marklmw

What happened in last night game made absolutely no sense to me. Hitting AROD as the lead off hitter with the Sox ahead 2-0 in the 2nd inning was insane. If you want to send a message there are better times to do it. ... like with 2 outs or later in the game when you are ahead by 5 or when first base is open. Does anyone else feel the same?

Is the noodle dry or wet. The Sox did ok selling Inglesias at his high but the reality is that some teams (not many) can afford to have a slick fielding short stop with a slap happy .240 average. There will not be any pitchers on the Tigers staff unhappy about having Inglesias standing over their right shoulder.

As you all know by now ... I have a man crush on Ellsbury. He is the best lead off hitter in baseball now that Trout has been hitting 2nd or 3rd in the order.

Jose Abreu is a perfect fit for Boston. From what I have read he will give us everything we had in Gonzalez and then some. An upgrade at SS with Bogaerts, upgrade at 1B with Abreu, and Upgrade at 3rd with a hitting Middlebrooks ... or Drew at SS and Bogaerts at 3rd. Perhaps Clay pitching 30 games next season ... Boston will be awesome.

Will KC be in position to compete for Shields services in 2015? I doubt that they will be.

I think that Management made a huge mistake bringing Middlebrooks up and not Bogaerts. Although Middlebrooks is hitting for average Bogaerts would have been more fun to see play.

Mark Buerhle is a piece of s*** ... throws junk all game long ... 6 inches or more outside being called a strike and that change up ... from 80mph to 60 ... this game SUCKED

I cannot believe the zone this umpire is given Buerhle tonight. The Amica pitch zone is showing pitch after pitch a good 6 inches outside called strikes ... the Sox players are puzzled.

This game sucks

To bad about Kalish ... he made one of the most athletic catches I had ever seen.

Yeah, Gomes is ok, Nava, Carp, probably only keep 2 of 3. although Carp can play 1B. I think that the Sox let Napoli go. What is new with Kalish? ... guy is a stud athlete but had bad luck with injuries. I would not mind bringing Drew back for 2 more years ... solid glove decent bat. Middlebrooks, Bogaerts ... lot to work out.

One thing I am certain of, Ellsbury will never ever be put in right field. Playing him at left in Fenway is fine due to his weak arm. Last night a ball landed on the warning track in left ... cost the Sox the game ... Ellsbury would have caught that ball in his back pocket. I do think that an outfield of Ellsbury, Bradley, and Victorino would be very strong and perhaps Sox dealing Gomes.

Has anyone noticed Mike Carp's 2013 numbers? He is sporting an OPS of .933. If you pro-rated his At Bats to mirror Napoli's (Carp has only 162 AB's) Carp would have 20 hrs. and 72 RBI's ... possibly more if hitting behind Ortiz. just saying.

You got that right!

Are you talking about Ryan Braun who has been using PED's and will not be using them again, or Giancarlo Stanton who is batting .230 something. Jacoby has 42 - SB's with only 4 - CS's. He also can be counted on to hit .290 to .310 with OBS of .360+ Also, take a look at the stats of well known speedsters and you will find that they had some pretty good numbers between ages 30 & 36. Jacoby could easily add to his OPS if he was not playing center field. Hell, he may even add to his SB numbers. I am amazed that Sox fans feel this way about Ellsbury.

Satisfied with Bailey ... who is satisfied with Bailey.

I have to respectfully disagree. When you look at Ellsbury's numbers this year and in 2011 you are not looking at the fact that he plays Center Field. If he were playing left field now you would still be judging his net worth by his offensive numbers would you not? Why shouldn't Boston pay Ellsbury 110m/6 if he the best lead off hitter in baseball. (Trout has been hitting 2nd & 3rd as of late), Carl Crawford is making 20m+ per playing left field and he is not in Ellsbury's league. Sox have lots of options by keeping Ellsbury, giving JBJ another year of seasoning in Pawtucket, or just having Ellsbury around to play center if there is an injury to JBJ or giving JBJ a night off. Sox paid 20m for Dice K over 5 years and the organization is still alive and well. This is nonsense not to keep Ellsbury. With a lot of rookies coming up over the next 3-4 years and shedding some of the waste next season paying Ellsbury 20m per is only 10m more than they pay him now. Another way of looking at it is this .... are you going to let a home grown product like Ellsbury go someplace else over 2 or 3 million per season if you only value him as a 17 or 18m per kind of guy? Ellsbury is 29 right now ... he is in his prime due to the time missed being injured.

I have to disagree with your logic. After Ellsbury signs a 5-6 year deal, the team he signs with can play him wherever they wish. He already has his money. If he is fortunate enough to be moved to left field it only extends his playing career which would be a good thing for him.

Carp's numbers are not bad considering he has few at-bat's and he has not been hitting in the 5 spot. I would give him a couple of starts.

An outfield of Ellsbury, Bradley, and Victorino would be a very good defensive outfield. If the Sox can fix, 1st & 3rd base for next season then we can certainly afford a light hitting CF in the 240 - 250 range. The left side can be Drew, Bogaerts or Bogaerts, Middlebrooks. I think that James Loney should be considered for 1b. He is only making 2m now and acquiring him will improve the Sox and harm TB. Sox have another great 3B prospect at AA in Garin Cecchini, 3B, Red Sox: Age 22, just replaced the injured Joey Gallo on the roster, drafted in the fourth round in 2010 from high school in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Line drive hitter with superb plate discipline and moderate power, hitting .358/.475/.545 this year between High-A and Double-A. Combination of high walk rate with relatively few strikeouts stands out. Maybe Bogaerts, Cecchini with Middlebrooks at 1B. Lots of options. I am not concerned about scoring runs next season as I am about enhancing our rotation and bullpen ... which I think we have a lot of talent in our farm system for this fix also.

I am not sure that 80% of his numbers would = 80% of his fWAR. My point is that Ellsbury has a very high ceiling that few players are capable of reaching. I think that if he was moved to left, he would have more legs, more strength throughout the season and thus steel more bases, and hit more HR's. Maybe Bradley Jr. is ready to play center ... you make a good point based on his numbers. He can bat in the 9 spot. Give Ellsbury 6 years at 110M with club option for 7th year and good things will happen. Ellsbury might be the greatest all around athlete the Sox have had in 40 years.

Could not agree more. They should have called up Bogaerts ... if he did not perform as expected there would be no shame in sending him back down for more seasoning and call WM up.

The word is out ... run on the Red Sox. Pitchers are partially responsible but the catcher is the QB and he can see when a toss over is necessary. It would be awesome to have a catcher that can occasionally throw someone out.

JBJ is not ready to be the starting center fielder for the Boston Red Sox. I doubt that is going to change much 7 months from now.

Yeah, but reality is that Victorino will be in a Sox Uni for 2014 & 2015. He is batting in the 2 spot and plays good defense. JBJ is probably a year away so we can talk about him for 2015.