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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. Agreed, which is how I think Bloom will feel when he gets back a haul for Barnes. Sox fans who have watched Barnes' inconsistencies every summer (often after having great springs) won't necessarily view it as surrender -- especially if another live arm is part of the return.
  2. Boston traded the face of the (failed) franchise -- NoMAAAr -- at the '04 deadline. The Sox were in second place, got better, and still finished second (but first in the postseason).
  3. With the uncertainties of the upcoming labor dispute and a new CBA, this may be the summer for a lot of movement by GMs trying to extract value from impending free agents.
  4. Yup, just throwing it out there. I'd bet the front office will be huddling together looking at many options in the next month. I know some posters want internal moves, but I just can't see Bloom letting Barnes and ERod walk for nothing if he's not prepared to sign either to longterm deals at market value -- which he has not done with one single player yet since he took over.
  5. The Red Sox lead the majors in errors. In a scoreless game with a runner on second in the 7th inning they pinch-hit a guy batting .194. It's time to make some moves or wait until next year. Since I believe Bloom will trade Barnes in the next month, here's one way to shore up the D, fill two glaring holes, and lengthen the batting order: Barnes, ERod and Downs to KC for Carlos Santana, Whit Merrifield and Michael Taylor. Boston would instantly have three reliable big leaguers at three positions where they currently don't: 1B, 2B and CF. A club like KC may not be able to sign both Barnes and Rodriguez, but maybe they like Downs' future (p.s.: this deal was an exact match on baseballtradevalues' simulator).
  6. The MLB has put itself in a sticky situation with the fans. First, the MLB shocks fandom with a report blaming a league-wide practice on a very small terrorist cell of nefarious Houston villains, who led astray the poor Astros players (grown men apparently irresponsible for their own decisions). And now the league continues to tarnish its rep by actually trying to clean it up by banning another "tradition" -- according to Cole, NY -- smack-dab in the middle of a season. It's not all Richards and Scherzer, but nobody is in the mood to hear millionaires bitching and moaning about it, either. And it certainly affects the pennant races, and obviously the fate of Boston... where we thought Bloom's admirable "grinders" on the mound were getting by on "grit" to overcame their lack of superstar talent (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).
  7. Typical reaction from a front-running Red Sox fan (I agree).
  8. We bitch because we watch, and see ineptitude in many facets of the game. It comes with being a fan of a contender; fans of doormats just stop watching.
  9. This shouldn't be an issue; the MLB owns a major manufacturer of the baseballs it uses.
  10. It's no coincidence that "spin-rate" and "Spider Tack" both became phrases in MLB lexicon the past few seasons. I've been a fan for over 50 years and never heard of either before that. Richards made his money as a product of that culture. Right now he's like one of the deflating steroid goons at the turn of the century forced off the juice.
  11. He said he felt fortunate to extend his career this far before the crackdown. What he meant that he was able to get paid millions of dollars before the banned stuff he was using was actually banned... Richards has been worth less since the change, and if he doesn't develop a new pitch ASAP, feel free to combine the compound word into "worthless". Also, moderators: please close down the thread about Who Gets Bumped From the Rotation When Sale Returns.
  12. Good point about the D. We'll live and die with the left side; Rafie and Bogie may even be starting All-Stars (as long as fans keep voting based on offense). The only obvious spot we can upgrade is centerfield, where the Sox can really use a late-inning lockdown specialist who isn't an adventure -- especially in the post-sticky stretch run. As much as Kike rates as a good outfielder, my eyes show me he's below average going back on deep drives. The inexperienced Duran doesn't sound the answer there, either. This isn't JBJ bias, either, because last winter Bloom passed on many cheaper regular centerfielders with range and cruising speed where doubles go to die. Can Bloom can admit his mistake and pony up a low-level arm for one?
  13. A year when things are going mostly right is rare, so I'm ok with trading a few prospects for a rental. Acquiring an established big leaguer that veteran players respect can boost team morale. It shows that management is trying to augment the roster, more so I think than calling up unproven young guys vying to take someone else's job. As a fan -- if the team is a contender -- I always expect the GM to make a few moves to go for it, to assure me that it will be worth investing my time and money through the rest of the season. I'm never thinking about two or three years from now. For an example, I loved the 1988 Mike Boddicker trade because it won two division titles for the Sox. I hated to see Brady Anderson go, but Schilling was just a minor leaguer at the time -- and a pitcher who would take five years in the majors to reach stardom.
