moonslav59

Not even close for me. Making a definitive judgement about who a player is based on teenie weenie sample sizes, especially when scattered over time, is just not something I do. I think I have math and science on my side, but I also don't see the need or the purpose in assigning such labels to a person even if the sample size neared large enough.

Probably a waste of time and money.

Even though our luxury tax may be reset for next year, arb raises and one or two acquisitions will put us over the limit and in tax territory. Although the tax won't be too high, adding anything to Castillo's already high salary will just about always keep him off the 40 man roster for any extended time.

How many good games does Price have to pitch in the playoffs for people not to call him a chock...errr, I mean choke? If you say 2-3 great games, do you see how ridiculous that sounds? A tiny sample size of greatness can change a label that quickly!

That indeed.

The Sox could add him to the 40 man roster, call him up for a month or so, and then DFA him again (taking him off the 40 man roster once again). His luxury tax cost would be a lot, but not so much that it couldn't be absorbed by flex budget. It seems easier to just find the next de Aza, if we need one, but if Castillo has an 1.100 OPS at AAA in June...

Shows you how much money dominates. If he really wanted to play MLB, wouldn't he try to renegotiate his contract (downward)? Perhaps the union (or by-laws) wouldn't let him.

They should trade him, but the Sox are probably near the bottom of the list of potential trade partners due to contract costs and out recent steep decline in available top prospects.

The Sox once had a farm team by that name. (I think 1967 was the last year.)

I'm not "unduly" either for expecting him to the pitcher he normally is most of the time.

I'm optimistic Price does well in his next playoff start. Where does that come from? (I'm just as optimistic about that start as any other Price start after 200 IP.)

Was it slash back at BDC? Was it really a typo? Inquiring minds want to know!

Yes and Bregman http://soxprospects.com/dh-unsigned.htm

I assume chock is choke, but maybe you are thinking of a jock and a choke combined.

Look up the definition of "proven".

That's not the debate. It's totally different than Price = Clay

Anybody know what DD's arb philosophy was with DET?

If we could have done what we did with Castillo to Pablo, we would have already. Castillo would have to make himself into a can't miss player to even be considered for adding to the 40 man roster. He's in purgatory.

Thanks for the info. Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Bradley, Bogaerts, Five Others By Steve Adams | January 13, 2017 at 4:12pm CDT Adding to their previously reported deals, the Red Sox have announced agreement with all but two of their arb-eligible players. Salaries were reported by MLB.com’s Ian Browne for the players avoiding arb: shortstop Xander Bogaerts gets $4.5MM ($5.7MM projection), utilityman Brock Holt receives $1.95MM ($1.7MM projection), righty Joe Kelly will earn $2.8MM ($2.6MM projection), catcher Sandy Leon takes home $1.3MM (the same as his projection), lefty Robbie Ross gets $1.825MM (just $25K over his projection), and new righty Tyler Thornburg will earn $2.05MM (just under his $2.2MM projection). The Red Sox and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.6MM, tweets Crasnick. Bradley, 27 in April, enjoyed far and away his best big league season in 2016, hitting .267/.349/.486 with 26 home runs, nine steals and brilliant defense. He topped his $3.3MM projection by $300K and will be arbitration-eligible three more times as a Super Two player before hitting free agency upon completion of the 2020 season. Luxury tax implications as compared to projections: Bogey +$1.200M Thorn +$.195M +$1.395M JBJ -$.300M Holt -$.295M Kelly -$.200M Ross -$.025M Leon (same) -0.820M Net: +575K added to our flex spending budget Still have Pom and Abad to go.

What do the Red Sox and Toronto Maple Leafs have in common?

The guy does not have a single K in the playoffs! He's an absolute failure!

What do all of these players have in common? Pedro Alvarez Brandon Belt Yasmani Grandal Alex Bregman Carson Fulmer

I totally agree, but June was actually his "middle" performance month last year: ERA/WHIP Month 5.76/ 1.281 April 4.62/ 1.179 May 4.08/ 1.261 June 4.08/ 1.122 SEPT 2.80/ 1.330 July 2.93/ 1.100 AUG His ERA on June 1st was 5.11. It was 4.74 by the end of June, 4.26 by the end of July and 3.97 by AUG 31st. I'd say his first 7 starts were what hurt his numbers, and even that sample size included a couple good games. His ERA was 6.75 after 7 games. His ERA in the 28 starts after May 7th? 3.39 ERA

Very true, but even if Price does poorly over his next handful of playoff games, can we still judge him as a choke? What if Clemens never made it to the playoffs again? He'd have been judged as a choke by many. Like he had some sort of mental or emotional deficiency. Barry Bonds was labeled a choke after his first 25 playoff games. He now had a career .936 playoff OPS. Beckett started off like he was going to go down in MLB history as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time. His first 70+ IP with FLA and BOS in 2007 were mesmerizing. He was Mr. Money. His last 21 IP? 36 H+BB+HBP and 18 ERs for a 7.71 ERA and a whole new memory of how he did "when it counts".

Let me ask you this, if a pitcher did poorly, every time he pitched on even days in August, would you put much faith in that as a predictor or what will happen when he starts this August 2nd or 4th? Of course not. I get the pressure thing, and you very well could be correct. Price might just plain buckle under pressure. However, couldn't his 15 games in the playoffs (actually just 9 starts) be sort of like even days in August? It could, right? Maybe? Now, if a pitcher eventually ends up with 500 IP on even days in August, my guess is his numbers would be close to his career norm or at least to his other August games. BTW, if they were not, I still wouldn't say he chokes on even days in August. I know you are not trying to denigrate Price, but I get the feeling others are. When posters like me often say "small sample size", it does not mean we don't think it counts. Sucking in the playoffs DOES MATTER. It sucks! I was very disappointed that we lost with Price and Porcello starting for us. To me, what bothers me, is the next step people take...maybe out of frustration of anger over losing an important game, but they sometimes label the player as a failure or a bum based on just a very small sample of that players total portfolio. Even Papi has had bad playoff games and series. What if all of those happened in his first 15 games and he was judged to be a choke or "absolute failure" as Slasher called Price? Nonsense, right? Price signed for 7 years. He did not have one of his better years in 2016, but does this stand out as an absolute failure or a complete void of reaching expectations? ERA- over last 6 years: 90, 66, 86, 87, 66, 60, 90 His 90 ERA- might be tied for his worst in 6 years, but it is within 5% of his performances in 3 of the previous 5 seasons. Same with WAR: 4.2, 4.4, 5.0, 6.0, 6.4, 4.5 I'm far away from labeling Price a choke or a disappointment. I learned my lesson with Lackey. Opponents have a career .655 OPS against Price. In the regular season, he's done better "when it counts" and this scattered sample size is much larger than 15 playoff games: Late & Close: .607 (501 PA) High Leverage: .648 (1113 PA) 2 outs/RISP: .639 (608 PAs) Playoffs: 281 PAs