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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Another ghostly loss for the AL's losingest extra-inning team. All these 10th-inning Ls are easy to pin on blah relievers -- and maybe they're too casual, as well as causal, since they don't get charged with giving up an earned run when the ghost scores. But do the Red Sox have a club rule when they bat with a ghost on second that their first hitter is always required to strikeout? Forget about getting a hit -- that's too much to ask of a top-5 offense in late innings -- but it is uncanny how Boston never advances its free baserunner to third so he can't even score on a fly ball or grounder or wild pitch or error or balk. Here's a new organizational philosophy for future sustained contenders: first batter up in the 10th -- touch the ball!
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Can't imagine why Price is retiring. With next year's pitch clock, he can still hold his arms straight up over his head on every single pitch, eye clouds suspiciously, blow smoke rings, and just count five Mississippis, instead of 10. Before coming to a set. And then. Slowly. Slinging. His cesta. ... pelota in the dirt.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Geez, guys, Casas is 22. At age 21, he batted third on a team with big leaguers in an international tournament. Manager Mike Scoiscia raved about his future. Casas is a huge guy with a deliberate approach in the batter's box. When Aaron Judge -- another large human -- was 22, he was still in A ball. When Judge was 25, he led the AL in home runs, but also with 208 strikeouts. He's improved since then...
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Meanwhile, Tampa calls up Jonathan Aranda to play first base from Triple A, where he hit 18 HRs, 85 RBI, .318 BA, .915 OPS. A few differences: Aranda also plays second base and third base, and is 24 years old. When he was 22, like Casas is now, Aranda hit 3 homers in 40 games in Mexico.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    ... not replace Mookie, but at least get another All-Star. The old Duquette/Epstein Red Sox would've probably signed Springer, who's maybe not a Hall of Famer, but at least a World Series MVP. Don't want to re-sign Cabrera, sign Renteria; he didn't work out, trade him and sign Lugo. Trade Renfroe, sign that outfielder from Japan, etc. You can say Sox fans are spoiled and greedy, but the recent history of the franchise has bred such expectations. Just like fans in Tampa, KC, Cincy and Pittsburgh expect to lose their best players when they reach free agency.
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That's exactly what is happening now with Bloom, who every fan has to admit was hired because of the specific way he does business (watch, someone will argue Henry is a fan of Latin Classics). And if the current plan doesn't work -- in probably less time than ownership originally committed to -- changes will be made.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Both of these beliefs are inherently true when it comes to paying any star player. At the same time, fans also don't care if the Red Sox have access to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. Mint or the keys to Fort Knox. The only truths fans really know are what they pay for Fenway tickets, parking, beer, souvenirs, cable TV, etc... and what they see when they look at the American League standings.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Sammy didn't sound too encouraging recently when he reminded the Nation that the Red Sox shortstop is already under contract for the next three years, and only Xander can decide where he'll be.
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Your first question is a good question; if Bloom cleaned house at the beginning of August, there'd be no veteran voices left in the clubhouse to complain about later cuts. And we'd all expect the team to suck, no matter what Sam Kennedy said. I don't think the second question would be a determinant, since returns for JD, Nate and Hill wouldn't be much more than someone's #39 and #40 prospects, like in the Vaz trade. If Bogey agreed to be dealt, though, there'd probably be an uproar no matter what (even if we got someone's top 20 prospect)... unless Bloom then extended Devers, which I can never imagine him doing that far in advance, especially with what it will cost.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It may seem hard to get a post through on this forum, with members always positioned to toggle statistical sites to stifle any interpretation of opinionated facts or fact-based opinions. But beginning next season, some big league boards will ban all present progressive conjugated verbs. There will be no response clock, but analytical members will be required to keep one foot on either fangraphs or baseball-reference before leaping to prove that a poster's personal thoughts are wrong. Apple may also be supplying bigger keyboards to generate more offenses.
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Boras probably insisted on the opt out clause for Bogey to sign his team-friendly, but its existence -- for a guy who has always wanted to stay in Boston -- made '22 the most stressful year of his career.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Sale = disaster. Eovaldi debatable: also missed time with injuries, but made the All-Star team and beat the Yankees in the Wild Card game (the $17 million AAV turned out below market value, but the total contract...). Pearce -- long gone, not a huge cost. Bogaerts? It's only mismanagement in light of 2022, when the opt out issue possibly disrupted clubhouse harmony... The real mismanagement took place before 2018, when the front office tried to tie up Betts several times but always at numbers just below what top of the industry talents were commanding.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Yep, the 70s Yankees brawled with each other as much as they fought the Red Sox. And New York won pennants and World Series -- but the latter only came after they spent big to recruit Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson as the highest paid pitcher and position player of all time at the time... they were the primetimers from the Oakland clubs who hated their owner/GM so much that they won three rings in a row just to spite him.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    This is totally on the GM for not spending on translators who can sing in every language to lead in the chorus of "Kumbaya." No more bargain basement translators!
