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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Thanks. I wondered if Tampa was just better at drafting pitchers or developing them. Since '01, they used first round picks to get two Cy Youngs -- Price (#1 overall) and Snell (#52nd overall) -- plus Ryne Stanek, who was their first regular opener. Those three are basically the Rays' only top pitching picks who made good; more recently they drafted McKay in '17 and Liberatore in '18 (who they traded for Arozarena). Looks like Tampa is just better at acquiring pitchers.
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Taking MLB ETAs into consideration for a desperate franchise, I'd opt for the best baseball player over the best athlete any day. Right now I think Leiter is at the top of the draft (though there's a long way to go).
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It pretty much was 40 years ago, when the early '80s Sox staff was all homegrown. Hurst (1st round) and Tudor (3rd) were drafted in '76, Ojeda signed in '78, Nipper (8th) and Boyd (16th round!) were drafted in '80. The pinnacle came in the '83 draft when the Sox picked Clemens 19th overall. Leave it to Duquette, Epstein and their ilk to deem that using draft picks on pitching was too unreliable; better to load up on positional talent and make trades or splurge on free agents whenever pitching was needed to make a run.
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's ok, I've never considered myself modern, even when my hair was down to my shoulders; I just used "modern" because if I didn't, someone here would dig up a pitch from a game back when Ruth was a Red Sox. Let's just say, to me, that whole at bat for the Mets' Mookie was the worst ever. I like the saying that the best era of comic books is when you were 13 years old.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Yup, the hardest play for an outfielder is a rising liner hit right at his head. It gets even trickier when a batter goes oppo, because their drives tend to curl away towards the lines -- and we could see Randy get twisted the wrong way on that play. The lights and time of night (zzzzzz) are also factors...
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Except: "it would be inaccurate to say we are going for it with an all-in approach". Sending Houck down because of service time considerations should make Bloom boosters happy, because Tampa doesn't care about using up young guys they know they'll trade before they have to pay them. Of course, Bloom also knows a player with more years of control is a better trade chip...
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Ironic that all the NESN employees love the new "gold" and blue uniform shirts. Even the dinosaurs think they look sharp. Everyone wants to be a yellow-belly? Yaz would wear one... if he wasn't too cowardly to look too cowardly.
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Hey, Crawford was the only other Sox pitcher besides Hurst to win a World Series game in '86. Sox paid Steve Crawford $330,000 that season. Somehow, that seems a better Crawford value than Boston paying Carl $115,171 per HIT in the 2011 regular season.
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Dobnak "saved" the arms of the guys in the pen they'd rather not use in a blow-out... he "saved" the Twins' relievers for the late innings of the next close game (as long as it's not in the playoffs; then, they might as well just activate Bert Blyleven's bronze plaque for all that matters).
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Worst pitch in modern Red Sox history. The official scorer called it a wild pitch, because it almost hit Wilson... and how history could've changed if it did. There are plenty of contenders for worst nightmare: the Leephus to Tony Perez in '75 that tied Game Seven (Yaz called it "that slop curveball by Bill Lee"); Torrez' meatball to Dent; maybe Wakefield's floater to Boone or something by Pedro -- (probably the one Matsui ripped after the mound conference; Posada tied it with a pop-up)... but both those guys are thought of as heroic for their efforts. Stanley's to the backstop had to be the biggest letdown, one out away from a world title. That was worse for me than Buckner's E, because once NY tied it -- and the way they tied it -- we all knew the outcome was inevitable. But I remember my step-father, who was a catcher and a Mets fan, just saying, "That had to be a cross-up."
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    These make sense, but what accounts for movement of pitches? Like, why does Eovaldi sometimes get roped throwing 100 mph, and why can't the Sox hit Means at 83? Richards said he made good pitches the other day... then why did the O's rip his fastball and spin his spinners to beat the shift?
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Is there a stat for cross-ups that hurtle past the catcher and advance baserunners? They can't be all pass balls if the pitcher misreads the sign or refuses to throw what's called. Then again, we don't know if the catcher is the one confusing everyone else. Maybe the lights are just too shiny on the laminated cards. More likely, they'll point fingers like in schools districts and blame the scores on the teachers.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I appreciate WHIP, but after watching the past weekend I now think it's a stat best considered in the context of each team's defense. In other words, WHIP can be helpful when comparing pitchers on the same staff, but it may unfair to compare WHIPs for guys with the '21 Red Sox defense playing behind them vs. say, the '71 Orioles D. For instance, there were at least a couple hits charged to both Eovaldi and Houck that could have been called errors... or that quality big league glovemen would turn into outs. And of course, subsequent runs that scored on those plays also hurt their ERAs...
