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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 18, 2020 7:12:12 GMT -5
I'm more pessimistic about Houck and Pivetta than you. Yes it's possible but in Houck's case, he struggles mightily against lefties but in a strange way. It's like he loses command of everything, it's not just the splitter. It's more like the yips for whatever reason. I do like the separation between the four seamer and two seamer though. In Pivetta's case, he has major command issues of his secondaries and batters pretty much know that if it's over the plate, it's a fastball. He's been hit hard at summer camp in spite of his stuff. We've seen too many similar pitchers to have much confidence. I believe the Yankees would be in batting practice mode against either of them right now. Pivetta's been hit substantially harder in his career by 7 through 9 hitters than 1, 2, 5, and 6. That immediately tells you that his approach is fubar. He can make a big step forward simple by throwing the right pitch at the right time to the right hitters. He wasn't working on that at Pawtucket; he was just trying to work on his command. He's pitched his whole career worried too much about walking guys and therefore predictably throwing the FB when behind in the the count, when a slider would get a swing and miss. After his first 2 pitches Houck completely dominated lefties in his debut, without throwing a single effective splitter. Before his next start I'll look into just how he did that. We do know for a fact that he has 80 movement on his slider and 80 movement (separation from 4-seamer) on his sinker.
With Pivetta, I'd look at his secondaries and the amount of break when he throws a strike vs the amount of break when he throws a ball. When he tries to get a lot of bite, he yanks it to the glove side. With Houck, I'd look to see what happens when he faces 2 or 3 lefties in a row, even if the subsequent batters are right handed.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 18, 2020 7:18:35 GMT -5
Pivetta is also very slow to the plate, he can't afford to walk anybody because they end up on second base.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 18, 2020 8:10:44 GMT -5
Looks like the perfect test Sunday. Hope eric is right.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Sept 18, 2020 10:48:50 GMT -5
Great point on that bench. To me, the answer is probably that there are most certainly going to be trades this offseason that we can't really project. But yeah, that's almost certainly not what they're going into the season with. But I also don't think they cut any of those guys loose for nothing before camp, which was kind of where I was going with that projection.
I can't see them handing the 2B job to Chavis. They haven't even handed it to him NOW with the season a wash and nobody really there. At the very, very least, they bring in someone on an NRI to compete with him and Arroyo.
And it did speak volumes that they just leapfrogged Arroyo over Chatham. I don't think he gets DFA but I could see them moving him if they can get back an intriguing relief arm or something.
On the bullpen, I think that's another area that's going to be affected more by what's available than anything else, and therefore hard to project. I will say that drawing conclusions on Taylor based on this season doesn't strike me as fair or prudent though. We have no idea how much of an effect quarantining for two weeks had on him. There's being hurt and then there's literally not leaving your room for 2 weeks. Ian identified him in Pawtucket as someone who could come up and help, so it's not like he got a chance and suddenly lucked into being good for a few months. I'd definitely pencil him into the MLB bullpen.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Sept 18, 2020 10:54:57 GMT -5
Oh, and the NL DH isn't going anywhere. The only reason they hadn't done it yet is because the owners were saving it as something to concede to players in negotiations. To now get rid of it, they'd have to give something else up in negotiations. I can't possibly see why they'd want to die on that hill. They're going to want so much more to keep the expanded playoffs that they'll readily let the players keep the NL DH.
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gerry
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Post by gerry on Sept 18, 2020 11:43:14 GMT -5
Additionally, based on recent revelations by Fauci, Redfield and other experts, it is likely we will be dealing with CoVid-19 well into the 2021 season. Don’t be surprised at another 30/28 man roster and some variation of the 60-man. Maybe just a 45 man roster with regular ST schedules also based on extra players (28 man rosters?) which would alleviate some of the crunch from losing low-A clubs. By that time, judicious fan participation will probably be the norm until/if the vaccine gets fully implemented.
