5GoldGlovesOF,75
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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75
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OF Christin Stewart? Played the entire '21 season for the Toledo Mud Hens, impersonating a AAA player: 21 HRs, 100 Ks...
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... also be fans willing to go watch them: parents, grandparents, family, friends, fans. And for those who don't become pro players, many will still be fans all their lives, treating their own families to attend games, and coaching the next generation of hopefuls... Baseball -- following Major League Baseball -- may not be as popular as it once was, in relation to fan interests in other pro sports, as well as other leisure activities that didn't even exist last century. But it is still an American tradition, and owners know that after every single strike or lockout in history, fans always come back...
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20s David Hamilton DH (for now); 52 stolen bases in '21 minors -- always a need for speed 10s Jackie Bradley Jr. RF 00s Pokey Reese SS 90s Troy O'Leary LF; go ahead, walk Nomar to pitch to him... 80s Oil Can Boyd 3B (decent infielder when I played against him; good switch-hitter, too) 70s Cecil Cooper 1B; most hits AL 1977-85 60s Elston Howard C 50s *Willie Mays CF 40s *Jackie Robinson 2B *the Red Sox scouted both, and in my alternate reality, actually signed them
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While it's good business for an owner (no matter how rich), to hire a guy who's a proven success on a limited budget, maybe it doesn't make as much sense to then also toss him the keys to the safety deposit boxes. But yes, it could be a recruiting incentive, even pointing to prior mentors to make promises... with of course, qualifiers: the job is yours, provided if you get to the World Series, that you'll force your manager to bench all his top home run hitters against lefties -- or make him yank his starting pitcher throwing a shutout in an elimination game after two times through the order.
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Extending Devers to keep him in Boston for his prime would signal two things: the Sox are being true to their word that they want to retain homegrown stars they deem part of a core of sustained title contenders, and that they're willing to spend. Even the Rays committed big bucks to a player this offseason... Wander Franco, who only played a few months in the bigs. For all we know, Bloom could be waiting for his own top prospects to make the Show, before offering any longterm contracts (at reasonable market prices). I'm not saying Bloom is a disciple of Tampa-style blueprints, but it is ridiculous for anyone to think he was hired to be something he was not...
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I still don't understand: if the tax threshold is going to go up -- which makes it easier to spend -- than what were some big money teams waiting for? And even if say, LA, the Yankees and Red Sox know something that no one else does, would new changes to the structure really penalize clubs for transactions that happened before the lockout?
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Here's where I need help from posters good at math. The players want the tax penalty threshold to be increased, so teams will be able to spend more on free agents, while the owners want to keep it lower, to protect themselves from themselves. But until they settle upon a number, some GMs and CBOs are reluctant to use their budgets. And yet, eight different clubs still thought it was worth it to sign names from the list of Top 10-rated free agent pitchers: Seattle-Ray, Mets-Max, Cubs-Stroman, Jays-Gausman, Angels-Thor, Stros-Verlander, Tex-Gray, St.Loo-Matz. Some pretty big markets on that list. For those who have so far abstained, won't an eventual assumed tax compromise make it even easier for them to splurge? Meanwhile, are we to believe that LA, NY and Boston are trying to outsmart each other by not reinforcing rotations with the best available arms? Maybe when the dust clears they'll bid it out for injured Rodon or older injured Kershaw ... the suspense is partially somnambulant.
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Still waiting for Bloom to sign the anyone for more than two years...
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but Houston seems like a franchise that picks and chooses which stars to pay to stay (cue Dombro: "We can't keep them all."). They did well to lock up Bregman when he was young at an affordable rate. But Cole was immediately wearing a different cap in the presser after the '19 Series, and Correa also seemed to know that he would go, after laughing at the Astros' offer that was half what he was seeking. Was Beltran in his prime ever offered fair market value? Big and short on Verlander looks like a good approach for savvy clubs...
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The lawfakers who won't pass any changes? Looks like baseball is doomed...
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It never seemed like Houston would be able to afford to keep Springer or Correa. But after 50 years of being a Red Sox fan, it never seemed like Boston wouldn't be able to afford to keep its best player...
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Isn't that about what the Mets agreed to pay Scherzer in 2022? It's a free country, yea U.S., and power to the Moneyball bargain basement architects... but the union has a point about wanting all clubs to be competitive -- in trying to win in the standings, and thus, for their services (and on the payroll). If an owner is still turning profits with a loser, he's still a successful businessman. But other sports have minimum spending rules; what makes baseball special?
