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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Fox's stats were so whelming that when announcers looked at his baseball.ref page, they invented the phrase, "Whoa, Nellie!"
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It will be hard for the pitching to excel at this rate for five more months, because there's really little depth anywhere in the org to help the rotation when others inevitably wear down or need a stint on the IL. But the staff can remain a positive. It will be hard for the defense to suck as badly as last year, even without Story -- the outfield is improved, and the rookie DP combo is at least young and athletic (Ceddanne and Griz will have growing pains, but can't be as bad as Kike-Valdez). But the offense isn't going to get appreciably better. Devers will heat up with the weather, but still not have protection in the line-up, and still feel the burden of being paid to be the man. The only man... the lonely man...
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    A lot of fans like to dismiss 2020 and not give the Sox the discredit they deserve. If they played an entire season with that cast of miscasts, I'm confident they would've been that bad.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Plays for the Red Sox.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The future looked great for Dodger fans when they got Mookie. They don't even have a forum where posters fret about budgets and the back end of longterm contracts. That kinda talk is banned on their most popular fan board: LiveforLA, LiveforTODAY.com
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Casas is a presence, even with umps on a mission to call strikes on him because he keeps yapping. Sale carved up probably the Sox' two best players so far this season -- Duran and Abreu -- three Ks each, like they were lefty-hitting minor leaguers. Maybe the line-up misses Yoshida more than fans would admit; at least he makes contact... The Sox' batting order of whiffers is in dire need of a guy like Arraez, someone with a 7.5% K rate. I'm not saying Arraez specifically -- not advocating trading a Pablo Lopez or four prospects for him -- but how much better would Boston be if there was just one guy who could consistently TOUCH the ball with a baserunner on third and less than two outs? How did Nellie Fox make the Hall of Fame? Here's one stat: 2.1% career K rate. He averaged 15 strikeouts per year in 19 seasons. The 2024 Red Sox average 10 Ks per GAME.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    As I said earlier this AM, gotta give credit to opposing pitchers, too. Duran doubles, Raffy swings at Lopez' high first pitch and pops out. Duran triples, Raffy takes Lopez' first pitch right down the middle... then whiffs on a slider in the dirt. Lopez is a righty. It will be interesting to watch Sale's plan for Devers tonight. Chris has probably been planning how to pitch Raffy for about seven years now... load knows he's spent plenty of time watching him from the sidelines. Wonder if Raffy has ever given much thought on how to hit Sale's stuff -- when it's good. Hint: best approach may not be to swing harder.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    There are factors we'll never know about or can never see. What separates Raffy now from that last weekend in Washington, 2021, when he crushed three HRs on the final two days in must-win games? Are nagging hip and/or shoulder injuries keeping him down now? Remember, at the end of '21 he had to wear a sleeve on a sore arm that altered his swing -- did that adjustment actually focus a bat path to more barrels? Are Devers' eyes not as sharp as they were three years ago? Are anyone's? Did Raffy have more protection batting in the middle of Schwarber, Bogaerts and JD? There's no doubt that was a trio of respected All-Star hitters who taxed pitchers' arms in every at bat. He also didn't have the expectations of a $300+ million dollar man back then...
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Without getting into another debate about the controversial "c-word" that's not a steep rock face (especially at the edge of the sea)... ... this is really what separates stars from average players, and clubs that win more than other clubs. And it doesn't always reflect trends or randomness of talent. When posters complain that the team's best player only pads stats in meaningless blow-outs and repeatedly fails to deliver with a close game on the line, they're not always imagining things. Sometimes it has nothing to do with physical skills, but often the mental stress of pressure that causes swing decisions different than in more relaxing at bats. Also gotta give opposing batteries and coaching staffs credit for getting the job done in high leverage moments (and saving elbows and shoulders when way ahead or far behind).
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Slaten's still a prospect? Hope he makes it.
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Wasn't it you, Irish, who always blamed Bloom for taking the middle fork in the road every deadline? And wasn't it MVP, your nemesis (nemebro?), just now agreeing with you -- in an abstract albeit simplified way? And it is me, right here and now, who says no GM/CBO should ever be allowed to eat or serve lunch with or to his conference room full of Assistant Presidents of Vice, with anything called a spork. As a matter of fact, everyone should be banned from ever eating or cooking (nuking or even stirring at high temps with plastic utensils) with plastic, or storing anything edible in toxic containers or bags or wrap. The world should've listened to post-Beatles John Lennon, warning us all when he named his new group Plastic Oh No! Band. Luckily, Jimmy Page was listening, and invented Heavy Metal.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    This may drive the number crunchers crazy, but if a team plays all 162 scheduled games in a season, can it ever finish three games over .500? Three wins better than break-even 81-81 is a record of 84-78 -- good enough to get the D-backs into the '23 World Series. But say a club is .500 at 78-78 -- and then wins its final six... isn't that six games over .500? Or just six better than .500? 82-80, two game diff; 83-79, four game diff... if the Sox are on pace for either, they probably still don't get a wild card game. These are the projections that can get 18 Asst. VPs arguing about buying or selling... or closing up Blooms like tulips on cold Spring nights.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Sox were right in the thick of the playoff race through July with a three-man starting rotation of Paxton, Bello and Crawford. Bernardino was their best opener, with Pivetta the top bulk guy. Who knows how far they would've gone if Bloom gave the Cardinals a better package than Texas did for Montgomery and Stratton. The Rangers gave up a couple of Top 100 prospects, but it won them the World Series.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I think Paulino was just a symbol on the board last summer of all the expendable non-Mayer middle infield prospects that Bloom had hoarded in his Era -- and refused to deal in any package for uprgrades to the big league roster. Not that there were ever any reports that any other club actually coveted any specific Red Sox prospects...