The 2020 was relatively successful during the worst of this pandemic. Having learned so much from this we can, I think, be comfortable projecting a full season with all the appropriate modifications needed. Among those modifications will be enhanced rosters similar to this practice season.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 18, 2020 12:36:57 GMT -5
Great point on that bench. To me, the answer is probably that there are most certainly going to be trades this offseason that we can't really project. But yeah, that's almost certainly not what they're going into the season with. But I also don't think they cut any of those guys loose for nothing before camp, which was kind of where I was going with that projection. I can't see them handing the 2B job to Chavis. They haven't even handed it to him NOW with the season a wash and nobody really there. At the very, very least, they bring in someone on an NRI to compete with him and Arroyo. And it did speak volumes that they just leapfrogged Arroyo over Chatham. I don't think he gets DFA but I could see them moving him if they can get back an intriguing relief arm or something. On the bullpen, I think that's another area that's going to be affected more by what's available than anything else, and therefore hard to project. I will say that drawing conclusions on Taylor based on this season doesn't strike me as fair or prudent though. We have no idea how much of an effect quarantining for two weeks had on him. There's being hurt and then there's literally not leaving your room for 2 weeks. Ian identified him in Pawtucket as someone who could come up and help, so it's not like he got a chance and suddenly lucked into being good for a few months. I'd definitely pencil him into the MLB bullpen. They haven't handed the 2B job to Chavis because they haven't noticed how good he's been when he has played the day before, or that he had the same pattern last year. The splits suggest that he will struggle for the time being in a bench role and be much better as a regular.
Yes, there are guys whose breakouts when they got regular PT have been largely a function of this.
Taylor apparently may return soon ... it would be good to get a better read on him. I admit I've looked at no data other than pERA.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 18, 2020 12:47:01 GMT -5
Pivetta's been hit substantially harder in his career by 7 through 9 hitters than 1, 2, 5, and 6. That immediately tells you that his approach is fubar. He can make a big step forward simple by throwing the right pitch at the right time to the right hitters. He wasn't working on that at Pawtucket; he was just trying to work on his command. He's pitched his whole career worried too much about walking guys and therefore predictably throwing the FB when behind in the the count, when a slider would get a swing and miss. After his first 2 pitches Houck completely dominated lefties in his debut, without throwing a single effective splitter. Before his next start I'll look into just how he did that. We do know for a fact that he has 80 movement on his slider and 80 movement (separation from 4-seamer) on his sinker.
With Pivetta, I'd look at his secondaries and the amount of break when he throws a strike vs the amount of break when he throws a ball. When he tries to get a lot of bite, he yanks it to the glove side. With Houck, I'd look to see what happens when he faces 2 or 3 lefties in a row, even if the subsequent batters are right handed. Before they changed the pitch/fx data structure, I could do the first study fairly easily. Now I'm not even sure that pitch/fx data is available to the public, as it's been subsumed into Statcast, where the public access is at Savant. Which has no search by pitch or report of pitch movement that I can find.
I have no idea whether it's backed by data, but I've often heard pitchers say that they like to see multiple opposite-handed hitters in a row rather than when they're split up, because it allows them to get into a groove or rhythm, presumably with the different pitch mix and approach they use.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 18, 2020 13:04:08 GMT -5
Great point on that bench. To me, the answer is probably that there are most certainly going to be trades this offseason that we can't really project. But yeah, that's almost certainly not what they're going into the season with. But I also don't think they cut any of those guys loose for nothing before camp, which was kind of where I was going with that projection. I can't see them handing the 2B job to Chavis. They haven't even handed it to him NOW with the season a wash and nobody really there. At the very, very least, they bring in someone on an NRI to compete with him and Arroyo. And it did speak volumes that they just leapfrogged Arroyo over Chatham. I don't think he gets DFA but I could see them moving him if they can get back an intriguing relief arm or something. On the bullpen, I think that's another area that's going to be affected more by what's available than anything else, and therefore hard to project. I will say that drawing conclusions on Taylor based on this season doesn't strike me as fair or prudent though. We have no idea how much of an effect quarantining for two weeks had on him. There's being hurt and then there's literally not leaving your room for 2 weeks. Ian identified him in Pawtucket as someone who could come up and help, so it's not like he got a chance and suddenly lucked into being good for a few months. I'd definitely pencil him into the MLB bullpen. Re the pen, I think that's definitely the area most in flux and likeliest to depend on what's available. And they know more about all the potential incumbents than we do.
It's also true that the strength-in-numbers argument I've used for building a solid rotation applies even more to relievers. They already had that pay off with Valdez and, I would argue, Mazza as a swingman. Now, those were waiver claims, not NRI's. But you can often sneak a previous waiver claim through waivers if you DFA them at the right time. Bronson Arroyo is the poster child for that, passed on by every MLB club just before the start of his rookie season.
So when I do my 40 man guess today I'm going to do it with both one and two bullpen acquisitions. Meanwhile, we'll know in a few days if E-Rod might be unavailable to start next year, in which case they'll pick up a SP no matter how well Houck and Pivetta look the rest of the way.
