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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 28, 2014 16:49:04 GMT -5
There goes the market for Lester. Looks like we waited too long to deal him. Say the Dodgers get Hamels. Wouldn't that make a team, say the Cardinals, more likely to trade for Lester and possible increase their trade value they get back for Lester?
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 27, 2014 21:30:21 GMT -5
Would be quite tremendous if the Sox find a team desperate enough to give up a corner hitting OF prospect like a Bell, Piscotty or Pederson and Lester still winds up here cheaper than originally thought.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 27, 2014 17:22:47 GMT -5
I'd be pretty ticked if it was Lester for Kemp (even assuming he's subsidized). This is a declining player who has seen his best days and will never be that healthy again to be that player again. His defense is atrocious. Yeah, I think he can still hit a bit, but for five years that they'd have him? Not really. I have no real desire to see Kemp's first half of his 30s. Would rather see Lester's quite honestly. Would have preferred the Sox got a near ready impact prospect for Lester. If this is the best they can do - a player on the downside of his career, color me very disappointed. There was a time a few years back I would have loved to see the Sox get Kemp. That's certainly not now. And certainly not for Lester. We are four days away from the trading deadline and Lester has recently been 'put on the block' publicly. I can't envision the Sox dealing him for anything less than a major piece back, of which Kemp is not.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 21, 2014 14:43:12 GMT -5
The Red Sox invested a lot of time and money in Miller and it is paying off. This is the third season in a row in which he has improved over the previous year. He is at the peak of his career now, and it would be a shame if the Sox could not benefit from that. Why pick up a player like Miller and then not take advantage of a success? They seldom work out as well as this one has. Since Miller would be a rental, the Sox could not get a great deal for him now. Better to keep him, give him a QO, try to sign him for three more years, and if that doesn't work, at least get the draft pick they wouldn't get if they traded him now.The one problem with this idea is that he might accept the QO and that would make him probably the highest paid non closer RP in the majors, at least for one year. On the other hand, if another team topped a Sox multiyear offer, the total would be a fair amount more than the QO. Would be a challenging dilemma. I am sure Drew wishes he had accepted the Sox QO. I don't understand that thinking at all. I can't envision a team giving away a first round draft pick for signing a reliever, one that doesn't even have closer experience. If Stephen Drew couldn't net the Red Sox a pick there is little to no chance Andrew Miller would net the Sox a pick and he would be foolish to not accept the $15 million. I just don't see any feasible way he is offered a qualifying offer.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 20, 2014 11:31:48 GMT -5
As do I but I have a question. Is there any way to determine what portion is on the catcher and what portion is on the pitcher ? It occurs to me that the old saying that a pitcher can get strikes called if he's off the plate but is consistently there. We used to hear that Maddox, for example, could get away with throwing off the plate because he was so consistently good at throwing the ball where he wanted. Using Ross' steller stats as an example, how much is influenced by the fact that he's Lester's caddy ? That seems like an impossible feat on an extremely subjective matter that there is no metric used to define. Pitchers that get calls when they have command of the strike zone/an ace and pitchers that don't because of youth/lack of command are made by the human element of the game. There is no metric that evaluates the calls of umpires accurately I am guessing.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 10, 2014 10:50:11 GMT -5
At work and don't have the time, but can someone find the list of moves he was going to make if he took the Red Sox job the first time? I know it's somewhere out there. I forget what they were, but it's interesting to wonder. This is really a thing?
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 8, 2014 9:19:59 GMT -5
I know teams value prospects more highly now, and that Sabathia was probably a better pitcher in 2008 than Lester is now, but the Brewers gave up one guy who was a pretty highly touted prospect (Matt Laporta) and another guy who turned into a good major league player (michael Brantley) plus 2 other guys I've never heard of (a throw in pitcher and a bullpen arm). Laporta was actually mlb.com's 14th overall prospect at the time. So it's not unreasonable to imagine that a contending team that needs a boost in their rotation (and I think there are definitely a few out there) would give us at least a top-50 guy and some other pieces for Lester, and that's before considering that we could package him with a useful bullpen guy, and even potentially a prospect or two of our own from a position of depth (middle infield or pitching) to improve the return. The issue with that is there has been a complete overhaul in the draft since then. When Sabathia was traded it allowed you to trade for a rental and still offer him arbitration while getting draft pick compensation. With the new system that isn't allowed. So as opposed to the Sabathia trade where the Brewers were able to get a supplemental first round selection as well as what they thought would be a first rounder (wound up second if I recall), a team trading for Lester would get nothing if they can't re-sign him. If the rules were still the same absolutely his value would be pretty damn high. That just doesn't exist anymore and it is why the major returns are with guys that have more than a half year of control left.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jul 7, 2014 14:27:37 GMT -5
If you look at trades for top pitchers, the market price seems to be 2 top level guys and a lottery ticket, adding AJ at catcher and Uehara to their bullpen make them even stronger and adding Lester going forward to Kershaw and Greinke makes them contenders every year, I don't know if you could pry all three but there is a lot of value going their way in the deal as well. From the Sox point of view they sell off their pieces for the future and gain offense which they really need and gain that ace prospect they lack in their sea of #2's The market has shifted towards team control for more than half a season though. The A's got Shark and Hammel for two top prospects but are getting 1.5 years of Shark and .5 of Hammel. If they win it all this year, Billy can dangle Shark to a team and that team would still be able to attach a qualifying offer to him. Unlike in Lester's case where he would be a half season rental and the team trading for him would not get any picks back if he left. I just don't think he gets you what most on here want unfortunately. Maybe taking a high level prospect in the lower minors and hoping he pans out is the best scenario to get a top end prospect (I.E. Bell). Yes it would be nice for the Dodgers to have that rotation but you mention that makes them contenders every year. What you are forgetting with that statement is that they would need to sign Lester for big money. I just don't think that is something they will do and if it is why not wait until the offseason when they don't lose anything?
