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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 26, 2023 11:56:51 GMT -5
Man, Ian Browne is usually solid at MLB.com, but his birthday appreciation for Pedro was pathetic. Let me translate:
Pedro Martinez, arguably the best pitcher to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, = very likely the best pitcher in MLB history He won the American League’s Cy Young Award in '98 and '99 with two of the best seasons in franchise history = with the two most dominating seasons in MLB history, and perhaps in any American major team sport Yes, and Bill Russell was one of the most consistent winners in Celtics history, Tom Brady was one the best Patriots QB's ... you can do Williams and Orr yourself! Just an embarrassment.
Counterpoint - you should be embarrassed for getting upset over what is perfectly reasonable writing lol Exactly. Pedro was the greatest I saw but he only pitched excellent or better for five years as he had an injury marred 2001 and was merely pretty damn good in 2004. But I saw Clemens and you could make an argument, given the length of his career that he might have been. Cy Young wasnt too bad himself. Lefty Grove was pretty damn amazing, too. Walter Johnson as well if you're actually allowed to think of somebody without Red Sox connections. Me personally, Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons are as good as it gets considering the era and his home ballpark but it's hardly crazy to leave a little wiggle room for disagreement, considering some people like pitchers who could throw 250 plus innings consistently. Not everything has to be in absolute terms.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 26, 2023 7:11:55 GMT -5
Reasons to be Cheerful, Parts 1 to 7
1) After he got the rust off, Chris Sale was The Best Pitcher in Baseball (please insert periods after capitalized words) for six starts before getting hurt. Dombrowski (and his analysts) never noticed the "This Sale Valid for a Limited Time Only?" effect where he regressed to an average pitcher by September every bleeping year, an obvious red flag for an eventual injury. Assuming there is no lawnmower, sky-diving or other mishap this winter, the new regime will have a chance to use all of the biometric and health knowledge at hand to devise the optimal plan to keep him as healthy as possible, something Bloom never really had a chance at. It may be as simple as an 80-pitch limit.
2) We have to be the favorite for Yoshinbu Yamamoto, right? (And now you know his first name, too!) Moving to a country where you don't or barely speak the language is tough. How many people doing that have the opportunity to rejoin a teammates and friend? And the team was on a 90-win pace (neutral division) despite insane injuries as late as late August.
3) There were 17 guys who threw both a slider and sweeper this year. But only 6 of them threw them both as plus pitches . There were just four guys who threw all three of the harder glove-side pitches, by adding a cutter to the two distinct types of slider. (And yes, one of them was Yu Darvish.) If you command all three pitches, that has to be ultra-tough on hitters, as they are close enough to confuse with one another.h
Only two guys are on both lists, and both had a plus cutter as well. One of them is Nick Pivetta.
4) And the other is Kutter Crawford. Seriously. He also has some elite movement stats, so it looks like I'm doing him when I finish Pivetta. 5) Tanner Houck! As I have mentioned too often, he was the best SP in MLB through inning 3 when he got hurt the hard way. Like Crawford, he is devoting his off-season to adding stamina in order to go deeper, in his case with clear ace-quality stuff. 6) You know things are looking up when the pitcher who least excites "you" (in this case, me) in terms of taking a major step forward from 2023 value is Bryan Bello.
7) There's no room in this post for Garrett Whitlock! You know they'll stretch him out in ST to cover injuries.