It's interesting that a waiver claim on a guy who is out of options functions almost exactly like a Rule 5 pick! Unless you can pull that waiver trick off. I noticed that because mentioning everyone passing on Arroyo brought tio to mind Wade Boggs being eligible for the Rule 5 draft after hitting .306 / .396 / .364 at Pawtucket at age 22 in 1980 and not being taken. Nobody thought the middle number there meant anything and was therefore willing to spend $50K to see what his work ethic was like.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 18, 2020 13:30:53 GMT -5
With Pivetta, I'd look at his secondaries and the amount of break when he throws a strike vs the amount of break when he throws a ball. When he tries to get a lot of bite, he yanks it to the glove side. With Houck, I'd look to see what happens when he faces 2 or 3 lefties in a row, even if the subsequent batters are right handed. Before they changed the pitch/fx data structure, I could do the first study fairly easily. Now I'm not even sure that pitch/fx data is available to the public, as it's been subsumed into Statcast, where the public access is at Savant. Which has no search by pitch or report of pitch movement that I can find. I have no idea whether it's backed by data, but I've often heard pitchers say that they like to see multiple opposite-handed hitters in a row rather than when they're split up, because it allows them to get into a groove or rhythm, presumably with the different pitch mix and approach they use.
For Pivetta, there's this new fangled technology thing called eyes. Re: Houck, you are taking it opposite. At the alt site, when they stacked 2 or 3 lefties together (Duran, Rosario, Ockimey, Casas) was when the wheels seem to fall off. He seemed to handle L,R,L,R just fine. It's why I used the word yips earlier because that makes no sense unless you factor in that that particular group of lefties is very disciplined except maybe Duran. When the wheels start to come off, he doesn't seem to self correct very fast and at the alt site they just terminated innings when the pitch counts got high in an inning. It's something to watch for. ADD: All the above said, when Houck is going bad, he doesn't get hammered like when Pivetta is going bad.
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Post by redsoxpride34 on Sept 18, 2020 13:56:52 GMT -5
Looks like it should be no problem at all getting all of the guys we need to on the 40 man. Kickam, triggs, hall, springs, brasier, webber, godley, covey, mazza, stock, brewer, walden, peraza, lin, and Bradley can all be let go. That's 15 spots plus pedroia's. Should be more than enough to cover all of the guys we need to add.
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Post by sibbysisti on Sept 18, 2020 14:42:26 GMT -5
Looks like it should be no problem at all getting all of the guys we need to on the 40 man. Kickam, triggs, hall, springs, brasier, webber, godley, covey, mazza, stock, brewer, walden, peraza, lin, and Bradley can all be let go. That's 15 spots plus pedroia's. Should be more than enough to cover all of the guys we need to add. I wouldn’t include Brazier in that group, most of whom are AAA/AAAA talents. With increased velocity this season he has improved his status and his value to the bullpen.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 18, 2020 15:22:06 GMT -5
Before they changed the pitch/fx data structure, I could do the first study fairly easily. Now I'm not even sure that pitch/fx data is available to the public, as it's been subsumed into Statcast, where the public access is at Savant. Which has no search by pitch or report of pitch movement that I can find. I have no idea whether it's backed by data, but I've often heard pitchers say that they like to see multiple opposite-handed hitters in a row rather than when they're split up, because it allows them to get into a groove or rhythm, presumably with the different pitch mix and approach they use.
For Pivetta, there's this new fangled technology thing called eyes.
Re: Houck, you are taking it opposite. At the alt site, when they stacked 2 or 3 lefties together (Duran, Rosario, Ockimey, Casas) was when the wheels seem to fall off. He seemed to handle L,R,L,R just fine. It's why I used the word yips earlier because that makes no sense unless you factor in that that particular group of lefties is very disciplined except maybe Duran. When the wheels start to come off, he doesn't seem to self correct very fast and at the alt site they just terminated innings when the pitch counts got high in an inning. It's something to watch for. ADD: All the above said, when Houck is going bad, he doesn't get hammered like when Pivetta is going bad. Human beings are terrible at judging pitch movement by eye. You can;t separate the movement from the direction of the pitch. What scout reported that Houk's slider had not just more movement than Chris Sale's, but 20% to 25% more?
