sk7326
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Everything posted by sk7326
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There was a lot that smelled about the 38 Studios thing, both from the state and from him. That doesn't take away Game 6. I don't think he was out to screw anybody (just get a pile of money), but his choice of stakeholders to take care of says stuff about him personally. His Game 6 performance was heroic. But I don't require him to be a hero. After all, Spiderman is a hero. (the Hulk on the other hand is a skin condition)
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It was not a great crop for MVP that year (by bWAR). Justin Morneau though was one of the worst MVP choices of the last few decades. Johan Santana and former Red Sox Great Grady Sizemore were probably the best choices, with Ortiz having a very strong case.
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I think that is a fair sentiment. I also think that a DH's offense often has to be greater than a position player's offense because of defensive value and positional scarcity. That is basic team building - the way a big hitting CF (assuming he can play CF at a decent clip) is more valuable than a big hitting LF because they are just harder to find.
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Snubbed out of MVPs is a bit much. Other players who do offer major contributions in premium positions have a chance to add value in more areas (including the basic opportunity cost that comes with a good bat at a specific position). A DH has to do a lot to overcome that.
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To a point - but he uses the fame from said accomplishments to advocate ... he is a public figure, it is fair game to some extent.
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If you are a properly functioning adult - you can separate your feelings about the 2004 heroics and the general way he lives personally. Put another way, he can be an odious guy who sold out his own employees in a very dicey business deal ... AND a Red Sox hero ... all at the same time.
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Not much - but given how much influence a starter has in his games, the gap can get closed pretty easily. The pitchers value pitching is sufficient - often to match the overall contribution of a good position player. I agree mostly with the reliever thing - Sutter is not a good HoF inductee. The one-inning closer is a modern phenomenon, but one that has been around for 20 years and is here to stay. Rivera did it better than anybody - and by a wide margin. So he should get in. The others are much dicier.
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Well punished is not the right term. For instance, Mike Schmidt had a fairly similar offensive profile to Ortiz. But he created additional value playing a solid 3B that Ortiz could not. So that should matter. It is totally legit to let DH's in ... but it is also legit for the DH offensive threshhold to be high compared to a fielder, because there is no defensive contribution to weigh in. Ortiz and Edgar Martinez clearly pass that threshhold to me.
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No doubt. But I don't think it is wrong to have a higher offensive threshhold for a DH than for a middle fielder.
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I think your first choice is to see if Papi wants to come back. I am sure you will know whether the team has discussed it based on how amazing the Papi tributes are as the season rolls on. I know you want to go out on top, but I am sympathetic to what Bill Walton once said. You have the rest of your life to be old and unable to play.
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His career start has been proof that his success at Arkansas was legit - he can mash that level of competition. (SEC tracks fairly well to High A). Now AA will give us more knowledge about where he really is. As I've noted before, I think there is about a 20% chance he is up here to man LF.
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Absolutely - it is ok though to have a higher bar for a DH offensively than a different position.
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Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell are probably the best players not in (and who do not have the steroid cloud over them - for the record they should all be eligible if there is no failed test) ... and yes, Catfish is one of the shakier HoF'ers in history
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DD probably had input to the degree that he let Farrell play the right players. The org decided to let Castillo and Panda win or not win those positions instead of giving them away. I doubt Farrell wanted to play less effective players.
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Why would you do that. One issue is about administering the rules properly. I am amazed that folks get all bent out of shape about PEDs but not about umps being doing an essential job badly. Batters want a consistent strike zone - virtually nothing would change about the game aside from the horrible balls and strikes calls which you are not allowed to question.
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Strike zone is in the rule book - the technology is here to do something consistent right now. It is an imposible job for home plate umps to do. Following their success rate on mlb's gamecast is remarkably funny. You would still need home plate umps for swing/no swing, foul tips and plays at the plate. But we have technology to outsource the part of the job they are worst at. I admire that Vasquez is an elite pitch framer - but if you think of it, pitch framing is only a thing because home plate umpires for the most part are lousy at their job.
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Barry Bonds - I will leave the mic right here
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The Red Sox two biggest failings since the title were" A. Machinations with the starting rotation B. Not trusting their own evaluations, and just let the kids figure things out. Now the odds are strongly against Bradley being a .950 OPS guy the rest of the season ... but an onbase machine with an excellent glove was always on the table. Bogaerts is doing exactly what was predicted for him - although the shape of the performance is different (remembering coming up there was expectations of homerun power - based on minor league ISO and whatnot - and dicey defense ... instead it has been more gap power and he was worked to be a legitametely solid SS, not a 3B in hiding)
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You are right with some of this since I looked up some of the stuff ... they moved to Safeco middle of 1999, so he had a few good seasons within an offensive graveyard. He was the best hitter in a good lineup and actually compares quite favorably to the best hitter in the Red Sox lineup over most of Ortiz' peak ... Manny. Martinez had a great 1995, but he also had a great 1990-1992, seasons, once normalized for league and such were right in the same neighborhood as Ortiz' best seasons. Ortiz has given me more joy than any other Red Sox player (Pedro is the only one in the argument) ... and he gets particular credit for me for his 2010 and beyond career, when it looked like by the ALCS in 2008 and the entire 2009 season that the party was over.
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In 1995 and 1996. He played most of his peak in an offensive graveyard
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You would certainly evaluate a catcher's numbers differently than a 1B ... this is not that complicated. The "average" for the position is higher - so the 95th percentile goes up with it.
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I think so - mostly. Now while it is easy to say Lovullo had some magic fairy dust last season - their perking up last season coincided with them simply playing the right 8 guys on the field, which injuries kind of forced them to do. I am not sure how much credit Lovullo gets there. Further, he has been Farrell's top lieutentant for years - so I cannot really separate the two meaningfully. Anyhow, I think 2014 and 2015 was much more about roster composition and general philosophy about their kiddos. I don't think Farrell is amazing - tactically I have had real issues, although I imagine they were not bleeding wins - but when I think of the bigger picture, I do think the players have tried and played for him ... if anything they've pressed.
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Hell yeah it should. Aside from that hitting is a DH's single job - that there are different offensive norms for different positions is common knowledge. I agree there is positional discrimination by the Hall ... but DHs should be expected to deliver more than someone who can field, because there is only one place where he makes an impact. I am not treating it as a novelty - I am treating it like a specialist who should do a specialists job at a special quality.
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Martinez almost 20 fWAR, 14 bWAR more in 1100 fewer PAs. Between 1990 and 2003 his worst OBP year was .366 (Papi sprinkled in some less than great years - even if you don't include his largely wasted first 6 years in MIN). For a solid 5-7 years (basically took the mantle from FRank Thomas) as the AL's best hitter. Ortiz' longevity is striking and the homeruns are an edge. But Martinez was a better hitter - and a better fielder the rare times it mattered. The MVP voting difference is easily explained by 1) market size and 2) especially in Martinez' time, kneeling at the altar of RBIs. Ortiz has many more RBIs, but he also played in better lineups for the most part - and RBIs are really just a function of chances. I do agree with those who say DH is a legitimate position. Absolutely. And Martinez and Ortiz are HoF'ers to me because of that - in that order.
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Good teams have had bad tactical managers (the team that I came of Red Sox age - 1986 - had one). Happens all the time. Ned Yost is awful, but the Royals have won a lot lately.