moonslav59

Good read...\\ https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/7/14/15972080/pablo-sandoval-red-sox-designated-for-assignment

I guess I "get it", but I still often wonder why people choose someone like Pablo to vent their anger towards, when so many others in the world are much more deserving. Maybe they vent at them too, but on another forum. Pablo was fat when we signed him. He'd been successful playing fat. He took what some one offered him despite all the evidence that showed decline. Not surprisingly he got hurt. He tried to come back. He worked hard to get back in some sort of shape that was probably better than when we signed him, but it just wasn't enough. Do I feel sorry for Pablito? Hell, NO! Do I feel even a tiny smidgen of anger or hate towards Pablito? Hell, NO! Do I still blame Ben & Co for the awful signing? Hell, YES, but even with them, I feel no anger. It's more frustration and dismay.

Now that Kelly is heading to the DL, let's look back at all the pitching injuries for just the first half of 2017: SP1 Sale 0 SP2 Price 10 starts missed (returned) SP3 Porcello 0 SP4 ERod 10 starts missed (returning soon) SP5 Wright to miss 27 starts SP6 Pomeranz 0 SP7 Kendrick 0 SP8 Velazquez 0 SP9 Johnson (out hurt after 4 starts) SP10 Fister 0 SP11 Elias (out all year) RP1 Kimbrel 0 RP2 C Smith (Out all year but may return) RP3 Thornburg (out all year) RP4 Joe Kelly (Just went on DL) RP5 R Ross (Has been on DL most of the season) RP6 Barnes 0 RP7 Hembree 0 RP8 Abad 0 RP9 Scott 0 RP10 Workman (was out for most of first half) RP11 Boyer 0 RP12 Taylor 0 RP13 A Maddox 0 RP14 N Ramirez 0 (Did I miss any DL's?)

Man, these pen injuries are killing us. I'm almost certain that a pen arm is a high priority at the deadline (or before).

HRam is far far far away from the weakest link on our team. There's no way he should be benched or platooned, especially as he has been one of our hottest hitters. I don't see any attitude issues, but I can see how some look at his history, his manner with the media or maybe his "dreads" and come to conclusions, but I've never heard any player or coach even hint at any issues with his attitude. I don't by the "sloth" argument. Unless he ends up testing positive for roids, you don't get to look like he does by slouching or being lazy. It reminds me of how Manny was called lazy, even though he was usually the first to arrive to the park and the last to leave. His extra batting practice was legendary, yet we were told by some, "He didn't care." Let's cut some slack for our players, or else nobody will ever want to play here anymore.

You don't "move a different player". The free agents are set in stone. You keep them or let them go. I suppose Ellsbury might have dropped to #26 where we picked Craig Hansen, but I doubt it. Gonzo had his best career OPS year the year after leaving Boston (.793). He hit 23 dingers in 2010. His glove declined after Boston though, but so did OCab's. OCab did have a higher WAR after leaving Boston than Gonzo did from 2005-2007, but Gonzo had an almost identical OPS those 3 years. The fact is, we made out like bandits letting OCab go, despite the mistaken choices we made at SS afterwards. No way was OCab ever going to be our long term SS. He was never anyone's long term SS after Montreal traded him-- maybe for the reasons I hinted at before. I think he was traded by every team that ever signed him. Maybe the fact that wife-swapping is a major sport in California helped him stay there for 3 years out of his 4 year contract.

That's all you see in Chavis? I agree, he won't stick at 3B, but the guy has developed into a nice hitter over the years. Don't hold his early years against him.

I completely disagree with OCab. They went from OCab to Rent-an-error, AGon, and then Lugo. From 2005-2008 OCab posted WAR of 2.0+ every year, including 4.2 in '07. In contrast, no one on the RS came even close to posting a 2.0 WAR year at SS. SS was an absolute disaster after 0Cab left. Disaster. It was a terrible decision to let him go, not a good one! Apparently, OCab was doggin' everyone's wives. Gonzo was a great replacement, but we gave up on him too soon. I'd have rather kept Gonzo than OCab. We also got Ellsbury and Lowrie for losing OCab. We got Kopech for losing Ellsbury. We got Sale thanks to being able to add Kopech to the deal. Letting OCab go was one of the best moves this organization ever made. Paradoxically, trading for OCab was a top 5 move done by Theo & Co.

He sucked by the time we dumped him.

If they give up one of those 3 for Frazier, I'll be suggesting a FO change. I'll be upset with Chavis, but maybe not to the irate level.

Me too, and i've found my long term memory to be lacking. BTW, Lynn did not play in CAL in '74.

I'm open to Frazier, if the cost is lower than getting Harrison, Lowrie (with Doolittle) or others. I don't want an big overpay, but I'm willing to pay a slight overpay for a rental. No Devers, Groome or Travis for a rental. No Chavis either. I'd be willing to give Ockimey & Lakins/Beeks/Callahan types for the right fit, but even that might be too much.

You sure it was 1975? I looked at all 3 games we played at CAL, and found none with Tiant or Tanana. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197508140.shtml https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197508130.shtml https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197508120.shtml

Must be better than Lin/Marrero, but at what cost?

Please no. Career splits: 1st half: .825 2nd half: .719 He's had lower 2nd half splits every single year in the bigs. He's off to a bad start, so if he continues his career trend, his second half would be worse than bad.

