sk7326
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Everything posted by sk7326
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.873 OPS over 7 series vs .962 over 17 series. Ortiz has produced more memorable moments than any player I can remember, and he had lots of chances to do so - he also was legitimately bad in 4 of the 8 pennant chases he was part of. But the peaks are remarkable - and very well should get him into the Hall with the other stuff. The Mariners were outstanding for a lot of their time there - just couldn't beat the Yankees in October, something which happened to a lot of teams.
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It helps to have better teammates than your opponent. It is funny how narratives like "putting them on your shoulders" persists despite all the insistence on ideas like "chemistry", "clubhouse" and "coming together as a team".
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I am the first to consider it - and I've always noted he was the better player (you can't unsee Ortiz' dip in 2009). But Ortiz has many more narrative points, while also being a darn good DH. So him getting in first is defensible - and ultimately good for Martinez as it would validate the DH as a HoF worthy job (as well it should be).
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I think that mattered less. LF was doable between Holt, Young, Hill and Shaw and Ramirez (just wanted to see if you were reading the last one). If Benintendi were expected to have Christian Vasquez' bat, the position of need would be staffed another way. Playing LF at Fenway itself is something which stands outside of being a good outfielder. Carl Crawford is a primo example here. Only way to do it is to do it.
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They ran out of pitchers, that's it. That is a GM/spaghetti monster problem. 2011 was not Tito's best year. But 2010 might have been - so the idea that it all went awry that quickly is batty.
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Riverside is an easy place for someone from the South - who does not have to do a ton of contested parking (and on the Green Line!). I've found if you are ambitious, garage parking in Central Square is doable and less onerous than other parts of the city (straightforward shot from the Pike).
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The accusations with Francona resembled stuff I heard when I lived in Georgia about Bobby Cox. He did not do a lot of showy, "managery" things - like call lots of bunts, hit and runs, steals, ornate lineup shifts. But - in the long run - letting good players play is a fairly straightforward, high percentage way to be. And certainly Francona did not curtail Ellsbury's itch to run when he was here.
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I think that is where we disagree - actively engaging in the game is what fans do. The appeal to authority here is a bit milquetoast - especially when the manager deviates from something fairly obvious. After all, Grady's decision in 2003 was wholly indefensible - even if it worked! Personally, the on-field stuff is about 20% of the job to me ... which means that being meh at it is not fatal to your overall performance. That does not mean that it does not matter, and sometimes it matters a lot. Grady, Ron Washington pulling the infield at an inexplicable time in the World Series.
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Good thing here is that the Red Sox can wait to make the decision on Moncada - they can easily manipulate the roster to keep him playoff eligible without being on the 40-man at the end of the month. My guess - with no insight of course - is that Benintendi came up first because his craft/approach might be more advanced than Moncada. Anybody who saw the homerun at the futures game knows the physical talent with Moncada.
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Kinsler and Pedroia are fairly close - I think Pedroia's actual peakiness puts him a shade above. Finished Top 10 MVP 3 times to Kinsler's zero (and obviously won it) and same number of All-Star appearances - and the two rings. Utley is a case where he just hasn't been very good the last 3 years or so. He was once arguably the best position player in the league - for me he is very tough. The edge Pedroia has is that he is still quite good, and a better Age 32 player than Utley was.
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I was more interested in your gross underrating of Francona than the rest. I think the Red Sox have generally been managed fine - if you define it as "not actively hurting the team". And so much of what a manager does is behind closed doors. I mean - Ned Yost and Ron Washington were comically bad managers tactically ... but they piloted teams which won back to back AL pennants. So they did some part of their job well - because it came out in the product. Farrell gets me mad at times - but then in 2013 he was tactically superior to Leyland and Maddon in head to head matchups. (having the hosses is nice too)
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With Pedroia the question is whether it falls off a cliff over glides down gently. Essentially when his hands have been healthy, he has been about 90% of his 25 year old self ... if he keeps that up for a couple more seasons there will be the bulk accumulation. What hurts Pedroia is the sudden growth of quality at that position. He is probably more like a Top 6 second baseman now, but still a legit top 20-30 position player generally. He and Cano do not have a monopoly on the position anymore - even if their actual production has not slumped that much.
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I always forget about him - 54.1 WAR over 20 seasons vs 49.4 WAR over 10. Ortiz will get in - when is an interesting question, based on the Hall reforming its attitude about the DH position (clearly they should be held to a higher offensive standard, but blackballing them makes little sense) - he probably gets in over Edgar Martinez if they break the seal on the position.
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http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/51372/dustin-pedroias-hall-of-fame-chances
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his strikeout rate is still absurd - control has been the issue when there has been a problem
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8/15 new city, new Dbags
sk7326 replied to Station 13's topic in Mike Grace Memorial Game Thread Forum
didn't kimbrel throw strikes once? -
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.
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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
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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.