SoxProspects News
|
|
|
|
Legal
Forum Ground Rules
The views expressed by the members of this Forum do not necessarily reflect the views of SoxProspects, LLC.
© 2003-2024 SoxProspects, LLC
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Home | Search | My Profile | Messages | Members | Help |
Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
7/9-7/11 Red Sox vs. Rangers Series Thread
dd
Veteran
Posts: 979
|
Post by dd on Jul 9, 2018 22:08:20 GMT -5
Milestone: Sox are the first MLB team this year to clinch not losing 100 games! I watched the Rangers broadcast and mid innings, after showing the Orioles score beating the Yankees then a snapshot of the AL East standings, the Rangers play by play guy said, "The Orioles could win out and still they wouldn't win the division." And it's true. Well, the O's are now 25 & 66. They have 71 games left. If they one them all they'd be 96 & 66. They're not actually eliminated yet. The Red Sox magic number to eliminate them is still 33.
|
|
|
Post by Don Caballero on Jul 9, 2018 23:31:18 GMT -5
Guys can we start talking about Pearce as an absolute Red Sox legend or is the sample size still too small?
|
|
|
Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 9, 2018 23:54:02 GMT -5
Brasier really deserved a shot. The guy has been around many blocks, including some foreign ones.
He showed well with the Angels in 2013 at the age of 25 in a very brief call-up, quickly followed by TJ surgery. He didn't surface in the minors again till the 2015 season, spending two years in the Oakland system. With no takers, he went off to Japan for the 2017 season. Now 30 years old, he's been getting his velocity and command back in a groove. The K/BB rate was an eye-poping 5.00 in Pawtucket. Given the super-human effort he's made to get back to the bigs, he's probably got the sort laser focus that 21 year-olds can't even begin to fathom.
Here's hoping there's a lot more of the stuff we saw tonight. It's just a fastball/slider combo, but both pitches look outstanding and the command was ridiculous.
|
|
|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Jul 9, 2018 23:58:01 GMT -5
Brasier really deserved a shot. The guy has been around many blocks, including some foreign ones. He showed well with the Angels in 2013 at the age of 25 in a very brief call-up, quickly followed by TJ surgery. He didn't surface in the minors again till the 2015 season, spending two years in the Oakland system. With no takers, he went off to Japan for the 2017 season. Now 30 years old, he's been getting his velocity and command back in a groove. The K/BB rate was an eye-poping 5.00 in Pawtucket. Given the super-human effort he's made to get back to the bigs, he's probably got the sort laser focus that 21 year-olds can't even begin to fathom. Here's hoping there's a lot more of the stuff we saw tonight. It's just a fastball/slider combo, but both pitches look outstanding and the command was ridiculous.
A little detail that I found interesting is that his TJ followed a 9 inning relief appearance with the Angels.
|
|
|
Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 10, 2018 0:08:52 GMT -5
A solid win. The Sox pitchers stranded all their runners. E-Rod got out of his jams and then Hembree bailed him out in the 6th. Workman gives up a leadoff triples and works his way out. Kelly gives up a leadoff single and stops them there.
That's some good pitching.
And the offense was two big swings. Pearce and JDM.
What a pickup Pearce has been. They needed that RH bat that could cause southpaws trouble but not be a total zero against a righty, a guy that can platoon and be a bat off the bench. Pearce is exactly that guy. It was seen as a depth pickup, and it is, but that's a very astute and valuable addition.
And JDM is JDM. He's a total joy to watch. Like I said, his ABs are must-see TV.
I mean once Chavez let Betts and Benintendi on and he had to face JDM you knew he was screwed. And the funny thing is that he looked like he was actually owning the AB, but JDM took a breath, collected his thoughts, and figures things out on the fly, and clobbered that pitch. He's a helluva hitter.
I have to ask - was that radar gun for real? Does he REALLY throw that hard or was the gun a bit juiced?
