sk7326
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Everything posted by sk7326
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It will be tough - as noted it is tough when 3 of Dombrowski's 4 first round picks have gotten hurt. Really the onus has to come on the development guys ... find those more raw guys (see Betts) with the right attitude.
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I do think something like this is why the Bogaerts thing is so interesting. There are good reasons to sign him vs trade him ... I can see both sides. As I've always noted - the Red Sox, who ask a larger financial commitment from their fans than any other team, absolutely should be held to a high standard by fans ... I understand how economics works (and how the prices fans are charged have only an indirect connection to player salaries) but I talk in terms of what the product the consumers should expect from this ownership.
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There has been a lot of bad luck with the top prospects Dombrowski has brought in. (injuries and worse) We'll see how it goes - especially on the international front.
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Sure - but DD also understands the year to year consistency and reliability of relievers is VERY low.
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Here is the thing ... it makes much more sense to say, resign Pomeranz (if you can get a shorter deal) than a lot of the other options. Healthy Pomeranz at least has legit middle-rotation ability. Now if the market for Pomeranz got overheated, that is another thing. But that is the easiest, most likely path to get some quality from the #5 spot.
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I HAVE seen failed closers - but the solution to a bad closer is relatively easy - cut bait and try something else. I mean, Fernando Rodney sorts really are a dime a dozen. As I've noted before Tampa for years just found decent closers by fishing through other teams' garbage.
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Here is the thing - if you don't have a reliever who can do what, say Rivera did throughout his career or Foulke did in 2004, it is a VERY highly substitutable position. The strategy of throwing tons of bodies at it was sound. Hell, for as bad as 2003 was, after churning through option after option - the bullpen was really good at the end of the season.
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I think it makes more sense to sign 2-3 relievers for the cost of a single Kimbrel. Between Herrera, Familia etc, there is a useful closer in there somewhere. The problem is that Kimbrel has shown no real sign of being a rellef ace sort - not with that walk rate.
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I always thought if the Red Sox wanted to make a bold move - trading Bogaerts THIS offseason was it. But that would be contingent on how they really feel about re-signing him. There is an element of calculated risk - you could probably have dealt him this offseason for real stuff (like a Top 100 prospect or two, with at least one being fairly close to the big leagues), but that possibility goes down steeply if he gets sold as a trade deadline hired gun. He is going to cost a lot of money - for the same reason Harper and Machado will get paid ... good players just entering who will be 26 on opening day just don't get to the UFA pool that often. Betts will be 2 full years older when he enters UFA - but 28 is still unusually young for a UFA. His swing is complicated and has a lot of ways to get thrown off ... but it was obvious what a year past the hand injury did for him. When he's healthy he's a 4-5 win player. Who wouldn't want that?
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The protection rules iirc were revised a couple of CBA terms ago which drained the pool a lot.
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I would not be surprised if there was a season or two where there is more dreaming than I'd prefer. If there is a season where this team looks like there is no realistic scenario which gets them into October, somebody screwed up.
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I would be very surprised if there was anybody in Rule V worth getting.
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There will be decisions ahead - the Red Sox have been in an amazing position for a few years. With a young core and good management, and an incredible amount of money - the team has no reason not to blunt lots of the "cliff" effects. This doesn't mean eliminate them. But for the whining Yankees fans make out of 2013-14, they were 84+ win seasons where there was a meaningful playoff chase for the summer. They have had some bad luck in replenishing the farm so far (injuries and worse) but there is still a decent amount of time for that to get somewhat better.
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Stump Merrill says hi.
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Devers is the starting 3B. Defense needs to get better, but he certainly is physically capable of doing it. He will be better offensively - heck, he was terrific with the bat against the team's toughest opponents.
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It's terrible. I mean - since the advent of player employment freedom (which made team building much harder than it was in the olde days) there has been only one team (Yankees 1994-2009) that has had a better 15 year run than this current Red Sox era. I will not be dishonest and say I don't care about the Yankees at all ... but I take very little solace in their losing. (2003 the only exception) I think of them very little relative to say, are the Red Sox winning.
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Look at the stupid "Yankees suck" chant ... no matter the time or place. You know who doesn't mean anything to me? The Yankees. They are a team to overcome ... just like all the other ones.
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There is pressure every year. The 2018 World Series will be quickly forgotten with a 5-12 start. It's just how Red Sox fans as a cohort are.
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Right - I'd list 2B as a non-problem. Between Holt, Nunez and whatever Pedroia can offer, there is more than enough floor to go forward.
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I'd like to talk about Brian Johnson for a second
sk7326 replied to Dojji's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
90-92 or whatever on the fastball is fine if you can locate it with elite secondary stuff and a good approach. Owens clearly was faulty in the latter. I was consistently into not giving up on him because his changeup etc got swings and misses from big leaguers. But you throw your fastball more than anything else, and if you can't locate that you're dead. I mean - for an extreme counterexample - Koji Uehara was able to dominate in relief with an 89-91 fastball. Elite secondary stuff and control gets you a long way. -
Merrifield is a major fluke rule candidate - though probably a decent starter. He has shown power in the bigs which he never sniffed in his minor league career - while not being a very good defensive 2B. And he's 29 already. I am happy taking a pass.
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I'd like to talk about Brian Johnson for a second
sk7326 replied to Dojji's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Right - Gabbard and Johnson aren't great stuff guys. But Johnson (at least) knows how to pitch - and has reasonably good command. That limits the upside to the 4/5 variety - but that's fine. He can succeed in the bigs as a command guy - as long as you are not expecting more. Owens had a wipeout change and a big league curveball. But without command or control, big league hitters can simply not swing at the potentially elite junk and sit on a fringe-average fastball. -
I'd like to talk about Brian Johnson for a second
sk7326 replied to Dojji's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Owens was a disappointment because he had major league stuff. He just couldn't throw strikes. -
At worst you are looking at $110M for 13.0 WAR ... which (amazingly) is actually more of a "meh" than a "loss"
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Good question - can he make sure that 2 of them don't get injured?