moonslav59

1975 Red Sox OF LF Jim Rice (22) .309 22 102 .350/.491/.841 (128 OPS+) CF Fred Lynn (23) .331 21 105 .401/.566/.967 (161) RF Dwight Evans (23) .274 13 56 .353/456/.809 (120) 1978, they did all come together after some dips from 76 to 77: Rice .315 46 139 (157 OPS+) Lynn .298 22 82 (133) Evans .247 24 63 (109) Betts & JBJ have OPS+'s of 130 and 131. Beni is off to a roaring start. Just missed his first HR.

It's early yet, but the potential is there. (I think you meant the 1975 OF. That was when they were youngest.)

I agree, and the numbers back us up: QS% 68% Porcello 68% Wright 58% Price 48% League Average 36% ERod 23% Buch OPS Against .615 Wright .680 Porcello .738 Price .746 League Average .799 Buch .869 ERod

156 qualified batters in MLB Base running rankings by fangraphs 1) Billy Hamilton 9.6 2) Sterling Marte 7.9 3) Rajai Davis 6.9 4) Brett Gardner 6.8 5) Mike Trout 6.8 6) Mookie Betts 6.7 ... 10) Xander Bogaerts 5.4 11) Jackie Bradley 5.4 ... 89) Travis Shaw ... 103) Hanley Ramirez ... 149) Dustin Pedroia ... 154) David Ortiz fangraphs considers Pedey the 8th worst runner in MLB this year.

I think his main point is that Pedroia fits the profile of a leadoff batter due to his OBP while Mookie fits the profile of a slugging RBI hitter as evidenced by his SLG. Except that fangraphs lists Pedey as our second worst baserunner behind Papi. Bogey has about the same OBP as Pedey, so wy not Bogey first, Pedey second and Betts third?

Soon to be 6: Bogey Betts Bradley Benintendi Barnes Boncada

Barnes for President!

This is sickening

Because it's "protocol", silly!

Toronto's losing 9-2

No telling for sure, but he was 14-6 2.59 ERA (.627 OPS) in inter-league games, before struggling last year.

The big SP'er signings this past winter: Price 9-8 4.34 ERA/1.28 WHIP (team:11-13) Greinke 10-3 3.62 ERA/1.162 WHIP (team: 12-5) * Highest ERA since 2011, highest WHIP since 2012 & been on DL Zimmerman 9-5 4.44 ERA/1.305 WHIP (team 10-6) * Highest ERA since 2010, highest WHIP since 2010 & is on the DL now Cueto 13-3 2.93 ERA/1.075 (team: 18-5) * 2nd highest ERA since 2010, 2nd highest WHIP since 2012 & no missed starts Samardzija 9-8 4.40 ERA/1.234 WHIP (team 11-11) * 2nd highest ERA since 2010 and no missed starts. It's early still, but only Cueto has started off strong and stayed healthy. Funny thing, since many said his mechanics begged for an injury. (They still might...)

...then what? Sign Encarnacion, Rich Hill and two solid RP'ers? 1) Beni LF 2) Bogey SS 3) Betts RF 4) Encarnacion DH 5) JBJ CF 6) HanRam 1B/Shaw 3B 7) Shaw 3B/HanRam 1B 8) Moncada 2B 9) Leon/Vaz/Swi

Assuming Papi does not return and we don't sign big hitter, I see this situation: Locks: SS: Bogey RF: Betts CF: JBJ 2B: Pedey C: Leon/Vaz/Swihart The rest is in question: LF: Probably Beni, with platoon with Young a possibility. Swihart has a shot. Holt is reserve only. 3B: Probably Shaw to begin the season. Maybe Moncada wins the job during the season. Hernandez is a long shot. 1B: HanRam probably starts the season at 1B, but may move to DH, if Moncada wins the 3B job and Shaw moves to 1B. Travis is a long shot. DH: I see Young and maybe Moncada starting here with Moncada moving to 3B during the season, depending on his defense. If Young platoons with Beni, Moncada may be the FT DH to start the season. I know this seems blasphemous to some who view Moncada as a 5 tool- never DH player, so maybe we just grin and bear it by playing Moncada at 3B to start the year. Shaw can spell him, when we face a tough LH'd pitcher, and Young can DH in those games. With Moncada playing, I see this: 1) Beni 2) Bogey 3) Betts 4) JBJ 5) Pedey 6) HanRam/Young vs LHPs 7) Shaw/HanRam vs LHPs 8) Moncada 9) Leon/Vaz/Swi (Maybe Shaw sits vs LHPs: 3B Moncada, 1B HanRam & DH Young, maybe Beni sits vs some LHPs with Young in LF, or maybe Moncada sits vs some LHPs) If Beni has not earned the leadoff slot, we have a tough choice. I might go with: 1) Bogey 2) Pedey 3) Betts 4) JBJ 5) Hanram/Young vs LHPs 6) Shaw/Beni vs LHPs 7) Beni/HanRam vs LHPs 8) Moncada 9) Leon/Vaz/Swi I'd like to see Swihart and Vaz on the 25 man roster with Leon. Maybe Swi can also learn 1B to give us some flex there. That means it comes down to Holt or Hernandez. I like Hernandez better, since the need for a super sub is lessened with Papi's departure, and Swihart/Young as back up OF, Shaw/Swi as back up 1B, and Hernandez a better fielder at SS, 3B and maybe 2B over Holt. It's probably best to keep both with Hernandez at AAA for depth, but if we need to include Holt in a big package to get an ace, so be it.

