Kimmi

I understand that it is probably not likely. I think it is a lot more unlikely now that Buchholz is gone. Personally, I was okay with taking the team we had at the beginning of the offseason into next season, with a few tweaks to the pen and elsewhere. I never thought that we needed to make a big move, either with the rotation or with the lineup.

It is difficult to sign a quality free agent starter for depth without creating roster crunches. As you said, pitchers who have the quality are likely to get a starting position on another team, and they aren't the types of pitchers who would sign minor league contracts. That's another advantage of stashing someone like ERod in AAA. He is quality depth for when the inevitable injury or underperformance occurs. It's like making a very good midseason acquisition without having to pay anything.

I agree that it is nice to have some wiggle room in case we need to pick up someone midseason. As I've said, I completely understand the Buchholz trade.

I get that you disagree with sending ERod down. I get that Dombrowski has stated that ERod will be the 4th starter. I agree that now that Buchholz has been traded that it's much less of an issue. It still merits consideration though, and no amount of calling it a stupid idea or saying that it lacks credibility will change that.

Yup. You need to get to the playoffs, then all bets are off as far as which team is the favorite.

Good move for Cleveland. Encarnacion ended up not costing nearly as much as I thought he would. Cleveland is probably now the AL favorites, but it's not by much. Anyway, like you said, I don't like being the favorites.

Yes, I'm assuming everyone is healthy and looks decent. I agree that it probably won't happen, especially with Buchholz gone, but it is something to consider. Dombrowski and the coaching staff would be remiss if they did not consider this option.

No, because Ben was Theo's right hand man. He helped build that team before he became GM. Additionally, the players that Ben acquired were not only made possible by trading away Theo's prospects. That said, Theo gets a large amount of credit for 2013. And if we're being honest, Theo gets more credit for this year's team than Dombrowski does. Dombrowski gets some credit too, but this is still largely Ben's team. As I posted before, we'll be able to give Dombrowski credit in 2021 or so, when we fall off the cliff.

S5, these types of things are absolutely factored into UZR and DRS. I can almost 100% guarantee you that if you or I have thought about stuff like this, the stat geeks have already thought about it too and are factoring it into their stats the best that they can. It's what they do. It's pretty much the reason for their existence. This is what is so wrong about most of the traditional stats, BTW. Those stats are mostly considered in a vacuum, with no consideration given to what else was going on in the game. The sabermetric guys fully understand that JBJ making a brilliant catch is worth more if the bases are loaded with 2 outs then it is with the bases empty and 2 outs. There is something called the 24 States Run Matrix. It tells us what the run expectancy is for each base-out state that can occur in baseball. After each play is made, or not made, the run expectancy changes. If a defender makes an out, the run expectancy for the offense decreases. If a defender fails to make a play, the run expectancy increases, which works against the defender's runs saved. If the next batter hits a double, the additional run expectancy works against the defender's runs saved. UZR and DRS are not perfect, but I can tell you that they are a lot more comprehensive than you think. And they are very good. People need to remember that just because a stat is flawed it does not mean that the stat is useless or no good.

As others have said, he will probably thrive and pitch his butt off this year. I understand the trade. Resetting the tax penalty is no small feat.

Haha. Stranger things have happened.

Nah, I'm not one to say something over and over.......

Happy late birthday Bosoxmal. You go dude! You're awesome! I hope you have many more!

What the heck kind of comment is that? That's fine if Dombrowski said that ERod would be the 4th starter. I have never said that ERod would be sent to AAA. No matter how much some of you are against that idea, though, it is a very valid consideration.

The nice thing about our rotation is that our top 3 have a good shot of giving us about 7 innings in most outings. That is huge for the bullpen. If Farrell can use the pen the way he wants to rather than out of necessity because a starter failed to go 5, the pen becomes that much better. I really am not concerned about the BP. That said, I think it's a good idea to keep/acquire as many inexpensive pen arms as is feasible.

Well, this is mostly Ben's team, so it's almost like he's the current GM. LOL

I agree. If I had to venture a guess, that would be it.

The idea of having ERod start in AAA has nothing to do with not liking his talent. To date, he has not proven himself to be so much better than Pomeranz or Wright that the team has to start him. Maybe he will separate himself from the other two enough that the decision becomes a foregone conclusion. He is pitching very well in winter ball right now.

I don't think he was, nor will he be on one this year, but keep in mind that he is pitching in the WBC. He will be at full throttle during the time that he's usually still 'warming up'. I don't know what effect that will have on him over the course of the season, but I do think that it's another consideration.

LOL I started reading this post and was wondering how the heck Cycles quoted it before you even posted it. Thank goodness you explained yourself. These are the types of things that keep me awake at night.

I agree. This is nothing against ERod, who I think will end up being a very good pitcher. And I'm not saying we should keep him down all season. Having the roster flexibility to open the season gives the team some time to assess how things are playing out in terms of who is effective in the pen and so forth. It makes a ton of sense to me.

Thank you for this post, Sir Notin.

As I said in my previous post, trading Buchholz probably gets rid of enough of the starter logjam so that we don't have to worry about it. I just take exception with the posts that state that it's a stupid idea or that it would never happen. It is far from a stupid idea and it happens all the time. No, you're not going to send someone like Sale down just because he has options. But someone who is slated to be the #4 or #5 when Pomeranz or Wright could do just as good a job, you absolutely consider it. Even if it only means saving a potentially very good pen arm.

LOL I keep reading that if Buchholz is pitching well, the Phillies could trade him at the deadline for a much better haul than what they gave up. The Sox trading back for him is the first thing that came to mind.

No, it's really not stupid at all. If he were our ace, then sending him to AAA just because he has options would be stupid. But we are currently looking at him to fill a #4 or 5 slot in our rotation, which Pomeranz or Wright (or Buchholz until he was traded) could have filled just as productively. If you risk losing a player that might really help the team, then you send the guy with options down, at least for a while. All that said, trading Buchholz alleviates some of the backlog of pitching roster spots, so there is less of a need to send ERod down.