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jun 25, 2014 8:20:01 GMT -5
Since everyone else seems to be beating around the bush, I'll come right out and say it. We've got four indisputable FACTS here: (1) Xander is slumping. FACT (2) The Sox are NOT making the playoffs this year. FACT (3) Bogaerts had 42 days of ML service time coming into this season. FACT (4) Scott Boras is a Grade A pain in the ass when it comes to negotiating player contracts. FACT Why not deal with these FACTS in a logical manner and send Xander back to Pawtucket for the rest of the season? Doing so would accomplish all of the following: (1) Gives Xander a chance to work on both his recent offensive struggles as well his inconsistent defense, (2) Doesn't affect the team's already slim chances of making the playoffs, (3) Stalls Bogaerts' service time so that the Sox gain an extra year of control over him, and (4) Sends a clear signal to Boras of who wears the pants in the management/agent relationship, something Boras often seems to lose sight of. I know Xander is everyone's favorite binky but he's essentially learning on the job at this point. There is no need for that. There is some merit to this but what happens when Xander inevitably scorches through Pawtucket lets say in mid July or early August? Are you really going to be able to convince people that he needs to be down there? Least of all Boras who will make a public showing if something like that happens. Only chance for the above scenario to play out without any real push back were to be if Xander struggles the rest of year in Pawtucket. Which if he does, do you count on him next year? That scenario opens up a completely new debate and can of worms.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on May 25, 2014 23:46:15 GMT -5
If we fall to a position where the likelihood of making the playoff is very remote, we will then be in a position to trade players for prospects and totally revamp the team this coming winter. Given the talent pool we have now, upcoming IFA expectations and a potentially huge pack of prospects from trades, we would then be in a great position to trade back prospects for 2015 players this coming winter. We're blessed with few commitments going forward. We are also blessed with plausible replacements for most of what we would trade. Imagine what players like Lackey, Lester, and Peavy would bring in a trade if you factor in our ability to eat dollars. Eating dollars is essentially buying prospects and we're in a position to totally do that as well. We could literally turn a loosing season into a potential dynasty. I would be curious to hear who the plausible replacement would be for Lester. I know we all love our prospects however I have a hard time buying that we have a plausible replacement for Lester in the next 1-2 years internally. Lackey would be valuable however I can't imagine anything Jake Peavy would get us even if we ate all of his money.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on May 1, 2014 12:35:52 GMT -5
I mean, the Red Sox are pretty clearly scheduling the game now while the Rays are beat up. The Rays have a right to be annoyed, but they also have the right to tear the roof off of that dump that they call a home park, gather a few rainouts, and schedule some advantageous doubleheaders. Do they though? According to the little excerpt posted in the article above only the Red Sox and Cubs can force doubleheaders. So if they were to gather rainouts the other team could simply vote against it and it wouldn't happen unless my understanding is off.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Dec 15, 2013 21:31:04 GMT -5
Very few of you guys "get" why Choo would be a better option for us than spending the money on Napoli but at this point, what is the point of even discussing kit. It's falling on deaf ears. The objections are like a constant loop. Who cares if he hits left handers well if he has an overall wRC+ of 151. What part of that do you guys not get? Do you understand what that means? The guy is a star offensive performer. Overall, a stud hitter. Good luck finding a "legitimate star player" going forward as they are damm hard to find on the FA market in the next several years. Check and you will find that to be true. Like 2-3 of them maybe per year. As was the case this year. It gets even worse next year in all likelihood. Hit charts are an obvious consideration, as in baseball 101. Should we ignore what a player has done in the past? Why don't we just forget everything and flip a coin? Choo has floated by. We are going into next year, worse than this year. There is still hope for Tanaka and the faint possibility that they will chose to still go over the luxury tax limit. But even I am not optimistic about either as a likely development. My oh my has one season changed everything around here. Last season everyone was hammering home the mistakes that we had made with regards to signing big ticket free agents and after the Dodgers bailout we were going to stay the course by being diligent in spending money and utilizing assets responsibly. Now are we a worse team than what we ended last year at? It is pretty difficult to improve that roster and make it a Seattle Mariners type roster where the goal is to win 120 games. They have done well at not overspending on long term commitments in order to get one or two prime years out of a big ticket free agent. However why is Choo all of a sudden a guy that is a no-brainer to go after. Good luck finding a legitimate star player going forward? Look no further to what Ellsbury has been for us, Pedroia has and will continue to be, Lester has and will continue to be and Xander going forward. I don't really understand the need to go out and get over the luxury tax for Choo when the cost of him is going to be a great cost and is he such overwhelming improvement over what we have in house? Probably not.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Dec 7, 2013 0:01:33 GMT -5
Get the pick let Drew walk. Its not gonna be fun watching him hit against lefties. Is it quite obvious we are getting a pick? It isn't like we are bidding against a ton of other teams to bring him back.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Dec 6, 2013 11:22:57 GMT -5
The MFYs lose Cano but they have ton of money to spend now. The Yankees showing physical responsibility??? They have a ton of money but what is out there? They probably grab Choo and that helps but outside of going for a huge deal on Tanaka I don't see a ton out there to make up for losing Cano.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Nov 6, 2013 15:07:58 GMT -5
I highly doubt that if Lackey pitches well this upcoming year and he is set to make the league minimum, the Sox won't be able to trade him easy.