I'm not prepared to say that our high leverage relief corps have added another reliever, but I think as somebody else said, he can be a Blayne Boyer, and that's not a bad thing. Doesn't hurt to have a reliever to go to as depth who isn't a batting practice pitcher. I still think the Sox will eventually have to consolidate some of that depth to get a high leverage guy for the post-season, but guys like Brasier make it easier so that if they have to make a deal like that, they have guys like Brasier that can fill in and do the job and replace some of the outgoing depth.
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 10, 2018 0:14:55 GMT -5
Don't think the gun was juiced. Pretty sure Brasier was throwing that hard. He looks like the real deal.
|
|
|
Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 10, 2018 0:16:59 GMT -5
Don't think the gun was juiced. Pretty sure Brasier was throwing that hard. He looks like the real deal. Liked what I saw. But I need to see a lot more before I think of him as the real deal.
|
|
|
Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 10, 2018 0:17:54 GMT -5
... I'm not prepared to say that our high leverage relief corps have added another reliever, but I think as somebody else said, he can be a Blayne Boyer, and that's not a bad thing. Doesn't hurt to have a reliever to go to as depth who isn't a batting practice pitcher. I still think the Sox will eventually have to consolidate some of that depth to get a high leverage guy for the post-season, but guys like Brasier make it easier so that if they have to make a deal like that, they have guys like Brasier that can fill in and do the job and replace some of the outgoing depth. I'll disagree with that assessment. Relievers are the most fungible of roster assets. Sending talent off to get them is more often than not an absolute waste of talent. I watched Soria, who's on wish lists, get run over by the Astros a few nights back. It's easy to imagine how we - not to mention the Boston media - would react to such a poor showing. Brasier has much better stuff from what I saw tonight. I hope there are no foolish moves made to further drain an already depleted farm system.
|
|
|
Post by slam761 on Jul 10, 2018 0:27:02 GMT -5
Brasier really deserved a shot. The guy has been around many blocks, including some foreign ones. He showed well with the Angels in 2013 at the age of 25 in a very brief call-up, quickly followed by TJ surgery. He didn't surface in the minors again till the 2015 season, spending two years in the Oakland system. With no takers, he went off to Japan for the 2017 season. Now 30 years old, he's been getting his velocity and command back in a groove. The K/BB rate was an eye-poping 5.00 in Pawtucket. Given the super-human effort he's made to get back to the bigs, he's probably got the sort laser focus that 21 year-olds can't even begin to fathom. Here's hoping there's a lot more of the stuff we saw tonight. It's just a fastball/slider combo, but both pitches look outstanding and the command was ridiculous.
A little detail that I found interesting is that his TJ followed a 9 inning relief appearance with the Angels. ...what? He threw 9 innings over 7 games.
|
|
|
Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 10, 2018 0:30:50 GMT -5
... I'm not prepared to say that our high leverage relief corps have added another reliever, but I think as somebody else said, he can be a Blayne Boyer, and that's not a bad thing. Doesn't hurt to have a reliever to go to as depth who isn't a batting practice pitcher. I still think the Sox will eventually have to consolidate some of that depth to get a high leverage guy for the post-season, but guys like Brasier make it easier so that if they have to make a deal like that, they have guys like Brasier that can fill in and do the job and replace some of the outgoing depth. I'll disagree with that assessment. Relievers are the most fungible of roster assets. Sending talent off to get them is more often than not an absolute waste of talent. I watched Soria, who's on wish lists, get run over by the Astros a few nights back. It's easy to imagine how we - not to mention the Boston media - would react to such a poor showing. Brasier has much better stuff from what I saw tonight. I hope there are no foolish moves made to further drain an already depleted farm system. We'll agree to disagree except we'll both agree that relievers are fungible assets. That's why I don't mind trading minor league relievers (future middle relievers - not somebody like Feltman) who aren't ready for primetime for relievers who are further along on the development curve. I don't have an issue with losing a Lakins or a Buttrey in a deal for a reliever that's going to be used in high leverage come October. If they lose somebody like that they still have a decent option in Brasier who likely won't be dealt away. To me guys like Lakins or Buttrey are replaceable with the next failed starter turned reliever in the minors. I get that Soria stunk against Houston but I'll still take his track record of pitching well over somebody who has yet to prove that he can over a long period of time. That said, I'm perfectly willing to see if the Sox catch lightning in a bottle with Brasier. I can have my mind changed. But I need more than 1 outing to make that kind of a determination. I think the trade market for relievers will move pretty slowly anyways so there's time to test out Brasier, test out Thornburg, and see what's what.
