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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. So true -- gotta go back a couple decades at least, like when Papelbon, Lester and Buchholz came up. Before that, try four decades (this being the 40th anniversary of the '86ers)... ... not just Clemens, Boyd and Nipper from that rotation, but right before them: the 1980 Triple A Sox had a staff with Bruce Hurst, John Tudor and Bob Ojeda -- all three were Top 5 finishers in Cy Young voting in their careers. If Witherspoon, Valera, Eyanson and Phillips can do that in Boston, we should always be in contention.
  2. Haters here might also note that the coaching staff of the defending WBC champs are batting Masa Yoshida clean-up, ahead of Okamoto and Murikami. But what do they know.
  3. Last vestige of the worst trade in the history of baseball in our lifetimes.
  4. Could be; they're all either primetime or breakout hopefuls. I hate to be the voice of treason, but everyone realizes most Spring Training pitchers are stretching out workloads or trying new pitches in game situations this month? Spilly on MLB Sirius was telling a ST story when he and his teammates battered around Brad Penny, who was averaging 87 mph that day. Two weeks later the regular season began and they faced Penny again... who smoked them with heaters at 97 mph.
  5. There is the possibility that all four of our BIG FOUR outfielders are slightly overrated here by optimistic posters. There's also the reality of way too much angst about the forum's favorite roster punching bag, our FIFTH OUTFIELDER -- who will play regularly in the field for the defending world champions in an international tournament this month, but apparently never an inning for the defending AL East Wild Card losers. The possibility above is that the entire quartet is prone to high strikeout rates... unlike Yoshida. I don't love double play grounders to second, but a line-up of whiffers can benefit from a few contact guys, too. So where can he ever fit in?!?!? A: somewhere in a batting order with excessive swing and miss. That said, I'm amped that all five of them are getting experience and hopefully, added confidence from regular reps in the WBC.
  6. The Sox players have a lot of confidence in Pookie Jackson, clubhouse wizard.
  7. I hate to say it, but he reminds of Duran when he first came up: an elite athlete trying to be a baseball player. Learning how to hit at the pro level is only one aspect -- because as we've seen, the defense can only be honed with countless game reps. Example: KC playing CF last night vs. the PR WBC team -- man on 1st, single up the middle, and the baserunner took advantage of the sleeping centerfielder and hustled to 3rd. Campbell made a rushed throw high and off the mark. A professional outfielder should be embarrassed and sprint after every base hit and position himself for a good throw for the rest of his career.
  8. First day for their WBC teams: Yoshida, Rafaela and Anthony go deep. (Ohtani, Schwarber and Judge toe the shallows). Only 17 more homers before the Red Sox hit 20.
  9. How can you-- Yoshi just hit a golf ball over the dwarf red maples in his own backyard!
  10. I can say that again: There is NO excuse for dumping an MVP future hall of famer great citizen fan favorite.
  11. These international showdowns are all part of a hoax to distract from the thousand times his name shows up in plate appearances on documented box scores for Theo Epstein's organization.
  12. What the-- This isn't April Fool's; it's still Maaaaaaacchh!!!
  13. What about Braiden Ward! He crushed two pitches at 5 mph in between the plate and the mound, then his legs exit veloed out of the box at 95 mph. Two more hits, two more trips around the bases (once he even scored). But in his 3rd AB he blew it: 50 mph pop-up. Another foe feed on NESN, this time Toronto's. When Cespedes got up, they called him Yo Alien. His proud parents Romulan "Romy" Balboa and Klinger Klingon cheered from outer space.
  14. I can't find their stats, but I bet Ward's Exit Velocity running out of the batter's box is faster than IKF's.
  15. One thing hard not to notice so far this spring: whenever Braiden Ward gets in the game, he's almost instantly on second base (and not as a pinch-runner for somebody already there). When Duran gets chugging, better get out of his way. But Ward's speed actually looks different -- he flies. Sorry if I found something in Spring Training that can't be dismissed as overblown Florida stats.
  16. No relation to David Alias Ortiz. But you can bet the past participle (has jogged around bases over 500 times) will be watching -- along with us -- the future tense at SS.
  17. FLOPS = FL + OPS... or any good Spring Training stats of prospects that veteran fans immediately dismiss -- (unless a veteran big leaguer has good FLOPS, which surely forecasts a career year). But FLIP = FL + IP... can always be excused because whatever any pitcher does in Florida is the result of stretching arms back into game shape, practicing new grips and prescribed gradual ramp ups. So which posters are already wearing their FLIP FLOPS?
  18. Bottom of extras in a tie game: sac bunt the Ghost to 3rd, then sac bunt him home. You're a professional batter with elite hand-eye, holding the bat horizontally in the way of the pitch. If the pitch is higher than your bat, pull back and try again on the next pitch.
  19. So just swing from your heels in case the pitch hits your bat!
  20. It's true, and what drives me crazy the most in extra innings when there's a Ghost on 2nd or 3rd and I yell "TOUCH the ball!" It's ok if they don't want to sac bunt, but at least choke up and put a ball on the damn ground, preferably to the right side. I know, easier said than done, but not if athletes with elite hand-eye actually practice it. Bregman did, and we assume Durbin does because he doesn't strike out -- but all pros need to be able to execute a basic function of being a batter. If they want to win...
  21. Because we could watch vicariously and not have to inflate our own organs to the point of failure! I remember seeing a local guy substitute teaching one winter, a few years after he went pro. He was so swollen I hoped he didn't get too close to a bulletin board, lest a thumb tack send him flying through the air into the Nethersphere. Nobody is excited about small ball, but if the Red Sox want to win rings, they'd better get it right this time. Like, why aren't they forcing Rafaela to mix in a sac bunt in Spring Training -- instead of waiting for the freaking playoffs again for him to square around and poke at a sweeper in the dirt of the lefty batter's box again? Arrgh.
  22. But why are there so many in Boston this decade that don't ignite cigars at the fireplace?
  23. Could be partially, since AC played all over the diamond as a utility specialist. If you want a conspiracy, maybe teams like Boston that don't want to spend kajillions on one set position player at each spot anymore like the idea of collecting more affordable moving parts. Back in the day there were also guys like Bert Campaneris and Cesar Tovar who each played all nine positions in one game. Brock Holt may have or at least wanted to, or maybe thought he did after his concussion...
  24. Well, speaking of PEDs... Tatis hasn't been a longball superstar since his suspension. He's still a speedster with 25 HR power, and a really good rightfielder, so that's his niche now in his career.
  25. Edit: "deteriorates at age 64/65/66." Pass the PEDs, man!
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