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sk7326

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Everything posted by sk7326

  1. sk7326
    Schiling is a bit of a pompous blowhard. But the bloody sock can never be taken away.
  2. sk7326
    Oh I am not crying poor for them - or for anyone else ... what you can say about Tampa applies to the Yankees and Sox too. Business is doing great. Tampa and Pittsburgh are doing fine due to stuff that happened pre-rejiggered CBA (and a LOT of high draft picks). But you look at Kansas City - the system by lowering draft slot amounts and international pool money basically penalizes a rebuilding team for making progress. Rebuilding is only rebuilding if you are Houston apparently. (and they have taken good advantage of this so far) There has to be welfare for organizations since MLB is a cartel that needs its 30 franchises to be in some form of good shape. And MLB has done a nice job with it so far. But the current rules create a penalty for doing things well. Basically it was redone for true cheapskates like Reinsdorf to not look bad next to Tampa and Oakland.
  3. sk7326
    I do also have to second basically every Clemens start in 1986 and Pedro from 1998-2000. The titles are the best - I won't trade those in - but those teams did not have the sort of transcendent individual awesomeness that Pedro gave us for instance in his very best. This last decade has been marked by probably the most important Red Sox player ever (Ortiz) and the prime of a truly great player (Pedroia). Pedroia is great in a very fulfilling, Cal Ripken sort of way. But the buzz of a Pedro start, that was something super duper special. His 17 strikeout game against the Yankees is still the best game I've ever seen pitched.
  4. sk7326
    More from the Keith Law prospects package, from the guys who just missed the Top 100 http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10383592/allen-webster-dj-peterson-prospects-just-missed-top-100-mlb
  5. sk7326
    I can see that - although taking flak from fans (instead of his clients, say) is part of what he does well. Baseball owners, and I am old enough to have lived through proven owner collusion and an unfair labor practices charge, has a long rich history of trying to prevent players from being compensated. It's still pretty true - though the pie is much, much, much larger now. I do agree with Boras pretty strongly on the draft - but whatever.
  6. sk7326
    Best in the biz, though a mixed bag this winter. Only people he rankles are the Judge Smailses - which is a group that could use it.
  7. sk7326
    The current system? Aside from the millstone for free agents (and good ones, too) - it also removes tools for the smaller market teams to improve themselves. It's a worse draft pick for one thing. Allow trading picks and letting the market set itself is more sustainable. In general one of the things the last CBA negotiation did was take tools away from the Tampas of the world to stay competitive, between reducing compensation for free agent losses as well as restricting amateur bonuses. Drew made a mistake seemingly by not taking the qualifying offer - but in 2014 there is no reason to tie free agency and the draft - and there is less reason to not let draft picks be part of trade discussions.
  8. sk7326
    Current system will definitely be a key issue with the next CBA negotiation - I think getting the system abolished entirely paired with allowing trading of draft picks would solve all of the issues at the same time in a much clearer manner.
  9. sk7326
    It's impossible to pick them a month from now too. And when the playoff seeds are determined as well. I'd put the Tigers and Cards as the favorites in each league. (granted the former includes some of my general resistance to picking the Sox, just a tic I have as a fan)
  10. sk7326
    True - although when you think about the "curse", it was a curse because the Red Sox since 1967 have largely been good. There is no "curse of the Clippers" for instance. They have just been a mostly incompetent NBA franchise. And honestly, the Cubs have for the most part been pretty bad since 1908. Winning a world series, let alone 3 changed a lot of my perspective too. But I would definitely choose a run of 1986s (or put another way, the last 9-10 years for the Patriots) over any run of Butch Hobson years, even if they end with a ruined summah.
  11. sk7326
    I tend to think of 2003 and 2004 together ... it helps make peace with 2003, because from a story arc it made 2004 exponentially sweeter. The shame in 2003 is that we would have clobbered Florida. Remember we did play them in interleague, and ended up averaging 15 runs a game (including a 13 run first inning in a 25-8 win). Small sample sizes of course - but we could hit their pitching. For the Yankees it was a much tougher matchup - we matched up better with Florida.
  12. sk7326
    Coming back from 7 runs down, 7 outs left in the season against Tampa in 2008. The Hendu homerun in 1986. The 24 straight wins of Morgan Magic. Let's face it - fans can whine about the non-wins, but Sox have been one of the lucky franchises since 1967. Lot of heartbreak, but a lot of winning too.
  13. sk7326
    I think in 2011 the teams were also figuring out how to portfolio manage in the new slotting system, the balance of easy signs with risky upside. Merrero had an awful senior year but a terrific junior year. He went to a program with a really strong history of producing pros - including of course the Sun Devils' former undersized shortstop. I think they saw some projection, or at least a quick path to the bigs - they got neither. It's ok - 24th pick has a fairly low ROI to begin with. The draft SEEMS like a roll of the dice, and in baseball the "sure thing rate" is lower than other sports. But the top of the draft is still a very good predictor of pro success. Note how Tampa's system took off as they drafted high year after year, and the rankings have slipped as guys have graduated as well as they have stopped picking at #1. Nobody will bat 1.000, but some teams draft better than others and it matters.
