people have with him are not out of context. What people from the outside may not realize about him is that he can be an incredibly streaky hitter. Ive mentioned it on other threads, but he has had month long stretches where he has done nothing with the bat. Here in Texas, the media and fans are much more forgiving than in Boston and his low streaks are not as noticed as they would be in Boston. More recently, he went through a horrible month of July and it garnered more attention than his past droughts because more people here are following the Rangers. In Boston, where following and constructively criticizing the team are part of the baseball culture (rather than artificially present in good times here in Texas), Hamilton will get questioned and scrutinized much more heavily than at any point in his time in Texas. Not to mention he will be paid to be a leader and, similar to Agon, he does much better when there are leaders around him and he can just go out and play. Coupled with the other issues that have already been addressed in this thread, Hamilton would be an expensive and immovable mistake for a player that is already leaving his prime. The only exception I would make would be if he was willing to sign at less 5 years with an AAV of $15 M or less, which he won't do.

Is there any doubt Lavarnway should not be the starting catcher next year? Even if he doesn't hit 25 hr, his production at the plate will far exceed what Salty has given us.

The Angels bullpen hasn't exactly been stellar this season. Would be nice to get a run or two this inning.

Buch escapes the inning with the lead intact. Had to get 4 outs thanks to Kalish but what a play by Lavarnway. This is how an a 1 or 2 pitcher is supposed to pitch most nights out. When he doesn't have his good stuff, he keeps you in the game and gives you innings.

What a play by LAV!