redsox04071318champs
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Always hoping to make my handle even longer...
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 2, 2013 21:55:40 GMT -5
I wanted to lend my voice to the chorus. Kudos to John Lackey. This is the guy we had hoped for when he signed to be a free agent here.
Lackey really had no business pitching in 2011 but he didn't want to let the team down and go on the DL. Add a sneer and some lousy interviews and it was easy to dislike John Lackey. He's still pretty lousy with interviews (he couldn't even give an answer to Sean McAdam's question about winning over the fans with his pitching without having a sneer), but if he keeps on pitching the way he's been pitching - then who really cares!
He's been pitching like an ace with Buchholz down and Lester struggling and that is huge. He's pitching like somebody you'd want to give the ball to in Game 2 of a playoff series. He's been an efficient strike thrower, innings eater, and I never thought I'd say this but when he takes the mound I have the feeling that they have a good shot at winning.
That's a complete 180 from the way I had felt about him and I give him credit for getting himself back into shape and working to improve to where he used to be with the Angels.
So many things have broken right for the Sox in 2013 and this is one of the biggest things.
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Post by klostrophobic on Jul 2, 2013 22:17:04 GMT -5
Does anyone actually think Lackey is going to pitch for the MLB minimum? Where is the incentive to not hold out for him?
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 2, 2013 22:23:01 GMT -5
Had surgery recently. The guy who did it has a fantastic rep, but I was told he had a lousy bedside manner. My response was that I didn't care if all he did was grunt when he came to see me afterwards. He was as good as advertised and I was very satisfied.
If Lackey can do this every time out, no one should care how he answers questions. We - and the media - should just be glad he's around.
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Post by elguapo on Jul 2, 2013 22:30:59 GMT -5
Anyone still want to offer him $13+M guaranteed? |
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Post by mainesox on Jul 2, 2013 22:46:32 GMT -5
Does anyone actually think Lackey is going to pitch for the MLB minimum? Where is the incentive to not hold out for him? I'm not really sure what you mean; what are his options? Retire? |
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Post by klostrophobic on Jul 2, 2013 23:03:59 GMT -5
Yeah, he'll be 36 and have made 108 million dollars in his career. I would rank 'retirement' over 'playing for $500K' as more likely if I were a betting man.
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Post by marrcus on Jul 3, 2013 0:07:54 GMT -5
Iglesias has now surpassed Drew in hits +2/56 with 97 less abs.
Where the inf is going the second half is hard to figure. You could probably assume Iggy will be at ss by August but what happens to Drew if he's not traded?
WMB could be back but I think the likelihood is against that. Will he eventually see some action at 1B? Do they really want to acquire Young which would have ramifications everywhere including Napoli at 1b?
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Post by bluechip on Jul 3, 2013 7:14:02 GMT -5
Yeah, he'll be 36 and have made 108 million dollars in his career. I would rank 'retirement' over 'playing for $500K' as more likely if I were a betting man. I would think play, and try to get a two year extension would be the likely outcome. |
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Post by bsout2 on Jul 3, 2013 7:41:26 GMT -5
Yeah, he'll be 36 and have made 108 million dollars in his career. I would rank 'retirement' over 'playing for $500K' as more likely if I were a betting man. He signed the contract. If the Red Sox are good, he will pitch. He is a competitor. |
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Post by hammerhead on Jul 3, 2013 8:10:33 GMT -5
I don't see Lackey holding out. The sox paid him 15mil to rehab last year without him throwing an inning. It was the whole reason the clause was in the contract which Lackey agreed to. If the good feelings and great pitching continue, I could see the sox tearing up the option and signing Lackey to a discounted mutually friendly 2 years.
As for Drew I think he's the starting SS for the rest of this year. It seems like the FO really likes him. Iglesias will play 3rd until WMB proves he's ready by tearing up AAA. If that never happens then Iggy is your everyday 3rdbaseman for the duration.
