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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Interesting prospect list by one website, dated 1/5/23. After Mayer-Casas-Rafaela, they have #4 Niko Kavadas, #5 Yorke, #6 Matthew Lugo, and #7 Bleis. It's a fantasy site, so Niko's .437 OBP is big... also, noted is Lugo's rise after shifting full-time to third base (he's 21, so there's still time to move him to another position, unless he can wait until he's 32 and Raffy's gone). https://www.pitcherlist.com/boston-red-sox-top-fantasy-baseball-prospects-2023/
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Dusty Baker said Houston traded for Vazquez to pinch-hit for Maldonado and play in late innings -- not to upgrade the position, but to augment it. The Astros were never going to replace Maldonado as the #1 catcher last year. The reason they didn't trade for Contreras, instead, is that Dusty said he didn't want an All-Star pouting on the bench. Maldonado's been the Astros' top backstop the past three seasons, which includes two World Series teams, and the pitching staff -- a major strength -- is obviously comfortable working with him. The question for the '23 Red Sox catchers is how well will they adjust to the new pitch clock and pick-off limitations? The running game may be a bigger factor than ever... ... and a clever club may really benefit from the thievery possibilities. Maybe that's why Bloom hasn't been overly concerned with replacing power hitters since '21.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    We always agree on the rotation... and the phrase probably not enough.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's good that some posters believe in second-chances, even for pro athletes who hurt other people. Even a convicted dog-killer gets to play quarterback again. For a guy like that, I can only hope for a second chance with his victims and that he gets to spend the after-life in a fenced-in kennel with the spirits of man's best friends.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    But not even the Uncle Uppers think the Sox will have a better record in '23 just for bringing back a guy they already had on a cellar dweller. However, the Devers' deal is cause for optimism on so many fronts: Raffy is now the load-bearing pillar in the entire reconstruction of the next sustained contender... his extension signifies the grand reopening of the bandbox relic on Lansdowne Street, paying top dollar for top talent... and with Raffy the life of the party, it will hopefully make Fenway an attractive destination again for other superstars to join in the festivities... ... and subtly, there's a new culture on a roster relieved of big contract distractions and impending relocations. The cloud of doubt that drained the '22 Sox' famous free agents and their teammates is gone -- maybe that alone will lead to a happier club.
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Most of these match-ups are fair, but a good GM has to anticipate some regression and/or injuries and prepare accordingly. For example, Nate's history. Also, Barnes was broken, and nothing going into '22 showed anyone he was fixed. I was going to question your Story comps, but was surprised to see Arroyo as '21's most games played at second base, with only 51. Kike was next with 47... then Marwin 37 and Chavis 22. Bloom really needs to leave Story at second, period. Who on your list do you see as most likely bounce-back vets in '23? A healthy Kike would seem obvious, but he's also two years older. I'll nominate Arroyo, who hit .329 with an .806 in the second half last season. It kinda goes without saying that Pivetta and Dalbec need to improve.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Eovaldi was the big change, and there was just no viable contingency to replace the injured ace. Your data shows that ERod wasn't sufficiently replaced, either. Houck pissed me off all year, and despite the numbers, Whitlock seemed way more valuable in '21. At the plate, I would've thought Dalbec was the biggest downgrade of himself from '21, basically because he was invisible. This year seems like a make-or-break, wherever he lands.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Generic maybe-living-in-the-past-intensity reason to be skeptical about Paxton: despite his stats, Yankee fans disliked him; how would that translate in Boston? AL East and Tampa connections, at least, seem to be a factor with Bloom -- he likes recruiting ex-Rays for the rotation: Wacha in '22, Kluber in '23. He's even still recruiting pitchers for the Rays... and we can't wait for Raffy to spin Eflin's head around like the Exorcist for the next three years.
