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Post by nunibunny on Feb 9, 2014 19:40:02 GMT -5
Why does the boat say "1918"? I believe the Red Sox have won a couple between 1918 and 2013... Beat me to it. It's not the first, last or most recent... wtf? I'm moving to FL soon and may be down there during spring training looking at houses. I've never been, maybe a vet can post kind of a do's/don'ts type of thing... just quick tips for anyone who hasn't been I am going first week March. On my bucket list to finally get to spring training. Was only able to get tickets to one game. Can a person just walk to the secondary fields on on home game days to watch practice.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Feb 9, 2014 19:48:31 GMT -5
So many guys have come back successfully from TJ surgery that we forget that some guys don't ever get it all back ... Rubby will probably light up the gun in ST, and we'll get some good quotes from The Great Pedro about how hard he's worked, etc, etc. But can he maintain his velocity over the course of a season? Or even over a full start? We'll have to see. Sure would be great ... This is a whole other thing to predict about Spring Training: who will provide totally unwarranted hype and excitement? Seems to happen every year. Last year, it was Webster and RDLR, with a secondary award to JBJ (but his had some validity to it, after all). This year, Sizemore's a clear candidate when he runs faster than the sportswriters ... probably Webster and RDLR could repeat in this category. I guess my money's on Barnes to throw a few good innings with a strong fastball and get everyone all lathered up about how he could help this year. Although Cecchini's a dark horse to put up an outrageous BA and get the media hyping up a totally illusory Cecchini/WMB competition (at least illusory this year). Fun times. Baseball is such a great sport. Year after year it's been said and proven that spring doesn't mean diddly. Nonetheless, my bets are Vazquez and Ranaudo. ADD: But agree, Sizemore is the press headliner. Good fun topic at a point where a truck is the highlight.
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Post by brianthetaoist on Feb 9, 2014 20:10:26 GMT -5
Oh, Vazquez is a good one ... he puts up a good BA, nails a few runners trying to steal, and suddenly he's Johnny Bench only held back by a couple of 37 year-olds.
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Post by soxfan06 on Feb 10, 2014 0:11:31 GMT -5
In what universe does Jackie Bradley Jr. look fat in that picture?
Seriously....
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Post by grandsalami on Feb 10, 2014 13:25:25 GMT -5
“@bradfo: Early leader for 'John Lackey Bodyshaping Award' Is Middlebrooks, who has put on 12 pounds of muscle. Noticeably bigger”
Nice.
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Post by jimed14 on Feb 10, 2014 14:09:39 GMT -5
“@bradfo: Early leader for 'John Lackey Bodyshaping Award' Is Middlebrooks, who has put on 12 pounds of muscle. Noticeably bigger” Nice. Probably doesn't help much with plate recognition, but it's good to see his dedication. That's why I believe in him.
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Post by mattpicard on Feb 10, 2014 15:05:16 GMT -5
“@bradfo: Early leader for 'John Lackey Bodyshaping Award' Is Middlebrooks, who has put on 12 pounds of muscle. Noticeably bigger” Nice. That's good, although his strength hasn't been his issue. Hopefully the additional muscle won't negatively impact his agility, as he appeared far less nimble at the hot corner in 2013 than I had expected him to be. On a positive note, the power was already pretty mighty to all fields, so one can imagine how powerful his bat will be if he ever develops an eye at the plate (but sadly, that's a huge if).
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Post by jimed14 on Feb 10, 2014 15:31:48 GMT -5
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Post by sibbysisti on Feb 10, 2014 15:54:30 GMT -5
“@bradfo: Early leader for 'John Lackey Bodyshaping Award' Is Middlebrooks, who has put on 12 pounds of muscle. Noticeably bigger” Nice. Guess "working out" with Jenny Dell really did wonders for his anatomy.
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jimoh
Veteran
Posts: 3,948
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Post by jimoh on Feb 10, 2014 20:13:34 GMT -5
"but the suspicion here is that by the end of camp, Bogaerts may emerge at the top of the order"
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Feb 10, 2014 22:53:34 GMT -5
When is the last time a reigning world championship team had so much ink devoted to the future ?
Good article, in my mind, Edes has been the fastest riser in the media Top100.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Feb 10, 2014 23:44:56 GMT -5
I really don't get the Bogaerts as lead off guy discussions. Why put that much pressure on him already and isn't he projected to have fairly decent pop? Let him hit 6th or 7th and take at least a little pressure off him. It's not like he's going to be a great base runner either.
