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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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?
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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...
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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).
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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...
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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?
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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.
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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?
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    ... 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).
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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).
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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...
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    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.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That just looks suitable for breaking or at least chipping. I still prefer a handle on pints, for a better grip when having more than one.
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'd rate receptacles thusly: glass mug with handle, wide-mouth beer glass, ceramic stein, bottle, insulated stainless steel coffee mug (incognito), wooden mug, mouth under open tap... plastic.
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Good point on the clear plastic, which in the summer sun warms the beer faster than you can drink it. As for the keg content at Fenway, we used to call it Charles Light, after the Charles River.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Guys, sorry I used the word negate. Its inclusion in my post was nugatory... at least in relation to the issue of my query: does anyone's WAR calculations have a way to factor in the extra pitches caused by a below-average fielder? I suppose someone could somehow count them, after a non-play extends an inning... but they couldn't account for the subsequent types of pitches -- and specific elbow or shoulder strain -- the hurler and catcher decide to throw with men on base as opposed to the bases empty. I blame all the crap I just typed on Rob Manless.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Your post reminds of the old assessment He drives in more runs than he lets in... ... Renfroe's assists helped negate his bad jumps or lack of range, but does WAR account for the subsequent increased pitch counts from non-catches that can wear down a staff? I always thought such "arm-saving" was an underrated aspect of the consistent D of Betts and Bradley.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Not bad. The only change I'd make is on the pitching. It's unlikely the staff goes another season as injury-free as '21, so I'd take the under on every single one of the first six "veteran" starters, and take the over on the next five younger arms on the lists... though it wouldn't surprise if one of the two recovered elites -- Whitlock and Houck -- also has a setback at some point. It's also about time for somebody unexpected to find it on the mound and jump a few levels for a half season of big time contributions. It seems like it always happens on teams everywhere else -- why not us? It could also be a prospect Bloom hasn't acquired yet... ps. I'm also sensing a truncated schedule, so less innings may also just be the result of labor disputes. Ugh.
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'm just paraphrasing here, but if we didn't make so many jokes, we wouldn't have so many positive posters.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Good post -- it was the winter after his Cy Young, and Lonnie was never as good after that. Here's one that worked out for the Sox: Aaron Frickin Boone was injured playing basketball in the winter after his walk-off HR, so the Yanks traded for Alex Rodriguez to play third base. Sure, ARod was mostly great in the Roid Era, but he was also one of the main gag masters in the '04 ALCS...
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Nope, but it's not just what they spend on players. It's easy to overlook what is often unseen: that Boston (and NY, LA, etc) maybe has the luxury of affording more and better organizational staffing and scouting than smaller markets.
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I get it, and that's what we sensibly want to do when trying to make sense of it all. When we consider Bradley's salary as a "net payroll addition," it only guarantees an increase in payroll, not WAR or win-loss perspective. But it also gives management a tweet opp: look -- we spent more this year!
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I just get the feeling Bloom and company don't even look at trades as specific wins or losses, even longterm -- not when each transaction to them is just another red or black line on a long page in a thick ledger. A year ago, posters postulated that the Benintendi trade and the Renfroe signing were directly connected; that dumping Beni's $6+ million allowed signing Hunter for half that. Their WARs were around the same, but even if you argue Andrew was slightly better (in bWAR and fWAR), he certainly wasn't worth twice as much salary... right? The key is that Bloom now had an extra $3 mil to spend on someone (or somewhere) else. But who's to say how those savings were spent... tacked onto the Kike contract... or blown Marwin money? Did they take Marcelo Mayer's family out to dinner... or pay the room service for guy who scouted Jud Fabian? Beni for Winckowski et al and Renfroe and Whitlock... or Beni for Franchy et al, Renfroe, Andriese and Brad Peacock... to Bloom, it's all part of the budget.
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