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Post by patford on Apr 3, 2024 9:21:36 GMT -5
Living and dying with each at bat is what we fans do. And when the game is over, we debate game strategy and roster strategy, the pros and cons of players, and where each is best suite to play. There are no right and wrong answers here, just opinions including this one. I'm in the 'let him play in the big leagues' camp. Whether he learns is a question we cannot answer yet. Adversity is a great teacher, and it isn't as if this team is going to the World Series. I'm a fan of the minor leagues not for players to live in perpetuity in them but to see them advance and face new challenges. I don't care if the Mendoza line is his fate this year. Let him play - and learn. It's what some fans do. If Rafaela is hitting .211 at mid-season I might want to see him sent down. CF is right up there with SS and catcher as positions where defense is immensely important.
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Post by patford on Apr 3, 2024 8:58:58 GMT -5
It's always good to remember that the expectation was for Rafaela to struggle offensively this year. Casas hit .133 with a .576 OPS in April last year, and he was known for being a polished offensive hitter. Like many have already said, I don't see much of a benefit in him getting at bats in AAA, a league he's already dominated with his high chase rate. The adjustment period will likely take longer than Casas, and maybe even longer than Duran, but he's more than making up for it with spectacular defense. He's always hit and done so at every level. And always the story has been the same. "Well he hit GCL pitching but when he..." And then later, "Sure he hit well at Greenville but when he's going up against much better pitching in Portland..." So it's way too soon to be talking about sending him down to AAA. Makes me wonder if maybe the people who want him sent down live near Worcester because man that Worcester team sounds boring. It's more like an NBA G-League team than a collection of prospects.
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Post by patford on Apr 2, 2024 16:51:15 GMT -5
Ian and Chris discussed it on the new pod and it's true. The Woo-Sox are immensely boring. Well they didn't exactly say that. Even the guys who are ranked are older org-up-and-down types. Particularly the lineup.
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Post by patford on Apr 2, 2024 16:43:40 GMT -5
At this moment Rafaela is leading the team in RBI has the same number of strikeouts as Casas. Has a higher batting average than; Casas, Story, Devers, Duran, Yoshida, and Valdez. Yet people want to give up on him after five games? The fact is his weaknesses have always been his weaknesses and as he has advanced through the minors at each level people have said, "Yes he hit in the DSL but will his approach work in the; GCL, in low A, in high A, in AA, in AAA and every time it's worked. In fact he's gotten better in most cases.
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Post by patford on Apr 2, 2024 13:05:22 GMT -5
You just hope that it doesn't ruin Rafaela's long-term development. This isn't a situation where he's getting called up from Class A, or, say, trying to ramp back in six weeks after spending four years in the military. If a month or so at a level too high "ruins" his development, then his development was too easily ruin-able for him to be an impact player. Drove in two runs and hit a ball to the CF warning track. Nor was the only Red Sox batter to strike out in the game.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 23:24:16 GMT -5
Muller might be okay but the impression I got is the Sox wanted to finish up and go get some sleep.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 22:02:48 GMT -5
Two SF and two RBI for Rafaela is kind of bringing me down after I was hoping for two HR from him.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 17:30:21 GMT -5
Look at his 2022 walk numbers. Guys walking that many batters at AA, usually do not make AAA, never mind the majors. I expect Casas and Yoshida to collectively have 5 walks. Make the guys watch videos of him and his location issues, then bench 1 (for sure) player this game who has trouble laying off of anything within 2' of the plate. Earl Weaver, the master of going against whatever one was supposed to do would never put pandering to "being proper" 1st and go with what is best for the team 1st, probably why he's the best manager the last 60-70y. he'd put lefties in vs lefties if situation called for it, not caring what anyone thought. this is no different. Cora needs to be smart and keep 2 ultra free swingers far away from this guy. 1 who is a starter and the other being a corner utility piece. I'd much rather see Rafaela take him deep twice.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 14:24:36 GMT -5
Uwasawa to me feels like a "break glass in case of emergency" type guy. He's likely 7th in the pecking order right now, I could see him having a solid few start stretch when he comes up since he's new to the league but he sounds to me like a guy who once the book is out may get T'ed up on. He's intriguing because the Rays obviously saw something in him and didn't want to get rid of him their hand was forced by the contract he signed. Results so far don't look anything other than awful but Tampa thought there was something there and so do Breslow and Bailey.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 12:34:27 GMT -5
Hightlight. Chris Hatfield: If Ian and Chris Clegg are the dynamic duo what are we? Ian Cundall: An old married couple.
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Post by patford on Apr 1, 2024 11:34:30 GMT -5
The Andrew Bailey effect. Wow even the difference between SF at 29 and Boston at 30 is huge. Makes me wonder if the 4 seam fastball is going to become a thing of the past unless the pitcher has an absolutely incredible FB hitters even in the minor leagues can catch up to one. There are hitters who can't hit a FB but they probably don't belong in MLB. The thing about emphasizing velocity reminds me of what Warren Buffet said about standing up at a concert. You get a better view until everyone is doing it. Or you could maybe compare it to a kid playing video games. My son got really good at a game called Tetris where things go faster and faster requiring almost instant decisions and he got to where he could unlock the dancing Russians using one finger while eating a doughnut with his other hand.