I meant to only include the larger and long signings, but I forgot to erase Dunns' when I changed the criteria to $80M early and $85M later.

Yeah, a scah-weee one!

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but he does seem soooo gay.

His early years really taint his "norm". Here are recent trends: K/BB ratio '10 2.38 '11 3.46 '12 3.47 '13 5.59 (League Leader) '14 7.13 '15 4.79 '16 4.42 K/9: 8.1> 8.7> 8.7>7.3> 9.8> 9.2> 9.2 BB/9: 3.4> 2.5> 2.5> 1.3> 1.4> 1.9> 2.1 His velocity is definitely lower, although it's higher now than early season: http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxo.aspx?playerid=3184&position=P&pitch=FA

While I was joinng the crowd, I changed to recent entries first.

Without doing any research, I'll rank these deals on my gut feeling. Recent Top Free Agent Signings: 2011: $142M/7 Carl Crawford F $126M/7 Jayson Werth C $120M/5 Cliff Lee D $80M/5 Adrian Beltre A- $56M/4 Adam Dunn D- 2012: $247M/10 Albert Pujols D- $219M/9 Prince Fielder D+ $122M/5 CC Sabathia D+ $106M/6 Jose Reyes D- 2013: $147M/6 Zack Greinke (with opt-out) A $125M/5 Josh Hamilton F-- 2014: $240M/10 Robinson Cano B so far $155M/7 Masahiro Tanaka D, do to injury- so far $153M/7 Jacoby Ellsbury D, so far $130M/7 Shin-Soo Choo D+, so far $90M/5 Hunter Pence C, due to injuries, so far $85M/5 Brian McCann C 2015: $210M/7 Max Scherzer A, so far $155M/6 Jon Lester A, so far $95M/5 Pablo Sandoval F- so far $88M/4 Hanley Ramirez D+ so far\\ 2016: too early to tell $217M/7 David Price (with opt-out) $207M/6 Zack Greinke $161M/7 Chris Davis $133M/6 Justin Upton (with opt-out) $130M/6 Johnny Cueto (with opt-out) $110M/5 Jordan Zimmerman $90M/5 Jeff Samardzija

