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Kimmi

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Everything posted by Kimmi

  1. That's a valid point. I don't really know who is still in the market for a top reliever and I don't know what other team's farm systems are like. I'm not sure why he would want to trade Miller in the first place. I guess he feels like his need for a starter is greater?
  2. The prospect packages for Kimbrel and Giles were comparable, though I think Kimbrel's was a little more. The main difference is that Giles is cost controlled for, I believe, 5 more years. He isn't even arb eligible for 2 more years. We are paying Kimbrel an AAV of $12 mil for 2 years. That said, my biggest fear/criticism of the Kimbrel deal was that giving up those prospects for a reliever would close the door on our ability to trade for a starter without gutting the farm, and that there was no guarantee that Price or any other free agent starter would want to sign with Boston. We got our #1 and our farm system is still intact, so from that standpoint, the Kimbrel deal is more palatable.
  3. Theo is the man. Ben was getting to be the man. Sox fans are just not patient enough to let things play out and give him a chance.
  4. Almost all of the reports that I have read in the past project Swihart to be the better overall catcher between the two. Vazquez is defensively elite with a light bat. Swihart is known as an offensive catcher whose defense is supposed to develop to a "very good" level. So yes, if Swihart realizes his potential, he could be one of the best catchers in the league. It is unfair (and yes Jacko, I'm looking at you) to classify Swihart as a poor or below average defender based upon last season. For one, he was not even supposed to be in the bigs yet. For two, you can't make any judgment about what type of catcher he is based on one year. For three, all the scouting reports say otherwise.
  5. If you have about an hour and the desire to read it, I can send you the links from The Fielding Bible on how it's calculated. Most people are bored to tears by it. As far as I know, pitch framing has not yet been factored into DRS. DRS is based on defensive plays made, stolen bases runs, and pitch blocking runs.
  6. Let me first preface everything that I'm going to say with the "small sample size" caveat. Yes, this is a full season worth of data, but with defensive metrics, especially for catchers, it's best to use a full 3 years worth of data before deciding whether a catcher is good defensively or not. That said, Swihart was not good defensively last year. As has already been mentioned, he was the worst catcher in baseball in DRS. He was also below average in pitch framing (-1.8 runs above average). He ranked 44 out of 72 qualified catchers. For comparison, Hanigan was 19th at 5.9 RAA. The staff did have a better ERA pitching to Hanigan than they did pitching to Swihart. Kelly and Miley were a full run better pitching to Hanigan, while Porcello and Rodriguez were about .3 runs better. Interestingly enough, Buchholz did not pitch to Swihart last year. He pitched almost exclusively to Leon, with 4 games pitching to Hanigan.
  7. It's also quite possible that Swihart's offense improves if he's playing a less grueling position. As a catcher, his top priority is not his offense, but his work with the ptiching staff, where offense typically suffers. That would not be the case if he played 1st or 3rd.
  8. After seeing the hauls brought in for Kimbrel and Giles, Cashman must be licking his chops for what he should be able to get for Miller.
  9. With the amount of money that all teams have and the types of contracts free agents are getting these days, outspending the opponent is no longer a viable way to build championships. It used to be that if the Yankees wanted a free agent, everybody knew that the Yankees were getting said free agent. That is no longer the case. In addition to that, despite what some fans think, not even the Yankees finances are unlimited. On top of the 50% luxury tax the Yankees have to pay, which is already significant, the Yankees are about to get hit big time with a loss of revenue sharing. That is where the real financial damage is going to come. It makes all the sense in the world for them to get under the tax limit and reset. Just one year under the limit saves them a ton of money. Even the Yankees, with all their financial might, are trying to get younger and cost-controlled. At least for the time being. I like it.
  10. Everyone knows that stats don't tell the whole story and cannot be used solely. No one has ever suggested otherwise. All front offices use advanced metrics and all front offices rely heavily on scouts. The difference lies in the extent to which advanced metrics are used. It is no secret that Dombrowski is very much a traditionalist in his views, and it is also no secret that during his reign, the Tigers organization lagged behind in the area of analytics. This concerns me about him. In fact, one of the first changes made in Detroit after Dombrowski was let go was the expansion/improvement of their analytics department. I have no doubt that Dombrowski asks for input from Hazen and the other analytics guys. But I also have very little doubt as to why Dombrowski hired Frank Wren. I can very much understand why you are such a Dombrowski fan. Dombrowski is a very good GM. I like the moves he has made so far. As I said before, so far, so good.
  11. I am fundamentally at odds with him being a traditionalist.
  12. Swihart was the worst defensive catcher in baseball last season. In fairness to him, however, he was thrown into the fire well before he was ready, and he did show some improvement as the year went on. He has always been projected to be an above average defender. He will be a very good overall catcher.
  13. The team has some question marks, but I have always felt like they were only a few key offseason acquisitions away from contending this season. I would really like to see another #2/3 starter added, but even as is, I think the Sox are contenders.
  14. I agree that Swihart would probably be worth more to us in a trade than he would be at first or third base. I just hate to see him go.
  15. From PA: Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo 9m9 minutes ago Good news for Red Sox:Christian Vazquez's last 10 games in Puerto Rico:.366/.381/.415 Very small sample, but if he can hit decently, coupled with that defense, he needs to be our #1 catcher. If Vazquez pans out, I would very much like to see Swihart tried out at first/third base. It would be great to have that 3rd catcher on the team, just in case.
  16. The "bonehead" plays, especially the ones on the basepaths, seems to have been a teamwide problem last year, which is why some of us questioned the coaching. Hopefully, we see some improvement this year with Castillo's mental game.
  17. I know you are in Dombrowski's camp. That's why I said that you and I will never agree when it comes to the importance of stats.
  18. Well then, thank you.
  19. I really wish both Theo and Ben had the autonomy while they were here that Theo has in Chicago and that Dombrowski now has here. Ben is not quite at Theo's level, but you can see how successful Theo is when given the autonomy to follow his vision. Theo/Ben rebuilt the Sox too. It's just that neither one of them will be here to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
  20. You're right, 6/120 would not be a horrendous contract, and 4/95 would be even better. I would not be opposed to having Cueto in the rotation, I just worry about the long term ramifications. It will be interesting to see how much Cueto signs for. I would love for the Sox to add a #2/3 starter.
  21. I don't think the Yankees are done. They are going to make some kind of trade for a starting pitcher, IMO. I was reading this morning about how ripe the 2018 free agent class is going to be, and how the Yanks will only have $57 mil in commitments by then. They will be able to reset the luxury tax penalty in 2017. Look out!
  22. That is true. Price is a horse. I am encouraged by what I saw from Porcello and Kelly at the end of last season. Rodriguez should only get better. I think that Farrell will be able to manage the pen better this year.
  23. It's all good CP. You and I are never going to agree on the use of statistics, but I'm not going to stop defending their importance. One of the biggest reasons why stats are needed is to overcome human bias. Saying that people are biased in their opinions is not meant as an insult to anyone, it's just a fact. As far as me being a very serious poster, I don't know exactly what you mean by that. It's a baseball forum. There's only so serious one can be about a baseball forum.
  24. I don't disagree with any of that.
  25. Dombrowski has done a great job for the short term outlook of this team. It remains to be seen how things will work out for the long term. So far, so good.
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