sk7326

Sox system is loaded. It is one of the weird things about the Cherington record. If you did not know the Red Sox finished last in 3 of his 4 seasons (say, all you knew is that they missed the playoffs) ... you'd see what he left and think he did a uniformly amazing job.

Makes sense. He is too young for the Arizona Fall League - Gulf Coast season is over. Sox want him to pitch more.

They can't move Benintendi except as a Player To Be Named Later this offseason. Espinosa is moveable - for the right deal - just because of how young he is and how far from the bigs he is, and the risk associated with pitchers generally. Anybody below AA is moveable for the right deal, but I agree with you that those 4 all have some real promise - although Benintendi is currently conquering competition that was better than what he saw in the SEC.

I don't know - and if you think in terms of 5 men for 162 games, there is a lot of hoping. Basically Miley can deliver a slightly better version of what Ryan Dempster produced - or for that matter Tim Wakefield. That means he probably should not be starting in a World Series game - but he can be invaluable for managing the marathon. As you noted he is a trade asset because he is priced very well.

Not a surprise - what you'd expect (the season AFTER the title is where the bump happens). What is funny is that alternating 1st and last place is probably the most profitable route. If you maintain a level, it becomes passe - see how unfondly seasons like 2008 and 2010 are remembered, for very little reason - aside from not winning a title.

Miley might be a strong bet too ... durable, can miss bats - for a back end, can do a lot worse

If they sign Price, it will have nothing to do with Greinke - separate decisions.

I think Greinke stays in LA. Cueto's elbow is scary. Zimmermann makes sense if the expectations are reasonable. The team could use an ace, but so could everybody else. A Zimmermann sort would help the rest of the rotation fall into place.

It was a decent acquisition. Not well priced, but 3B was so bad that a decent one was a huge improvement. The issue (if there one) was that the upside was not that great. Ramirez as a 3B had (and still has) a lot more ceiling.

Jonah Keri writing at the time had the most sensible take about the time - which I will paraphrase some since I can't find the link ... Ben's legacy is complicated, because there is a lot of losing - but there was a championship. Basically, it's three strikeouts and a grand slam. Also, four years that simultaneously produced a title, leaves the consensus top farm system in baseball - and one which has produced (if August is any evidence) a lot of guys who should be at least decent regular to much more than that (so it's not just speculation). He was also able to keep a lot of the staff and scouting which kept that party going - the smart people did not leave here like they did in Atlanta under Frank Wren (and then all immediately came back once he got canned). Stand that up in contrast to Seattle, which fired its GM, who both presided over less success and left less potential. Dombrowski has considerable work to do with the pitching staff obviously (the bullpen and top of the rotation). The cupboard is well stocked for one of these sort of management changes. Ownership is ultimately the key - if they value the development machine, it will persist because Dombrowski can surely do that. He has shown he can help the major league roster without hurting that much - which will be the big value add.

How are those connected? The post addressed the Gonzalez trade ... I read posts elsewhere about the trade which saved the season, which is a bit silly - the trade might have helped a little. Good players getting healthy help more. Management has a lot to answer for the last two seasons. The fans are spectacularly entitled. Both can exist at the same time. And yes, management really should not worry about what the fans think largely.

what is interesting is all of those crash and burns were (effectively) over one season. Boston is tough - but the franchise has largely cut bait very quickly. As it turned out Renteria (who was the best FA SS in that class) immediately went to being good again after being dealt. Panda there is a legit question at the time whether he was actually that good to begin with.

Rizzo for Gonzalez was a pretty solid deal at the time - the only time you can fairly evaluate a trade (of course Rizzo had a chance to be good, that's why the Padres dealt an elite hitter for him) ... (Rizzo had to be moved before he blossomed). But the pitchforks were out and so the deal that got the 2013 narrative going was made.

Relying on two rookies is tough - relying on a rookie and a 2nd year player is less tough. The issue with putting Rodriguez at AAA is that there is precious little for him to learn there - we know he can get AAA/AAAA guys out - but turning over a big league lineup, being resourceful - that is grown up stuff. The team needs some help externally - but the kids improving the way kids usually do (or for that matter 27 year olds), will cover a solid chunk of that.

