moonslav59

I have no big beef with JF over line-up choices, but my own personal preference is to move guys up or down based on splits a little more than JF does. I really think Young needs to bat no lower than 5th vs LHPs. 6th is okay, I guess, but the guy is one of MLB's best hitters vs lefties. Last year, he had 27 PAs in the 1-5 slots, 49 in the 6th slot, 114 in the 7th slot and 37 in the 8th or 9 slots. Granted, he started 33 games vs a RH'd starter and only 20 vs a LH'd starter, so these numbers are not as bad as they look. Last year, we faced 37 LH'd starters. Young was injured for some of them, but this year, assuming good health, I'd like to see Young get 37 starts vs LHPs and maybe just 0-15 vs RHPs (to cover injuries only). When he does start vs lefties, bat him 5th. I also think Bogey's career sample size is large enough to make the determination that he hits LHPs much better than RHPs and should be slotted differently based on the numbers: .847 vs LHPs (.800 when a lefty starts) .717 vs RHPs (.728 when a RH'd starter pitches) We should avoid playing Pablo and Moreland vs LHPs. My guess is, JF will start Pablo vs LHPs to begin the season. I wouldn't. He will probably use a Moreland-Young platoon at 1B (Moreland)/DH (Young) with HanRam playing FT at DH vs RHPs and 1B vs LHPs. This seems like a perfect set-up to keep HanRam fresh at 1B, so when we play in NL parks, he'll be ready vs LHPs or RHPs at 1B. Young can spell JBJ and Beni in the OF vs some LHPs, but I'd prefer Holt or Selsky in the line-up vs LHPs over Moreland. If we ever end up with Leon and Swihart as our 1-2 catchers, I'd avoid the personal caddy plan and go with a lefty - righty platoon. Leon is about a hundred points better vs LHPs, and Swihart looks better vs RHPs (by about 50 points). Vaz is about 80 points better vs LHPs, so I guess one could say the same with a Swi-Vaz tandem. Swi and Vaz have almost identical numbers vs LHPs in small sample sizes.

Me too, as well as HanRam, but Pablo much more so. I wonder how signing just hanRam to play 3B would have worked out.

I never said "we should have done nothing", but I am saying it was a viable option. My position was to get a serviceable 5th starter or go for an ace (like Sale or Quintana)... not overpay for something in between. I'd have preferred nothing over the trade we made, and I made that very clear at the time, and when we had the chance to reverse the trade after the trade deadline was past. That is proof that I preferred nothing over this trade. It does not mean doing nothing was my first choice. I posted many times my ideas of what kind of trade I preferred. I'm not sure the CWS were ready for a big trade last summer, and I guess we'll never know, but I think they'd have made the trade with Espi instead of Kopech (or maybe with both going to Chicago with Basabe and Diaz staying here). I actually liked Pomeranz and was happy he had 2.5 years of team control, but I still hated the trade more out of my view that trading a guy like Espi should only occur as part of a larger package to get an ace- not a guy with just a few months of great pitching.

I still think the 15-20 extra PAs per slot in the order is enough to make a bigger difference than you make it out to be. I believe your numbers, but a few runs here and there can make the difference between making the playoffs or not. Maybe it's not as big of a deal as many make it out to be, and the topic is debated much more than it should be, but I still think a manager should do everything he can to improve the chances of scoring more runs or allowing less runs scored against us. Even a little bit can make a big difference.

I'm not so sure Kendrick, Johnson, Owens and Elias are even bottom tier (16 or worse) 7 through 10 starters in MLB. Not many teams have quality deeper than starter 4 or 5. We have maybe one of MLB's best 6th starter (if healthy) and 7 through 10 are probably pretty close to other teams.

Again, it's NOT AFTER THE FACT. I despised the trade from the first minute.

This from SB Nation... 12/2016 6) Marco Hernandez, INF, Grade B-: Age 24, originally signed by Cubs out of Dominican Republic, traded to Red Sox in 2014; hit .309/.343/.444 in 223 at-bats in Triple-A then .294/.357.373 in 51 major league at-bats spread over five separate recalls in ’16; has hit very well for two years, with a .305/.330/.454 mark in Double-A/Triple-A in ’15; line drive hitter with doubles power can surprise with his pop; tools fit best at second base but workable at other positions; projects as super-utility type with better-than-normal bat in the role; doesn’t get as much attention as other Boston prospects but should not be under-estimated. ETA 2017.

