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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Speaking of Will Smith... wonder if he'll start behind the plate in the WBC Final Four. Nothing against Cal Raleigh (0-for-9, 5 Ks) -- except that he's apparently a germaphobe avoiding handshaking and fist-pumping teammates he's going to have to be in close proximity with in dugouts, clubhouses, bus stations, airports and hotels for the next 8 months... ... but Smith has only caught 72 postseason MLB games compared to Raleigh's 17, and won three world titles. Sure, Cal can hit a lot of homers, but Will's HR in extra innings of 2025's Game Seven won ring bling for every trolley dodger in LA.
  2. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Abreu, Anthony and Duran have had huge home runs for their teams, and Whitlock has been lights out on the mound. But we all knew the Red Sox star of the WBC would be Greg Weissert.
  3. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's not impossible that the star in a World Series-winning season is The Rotation. But it's been 20 years since over half a world champion's best regular season players were pitchers. Based on the Top 8 bWAR of annual champs, the 2005 Chicago White Sox were the last to feature 5 of 8 on the mound. That includes their Big Four starters who threw four straight complete games to win the ALCS (after an ALDS sweep of the Red Sox). Since '05, only one other ring winner has had as many as 4 pitchers outright among its top 8 bWARs... you guessed it -- the 2018 Boston Red Sox: Sale, Price, Porcello and Rodriguez. There's no Mookie this year, but there's an Anthony. And there is a JD. But while monitoring the BoSox' trek back to the top, check their bb-reference page often, and the mugshots from left to right --- if at least 4 of the top 8 WARRIORS include the likes of Crochet, Suarez, Gray and Bello, plus even Chapman again, we could be alright...
  4. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Don't sell yourself short! Remember, it was Moon research that ranked all MLB starters by WAR way back on October 11 that inspired Breslow's plan for the offseason... after my reply post, of course: "That is a lot of work, and makes me want to trade for Sonny Gray even more now. Plus, sign Cease or Suarez (because Dombro "can't keep them all")."
  5. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The longterm contract was the same reason I didn't think anyone would want to trade for Rafaela -- a few years when Moon suggested him as trade bait. At the time, Ceddanne was a guy who posted these stats at age 23: 15 HRs, 75 RBI, 19 SBs... but also, 15 BB, 151 Ks and 10 CS. He looked like someone who could go either way -- and still does for those who freak over average MLB offensive numbers. But now entering his prime and due $43.5 million over the next six seasons, Rafaela doesn't look so overpaid. Unless you think $7 mil per year is too much for the sport's elite defensive centerfielder through age 26-31.
  6. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    So if a ballplayer is worth no Wins and not a negative WAR, then he's a complete Zero -- the definition of a Replacement Player... (... who I always equated as one of us, walking down the street with a ticket to the ballpark, but stopped by a team official with an offer of a one-night stipend to wear the laundry and stumble around on the diamond because they needed one more guy to field a Nine and not forfeit so they didn't have to refund all the other fans).
  7. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    That's because Mickey's in Houston right now -- Italy needed to replace injured Teel and called up Gasperini. (sorry for the vowel movement, but I, too, could qualify for that team -- except I can't play catcher -- nor would I wear Columbo's raincoat indoors... but outdoors... remember, the two best times to go fishing are when it's raining and when it's not).
  8. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'm confused about the tiebreaker of "the lowest quotient of runs allowed divided by defensive outs recorded," and welcome any math whiz on the forum to correct me -- because I hope I'm wrong. That tiebreaker could penalize any team that won by a mercy score -- which makes zero sense to me... Ex: two winners allow 4 runs each. Team 1 wins 5-4 in 9 innings. Team 2 wins by mercy, 14-4, in 7. Team 1's quotient of 4 divided by 27 outs is 0.148. Team 2's quotient of 4 divided by 21 outs is 0.190. So Team 2 -- so dominant they only had to play 7 -- gets eliminated because they were better?
  9. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Until Goomba Greg swept them off their feet!
  10. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I just like the idea of a fast guy who can bunt that pressures the defense to make a perfect throw lest he circle the bases. But all the deceiving Red Sox WBC HR production has hurt Ward's chances of breaking camp in a small ball world.
  11. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Too risky to bet on a Win or even a Place, so just blow it all for Show. The third option, the spork in the road, at least it looks like you're trying to get somewhere... But they're just horsing around.
  12. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Why are we talking about the camera team at Fox Sports?
  13. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    This is like the average argument whether the Red Sox' offense is good enough or bad enough. This decade Boston's runs scored per game has fluctuated in between a high of 5.12 in 2021 and 4.54 in 2022 (Schwarber-influenced and immediately post-Schwarber). My dinero is on Duran... despite the fact that Schwarber has hit 201 homers since the Sox let him leave, compared to Duran, Story, Abreu, Rafaela and Yoshida -- who combined to hit 198 HRs in that same span. Now all a deflated Kyle can do is sit and watch, along with the victorious Kyle Teel and his lame hammy. Ok, who here had Goombah Greg Weissert striking out Judge for the last out last night?
  14. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Ward has been a little rough on the Beleavers.