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Trading for any prospect is always about potential and projection. But right now, everyone in the Red Sox system in "on the charts."
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Weissert has been an important reliever so far. More importantly, Abreu has seized the opportunity as the new rightfielder to become a key member of both the offense and defense. 2024 Verdugo: .261, .770, 0.9 WAR; 2024 Abreu: .297, .853, 1.5 WAR
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Worst trade ever. Just yesterday, a young girl caller on MLB Channel asked for advice on how she could be the best ballplayer possible. "The same thing I live by," replied the big league shortstop and MLB leader in WAR, OBP, runs scored, and walks. "Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do." The host said that's why Mookie Betts is the best. Maybe some day, Connor Wong and Richard Fitts will form an All-Star battery in Boston... and it will still be the worst trade in Red Sox history.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Last year we tried to give away Paulino, but now he's outhitting Meyer, Teel and Anthony. Edison can play anywhere -- which means he may be promoted before any of the other future "position" prospects... I just called Chaim in St. Loo and asked if the Cards had a lower level, expendable power arm. He just said, "Hold on, I won't get right back to you."
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Seem to recall those were the days he was "still researching." But I give him all the credit for overcoming mental health issues to become a borderline offensive star in the AL. He didn't have to tell the world, especially about something that remains an ongoing challenge, but he did, in the hopes that it might help others.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    McGuire's steal of third base probably wasn't just a slow guy suddenly deciding to take off because he felt like it. There was one out, at the bottom of the order -- maybe the best time to swipe third and set up many more possibilities to score than on an extra-base hit: single, sac fly, sac bunt, grounder (to at least first, second and shortstop), error, wild pitch/pass ball/balk, etc. That was a great swimming slide by Reese to make it, too.
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Not sure which Yoshida posts you're using to discern social attitudes of posters. Mine stated two facts: the play that he missed that broke the light last year, and Cora stating publicly that Yoshida won't be playing much left field this year. I've always defended Yoshida for making the routine plays and hitting the cutoffs, and have never criticized his D -- like I have numerous times with Franchy (wherever he played) and Duran, the year he just stood there and watched an inside-the-parker. But if the manager is staying away from Masa in the field, then the Sox have obviously decided he's too much of a risk to be a regular there.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I would say that sums up most fast athletes when learning how to become good outfielders. After time, experiences in game situations, and reps in practice, can actually improve instincts and routes. One of the hardest plays to teach young outfielders is pursuing long drives over their heads. It's initially awkward to turn your back to home plate and sprint to where you think the ball will travel -- but it's the fastest way to get there. Then, knowing when to turn forward again to see the ball is the trick -- even if you have to backpedal the last few strides to make the catch... ... kids shouldn't try to be Jim Edmonds, dive headfirst into the fence, and risk inside-the-park homers and/or concussions.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    At least Cora won't let Yoshida play left this season, so not many balls can soar past him and get stuck in a light, two feet off the ground. There's a reason that's never happened before in a ballpark over one hundred years old...
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Of course, Atlanta's starting rotation is led by veteran ace Chris Sale, the Braves' top winner and WHIP leader. Sale is on pace for another season of 30 games started, which all Red Sox fans will remember he made for Boston the past four years from 2020 to 2023... COMBINED. But at age 35, he'll never get hurt or miss another start again. Is there even any doubt, that if the Braves somehow falter, that Philadelphia farm burner Dave Dombrowski will trade some top prospects to pick up Sale for the stretch drive? Hold on... Chaim Bloom just called DD and told him to wait until the last seconds of the trade deadli-- too late!
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Big win for the Sox, who now have to brace themselves to play a pair vs. a Braves franchise that called Boston home for 77 years (starting in 1876)... but then fled Beantown -- 71 seasons ago. Compared to the inconsistent Red Sox, everyone knows how much better the Great Braves are: Atlanta has one more entire win than Boston! While the poor Sox only lead the majors in WAR for pitching staffs and outfielders, the balanced Braves with all their young stars signed to longterm team-friendly contracts sport a superior edge in the most important department: Defensive Efficiency: Atlanta .708, Boston .707.
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