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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 17, 2022 14:05:54 GMT -5
We got an early one. Hope fully there nice and rested and bury these bums. The Bruins are honoring Bergeron getting 1000 points. What a player from day 1. He made the team I think right away he was 18. Greatest Bruin in my generation. I remember when we lost to the Blackhawks in game 6 of the cup. I was a little aggravated because we were hanging in that series and after I found out how hurt Bergeron was he had a collapse lung. There were a couple of others that needed surgery. Too bad. The Blues series that game 7 pissed me off. Good to see the chief Johnny Buyck. Oh he got a Rolex from the players. Custom. Bottle of DP. Game 6 when Marchand was slew footed among other horrific calls/non-calls I was more disappointed in otherwise their would certainly not have been a game 7 and the Bruins would have added another Cup to the collection.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 17, 2022 12:17:59 GMT -5
'77 is my earliest solid memories of the team despite having gone to games for several years before that, (I don't remember the first game I went to to young). The most under-rated GM was Dan. D. as he built the core of the 2004 team and he landed the top free agent of the day in Manny Ramirez and people forget top free agents simply did not sign with Boston before that. With that signing he forever changed the perception of the orginization somewhat akin to Bill Parcels with the Pats, he laid the groundwork for future sucess and ultimately championships. With Duquette I always feel like he had two tenures consecutively with the Sox. I think Mike Gimble had his ear early on leading him to a lot of the treasures that worked out swimmingly in 1995 taking a hopeless 1994 team and magically transforming it to a division winner. Then Gimble, who was kind of a sabermetrician of his time, embarrassed Duquette by revealing himself as the man behind the moves, which left the players snickering and hastened his departure. As it was his rotisserie like moves lead to the all offense no defense Sox softball team of 1996. So from that point on I believe Eddie Haas had his ear (and maybe Dave Jauss as well) and his moves reverted more to the traditional scouting type baseball moves. I think he relies on them heavily. The story goes that when Seattle was desperate for Heathcliff Slocumb, Duquette wanted Varitek and lefty pitcher Ken Cloude Seattle balked and substituted another pitcher and Duquette accepted having no idea that Derek Lowe was actually righthanded. Duke thought he was a southpaw. But it worked out and yeah it formed the core of the 04 team, but Theo to me is the best GM. He matched Manny with Ortiz, matched Pedro with Schilling. While Duke provided the catching and most of the outfield Theo assembled most if the infield and bullpen and bench. Perfect combo. I know he wasn't perfect but I do believe history will show that Dick O'Connell was a key man in Red Sox history for the better. I was lucky enough to meet Lou Gorman a few times and he struck me as a really nice guy who got desperate toward the end trying to make them winners before Mrs Yawkey passed. Dont forget the great team he built with the Expos that never got to the post-season becuase of the strike season of '94 and that he not only acquired Pedro but he acquired Pedro TWICE. Dan D. had to be aware the Red Sox were about to be sold well before the news was made public. I think he too got desperate in his last season because if you look at his overall track record building the team he did a very good job up to the last season. Theo added the finishing touches to the foundation Dan D built.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 17, 2022 10:01:03 GMT -5
The overall point is debatable, but just in the abstract this record looks... perfectly fine? And if a trade return for one month of Mitch Moreland doesn't work out, is that really cause for criticism?
