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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'm rooting for him. But not because of payroll. A dangerous, middle-of-the-order bat that wears down pitchers has such a positive effect on the batters hitting before and after him in the line-up. We think younger players like Devers, Verdugo and Bogaerts will be good; we can only hope JD will be, too...
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That HR was great, and I'll bet a lot of fans forget it won the game when Varitek stuffed his mitt in ARod's face. But I'm sticking with Mueller's game-tying slapshot past Rivera's late kick-save as the most underrated, mainly because of what it represented, where and when it occurred, why it's overlooked (after Roberts steal), and who wasn't there -- like a Yankee upside-down in the bullpen, a cop refereeing a touchdown, and an announcer yelling, "Billy Muel-LER, Billy Muel-LER, Billy Muel-LER!"
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I think most fans would keep JD, especially if he hits 30 home runs again and strikes out less than Renfroe or Dalbec. I also think most GMs will be trying to be as creative as possible in freeing up the roster spot and DH position as soon as they can.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Gee, let's see: exactly one year after blowing a three-run lead just five outs away from going to the World Series and finally beating our arch-rivals who had won five pennants the past seven years, down three games to none in the bottom of the 9th with the season on the line vs. the greatest postseason closer of all-time who would someday become the only unanimous Hall of Famer in history... all we needed to come back was to win four straight for the first time in baseball history. I'm sure there were loads of confident Red Sox fans who knew we had it in the bag.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Mo still give me nightmares. For an entire decade he was the one player that separated great New York teams from good Boston teams. I remember him for pitching three scoreless in Game Seven of the '03 ALCS until Boone's homer. The whole outcome just seemed so inevitable once Rivera, the MVP of that series, took over. It also made Bill Mueller's rip up the middle in '04 that much more of a miracle (still to this day the most underrated hit in Red Sox history).
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It was a good signing, especially for what turned out to be half of what JD and his agent were seeking. My point was about how vital he may be this year, and how modern GMs -- not fans -- would want to move him. Martinez was, in effect, a replacement in the batting order missing since Papi retired. But he turned out to be a difference-maker; his home run in the first inning of the '18 postseason meant that those playoffs were going to be different than the Sox' previous two quick exits.
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Goose was certainly one of the best in the era before relieving was changed forever by Automatic Eck (and I'm not saying Eckersly was better, but that every team since 1988 thought it was better to find or fabricate an Eck of their own). Ah, the Seventies and Eighties... when ace relievers regularly threw multiple innings, and the average game was about 2 1/2 hours long. re. Rivera... in the context of his specialty -- like Eck before him -- he may have also been the best in MLB history at his position: closing. I'm also factoring in his postseasons.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    We also have to keep in mind that Bloom has never been top dog for a franchise before. So as for being in charge, he can only be defined by what he has actually done in Boston. As for the current state of the Sox and how it relates to JD Martinez going forward, any rebuilding GM would be counting down the days to wipe a contract of such a one-dimensional player off the books. There was a sense the Red Sox were hoping for him to opt-out even before hiring Bloom...
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    All this makes sense if you or I were running the club. But the cost-conscious current officer in charge may view the DH position as a vital spot to platoon match-ups, rest regulars and try out low-budget hitters. JD may just be the last full-time designated hitter for a franchise refurbished around versatility.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    What are the odds JD and his contract get shipped and subsidized so Bloom can buy another A or AA arm by the deadline? 50-50?
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    No doubt it's about the "respect" that equates with the status. There's a reason Barnes -- a free agent -- said he prefers to close this year. These guys are just so wired by modern bullpen use to aspire to be closers in save situations. Even great relievers like Papelbon and Kimbrel were different pitchers coming into the 8th or tie games. And I'm not looking at stats, just remembering how their focus, counts and accuracy seemed to change.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I know, I acknowledged this. He supposedly went back to the drawing board this winter. We just haven't seen his adjustments yet, and until the league does, there's no reason to change the book on him. I think JD -- for as much as he makes and where he hits in the order -- is still an underrated swing factor (pun unintended) on the fate of the Sox in this year's standings. He may never again be the absolute monster he was in 2018, but Boston desperately needs at least the 2019 JD. Martinez' successes or failures may have the biggest impact on the 2021 lineup...
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Holds should be Saves, if a guy is facing top hitters in a tight game or anyone with tying runs on base. Three-batter 9ths with a big lead should be Closures.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I think by the time Casas is hitting 40 bombs in the bigs that JD will be gone. I know JD has retooled his swing before, but from what I've seen in ST at bats, he hasn't changed from what seems to totally sap his strength -- feeble swings at breaking balls off the plate. Until he starts taking those pitches, I can't see any reason why any team would ever throw Martinez another fastball in the strike zone.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Here's one the league devised: they built a room connecting each clubhouse and dugout, then installed monitors with game videos for employees to review for instant replay... and told them to ignore the catcher's signs.
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Tampa doesn't seem to care about service time when using young guys. Maybe it's because they know they'll probably flip most of them before they get expensive. If you know that going in, you'll always call up and use a guy when you need him, to maximize his value to your franchise... and that includes replacing him with viable prospects to keep revolv-- I mean, evolving...
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    But he is the Sox' top pitching prospect right now (with Mata hurt, Song serving, new guys unproven and Leiter undrafted). If they need a call-up to start -- when someone in the rotation gets ILed -- it will probably be Houck.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    More major leaguers than people here have left Boston and then returned after retirement... they have either realized there was no better buzz (baseball-wise) or they were paid by the team to catch a buzz with old teammates at PR reunions.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Why stop there; maybe 2019's 84 wins should be the benchmark. Question: does anyone project the '21 rotation to perform better than '19's five-man electrical band? The current starters may not match up, but may be better when considered as an entire unit, with Andriese, a young Houck, and maybe a rejuvenated Sale as improvements over '19's reinforcements like Cashner and Chacin... Of course, there are also plenty of what-ifs in the batting order, where only three guys have ever been full-time regulars at a steady position before (not counting DH, where JD still has to prove he can stop flailing at low-and-away junkballs). Kike and Marwin do lend winning experience to the mix...
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    He could get the frittata...
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    "Sponges grow in the ocean. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen."
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Do you think Hiro will get Wright's subtle monotone ironies?
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I think the big question we're all wondering is which Red Sock will be the designated slapper in Hiro's U.S. pledge period?
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Mookie showed them. I heard he's so rich now that for bus rides he bought every player one of those beer helmets with the hoses attached to the can so he doesn't even have to get up out of his seat anymore.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Cora said they consider Houck a starter, and by default he's the Sox' top pitching prospect... now that Mata has an elbow ish, which could mean (depending on a famous, new underwear brand being advertised) he may not be 100% again for a few years -- if ever.
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