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's a hard call to blame three guys who made the All-Star team as the main reason the club faltered. Arguably, the second-half production of Bogey, and definitely Raffy, was diminished by nagging injuries. JD -- who knows -- the dead ball could've hurt him as much as a dead bat. However, all had less protection in the line-up without Schwarber, Renfroe and a healthy Kike. Story just wasn't the guy; except for one month, AL pitchers couldn't wait to throw to him.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Here's where we differ: I give Bloom credit for making some key additions before the '21 season -- esp. Whitlock and Kike -- and then one big one at the deadline with Schwarber that changed the culture of the batting order to get them deep into the ALCS. However, his moves and non-moves a year ago turned a WS contender into a last place team. And that includes acquiring injury risks and not providing the roster with the proper depth to overcome them. But focus on '23: Devers' deal -- whether it was ownership overriding Bloom's methodology or not -- makes this offseason a triumph, because there will be no major contract distractions looming. If Bloom fills in the last few obvious holes, there can definitely be a path forward for improvement; if not, the rebuild will still have positive vibes with new faces and young guys trying to prove themselves.
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Catching a no-hitter in the World Series has only been done by one other catcher in the history of baseball. He had a couple big hits and earned his second ring. I'm not even a Vazquez fan, but trading him for prospects -- and the way it was handled -- wasn't perceived as a rallying point for his teammates and manager in a playoff run.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The flaw in Bloom's plan was to start the firesale and then drop and roll until the flames were snuffed out and all his clothes were charred. The real damage was what the Vazquez trade did to the psyche of the clubhouse. And the catching upgrade with McGuire is arguable; after all, the guy he replaced caught a no-hitter by four pitchers in the freaking World Series.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Stop -- you know all pro ballplayers were 100% clean back then... until Clemens' wife had to prepare for an SI photo shoot.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    No, because one of the 2017 Trio will already be there on a rehab start.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I never thought they were resigning Bogey since their joke of an offer a year ago. A one-year extension -- and let's not pretend it was anything else, literally -- to a Scott Boras' client in his prime -- after just splurging on a lesser player from Colorado? That could not possibly be a mistake -- by an Ivy League front office -- so we have to assume it was intentional, and they knew and expected all the probable ramifications. I said then they were intentionally pissing off Xander enough to make a mid-season trade more palatable. But now I'm also thinking about how disruptive it was to all the veterans and future free agents on the club... so Bloom was actually getting them all prepared for a firesale. And then ownership stopped him...
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'd like to not be an elf on the shelf in that conference room
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Dwight Gooden led the NL with 276 IP at age 20. That same year, Dennis Boyd led the Red Sox with 272 IP at age 25. They used different pain-killers in 1985...
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Rob Bradford revisited a fall podcast where Bloom explains why the Red Sox were in a better place to lock up Devers than they were when they traded Mookie. It had nothing to do with the ability to pay either, but was all about timing, the depth of the farm, and maximizing the prime years of the chosen star by being able to surround him with other elite talent going forward. It's a candid, though debatable strategy (if it's not bs)... reasonable, but painful, considering Betts is by far the better all-around player -- and maybe more helpful in contributing to any core (at least in WAR).
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Still need SS, SP, RF... stay tuned? ps. I think the Devers' deal eliminated any Wacha multi-year... maybe even Eovaldi... and Kluber was the alternative with Raffy in mind. ... and it shouldn't surprise if no other moves are made before ST
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Turner, Devers, trade for Wendle?
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    If they trade Paxton for himself, he might turn it down.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    A month or so ago, Bloom conceded the Sox had to spend "beyond reason" to lock up Raffy. Considering the new market, does anyone really think his deal was unreasonable? What if all these one-year deals for has-beens and never-weres the past three winters -- and ignoring the top free agents commanding longer multi-year contracts -- were all done just to save up enough dough to pay Devers? Notice I didn't say "afford" Raffy...
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    "NOBODY is worth fill-in-the-blank to play a game of baseball!" (preceding quote passed on from the Garden of Eden or translated from recovered ancient alien artifacts, depending on one's beliefs)
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Underrated points -- Jose already fits in, and made about a third of Andrus' salary last year. But the shorter bases may help a guy like Elvis, the active MLB leader in Caught Stealing.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I get the feeling both Andrus and Iglesias want multi-years; who wouldn't. I'm also hoping the Gurriel rumors won't mean Bloom is seriously considering trading Casas for a Marlin not named Alcantara...
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