sk7326

it is amazing Gibson lost 9 games. But as noted above, it was a comically good pitching environment.

The top bWAR seasons for pitchers (not including the Dead Ball Era) 1. Dwight Gooden 1985 ... 12.2 WAR (24-4, 1.53 ERA, 2.13 FIP, 276.2 IP, 229 ERA+) 2. Steve Carlton 1972 ... 12.1 (27-10, 1.97 ERA, 2.01 FIP, 346.1 IP, 182 ERA+) 3. Roger Clemens 1997 ... 11.9 (21-7, 2.05 ERA, 2.25 FIP, 264 IP, 222 ERA+) 4. Wilbur Wood 1971 ... 11.9 (22-13, 1.91 ERA, 2.63 FIP, 334 IP, 189 ERA+) 5. Pedro Martinez 2000 ... 11.7 (18-6, 1.74 ERA, 2.17 FIP, 217 IP, 291 ERA+) 6. Lefty Grove 1936 ... 11.4 (17-12, 2.81 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 253.1 IP, 189 ERA+) 7. Hal Newhouser 1945 ... 11.3 (25-9, 1.81 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 313.1 IP, 195 ERA+) 8. Bob Gibson 1968 ... 11.2 (22-9, 1.12 ERA, 1.77 FIP, 304.2 IP, 258 ERA+) 9. Gaylord Perry 1972 ... 10.8 (24-16, 1.92 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 342.2 IP, 168 ERA+) 10. Randy Johnson 2002 ... 10.7 (24-5, 2.32 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 260.0 IP, 195 ERA+) 10. Sandy Koufax 1963 ... 10.7 (25-5, 1.88 ERA, 1.85 FIP, 311.0 IP, 159 ERA+) 10. Wilbur Wood 1972 ... 10.7 (24-17, 2.51 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 376.2 IP, 126+) Pedro was more dominant when he pitched than any of these top performances relative to the league. He pitched much less though which prevents his season from being a runaway #1. And that is important! How much, opinions can vary here. One fun note, Pedro's 1999 season where he was scandalously robbed of the MVP - his FIP was an unthinkable 1.39. He had a 23-4 season with a 2.07 ERA ... arguably the best pitched game in Red Sox history ... and had the worst BABIP of any season where he pitched more than 20 starts. That season also included a game where he gave up 9 runs and got chased in the 4th inning by a 98 loss Marlins team. That registers as one of the weirdest "that's baseball!" sort of days ever https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/how-did-pedro-martinez-get-bombed/

Martinez might have helped some. You read about the managerial change (and why Dombrowski did it) and that might have helped. But the simple answer - Betts is 25 years old, and young guys get better. Betts was 2nd in the MVP as recently as 2016. Heck, he had a downballot MVP caliber year LAST SEASON. (offensively he was still pretty good and had the best defensive season in the league by a solid margin) Really there is not that much magic to Betts, Bogaerts or Benintendi having such wonderful seasons. It's a part of growing up - and in Bogaerts case, being able to properly grip a baseball bat.

1. Probably some. 2. Negativity - not much. Most of the picks (especially high schoolers) are a few years away from the major league radar. It is more important to be in the show in any capacity.

90 days after the World Series. Now they could be included in a trade right now as a "Player to be Named Later"

This year it has been tough - so many of the top guys are just hurt.

It's hard to call someone invisible who made the All Star Final Ballot ... he, Bogaerts, Sale and Betts are all on their way to (or in Betts' case already has) 6 win seasons ... really impressive

The Sox best pieces to trade for Machado are guys like Benintendi and Devers ... which is not great for 3 months of Machado.

That is fair. The 2018 team really is kind of what everyone in 1975 thought the 1976-77 Red Sox would be ... taking the mantle from the Orioles as the dominant AL East team for years to come.

