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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 7, 2024 17:00:23 GMT -5
Must win tonight. Can’t start backsliding after yesterdays disaster It would really suck if they lose but its hardly an elimination game.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 7, 2024 16:59:17 GMT -5
Did Duran get passed over? And Wong?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 7, 2024 9:51:49 GMT -5
I would rather lose a game by 10 runs than lose it like the MFY’s did it on Friday. That one hit their soul. People often say such a thing, but the damage to their soul was so bad that less than 24 hrs later they beat the snot out of the team that just damaged their soul? Does that really make sense? Wait a minute, was that just a subtle insult that the Yankees have no soul to hit? That would make more sense. I'd have to think that game made them feel better. Ben Rice looked like a guy being capable of being more of the solution than the problem and the rest of their lineup contributed. The Yankees werent going to continue to lose 75% of their games anyways. They banked a bunch of wins early but what their slide really did was knock them back behind Baltimore as a team cant afford to have a stretch like that and stay ahead of a team that's as good as the Orioles, who I think will win the division although I dont think theyll win going away. Conversely the 15-5 stretch the Sox had not only chopped 10 games off the Yankees' lead over them from 14.5 games to 4.5 games, but more importantly put the Sox squarely in the wild card race and probably changes their approach come July 30th.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 7, 2024 8:38:46 GMT -5
So do you write Yoshida's name on the lineup card in Sharpie until the end of the 2027 season just because he has an immovable contract? It's a sunk cost. He's Rusney Castillo (damn, it was hard for this old brain to conjure thet name but I finally did it), with perhaps a better shot of hitting his way back but without the defense. Vladdy Jr., thru 2025 makes too much sense for the Sox. The financial house is in order (Yoshida being an outlier), he's a proven middle-of-the-order bat, it's short-term during his prime, and there's a fit. Plus, he's boys with Devers. Btw, there's another big reason why MFY may not even be serious contenders for Vladdy: they are already paying ~100% tax on every dollar they add to payroll (with draft pick penalties in the offing) and piling on another $25m for Vladdy in 2025 is not the direction they want to go. Maybe they'd just non-tender him? Plus, they need pitching more than a RH bat (they're already too RH) and already have an even more expensive, more entrenched DH-only guy than the Sox have. Looks like you're right after all. Ben Rice is acting like a guy who's ready to step into the 1b job, so if that's the case that's a good stroke of fortune for the Yankees, as they wouldn't need to spend on Vlad Jr and can put their money toward bringing back Soto. I love the fit for Vladdy Jr. In the Sox lineup but unless the Sox find a way to totally move Yoshida's contact they're not going to tie up a ridiculous amount of dollars in the DH spot. Vladdy Jr will get moved but I'm thinking it could be elsewhere - the Astros could use a 1b, right?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 15:38:17 GMT -5
Nobody. The Yanks wont need to bat in the 9th, but maybe Dom Smith can pitch the 8th. Yeah, I realized that after I posted. Dumb dumb post. No problem:) bad game
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 14:45:21 GMT -5
Which position player is going to pitch the 9th? Nobody. The Yanks wont need to bat in the 9th, but maybe Dom Smith can pitch the 8th.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 14:28:51 GMT -5
Can someone please ban this troll? Yes ban someone for wanting this team to have some balls You want to criticize the Sox for playing like crap today? Fine, but you better show up and give them their props when theyve been playing well which is pretty much the past 3 weeks. Didnt hear a peep out of you then. If you only play it one way, then you are a 1 note troll. Didnt see you saying jack sh!t when the Sox stole the Yankees blind and last night had a game that was anything but gutless.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 14:23:10 GMT -5
The thing with crochet is that I have a hard time with the idea of giving up an ace type package for him when he's literally only started 18 games. Sure he looks the part but that's hardly enough track record for me to trust it just yet. The guy has never pitched enough innings to qualify for an ERA title. Some people are so busy extrapolating his,numbers as if fatigue won't be a serious factor that can harm his numbers and surrender major prospects to do so. Well if somebody is going to do that, I hope it's not the Red Sox. I'd rather see them.go after a pitcher who's capable of throwing 160 innings plus be able to throw more innings in the post season without being gassed. Geez, sounds like I just described Eovaldi. In the offseason I want them going heavy after Burnes or Fried or Sasaki if that's a possibility.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 11:38:00 GMT -5
