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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The Sox drafted Bregman out of high school in the 29th round in 2012. Similarly, the Reds drafted Beni in the 31st round the next year. Both had enough confidence to chose college, where they became Top 10 picks by '15. People seem to forget that Andrew was the nation's top college player as a sophomore and playing in the pros the same year. He is adjusting to perhaps the first major failures in his baseball life. Developmental paths aren't always ascending arrows.
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Yup, which really irks me as a fan, if we lost our best player because of one of the owner's mood swings. But back to the title of the thread, I've always been of the opinion that Mookie ultimately wanted out. Henry's words last fall -- wondering "whether Mookie wants to spend the rest of his career in Boston" -- and after the trade (his Stan Musial nostalgia) reveal, at least to me, he wanted to keep Betts and was frustrated he couldn't.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    They're also responsible for the Sox getting burned on shifts seemingly every night. I swear if Boston had just played defense straight up all summer there would be less runs against. Of course, our hitters line one hoppers right up the middle whenever there's a fielder stationed right behind the bag... and can't save their lives by just bouncing a routine grounder through an empty oppo side.
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Shhhhhhhhh.......
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It would also help a ballplayer's popularity if he showed more respect to the franchise, the ballpark, the city, and yes, the fans -- through their conduit of information, the media -- for not having to work another day of his life after baseball. But all a true fan really wants when rooting for a pro athlete is for the guy to wear a dirtdog attitude and at least pretend he wants to play in Yankee Stadium... And Moon, good line about having to go long to land "a gem"... it's just the reality of star players and contracts these days (and will happen again and again, even post-Mookie -- and maybe while trying to replace Mookie).
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    You can argue that all Red Sox GMs this century have succeeded in what they were hired to do: Epstein to produce a club equal to NY that could break The Curse, Dombro to spend resources to put Boston back on top, and Bloom to cut salary in order to reset and retool. The biggest failure -- when looking at standings -- was Ben, but his first job was to continue to expand the farm, then orchestrate the first major Sox sell-off, and finally rebuild a contender (check, check, check).
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Mookie is a winning player who always gives his all and expects the same out of teammates -- as he made clear his first day as a Dodger in a speech to his new club. Anyone who's ever played team sports knows that athletes up their game when they're challenged by the presence of great players. I'm not saying the 2020 Red Sox would've made the playoffs or even had a winning record with Betts, but you can bet there would have been a different atmosphere if he were still here...
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    No doubt. Sparky "Captain Hook" Anderson was ahead of his time using his bullpen arms.
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Man, I see it as totally opposite. Even conceding that Price is still a talented pitcher, his multitude of recent age-related physical/mental issues (slash included for connection) make him an unreliable investment, even at half-price (no pun intended, but maybe it should be...).
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    My original post was from looking at annual WAR Top 10s, so when I said "best players" I meant plural, as more than one -- which brings us back to a star core. It's not unusual for the best teams to have many of the best players. For example, the 2018 Red Sox had three guys in the AL's Top 10 Offensive WAR-- 2. Betts, 6. JD, 10. Bogie; plus two in the Top 10 WAR for Pitchers-- 2. Sale and 8. Price. Such data helps explain a great team. Of course, no one comes close in our lifetimes to the mid-70s Cincinnati Reds, who had the NL's top three WAR leaders for the decade -- Morgan, Bench, Rose -- and six of the top 15, with Perez, Foster and Concepcion. Imagine having 40% of your league's best players... and then free agency breaks out.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Especially... and I would say, because... LA agreed to take Price in the same deal. For all we know, the price of getting rid of David was the inclusion of Betts in the deal. The reset and budget going forward was less about Mookie's 2020 20 mil and more about Price's contract -- which Boston would be stuck with for the duration once his no-trade kicked in (because no one would've wanted him at his price). Price was already an unhappy camper for his entire Red Sox tenure (including his bitter WS presser) and had to go; imagine how rancorous it would've become -- at least in the press -- as he continued to decline while playing for a bad team. p.s. if it was just a straight Mookie trade, to LA or SD, even for one year, I find it hard to believe that wouldn't be worth someone's decent minor league pitching prospect.
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I used bWAR. Just looking at the NL, annual WAR leaders for 25 of the past 50 years played on first-place teams (plus one Wild Card that made the World Series). Every guy is either a Hall of Famer or good enough for future consideration: Bench, Stargell, Morgan, Schmidt, Bonds, Bagwell, Pujols, Posey, Bryant, Yelich, Bellinger, and 2020 leader Betts (I would say maybe not Bryant, but Boston did show a video of him to Mookie to infer he's not Kris... and they were right; ugh). As pointed out, I'm sure it's not the same for the AL because of Trout.
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Rice was a better pick at the time; he was an amateur terror with the bat, and the best hitter in the minor leagues before reaching Boston. Brett and the next pick, Mike Schmidt, grew into greatness. George's Yaz-stance was completely changed by Charley Lau, and Schmidt started out as a K-machine.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    But every five or six days, Ken could pitch... George could only play in the field every day.
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Best hitter for Boston in that bunch was Ken Brett, who hit .295 with an .847 OPS in parts of four years as a Red Sox pitcher. Younger brother George always said Ken was the best ballplayer in the family.
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I agree with this entire post. The best teams almost always have the best players; such an obvious statement looks ridiculous while I'm even typing it. A quick glance at the yearly Top Ten WAR for the past 50 seasons is loaded with guys on first-place clubs. In just the past half decade, those that led or finished near the top in their respective leagues include Betts, Bellinger, Bregman, Altuve and Bryant -- all familiar names on World Series teams. Even the 2015 Royals had Lorenzo Cain, who was 5th in the AL that year. You don't always get what you pay for, but you have to be willing to pay for what you want.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I think I read later in his career, when he wasn't as limber, that he'd rub dirt on his knee after warming up in the bullpen, for wary batters to see and think he's on tonight. Tom Seaver was a guy who was never old in my entire lifetime...
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I have to say I liked Sale cutting up Chicago's sailor shirts, but also wondered if he'd become a disruption in Boston. Turns out he is a great teammate -- rallying the troops in the World Series -- and good guy with the media and the public; at least when my son and I met him (he even took our phone and set the camera up for me to take a pic). I'm rooting for his comeback, but don't expect the Sox to let him do much in a '21 season that probably won't be worth risking a full recovery.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Quintana for Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease could turn out to be an all-timer. Another is Adam Eaton (not a draftee, but a White Sox regular since he was 25) for three pitchers, including Giolitto, that are all contributing on the current first-place staff.
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That was my answer all last winter, coming off a season when Boston had four star regulars in Betts, Bogie, Devers and JD (all high in stats, all with MVP votes). All except JD were still young, even pre-prime, with Benintendi another youthful regular with potential. Betts has been replaced by Verdugo -- not in stature, but as another to build around (and even lower the core age, as he's 4 years younger). I'll bet even now there are some good clubs that would love to have those players...
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Does this Red Sox team seem like they get burned on their defensive shifts more than any other club in analytics history? Can Bloom rebuild that department, too?
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    He's 26. Red Sox drafted him out of high school and almost again in 2015 when they took Beni 7th overall. White Sox picked Fulmer with the next pick and he made the majors a year later.
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    But they traded homegrowns for a lot of talented prospects... except when they dealt Tatis for Big Game James Shields.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I still don't get it. If Manfred somehow lets 2019's finish affect the next draft order, then he'd better force the Nationals to chip a few diamonds out of their World Series rings and give them to this year's winners.
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