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 10, 2018 1:00:24 GMT -5
Don't think the gun was juiced. Pretty sure Brasier was throwing that hard. He looks like the real deal. Liked what I saw. But I need to see a lot more before I think of him as the real deal. Yeah, hopefully he can get into some high leverage innings before the end of July. I wanted Soria up until now. I just think the Sox needed one more arm to pair up with Barnes and Kelly. I also think Price is still destined for the bullpen come playoff time giving the Sox a fourth arm (which makes a Wright return really key imo). I am fully on board the Brasier hype train though. Arms like that don't come around often. That was plus all across the board and it was nasty.
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 10, 2018 1:59:34 GMT -5
Milestone: Sox are the first MLB team this year to clinch not losing 100 games! If they play .500 the rest of the way, they'll end up with 98 wins. It's July 9th. The Sox are on a historic pace if they keep this up.
|
|
gerry
Veteran
Enter your message here...
Posts: 1,672
|
Post by gerry on Jul 10, 2018 2:55:34 GMT -5
I'll disagree with that assessment. Relievers are the most fungible of roster assets. Sending talent off to get them is more often than not an absolute waste of talent. I watched Soria, who's on wish lists, get run over by the Astros a few nights back. It's easy to imagine how we - not to mention the Boston media - would react to such a poor showing. Brasier has much better stuff from what I saw tonight. I hope there are no foolish moves made to further drain an already depleted farm system. We'll agree to disagree except we'll both agree that relievers are fungible assets. That's why I don't mind trading minor league relievers (future middle relievers - not somebody like Feltman) who aren't ready for primetime for relievers who are further along on the development curve. I don't have an issue with losing a Lakins or a Buttrey in a deal for a reliever that's going to be used in high leverage come October. If they lose somebody like that they still have a decent option in Brasier who likely won't be dealt away. To me guys like Lakins or Buttrey are replaceable with the next failed starter turned reliever in the minors. I get that Soria stunk against Houston but I'll still take his track record of pitching well over somebody who has yet to prove that he can over a long period of time. That said, I'm perfectly willing to see if the Sox catch lightning in a bottle with Brasier. I can have my mind changed. But I need more than 1 outing to make that kind of a determination. I think the trade market for relievers will move pretty slowly anyways so there's time to test out Brasier, test out Thornburg, and see what's what. [ Brasier was a stud before his surgery. He has been a stud this season, again. He or Thornburg might be our Soria for the stretch run and postseason, but so might Buttrey or Lakins or Beeks or Poyner or Scott. IMO, it would be foolish to trade multiple relievers with high upside to obtain a costly vet with downside. Building from within works, and there is time to test that theory, if it is just a theory.
|
|
|
Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 10, 2018 4:47:08 GMT -5
Building from within works when you have pieces that are major league ready. Arguably the only major league ready arm right now is Bobby Poyner out of the Lakins, Buttrey, Durbin group.
The Sox did a great job of finding Brasier. This stuff doesn't happen too much. Not a lot of people knew who this guy was a month ago or even would give this guy a sniff at that point. Baseball is weird though and hopefully the Sox struck gold here in Brasier.
|
|
|
Post by costpet on Jul 10, 2018 6:50:04 GMT -5
Going forward, we finally get to see if Swihart is a ML catcher. Call it a tryout. He has until the end of the month to show what he can do, both catching and hitting. If he doesn’t show much, expect a trade for a decent backup C and they either trade him or DFA him. Maybe the Vasquez injury was a blessing in disguise, just to see what what they have in Swihart. He probably knows that.
