sk7326
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Everything posted by sk7326
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The umpires rely on the catcher much too much for what is a strike and what is not. A catcher positioning himself 3 inches off the outside corner does not suddenly make that pitch a strike. Similarly, missing that spot right down the middle does not make the pitch a ball.
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I am amazed how normalized the idea of an umps interpretation of the strike zone being a legit thing ...
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in praise of the man - from (for me) the one weekly national baseball column I make a point to find: http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/05/31/the-30-power-rankings-week-eight-padres-marlins-white-sox-red-sox In his final season, he has (to date) been far and away the best offensive player in the entire league.
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Indeed - but we are dealing with mature technology. I mean Pitch F/X can do a reasonable version of it right now.
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For now the pen works - stuff might play up, and not having to turn the lineup over can help too. Also with Wright in the rotation, another long man is good to have. Honestly what the rotation needs is - frankly, what we were expecting from Wright. Decent bulk with perhaps a little more than that. One expects Ervin Santana to be a target as the season unfolds, especially if a Julio Teheran gets too rich. (although he is the clear #1 to me among the targets)
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Takes about 600 PAs to actually start to hone on the guy's actual level ... which is inconvenient since it's time teams don't have. But 1/3 of the season is decidedly much too small.
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Maybe the Best all-around out field the Sox have ever had?
sk7326 replied to bosoxmal's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
When I made the assertion about athleticism, it did apply to the whole starting unit ... ironically, the team which actually hired Pablo Sandoval has the most un-Sandoval like lineup in team history. You have RB/WR types at every position (except for C where Vasquez seemed bred in Middle Earth specifically to do this job). Rice was a bad outfielder his entire career - but like Manny, he was a bad outfielder who knew how to play Fenway ... which as we've learned has little to do with more general outfield defense traits. Lynn clearly was an all-timer before his body broke down, and Evans' Hall of Fame case is quite good compared to a lot of guys who are actually in the Hall (including Rice himself). -
Would take too long ... and the umps would never go for a system like tennis where you could challenge a human ball-strike call. Here is my argument - umps calling balls and strikes is an impossible ask. It is why pitch framing catchers can fool them so frequently, and why they often give up on off speed pitches which end up in the strike zone. They also frequently miss balls which miss the catcher's target but are still strikes. The strike zone is defined by rule. This doesn't mean a home plate ump is unnecessary. There are still swing related calls which really are judgment calls. And of course, there are plays at the plate.
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.288 BABIP which has been slowly catching up to his career norms. Walking a bit less than normal but not crazy. And somehow on a 5 win pace regardless. Bradley's streak and Bogaerts' MVP-level start make it look worse than it is.
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Maybe the Best all-around out field the Sox have ever had?
sk7326 replied to bosoxmal's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
I don't know about that. Red Sox have had a long history and the Gold Dust Twins are a special crop. That said, in my 30 years following the team, this is the best set of athletes they have fielded. We bring the sort of just crazy "would letter in just about any sport" sort of across the board athleticism that I remember from say the 2008 Rays. -
automated balls and strikes is so obvious common sense it will never happen. It's not that the umps are bad at the job - it is a job that is impossible to do well.
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His 2008 season was one of the best shining examples as to where first-pass pitching stats are immensely unhelpful.
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You build around the ballpark you have
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You're right - although there are large gaps in D1 too. High-A compares favorably to the top college conferences for sure (SEC, Pac-12). It's why it would have been a bigger red flag for Benintendi to struggle at Salem, than it was a great sign that he mauled it. That said, Espinoza doing what he is doing in a full season league as an 18 year old is great, the way it was for Devers. Devers is struggling in Salem, yes - but he is still younger than the first high schooler taken in the most recent draft.
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I see your point - but Ross was essentially in the Vasquez position. We already have the "receiver who can hit a little hopefully" gig covered.
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Young still has value backing up both corners and being an emergency CF (since Betts is the first backup there). I think when Holt comes back, I'd consider moving Hanigan, and just give Swihart those one or two starts per week.
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There is an interesting correlation with line drive rate, but it's not perfect. (Like 0.3 or so when I checked, positive but noisy) I think the flipside is a bit more controllable - that pitchers can control BABIP better than hitters can.
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Maybe. I would like Farrell though to still rotate him through behind the dish while he is up.
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It's a matter of believing in Correa's power - and that it will grow (because I think it is more likely than not he will have to move to 3B inside of 5 years) to a franchise anchor. Lindor is going to be able to stay at SS. The power potential is probably going to top off at the 10-15 HR level, but with outstanding batting and on-base numbers. Bogaerts to me is kind of the best of both worlds - I think the power is coming (the ISO this year is starting to get back to where he was on the farm) and he has been just stunning turning himself into someone who can legitimately stay on the hot corner much longer than anybody anticipated. I'd go Bogaerts-Lindor-Correa with a watchful eye towards Addison Russell, who has the tools to be every bit as good although the bat has not arrived yet. I do not deny having Red colored glasses here.
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Vasquez is hitting enough to let his glove play - this is most likely what he is - and that makes him a solid starter. Now what the article says about Swihart is absolutely right. If Swihart grows into an above average catcher - he has a much higher ceiling because of a much better bat. And yes, it makes sense while Swihart is up here to rotate him behind the plate from time to time. There is a solid chance that he will have a better career than Vasquez. But I don't blame the Sox for making the "right now" decision here. I also have serious issues with the article's thesis that Farrell is behind the itchy trigger with the kiddos. That is/was above his pay grade.
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Or he can leave if they tell him to go home - the contract is getting paid
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Why? If he's not seeing the bigs this year (and since Swihart jumped over him and undoubtedly if he can Benintendi will), he is just a waste of a roster spot. Sunk cost - no point worrying about the money.
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Yeah, this. Only question I had was whether they had to waive him again - not that anybody would claim him.
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Yes, and I do think with pitchers WAR, the bulk innings have value in and of themselves - something Buchholz has generally not produced.
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Well, I'd put it another way. Looking at 2015 Fangraphs WAR for pitchers among qualified starters There was 1, with FIP There were 14 with FIP between 2 and 3 There were 36 with FIP between 3 and 4 So as you move up the performance ladder - it becomes much much harder to extract that value - it is a scarcer commodity and so it should cost more asymmetrically. So you'd hope for the "ace" to be about a run better.