vegasbob
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Everything posted by vegasbob
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"P.S. Ignore at your own peril. " Great article in the WSJ about the total failure of the Orioles, under Dan Duquette and Showalter, to develop any analytic abilities until GM Mike Elias took over last year . He is now trying to build an data base and systems via Sig Mejdal as his ass't GM. The O's also had no int'l scouting capacity. The aging Peter Angelos, 90, finally turned things over to his sons, who brought Elias , who now will try to mimic his success with the Astros developing their high level model of analytics. Of course, Showalter had to go and current manager, Brandon Hyde , formerly with Theo's Cubs, believes in using the available data.
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Just a guess towards the future but something tells me that Sale is more the team player than Betts will be.
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Colton Brewer also whiffed his 3 batters with a very good 12 to 6 curve ball. The bullpen wars continue as the team gets ready to head west on Sunday. The hitters showed up with some 2 out rbi's by Pedroia, Martinez and Devers
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Also , should acknowledge Matt Barnes was sharp with 3 K's in his one inning.
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Thornburg walks 3 in relief , using 25 pitches but K's Kiermeyer with the bases full, allows no runs, bounces 3 pitches off Swihart. Must be working on a new pitch. Does not look to have much command at this point, inconsistent motion, poor follow through falling off towards first base side. D. Hernandez similarly wild with 3 walks but again no runs allowed .
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Porcello with a good start vs. the Orioles today, but Mejia looking like a fire drill.
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Not really, but I do believe what Parcells did say several years ago. I think the Sox will win 100+ games again over a full season, JDM will go .325/40/120, and that the record after the first 11 road games will 5-6 or 6-5, as opposed to last year's incredible 17-2 run. Slower start, excellent finish in September.
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Could Swihart being behind Moreland at 1B provided enough coverage to avoid paying Steve Pearce over $6 million, which in turn probably made the overall bullpen what we see today , an unsettled situation ? Pearce brings the power hitting threat from the RH side, and Moreland has trouble playing a full season without injury, so the backup guy does need some decent skill/experience level. If Sale and Price prefer pitching to Leon, let's survey the infielders on who they want at 1B to snag their errant throws. First up, Rafi.
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Interesting fact : there are only 8 pitchers in this decade that have achieved 120 victories ( or more). Rick Porcello , at 30 yrs old, is the youngest. Kershaw, King Felix and Gio Gonzalez are the next 3 youngest. Kershaw is opening the season not on the mound but on the IL, Hernandez is somewhat washed up in Seattle, and Gonzalez , at 33, got an incentive laden $3MM guaranteed, incentive laden minor league deal with the Yankees. Gio hasn't missed a start since June 2014, sporting a 3.75 ERA over that timeframe. Don't dismiss big bat Rick P yet. He may not rank with Mookie or Chris as a premium signee but he should get some love as a mid rotation , starter after this year. The Sox, known for developing their young pitchers, could do worse than offer Porcello an extension. I hope Rick's mound slot comes up in Arizona so he can hit again.
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Living in So Cal , it will be easier to go to Phoenix for the D'back series and see Rick Porcello rake for one game. Definitely will see 2 of those games.
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Do you really play like you practice, a la Parcells ? Or do they have a switch they can throw and wipe the clubhouse latrine with the Mariners, A's and D'Backs. Don't think so. A 6-5 record going home to Boston would be a win, given the ST performances.
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No, perhaps they can afford a 12 year $430MM contract from a funding point of view. But from a realistic viewpoint being married to a mega-contract for 12 years, consuming about 20% of your salary cap is not a way to have a consistently competitive team. Has Mookie Betts so impressed you that he is deserving of the #1 contract of all time ? This isn't the NBA where 2 or 3 players can keep a team at the top (GSW) for multi-years. Betts , Harper, Trout hit 5 times a game, 150 times a year if not injured. They fail to move the runner, if any, 65% of the time. Trout will now play for the rest of his games on the same team that has reached the playoffs once in his HoF career , and may never again. One or even three players does not make a baseball team. The 2018 Yankees should have cleaned up in the AL East with Judge, Stanton, Severino, etc, but they failed to notice the 108 game winners from Boston who had Vazquez, Leon, Swihart catching and Nunez/Holt playing second base, 2 of the 4 key positions on a team
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The Pearce signing at over $6MM was an unusual decision for this team. Regrettably Sam Travis put no pressure on the situation to make a break through. He's now another of the Sox professional AAAA'ers. I still think that the WS win took huge pressure off DD & Henry to do something to get over the top. This non-decision on signing any closer stems from the pass that the WS win provides, Kimbrel's performance and contract expectations, luxury tax avoidance, and the need to try and sort out Sale, Betts, etc first as far more important pieces. The closer can come later, say July 30 since the Sox will be in the AL East and WC competition unless the whole starting lineup goes to sleep, which is always a possibility in a post championship season.
