Jump to content
Talk Sox
  • Create Account

sk7326

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    7,663

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

Boston Red Sox Videos

2026 Boston Red Sox Top Prospects Ranking

Boston Red Sox Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2025 Boston Red Sox Draft Pick Tracker

News

2026 Boston Red Sox Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by sk7326

  1. sk7326
    I am not sure if his bat plays - at least as well as other replacements. Swihart makes sense starting at C like Posey and Mauer - you play him at C first because of how incredibly valuable a guy like that can be given the steaming pile that represents normal catcher production. The position change makes sense to keep his bat in the lineup and prevent injury - but no need to do it early.
  2. sk7326
    His 2014 fundamentals were right in line with career - the dropoff in either basic or advanced numbers was small. The health issue is considerable.
  3. sk7326
    Scioscia actively cost his teams wins with that decision btw, since there were potted plants who offered more offensive promise than Mathis. Swihart tracks to be - not an adequate defender - but a good to very good defender who might be athletically overqualified to catch. That is a different kettle of fish. I like both guys btw, but if you have two quality young starting catchers, hoarding them is not the best way to make your team better. Book on Cecchini is not written yet, but the move to AAA definitely slowed his momentum. If he is the best 3B prospect in the org, it's because he is close to the bigs. He can probably be a solid 3B for somebody, but he has very much moved (if he was not there already) into the "trade currency" bucket.
  4. sk7326
    Optimism is great ... What is funny is that I think you both overrate the quality of Ellsbury's season and overrate the upside. What is funny about Ells' career is that in his Boston incarnation, there wasn't a lot of in between. He has either been a fairly disposable starter (above replacement level but still mostly empty stolen base calories) or one of the league's best players (2011 he was the AL's best position player and last year he was right there among the "non Trout" guys). Last year tracks pretty well with his "mean" season. He sacrificed some OBP for power - which makes sense given his new full time gig at the lefty paradise - and was still an impactful runner. If there is upside mined for Ellsbury it's probably not that much. For what the Yanks paid him it's a good value (the Yankees have a high $$/win after all) but I question the potential for it to be more. McCann's body was older than his age anyway - I'd expect more like this. He was the best catcher on the market, but the red flags were abound. He'll be better - possibly because he couldn't be worse.
  5. sk7326
    He is - I was not expecting to land a guy like that for a "throw-in" ... but for a team with the Red Sox resources, I think Johnson firmly lands in the "trade currency" pile. For a team with the Red Sox resources and time horizon (in that management wants to contend every year), the number of prospects who aren't is very small.
  6. sk7326
    Shorter haul for a better pitcher who has pitched in more difficult places. The injury is worth noting, although he has been notable injury free aside from that - I don't know the answer there, but he is old and the risks that come with it. If he could be had for a couple of prospects nobody will really miss (Merrero and Johnson qualify, Cecchini I think might, but I admit it is a minority view), I'd be ok with it.
  7. sk7326
    That might be harder to sell - I think Philly would want one likely solid starter. Cecchini fits that bill to me. He's blocked here both ways ... Sandoval at the big league level, and (I know this makes me sound like Dojji, sue me) the possibility of Devers gaining on him quickly.
  8. sk7326
    That is about what I'd be thinking. I'd be willing to talk a higher level arm (Barnes, Johnson - someone closer to the bigs) if Philadelphia wants to help with the contract.
  9. sk7326
    Napoli also only belongs in the list for health reasons. Statistically he was basically the exact player he always was. He even got on base more. Napoli will always look worse than he is because of the particular "feast or famine" nature of his production.
  10. sk7326
    The conversion to LF will be fine for Ramirez - the orientation to the wall will be tricky, but that is the case regardless. Carl Crawford was by all accounts the best defensive LF in the game and he was ho-ho-horrendous in LF at Fenway. Of course, Jim Rice from days of yore was the reverse. The challenge with LF for Ramirez will not be playing it competently - but whether he it is successful in keeping wear off of him. His bat will play at the more offensively demanding position - no doubt. But will they be able to help him get 600 PAs out of it. I think the outfield glut helps in this pursuit - Ramirez can and will (I'd hope) spot Papi against specific lefties I'd think (just to optimize the pieces they have).
  11. sk7326
    And even so - Porcello is only 26. Nothing about his fundamentals were particularly hokey (you know BABIP, K Rate, FIP etc) and at his age you could at least chock it up to genuine improvement too. Same with Holt although his performance is a bit more of a career outlier. (high BABIP, but he has a high BABIP careerwise, granted not a ton of PAs)