He would throw a fit and a team wouldn't get him at the minimum I would say that is nearly assured.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Oct 31, 2013 21:57:25 GMT -5
Why would we be in a win now mode a year removed from thinking 2013 was a rebuilding year?
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Aug 5, 2013 12:00:55 GMT -5
Wait, did I miss something? Why would ARod's salary of the books if he is suspended? Players who are suspended are suspended without pay I believe. As such the Yankees are not obligated to pay his salary next season, thus not counting against the cap.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Aug 1, 2013 21:29:47 GMT -5
Well that was awesome.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Jan 1, 2013 11:42:07 GMT -5
Bobby Abreu as first base option make me question why sign and commit money to players like Ortiz,Dempster,Victorino, and Drew. I can't believe that this is part their plan as Gomez and even trying a Lavarnway or Saltalamacchia at first base would probably have more upside. So hopefully, I feel that the best Abreu would get is a minor league contract and would only provide depth while playing in Pawtucket. All of those players are on relatively short term deals. If they don't sign those players you are forced with the option of rushing prospects before they are ready. Sure they spent money but they are nowhere being restrained due to money given by those deals.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Dec 9, 2012 23:20:01 GMT -5
Tremendous job by Tampa, just absolute theft.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Oct 6, 2012 23:06:03 GMT -5
2012 was an abomination, without question. This team doesn't need an extended rebuild, though, a few pieces added to the mix and this team will contend in 2013. And rather than committing to a new philosophy, they'll build the same way they built the previous two championships. They'll sign FA's (Manny), trade prospects for elite players (Pedro, Schill) and sign short contract role players (Mueller, Okajima). They'll continue to develop their prospects into key contributors (Pedroia, Youk), take players on salary dumps (Lowell) who help acquire larger pieces (Beckett). They'll continue to pursue every possible avenue because they realize the reason 2012 sucked was due to poor execution of team composition rather than a flaw in the philosophy that produced 2 championships. Right plan, poor execution. With the flexibility the team has in terms of the budget and roster entering the offseason, a few FA's mixed with a few trades and this team will be back in the hunt next year.....and have a damn good farm system to continue to build through going forward. Agree with the other couple of posts above mine. I don't think we are 'close' where we would be able to just tweak and add a few pieces which get us to contending. Cherington said as much a few days ago if I recall correctly and said they will try and be competitive but signaled 2013 could be a rebuilding year. The fact is the Sox don't have many significant pieces to compete for the playoffs with. They don't have heavy hitters outside of Ortiz which who knows how he will recover from his injuries this year. I know you have talked about Upton which would be a potential fit but I don't see the Sox having the resources to get it done unless they significantly overpay. Given the Rangers need for an outfielder with Hamilton potentially his way out, they can trump any offer that we put out there without much thinking. Maybe go after Garza but that doesn't fix the offensive holes on this team. With no real options in the free agent market you can't trade every single one of your assets just to put out a team that could be a bit more competitive. I don't see a way you field a team that competes for a World Series which is the hope every year. This is going to be a stretch of rough waters I imagine for a year or two. Just not an easy way too fix the magnitude of mistakes that were made and players not performing up to what management thought they would. Yes management has flexibility but you don't throw that away just to look like you are doing something.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Sept 4, 2012 22:15:54 GMT -5
Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the weekly polls. I knew the year end polls went to the Meta forum but was confused with this being a player of the week poll.
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Post by WindyCityRedSox169 on Sept 4, 2012 13:29:46 GMT -5
Technically this probably belongs in the Meta forum, but love that you can change your vote here. I don't think that was possible on Yuku. Don't like that it's hard not to see the current voting before I make my pick. Are we changing it up with the new system as wasn't this always on the main forum?
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