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2016 Red Sox Spring Training News/Discussion
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Post by 0ap0 on Mar 16, 2016 12:29:04 GMT -5
David Laurila davidlaurilaqa 26m26 minutes ago Was told that Pablo Sandoval blew up at reporter yesterday for citing declining defensive stats in article. Slammed table w/ bat during rant Clearly the table was not thrown by a lefty.
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nomar
Veteran
Posts: 11,501
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Post by nomar on Mar 16, 2016 13:07:21 GMT -5
"One of two players in the majors who, in 50 at-bats that concluded against pitches of 93 miles per hour or greater, did not have a single extra-base hit against pitches of that velocity. His line against heaters of 93 or greater was .203/.230/.203" - Alex Speier
Well that's depressing.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Mar 17, 2016 12:29:01 GMT -5
We should mention he's talking about Castillo, right?
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Post by jimed14 on Mar 17, 2016 14:13:23 GMT -5
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Post by jimed14 on Mar 17, 2016 15:08:14 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier 16m16 minutes ago
Marco Hernandez just slipped coming around first after shooting a ball to the gap in left-center. Trainer checking on him.
Alex Speier @alexspeier 16m16 minutes ago
Hernandez is holding his left shoulder, trying to stretch it. He's left the game.
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Post by iakovos11 on Mar 17, 2016 18:36:45 GMT -5
OMG. A fifth starter question? And then Sonny Gray's name comes up. What complete BS. They're not going to consider Gray because thye hve trouble with the 5th starter. Personally, I think Wright will be excellent in that role. If they need to get Gray, it's because Buchholz, Porcello, and/or Kelley have been awful or hurt and they're still potentially in it. Another stupid article from the Boston media that takes a mild concern (5th starter) and tries make the leap for a Sonny Gray trade.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Mar 17, 2016 22:25:03 GMT -5
Not that I think it's a particularly good idea to go out and get him, but if Sonny Gray really is the one guy that Beane isn't willing to trade, that's kind of hilarious.
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Post by pokeyreesespieces on Mar 18, 2016 12:41:18 GMT -5
OMG. A fifth starter question? And then Sonny Gray's name comes up. What complete BS. They're not going to consider Gray because thye hve trouble with the 5th starter. Personally, I think Wright will be excellent in that role. If they need to get Gray, it's because Buchholz, Porcello, and/or Kelley have been awful or hurt and they're still potentially in it. Another stupid article from the Boston media that takes a mild concern (5th starter) and tries make the leap for a Sonny Gray trade. A little weird disjointed writing here, but actually reading the entire article helps clear it up. It sounds like the general consensus among scouts and industry people is summed up by this: “They can’t be comfortable with any arm behind [David] Price,” said the second scout. “They don’t have the luxury of waiting on ‘what if’ with [Joe] Kelly, [Rick] Porcello, and [Clay Buchholz]. Not after last year.” And that that is probably what is leading some to think about a Gray/big time SP trade. I don't think Boston Media is jumping to Gray because Elias or Wright gets a start or two, it's because Buch, Porcello look meh and E-Rod is still only using his leg gingerly.
