SoxProspects News
|
|
|
|
Legal
Forum Ground Rules
The views expressed by the members of this Forum do not necessarily reflect the views of SoxProspects, LLC.
© 2003-2024 SoxProspects, LLC
|
|
|
|
|
Forum Home | Search | My Profile | Messages | Members | Help |
Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
Recent Posts
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 7, 2019 14:37:13 GMT -5
Update on the run differentials. It's that bad- The Sox have shown to be mostly non competitive to this point this year.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 6, 2019 20:13:39 GMT -5
This OF is not playing well. Let me know if you locate a Red Sox player who is playing well.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 4, 2019 18:21:59 GMT -5
One day E-Rod and JBJ will no longer frustrate us anymore because they won't be around to do it. Hey uh I know the season isn’t off to a great start, but this is insane, just fyi.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 16:55:44 GMT -5
I'll say that this is probably the most convincing argument that he's physically ok, I just don't have a ton of confidence that even the best medical information can ever really tell you when a pitcher is going to succumb to injury. And really, the information that I'm going off of isn't authoritative either. If there was a way tell exactly when a pitcher is hurt or is about to be hurt, baseball would be a very different sport. I'm just saying, there are a certain number of red flags we can look for, and Sale is flying damn near all of them right now. Then why did you ignore the Speier tweet with the possible explanation? It clearly showed that his extension is at its worst right now and that's mechanical not medical. I'm not ignoring it. I've said all along, including in the post you're quoting, that I'm not sure he's hurt. What I am sure of is that he's displaying all of the signs of a guy who's hurt. One of which is that his mechanics are screwed up, which is something that can happen independently of an injury, but can also be caused by an injury. Guys alter their mechanics to pitch through something (or try to, at least) all the time.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 16:47:07 GMT -5
I mean, when he was down 2-3 MPH after his first start, this was at least a fairly plausible explanation. But last night he was down basically a full 5 mph, which A) no one really ramps up five whole tics during spring training and B) if he is still ramping up... why is he moving in the wrong direction?! His velo was much worse last night compared to his first start. That to me really makes it hard to buy into the short spring training explanation. It's either a major mechanical issue, or he's hurt. He managed to pitch decently last night, but again, zero swings and misses on the fastball. That's absolutely unsustainable. or he is deciding to learn how to pitch without using all the gas....it is a possibility He's not succeeding in that if they're making contact on literally every fastball.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 14:30:33 GMT -5
Which could be true, yet they just gave him a massive deal. Did a physical, have been monitoring him for 6 months. If he's not even close to normal or healthy that means the Red Sox GM and Doctors have a lot of explaining to do. If not for that contract and physical I might be more worried. As of right now I will remain upbeat and not automatically think the worse. I just don't think the Red Sox are that stupid, yet we'll see. I'll say that this is probably the most convincing argument that he's physically ok, I just don't have a ton of confidence that even the best medical information can ever really tell you when a pitcher is going to succumb to injury. And really, the information that I'm going off of isn't authoritative either. If there was a way tell exactly when a pitcher is hurt or is about to be hurt, baseball would be a very different sport. I'm just saying, there are a certain number of red flags we can look for, and Sale is flying damn near all of them right now.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 13:55:38 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 13:50:07 GMT -5
Our manager just said this is the plan, so I'm going to trust him. It makes perfect sense given Sales history. Have him barely pitch in spring training, then use April as Spring Training while telling him to hold back and try throwing 90%. Let him slowly build up as the weather gets warmer which always helps pitchers. I'm not going to look it up, but it seems he threw the fastball a lot less than normal, which would back up Cora that this is a plan. To the first bolded point, It's Cora's job to lie about this stuff. To the second, using the fastball less is also consistent with the fastball being garbage and everyone knowing it.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 12:55:00 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 12:26:20 GMT -5
On the other hand, despite rust showing in a BB and HBP, he gave up 3 hits and 1ER in 6IP. If he is still powering up after a difficult Sept - Oct and truncated ST, then we can just as likely expect a typical Sale run of excellence. From my view not far up on the 1B side he looked confident and dominant, which he largely was. Down by the bullpen for pre game warmup he was in the low 90’s and absolutely hitting the mark on every pitch. He sure didn’t look hurt. A couple of A’s fans next to me discussed how they are “screwed” tonight, and they were pretty close to being right. Last night’s Sale + a couple of runs borrowed from the Seattle games, and its a win. We are close to being able to exhale. I mean, when he was down 2-3 MPH after his first start, this was at least a fairly plausible explanation. But last night he was down basically a full 5 mph, which A) no one really ramps up five whole tics during spring training and B) if he is still ramping up... why is he moving in the wrong direction?! His velo was much worse last night compared to his first start. That to me really makes it hard to buy into the short spring training explanation. It's either a major mechanical issue, or he's hurt. He managed to pitch decently last night, but again, zero swings and misses on the fastball. That's absolutely unsustainable.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 12:07:36 GMT -5
He's averaging 5-6 mph slower than the same time last year. There have been NY news stories about it. Starter Masahiro Tanaka threw effectively for 6⅔ innings, but his work was undone by closer Aroldis Chapman, who continues to lose velocity.