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Good point, and it may help explain how Cal Ripken played every game of the Orioles' 1990 season at shortstop and only made 3 errors. Pre-pitch positioning -- not from analytics depts, but knowing the batter and what pitch the battery is planning -- were a big part of his game. Gold Glove voters, however, weren't impressed with Cal's acumen... awarding the GG to Ozzie Guillen and his 17 Es. There are your A and B guys... There are visual cues that we can learn if we watch enough. For example, sometime in 2022 when there's an actual Red Sox game, if an opponent smashes a high drive and you see Jackie Bradley jogging in the gap, you can make an 8 on your scorecard and circle it. It also means he got a great jump... -
A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
If I'm running with the football trying to score, I might have 10 teammates blocking opponents trying to stop me... ... and hopefully, trying to stop them from maiming me (that is, if my teammates like me). In baseball, if I'm running around the bases trying to score, all my team can do is cheer for me (or swear at me or laugh at me). -
A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
I prefer offered a quantifiable perspective. I always try to consider qualitative data, as well, whenever possible... however, there are effects beyond what can be measured and/or observed: a bad E extends the inning, and costs a pitcher X more throws, and we may see the guy grimace, stomp around the mound, swear into his glove, and maybe bounce or heave one into the backstop. But what about the pitcher who keeps a straight face... ... how is he really feeling inside? Is he determined to bail out or blame his teammate? Same with the other players on the field or in the dugout; yes, they're professionals, but they're also young men with egos... Baseball is a unique team sport: the sum deeds of isolated individuals. -
Two teams that maybe didn't tank intentionally, but definitely built historic winners are San Fran this century and Atlanta at the end of the last one. The Giants had three consecutive top ten picks – Lincecum, Bumgarner and Posey – all key members of title teams. The Braves had six top six picks in succession, and four played on the ’95 champs, including Jones, their number one overall selection. As for their three Cy Young pitchers, the Braves drafted Glavine (2nd round), traded for Smoltz when he was a prospect, and signed Maddux as a 26-year-old free agent after his first Cy with the Cubs. He then won three more Cy Young Awards in a row...
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
Ya, but of B's Es, how many allowed the batter to get into scoring position (just assuming none of the balls A missed went for extra bases)? Also, don't forget the unmeasurable Bah... and Ugh! Factors. When A misses so many grounders just out of his limited range, reactions from teammates, management, fans and media usually range from Good try to Bah... (we're just not good enough). But when B boots one, lets it go through the wickets, or heaves it into the box seats, the cry is more abrupt: Ugh! Never underestimate the deflating affects of Ugh!... especially on the poor pitcher. It can even increase opponents' popcorn-eating proclivities. -
I'm not opposed to it, but Bloom may be... a year ago, he didn't sign any of the many "established" bullpen arms on the market, except one who was ok in Japan (by most accounts a lesser league). Bloom also didn't acquire any relievers making decent money who were available at the trade deadline. Somehow, he was able to fend off the pressure to cave by fans, scribes, and mainly, us (except our no-thank-yous to Kimbrel). When the MLB is ever unlocked, a guy like Joe Kelly would be exactly the type that could improve the Sox late-inning corps. But does anyone here think Bloom will offer an LA contract? Will Kelly even consider taking less to leave home again to return to the Least Coast?
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
For the four Red Sox titles this century, how would you rate the defensive shortstops? My hazy memory relies more on the postseasons, but I'd go: Cabrera, Drew, Bogaerts, Lugo... with the first two definitively better than the last two. One metric that measures defense is dWAR. Here are the four ranked in their championship years during the regular season: Cabrera 1.5, Lugo 0.8, Drew 0.2, Bogaerts 0.1. -
Even with modern usage of starters, would the Sox be better on the mound if both anchored the rotation? Five innings of Houck one day, plus five from Whitlock the next vs. maybe five per week spread out over a six or seven-game span from the bullpen? A decent rotation could consist of these two young hopefuls, an improved Sale, with Eovaldi and Pivetta not regressing (the vets added before the lockout would just be what they really are: depth pieces or place-holders). No matter what, Bloom will have to add some reliable relievers, but they won't come from free agency or be established names. Discovery and development of the next Whitlock will most likely come from trades or promotions.
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Q: will these kids still get to play on time and develop this year, even if the grown-ups can't decide how to split up kajillions of dollars in the (No)-Show?
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
... including the number of times he made a play and I went "whoa!" I looked it up the year Alex played short in Boston in memorybanks.glom, and I had a 7.8 WARF (Whoas Above Replacement Fan). -
That's an easy Fan Friendly Fix: raffles. At the end of the first game, the home team randomly pick seat numbers, and anyone sitting there gets to pitch or bat in the first inning of the second game (one batter limit... but if the fan pitcher gets an out, he throws to another; if the fan batter gets a hit, a courtesy runner takes his base and he bats again).
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Two games in one day?!? You guys just don't realize how hard it is to play a game for a living. Some fans act like pro ballplayers play to entertain spectators. But playing ball is their job! Maybe more of us would favor the plight of the players if the MLB owners didn't ban all coverage of active players on its network and website -- no features, interviews, images; we're not even allowed to hear names mentioned. Those geniuses at MLB sure make a compelling case for guys like us to send all our money to ballclubs for tickets to games that may not even be played...
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A Realistic View at 2022: Part I
5GoldGlovesOF,75 replied to moonslav59's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
You had me until I got to the anagram MLB. Then I automatically stood up from my laptop, stretched my legs, carefully wiped each lens of my glasses on my shirt, rubbed my eyes, reset my readers, then got back in the chair.