Probably the best manager they ever had was Dick Williams. But, he was too tough on Yaz, so Yaz went to Yawkey and had him fired. Williams then went to Oakland and won the WS there. Tito and Cora were the next two best. That's not what got Dick William's fired. Yaz gets blamed for it and I'm sure the drama with him and Yaz didnt help. What got Williams fired was an article in which Yawkey was asked to rate his manager and Yawkey gave a middling/decent grade of Williams which Williams took offense to and confronted Yawkey about it. That's what got him fired, from what I've read. Williams had low tolerance for Yawkey because he remembered his time there, hiw players would go around the manager to Yawkey to air their grievances. He also thought of Yawkey as an absentee owner who only became visible when the Sox suddenly started winning, a Johnny come lately. Yawkey obviously didnt like Williams' acerbic style so it's no surprise that there was a clash between owner and manager and when Williams confronted Yawkey there was going to be nothing Dick O'Connell could do to prevent the firing.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 11:31:43 GMT -5
I hope the Sox offer the bucks Cora deserves. He's an excellent manager. I dont know what the stats are but does any manager have a better track record with pinch hitters? Cora has a knack of sending guys up to pinch hit, no matter who, and they seem to come through more than any Red Sox manager I've ever seen, and I'd surmise relative to the league. It's not all that shocking that the Sox got 2 PH 3 run HRs in the 2018 World Series. I remember groaning when he PH Nunez for Devers so naturally Nunez went deep and put the game away. Moreland's bomb woke the Sox from their offensive coma and spring boarded them to the Championshio. He still has that knack. Last night it was Don Smith. This athletic club is the kind of club he enjoys managing. I hope they keep him but doubt they will. It's too bad. Last year wasnt his best managing job but still he kept the team close to .500 which in itself was kind of a feat given their mediocrity. Between Francona and Cora they've had 2 of the best managers the past 20 years. I liked Farrell but he wasnt as good. Valentine was abysmal. Maybe a better question would be has any Red Sox manager pinch hit as often to this point in the season as Cora has? I've got nothing to back it up, but I reject your assertion that this is a skill that any manager has. As a counter to Dom Smith, pinch hitting with Abreu in the 8th given all the swing and miss in his game seemed like a really poor decision. You're talking one game or one decision and I'm talking his entire time here. I go back a number of Red Sox managers so I feel that Cora has had better success with pinchhitters over the entirety of his tenure than his predecessors have going back 40 something years - ivecl watched them too . I cant prove it or disprove it. Just a sense I get watching his moves over the years, so while I know you dont feel it's a skill, I think managers arent all the same in their decision making of who to pitch hit for, when to pinch hit, and with whom (and itd not like he has Manny Mota or Vic Davalillo, or Smoky Burgess sitting on the bench, so I reject your rejection of my assertion, lol.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 8:24:32 GMT -5
Looking at the White Sox farm they have a top SS and C prospect so I’d assume Anthony would be the guy they would target. I’m not going down that road. How are they fixed for 2b? The Sox have a ton of those. I'd make Yorke and Bleis available, but I dont think the Sox have the pitcher needed to make a deal like that work. Dont think Fitts or Sandlin would be enough.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 6, 2024 8:19:38 GMT -5
Fun reading all the stuff about the MFY’s in the NYC papers today. Especially the take on the team by their fans. Some of it was brutal. Made me smile. Ps If the Sox don’t extend Cora, he’ll get a lot of money from another club. He’s really good. Do they think there’s someone better out there? I don’t see it. Let’s put 15 on ‘em today. I hope the Sox offer the bucks Cora deserves. He's an excellent manager. I dont know what the stats are but does any manager have a better track record with pinch hitters? Cora has a knack of sending guys up to pinch hit, no matter who, and they seem to come through more than any Red Sox manager I've ever seen, and I'd surmise relative to the league. It's not all that shocking that the Sox got 2 PH 3 run HRs in the 2018 World Series. I remember groaning when he PH Nunez for Devers so naturally Nunez went deep and put the game away. Moreland's bomb woke the Sox from their offensive coma and spring boarded them to the Championshio. He still has that knack. Last night it was Don Smith. This athletic club is the kind of club he enjoys managing. I hope they keep him but doubt they will. It's too bad. Last year wasnt his best managing job but still he kept the team close to .500 which in itself was kind of a feat given their mediocrity. Between Francona and Cora they've had 2 of the best managers the past 20 years. I liked Farrell but he wasnt as good. Valentine was abysmal.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 22:51:12 GMT -5
Enjoy this year but next year adding in the big 3 could be crazy good. The way Campbell is going he might not be far behind.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 22:46:49 GMT -5