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Someone traded for Chavis, so someone will trade for Dalbec...
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That point pretty much sums up what Tomase wrote and said yesterday. Eovaldi also lamented the loss of other good teammates, Renfroe and Schwarber (but did not invoke the name of the CBO responsible). The Hawk circling above Fenway is all a-squawking: "He gone!" How much is a disqualifying offer worth?
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Most of the 13 can grab onto bubbles and float off into the firmament. But you know Tampa will snag a few of the pitchers and convert them into openers and high lev no-hitter hurlers.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Bloom definitely gets bashed by fans for acquiring crappy players, but the only ones bashing him for cutting them are teammates (and maybe their pals in the media). The latter is certainly interesting to fans, when we get to hear or read players' opinions about the state of the organization. If players think team chemistry is disrupted by front office moves, it literally shouldn't affect their own performances in a sport based on the sum deeds of isolated individuals. But thoughts can be powerfully hard to ignore...or forget. I always thought Vazquez was overrated as a catcher, and stated it in a few posts the past few years (along with Moon). But it was still disconcerting that players and coaches were so disconcerted when Bloom traded him in the middle of a wild card race.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    There were quotes by Eovaldi and Hill about how much more Plawecki meant to the club and clubhouse than just stats. Their candor and vocal disappointment sounded like two guys who know they're also not coming back. Fans could probably care less about Plawecki, whose bat and arm were obviously not returning in 2023. But more than one media member (Bradford, Youk) tried to point out yesterday how personality and chemistry actually mean something going forward, even if it's the last two weeks of a lost season. Instead of, say, keeping a guy around like Almonte, instead...
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    ... for two, maybe three whole months of Bogaerts? Oh, the horrors -- trading a prospect who might never make it for an All-Star who may help you win a World Series. You're not seriously talking about a minor leaguer who you'd control for six years, and who may make the majors... and even be a regular... for a guy only leading all MLB shortstops in WAR? And you think a team might've parted with two prospects? That would be like getting 12 years of control for a pair of players that no one has any idea would even be big leaguers!!! I just remember what someone posted here when the new Chief Baseball Officer took over in 2019: "Chaim Bloom never loses a trade."
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I have watched just about every game on TV, and remember more Bogie ground ball hits poked to the right side -- vacated by the shift -- then pulled through the left side. The league is basically offering X the batting crown, and now that the Sox are out of the race he has no reason to drive the ball and try to plate any baserunners. Gotta wonder if the shift ban hurts Xander's batting average next year -- but probably not his attraction to potential suitors during free agency. Chances are, he adjusts and regains his power (if healthy).
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Pham has been a negative dWAR in the field and a 30% K-rate at the plate for the Sox; we can do better. DH will be a platoon with Arroyo and the regulars he subs for on their days off. Not sure how Dalbec as a bench piece can improve and make contributions without regular at bats... We all know not to count on Sale or Houck (it's not automatic to assume a pitcher will immediately bounce back to 100% after back surgery), so the starting rotation needs three acquisitions. It's unlikely Boston will pay Wacha what someone else will on the open market.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    There is going to be an arms race for catchers with bazookas for next year's new rules. Pick-off limits will make for bigger leads, better jumps and more base-stealing attempts. And bigger bags are 4 1/2 inches closer for sliding thieves!
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Sox should settle on roles for Whitlock and Houck in or before Spring Training. Though both pitchers had many similar stats in '21 and '22, neither looked as consistent this year. Injuries were certainly factors, but trying to convert Whitlock into a starter, and Houck into a reliever, wasn't a total success for either. If Houck is still on the team, he should return to the starting rotation. It's ok if he misses a start in Toronto, or if Boston has to rearrange its probables for a week. But the Red Sox can't pretend for another second that they're serious about being a contender in 2023 with a closer who chooses to be unavailable for entire series in a division rival's city all season. The front office needs to rectify this in the offseason, for fans still contemplating investing their time and money -- and for the coaching staff and teammates caught in the middle.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Don't forget, bigger bases next year means the distance between bases will no longer be 90 feet. The new distance between first and second, and second and third, will now be 89 feet, 7 1/2 inches. Pitchers will also be limited to two pick-off attempts per batter; a third attempt is allowed, but a balk is called if the baserunner isn't picked off (so call it two... but mainly it will be one -- since a second failed pick will be basically giving the runner a free base). Smart organizations are probably already schooling speedsters to taunt and tempt pitchers to throw over with huge leads, cocky clapping, and jangling jewelry. Base-stealing -- and I'm coining this right now, base-taking -- will once again be at a premium. Bloom acquired a lot of prospects with speed in the past year. With that big, high green wall in the way of dead ball batters -- not to mention ghost runners who always seem to spook our extra-inning hitters from even touching the ball -- get ready for a new style of Red Sox run production!
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