I wouldn't touch Michael Young if he were a waiver wire pick that the Phillies paid us to take. He is atrocious on defense and all his offensive value is in BA. I'd rather give Brandon Snyder the everyday job than Young, but there is no need to. Iglesias has been better than average over there. You're aren't getting the power, but if Napoli ever starts hitting the team should be fine. They have the best offense in the league they can get by with a defense heavy team.
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Post by Guidas on Jul 3, 2013 8:14:16 GMT -5
Had surgery recently. The guy who did it has a fantastic rep, but I was told he had a lousy bedside manner. My response was that I didn't care if all he did was grunt when he came to see me afterwards. He was as good as advertised and I was very satisfied.. Feel better Norm.Heal quickly. |
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Post by gregblossersbelly on Jul 3, 2013 8:30:25 GMT -5
I don't see Lackey holding out. The sox paid him 15mil to rehab last year without him throwing an inning. It was the whole reason the clause was in the contract which Lackey agreed to. If the good feelings and great pitching continue, I could see the sox tearing up the option and signing Lackey to a discounted mutually friendly 2 years. As for Drew I think he's the starting SS for the rest of this year. It seems like the FO really likes him. Iglesias will play 3rd until WMB proves he's ready by tearing up AAA. If that never happens then Iggy is your everyday 3rdbaseman for the duration. I wouldn't touch Michael Young if he were a waiver wire pick that the Phillies paid us to take. He is atrocious on defense and all his offensive value is in BA. I'd rather give Brandon Snyder the everyday job than Young, but there is no need to. Iglesias has been better than average over there. You're aren't getting the power, but if Napoli ever starts hitting the team should be fine. They have the best offense in the league they can get by with a defense heavy team. Agree, Young is a lateral move. If that. His slash line is 290/346/410 and Stephen Drew's line is 233/313/409. A whopping 34 point difference in OPS. More than made up for with Drew's exceptional defense. As you mentioned, if they want to give him away and save a few bucks. Eat half his salary. Maybe, He's the 3rd guy in the ss/3b rotation. If WMB doesn't appear to have figured it out, would just rather keep him in AAA for the rest of the year instead of throwing him in the middle of a pennant race. Wouldn't Xander be a better option than anything we've discussed? He may not be Machado. But, that move helped Baltimore make the playoffs last year. |
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Post by hammerhead on Jul 3, 2013 8:49:27 GMT -5
I wouldn't waste a roster spot on Young, his defensive short comings are too profound. I also wouldn't rush Xander. If he starts really tearing up AAA fine, but don't bring him up for a team need, Bring him up when he is ready.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jul 3, 2013 9:01:08 GMT -5
Lackey is pitching great. Like he said, he's done this before. Lots of time before hat extension especially at his age... No need to speculate since we have no idea what the Sox rotation will look like... Lester and Dempster might be gone... How's Doubront progressing? Are Webster, Workmam, RDLR, and Ranaudo in the majors looking like legit starters? Buch healthy?
Sooooooooooo many questions is a futile discussion. The option is there and will at the very least be exercised for the minimum.
My question is, can they trade him after or before exercising it? Too early to speculate they would, but want to know if its an asset in that sense.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jul 3, 2013 9:02:55 GMT -5
I ave no issues giving a guy like Snyder ABs on a regular basis at third to see if something is there. Maybe there's some Nava or Troy O'Leary production potential there... He has a better pedigree then those two. Wish Carp played third.