|
|
|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Jul 10, 2018 7:41:07 GMT -5
Going forward, we finally get to see if Swihart is a ML catcher. Call it a tryout. He has until the end of the month to show what he can do, both catching and hitting. If he doesn’t show much, expect a trade for a decent backup C and they either trade him or DFA him. Maybe the Vasquez injury was a blessing in disguise, just to see what what they have in Swihart. He probably knows that. CVaz is expected to be out 6-8 weeks which puts them close to or past roster expansion. No need to make any decisions on Swihart this year. Just the added time for Leon vs Vazquez should more than make up for the difference between CVaz and Swihart based on this year's history. They were fine, they will be fine. If we have a temporary problem, we have Butler at Pawtucket.
|
|
|
Post by philsbosoxfan on Jul 10, 2018 7:47:35 GMT -5
A little detail that I found interesting is that his TJ followed a 9 inning relief appearance with the Angels. ...what? He threw 9 innings over 7 games. My bad, I read a story that was badly worded. I just looked at game logs, you are correct.
|
|
dd
Veteran
Posts: 979
|
Post by dd on Jul 10, 2018 7:48:50 GMT -5
It's so strange to be on pace for a 111 win season (OK, 110.93 actually) and still be stressed about winning every game. At that pace you'd expect a team to have 6 to 8 game lead at this point. What a season. It's bad for the blood pressure but at least keeps my mind of politics a bit.
I'm currently pulling for Seattle (on pace for 101) to get 100 this year which would break the MLB record of 3 100 game winners in a season and obliterate the single league record of 2.
Of course if the MFY go on a 15 game losing streak and don't make it, I'd be happy with that too!
|
|
|
Post by Chris Hatfield on Jul 10, 2018 10:01:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by FenwayFanatic on Jul 10, 2018 10:08:15 GMT -5
Beeks called up, Cuevas optioned.
|
|
|
Post by telson13 on Jul 10, 2018 10:19:05 GMT -5
Brasier really deserved a shot. The guy has been around many blocks, including some foreign ones.
He showed well with the Angels in 2013 at the age of 25 in a very brief call-up, quickly followed by TJ surgery. He didn't surface in the minors again till the 2015 season, spending two years in the Oakland system. With no takers, he went off to Japan for the 2017 season. Now 30 years old, he's been getting his velocity and command back in a groove. The K/BB rate was an eye-poping 5.00 in Pawtucket. Given the super-human effort he's made to get back to the bigs, he's probably got the sort laser focus that 21 year-olds can't even begin to fathom.
Here's hoping there's a lot more of the stuff we saw tonight. It's just a fastball/slider combo, but both pitches look outstanding and the command was ridiculous.
That comment about his commitment/focus really rings true to me. The guy averaged 97 last night, SSS aside. He might not get a ton of whiffs, but the stuff is tremendous and he knows how to locate it. Pretty impressive that his last time in MLB he was sitting 94.5, five years ago. He’s got something intangible, and he very well might be bullpen lightning-in-a-bottle.
|
|
danr
Veteran
Posts: 1,871
|
Post by danr on Jul 10, 2018 10:47:43 GMT -5
The Sox already have made what could be the best pre-trade deadline deal in getting Pearce. They now are looking at what they have in pitching, both starting and relieving, at Pawtucket. The results of the various try-outs should determine whether another deal is made. I think the Sox have what they need now and should not make another deal - unless, of course, D comes up with another deal as good as the one for Pearce.