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Post by redsoxpride34 on Sept 18, 2020 16:14:44 GMT -5
Looks like it should be no problem at all getting all of the guys we need to on the 40 man. Kickam, triggs, hall, springs, brasier, webber, godley, covey, mazza, stock, brewer, walden, peraza, lin, and Bradley can all be let go. That's 15 spots plus pedroia's. Should be more than enough to cover all of the guys we need to add. I wouldn’t include Brazier in that group, most of whom are AAA/AAAA talents. With increased velocity this season he has improved his status and his value to the bullpen. I mean he had a 4.85 era last year and while he has improved this year (3.27 era), his whip of 1.31 is not great for reliever. And he is 33 yrs old and will turn 34 during the season. Better off giving some of the younger guys a shot over a guy like brasier who is mediocre with very little if any upside. The only guys I'd slot in the pen for next year are barnes, Hernandez, taylor and valdez. I would look to add a closer and another set up man via fa or trade. Fill out the rest with internal options.
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Post by unitspin on Sept 18, 2020 17:52:43 GMT -5
Looks like it should be no problem at all getting all of the guys we need to on the 40 man. Kickam, triggs, hall, springs, brasier, webber, godley, covey, mazza, stock, brewer, walden, peraza, lin, and Bradley can all be let go. That's 15 spots plus pedroia's. Should be more than enough to cover all of the guys we need to add. So you release your second best reliever and your best sp this year. That screams smart. Both are cheap as well.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 19, 2020 18:20:43 GMT -5
The spaghetti is sliding down the wall ... what's the verdict look like now?
Keepers, Up & Down Guy Floor Phillips Valdez
Chris Mazza
On the cusp Jeffrey Springs
Too soon to tell Domingo Tapia
Guys you ought to able to pass through waivers and would really like to keep for upside: Zack Godley, no options, hurt, not sure if anyone has caught his days' rest split
Austin Brice, also no options and hurt
Marcus Walden. Maybe comes back a la Brasier
Robert Stock
Guy who you could probably get through waivers and you'd like to keep for depth
Ryan Weber
Easy DFA's you might or might not keep around
Mike Kichkham (could promote himself into group above)
Colten Brewer Robinson Leyer Kyle Hart
WTF? Dylan Covey. He's 28, has an option left, and has good deep numbers ... but they kept him at the ATS for a month while other guys were getting hammered.
Good night and Good luck.
Andrew Triggs
Matt Hall
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 19, 2020 18:34:34 GMT -5
The spaghetti is sliding down the wall ... what's the verdict look like now? Keepers, Up & Down Guy Floor Phillips Valdez
Chris Mazza On the cusp Jeffrey Springs
Too soon to tell Domingo Tapia
Guys you ought to able to pass through waivers and would really like to keep for upside: Zack Godley, no options, hurt, not sure if anyone has caught his days' rest split
Austin Brice, also no options and hurt
Marcus Walden. Maybe comes back a la Brasier
Robert Stock
Guy who you could probably get through waivers and you'd like to keep for depth Ryan Weber Easy DFA's you might or might not keep around
Mike Kichkham (could promote himself into group above)
Colten Brewer Robinson Leyer Kyle Hart
WTF? Dylan Covey. He's 28, has an option left, and has good deep numbers ... but they kept him at the ATS for a month while other guys were getting hammered. Good night and Good luck.
Andrew Triggs
Matt Hall
I'd put Brewer higher, Walden lower. Not applicable to this but two guys that need to have minor league contracts and spring training invites are Caleb Simpson and Seth Blair. ADD: Gonsalves too.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 20, 2020 3:43:00 GMT -5
Right now, it looks like the pitching could be this:
SP (11): [Sale], Rodriguez (also []?), Eovaldi, Perez, Pivetta, Acquisition, Houck; Seabold, Mata, Groome, Mazza RP: (9) Closer Acquisition, Barnes, Brasier, Hernandez, Setup Acquisition, Valdez, Rule 5 Guy; Taylor, Springs
The problem with this is that the bullpen lacks the depth you'd like to see in a contender. Contender depth would have Valdez as the guy you have to option on the rare occasions when no one is on the IL, which won't become the case until Sale comes back. Having a couple of injuries in ST is almost par, E-Rod may start late because of slow COVID recovery this winter, and thus you could be looking at a situation where you start the season with the 4-5-6-7 guys in the pen being Valdez, Mazza, Taylor or Springs, and the Rule 5 guy. That could get the season started off badly.
You would really feel more comfortable if they added a third guy, someone who you were pretty sure could pitch regularly in the 6th and be as asset, and handle the 7th when guys weren't available (the Hembree role). Right now Valdez falls short of that, and Taylor is no guarantee to bounce back and fill it.
