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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 21:41:50 GMT -5
Honestly I marvel at how horrible they can be but I cant really say this bothers me much. Nothing I've seen surprises me thus far.
When I'm really invested in the Sox I ride the roller coaster of emotions because it means that much to me.
But I'm at a point the wins dont light me up and the losses dont bother me a heckuva lot. I expect them to be bad/mediocre. I don't expect them to be truly competitive before 2026 and expecting a bunch of rookies to instantly gel is asking a lot so I dont expect much until probably 2027.
So as diehard as I am, I feel a bit apathetic, probably like a lot of other fans. The Sox chose to spend some money but not a lot. They chose to be competitive but not really. They chose to rebuild, but not all the way. So we'll probably wind up with 5 mediocre seasons out of 6 with another year or two more on the way unless they start to do things differently. I do like the young core of position players they have in the minors but they will need pitching and of course defense.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 21:29:41 GMT -5
Reality bites.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 21:28:20 GMT -5
We have a plus SS, Cora is playing him in the outfield. We have 3 MLB starting caliber outfielders with Rafaela at SS, but we do not have a starting caliber SS with Rafaela in the outfield. We'll see how long it takes them to figure that out.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 21:26:36 GMT -5
Such a mediocre/crappy team.
I picked them to win 75 games. I feel comfortable with my prediction although they could be worse.
Cant just sit on a 7-3 record forever.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 20:39:49 GMT -5
Good for Wong. Cora has a pretty good track record when it comes to summoning pinch hitters.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 11, 2024 20:29:36 GMT -5
When your defense gives a team 5 outs in an inning what can you expect?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 10, 2024 21:11:14 GMT -5
The red sox have had one bad (short) season, one good one, and two mediocre ones and the fanbase is ready to burn fenway down. If they ever did what those teams did i would legitimately be fearful for henry’s life lol Exactly The alternative is pretty much going 78-84 for basically 6 out of 7 years which builds up a lot of apathy. Not a great option either.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 10, 2024 20:55:48 GMT -5
Guess they're not in Oakland or Anaheim anymore.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 10, 2024 12:35:54 GMT -5
Campbell, if I'm not mistaken, was drafted as an infielder but is now playing corner outfield?
Wonder if he can handle 3b? I believe he turns 23 this July so if he gets off to a blazing start they could move him along to where he winds up in AA bu midyear with a chance if reaching the majors next year or 2026 more likely? They could certainly use RH power and a guy who would be an improvement over Raffy at 3b. I think Cespedes could eventually be that guy but he's really young and I'd think further away? And with Campbell's exposure to the outfield perhaps he would eventually move to LF? Drafted as a SS, but wasn't really a chance he could play there. He was playing CF in spring training apparently, but in three games so far he has DH'ed twice and played 2B once. He turns 22 in June. Ah, thanks. Glad I got the age wrong, I was trying to go by memory. Guess 2026 or 2027 more likely.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 10, 2024 11:27:25 GMT -5
Campbell, if I'm not mistaken, was drafted as an infielder but is now playing corner outfield?
Wonder if he can handle 3b?
I believe he turns 23 this July so if he gets off to a blazing start they could move him along to where he winds up in AA bu midyear with a chance if reaching the majors next year or 2026 more likely?
They could certainly use RH power and a guy who would be an improvement over Raffy at 3b. I think Cespedes could eventually be that guy but he's really young and I'd think further away? And with Campbell's exposure to the outfield perhaps he would eventually move to LF?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 9, 2024 21:34:15 GMT -5
I hope Duran can focus on the good things he does - it outweighs the mistakes he's made by a good deal. Hopefully some veteran leadership can step in and help him move on.
I've been pretty lukewarm on the Story acquisition but for my concerns of his play slipping I have no doubt that the guy, like Duran, gives a damn, and he seems like a pretty damn good teammate - I wish him well. It is a shame he's had these injuries. I hope at some point he can stay healthy and play the way he'd like to, with excellent defense and some pop in his right handed bat.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 9, 2024 11:57:00 GMT -5
They could have had another starter or two and began with Houck and Whitlock in the pen and a couple of the pen guys in AAA so when injuries inevitably hit, the oh no you must start Houck and Whitlock crowd would still be appeased as they still wind up in the rotation but now with less quality depth behind them instead. Too bad the Sox had no money for depth. Oh wait. At some point you have to stop being such a front office sycophant. They do a lot of things very well (Breslow traded very well this offseason) but sometimes they dont which you can never seem to acknowledge. You just go into defense attorney mode. Im not being a damn sycophant... The amount of pitching injuries league wide should be sounding alarm bells at MLB HQ... You have pitchers who were the traditional/reliable rubber arm/workhorse now getting season-ending injures... I cannot recall the last time there were this many injures and its only APRIL.. that's unmanageable for any team regardless of the amount of pitching depth one has You know the point I and others were making. The injuries are ridiculous at this point but its not that surprising given the way the game has evolved. Arms aren't meant to consistently throw 100. Max velocity, max spin, max effort because of the overwhelming threat of the too easy to hit homerun creating this mess where pitchers have to throw as hard as they can to avoid contact. Until that changes what we're seeing isnt going to get better. But hey, chicks dig the long ball, fans come out, and it puts money in everybody's pocket. Don't think it's good for the health of the game though.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 9, 2024 11:35:35 GMT -5
