S5Dewey

Not me. JBJ's defense isn't going to get any worse, at least for several years, and IMO there's at least as much chance to bet on the over in his offense as bet on the under. Every time he takes the field, every day, he has the potential to save a one or two run game for you with his defense. Without Papi's offense we're going to need that.

Perspective being everything, I have to chuckle at this post. He "only" made $30M in three years?? I know, I know. Ballplayers get paid unreasonably well. But anyway... The Sox may have one thing to offer that many teams don't have. The legitimate chance at a ring, and as players age that becomes more and more of a priority to them. Sometimes that's even worth money or years on a contract, especially to a guy who's already a multi-millionaire. Without that carrot I don't think the Sox will even be in the running for EE, but with a ring in mind Boston (and less money) may look better to him

I'd love to see him back but I don't see it happening. He's had his "victory tour" and it would be difficult for him to change his mind now. As an old "friend" of ours used to say, "Everything ends and most things don't end well". IMO Papi is determined that this one end well.

I don't remember anyone's ever questioning his defense (and I'm not implying that you were!). IMHO it's mostly about his offense. I don't know what their progression chart looks like for players but it's entirely possible that he's not progressing as quickly offensively as they'd like. Beyond that... I got nothin'...

The bullpen has been maddening, now in a good way. We now have our two Asian pitcher believing that it's 2013 again, which is a big factor. And let's give credit to the starters for going deeper into games now. Also, Farrell seems to have a better feel for the game. I was wondering when he pulled ERod last night if he would have made that move a month ago, or if he'd have let ERod try to pitch his way out of it. He seems to be managing with a sense of urgency, which is a definite improvement. Or.. maybe he now knows what to expect from pitchers on the staff.

This whole thing sounds to me like Mazzeroti trying to make something big out of something small - not that he'd actually DO that. First of all, how deep is the FO's dog house? That happened 2 1/2 months ago. Does it make any sense that the FO would "punish" Vaz for this long by relegating him to Pawtucket? And then pick up Holaday as Vaz'replacement? If this is the issue, why is only Vazquez being "punished"? If they're making a statement that the JF is going to call the pitches then shouldn't the pitcher bear some responsibility for what pitch is thrown? Or is it a matter of "We can't punish Wright because he's pitching too well". In which case, isn't that the exact opposite message they want to send, the new message being that if you're playing well you can do anything you want? I don't know why Vaz was sent to Pawtucket for as long as he was, but I have to believe that it doesn't center around the pitcher and catcher overruling the manager. That may have been a part of the issue but IMO there's a lot more to it than that.

The more you post the less interested you seem in Encanarcion - which is great with me.

Man, I like having JBJ out there. He just runs to 'the spot' and waits for the ball.

Oh yeah. We have to be concerned. We're Red Sox fans. As I see it there is no team in the AL that doesn't have its issues and you've outlined our pitching issues very well. The thing I like about this team is that they've shown the ability to beat essentially anyone. Of course, they've also shown the ability to lose to anyone, but let's not talk about THAT! LOL All facets of the game are coming together at the moment, defense, hitting, and pitching. If all three engines keep clicking as they are this could be a (relatively) stress-free playoffs but that's asking for a lot. But if any one engine falters the other two engines are solid enough to keep us in most games.

IMO it all comes down to what we document and what we tend to remember. Sunday night's game is a good example of it. Everyone remembers Hanley's HR because it's exciting and makes a statement. It goes down in the book as a 3-run HR and everyone cheers. OTOH, JBJ's catch early in the game and Mookie's two catches later in the game are applauded but at the end of the game (and in the book) they're written down as "F8" or "F9" and while they're not forgotten at the same time they're not given the importance they deserve. Those catches not only deprived the Yankees of the immediate runs it's also very possible that they kept them from scoring even more runs by "robbing" them of 1/3 of an inning. When compared to average defense it's a two-out "swing", the difference between two outs in an inning and four outs. It's HUGE. We've always disagreed on this point and we probably always will. It's fine.

Or better yet, try to convince Yankee fans that Girardi is superior!

You and I may not agree on everything but we certainly do on this point. I could see the FO standing pat over the winter and go into 2017 with what we've got, except that I'd like to trade one of Swihart or Holt (and maybe T. Shaw depending on how Sam Travis does) as part of a package to improve the pen. And I don't even know why I want to try to improve the pen, when everyone's bullpen is a crap shoot for next year anyway, including ours!

I don't see it that way. Good defense can make the pitching look very good while poor defense can make even good pitching look bad. And a team's record look even worse. Here's a quick example that comes to my mind immediately. This team has lost FOUR games on walk-off errors this year. That's four games they've lost to poor defense, and those losses weren't pitching-dependent. I have no idea why some people underrate defense the way they do.

I'm of the opinion that there's a correlation between outstanding standing defense and good pitching.

Ya...see, this is one of those posts that sticks in my craw. Why? Because at no point in all six paragraphs of the post is the word "DEFENSE" even mentioned. When JBJ or Mookie make those diving catches in the outfield and when XBo goes deep into the hole to throw someone out it's the result of DEFENSE, not pitching and certainly not offense. But some people overlook it, giving credit to the pitcher. What??? It's the pitcher who allowed the hitter to put the ball in a place where the defensive player had to make that play! In Monday night's one-run game JBJ made an outstanding catch just prior to Sanchez' HR that definitely saved a run, and Mookie made TWO outstanding catches late in the game... but we're led to believe that defense isn't as important as offense or pitching??? My best guess would be that if a team has average hitting, average pitching, and average offense they're going to be an average team. If they excel in any one area they're going to be that much better, and the more areas they excel in the better they're going to be.

With all due respect, I think those two posts are in conflict with one another.

Another difference that barely shows up in the "Tracker" is the difference in defense. JBJ made a catch last night before Sanchez' HR that saved a run in a game that ended up being decided by one run. In addition - something that doesn't show up in the scorebook - players are very hesitant to run on JBJ's arm where the same runners are taking advantage of the fact that Ellsbury has a noodle arm. I'm now embarrassed to admit that I wanted Ellsbury back, just not at what the Yankees were willing to pay for him. Thanks, Hank!

Forgive me if I've posted this link before, but it seems appropriate to the conversation.

To me this lead is tenuous. Maybe I've been a Sox fan too long, but to me a 'nice lead' is a lead that's bigger than the number of games we're going to be playing against our next opponent. I want to know that we're going to leave every series and still be in first place. THAT is a nice lead.

This seems to be what we're getting from Clay now. If you think back to his previous start, Pedey had a ball go off his glove that would have saved Clay's ass had it been caught and Clay's line would have looked a lot better. Aside from a lot of walks. Ugh. But in his most recent start walks weren't a problem. I like to think that his game is coming together, but even if it isn't he's still better than any other starting pitcher we can run out there.

I know his final numbers looked ok, but if you watched the game you know he was only about one pitch from being knocked out of the game in at least three of those six innings. In spite of his pitching line, that wasn't his finest hour.

It's a difficult decision. We're in tough pennant race and trying to win every game, and while we'd like to rest either or both of JBJ and Mookie, their defense alone makes it tough to do. In last night's game both of them made plays that probably swung the outcome of the game.

I know this: I'm seeing a Hanley now that I didn't even know existed last year at this time. This bat is the one we're paying $22M for and it's finally showed up, just in time!

So... if there are more qualified men available and someone points that out, is the person who points it out a sexist pig? And how did race get into this discussion anyway?

Yeah, but one thing has nothing to do with the other. Even though Spuds has the hots for her, she's still a terrible announcer. And whose idea was it to put Aaron F. Boone in the booth with her? This guy bleeds in pinstripes.