Since May 1st Verdugo is: .239/.278/.376 with a 85 wrc+ Man there has never been more of a case of addition by subtraction than moving on from Verdugo. He's on his annual summer vacation where he hits a million grounders to 2b and jogs down the damn line every time. I appreciate the really good wild card playoff game he had against NY - his 2 run single pit the game away an inning after his double scored a needed insurance run and he played well against the Rays in the ALDS, and he got some clutch walkoffs....but that said I dont miss him at all. I've always thought he's kind of an airhead and he has talent and hasn't come close to maximizing his talent. The guy should have been a consistent .300 hitter and he's nowhere near that.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 22:39:56 GMT -5
The Yankees have been awful the past three weeks and they're still playing .600 ball. They're still a damn good team. I bring this up because they're a measuring stick for the Red Sox. The Red Sox have been measuring up. They're a good test for the Sox and the Sox have been succeeding. Last year the Sox beat up NY but they were a nediocre team themselves, so they werent a good measuring stick They were in the 2022 but the Sox failed miserably and got killed by them. In 2021 the Sox measured up. I'm sure many remember German throwing a no-hitter into the 8th with a 4-0 lead and then the Sox exploding for 5 runs and the 5-4 win, and of course beating them in the playoff game. That defined their season as a success. In 2018 the Yankees had an excellent team but again as the measuring stick the Sox defined themselves as the greatest version that they've ever been as the memories included humiliating them in a 4 game Fenway sweep in August, and then clinching the division in NY and eliminating them in NY in the ALDS. The Yankees won 100 but the Sox measured up better and won 108 regular season wins on the way to 119 total wins. A year later the Sox didnt measure up and the Yankees left them in the dust. I bring all this up because hate them all you want but they're a good measuring stick for the Sox and its encouraging that the Sox are measuring up. Sure to all that but Yankees suck is more fun. I hate those Mfers, too, but I try to be mature about it. If they truly sucked (beyond the past 3 weeks where they have totally sucked) beating them wouldn't mean what it means. Kicking them when they're down is fun - I'm old enough to remember how the Sox destroyed them in 1990 when the Yankees were truly pathetic - it was fun - Bucky Dent got fired as Yankee manager at Fenway Park, but beating then when theyre going to win their 90 plus games is more rewarding. It says more about how good the Sox are.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 22:09:49 GMT -5
The Yankees have been awful the past three weeks and they're still playing .600 ball. They're still a damn good team.
I bring this up because they're a measuring stick for the Red Sox. The Red Sox have been measuring up. They're a good test for the Sox and the Sox have been succeeding.
Last year the Sox beat up NY but they were a nediocre team themselves, so they werent a good measuring stick
They were in the 2022 but the Sox failed miserably and got killed by them.
In 2021 the Sox measured up. I'm sure many remember German throwing a no-hitter into the 8th with a 4-0 lead and then the Sox exploding for 5 runs and the 5-4 win, and of course beating them in the playoff game. That defined their season as a success.
In 2018 the Yankees had an excellent team but again as the measuring stick the Sox defined themselves as the greatest version that they've ever been as the memories included humiliating them in a 4 game Fenway sweep in August, and then clinching the division in NY and eliminating them in NY in the ALDS. The Yankees won 100 but the Sox measured up better and won 108 regular season wins on the way to 119 total wins.
A year later the Sox didnt measure up and the Yankees left them in the dust.
I bring all this up because hate them all you want but they're a good measuring stick for the Sox and its encouraging that the Sox are measuring up.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 21:57:12 GMT -5
This team feels different for sure. Awesome to watch It actually feels good to be stressed out about Red Sox games again. I wouldn't say I checked out for the last two years. I still watched every game but with a much less passionate feeling. Same here. They're winning me over. I'm no longer bored or apathetic watching them anymore. They're hustling their asses off.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 21:54:44 GMT -5
Wow! Some thoughts: 1. I've been mouthing off quite a bit on here about the Masa signing. I'll have to zip on that for the time being. 2. KJ doesn't have nearly the stuff he did in his dominant days. But he's got big-time grit and balls. Isn't that what Kevin Garnett called it once? 3. Slight panic by me when Soto got his hit. But getting Judge to pop out was almost a clincher, I felt. Dugo is a poor excuse for a cleanup hitter and the next guy...Who was the next guy? I don't even remember, which tells you how unconcerned I was. 4. I'M GOING TO LOVE WATCHING THE POST-GAME CRYING FEST ON THE YES NETWORK! Did you see Verdugo dog it down the line on that popup? Duran doesnt dog that.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 21:52:40 GMT -5
Awesome. Awesome win! Agonizing loss for the Yankees. Red Sox stole one from the Skankees.
Still a few weeks until the deadline but this team has something going on. They're buyers, not sellers. Dont give up the farm but make moves that can help the team.