Correlation != causation ... What is funny (and has been beaten to death) is the nature of Ben's miscalculation. Essentially Cherington built a team with the intention of basically having Toronto's story arc this season. Alas.

I think it's just trying to identify the best alignment ... Bradley is a great CF

I don't know about that. When they dealt those guys is was to not pay them - and to answer fan anger for a horrible season. (as it has turned out Gonzalez is a good player - maybe not $27M a year good, but good). Cherington got a couple of decent prospects for them, but it was an ownership salary dump. I think the franchise wanted to go with shorter contracts, basically. As it turned out they won the World Series because of uncommonly good seasons by Victorino and Uehara, and their best players actually playing baseball games (which was sorely missing in 2012). I think the management has been unrealistic about prospects, I agree - to a point. The idea was that the strong veteran core could maintain while the kiddies learned on the job. That part largely failed - mostly because Victorino broke down, and everything they tried at 3B failed, and their catcher situation went from a good one to a dumpster fire. Getting Ramirez and Sandoval smelled a lot like PR again - the team was a bad offensive team, sign the top two position FAs and watch the magic happen. It was not a crazy plan, but neither has hit. In particular, I would have preferred them simply signing Ramirez to play 3B.

Masterson's the obvious no. Johnson, Barnes and Miley are all guys I could see dealt (let's say probability above 1/3) Owens could be dealt in a sexier move (let's say 20%) Kelly will turn into a pumpkin and really should be fit for relief. In real life, bullpens should have some guys capable of pitching 100 IP, although they don't, and Kelly would be idea for something like that. Wright stays because he is a very valuable extra guy to survive a marathon If the Red Sox signed one starter who was some flavor of good (a true ace would be awesome, but let's say a Top 25 pitcher of any sort), the rest of the guys actually would fall into place into something competitive. Of course I am assuming Porcello comes back as - at minimum - the guy his early 20s indicated he was. The last two starts are a tiny sample, but at least there is evidence that he is a decent pitcher who has a bad year as opposed to an actual bad pitcher.

It's Boston - you don't play the options game with somebody who is one your five best starters. Nobody is starving. Now if you suggest sitting Rodriguez (and Owens to a lesser extent) to sign the 1995 Braves, I'm all in. But the threshhold of the starting five for him to sit is very high.

It is funny when some talk about athletes as human beings in one context (such as clutchy mcclutcherson) and as automotons in another.

Indeed - although he actually provided (in market terms) $13M or so of value this year before he got hurt ... the thresshold for him to be worth his contract is so low that even 20 starts a year at his usual level would ring the bell.

Tazawa and Uehara ... last injury was a freak one, and Uehara is still really good, and since his effectiveness depends on movement and command, one is bullish. He is not the superhuman force he was in 2013, but he doesn't have to be. That was one of the great "1-inning closer" seasons of all time. Other guys are hard to evaluate because of the starting. But a "throw stuff at the wall" approach to relievers is a generally sound one.

You know ... there is something to be said about a guy who wanted to come to Boston and was willing to change positions for it to happen - and is willing to try it again. For as bad as his season has been, you compare it to the international diplomacy required for the Yankees to have Derek Jeter, trade for a better shortstop and still have to keep the inferior alignment to manage egos. As far as Hanley worrying about his body - well, he is a guy who has been injured a lot ... so a bit of sensitivity is fair.

I defended the Drew signing too - the Sizemore signing less so ... they gave him a starting CF job on one month in the spring despite no other evidence he could play ... was a waste of many people's times. It wasn't like signing a Chris Young or somebody who could actually play big league baseball as a decent starter. And it cuts what you've been telling the kids. I think it cost Bradley reps for no real good reason. It is a striking contrast to the org of 2007 who saw how horrible Dustin Pedroia looked in a significant look in 2006 and said "he's our guy" and let it happen.

Since the best way for a team coming off of a playoff berth (and maybe World Series win, since baseball works like that) - in a market of a large number of people (and an always passionate NL market who has been waiting quite some time) - will trade cheap controllable pitching the season after the bounce.