The Red Sox HAVE to be the favorite for Yamamoto? C'mon, give me a break with the hyperbole. The Sox certainly have a reasonable chance, but I certainly woudnt make them the favorites. The "Japanese teammate/friend" thing is overblown. Japanese players sign for the same reasons Anerican players sign, mostly money and a chance to win, and other times location. The "favorites" are likely whatever team blows him away with an offer. My guess is that the "favorites' are probably the free spending Mets who cleared Verlander and Scherzer from their rotation and will need a young ace who can grow with their young offensive nucleus they have up or coming up. And last time I checked the Mets arent exactly shy about spending huge money. And if it even matters Yamamoto would have a fellow countryman in the rotation if he joined the Mets. Yamamoto could just as easily land on the Dodgers who need pitching and can spend big bucks or even on the Yankees who are quite interested too, or some other team that I haven't even listed, so no the Sox dont have to be the favorites. They're one of several teams that will be zeroing in on him. Better bring their checkbooks. Theyll definitely be in the mix and could come away with him, but I certainly wouldnt label them the favorites.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 25, 2023 7:37:13 GMT -5
Well maybe some lessons were learned this time around... at least this seems like a better starting point for Breslow than Bloom's directives to trade Mookie, rehire Cora, and retain the incumbent FO leadership. I sure hope the only mandate given to Craig is to go win a World Series, at any cost. I understand the sentiment and I agree with you on that but I've seen enough Bagwell for Andersen deals in my life that I'd prefer not to see another, so I cant commit to any cost. How about most costs, lol?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 22:50:16 GMT -5
Just noticing that Breslow did not get a ring in 2007 because he did not pitch in Boston, even though he had pitched in Boston in 2006 and had a fine season in Pawtucket in 2007 He actually did get a ring. He was called up for one game. Bullpen wasn't needed that night though because Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter. View AttachmentThanks for confirming. I thought that was the case for Breslow in 2007, that he got a ring, although I didn't know it was the night of Buchholz's no-hitter. I remember in 2004 Brandon Puffer got called up for 1 day, didn't pitch ever, and wound up with a ring (although let's just say Breslow is a very different person than Puffer and the comparison ends there, lol).
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 22:38:33 GMT -5
Congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks who have the chance to be one of the weakest World Champions in history with only the 2006 Cardinals being slightly worse.
We went from having a rematch to having the anti-rematch. Honestly at this point, I'm rooting for the Texas Rangers to win their first ever World Series. It would be cool for them to be able to enjoy one. I have no emotional attachment to the Dbacks (although congrats to Mike Hazen, Torey Lovullo and even freaking Tommy Pham). They won in 2001 which I'm grateful for but I don't have an overwhelming need to see them win a second one, especially with an 84 win team. Go Rangers.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 20:10:49 GMT -5
Has he never received a promotion? Does longevity portend continued ascension or might one "reach their level"? He probably gets promoted to GM. Good point, although he may wonder why Breslow got that job and not him? I mean, he was trying for the job so he must have wanted it or thought he was a damn good choice. Actually if indeed Breslow is the guy, then Romero could be very valuable given that he certainly knows the lay of the land.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 20:07:21 GMT -5
Wonder what that means for Ed Romero Jr. Can't be flattering when you get passed over for a promotion when you've been there 15 plus years. Has he never received a promotion? Does longevity portend continued ascension or might one "reach their level"? He's gotten promoted, but he might not agree with having "reached his level". He might consider his level higher than the Sox ownership does.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 19:10:12 GMT -5
A reminder: Junichi Tazawa entered the inning to clean up the mess left by Breslow. This was the most pivotal at bat in the 2013 title run. It was. Cabrera was injured and Fielder was so bad he could have been MVP of the Series for the Sox. To Breslow's credit, not only did he have a strong 2013 season, but when Victorino put the Sox ahead in Game 7, Breslow responded the Tigers in order. My memory may be off, but I think he got the win in Game 7, but I'm not sure - I'd have to look it up. I know he pitched well against Tampa in the ALDS clincher as well. But he struggled in the World Series and was never the same again. Still, the memories of Breslow are all 2013 and pretty damn positive. He made for a good setup man (along with Tazawa) for Koji. With Breslow in place, maybe his 2013 bullpen mate Andrew Bailey becomes pitching coach? Maybe Koji needs to be signed up to recruit Japanese stars, starting with Yamamoto....and I also have my eye on that young Japanese masher who smashed 55 homers for another time.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 19:04:56 GMT -5
Wonder what that means for Ed Romero Jr. Can't be flattering when you get passed over for a promotion when you've been there 15 plus years.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 18:59:28 GMT -5
Cubs fans are not happy about potentially losing Breslow “As of now” Yup, the Cubs aren't standing in the way of a major promotion.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 18:52:15 GMT -5
One interesting bit from that interview was Breslow saying he wants to acquire pitchers who are deficient in the things they have a track record of improving. He says velo/stuff they can improve, and control they can't. I like hearing that. Can't stand watching pitchers who cannot throw strikes and beat themselves.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 18:49:42 GMT -5
I have no idea what to expect at all. He's walking into a pressure cooker.