Pardon the long list, but here are two lists: First is the biggest FA signings since 2011. Second are the biggest contracts of all time. How many of these guys have been unqualified successes? How many have done a decent to good job? Now, combine the two totals and see if it comes to over 33% or 50%. Recent Top Free Agent Signings: 2011: $142M/7 Carl Crawford $126M/7 Jayson Werth $120M/5 Cliff Lee $80M/5 Adrian Beltre $56M/4 Adam Dunn 2012: $247M/10 Albert Pujols $219M/9 Prince Fielder $122M/5 CC Sabathia $106M/6 Jose Reyes 2013: $147M/6 Zack Greinke (with opt-out) $125M/5 Josh Hamilton 2014: $240M/10 Robinson Cano $155M/7 Masahiro Tanaka $153M/7 Jacoby Ellsbury $130M/7 Shin-Soo Choo $90M/5 Hunter Pence $85M/5 Brian McCann 2015: $210M/7 Max Scherzer $155M/6 Jon Lester $95M/5 Pablo Sandoval $88M/4 Hanley Ramirez 2016: $217M/7 David Price (with opt-out) $207M/6 Zack Greinke $161M/7 Chris Davis $133M/6 Justin Upton (with opt-out) $130M/6 Johnny Cueto (with opt-out) $110M/5 Jordan Zimmerman $90M/5 Jeff Samardzija Largest Contracts (FA or other) 1. Giancarlo Stanton, $325,000,000 (2015-27) 2. Alex Rodriguez, $275,000,000 (2008-17) 3. Alex Rodriguez, $252,000,000 (2001-10) 4. Miguel Cabrera, $248,000,000 (2016-23) 5. Albert Pujols, $240,000,000 (2012-21) … Robinson Cano, $240,000,000 (2014-23) 7. Joey Votto, $225,000,000 (2014-23) 8. David Price, $217,000,000 (2016-22) 9. Clayton Kershaw, $215,000,000 (2014-20) 10. Prince Fielder, $214,000,000 (2012-20) 11. Max Scherzer, $210,000,000 (2015-21) 12. Zack Greinke, $206,500,000 (2016-21) 13. Derek Jeter, $189,000,000 (2001-10) 14. Joe Mauer, $184,000,000 (2011-18) . . . Jason Heyward, $184,000,000 (2016-23) 16. Mark Teixeira, $180,000,000 (2009-16) . . . Justin Verlander, $180,000,000 (2013-19) 18. Felix Hernandez, $175,000,000 (2013-19) . . . Stephen Strasburg, $175,000,000 (2017-23) 20. Buster Posey, $167,000,000 (2013-21) 21. CC Sabathia, $161,000,000 (2009-15) . . . Chris Davis, $161,000,000 (2016-22) 23. Manny Ramirez, $160,000,000 (2001-08) . . . Matt Kemp, $160,000,000 (2012-19) 25. Troy Tulowitzki, $157,750,000 (2011-20) 26. Masahiro Tanaka, $155,000,000 (2014-20) . . . Jon Lester, $155,000,000 (2015-20) 28. Adrian Gonzalez, $154,000,000 (2012-18) 29. Jacoby Ellsbury, $153,000,000 (2014-20) 30. Miguel Cabrera, $152,300,000 (2008-15) 31. Zack Greinke, $147,000,000 (2013-18) 32. Mike Trout, $144,500,000 (2015-20) 33. Cole Hamels, $144,000,000 (2013-18) 34. Carl Crawford, $142,000,000 (2011-17) 35. Todd Helton, $141,500,000 (2003-11) 36. David Wright, $138,000,000 (2013-20) 37. Johan Santana, $137,500,000 (2008-13) 38. Alfonso Soriano, $136,000,000 (2007-14) 39. Freddie Freeman, $135,000,000 (2014-21) 40. Justin Upton, $132,750,000 (2016-21) 41. Shin-Soo Choo, $130,000,000 (2014-20) . . . Johnny Cueto, $130,000,000 (2016-21) 43. Matt Cain, $127,500,000 (2012-17) 44. Barry Zito, $126,000,000 (2007-13) . . . Vernon Wells, $126,000,000 (2008-14) . . . Jayson Werth, $126,000,000 (2011-17) 47. Ryan Howard, $125,000,000 (2012-16) . . . Josh Hamilton, $125,000,000 (2013-17) 49. CC Sabathia, $122,000,000 (2012-16) 50. Mike Hampton, $121,000,000 (2001-08) 51. Jason Giambi, $120,000,000 (2002-08) . . . Matt Holliday, $120,000,000 (2010-16) . . . Cliff Lee, $120,000,000 (2011-15) . . . Elvis Andrus, $120,000,000 (2015-22) 55. Carlos Beltran, $119,000,000 (2005-11) 56. Ken Griffey Jr., $116,500,000 (2000-08) 57. Jordan Zimmermann, $110,000,000 (2016-20) . . . Dustin Pedroia, $110,000,000 (2014-21) 59. Jose Reyes, $106,000,000 (2012-17) 60. Kevin Brown, $105,000,000 (1999-2005) . . . Ryan Braun, $105,000,000 (2016-20) 62. Albert Pujols, $100,000,000 (2004-10) . . . Carlos Lee, $100,000,000 (2007-12) . . . Ryan Zimmerman, $100,000,000 (2014-19) . . . Evan Longoria, $100,000,000 (2017-22) . . . Kyle Seager, $100,000,000 (2015-21) 67. Adam Wainwright, $97,500,000 (2014-18) 68. Pablo Sandoval, $95,000,000 (2015-19) 69. Carlos Zambrano, $91,500,000 (2008-12) 70. Mike Piazza, $91,000,000 (1999-2005) 71. Chipper Jones, $90,000,000 (2001-06) . . . Barry Bonds, $90,000,000 (2002-06) . . . Scott Rolen, $90,000,000 (2003-10) . . . Torii Hunter, $90,000,000 (2008-12) . . . Ichiro Suzuki, $90,000,000 (2008-12) . . . Hunter Pence, $90,000,000 (2014-18) . . . Jeff Samardzija, $90,000,000 (2016-20)

Good point, but people are giving him credit for the rings too.

No, he hasn't "stunk", and he's had some bad luck with our pen holding the lead in his starts, and our offense scoring low in games he allows 3-4 runs. My point has been that Price and most other big FA signings have not come close to meeting expectation- not only over the length of their massive deals, but even in the early years, when they were supposed make up for the poorer latter years. Even players that are doing well out of the gate, like Robinson Cano, has seen his OPS+ go from 148 and 147 the last two years with the Yanks to 142, 117 and 135 with Seattle.

You know else happens a lot, after the first year struggles? More struggles, mediocrity, injury or worse.\ Just look at the list a couple pages back.

Yes, he has blown away the other GM in big FA signings and trades since joinging the Cubs, but if you combined his Sox record, at least since 2007, I bet his o verall percentage is below 55%/