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Post by Guidas on Jul 3, 2013 9:13:43 GMT -5
I ave no issues giving a guy like Snyder ABs on a regular basis at third to see if something is there. Maybe there's some Nava or Troy O'Leary production potential there... He has a better pedigree then those two. Wish Carp played third. Carp does play first, however, and Napoli has been stinking up the field. I'm starting to wonder if it's safe to have Napoli hit with a man on first because he may start swinging at the pickoff attempts. |
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 3, 2013 9:37:30 GMT -5
Had surgery recently. The guy who did it has a fantastic rep, but I was told he had a lousy bedside manner. My response was that I didn't care if all he did was grunt when he came to see me afterwards. He was as good as advertised and I was very satisfied.. Feel better Norm.Heal quickly. Done deal. Back working out and on my mtn bike. |
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Post by mattpicard on Jul 3, 2013 13:00:27 GMT -5
I ave no issues giving a guy like Snyder ABs on a regular basis at third to see if something is there. Maybe there's some Nava or Troy O'Leary production potential there... He has a better pedigree then those two. Wish Carp played third. Carp does play first, however, and Napoli has been stinking up the field. I'm starting to wonder if it's safe to have Napoli hit with a man on first because he may start swinging at the pickoff attempts. Perhaps most concerning is his contact rate on pitches inside the strike zone. Here's the bottom 5 in MLB in that area (with 1 being the worst; min 200 PA): 1) Salty (69%) 2) BJ Upton (73.4%) 3) Napoli (73.4% 4) Uggla (74%) 5) Reynolds (74.3%) The past two seasons (2012 and 2013) are where Napoli has experienced a dramatic decline. He's obviously always been way below the MLB average (about 88%) but he was always in 77-78% territory previously in his career. To be honest, I don't want to rely on a guy like that as a run producing 4-6 hitter. With Salty, he doesn't play a position or bat in a lineup spot that relies on the ability to cash in on pitches in the zone. P.S. Marco Scutaro's contact rate on pitches in the strike zone is 97.5%. That is unbelievable. |
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Post by Legion of Bloom on Jul 3, 2013 13:06:43 GMT -5
I miss Marco rubbing Beltre's head.  |
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Post by godot on Jul 3, 2013 14:54:46 GMT -5
Thanks to a good start Napoli is on target for about where he usually ends up. He is about a 260 hitter with 20 home runs, a every high amount of ks, and not many rbis. What is disconcerting is he has just 1 home run the last two months and heading towards a career high in ks.
So what do we have here? Do we have a not so accomplished hitter who is getting older, has a potential hip problem, and taking medication , which can mess up a person). He is also playing a position where his career numbers are rather pedestrian. Nice guy thou.
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Post by ray88h66 on Jul 3, 2013 15:26:12 GMT -5
Carp in at 1b tonight. I don't know what they do with Napoli. He's not just swinging and missing, he's missing by a lot on many swings.
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Post by GyIantosca on Jul 3, 2013 15:57:37 GMT -5
I keep laughing Mazz on Felger and Mazz everyday said don't play Jose, He can't hit blah,blah,blah. Now he can't say nothing anymore. He is suppose to be a baseball expert. He has no pulse of the team. Everyone on here was clamoring for the kid to get a chance. That's a victory for this site. I remember I think Meoli said he look bored at AAA. He was right and all he needed was a chance. It killed Farrell to do it.
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Post by jimed14 on Jul 3, 2013 16:31:04 GMT -5
I'm a big fan of Webster, hoping he can keep improving with every start. I'm on record as saying I'd rather have Aceves starting short term. That said, Webster has two very good opportunities to impress. At home against SD on the 4th, and at Safeco on the 9th. If he does well, he'll probably get the last start before the all-star break in Oakland too. Think about this for a second. Aceves as a starter has an FIP higher than Lackey's in 2011. In other words, Aceves is terrible (and lucky) |
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Post by jimed14 on Jul 3, 2013 16:36:20 GMT -5
Carp in at 1b tonight. I don't know what they do with Napoli. He's not just swinging and missing, he's missing by a lot on many swings. They start giving more games to Carp. Maybe his problem is that he needs more days off. |
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Post by jdb on Jul 3, 2013 16:50:43 GMT -5
Thanks to a good start Napoli is on target for about where he usually ends up. He is about a 260 hitter with 20 home runs, a every high amount of ks, and not many rbis. What is disconcerting is he has just 1 home run the last two months and heading towards a career high in ks. So what do we have here? Do we have a not so accomplished hitter who is getting older, has a potential hip problem, and taking medication , which can mess up a person). He is also playing a position where his career numbers are rather pedestrian. Nice guy thou. If he doesn't improve we need another bat in the middle of the lineup. I don't know if that's WMBs turning it around, another 3B, a LF or even a 1B to replace Napoli. |
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