sk7326

To me the bigger folly is why the pitchers are not running the bases as part of the drillwork - I don't like getting into coach micromanaging ... but in the era of 13 man pitching staffs, there is just not the luxury to burn a position player on a single pinch running episode - except for very specific circumstances. I'd make sure the starters actually had some comfort there because it is bound to come up in any sort of extra inning game.

Doesn't even have to - he is clearly the best HoF candidate on the team presently ... his career bWAR is 49.4 ... and the hall of fame tier is in the 60 ballpark there. You add the intangibles (one team his whole career, many all star games, a deserved AL MVP, two rings), I'd be surprised if he did not make it with two more solid seasons

The thing about MMQBing this is figuring out - what was the alternative. Burning a reliever? A different starter? Could you argue that Wright should not have taken an ambitious lead? It was weird to think that Wright would be faster than Ortiz (aside from the fact that most people under the age of 60 are).

What is his job? Honestly, they should just let it fly with him from the pen the rest of the way - I know there was some issue here with injuries.

He is too good to not start for somebody. Don't confuse "trade candidate" with "wanting someone to leave". Good players cost stuff. All I am doing is discussing some of that major league stuff.

Run differential during the season is a little screwy - since strength of schedule matters so much. But in the long run it fits better. The Orioles 29-9 record that season in one-run games was much screwier. It showed the next season where they were in many ways a better team but it did not show in the wins.

I suspect that will be the direction ... I also see Shaw as very much a trade candidate - a young, controlled starter is very valuable (same thing with Bradley)

Problem is Ramirez right now is not actually producing that well for a 1B. Now he has been fine given the production we get up the middle - but relative to position we have not gotten much out of 1B relative to peers.

Fascinating stretch here ... There is the make-up game today, and the 6 games against the teams we are fighting for Wild Card position. Obviously, an 0-7 is a disaster, but most likely we will end this week with the standings not changing a whole lot. But the big stretch to me are the 16 games that come after that: 4 at Tampa home for 7 (4 with Tampa, 3 with KC) 6 in California (3 at Oakland, 3 at San Diego) 16 straight against below .500 teams ... a really good chance to hulk up and perhaps get some real breathing room in this hunt.

1. Whomever it was is gone. Lucchino, Cherington whatever. 2. There was a bonafide case to signing him. The price was not wholesale ... but I understand the idea. Exceptional contact ability, a swing which sprayed the ball around and was built to do Wade Boggs like things with the Monstah. 29 years old - so you are getting more "prime" than you normally get via UFA. Defensively he was always solid before last season. Really now you have to either release him and just live with the damage - or let him rehab and see if there is anything left.

Run scoring is also a key talent - and he did that better than just about anybody. You wouldn't want to take that skill away either (to the degree that it and batting runs are skills i.e. not really)

Price has looked uncomfortable all year - not so much demeanor but the tinkering with his mound position and so forth. That being said, as noted before, his strikeout and walk rates are right in line with his career. This has all the signs of a location issue and not a stuff one. As such, I am pretty bullish on him figuring this out - whether it gets figured out this season is an open question.

Between the injuries, the ballpark switch and the quality of team behind him - some of this was inevitable. His numbers last year were not sustainable.

It certainly paralyzed Rickey Henderson's career.

We can't I am 38 - in the fandom I remember? McNamara - bad Morgan - good with the media, obviously would need help in hyper-information age ... but overall I liked him Hobson - let's move on Kennedy - could have been the best guy of them all, but really believed he was a great manager, which was the downfall Williams - really good in his way Kerrigan - Kennedy without the experience or ability to manage Little - in some ways the right manager at the right time after the Kerrigan disaster. But ultimately the Pedro decision was unforgiveable, and he never was able to fully grasp the notion of the committee bullpen. On one level a bit underrated by Sox fans, but his biggest sin was a mortal one. Francona - One of only two legitimate choices for the best Sox manager since 1967. Time will put him very much in the Anderson, Alston, Weaver, Herzog, Bochy level of the discussion. (I guess LaRussa - but he makes me angry). If he were your boss in your actual job (assuming he was qualified and trained) - he would be one of the best bosses you ever had. Valentine - probably a bit underrated by his time here. But he put very little effort into this, while retaining all the ego. Farrell - A solidly above average manager by the sorts of things you need a manager to do now. But there are definite holes, and tactically he could be better - but there are distinctly worse guys out there. I'd put him in the middle third of managers today.

Lineup shift impacts are small. While you don't want to leave anything on the table - the idea we have lost anything substantial with Bradley (or Betts) usage is not supported by reality.

And the +45 would be 3rd in the American League ... so it is not like those blowouts are wallpapering over a bad team. Bullpen needs more consistency - right now that has been the issue.

Whitaker is among the very top of the list of biggest HoF omissions ... not as big as Raines, but also less likely to get help ... Trammell also

The beauty of baseball is that a pennant is just 3 1/2 weeks of good baseball away. It is also why the league's best team only wins relatively rarely ... (like the 2013 Red Sox) This is not the league's best team - but it's baseball ... get in, see what happens. We know this team can hit - even if it is in a cold spell. The rotation has not been ideal, but it is good enough to churn out competitive starts. Bullpen is worrisome - a lot rests on whether Uehara can return (a lot of others fall into place then)

kimbrel is a bit easier - he just has not pitched much at all

That time we beat him by coming back from 3-0 down.

Quite the opposite (see Tim Lincecum 2012) - they need to look at him for multiple inning bridge work. Now he would not have stopped the bloodletting on Wednesday from the guys behind him ... BUT I think in that situation, you let Clay get you through the 7th as well.

In. It's all in front of us. The team will play the teams it needs to beat. I actually am okay with the rotation - somehow another, I think it is competitive. Now the bullpen needs to do its job - and without Uehara, that might only be done with some consistent multi-inning relief work. I think they need to think about Buchholz now less as a long man, and use him more in the 2012 Lincecum position to give them multiple innings.

You have to know you have a better answer - now it sounds like Lovullo would be one. But it's not like he is locked in a basement when these decisions are being made (if the decisions bum you out). And I am not sure he would be gung ho given the optics (basically stabbing his best friend in the back). One thing I do think he should do now is to - ducking a lightning bolt - start using Buchholz more as one of the real setup options. He has the best stuff of any of the relievers, and he has been effective the last few times out - and he can (or should) handle more than 3 outs at a time.

Player A clearly - you are getting the value nearly a full season earlier! Fact is - there are ways to address his struggles so the team does not go to pot ... maybe he has an adjustment period and so he has to be a defensive sub or a platoon bat ... which would not be ideal, but the team can get back to "before" without much difficulty