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Post by awall on May 8, 2013 8:30:46 GMT -5
And his next start is tomorrow night for the Sox, in place of Doubront. Really glad to see this instead of having them just bring Aceves back up.uhh, nevermind.
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Post by brianthetaoist on May 8, 2013 8:57:19 GMT -5
John Farrell: "What are we going to do about the pitching?!" Ben Cherington: "Well, Allen Webster was Pitcher of the Week on SoxProspects." Farrell: "Call him up!" {exeunt}
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Post by jrffam05 on May 8, 2013 9:41:33 GMT -5
Can't wait for the game tonight. Wish the best for Webster. Think he is going to force the issue with his performance over the next month or two.
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huskies15
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Post by huskies15 on May 8, 2013 20:05:55 GMT -5
Well that excitement I had about watching Webster pitch tonight was wiped away in about 10 minutes
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Post by threeifbaerga on May 8, 2013 20:17:14 GMT -5
Eh, it's one game from a rook. Momma said there'll be days like this.
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Post by ozebaseball on May 9, 2013 6:05:50 GMT -5
Well that excitement I had about watching Webster pitch tonight was wiped away in about 10 minutes 10 is generous!
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Post by Oregon Norm on May 10, 2013 11:55:20 GMT -5
Eh, it's one game from a rook. Momma said there'll be days like this. ... and she was right. Patience everyone, patience. Mellen had it nailed: his stuff plays down in the zone, but his pitches were "floating" almost from the start. No surprise since he was probably pumped beyond all reason. He'll learn how to temper that, gain better control of those pitches, and he'll be back. As I wrote earlier, would you rather have this happen now or in late season?
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Post by rjp313jr on May 12, 2013 6:55:16 GMT -5
I'd rather Ross catching him at this point in his career.
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Post by Guidas on May 12, 2013 18:29:11 GMT -5
In Cafardo's Sunday Baseball Notes column today he quotes a scout who was singing Webster's praises:
"This kid is money,” said the scout. “I don’t know what happened except for the fact that he leaves too many balls over the plate and he doesn’t make the hitter bite on stuff in the dirt. If he corrects that, and I think he will, he’s money.”
Oh, is THAT all?
And they call this sportswriting."
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Post by jhenrywaugh, prop. on May 12, 2013 20:03:58 GMT -5
In Cafardo's Sunday Baseball Notes column today he quotes a scout who was singing Webster's praises: "This kid is money,” said the scout. “I don’t know what happened except for the fact that he leaves too many balls over the plate and he doesn’t make the hitter bite on stuff in the dirt. If he corrects that, and I think he will, he’s money.” Oh, is THAT all? And they call this sportswriting. At least this one is just bad editing, as opposed to his Larry-King like observations, or unattributed opinions that leave you wondering if he actually heard something or just had a thought. But here's to patience. He's still learning how to pitch, doesn't seem to have a plan yet, just getting his bearings. Let's see how he bounces back.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 12, 2013 21:03:33 GMT -5
In Cafardo's Sunday Baseball Notes column today he quotes a scout who was singing Webster's praises: "This kid is money,” said the scout. “I don’t know what happened except for the fact that he leaves too many balls over the plate and he doesn’t make the hitter bite on stuff in the dirt. If he corrects that, and I think he will, he’s money.” Oh, is THAT all? And they call this sportswriting." Scout pictured here:
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Post by Matt Huegel on May 13, 2013 9:48:13 GMT -5
Well played,FTHW. I immediately pictured that scout as Vince Vaughn too.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 13, 2013 15:54:44 GMT -5
I'm just glad no one was looking over my shoulder when I did my initial Google image search for "swingers".
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Post by mainesox on May 13, 2013 18:06:45 GMT -5
I'm just glad no one was looking over my shoulder when I did my initial Google image search for "swingers". I don't see any possible way that could go wrong
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Post by hammerhead on May 14, 2013 13:52:59 GMT -5
Man, Jon Favreau sure has put on some weight. I just saw him in Iron Man 3 and it looked like he ate Vince Vaughn compared to the above picture where he's just sitting next to him.
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Post by Guidas on May 14, 2013 15:44:39 GMT -5
Did Faverau not have the most gigantic head in that movie? It looked wider than Iron Man's helmet, which ostensibly has Downey's/StuntDoubbleBoy's head inside of it.