I do like that Theo Epstein personally recruited him. Theo in your corner is a very good thing.
Not sure how his pitching "expertise" factors in, but maybe he'll have a bit of an inside track with his knowledge in acquiring pitching rather than the "throw spaghetti up against the wall and hope something sticks" philosophy. Maybe the Sox can finally do a better job of drafting starting pitching?
If nothing else, it's an interesting hire, hiring somebody with virtually no experience in the upper echelon of the front office hierarchy. Usually you take a chance with a guy who was number 2 on the totem pole, like a Levine or a Bloom, if you can't grab an experienced executive, but Breslow is well below the #2 spot, or was anyways. Doesn't mean it can't work. This will be interesting. Wonder what his philosophies are.
I do like that he knows what a major league clubhouse is like and knows some of the inside feel of what major leaguers deal with as opposed to strictly being a bean counter of some sort. Hopefully he combines the best of both worlds because I think too much of one view or the other isn't the best thing.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 17:47:21 GMT -5
What are the circumstances surrounding this photo? Was it some sort of 2004/2007/2013 Red Sox World Championship mishmash get together or were they getting together in anticipation of something Tim Wakefield rememberance related? Like how does Jarrod Saltalamacchia wind up in the same photo as Nomar given that these two never even came close to playing together?
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 17:44:22 GMT -5
No real reason to give credence to the analysis of the folks at mlbtraderumors (they run a fine site, but close analysis is not really their jam). But they have a chat about the R ed Sox' offseason to come and it's sort of fun to imagine how much rioting would ensue all across New Enlgand if they fulfilled this prediction: Sacking Bloom for lacking the gumption to make big moves and then getting a replacement whose major addition was like Jack Flaherty would be amazing.
Yup, that's why I don't buy it. I get that it takes time to know what's in the system and know who your personnel is, etc. but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the Sox need help. Whoever they hire, novice or otherwise, I would think they'd be expected to substantially improve the team with the minimum expectation being that the Sox are playing October playoff baseball in 2024. I do think not knowing the minor league system very well could be a bit disadvantageous in trade talks, although with the current personnel in place, I'm sure the feedback will be there as to who is more tradable than others given whatever trade packages get discussed. I wouldn't think the ability to sign a free agent would be hampered. So I can't imagine they'd dump Bloom to get a GM who will be tepid, even at the beginning.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 24, 2023 11:19:37 GMT -5
I don’t really get the Breslow hype. I mean, maybe he’d do well, but what evidence do we have of that? He’s never even worked in person in a front office. If it’s him cool I’ll root for him, but I just don’t get why he’s such an inspiring candidate to a lot of people. Fact of the matter is that unless the Sox are bringing Pat Gillick or John Schuerholz out of retirement or digging up Branche Rickey, we have no idea what to expect with these candidates because none of them except for Neal Huntington have any real sort of track record, and in Huntington's case, it isnt a good track record. I remember the excitement of the Chaim Bloom hiring. It took awhile for the realities of Chaim Bloom,good and bad, to replace the image of what he represented upon hire. It'll be the same with whoever they hire whether its Breslow or Romero or some other unproven candidate. So I cant say that I'm happy or sad or anything in between honestly if they hire Breslow, Romero or whoever. I'll probably opine, because that's what I do, lol, but honestly I just dont know. Itll be image and then the image will eventually get replaced by the reality as time goes on. Just better not make a bad first signing or trade. First impressions die hard, lol. I will say that Theo basically matched and mostly exceeded the image I had for him and my initial image of Dombrowski was less than what he delivered. It was actually Eric Van's post, in my opinion the best he's ever done here and it contained no numbers whatsoever, that changed my mind about the image I initially had about Dombrowski. But Dombrowski had the track record, whether you liked it or not, to reflect upon. Whoever is hired will likely be a rookie.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 22:34:27 GMT -5
Congrats to the Rangers. They withstood a crushing Game 5 loss and went into Houston and shut up their home crowd. Strangely enough no Rangers or Astros home fan saw a victory. The Astros lost the 2019 World Series in a similar scenario and Scherzer started Gane 7 that series, too, not that Scherzer did anything particularly noteworthy.