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ericmvan
Veteran
Supposed to be working on something more important
Posts: 9,016
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Post by ericmvan on Mar 18, 2016 14:18:07 GMT -5
OMG. A fifth starter question? And then Sonny Gray's name comes up. What complete BS. They're not going to consider Gray because thye hve trouble with the 5th starter. Personally, I think Wright will be excellent in that role. If they need to get Gray, it's because Buchholz, Porcello, and/or Kelley have been awful or hurt and they're still potentially in it. Another stupid article from the Boston media that takes a mild concern (5th starter) and tries make the leap for a Sonny Gray trade. A little weird disjointed writing here, but actually reading the entire article helps clear it up. It sounds like the general consensus among scouts and industry people is summed up by this: “They can’t be comfortable with any arm behind [David] Price,” said the second scout. “They don’t have the luxury of waiting on ‘what if’ with [Joe] Kelly, [Rick] Porcello, and [Clay Buchholz]. Not after last year.” And that that is probably what is leading some to think about a Gray/big time SP trade. I don't think Boston Media is jumping to Gray because Elias or Wright gets a start or two, it's because Buch, Porcello look meh and E-Rod is still only using his leg gingerly. There's no implication of that at all. It's just two scouts. And they obviously were not advance scouts who saw Porcello and Kelly both before and after their DL stints, because if they were, they'd be saying the precise opposite about Porcello and the same, though guarded, about Kelly. 1) Two years ago Porcello threw his sinker as his #1 pitch and was a solid #2 starter. Last year, when he threw his sinker as his #1 pitch, he was a borderline ace. And they're uncomfortable with him? 2) E-Rod is going to miss just the first month, and with a minor non-arm injury that has already healed. And suddenly this guy, who was a borderline #2 / #3 with just three pitches and has added a sinker and cutter and is working on a curve, is not in the equation? 3) Buchholz and Kelly remain injury and performance question marks, respectively, although there's cause for optimism about both. But given that Wright has pitched like a #4 and maybe like a #3, and Elias has pitched like a #4, and Owens and Johnson will continue their development, they certainly have the luxury of waiting on Buchholz and Kelly. There are few teams in MLB with that kind of rotation depth. If, as the deadline approaches, if Buchholz is hurt and none of Kelly, Wright, Elias, Owens, or Johnson is pitching well enough to make you comfortable with him starting a playoff game 4, they'll trade for a starter. Ditto if the best of those guys fits the playoff prescription, but the next best guy is not even #5 material. In fact, if the second best guy from that group is only pitching like a typical #5, you could see them making a trade as well, especialy if injuries have eliminated most of the depth.
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Post by pokeyreesespieces on Mar 18, 2016 14:22:25 GMT -5
A little weird disjointed writing here, but actually reading the entire article helps clear it up. It sounds like the general consensus among scouts and industry people is summed up by this: “They can’t be comfortable with any arm behind [David] Price,” said the second scout. “They don’t have the luxury of waiting on ‘what if’ with [Joe] Kelly, [Rick] Porcello, and [Clay Buchholz]. Not after last year.” And that that is probably what is leading some to think about a Gray/big time SP trade. I don't think Boston Media is jumping to Gray because Elias or Wright gets a start or two, it's because Buch, Porcello look meh and E-Rod is still only using his leg gingerly. There's no implication of that at all. It's just two scouts. And they obviously were not advance scouts who saw Porcello and Kelly both before and after their DL stints, because if they were, they'd be saying the precise opposite about Porcello and the same, though guarded, about Kelly. 1) Two years ago Porcello threw his sinker as his #1 pitch and was a solid #2 starter. Last year, when he threw his sinker as his #1 pitch, he was a borderline ace. And they're uncomfortable with him? 2) E-Rod is going to miss just the first month, and with a minor non-arm injury that has already healed. And suddenly this guy, who was a borderline #2 / #3 with just three pitches and has added a sinker and cutter and is working on a curve, is not in the equation? 3) Buchholz and Kelly remain injury and performance question marks, respectively, although there's cause for optimism about both. But given that Wright has pitched like a #4 and maybe like a #3, and Elias has pitched like a #4, and Owens and Johnson will continue their development, they certainly have the luxury of waiting on Buchholz and Kelly. There are few teams in MLB with that kind of rotation depth. If, as the deadline approaches, if Buchholz is hurt and none of Kelly, Wright, Elias, Owens, or Johnson is pitching well enough to make you comfortable with him starting a playoff game 4, they'll trade for a starter. And if the second best guy from that group is only pitching like a typical #5, you could see them making a trade as well. You should be Ricky P's agent me thinks. After that spiel I want to sign him to a bigger extension!
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Post by pokeyreesespieces on Mar 18, 2016 14:23:28 GMT -5
Also E-Rod's injury has not healed. The video of him throwing off a mound the other day had him hardly using his leg lol.
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Post by carmenfanzone on Mar 19, 2016 15:50:46 GMT -5
Not sure if this is the right thread to post this in and so if not, please let me know and I will try to do better next time. I spent about an hour this morning at the minor league fields and had a few thoughts I thought I would share.
Apparently, Jim Rice was there. I ran into a dad and his son and the son was thrilled that he had gotten Jim Rice's autograph. I can understand why players do not want to sign when the sole reason the person wants the autograph was so they can sell it, but the look on that young boy's face was great. Getting that autograph had clearly made his day.