Springs would be good depth in Worcester, but you hope to have a lot of that from a host of NRI's, both incumbent (Godley*, Brice*, Simpson, Blair, Gonsalves*, Walden, Weber, Stock, maybe Covey*, Brewer, Kichkam* -- the * guys are out of options) and acquisitions.
So the interesting question is whether you trust that a top-5 bullpen arm emerges from all of those candidates and go with the above, or trade Springs (along with Chatham and Aybar, perhaps as extra pieces in a trade) and pick up three really good or better relievers. The market will certainly enter into the answer.
If I had to invent a rule of thumb for this, it would be "acquire so much pitching depth it seems stupid."
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 20, 2020 3:50:41 GMT -5
For the Rule 'V', I'm not so sure they will put Mazza on the 40 man and I think they will put Tapia on it. We'll see.
Mazza was hurt by defense last night but wasn't that good either. I am guessing they will give him a spring training invite but he should clear being DFAed. There will be better pitchers being DFAed this year.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 20, 2020 8:56:56 GMT -5
Comment in passing... One of the best pitching coaches I have ever seen just said Mata is one of the most exciting prospects in baseball, not just the Red Sox. Paul Abbott doesn't throw around superlatives just to throw around superlatives. The PawSox announcers think that Mata will be given every opportunity to make the Red Sox rotation next year. Every one of the PawSox announcers have undoubtedly seen more upper level minor league baseball than all of the posters and staff combined. If A + B then C ADD: “For me, probably the most exciting guy we have in our organization, and he’s one of the most exciting guys in baseball, period,” Abbott told reporters Monday during a video conference. “21 years old, touches 99 (mph), sits about 97, and just about everything he throws is top shelf.
“Obviously, he’s a young guy. There’s some emotions that get involved. They try and do too much. They are more throwers than pitchers. But he’s pretty advanced, even with that being said.” nesn.com/2020/09/bryan-mata-red-sox-prospect-most-exciting-pawsox-coach-paul-abbott/?fbclid=IwAR2NwE3TUTQ16EOvIGtGCIjbgXpX0BjQChI6vEMwH4f5zyO3_zXnv-pzP4g
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 20, 2020 10:36:38 GMT -5
For the Rule 'V', I'm not so sure they will put Mazza on the 40 man and I think they will put Tapia on it. We'll see. Mazza was hurt by defense last night but wasn't that good either. I am guessing they will give him a spring training invite but he should clear being DFAed. There will be better pitchers being DFAed this year. He was facing the Yankees, who are leading the AL in RS/G by a big margin, for the 3rd time in a short span, which I complained about before the fact, and he gave up 1 hard-hit ball, Gardner's double in the third. His other 4 hits allowed had EV's of 76.4, 75.3, 79.0, and 84.6. They batted .600 against him when hitting the ball less than 80 mph.
He faced 19 batters and Tapia faced 4, and Tapia allowed 3 of the 5 hardest-hit balls between them, even though 2 of those were harmless. Tapia obviously had the edge in K/BB.
He has an option left, and he's not someone whose development would be disrupted by going back and forth to AAA, and he projects to be a guy who can give you an adequate, keep-you-in-the-game outing as a bulk guy or in a long relief performance. Guys that fit that description have value and are rare.
Now, it is conceivable that preventing cheap hits is an actual pitching skill, and one that Mazza utterly lacks. I might look into that, and if it turns out to be true, I'll agree that he can be DFA'd. For the time being, I'm dubious.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 20, 2020 10:48:59 GMT -5
For the Rule 'V', I'm not so sure they will put Mazza on the 40 man and I think they will put Tapia on it. We'll see. Mazza was hurt by defense last night but wasn't that good either. I am guessing they will give him a spring training invite but he should clear being DFAed. There will be better pitchers being DFAed this year. He was facing the Yankees, who are leading the AL in RS/G by a big margin, for the 3rd time in a short span, which I complained about before the fact, and he gave up 1 hard-hit ball, Gardner's double in the third. His other 4 hits allowed had EV's of 76.4, 75.3, 79.0, and 84.6. They batted .600 against him when hitting the ball less than 80 mph. He faced 19 batters and Tapia faced 4, and Tapia allowed 3 of the 5 hardest-hit balls between them, even though 2 of those were harmless. Tapia obviously had the edge in K/BB.