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Post by patford on Mar 31, 2024 18:04:16 GMT -5
Slaten is a beast. The Sox could easily have swept the series and likely would have won three of the four if Jansen had been available. I don't blame Cora for the two losses. The "roster is the roster" as someone once said. There's no point in having players on the roster if they aren't going to be used and a manager can't run his best options into the ground through over use or playing guys hurt. In the case of Joely Rodriguez someone believes in him or he would not be there. This isn't to say Cora is always right. One glaring example is him not moving off Hernandez at SS last year. That expired and was still being sold way past it's expiration date.
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Post by patford on Mar 31, 2024 11:56:23 GMT -5
Infuriating as that was, the starters looking terrific far outweighs any other development in these first three games. I'm excited to see what Whitlock can show today. It's very encouraging. Not only for the moment but going forward. Still have Houck and Whitlock to see.
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Post by patford on Mar 30, 2024 11:00:06 GMT -5
Mookie is off to a ridiculous start. Here is my depressing question: is he going into the HOF with a Dodgers hat? Is that even a question? Obviously he will. He was clearly always going to the Dodgers. It's as clear as Ohtani and Yamamoto always signing with the Dodgers.
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Post by patford on Mar 30, 2024 10:38:37 GMT -5
We lose one nothing and people are blaming Cora? We start 7 games in a row on the west coast, Winchowski was stretched out a bit and we needed him to go two to try and save the bullpen a bit for the next 5 straight games I have a theory if everyone completely ignored them they would go away.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 20:20:47 GMT -5
What are the worst case scenarios for 2024? 1. Yankees win World Series. 2. Yankees win the AL Pennant. 3. Yankees make the AL championship game. 4. Yankees make playoff and win first round. 5. Yankees make playoffs. 6. Yankees win one game all year.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 16:13:35 GMT -5
What's the best article on how the AAA automated strike zone works? The perfect system would have to be a cube and adjust for every batter. I seriously doubt it's anything that sophisticated. Even an unchanging rectangle at either the front (further from the catcher) or back (closer to the catcher) of the plate would be far better than any human umpire. Also the rectangle currently used to illustrate good and bad calls; is that rectangle looking at the front or back of the plate? I ask because with some pitchers due to arm angle and the amount of horizontal break on a sweeper the must be pitches which miss in front but would clip the back corner. And with a hammer type curve there must be pitchers whose breaking ball passes through the front but might end up bouncing in front of the catcher. BA posted it yesterday: www.baseballamerica.com/stories/milb-rules-changes-for-2024-will-tweak-strike-zone-in-triple-a/ Thanks. Just what I was looking for. Middle of the plate is a good compromise.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 16:01:24 GMT -5
4) He’s better on D than Xander ever was... Oh yeah? Show me another cigar store Indian who made fewer errors?
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 15:16:23 GMT -5
Do to the automated strike zones in the minor leagues, heights get updated every spring. Today's AAA changes include: Hickey 5'11" → 6'0" Kavadas 5'11" → 6'1" Meidroth 5'9" → 5'10" What's the best article on how the AAA automated strike zone works? The perfect system would have to be a cube and adjust for every batter. I seriously doubt it's anything that sophisticated. Even an unchanging rectangle at either the front (further from the catcher) or back (closer to the catcher) of the plate would be far better than any human umpire. Also the rectangle currently used to illustrate good and bad calls; is that rectangle looking at the front or back of the plate? I ask because with some pitchers due to arm angle and the amount of horizontal break on a sweeper the must be pitches which miss in front but would clip the back corner. And with a hammer type curve there must be pitchers whose breaking ball passes through the front but might end up bouncing in front of the catcher.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 13:21:54 GMT -5
It's still early but so far the scorecard reads: Red Sox pathetic rotation* - 1 Mariners vaunted rotation - 0 *along with Pete Abe's snarky comment, Steve Adams of MLBTR described the Sox rotation as "in shambles" on their most recent podcast, implying that one reason the Sox didn't outbid Arizona for Montgomery is that they are punting on 2024, in part because the rest of the roster is "rife with holes." This reminds me of Bob Ryan's famous preseason claim about the 2008 Celtics: "Worst four through thirteen (players) in the league." That didn't age well for Hyperbolic Bob. Yet today the Celtics have the worst one and the best two through thirteen in the league.
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Post by patford on Mar 29, 2024 10:43:08 GMT -5
Nice to see so many people already not wanting Cora to use his whole bullpen rather than running out the exact same guys night after night until their arms fall off.
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Post by patford on Mar 28, 2024 15:54:55 GMT -5
A couple of months ago I said I'd be happy with anything as long as the shipped out Sale and didn't sign Montgomery so I'm happy.
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 20:59:19 GMT -5
Dombrowski may have ruined his career ramping him up so quickly last season. May have?
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 13:02:47 GMT -5
Seems there was very little interest in Montgomery from anyone. Maybe there are concerns we don't know about? I can't imagine that their concerns would be greater than a 1-year deal where you don't go over the luxury and don't lose a draft pick. Montgomery is going to be better than at least 3 of their starters. Someone is already in the rotation that shouldn't have been. I was talking about the Yankees. In which case he would be better than all five of their starters.
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Post by patford on Mar 27, 2024 12:03:29 GMT -5
Pretty wild the Red Sox didn't match this. They can easily free up 2-3 million. Seems there was very little interest in Montgomery from anyone. Maybe there are concerns we don't know about?
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