Given the discussion about whether Devers can stick at 3b, I watched him take infield there for about 15 minutes. He did not muff one ball. I realize it is only infield and the balls were not being hit by big league hitters, but he made every play - the same could not be said for Durbin and Lopez who were taking infield at SS right next to him. I am not a scout or coach or even very knowledgeable about the fundamentals of playing the game, but his hands sure look good enough to me. Since it was infield practice and most of the balls were hit within a couple of feet from him, I could not tell about his range, but I think he is going to catch what he gets to. I guess that is at least consistent with what I have been reading about him.
When I hear people talk about Devers, I get the impression people think he is too heavy. I didn't get that. He is broad, but he didn't look fat to me. He is nothing like the Panda. I also saw him take what I would call short toss batting practice -meaning the coach stands about half way between the mound and home behind a screen and tosses it in. The first round I saw him hit, everything was on a rope to left center. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to see him pull a few. The next time he came up he pulled everything on a line to right. It is easy to see why people think he is going to be a hitter - even for someone like me.
The best batting practice I saw, however, was from a lefthanded hitter named Ray. He hit ever pitch I saw hard and on a line somewhere. I had never heard of him before and used the Projected Rosters page on this site which has him listed in Lowell. Apparently the Red Sox signed him from an independent league and he is older so probably not a prospect, but he looked good to me today. Does anyone know anything about him?
I also watched Chavis and Benintendi hit for awhile on another field. I know Chavis has a hard time making contact during games, but in BP he hits the ball really hard. With Benintendi, I just couldn't get over how small he looks compared with many of the other players. Perhaps that colored my opinion or perhaps he was working on something or not having a good day, but he just didn't look that impressive to me in the short time I saw him.
Finally, I have been to minor league camp 3 or 4 time now this spring and have not seen Trey Ball once. Maybe he is pitching in a minor league game today and so wasn't practicing this morning, but has anyone seen him in camp this year? He isn't hurt is he?
Finally, if you read this site and have not been to the spring training site to watch the minor leaguers work out, you really owe it to yourself to do it at least once. The only problem I have is that since there is practice going on at 4 or 5 fields at the same time I can't figure out which field to stop and watch. But its a nice problem to have!
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Post by larrycook on Mar 19, 2016 16:42:55 GMT -5
Not that I think it's a particularly good idea to go out and get him, but if Sonny Gray really is the one guy that Beane isn't willing to trade, that's kind of hilarious. I would send Johnson, moncada and some other pieces to Oakland for gray.
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Post by humanbeingbean on Mar 20, 2016 17:06:48 GMT -5
I didn't know where exactly to post this, but I looked at Xander's 2015 spray chart, and by my approximate count, he hit around 30 deep flies (I counted the dots at the top/near the top of the chart) to right-center/right, and only 15 or so to left-center/left, including all 7 of his homers. So when he's said that he's gonna try to do more to pull pitches in hitters' counts to up his homer total, I believe him.
All he has to do is figure out when to pull those pitches instead of driving them so forcefully to the opposite field. Xander can do a lot of damage to and over the monster if it clicks quickly, and I'm even more optimistic when it's apparent on the chart that he hits line drives everywhere. They seem to be equally spaced and present all over the field, with a hefty concentration in center as well.
I'd been worrying about BABIP regression and his average/OBP falling as a result, but looking at how he hit this past season definitely makes me think he can increase the power output while maintaining hard contact around the field.
Mookie, meanwhile, pulled all of his homers as well, but barely hit any line drives to right - maybe about 10-15, with the rest being extremely pulled or to center. The obvious worry with this is when pitchers begin throwing him outside to avoid him blasting every inside fastball over the wall, that he could potentially struggle with hitting opposite liners, never mind homers, with authority. But I think he's too gifted and intelligent a hitter to be unable to anticipate and adjust to this, and his overall game will be spectacular yet again.
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Post by dirtywater43 on Mar 21, 2016 4:00:27 GMT -5
Mookie has such a quick bat that he can get the bat out in front of outside pitches and still pull them for singles or doubles. I'm not going to worry about Mookie's pull approach until he reaches Pedrioa's age. In fact Mookie is the same exact kind of hitter that Pedrioa was back in 2007-2008. Actually he may end up being better.