"They've only gotten 12 WAR out of trade acquisitions." And how much did they send away? Again, seems fine, if not somewhat impressive. And it's also ignoring a lot of context. Like Inmer Lobo for Hoy Park is a trade for prospects, I guess, but it was pretty clearly done to see if Park could clear waivers and become AAA depth. Similarly choosing a 2 WAR threshold and then throwing out guys like Reese McGuire and Schwarber who got close, despite their tenure only being like two months each, is kind of silly. Like, pro-rate the WAR or don't bother. Then there's trading players at the deadline in 2020, as you alluded to; those guys weren't going to help us regardless, and it's unlikely for us to get a meaningful haul for the likes of two months of Kevin Pillar. Even hitting on one out of a handful of those deals, like the Pivetta deal, is huge...The article also doesn't consider remaining team control. There are two more years of Verdugo, three more years of McGuire, six years for Wong + current prospects, etc., so even if the trades were 100% balanced in outcomes it would make sense for the Sox to have reaped less of a reward so far. Honestly I haven't been very impressed with The Athletic's Sox coverage. The frequency of the articles is nice, but I don't often learn much. I had a free year via T-Mobile a few years back and did not re-up. All good points by you to the point it makes you wonder if the writer is lacking an understanding of WAR etc, or has an agenda.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 17, 2022 9:46:07 GMT -5
Cherington was awful across the board. Holt was because Farrell’s son was in the Pirates system and recommended him (that was also part of the Hanrahan trade which was a total failure dumping Melancon). Bailey, Melancon, Hanrahan trades were in total Ls. Also, resigning Komi instead of Miller. The Victorino signing was lightning in a bottle. Nava and Carp both insanely overperfomed in 2013. Then you have the signings with Rusney, Pablo, and Hanley. I could see the Hanley signing as justified at the time, but not the other two. The Lackey trade where we were selling and somehow got saddled with Craig’s contract… We don’t know about Chaim’s drafts, but damn were Cherington’s drafts awful, that’s even excluding the much maligned Ball pick. DD deserves credit for getting max value out of Kopech and Espinoza. I have been a Red Sox fan through all of the following GMs, and Cherington, IMO, was the worst. Yes, the Red Sox won a World Series in 2013 (surrounded by three last place finishes), but I am talking terrible FA signings, terrible fruitless drafts, and bad trades. Dave Dombrowski 2016 - 2019 Ben Cherington 2012 - 2015 Theo N. Epstein 2006 - 2011 Ben Cheringon/Jed Hoyer (interim) 2005-06 Theo N. Epstein 2002-05 Michael D. Port (interim) 2002 Daniel F. Duqette 1994-02 James "Lou" Gorman 1984-93 Haywood C. Sullivan 1978-83 Richard O'Connell 1965 - 1977 '77 is my earliest solid memories of the team despite having gone to games for several years before that, (I don't remember the first game I went to to young). The most under-rated GM was Dan. D. as he built the core of the 2004 team and he landed the top free agent of the day in Manny Ramirez and people forget top free agents simply did not sign with Boston before that. With that signing he forever changed the perception of the orginization somewhat akin to Bill Parcels with the Pats, he laid the groundwork for future sucess and ultimately championships.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 16, 2022 22:13:45 GMT -5
Guys, Eric Hosmer stinks. You can just play Arroyo at first, he's better and now you don't have a bad 1B taking up one of your 4 bench spots. You mean an above average bat with home games in San Diego now at Fenway that would be your back-up and tutor at first base?
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 16, 2022 22:05:42 GMT -5
I dont think it's a big deal at all to lose Hosmer but with any stroke of luck a Hosmer/Dalbec DH combo may have been decent for real cheap in a pinch. Easily replaceable but I figured for the vet minimum he's a fine bench piece and Casas has had injury problems the last few years. Nothing major but he has missed time. If Casas gets hurt we're staring at what Bobby dalbec at first again? That didn't exactly work well last year. I mean, the organization is just trusting everything will work out smoothly for Casas. What if he's hitting .180 by the beginning of May? They lose an adequate replacement if Casas struggles out of the gate. I guess they're just going to ride with him no matter what. I think Bloom cares more about finding which guys work in 2023 than competing. I don't know why Dalbec or Darwinzon are still on the roster. I guess rather roll the dice on the theoretical ceiling than the guys with a higher floor. So I actully understand the failure at first base last year, the risk was worth it for sure, but once bitten twice shy, you would think you;d have some redundancy there but but nope.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 16, 2022 21:30:33 GMT -5
What is this team doing? Do they even know? I havn't been as deep into the Sox since Covid and that year I knew the starting staff would be horrendous, that said I don't know at all what Bloom is doing. The only thing I can guess is that they/Bloom are punting another year away until they are more confident the farm can start supplying the major league club on a regular basis. My other best guess is Bello could be a #3 type starter as early as this season with a slight chance to pitch like a #2. Cassas looks to me like a player who makes an all star team once down the road in a few seasons. His defense last year was excellent in his short time up in the big leagues. He has power and can walk but will he hit enough for average to make the other two be respected. I think at his peak cetainly. Who is likely to contribute next year? Mata and Walker? Blaze Jordan should be ranked a little higher than he is for the exact opposite reasons Jeter Downs was ever rated as high as he was. I've been knocking at this door for a while so it's not second guessing it to me is actually common sense. That is not a knock on the web site here as I think theyget at worst a B+ to an A- overall ranking sox prospects, albeit occasionaly players who have all the tools but little results are given way to long a chord to hang themselves. It's the only critique I have and it's more of a case by case basis. Fodder for thought.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 16, 2022 17:35:20 GMT -5
then you just might like Joe Satriani I have a ton of respect for him! He can really play. One his better ones is allways with me allways with you, you can feel emotions thru this one.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 14, 2022 23:02:44 GMT -5
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 11, 2022 21:03:09 GMT -5
My only real thought here is that if you asked this question a year ago, Yorke would *obviously* be a part of the next "core," and Rafaela would not have entered the discussion. 18 months ago Jeter Downs and Jarren Duran looked like core pieces, while Bello wasn't in the picture at all and Mayer wasn't even in the system. Beyond Bello, Casas, and Whitlock - who have already shown promise at the major league level - I think there's just no real way to know what things will look like in a year, let alone 2 or 3 years down the road. That's the logic of building prospect depth - giving yourself as many chances to hit on the roulette spin as you can.