As Chapman allowed the deciding two runs in the ninth inning, his once-feared 100-miles-per-hour fastball ticked down as low as 95.
“I feel great,” he said despite allowing four of the seven batters he faced to reach base, dooming the Yankees to another loss. www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/sports/yankees-injuries-miguel-andujar.html fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-hot-hand-is-real/TLDR: pitchers are better when they're throwing their best (fastest) fastball, beyond just the expected effect of the velocity.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 10:06:56 GMT -5
It's bad, folks. It's really really really bad:
Average fastball velo:
'15 - 95.8 '16 - 93.9 '17 - 94.6 '18 - 95.3 '19 - 90.8 (50 total pitches thrown)
Fastball swinging strike rate:
'15 - 13.1% '16 - 9.8% '17 - 13.9% '18 - 14.8% '19 - 0.0%
Look, it's two starts. Could just be a weird mechanical thing. Could just be the slow ramp up in spring training. But is there cause for concern? YES. This is ALARMING.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 10:00:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 3, 2019 7:25:59 GMT -5
Showing up to the ballpark in a full clown costume is an amazing self-own.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 15:17:54 GMT -5
But as far as the other stuff goes? I find it amazing that people are so into this millionaires vs billionaires debate. In the real world I live in, most people struggle financially and live paycheck to paycheck, and even that isn't enough. People act like there's no meaningful difference between these two groups, and that's ridiculous. The difference is literally an order of magnitude. And beyond that, it's a difference in behavior. When Ronald Acuna demands that the taxpayers of Atlanta provide him with a $100m dollar mansion before he'll consider resigning there, maybe I'll buy into the millionaires being no different from the billionaires. Baseball players are extremely talented labor that deserves to share in the profits they generate. The owners are f'ing thieves.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 11:51:50 GMT -5
There isnt enough performance to determine if there is a catching variable to the starters bad pitching, but it isn't unreasonable to point it out. I mean... why isn't it? Again, we're a week into the season. And furthermore, hat-tip to Andy McCullough for this question, when did baseball fans lose the capacity to just blame the player when a player performs poorly? It's like somehow too unsophisticated to do that anymore, it has to be the pitch calling or some managerial decision or the front office pays too much attention to spin rate or not enough attention to spin rate... how about this, our pitchers have been getting crushed because they've been throwing crushable pitches?
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 10:41:37 GMT -5
My point is that when lawyers get involved everyone loses. Just look at what they did to the NFL with rookie deals until the league got smart and created a rookie contract scale. Jamarcus Russell got a 60 million dollar deal with 32 million guaranteed and never earned a penny in the NFL. Their is a long list of such guys and who drove that market? Good.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 9:07:56 GMT -5
Vazquez does not cause command issues. This was supposed to be The Best Starting Rotation In Baseball, if my memory from last week is accurate. I know catcher defense is important and all, but short of duct-taping the mitt to his ass and trying to receive the ball while chatting with the people behind home plate, I don't really see how a Vasquez can be blamed for turning Sale and Friends into a group with a collective ERA over 11... Anyway, it's April second.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 8:39:28 GMT -5
Everyone knows its capitalism, but people seem to be confused as to who possesses the capital.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 6:49:30 GMT -5
Good Lord. We actually have the "canonization" of Scott Boras going on here. Yeah, if you were a big ticket free agent or a major market, he is gold. If you were a fan of a small market club or a team on the brink that needed, but couldn't afford, that one great player, forget it.It's weird how these owners can't afford to sign anyone, but then when they sell the team, they're several billion dollars richer than when they bought it. Someone who is good at the economy please explain this to me. He has been marginalized now because his business model no longer works when teams have more money and are making investments in players at earlier stages of their careers. His clients signed like a billion dollars worth of contracts this offseason.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 2, 2019 6:26:57 GMT -5
Also, how little would the Red Sox have to re-sign Xander for before people wouldn't call it a "fair" deal for him? There may be no demographic in the history of mankind in less need of anyone's sympathy/pity than the $100M+ athlete. I can think of a quite a few, actually.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 1, 2019 13:30:56 GMT -5
Like everyone else has said, I think this is a great deal and love that it puts Bogaerts in a position to be a lifetime Red Sox. I think one great residual is that it makes me more optimistic about JD sticking around. Both are represented by Boras. Must drive Boras a little bit nuts when Sox players tell him that they love it here and just get me a fair deal so I can stay. Is Tek the first one way back when? Yeah I'm sure he's very broken up about the multi-million dollar payday this represents for Boras Corp. Also, how little would the Red Sox have to re-sign Xander for before people wouldn't call it a "fair" deal for him?
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Mar 31, 2019 11:06:47 GMT -5
I love that this just gets repeated as fact.
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Mar 31, 2019 7:15:47 GMT -5
I would pull e-rod from the rotation. He doesn’t deserve to start. Let him get his head right before he goes back into the rotation. You gonna pull Sale and Eovaldi too?
|
|
|
Post by fenwaythehardway on Mar 29, 2019 22:40:56 GMT -5
The Sox have figured out Kuchi yet. I looked at his pitch location on 'play by play' and this guy is seriously good. But if we can get our pen to hold them, we can come back and pull this one out. Hey wait I thought we weren’t supposed to need one of those!
|
|
|