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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. The bats won't really hold back either team over the course of a full season. But everyone knows that quality defense -- at least, consistent D -- is vital to winning rings. And any honest Red Sox or Yankee fan knows that over the long haul -- beyond pitching reclamation projects -- defense is each of their team's biggest areas of concern.
  2. I get that the Sox might not be for real. But I've been saying since the start of winter that the Yanks may not be "pretend"... and so far, they've done nothing to convince me otherwise (though somehow, all professional pundits still think NY's SS and C situation is not only championship caliber, but heavily favorable).
  3. I'd complain about today's MLB Power Rankings -- Sox are still #20 with the best record in the AL -- but mlb.com employs the all-time Bronx cheerleaders, so we're looking way up at the #3 team (behind only LA and SD) -- you know, the one with a losing record, inept defense, invisible offense if it can't homer, and overrated pitching staff of hopefuls and mopefuls.
  4. He's our Big Puppy. That jersey might outsell Kike's on Players' Nickname Weekend...
  5. Four outs. Rafie better hit the warehouse... if Cora doesn't bench him.
  6. Grow back shadow. Or cut hair. But don't get a tat.
  7. It's now an 8-inning game for the AL East lead...
  8. Richards spun one off Mancini's sweet spot, and then spun another off Santander's barrel.
  9. X stole home... or is that defensive incompetence? Richards shaved.
  10. I love the idea of the idea! Fans always welcome a few ideas in Boston -- not as incentives to attend a Fenway game or two each summer, but to watch or listen to a hundred or more every six months out of a year.
  11. Good point on this speculation. The notion that our new Baseball Officer possibly knew his former colleague's intentions to lock up Betts may have been appealing to the traders, sparing them another offseason enduring media and fan demands and accusations, supplemented by more "lowball" offers and company lines about radar blips.
  12. Since free agency began, it's always been unfathomable to fans how much pros get paid to play a game. But if we take numbers out, no one would argue whether or not players like Trout, Betts or Lindor deserve to make wages at the top of their markets. No one would even argue if owners can afford them, since rich guys bought the teams, and are either making profits or are wealthy enough to absorb losses... otherwise, they sell (players or clubs). The contracts for Machado and Harper, Betts and Cole, Tatis and Lindor, etc., etc. show that the cost to acquire -- or retain -- top talent continues to rise. Fans really don't care exactly how many digits are on paychecks of their favorites... just how many are on price tags for ballpark pretzels, beer and parking.
  13. Thanks for this list. Besides the gem that is Whitlock (imagine when he masters his curve), I am most intrigued by Winckowski. I also wonder if Downs sticks at short, since that is where they played him during ST... btw, I think Lugo came pre-Bloom, through the Beltran-Cora connection.
  14. WAR makes a decent case for Andruw Jones. The only position players on the list with more WAR are Bonds, ARod, Rolen and Manny. If Ozzie Smith is in because he's the greatest defensive shortstop of all-time, how can we keep out the greatest defensive outfielder of all-time (based on DWAR)? Voters into analytics surely take WAR into consideration; it's also why we can be sure none of them would have voted for Harold Baines...
  15. Harrah was a star palindrome! But not as good as Taco Cat.
  16. And it was because of that lowball offer -- and the fact they showed Lester how much they valued him by trading him -- that I never thought he'd re-sign in Boston once he hit free agency. It's also why I was sure Mookie would never be re-signing here if traded... since, it can also be argued that every time the Sox offered Betts big money -- $100 mil, $200 mil, $300 mil -- each of those offers were also lowball according to his actual market value at the time.
  17. I was never down on you or moon, but I was certainly worried about JD; not so much because of '20, but all through Spring Training he was still flailing and missing breaking stuff off the plate. But in the past week he's been ripping fastballs down the middle and taking outside pitches the other way. JD was the guy I thought of as the biggest key to this year's line-up, and his great start has been a huge positive (and a relief).
  18. But he's so short -- he's doomed! This way of thinking is also why I assume if the Sox draft a shortstop, it will be one of those long, lean high schoolers over Matt McLain...
  19. I know, that's why I didn't mention the GGs (despite my name). A really good argument could be who was the better all-timer in right: Dewey or Mookie? Betts had more speed and range -- or did he? Evans was a big guy for his era, with longer strides and great jumps. At least we know he had a better arm -- or did he? Evans didn't chuck 16-pound bowling balls around every winter...
  20. In his peak, Rice was a HOF hitter. He was probably the most feared man in the batter's box in the AL, and guys like Hawk Harrelson spread his legend about check-swing broken bats and full-swing snapped golf clubs. I think it was said Rice could drive a golf ball further than anyone on the pro circuit. Evans had a slightly longer career, so it only seemed he was more productive -- 385 HRs to 382 for Rice. Evans was also a late-bloomer: 235 homers in his 30s; Rice had 145. As for Cooperstown consideration, Evans is an odd candidate: a Hall of Fame fielder in the '70s, and a Hall of Fame slugger in the '80s.
  21. Maybe the best examples to compare and contrast for Sox fans -- before modern times for most posters -- are two outfielders who played together: Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. I'm sure someone more stat savvy than me can find numbers to prove Rice deserves to be in the Hall, while Evans does not. But I do know their careers are close - Rice 47.7 WAR, .854 OPS vs. Evans 67.1 WAR, .840 OPS. Defensively, it is no contest: Dewey was the best rightfielder in the AL for a decade, while Rice was never considered above-average (but he practiced to learn how to play the Monster, just like Evans practiced to become the slugger that led the AL in extra-base hits in the 1980s). This might be a good poll for old fans who watched the entire careers of Rice and Evans: who was the better all-around player?
  22. I agree with those who can't imagine the Sox switching Devers and Dalbec during the season. Devers is a third baseman, period. He's capable of being solid, and sometimes spectacular. Can we agree his defensive lapses aren't physical, since he has elite reflexes and a strong arm? He just needs maturity, and probably continued guidance from coaches and teammates. If he needs a break, the versatile vets will spell him. If Rafie is borderline brutal all season, then the Sox may choose to make changes next offseason... just like the Yankees will when they finally admit they can't win with Torres at shortstop (he's no Jeter -- a mostly solid, sometimes overrated defender, with a knack for making clutch plays; Torres just isn't good).
  23. Runners have to be cognizant of the brick wall behind the plate; sometimes a wild pitch bounces right back to the catcher.
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