|
|
|
Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 10, 2018 11:01:18 GMT -5
We'll agree to disagree except we'll both agree that relievers are fungible assets. That's why I don't mind trading minor league relievers (future middle relievers - not somebody like Feltman) who aren't ready for primetime for relievers who are further along on the development curve. I don't have an issue with losing a Lakins or a Buttrey in a deal for a reliever that's going to be used in high leverage come October. If they lose somebody like that they still have a decent option in Brasier who likely won't be dealt away. To me guys like Lakins or Buttrey are replaceable with the next failed starter turned reliever in the minors. I get that Soria stunk against Houston but I'll still take his track record of pitching well over somebody who has yet to prove that he can over a long period of time. That said, I'm perfectly willing to see if the Sox catch lightning in a bottle with Brasier. I can have my mind changed. But I need more than 1 outing to make that kind of a determination. I think the trade market for relievers will move pretty slowly anyways so there's time to test out Brasier, test out Thornburg, and see what's what. [ Brasier was a stud before his surgery. He has been a stud this season, again. He or Thornburg might be our Soria for the stretch run and postseason, but so might Buttrey or Lakins or Beeks or Poyner or Scott. IMO, it would be foolish to trade multiple relievers with high upside to obtain a costly vet with downside. Building from within works, and there is time to test that theory, if it is just a theory. I think stud is a bit of an overstatement here. I was impressed by Brasier last night but I think there's some overreaction going on here. It's a one game sample size in the majors. I'm not comfortable with pronouncing that the Sox don't need to shore up their pen and they're ready to go toe-to-toe with the Yankees and Astros bullpen because Brasier looked really good last night. If somebody had a bad game and there was a reaction to it, wouldn't there be a call not to overreact to just one game? Well doesn't that work both ways here? Brasier is somebody, as I look at his numbers, definitely deserved a shot in the majors way back when, didn't get much of a chance, got hurt, went to Japan, and is now back as a 30 year old in AAA. I'm glad the Sox called him up and I'd like to see what he can do with some more appearances, but I wouldn't say he's a bullpen stud. I'd say he's more like a guy that's interesting that deserves a look but if the Sox have a way of improving their pen in high leverage situations they should. By all means, audition him in high leverage and see what happens. Same with Thornburg later on this month. I'll be frank here. If the Sox go into a close game in the ALDS or ALCS with Houston or New York, I don't really trust Barnes or Kelly to hold a 4-3 lead in the 7th. I just don't. I'd like there to be another good option, so that if Kelly or Barnes are having their control issues that day the game doesn't need to slip away because there's no other real high leverage option to bridge the gap to Kimbrel. In a perfect world Thornburg would be a guy to turn to, but I don't know that he's fully recovered from his injury and will be pitching like he did in 2016. I'm not confident enough to feel that after 1 game Brasier is the answer here. Maybe he will be - I'm willing to keep an open mind, but his audition period is a few weeks because by 7/31 the Sox need to decide what they're going to do. I think there's this perception that you have to trade a ton of talent to get a reliever on an expiring contract - like the kind of talent given up to obtain Thornburg, but I don't think that's the case. I think relievers are mostly fungible. I don't think if you lose a Buttrey or a Lakins or a Chandler Shepherd in a deal for a reliever along with a lottery type of pitcher (AKA most likely future middle reliever if they don't completely bust) for a rental reliever with high leverage experience who's still pitching well. And as a bonus the odds you have to give up a Brasier are low, and you can replace what you lose by finding the next Brasier while you keep the original. I'm not suggesting the Sox mortgage what's left of the farm. Did they have to do it to make the "incremental" improvement of obtaining an expiring contract like Steve Pearce? No, they really didn't. The odds are they gave up a useful utility infielder, not something that they cannot replace. Same thing here, improve the bullpen, even if getting a high leverage reliever isn't the same thing as getting a solid starting pitcher. I think it can be done without sacrificing too much (although if they lose Shawaryn I'll be a hypocrite and shout bloody murder!).
|
|
|
Post by bluechip on Jul 10, 2018 11:21:13 GMT -5
Beeks called up, Cuevas optioned. Velazquez is still starting, right? Edit: Looks like Beeks is the long man depth. Also: Happy birthday Jalen.
|
|
|
Post by kingofthetrill on Jul 10, 2018 12:03:24 GMT -5
I'm tempted to rest one or more of Betts/Benintendi/Martinez/Bogey since this doesn't seem like a game that we're really trying to win anyway. And I'd rest another one tomorrow with the Sale/Big Sexy matchup and then hope we can get to the All Star break from there.
|
|
|