  14. sk7326
    I think in 2011 the teams were also figuring out how to portfolio manage in the new slotting system, the balance of easy signs with risky upside. Merrero had an awful senior year but a terrific junior year. He went to a program with a really strong history of producing pros - including of course the Sun Devils' former undersized shortstop. I think they saw some projection, or at least a quick path to the bigs - they got neither. It's ok - 24th pick has a fairly low ROI to begin with. The draft SEEMS like a roll of the dice, and in baseball the "sure thing rate" is lower than other sports. But the top of the draft is still a very good predictor of pro success. Note how Tampa's system took off as they drafted high year after year, and the rankings have slipped as guys have graduated as well as they have stopped picking at #1.
  15. sk7326
    It's Farrell's job to say that. The Sox have to simultaneously develop and win - they are defending a title, and the public are gouged way too much for otherwise. If you could get Drew for 300 PAs and he'd be happy with that, why wouldn't you? Indeed, there is a non-zero chance that Bogaerts starts in Pawtucket anyway (we know he can work an at-bat, we don't know if he can crush mistakes, and could use those reps). That said, I understand why Drew is hesitant to take a deal with so little upside personally.
  16. sk7326
    The trade bait thing is one thing, but he is clearly a grown up about that. The trade market is much larger than the FA one - and there is a better chance to go to a contender later in the season. Mets don't have to pay the same draft pick price other teams do ... they brought in Granderson, so there is some use in a veteran holding a spot. Just collecting assets If he gets 2 years, then he and the Sox got exactly what they wanted from their marriage last year.
  17. sk7326
    First round pick is protected. Price is a third rounder - which is not nothing, but they could probably spin him for more at the deadline than the expected value of a third.
  18. sk7326
    I think Gammons is right here - Mets for 2 years is the likely answer. Makes sense for everybody, and there is a lot of posturing going around right now.
  19. sk7326
    This changes very little with Bogaerts or 2014 playing time. The thing is - if you are going to sign Drew, then getting him for 2 years is a must. Signing him for one year gets rid of the trade asset - and I suspect his market would be much larger via trade then via FA with a draft pick tied to him (I think he is more valuable with a reasonable salary and 1 year of control than as a pending FA). This why the Mets not signing him has surprised me - their pick is protected, and getting him for a 2-year hitch makes him a very useful trade chip later on.
  20. sk7326
    AL East: Sox, Rays, Yankees, Orioles, Jays Central: Tigers, Guardians, Royals, Twins, White Sox West: Rangers, A's, Angels, Mariners, Astros WC: Rays, A's Tigers over Rays NL East: Nationals, Braves, Mets, Marlins, Phillies Central: Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, Cubs, Brewers West: Dodgers, DBacks, Giants, Padres, Rockies WC: Pirates, Braves Dodgers over Nationals
  21. sk7326
    It tells you what the qualifying offer can do for some guys ... Drew was right in the heart of that cohort. Same with Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. I am surprised at the Mets here. Their first round pick would be protected and Drew at a decent salary is a pretty good trade asset to have - and the Mets have been pretty shrewd with trade assets in their rebuilding.
  22. sk7326
    This was pretty obvious. Dell is lucky NESN is sticking with her in any capacity at all - not that she would not have found a gig, but saves her the trouble. Even as a sideline reporter who was basically just rattling off social media questions - there is sufficient credibility issues when the relationship was revealed. Of course NESN given its ownership makes that position fairly empty - not like the network level with the Doris Burke's or Pam Oliver's who actually get interesting information during the broadcasts.
  23. sk7326
    Keith Law's Red Sox farm report: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10363490/american-league-east-top-10-prospects-team-2014-mlb Org Top 10 1. Bogaerts 2. Owens 3. Bradley 4. Cecchini 5. Swihart 6. Betts 7. Barnes 8. Webster 9. Ranaudo 10. Ball
  24. sk7326
    Keith Law's Red Sox farm report: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10363490/american-league-east-top-10-prospects-team-2014-mlb Org Top 10 1. Bogaerts 2. Owens 3. Bradley 4. Cecchini 5. Swihart 6. Betts 7. Barnes 8. Webster 9. Ranaudo 10. Ball
  25. sk7326
    Well the small sample size alert siren comes out for this. I noted both sucked pretty hard last October. But Drew IS a much better offensive player than Iglesias, and as such I'd rather have had him at SS. That neither he nor Iglesias did well in a 2.5 week sample of games (in Drew's case) says more or less nothing about the players as a whole.
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