Here's my positional depth chart: 3B: vs RHPs: 1) Pablo 2) Hernandez 3) Holt vs LHPs: 1) Rutledge 2T) Hernandez & Holt SS: 1) Bogey 2) Hernandez 3) Holt 2B: 1) Pedey 2T) Hernandez & Holt 1B: 1) Moreland/Ramirez 2) Travis 3) Holt (maybe Swihart after some practice) LF: 1) Beni 2) Young 3T) Selsky & Holt (Moreland in a pinch) CF/RF: Move Beni to position and Young to LF, 3T) Selsky/Holt in LF Once again, as I've brought up several times over the last few months, why not trade the guy with some nice trade value- Brock Holt? Rutledge and Hernandez start the season on the 25 man roster. Selsky and Marrero are extended depth with a positional move by Swihart to 3B or 1B remaining as an option or emergency plan C.

I loved the Porcello extension from day one, but I was on another site defending the extension even through the rough patch of early 2015.

At the time of the trade, we were 50-38 and 2 games up in the division. Seems we were doing pretty good despite the fact that we had these numbers from our 4 through 9 starters: 3-9 5.91 Buch (13 GS) 2-0 8.46 Kelly (6) 1-3 8.59 ERod (6) 2-0 6.75 O'Sullivan (4) 0-0 5.11 Owens (3) 0-1 15.88 Elias (1) No doubt, these numbers were frightening, while Pomeranz had put up great numbers in the first half of 2016, but we didn't "have to" do anything. Pomeranz's second half performance proved we didn't, and yes that is hindsight, but I still think we didn't need to try and find a number 3 type starter. A one year fifth starter rental was an option as well as doing nothing but hope Buch or ERod would rebound.

No. Not "after the fact." I hated the trade at the time, and said so repeatedly. I do think we could have used another starter, but it was not essential. I said that at the time too. When the league offered a give back, I said we should do it, even knowing we were past the trade deadline, and it meant we'd have to finish the season without Pom. Something did not "have to be done", At worst, we could have traded for a 5th starter tyep for less of a bounty/

From the moment we signed Pablo, I viewed him as a platoon player.

I guess I've always been in that 10%.

It didn't "have to be done". Yes, we seemed to need a starter, but one, he wasn't the only starter out there, and two, it turned out we did fine without Pom doing much for us anyway.

True 'nuff!

Personally I've always thought he was a better overall player than the vastly overrated Brock Holt, but I would keep Holt and Rutledge over him in Boston for bench roles. However if the Sox need someone to start in the infield, I'd prefer calling up Hernandez and keeping Holt and Rutledge on the bench. Pretty much sums it up correctly.

Losing Clay you can handle. With Pomeranz being damaged goods is not. I objected? I was one of the most outspoken posters against the Pom trade right from the start.

If Swi hits .280 and Vaz hits .220, but Vaz can save a run defensively every 4-5 games, Vaz is the better choice.

I thought Pom was one of the best pitchers available (thinking he was healthy). I still hated the trade from the first minute it was made. Now, I'm double whammied.

...I wonder if DD should have backed out of this deal when he had the chance. Should have never made the trade to start with.

MLBTR... Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright finally seems to be putting his long bout with right shoulder bursitis behind him, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Wright, a 2016 All-Star whose season ended in August after he injured his shoulder as a pinch-runner, threw three hitless innings against the Twins on Saturday. The 32-year-old indicated afterward that he’s “in good position to be ready for Opening Day.”

I'd think about it, if Hernandez was a plus defender at SS. I don't think he is.

Rutledge probably rates to be a better hitter vs LHPs- something Pablo really struggles with. Rutledge might be a better defensive 3Bman than Hernandez, and 3B is the most likely IF position needing help. These two factors make the Rutledge-Hernandez comparison a lot closer than ST'ing numbers show. Hernandez vs LHPs: MLB: He only has 9 PAs vs LHPs (less that 1/6th of his career PAs. Obviously for a reason.) AAA ('16) .736 in 67 ABs AAA ('15) .710 in 54 ABs AA ('15) .731 in 88 ABs A+ ('14) .531 in 118 ABs A (2013) .595 in 95 ABs A (2012) .459 in 47 ABs A- ('12) .496 in 59 ABs Marco seems to have improved vs LHPs over the years, but Rutledge has a .721 career MLB sply vs LHPs in over 330 PAs. He had a .777 OPS in 2015 AAA (97 ABs). In 2014, he had a 1.318 OPS in 18 ABs. He had an .855 OPS vs lefties in 2013 (29 ABs). I'm not sure we can say Hernandez is better vs LHPs based on just ST'ing numbers.

Of course the line-up matters, if not just for the fact that our lead off hitter got 772 PAs and our 9th hitter got 628. That's over 140 more PAs for a better hitter over a worse one. The difference between batting Betts 3rd or 9th would be over 100 PAs. How can that be insignificant?

There's a lot to talk up. Holt has a lot of value.