Jon's making bank so he's obviously eating well. One suggestion: salad.
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Post by jdb on May 31, 2013 8:35:49 GMT -5
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Post by jrffam05 on Jul 15, 2013 11:14:52 GMT -5
Wanted the forums opinion on what we have with Webster, using what we have seen in 2013 to re-project where he is in his career, and who he projects to be.
Spring training he looked amazing, top pitching prospect good. Was hitting 99 with his fastball, showing good off speed pitches, not walking batters, and striking batters out. He received anonymous praise from one scout as being the best pitcher he has seen in ST. He started out solid in AAA, but somewhere between then and now has seen a big dip in his numbers. He has been showing trouble with command, and (without looking up numbers to prove this point) seems to be giving up more home runs, at least at the MLB level, which was his strong suit last year.
I question a couple things. Is ST an indication of how he would pitch if used in a bullpen role? If he can regain his command and velocity by working in shorter stints would it make sense to move him into a closer role? Or is his command issues something that he can still improve on? If he is able to throw strikes, preferably in the bottom of the strike zone, what kind of pitcher is he right now? Average, mid rotation, top of rotation? Is he where we expected him to be after we acquired him, or in a better than/worst than projection?
There is no doubt, you get more value from a starting pitcher than a bullpen arm, and you want to develop starters internally because acquiring a established starter is expensive. IF Webster is marginally better as a reliever it might make sense to move him into the closer of the future role. We have seen some success with doing this in the past (Tazawa, Miller, Wilson). Once again I am going off a same sample size of ST, which probably is not a solid way to project Webster out of the bullpen, but a reliever throwing 99 with a good changeup and slider is hard to find.
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Post by hammerhead on Jul 15, 2013 12:24:30 GMT -5
I think that ST gun was juiced, I haven't seen anything like the velocity readings we had heard out of Webster and Rubby.
Webster is young and more importantly he's young to pitching. There was always going to be a pretty steep learning curve with a converted position player. That being said this adversity might actually be a good thing for his overall development. I think the bloom is off the rose a bit, but I don't think it really changes his ceiling. Good stuff is good stuff and either he learns command/control or he ends up in the bullpen.
I don't think that switching him permanently to the pen is a good idea yet, but I could see him being used out of the pen later in the season to supplement his workload. I would think he will come to ST as a starter next season no matter what he does from here on out.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2013 14:52:33 GMT -5
For next year the Red Sox rotation is pretty full. There will however be a couple of spots open in the pen unless the Red Sox are looking to sign a free agent. Only Breslow, Miller, Tazawa, Bailey, and Morales are on for next year and I doubt that any of the unsigned players are going to be non-tendered.
That will leave two spots open for long-relievers. Britton, Ranaudo, Willson, DeLaRosa, and Webster will be on the 40 man roster and will have options. I'd imagine that these players will compete all year for those two back-end spots.
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Post by Guidas on Jul 15, 2013 15:57:10 GMT -5
The stuff is tantalizing, but even with his uncomplicated delivery he still has a hard time maintaining consistency. I've always thought with guys like this with bad control there's some sense to have them working exclusively out of the stretch, which further simplifies, and see if he can develop consistency/control that way without losing much or any velo.
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Post by jdb on Jul 22, 2013 11:56:06 GMT -5
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atzar
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Post by atzar on Jul 22, 2013 12:40:36 GMT -5
I absolutely see the comparison between Webster and Buchholz. Both guys with electric arms but some command issues and subsequent struggles that lead to an apparent loss of confidence. Buchholz got right when he figured his fastball out and stopped screwing with his arm slot (if I recall correctly), but I think Webster has more work to do than just fixing one pitch. I don't think it would hurt him to just stay in Pawtucket for the rest of the season and maybe even a significant piece of 2014 until he learns how to use his stuff.
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Post by brianthetaoist on Jul 22, 2013 14:47:58 GMT -5
Clay Buchholz career BB/9 in the minors was 2.6. Allen Webster's is almost 50% higher at 3.8. He's at 4.2 in Pawtucket this year. Clay struck out over 10 guys per 9 innings, too (Webster's very good at 8.7, but not nearly as good). I appreciate Clay sticking up for him, but Buchholz was a much better prospect.
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