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Who knows: opening weekend, first time in front of home fans, first time on a new team in actual games that count -- all factors that can make batters overanxious. The coaching staff tries to help each individual use strengths and improve weaknesses, but game plans by foes may be more general -- for example, "when these guys get behind in the count, climb the ladder and throw soft stuff off the corner." Btw: when Devers finally breaks out of his early batting funk, you can bet it will include taking a few pitches to left. We've seen it before; we also know he's a slow starter, with a career-low OPS in March/April compared to any other month.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Sox fans shouldn't just be happy with 11 runs, but how they did it: going with the pitch, opposite field damage, not trying to pull everything over the fence -- Bogie, JD, Renfroe, Vaz going to right; Cordero and Verdugo going to left. This is how we instruct young batters in Little League, where the ultimate goal is always a line drive over the second baseman (for right-handed hitters). It sounds basic because it is -- deliberately trying to go oppo keeps the head down and eyes on the ball. Most Little Leaguers who try to pull, end up pulling their heads and wind up staring into the third-base dugout... after striking out (because you can't hit what you can't see).
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I didn't have any fun watching change-ups befuddle our new batters all weekend... while the O's young hitters often went with the pitch and beat the shift. That's the approach that always made better hitters out of JBJ and Beni, and at least what we think Verdugo can become. But Cordero and Renfroe have never been good at the MLB level, not with 35% and 28% K-rates; anyone who makes the majors better be able to hit a fastball down the middle, but there's no reason yet for any pitchers to throw those again at the Sox. Hopefully, the Boston coaching staff will have a new Fenway focus, because the home record the past three years shows that trying to launch over the Monster clearly isn't working.
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    All good points -- but is Red Sox Nation prepared to give Bloom a leash that long for another sleeper pick to develop? It just feels like overall interest in the MLB is waning, and last place Sox teams may actually lose some fans this time unless more drastic turnover is expedited.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    You keep reminding him, so he won't forget the past. But unless Bloom hits the jackpot and drafts a Robin Yount-type (instant big league regular at age 18) then what are the odds that history repeats itself?
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Good summary. Diehards can't cry in our beers... just don't rain in my stein and tell me it's pilsner.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Come on -- this is talksOx... with an O.
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's also not realistic for Kelloggs to brag about using expensive, organic grain in its cereal when kids still aren't going to eat it if it tastes like crap.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Sox lineup looks interchangeably weak offensively and defensively. The use of Verdugo is particularly irksome; he was an above-average right fielder last year, but in the first three games he's started in right, center and left -- and has looked awkward in each of the latter two. If I didn't know they were planning on contending this year, it would almost appear like Bloom is vying for another top-four draft pick in 2022.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I get your point, but Jad's point reflects more of the average fan -- who could care less if "our payroll is still in the top 5!" Fans can't be faulted for thinking: "So what, it's not our fault for your bad investments; the team still stinks, so spend more to make it better or don't expect me to spend anything supporting it... especially my time watching it."
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Every club has players who have hot starts and cold starts. So a major concern shouldn't be that, besides JD's good weekend, Cedric Mullins has as many hits after three games as the rest of the Red Sox TEAM. The concern shouldn't even be Dalbec, Renfroe and Cordero going 0-for-22 with 11 strikeouts -- because that's who they are. The concern should be that these are the guys management decided would be your 2021 Sox. Utility men like Kike and Marwin are great assets on a contending team, but it's unfair to expect them to be top players in a lineup with very few quality regulars. This ballclub is bereft of all-around talent. The point of keeping a superstar like Mookie isn't that he alone would make Boston a playoff team last year or any year; but the Sox would have had a better chance to win every single game he played in, now and going forward... and fans would have a better shot at being entertained.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    And yet, meeting in the middle of $300 mil and $420 mil is 1). merely Mookie's market value (basically what he signed for); 2). about the same AAV inked by other superstar players with big market franchises focused on sustained contention; and Worst of All): bound to be similar numbers that the Red Sox inevitably give to someone else... who is not nor will ever be Mookie Betts.
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