  14. I've never thought of X as a Gold Glover at short, but regarding the Sox crappy D... any player at any level is better when he's not standing back on his heels trying to stay awake while his pitcher goes to a full count on almost every batter for an entire month straight.
  15. "Oye como va" -- originally written by Tito Puente, no relation to Tito Fuentes (the second baseman who led both the NL and AL in range factor/game in 1975 and 1977, respectively). The song title is a shortened form of an entire phrase meaning "listen to how my rhythm goes"... though I've had first-language friends translate the more literal: "How's it going..." We should know the answer by his third at bat.
  16. Any team would love to promote a stud pitcher if he was dominating the minors, especially contenders that welcome the boost of another quality starter. Boston's current club as constructed -- without the sticky -- has barely one: Eovaldi. He's also the only starter who can throw as hard as Leiter, so nobody would be blocking his path to the majors in the near future. A cellar-dweller has no incentive to bring up a future ace, except to ease him into the bigs... as long as he wasn't so good he'd sabotage their tanking.
  17. You did have Davis in the top 5 early. The catcher I liked, Adrian Del Castillo, has dropped in one poll to 40th... but I still like his bat, and see him as a possible second rounder for Bloom. There are four catchers projected in the top 40, three with a 55 hit grade (per scouts): Davis, Del Castillo and Joe Mack. The latter and Harry Ford are high schoolers. None are locks to remain behind the plate... As others have noted, drafting an amateur catcher is almost as risky as taking a pitcher. In 1965, seven catchers were drafted before the #36 pick: Johnny Bench.
  18. I attended a Double A game a few years ago and watched Duran in CF and Wilson in RF. Based on just the way they carried themselves -- approach to hitting, fielding and running -- my impression (which meant about as much as the kid in the seat next to me) was that Duran was a future big leaguer, Wilson a future Triple A guy.
  19. Just heard college analyst Kyle Peterson on MLB radio discussing the Vandy aces. He says right now, Leiter has the better fastball, and knows how to use it, but Rocker has the better secondary -- slider and cutter. Leiter's curve isn't wipeout yet, but it's assumed he'll develop a cutter (considering the lineage). Peterson said he'd be thrilled to get either pitcher.
  20. That's why I don't see Bloom giving up a top pitching prospect for a guy like Mancini. The Rays dealt a #1 pick for Arozarena, probably as much for the years as the potential.
  21. Maybe not now when he's hurt, but one of his coaches last winter was raving he had the best stuff in the organization. Usually, it's the fans who overrate prospects (mainly because they want that hoard of rookie cards they're sitting on to bankroll their kid's college fund... or at least pay for turtle food).
  22. ... which, on this Red Sox defense, is worth more than a lot of bats. The D, as currently constructed, will be more of a detriment to postseason chances than a lack of sticky stuff.
  23. I just don't see a guy like Bloom trading his top pitching prospect unless it's for a young future star like Arozarena. Or -- unless he's planning on drafting a new No. 1 pitching prospect...
  24. Fans have nothing to do with Cordero's pro status. Several franchises have tried to tap his potential but it has yet to translate at the big league level. Cordero is still highly regarded among his peers for his talents... and feared; in the Woo bench-clearer last week, everyone avoided Franchy. Instead, he was the peace-keeper, calming intervening between hotheads, who cooled immediately upon his presence.
  25. I don't mind the Sox trying any of these guys, but Duran needs to play every day, no matter what level he's at. I watched that Woo game that Duran won on a walk-off HR. The Pigs walked Cordero intentionally to get to Duran. Yes, it set up the DP with the automatic runner on second, but they didn't want to face Cordero -- Duran isn't a groundball hitter, but he had Ked three times... Still, gotta like him driving the ball oppo to win it. History has seen young prospects get called up to the bigs and improve with hot starts, while others fall cold. There's more pressure and tougher competition, but many factors also favor performance: better travel conditions, meal money, training facilities, playing field/lights resulting in better rest, nutrition, conditioning and conditions. Seeing more strikes to hit with (hopefully) better umps can also help... or hurt. Duran has 12 homers in 30 games. At that pace, if they leave him in Triple A the whole season he'll hit 50 HRs. At what point will he be deemed ready for Boston? He's 24, seven years older than Bob Feller was when he was striking out major leaguers.
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