He has an option left, and he's not someone whose development would be disrupted by going back and forth to AAA, and he projects to be a guy who can give you an adequate, keep-you-in-the-game outing as a bulk guy or in a long relief performance. Guys that fit that description have value and are rare.
Now, it is conceivable that preventing cheap hits is an actual pitching skill, and one that Mazza utterly lacks. I might look into that, and if it turns out to be true, I'll agree that he can be DFA'd. For the time being, I'm dubious.
I was more thinking about the typical pitchers that get picked up in either DFA or especially Rule 'V'. High velocity relievers are almost always gone, especially if they throw strikes. Both pitchers are definitely worth a shot but the question is who are they likely to be able to hold on to.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Sept 20, 2020 11:28:01 GMT -5
He was facing the Yankees, who are leading the AL in RS/G by a big margin, for the 3rd time in a short span, which I complained about before the fact, and he gave up 1 hard-hit ball, Gardner's double in the third. His other 4 hits allowed had EV's of 76.4, 75.3, 79.0, and 84.6. They batted .600 against him when hitting the ball less than 80 mph. He faced 19 batters and Tapia faced 4, and Tapia allowed 3 of the 5 hardest-hit balls between them, even though 2 of those were harmless. Tapia obviously had the edge in K/BB.
He has an option left, and he's not someone whose development would be disrupted by going back and forth to AAA, and he projects to be a guy who can give you an adequate, keep-you-in-the-game outing as a bulk guy or in a long relief performance. Guys that fit that description have value and are rare.
Now, it is conceivable that preventing cheap hits is an actual pitching skill, and one that Mazza utterly lacks. I might look into that, and if it turns out to be true, I'll agree that he can be DFA'd. For the time being, I'm dubious.
I was more thinking about the typical pitchers that get picked up in either DFA or especially Rule 'V'. High velocity relievers are almost always gone, especially if they throw strikes. Both pitchers are definitely worth a shot but the question is who are they likely to be able to hold on to. Tapia improved his chances last night, but he'll be 29 y/o next year and this is his third organization. Despite his velo, no one had him projected to be an MLB-caliber pitcher this year, and the site doesn't have him in the top 60. I can't tell whether they've taught him anything new that will stick long-term, which is both perfectly possible and unlikely at the same time.
They could make room for both guys as well as a 3rd relief acquisition by dealing Marcus Wilson, or sneaking him off the 40-man with a well-timed DFA. We don't know to what extent he was added to the player pool because they like him, as opposed to their just needing another OF there.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Sept 20, 2020 11:47:37 GMT -5
I was more thinking about the typical pitchers that get picked up in either DFA or especially Rule 'V'. High velocity relievers are almost always gone, especially if they throw strikes. Both pitchers are definitely worth a shot but the question is who are they likely to be able to hold on to. Tapia improved his chances last night, but he'll be 29 y/o next year and this is his third organization. Despite his velo, no one had him projected to be an MLB-caliber pitcher this year, and the site doesn't have him in the top 60. I can't tell whether they've taught him anything new that will stick long-term, which is both perfectly possible and unlikely at the same time. They could make room for both guys as well as a 3rd relief acquisition by dealing Marcus Wilson, or sneaking him off the 40-man with a well-timed DFA. We don't know to what extent he was added to the player pool because they like him, as opposed to their just needing another OF there.
Keep in mind that Tapia was at Pawtucket last year. I'm guessing it's just a case of finally figuring out command. If you look at details at baseball savant, his release points are tight and pretty much all from the same spot. He's tunneling his pitches. Maybe that's what he learned. I like Mazza but from what I've seen, I like Gonsalves more. Today at the alt site, 2 innings 7 outs, 6 by strikeouts. All the hitters were late. He's a lefty, very tall and takes a long stride, averages 94 and has a decent curve.
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Post by redsoxpride34 on Sept 21, 2020 10:00:53 GMT -5
Looks like it should be no problem at all getting all of the guys we need to on the 40 man. Kickam, triggs, hall, springs, brasier, webber, godley, covey, mazza, stock, brewer, walden, peraza, lin, and Bradley can all be let go. That's 15 spots plus pedroia's. Should be more than enough to cover all of the guys we need to add. So you release your second best reliever and your best sp this year. That screams smart. Both are cheap as well. Who exactly in that group is the teams best starting pitcher this? And calling brasier the teams 2nd best reliever this year is not saying much given that the team traded away a third of its bullpen (workman/hembree) and lost a third (Hernandez/taylor) to injury. Guys like brasier are a dime a dozen.
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