It certainly didnt hurt that Adolis Garcia turned into Superman. The Astros had no idea how to get him out or even keep him in the ballpark.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 21:51:14 GMT -5
Gee, wonder who is getting the ALCS MVP. Such a mystery.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 21:09:37 GMT -5
Between leaving in JP France and not PH'ing for Maldonado, I'm wondering if Dusty thinks there's a game 8. Dont forget not walking Garcia with runners on 2nd and 3rd and then allowing him to be able to hit a 2 run single.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 20:33:19 GMT -5
Why in the world would you not walk Garcia?!!!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 20:01:18 GMT -5
If Texas wins it wont be hard to figure out who the ALCS MVP would be, with apologies to Eovaldi, but Adolis Garcia has been lethal. Another star player who got away from the Cardinals.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 18:51:51 GMT -5
It's not as easy as hey lets sign these two Japanese superstars since it wouldn't matter if the team still stinks and sales are down with the real core of the fanbase here in America. Sure Ohtani and Yamamoto sound like slam dunks but we're probably talking 70M combined on just them plus Devers at 30 you're now an extremely top heavy team. I have no problem with a top-heavy team if the heavy tops (weird phrasing?) perform, especially if you feel good about some of your up-and-coming prospects. I'd argue the Phillies are doing the good version of that; young guys contributing well (Stott, Marsh) to complement top-heavy, big-money stars (Harper, Turner). If your farm stinks, it's a bad play because then you don't have the money to upgrade at other positions that are giving you ~0-1 WAR. The Red Sox desperately need some condensed stardom... I didn't realize it until I looked it up, but the Red Sox leader in WAR (Devers, at 3.1) is the lowest team WAR leader on any team in all of baseball with the sole exception of the Athletics. Yes, that includes other terrible teams who seem to have little going for them right now like the Rockies, Nationals, etc. I'm using Fangraphs WAR here (your mileage may vary with bWAR) but I think the general point still stands. I noticed this on July without the stats. When the All Star game was a week or two in the future I remember thinking to myself, "do the Sox have anybody who'd be a probable starter?" Devers perhaps. Ok, who else would be deserving. There was am Akex Verdugo debate before he tanked, but even then he wasn't an overwhelming candidate. Yoshida perhaps? But he wasnt overwhelming especially if defense were factored in. Any pitchers worthy of consideration? Apparently Kenley although I hardly thought of him as anything more than borderline. That's not much in the way of star power, so the numbers you cite kind of jibe with the impression of what I saw with the Sox, a team mostly devoid of top tier talent and mostly made up of average-ish players, some above a bit and others below average. Unremarkable as that describes most teams, but really on the lower end than usual when it comes to top tier talent.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 13:39:10 GMT -5
I understand the Sale comparison in principle but disagree on substance. Eovaldi over the last 3 years has averaged 140 something innings while Sale over the past 3 years has totaled 140 something innings. Sale also got paid 29 million per year while Eovaldi was signed to a reasonable short term contract for about 19 million per year. I don't lament the Eflin loss because I'm not convinced he'd pitch as well with the Sox as he did with Tampa.I would have liked Senga but the Sox held back from being serious players for him, which was regrettable. Are you sure Eovaldi would have pitched as well with Boston as he has with Texas? His FIP, xFIP, and xERA were all higher in 2023 than they were in 2021-22. If he had to pitch in Fenway, on an AL East schedule, and above all in front of the Red Sox' defense, he might have had like a 4.30 ERA. Better than Kluber, obviously, but not the kind of deal where we'd feel like he was an amazing bargain. Reasonably sure as one could be about a team with horrendous defense, but then again that's not on the pitcher. His numbers took a bit of a hit as he came back too soon from injury, but I'm pretty sure for 19 million per year over the short term and not having to spend 50 plus million to improve the starting pitching or trading prospects you'd rather not to get a front line starter in a trade, I'd rather Eovaldi would have stayed.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 13:09:04 GMT -5