ADD: Something I just noticed on the Rankings History: Casas was the system's top prospect for 9 consecutive rankings, which is far and away the record for this site.
Casas - 9 Bogaerts - 5
Moncada - 4 Kelly - 4 Anderson - 3 Buchholz - 3
Chavis - 3 Hanley - 3
Middlebrooks - 3 Kalish - 2 Ellsbury - 2 Papelbon -2
Groome - 2 Swihart - 2
Nothing particularly meaningful (and it's aided by the stasis of 2020), just a bit of trivia.
Downs should never have been on that list. Scouts like his athleticism but call me crazy but to be actually considered an upper level prospect you should have had at least some actual results. Cassas string of 9 is every bit as much about the system itself lacking as it is Cassas himself. It finally feels like we have a solid to good farm for the first time in years and we saw the first graduates, Bello and Cassas from the farm to Boston this year too.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 11, 2022 20:51:11 GMT -5
Within a two-to-three-year period, the Sox rolled out Betts, Benintendi, Bradley Jr., Bogaerts, ERod, Vazquez and Devers. All but Benintendi, Devers and Rodriguez (trade) were Theo acquisitions. All but Devers are now gone. This core helped lead the team to 3 Division titles and a World Series Championship. Really, this makes me think - the smartest thing this ownership group did is hire Theo in the window of opportunity before analytics became widespread. He’s the reason we have 4 championships to celebrate. He’s responsible for essentially the whole core of the 2013 and 2018 teams, and the important acquisitions on the 2004 and 2007 teams (with credit to Dan Duquette for about half the core on those teams). Smart big market teams no longer have an easy edge, either in scooping up undervalued players or in draft compensation. Every team is hip to advanced stats, the player marketplace is more or less efficient, and the draft has been weighted heavily to favor small market teams. There are still edges to be found, but it’s a lot harder and requires some combination of extreme creativity, outstanding talent evaluation, and spending money (see Astros, Rays, Dodgers). It’s not as simple as picking high OBP guys off the garbage heap anymore. DD was responsible for the majority of the core from 2004, he also was the first GM to land arguably the biggest Free Agent on the market in Manny Ramirez, it changed the perception of the Red Sox at the time.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 10, 2022 22:50:48 GMT -5
No Rob AND no AL, this should not be a surprise in the least and their fans are AAAF.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 10, 2022 22:32:10 GMT -5
00 who just dunked on Tatum literally took about 6 steps as he readjusted his pivot foot about 3 times and the crowd goes crazy and no-ones sees it. Come on man.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 7, 2022 19:55:22 GMT -5
Holy cow…. This dude is *tiny* if baseball ref is correct: 5’8”, 176? Pedey won an MVP with us.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 6, 2022 19:52:14 GMT -5
I'm actually even more convinced that he's going to SF now. You don't tweet that without hearing something from someone trusted. I bet he got a call from Judge's agent telling him to back off because they're still "negotiating". This is my thought as well. And for all the hand wringing over "the state of baseball journalism" it isn't just baseball, and it isn't just journalism, but the internet happened. To quote 30 Rock "It's the 24 hour news cycleJack, there's no time to do it right." That's simply an excuse for lowering the bar.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Dec 6, 2022 17:28:44 GMT -5
I don’t get the “premium position” thing. Which are the non-premium positions? 1B, LF, RF, and DH.