With all due respect, we are not going to and we should not bench or platoon HRam. Moreland is a strong candidate for that, if you need to add a big bat somewhere other than 3B. HRam is doing much better vs RHPs now. He's got his OPS up to .777 after starting the year below .600. He's as hot as any Sox player: 1.667 last 7 days .996 last 14 days .970 last 28 days Again, HRam is NOT going to be benched or platooned.

To be fair, it does appear Buckley had some doubts. (I couldn't find the full article.) http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/steve_buckley/2015/03/buckley_warning_signs_about_pablo_sandoval

Not a hint of negativity anywhere. I loved Shaughnessy (always the clown, though unintentional): I promise never to rip Sandoval for being out of shape or going on the disabled list. It makes perfect sense if you think about it.

If we can "save money" by not replacing Young's $6.5M with a FA 4th OF'er, what other choices do we have in our system right now? Holt? Brentz? Mars? I think Castillo could work his way to a roster slot. I read somewhere though, that once we add him to the 40 man roster (again), we are stuck with his contract for the luxury budget to the end. The tax issue might not be big for 2018, but it looks like we project to be way over the limit in 2019 and 2020 and 2021 could be near second tier penalty zone.

Most of the players they let go were just in time decisions. The Beltre one was bad. Many of us knew it at the time, too. The only other players with a strong case for not letting go were Damon & VMart (maybe DeLowe), but Damon was not going to be our CF'er or DH, so I thought that move was right. Letting these guys go turned out to be 100% right: Jacoby Ellsbury Jason Bay Pedro OCab Mueller Millar Papelbon (?) Traded: Nomar Agon, Beckett, CC Slocumb I guess what I'm saying is that I'll take the Beltre mistake and the JBJ/Swihart comp picks that came with losing him within the context of all the choices they made in their entirety.

Maybe the choice is all about years of team control, but it seems like this team has not been to concerned about 5 years from now and beyond. Maybe adding a year to Devers is their way of beginning to address that issue. If the plan is to add a year, then that would mean the plan is not to call him up until June of 2018, right? (I know they can call him up in September, and it doesn't "start the clock.")

I could see it. A 20% tax on Rusney's deal will likely be less than Henry would have to pay to get a decent 4th OF'er via free agency. (Young cost us $6.5M per year, and 20% of $11.8M is "just" $2.22M.)

By all accounts, Moncada's defense was highly suspect. They gave him 10 games at 3B on the farm, before calling him up. He played 35 innings at 3B with the Sox. I feel that part of the call-up was textbook "mishandling".

Maybe they are adjusting their thinking after the Moncada-Swihart decisions. Many of these types of decisions have been made out of an intense big club need- some have worked, others have not. Here are a few recent moves I recall: Middy: I don't think they rushed Middy, and I was one who was not taken in by his super hot start to his career. His minor league numbers were larger and revealed some big issues. JBJ: He was yo-yo'd so much his failings could have been attributed to motion sickness. He put up some great numbers on the farm and in ST'ing. I was never one to think he was called up too early, though. I was also against playing him in LF, when he is such a great CF'er. (Note: I don't think playing LF contributed to his early struggles.) Bogey: I was very upset they only gave him 10 games at 3B before thrusting him into the intense playoff run spotlight off position. To me, that was severe short-sightedness. This isn't revisionist talk either, as I was calling for him to get more reps at 3B on teh farm long before they finally gave him some. We had a great need at 3B, and everyone knew it. This one worked out well in 2013, but not so well the following year. Many (not me) feel keeping him at 3B in 2014 messed him up at the plate. Betts: Although Mookie did get 46 games under his belt in the OF before being handed the CF job with the Sox, some felt it was a lot to ask of a rookie. He showed he can handle anything thrown his way. What an amazing athlete. His move from CF to RF was just as seemless. Swihart: He did a great job after being rushed to the bigs after the injury to Vaz. Some feel we gave up on him too soon, but I think the pitching staff greatly preferred Vaz as their battery mate. That's something us fans might not be privy to. The move to LF was understandable, IMO. We had lost out on obtaining a LF'er at the deadline, Swihart was looking good at the plate, and the idea of moving Swihart to a new position has always been "on the table". The move was made quickly (again), and had Blake not gotten hurt, I'm not sure we'd be talking about it right now. Moncada: I felt his bat had been ML ready for many weeks before his call-up. My concern was always about his glove. I never felt his position was going to be 2B, but they kept him there all along. Then, suddenly, they move him to 3B and call him up shortly thereafter.He only played 10 games at 3B in the minors before his call-up! For a guy who struggles with fielding, this was absurd, IMO, unless the plan all along was to just DH him after his call-up. He ended up with 35 horrible innings at 3B. Beni: I treated the Beni call-up like I am the Devers one now. I thought he was ML ready, but said I "trusted Sox management" to know when is when. He's done very well since that decision, but many felt it was rushed, and a few felt it was a "panic move". All in all, IMO some decisions are made more out of need than "readiness", but a balance usually called for. I don't see there being a pattern of mistakes being made.

Frazier is off to a bad start, and he has hit worse in the second half every single season he's been in the bigs. I would not trade for him, unless the cost is very low.