Framber; Pivetta, Bieber, Pivetta, going down (and thats just a few of the dozens that have been injured and its not even the middle of april) Should tell you no matter the type of pitcher you are (including the once reliable workhorse) you are more likely to be IL'd than in any previous season They could have had another starter or two and began with Houck and Whitlock in the pen and a couple of the pen guys in AAA so when injuries inevitably hit, the oh no you must start Houck and Whitlock crowd would still be appeased as they still wind up in the rotation but now with less quality depth behind them instead. Too bad the Sox had no money for depth. Oh wait. At some point you have to stop being such a front office sycophant. They do a lot of things very well (Breslow traded very well this offseason) but sometimes they dont which you can never seem to acknowledge. You just go into defense attorney mode.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 9, 2024 0:01:38 GMT -5
UCONN HUSKIES BACK TO BACK BABY Dominant. True team effort!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 22:41:49 GMT -5
That's the weird thing. I thought that was a chronic problem that he has always had, but in the minors he drew some walks. So why is he so horrible in the majors when given a chance when it comes to BB/K? No matter the pitcher, no matter the ump, it seemed Bobby started every single PA at 0-2. If it was near the plate; STRIKE. Might be my imagination, but it sure seemed that way. Was talking about Romy Gonzalez, not Bobby Dalbec.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 21:29:09 GMT -5
That there is no better alternative, and yet no mention of it yet, suggests that they are looking into trades. Slim possibility, but due diligence. Re his tremendous start:he had a very good AA partial season in 2021 (.267 / .355 / .502), was promoted to AAA and hit .344/ .382/ .750 in 9 G / 34 PA. That earned him a promotion to the show, where he had a .617 OPS in 33 PA and was sent down ... where hit .409 / .462 / .636 in 26 PA to season's end. He spent most of 2022 in AAA and had a .620 OPS ... it seems as if he spent the remainder plus all of 2023 in MLB because the Chisox had nothing better. Given the recent track record of of the ChiSox, it's perfectly credible that they never figure out the difference between his good version and his bad one, if in fact there is an actual difference rather than a hot / cold thing. I think we're all prepped to find out. I hope you're right and I'm wrong on Romy, but it's not the .600 OPS across 3 seasons of intermittent at bats that makes me skeptical, it's the 2.1% BB rate and 36.0% K rate. Hope I'm wrong and we or he identified something, either way he adds positional flexibility. Hope Bobby finds it again too, don't think it's gonna happen in Boston but the WooSox could use some thump in that lineup. That's the weird thing. I thought that was a chronic problem that he has always had, but in the minors he drew some walks. So why is he so horrible in the majors when given a chance when it comes to BB/K?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 20:06:49 GMT -5
I have thought about this for 20 seconds now, and have solved the problem: make the ball softer so that it's harder to get really high spin rates and pitchers don't grip it so hard. That hurts the pitchers but EVs would go down too, cancelling it out. Pitchers would go back to pitching more to contact, which would seem like it would address most of what Verlander was talking about. The game would have fewer homers, fewer Ks, more balls in play, and fewer Tommy Johns. Yup. It would also stop making offense a home run or nothing proposition. Baserunning becomes more important. Stealing bases without needing enlarged pizza boxes to incentivize base stealing. More balls in play would mean defense matters more. Bat control would become more important. Deadening the ball would be the first step. Everything that is today is an outgrowth of the damn steroid era which made pitchers scared to pitch to contact and created the issues we have today. And what made that situation? Getting fans into the seats to see homerun derby after fans were apathetic following the 1994 strike. I truly think everything stems from that and created the style of game we see today. Owners caved into HR derby to get fans back and we've never totally gotten away from that. It would be fun to watch a team or two play like the 70s Royals or 80s Cardinals, and have teams having different offensive styles.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 20:01:35 GMT -5
Backups and utility men get 6.25 million per year so its kind of a no brainer for the Sox. Takes him right to the point his defensive skills might start to slip.
If he doesnt work out it's not a millstone contract. If he works out it's a heckuva bargain.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 19:58:49 GMT -5
It took 20 years for me to realize that Pokey Reese’s name given to him at birth was not actually Pokey No Bill Mueller?? No Mark Bellhorn, Alan Embree, or Doug Mirabelli, Wakefield's personal catcher.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 19:54:46 GMT -5
Very excited to see Manny and Ortiz get back together again. Growing up in the 90s, I remember thinking that the 86 Series was something in the distant past. To now think that the 2004 Series is closer to 86 than today puts things into perspective. Also makes me appreciate how great of a run we've had in Boston sports. It's scary. I remember 1986 and 2004 like it was yesterday and plenty here have memories that stretch back further, much further in some cases.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 8, 2024 19:46:18 GMT -5
Pete Rose moved all over the field. Maybe he would have had 5000 hits if he wasn`t jerked around🤪 Wanna bet? Lol
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 7, 2024 18:44:34 GMT -5
Solid win.
I'm convinced - the Red Sox are better than the A's and Angels. I stand by that astonishing statement, lol.
Houck was strong after a shaky 1st inning. McGuire had a great game. Hamilton did as well. Wish the Sox could always play Oakland and Anaheim, 2 messed up teams.
Eventually the Sox will have to decide if they're better off with Rafaela in CF and Hamilton and SS against righties or if they're better off with Rafaela at SS and Duran in CF between O'Neill and Abreu against righties.
I dont think Cora likes to shift players back and forth so I think initially he'll keep Rafaela in CF and SS will be Hamilton's job to lose.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 7, 2024 15:48:40 GMT -5
Devers and O'Neill yet again.
Really good pickup, that O'Neill.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 7, 2024 15:42:40 GMT -5
Hamilton doing a good job to redeem himself.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 7, 2024 15:34:43 GMT -5
Is it that hard to find a SS who can actually play SS?
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