Generally true but at Fenway RF leans heavily toward a premium position.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 30, 2022 22:37:04 GMT -5
A cool stat I have to share is that both the Celtics and the Bruins are undefeated at home in November. That's insane for one of them never mind both.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 30, 2022 21:43:21 GMT -5
I'd call it a Train right now, we've beaten TB twice allready, NYR, Dallas, Florida, Detriot, Carolina that 7 of our 19 wins against the top teams in the NHL right now, they're rolling rolling rolling.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 30, 2022 20:31:36 GMT -5
Does anyone here care 1% about the Royal Family? If so why? I think I saw on Net Flix how they take IIRC $30 million (edit: it has been over $100 Million in a year) from England taxpayers for nothing more than being the Royal Family. That's an insane conspiracy in and of itself.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 30, 2022 19:49:37 GMT -5
Idle thought: how good would this team be if they had kept Bol Bol. WEEI might have a spot for you. I kid.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 29, 2022 20:42:20 GMT -5
Is anyone else annoyed by the animated moving ads along the boards? It's too distracting from the game, their main product. Terrible idea to allow anything that moves.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 28, 2022 21:51:05 GMT -5
Griffins best game as a Celtic Alot of great performances. Last night they had 7 in double figures tonight they 'only' had 5 but 3 more with 8 or 9. Marcus has a carreer high 15 assist. Kornet is 18 minutes had 9 points and 8 rebounds with a few more minutes would have has a double double off the bench. In the playoffs when the match-ups right he can be a solid back-up at the center position. Tatum and Smart were plus 99, that's not a typo. Team shot 59, 46, 85 from 2,3 & the FT line. Everyone played at least 7 minutes. What's not to like? Edit: One more stat worthy performance is the team had 40 (assist) the first time they did that since Dec. of 2008.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 28, 2022 16:04:18 GMT -5
The thing I think people are really sleeping on in the Bogaerts vs. Correa discussion is health. I realize health isn't a skill, but if you are going to bet on which player will play more games over the next 6 years, who would you take? Even with Correa's age advantage I am taking Bogaerts, easily. Since he became a full time regular in 2014, only 6 players have played in more games than him: Carlos Santana, Abreu, Goldschmidt, Freeman, Charlie Blackmon and Arenado - 4 1B/DH, a corner outfielder and a third baseman. The dude just stays on the field, at an extremely demanding position. He's never had any significant injury, even a freak one, unless you count the hand injury he got in 2017, which he still played through was able to produce a 3 win season. My biggest fear with Bogaerts is that we look back 7 years from now and it's another Beltre situation, where he has that weird ability to stay healthy and plays at a high level well into his 30s. And with Correa, it's that we sign him to a huge contract and he is only on the field for 2/3rds of the length of it. If staying healthy isn’t a skill, why would past injuries be predictive of future ones? I think age would be a better predictor. It absolutely can be, look at the caption under my name. I predicted Pedey wouldn't be effective after 30 due to injuries for the way he played, all out whether or not they were down 10 nothing or up 10 nothing, that and he had off season surgery nearly every year of his career during his 20's. I thought his early demise was inevitable and was confused when so very few saw that the same way. Dustin had one more good full season after 29. Bogaerts appears to be a safe bet however without a track record it's harder to predict.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 26, 2022 21:22:13 GMT -5
I saw the 1st period than did yardwork and I caught the rest what a game. Good recovery for Swayman. I hope Ullmark is ok, I know what Clifton was doing was only to help . Pasta with the rocket shot. Hall was hustling hard . I kinda wanted him to get rewarded. But excellent win Canes are a good team. The Bruins got the record. Hope fully the first of more. Hall has been incredibly tenacious lately I was traveling down from NH to the Southshore only to take an Uber back to the Garden to watch the Celtics. So I listened to the Bruins third period and overtime and the announcers were talking about exactly that with Hall.
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Post by jodyreidnichols on Nov 25, 2022 10:18:12 GMT -5
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