  15. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    And yet, we on this forum -- the benighted knights of the keyboards -- represent Red Sox Nation and thus must stay resolute to never let those who'd rewrite or erase HISTORY... ... no matter if those responsible are convicted, pardoned, promoted or immortalized for their immortal sins on plaque that builds between their fangs, and has bards singing "to dream, the Unflossible Dream..."
  16. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Though an exorbitant amount in regular human money, it wasn't quite commensurate with Mookie's market value at the time -- his agent and even his own mother both knew it and reminded him not to bend. The Sox offer to Betts was more than Henry or any Boston owner ever offered a ballplayer before, but it was in the same ballpark as contracts signed by Machado and Harper, and Mookie was just a better all-around player in 2019, especially since he was entering his prime. People can argue all they want now about whether Mookie is still better than Machado and Harper -- he's still got them both in career WAR -- but the real gauge for any franchise is how much are three World Series rings worth?
  17. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Obviously not all WBC teams are loaded with MLB ringers. I'm watching Bello carve up Israel this afternoon... oops, just gave up a solo shot to Horowitz (a big leaguer). The thing is, not all WBC players are having great tournaments -- including not all the major leaguers participating. So gotta give credit to the guys who are getting it done. The pitchers aren't trying new grips or stretching out their arms like in the Grapefruit or Cactus Leagues -- everybody's trying to win.
  18. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I haven't seen Durbin or Contreras enough on D to see how competent they are. But I still think the underrated reason the Sox made the playoffs last year was how much Bregman solidified third base, especially in big moments. Mayer is now the best infielder on the team and absolutely needs to make the roster if Brez is truly committed to pitching and defense.
  19. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The last thing the Red Sox should stress about is outfield defense... right? This team is built around pitching -- with mostly strikeout men or ground ball inducers. Personally, if there's any player I'm worried about in the pasture, it's Duran, who luckily is fast enough to outrun most of his misreads. Yoshida doesn't have the range of the rest of the OF corp, but he can catch the damn ball. Yesterday he flagged down a Travis Bazzana oppo liner -- which fly-chasers will tell you is the most difficult play for leftfielders.
  20. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Last year Yoshida was rehabbing and trying to come back from an operation; the year before he was playing injured for at least half of it -- this is what I try telling my son every time he yells, "He sucks!" And then somehow I'm not citing facts but "just making an excuse." Masa's first year in the majors which everyone forgets, when he was adjusting to a new culture, he finished 5th in the AL in batting and had a .783 OPS. What gets me is when posters suggest the Red Sox send him down to the minors. Even if the overall comp in the WBC is borderline Triple A, hasn't this professional hitter already proven he has mastered that level? And in order to keep career bench-warmers like Eaton, Sogard and Monasterio instead? None of them have ever driven in the most runs to win world titles or had big league organizations with 75 Assistant VP analysts offer them $90 million dollars (combined).
  21. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    The game just slows down on him in the WBC... phlegmatically.
  22. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    Puerto Rican starter Eduardo Rivera, 22, looked good and was pumped to be in the spotlight. He's a guy I didn't know about as a future option for Boston, but MLB.com lists him as the Red Sox #26 prospect. Finished last season in Portland, but at 6'7, 237, could move up fast. Rivera's pitching line last night: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K... granted, it came against mostly minor leaguers, but delivering on the big stage has to help his confidence. This is what I love about young players experiencing the WBC.
  23. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    I'm totally with notin. The thought of paying Yoshida's salary to hit for some other team makes me nauseous. I'd argue it's foolish to trade him now, even to another club willing to pay his whole contract. Now that he's finally healthy, maybe he can do what Story did last year -- show the Nation how good he can be and earn his money. The main gripe on this forum is that Masataka Yoshida just isn't versatile enough to be a Boston Red Sox. But don't forget: Breslow left the '26 club a bat short in the middle of the order -- we all agreed on that all winter. And this Sox batting order just isn't versatile enough to be losing more bats...
  24. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    If you think any of this is unlikely, consider the WBC so far: Moon leads in RBI, the Son of Manny (age 20) leads in homers, the Son of Jose Contreras (age 17) got Judge to ground into a DP, and Jeter Downs is batting a thousand. For the real Red Sox, Suarez is 1-0, Anthony is batting .500 with an OPS of 1.167, and Abreu is .500, 1.000. They've been almost as good as Yoshida: .571, 1.768.
  25. 5GoldGlovesOF,75
    It's clear Masa's jawbone is finally healed after being on the IL for so long -- WBC cameras keep showing him constantly smiling. And for those who can't fathom how Yoshida can possibly fit on the Red Sox powerhouse offense if he's not in the starting line-up on a particular day, do you think for a second that Cora won't use him if a game's on the line? This is a manager that won a game in September when he pinch-hit Sogard, a Quadruple A guy, for the team's WAR-leading position player. Yoshi's career average vs. big league southpaws isn't great, but it's better than that of Duran, Abreu and Rafaela... and that includes half his time in Boston trying to hit with an injured shoulder. Now Mass Attacker is healthy.
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