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Post by soxfan1615 on Feb 10, 2014 23:50:12 GMT -5
I really don't get the Bogaerts as lead off guy discussions. Why put that much pressure on him already and isn't he projected to have fairly decent pop? Let him hit 6th or 7th and take at least a little pressure off him. It's not like he's going to be a great base runner either. You're thinking traditional lead off guy, we're thinking most effective lead off guy
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Post by jimed14 on Feb 11, 2014 9:49:45 GMT -5
"but the suspicion here is that by the end of camp, Bogaerts may emerge at the top of the order" "suspicion here" implies "I suspect". "may" is a hedge. Pretty much what I said. It's nitpicking if you really want to argue about it. I don't.
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Post by jimed14 on Feb 11, 2014 10:03:41 GMT -5
Lackey looks like he's in great shape again.
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Post by mattpicard on Feb 11, 2014 15:57:56 GMT -5
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Post by soxfanatic on Feb 11, 2014 17:44:17 GMT -5
Maureen Mullen ?@maureenamullen 4 min. Bogaerts will be working out strictly as SS this spring. #RedSox think unfair for young player to take on 2 positions at same time.
Also suggests they´re not likely to sign Drew IMO.
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Post by soxfanatic on Feb 11, 2014 17:49:06 GMT -5
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Feb 11, 2014 21:38:16 GMT -5
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Post by okin15 on Feb 12, 2014 14:21:54 GMT -5
Good article, in my mind, Edes has been the fastest riser in the media Top100. When ESPNBoston began and Gordo was the beat writer, I was briefly excited before quickly becoming mortified by his lack of knowledge about sabermetrics and prospects, proclivity for puff-pieces, and limited actual content creation. The man (and the site in general) has improved vastly in each of these areas. Part of that is bringing on SP.com as a contributor, and getting Edes some other help, but part of it is that the guy simply adjusted well to the readership, the knowledge level in Boston, and the blog format (his rapid reax still need work). He is now at a point where his baseball experience, and excellent writing can shine through, and for that, I commend him. To bring this back around to the Sox... maybe WMB can make that step where he adapts his game to the Sox' best practices so his talents can shine through? I think it's a good possibilty.
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Post by okin15 on Feb 12, 2014 14:48:15 GMT -5
Drew and Ellsbury put up a combined 9.2 fWAR last year (3.4 Drew, 5.8 Ellsbury). To expect Bradley and Bogaerts to reach that level of excellence in their first full year is setting expectations much too high. I would be thrilled, for instance, if Bradley and Bogaerts combine for something on the order of 6 wins next year. This years' team may very well be as good as last years', but the improvement will have to mostly come from elsewhere-- say, a bounce-back from Middlebrooks and a sustained run of health and performance from the rotation. (Quoting an off-topic post from the Law 100 thread) This is a great point, and makes me realize that we're going to have a hard time having as good an offense this year. Even including the injuries sustained last year, I expect offensive regression from Ortiz, Napoli, CF, and Catcher. I expect about the same production from LF, SS and Victorino (remember he missed a lot of time with injuries). And I'd expect improved production from Pedroia and 3B. Luckily, we have good backups in place to support injuries to Ortiz, Napoli, C and LF, where much of our offensive injury risk lies, but the same was true last year. In addition to a potential breakout from Xander, WMB or JBJ to lift the boat, we're going to need better pitching to equal last year's record. More Buchholz and more Peavy should help some, as could further improvement from Doubront. These guys could be helped tremendously by a bolstered bullpen which can hold leads from a bit earlier in games.
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Post by iakovos11 on Feb 12, 2014 15:56:26 GMT -5
We don't need to be "as good" as last year - especially in terms of record. Just get into the playoffs and see what happens.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Feb 12, 2014 21:24:04 GMT -5
This author makes some valid points on Clay's injury risk. www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/2/12/5399684/clay-buchholz-and-pitcher-durabilityBy extension, it's my thought that we're far better off this year as compared to last because of two factors, Peavy is already part of the mix and more importantly, our replacement starters are one year more experienced. What will replace a down starter this year should be better than what replaced a down starter last year, for the most part, same pitchers but at an age where a year is a big difference.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Feb 12, 2014 21:29:16 GMT -5
Saw a great nickname, (unknown originator).... A.J. Placeholder
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Post by jmei on Feb 12, 2014 21:36:30 GMT -5
The nickname is from an OTM article, I think.
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