They have to fix their infield defense get Casas back healthy, and find another starter but they're finding themselves as a team, and they look much better than I anticipated. Rafaela has his holes but he is improving.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 21:13:23 GMT -5
Clay Holmes is no Mariano Rivera. Great AB by Yoshida.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 5, 2024 11:43:08 GMT -5
So do you write Yoshida's name on the lineup card in Sharpie until the end of the 2027 season just because he has an immovable contract? It's a sunk cost. He's Rusney Castillo (damn, it was hard for this old brain to conjure thet name but I finally did it), with perhaps a better shot of hitting his way back but without the defense. Vladdy Jr., thru 2025 makes too much sense for the Sox. The financial house is in order (Yoshida being an outlier), he's a proven middle-of-the-order bat, it's short-term during his prime, and there's a fit. Plus, he's boys with Devers. Btw, there's another big reason why MFY may not even be serious contenders for Vladdy: they are already paying ~100% tax on every dollar they add to payroll (with draft pick penalties in the offing) and piling on another $25m for Vladdy in 2025 is not the direction they want to go. Maybe they'd just non-tender him? Plus, they need pitching more than a RH bat (they're already too RH) and already have an even more expensive, more entrenched DH-only guy than the Sox have. Rizzo's contract is up after the year. Verdugo is a goner. I know the funds need to be allocated for Soto, but they still will have a short term need for this year and ne't for a 1b. While I dont see Yoshida hanging on for 3 more years i dont see them doing the Rusney you dont exist Castillo thing with him though. They're not paying 43 million for the DH position. They're just not.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2024 21:46:49 GMT -5
Not sure of the price to get him. Wiki Gonzalez hasn't pitched well. But thinking of an October lineup that goes like this: Duran CF Abreu/Refsnyder RF Devers 3b Vlad Jr DH Casas 1b O'Neill LF Wong C Hamilton 2b Rafaela SS That's a well balanced lineup. Doubt theyll have Yoshida as an 18 million dollar PH, but fun to think of a lineup like that. I wouldn't be surprised if Vlad Jr gets dealt to NYY instead. The Sox farm system is better and deeper than MFY's. You simply outbid them (to a point). TOR is likely to get more for Vladdy than a RHH 1B-only guy is really worth but you have to decide whether that lineup now (plus next year) is worth more than what guys like Yorke and Wikelman might be 3-5 years from now. That's the whole nature of being a deadline buyer. I wonder how much higher the price might go... If it was Yorke and Wiki I'd make the trade in a heartbeat. Gonzalez hasn't exactly impressed. I'd still say its NYY because they have more need/incentive to get him while the Sox already have an 18 million dollar DH so I doubt theyre acquiring another DH.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2024 21:19:49 GMT -5
I’m enjoying this year’s team but certainly not enough to give up Cespedes. Cespedes is either going to become Jose Ramirez or he will be another offensive 2nd baseman, of whom we have a bunch. How many 2nd baseman can a team roster? Eovaldi would give us a starter this year and next who fits in this org like a glove. I would give up a prospect with helium who hasn't even hit A ball, who is likely a limited defender. Maybe he is another Jose Ramirez. More likely -- he isn't. But I would take a reasonable cost starter who has proven to be able to pitchers for him. How many offensive 2b on the roster? As many as it takes to find one that takes at the major league level which hasn't happened yet. At this point I have no idea who the 2b of Red Sox future is. I felt and still feel it'll be Grissom, but I cant ignore what Campbell is doing but he's more likely to be a 2b with the Sox than OF given the presence of Duran, Rafaela, and Anthony as the likely outfield of the future rendering Abreu down the road as trade bait, and Valdez and Yorke as likely trade bait. Or at least what I think. Breslow will have to sort out the 2b talent and figure out who he thinks is the 2b of the near future. Dombrowski was good at sorting out the talent and making the call as to whi was the keeper and who was more expendable. Breslow will have that test soon enough. I think Cespedes would be more valuable down the road as a 3b who could displace Devers to DH some day, but reading the scouting report on him gives me some pause. He might be more of a DH than Devers? I dont know what he is but Breslow will have to know and make the right judgment on him.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2024 21:09:56 GMT -5
The fangraphs odds thing is overrated. If the Sox play well theyll make the playoffs. If they dont they wont. Their performance directs the odds, not the other way around. Thats why I don't take it seriously at all. Just win. Screw the odds.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 4, 2024 20:50:24 GMT -5
He won't turn 26 until midway through Spring Training next year. He's starting to heat up after an off year and a slow start. He's 1B/DH only and will be due ~$25m in arbitration for next season, so could come cheaper than many expect...
... although there will be many bidders (including MFY) if TOR decides to blow it up. He's the second half of the L/R core the Sox have been missing since Papi/Manny.
He hit a ball out of Fenway last month that still hasn't landed.
He would significantly improve the Red Sox' chances of making the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
I would start the bidding at Yorke + Wikelman + a sweetener outside of the SP top 20.
If DD were still here, this would already be done.
Not sure of the price to get him. Wiki Gonzalez hasn't pitched well. But thinking of an October lineup that goes like this: Duran CF Abreu/Refsnyder RF Devers 3b Vlad Jr DH Casas 1b O'Neill LF Wong C Hamilton 2b Rafaela SS That's a well balanced lineup. Doubt theyll have Yoshida as an 18 million dollar PH, but fun to think of a lineup like that. I wouldn't be surprised if Vlad Jr gets dealt to NYY instead.
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