This is fair - I think it is better to think of him in the context of the Moreland platoon ... given how poor 1B is AL-wide, the Red Sox have one of the most effective solutions there in the league. I think Pearce might be a bit better than a pure lefty masher - but even if it is only marginally so, for this team that is plenty.

I always noted last year was peculiar in that the team won 93 games without anybody actually playing well. I mean - there were no dumpster fire seasons, but there were no "leaps", no crazy outlier seasons (except for Moreland to a certain degree). Between their health problems and "non-outstandingness", the 93 games felt at times like really the worst this team could have done. A LOT of their improvement was going to come from just their own guys playing better. So whaddya know? Martinez has been a crucial signing for lengthening the lineup - he has been everything anyone could have asked for. But instead we get major leaps by Betts, Benintendi, Bogaerts at the same time. Moreland/Pierce have been a super effective 1B combination, and they have been more than good enough to compensate for real struggles at the bottom of the lineup. Even Devers - while struggling - has not been that bad, certainly nothing holding much back with significant potential to turn some stuff around. It is tempting to give Cora credit for this - but probably a little unfair. That said, the seasons these guys are having is why having great young talent is awesome. It is silly not to expect some regression - but these are premium talents, and a good chunk of this is really who they are.

they focus on run prevention with ballparks that enhance it

OB is excellent - and I wish they did not rotate analysts.

fwiw, I'll see them Tuesday - not often the chance appears for me ...

As far as Red Sox broadcasts go (and I go back to 1986): The Sean and Jerry team was the best by a solid distance. Jerry worked a lot harder then, and Sean was much more cynical than other hometown announcers (frankly reflective of actual Red Sox fans). Don and Jerry were good, a kinder, gentler version of Sean and Jerry. I liked Ned Martin but I am sure I did not get his best days. The current NESN broadcast is fine but there is that lack of continuity - and really only Eck and Remy (when available) are any good. I don't mind the wandering mind at time during games - it's not always exciting. As long as the announcers lock in when the game dicates it, things are cool.

Bad by UZR, worse by DRS ... eye test does not reflect anything special. He is not Hanley in LF bad - but nobody is. He's a decent OF for a DH.

JD is a bad outfielder. Is it worth it giving him some turns there for larger roster purposes? (keeping him happy, rotating bats at DH) Who knows. But he is a 1-way player ... but he has more than delivered on that 1-dimension. While he is a one-dimensional player, he is great at it ... and it is the one thing the team needed more than any other. That he might have a 5 win season while offering no defensive value is a real achievement.

Benintendi has been terrific. Especially with his actual slow start - there is reason to expect things will be better in general the rest of the year. He is a stud.

Decent pitching, outstanding defense, and a ballpark where fly balls go to die ... only two ballparks are worse for homeruns and one (Oakland) does it with comically absurd amounts of foul territory.

Well the Trop has always been a pitcher's park. That has been Tampa's MO to punch above their weight, no? A ballpark where fly balls go to die, and build the team around guys who can pick it. (28th out of 30 in Homerun park factor) It is a sound way to create value out of a team which does not have a ton of money.

Costas is the worst. It is the wild pretentiousness, and open mockery of analytics (and I am not saying that you should sing hymns of praise, but if a business reporter did not understand how analysts rated stocks today, they would be fired) and their tacit assertion that the old days were better which makes it hard to watch. Of the national guys, they hit on something good with Joe Buck and Smoltz. The Sunday Night broadcast is fun too - Vasgergian is a pro, the TV version of A-Rod is terrific (essentially a gigantic dork about baseball) and Jessica is a good glue-guy/gal.

You spelled Adam Dunn wrong

Well Napoli is a different world - he has as much raw power as any hitter working

Relief pitchers are like diapers for newborns - you will always need them

What is interesting about him is that he is essentially a poor man's Mike Napoli offensively - a bit of a three true outcomes hitter, with less power and plate discipline. He doesn't hit it often, but he can catch fire - and it usually is hit hard.