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Even with Vazquez missing several weeks last summer , Sandy Leon appeared in 89 games, while Christian still chalked up 80, and their AB totals were fairly similar. Swihart played, in various roles including PH/PR, 82 games with about 60 fewer AB's than Leon. It would not be surprising for the Sox to keep Leon to satisfy Sale for this year, and likely lose Swihart for no asset in return. However, Leon will be over 30 this year and unless he delivers a miracle season at bat, do you think the Sox are likely to sign him again going forward ? If they get serious about signing Sale to an extension, is Sandy part of Chris's package ? Obviously we do not know Sale's true pressure on management to keep Leon as his caddy, but the loss of Swihart's still to be realized upside, his positional flexibility, ability to be a runner when needed, and marginally lower contract cost over time is a lot to lose for nothing added. Tough decision for Cora/DD.
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yes, Cora said 13 pitchers indicating some of the marginal guys will still be in "earn the job" mode during the first 11 road games. The move with Pedey was highly predictable to keep him out of the cool, often wet opening road trip . Not a bad idea at all, let him open his season back in Boston. With the 13 pitchers being carried, the Swihart-Leon pick'em goes down to the wire.
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Good performance by Barnes, Brasier, Thornburg today in relief of Sale who was sharp. Hope springs eternal
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Ironic that JDM is 1 for 16 , bit of a late start, while Pedey is hitting .500 ! However, that's 2 for 4 AB's, not exactly in full playing mode yet . Could easily start the year on DL for the initial road trip, show up more ready to play in Boston .
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If nothing else Swihart's hitting so far this ST may make him a little more tradable. It will be interesting to see how the "contest" plays out.
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Workman and Hembree both had effective one inning stints today striking out 5 of 6. Watched Feltman throw and he has an odd motion which may show the grip or ball early. Hard to tell. Command was not great, his breaking pitch down and in to lefties, sinking away from RH'ers looked good.
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Brian Johnson must be working on a new pitch. He's showing no sign of being ready to be effective.
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Today, Brandon Workman joins Thornburg in raising more questions than answers for the bullpen. Velasquez also got hit pretty good. Sox are having a combo of light hitting and little pitching as the dog days of Spring training roll on.
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Tyler Thornburg is quickly making the bullpen resolution more difficult with another poor outing vs the Mets today. Matt Barnes first appearance , also knocked around, can be overlooked because we know how good he really is. You would not want the last almost 3 weeks of ST to exacerbate the mindset that the bullpen is a serious question on this team, but the ship hasn't found its course yet.
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Betts has no natural affinity to give the Red Sox a hometown deal, because it's not his hometown. Remember, he is a player not a fan, and owes himself the best deal, not us. He has the 2018 ring, he has the MVP award and he will have the chance to show the world he is the #1 valued player of all time with a shot at a mega-contract exceeding Harper's ( who will eventually kill the Nationals chance at anything). He will keep that opportunity open and test the market. So enjoy the next 600 AB's of 2019 with Mookie .
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Agreed, the lineup to me looks like : Beinitendi, Betts, JDM, Devers or Bogaerts, Bogaerts or Devers, Pearce/Moreland, Pedroia, Vazquez/Leon, JBJr. I place Jackie B in the 9th slot mostly because I want him on base in front of the Benny/Betts/JDM crew instead of the base clogging thick thighed catchers. Devers is set for a big year and if JBJr listens to JDM , he will be the leagues best #9 hitter. No real reson for Pedey to hit above #7, as he may only play 110 games or less in a good year so picture Holt/Nunez filling that slot 1/3 of the time without disrupting the rest of the hitters routine slot
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Steven Wright facing 80 game suspension
vegasbob replied to Jasonbay44's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
At least Cora acknowledged that Wright was not in the "right" condition to open the season on the active roster. Think what you will, but the 34 year old specialty pitch thrower with a really bad knee had limited chances to get a MLB contract while rehabbing, so he took a chance and lost . But did he really. He know has 3 more months to work out the knee and his knuckleball and right in place come mid summer to fill a potential hole and pick up a cool $650K+ for doing so. So who is the idiot ---him or us for caring WTF happens to him ? By late June, someone will be looking for his penintent return. Just don't count on Steven for any playoff action for the second year in a row. He's already ineligible. Isn't there someone else more interesting to talk about. Oh yeah, Pedey played an inning today and is 1 for 1 this Spring.