  12. sk7326
    What IS interesting this year - is that the team has almost no regression candidates (aside from Betts maybe - although given his age, I might be wrong). There was a large team wide trend of underachievement.
  13. sk7326
    It will be interesting - the offense was genuinely bad last year - worse than Boston's (granted by a run). There have been no real personnel upgrades on that end - and fewer reasons for positive regression. The pitching moves, especially in the back of the bullpen help. Run prevention is what allowed them to squeeze 84 wins of blood out of a rock.
  14. sk7326
    I don't think he's at AAA for long - but the glut of OF needs to be solved, and putting him or Betts down is the simplest move that doesn't impact the 40. And if you want a baseball reason, nothing Castillo has done warrants bumping Betts.
  15. sk7326
    I am pragmatic here - when in doubt, the odd man out is the one with minor league options. Victorino and HanRam are sufficiently risky healthwise that Castillo will get his chance.
  16. sk7326
    Predicted Depth Chart: I have not looked enough at the pitching staff, so I will defer on that. But assuming we carry a 12 man staff ... the 13 regulars C: Vasquez, Hannigan 1B: Napoli, Craig 2B: Pedroia 3B: Sandoval, Holt SS: Bogaerts LF: Ramirez CF: Betts RF: Victorino, Nava DH: Ortiz Obviously much can change ... and I expect it will
  17. sk7326
    Those are all Bobby V faults - not making the best of a situation where he disagreed with his bosses. He feuded with his own assistant coaches - and the idea that he didn't hire them clearly does not fly - most people don't get to choose their co-workers. I am as sympathetic to the horrible hand Bobby got dealt as anybody - no coach could have won with the injury problems the 2012 Sox had. He did a horrendous job anyway.
  18. sk7326
    Oh I think luck has a lot to do with it - but I do think bullpen quality helps if you are playing a lot of close games. It's not a magic bullet, but could contribute to more positive results than just coin flips.
  19. sk7326
    Spring Training - at least the stuff we see - proves zero. The decisions about who plays in the outfield the last two seasons were pretty strong reflections of that. As far as I can tell, Farrell and Francona did not run spring training like a kiddie camp - they treated the players like bosses treat employees in lots of actual real jobs. What Bobby did was just weird.
  20. sk7326
    To be fair, that we don't know anything is always true - and without idle speculation there'd be no two-bit internet Red Sox forum. You are right of course - there is considerable projection involved in rosy predictions for 2015. Given you are betting on young guys getting better, the projections are a wee bit more likely than betting on old guys getting better. But it's not like 2013 - where you were just hoping nobody got hurt again. This will be a fun season - should reveal more about what sort of boss Farrell really is.
  21. sk7326
    I was spitballing some - frankly if either of them move, it will probably be in the spring. As currently built they have 6 legit starters - and could upgrade the infield potentially a little bit. The 2 wildcards and economic health of baseball don't mean that there won't be sellers - it just means that we can't sit there and pick them out right now (unlike say the NFL or NBA). I've previously noted in my mind there are only 6 teams that can't at least squint hard at their roster and see a playoff team: Minnesota, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Colorado and Arizona. I'd add Milwaukee too but they probably wouldn't. But we also that 24 teams ain't makin the field. Give some padding for teams who will die trying - and it means there will be another half dozen teams or so who will be selling too (or who will at least pick up the phone if you are buying).
  22. sk7326
    Tigers and Rangers are the best candidates - Tigers specifically, barren system and an old team that could get old fast
  23. sk7326
    Oh I agree to a certain degree- the 2 wild cards makes it harder to cut bait, but not impossible. There are more creative options too maybe - could a package around Cecchini and some additional prospect stuff be able to get Fister or Zimmermann given the Nationals glut of starting pitching ... who knows
  24. sk7326
    Along with the apparently reduced price for pitching. Think about it - when we were wee lads, the Red Sox got two cornerstones for the next decade for a mediocre closer at the deadline. The Rays moved a defending Cy Young Winner WITH A FULL SEASON OF CONTROL for a package which was not all that much better. (and yes, I like Smyly too, but you get the idea) I am sure many wonder what a bunch of good but not great controllable outfielders and a bunch of decent but not superstud prospects could fetch - the answer based on last year's trade deadline could very well be more than you think.
  25. sk7326
    Victorino starts in right. His body can barely handle RF, so CF is a non-starter. Craig toggles between LF, RF and 1B - and the Sox use certain lefty matchups to sit Papi and give Hanley a working rest day at DH.
×
×
  • Create New...