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Post by soxfanatic on Mar 21, 2016 7:32:19 GMT -5
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nomar
Veteran
Posts: 11,501
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Post by nomar on Mar 21, 2016 8:51:21 GMT -5
I didn't know where exactly to post this, but I looked at Xander's 2015 spray chart, and by my approximate count, he hit around 30 deep flies (I counted the dots at the top/near the top of the chart) to right-center/right, and only 15 or so to left-center/left, including all 7 of his homers. So when he's said that he's gonna try to do more to pull pitches in hitters' counts to up his homer total, I believe him. All he has to do is figure out when to pull those pitches instead of driving them so forcefully to the opposite field. Xander can do a lot of damage to and over the monster if it clicks quickly, and I'm even more optimistic when it's apparent on the chart that he hits line drives everywhere. They seem to be equally spaced and present all over the field, with a hefty concentration in center as well. I'd been worrying about BABIP regression and his average/OBP falling as a result, but looking at how he hit this past season definitely makes me think he can increase the power output while maintaining hard contact around the field. Mookie, meanwhile, pulled all of his homers as well, but barely hit any line drives to right - maybe about 10-15, with the rest being extremely pulled or to center. The obvious worry with this is when pitchers begin throwing him outside to avoid him blasting every inside fastball over the wall, that he could potentially struggle with hitting opposite liners, never mind homers, with authority. But I think he's too gifted and intelligent a hitter to be unable to anticipate and adjust to this, and his overall game will be spectacular yet again. Haven't seen much from Bogaerts this spring to make me think his power increases too significantly this season. Hopefully he picks his places to drive the ball a bit better, but his swing still looks like it did last year. It's a defensive swing. He's a very good player the way he is, but I think if he wants to hit for power he's still got a ways to go in terms of his swing mechanics. Power will come at the expense of some Ks too, so it's also a balancing act. I'm not going to expect too much change in only one offseason.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Mar 21, 2016 9:25:49 GMT -5
The article is just describing lower-profile guys who have thrown 100mph+ before reaching the states. Victor Diaz is the Red Sox pitcher. Badler says he pitched mostly 94-97 last year, "cranking up to 102 mph with a solid slider."
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Post by carmenfanzone on Mar 21, 2016 11:15:59 GMT -5
Was watching the minor leaguers today and talked briefly with a man who looked an awful lot like Bill James. While I was standing there, two different Red Sox people , one in uniform and one not, independently told the man who looked like Bill James to keep an eye on Yoan Aybar, who was practicing on that field. The one guy said that the Aybar's stride while going after the ball reminded him of Devon White and Willie Davis. Not bad comps! One guy said Aybar gets mad if he can't get to the ball to make the catch. They said he is raw but definitely one to watch.
Devers was crushing the ball in batting practice.
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Post by telson13 on Mar 21, 2016 13:28:21 GMT -5
Not that I think it's a particularly good idea to go out and get him, but if Sonny Gray really is the one guy that Beane isn't willing to trade, that's kind of hilarious. I would send Johnson, moncada and some other pieces to Oakland for gray. You'd spend $63M and one of the top 5-10 prospects in baseball for a #2 starter who would probably add 15-20% to his ERA in Fenway. Yuck. No thanks. Sonny Gray is the most overrated pitcher in the game today.
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nomar
Veteran
Posts: 11,501
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Post by nomar on Mar 21, 2016 14:42:34 GMT -5
I would send Johnson, moncada and some other pieces to Oakland for gray. Sonny Gray is the most overrated pitcher in the game today. My train is gaining some passengers!
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Post by pokeyreesespieces on Mar 21, 2016 15:00:23 GMT -5
Sign me up for Moncada, Johnson + depth pieces for Gray
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Post by zupcic on Mar 21, 2016 15:09:18 GMT -5
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Post by soxfanatic on Mar 21, 2016 15:13:46 GMT -5
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Post by RedSoxStats on Mar 21, 2016 15:16:29 GMT -5
Turns 22 in May. Says solid slider, too.
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