I can't help but watch Eovaldi and think to myself that if the Sox had brought him back they'd only need one more top notch starter rather than 2. With Eovaldi's lack of durability they'd still need a depth starter but that's the case with most starters these days as 150 innings seems to be a tall task It's funny. When Dombrowski brought back Eovaldi I kind of thought it might be a thank you contract, but honestly, Eovaldi is simply flat out, a damn good pitcher, and a big game pitcher at that. He's not probably going to be a Cy Young candidate and you know hell miss tine, but its not like hes being paid 30 million for his 125 - 150 innings. I'm just impressed with him. Really wished the Sox hadnt gone over the limit in 22 and spent the money in 23 and felt they couldnt wait for him or go over the limit again. He sure is nails in the playoffs. But I don't feel like there's much opportunity cost in not having him going forward. He'd basically be another Sale: good if healthy, but likely to miss time. Which is not what they most need. If we're going to lament the pitchers who turned down the Red Sox making them their best offer, I'd look at Eflin first. And if we're lamenting pitchers they should have signed in general, I'd look at Senga.
I understand the Sale comparison in principle but disagree on substance. Eovaldi over the last 3 years has averaged 140 something innings while Sale over the past 3 years has totaled 140 something innings. Sale also got paid 29 million per year while Eovaldi was signed to a reasonable short term contract for about 19 million per year. I don't lament the Eflin loss because I'm not convinced he'd pitch as well with the Sox as he did with Tampa. I would have liked Senga but the Sox held back from being serious players for him, which was regrettable.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 11:42:06 GMT -5
I can't help but watch Eovaldi and think to myself that if the Sox had brought him back they'd only need one more top notch starter rather than 2. With Eovaldi's lack of durability they'd still need a depth starter but that's the case with most starters these days as 150 innings seems to be a tall task It's funny. When Dombrowski brought back Eovaldi I kind of thought it might be a thank you contract, but honestly, Eovaldi is simply flat out, a damn good pitcher, and a big game pitcher at that. He's not probably going to be a Cy Young candidate and you know hell miss tine, but its not like hes being paid 30 million for his 125 - 150 innings. I'm just impressed with him. Really wished the Sox hadnt gone over the limit in 22 and spent the money in 23 and felt they couldnt wait for him or go over the limit again. Probably a fair point, it does sting a bit right now that supposedly he came back to them and said is that offer still on the table and they said no. I'm not sure the exact $ amount they're under the LT for 2023 but it's probably close enough that if they just signed Eovaldi for what he got and didn't sign the corpse of Corey Kluber they probably could have stayed under and done everything else they had done in last years offseason. Doesn't get them to the playoffs at least not singularly, they probably only win a handful more games with Eovaldi instead of Kluber but they'd be much better off for this coming offseason and the 2024 with Eovaldi slated into that rotation than they are without him. Bit of a bummer with the power of hindsight right now but suppose those are the breaks and what makes GMs good or not. Even then no GM ever gets everything correct, just the way it goes. Agreed. Eovaldi by himself wasnt the difference between 78 wins and 90 wins, for sure, but now I have to question if the Sox indeed get two top tier starters, how many extra prospects in a trade for Bieber or Burnes or how much extra $ needed to sign Sonny Gray and/or Jordan Montgomery. Will there be enough money to go after an impact bat like Ohtani or enough viable prospects trade for Soto or even Trout without crippling the system? It became kind of clear to me that the Sox, other than needing 2 top starters and much better defense, could certainly use another impact bat given the long vacations the offense went on last season.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Oct 23, 2023 11:30:44 GMT -5
I have trouble imagining Scherzer pitching well tonight or the Rangers pen holding down the Astros. I mean, is Dunning the first guy out of the pen?
I also think Philly should handle AZ with relative ease in front of a lively crowd.
I could easily be wrong, certainly wouldnt be the first time, but I think the rematch will get set tonight.
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