danr
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Post by danr on Dec 23, 2017 18:56:45 GMT -5
A few general comments.
I think McCutchen would be a waste of whatever player(s) was/were traded for him, especially since Castillo is rotting in Pawtucket (unless they traded him for McCutchen).
If JDM isn't signed, someone else not as good probably will be. I would wait until the trading deadline in mid-season to see how Chavis develops. He seems to be figuring things out and if he continues his present rate of improvement, he might be the answer to the power issue.
The Sox should not even think of platooning Benintendi. Just because he did not hit lefties well this past season does not mean he will not hit them in the future. He has too much talent to limit it with platooning.
I cannot imagine the Orioles trading Machado to the Sox. They do not want to make the Sox any better and he would do that.
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danr
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Post by danr on Dec 19, 2017 1:37:07 GMT -5
I like the resigning of Moreland. He had a pretty good season considering that he played half of it on a broken foot and had some other dings as well. I had reservations about Hosmer. Rather than spending a huge amount this year, the Sox should position themselves for next year's bumper crop of FAs.
There still is a lot of talk about JBJ being traded after DD said he wasn't being marketed. I think it would be a big mistake to trade him. JDM should be a DH most of the time. If he doesn't want to be, then he should play somewhere else.
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danr
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Post by danr on Dec 11, 2017 18:16:44 GMT -5
Boros is pitching a dual deal to the Sox, Hosmer and JDM. I think I kind of like that idea. No loss of prospects. However, I don't know what the Sox do with Hanley.
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danr
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Post by danr on Dec 11, 2017 18:13:41 GMT -5
I am not a bit disappointed that the Sox did not get Stanton. I have a gut feeling that he isn't going to work out for the Yankees and that contract is going to be a very heavy anchor.
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danr
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Post by danr on Dec 11, 2017 18:12:05 GMT -5
I don't get the idea of trading for Schwarber. He hasn't yet proved himself as a regular ML player, to say nothing of being a stud. Yes, he hit 30 HRs this year, but he hit only .221 and had 150 Ks. He really is only a DH and not anywhere close to what the Sox need.
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danr
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Post by danr on Nov 16, 2017 4:16:42 GMT -5
I think the Sox should sign JDM AND trade for Stanton. It's taking me a while to come around to this position. The Sox should go for the best possible combination. They have money and they have enough prospects to make the Stanton trade. We are in the era of super teams and the Sox should be one of them. I am assuming that Hanley will be able to handle most of the load at 1B and that JBJ would go to Miami along with a couple of prospects not named Chavis or Groome.
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danr
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Post by danr on Nov 12, 2017 3:19:34 GMT -5
Given the magnitude of Stanton's contract I don't think any team is going to offer major league starters for him, or top-line minor league talent. Miami may have to accept getting that contract off its books in return for a number of lower level minor league prospects and maybe one or two upper level prospects.
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danr
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Post by danr on Nov 11, 2017 8:43:18 GMT -5
Is it not possible, maybe even likely, that both Devers and Bogaerts will improve defensively? Both of these players were rushed to the majors and Bogaerts was screwed up for a while by the move to 3B. They both are young, very talented, and very intelligent. I think they will continue to learn how to play their positions and get better.
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danr
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Post by danr on Nov 8, 2017 19:13:09 GMT -5
I would not trade Bogaerts. He still is developing and this year he was injured. I think he will become a superstar.
If Chavis keeps hitting with great power next year the Sox could consider moving Devers to 1B in 2019.
Signing JDM seems to me the best move the Sox could make.
No way I would trade either Pomeranz or Price. They are two of the best LHPs in the majors. People keep writing that Price is an injury or TJ risk without knowing that his elbow heals itself, a rare condition that probably means no TJ surgery in the future.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 30, 2017 5:55:37 GMT -5
These are two super teams. They are amazing to watch. I think Houston is going to win the Series.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 21, 2017 13:53:47 GMT -5
There's a big difference between a triple A team in a ballpark with no parking and a major league team in a modern stadium. Portland is a rapidly changing city, much different from just a few years ago. There has been a huge influx of people from California and elsewhere. There is a big appetite for entertainment. I suspect a big league team would do just fine. I don't sense much of a fan base for Seattle. Baseball is a big sport here and U of Oregon and Oregon State produce major league players. Traffic congestion is a big problem and locating a new stadium with good highway and transit access would be a significant factor in the team's success.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 21, 2017 2:23:32 GMT -5
Who is better at 3B, Chavis or Devers?
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Post by danr on Oct 20, 2017 22:32:33 GMT -5
Ringolsby and I were contemporaries in United Press International a long time ago. I think he probably is on to something. Manfred was in Seattle last week and was asked about the chances of Portland getting a franchise. He said something to the effect, that it was likely in the next expansion. Portland is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Right now it is about the size of Baltimore. The economy in Oregon is booming with thousands of unfilled jobs available. There is a huge housing shortage and we now are among the highest priced housing market. There are something like 30 or more highrise apartment buildings under construction in the city. We're also overdue for a massive earthquake that will destroy both Seattle and Portland...
The present mayor of Portland, who is a bit of a jerk, responded to the Manfred report by saying he would welcome a major league baseball team but the city would not provide any financial assistance. The major league soccer and basketball teams here are very successful. They would have to build a domed stadium since it doesn't stop raining here until July and it resumes in mid October. We're supposed to get maybe 4 inches in the next two days.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 7, 2017 22:30:12 GMT -5
Injuries have had a significant effect on this team. If Nunez was healthy and performing like he did before he was hurt, there would have been a dynamic in the lineup that clearly now is lacking. Then there are the injuries to Pedroia, Bogaerts and Hanley that reduced their productions substantially. Betts also had some dings late in the season that may have affected his hitting.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 7, 2017 22:21:28 GMT -5
With the new ownership in Miami I have a hard time believing they will trade Stanton.
I hope the Sox do not make a big trade and further deplete the minors. There are free agents who would fit the need and that's where they should concentrate.
I think that if they keep Hanley it has to be strictly as the DH. That way his chances of getting hurt are minimized.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 6, 2017 19:41:47 GMT -5
This Houston team clearly is better than the the Sox. They have a historically outstanding team. Right now the Sox do not. Houston has an edge or more at almost every position except, maybe, right field and catcher when Vazquez is catching. On paper the Sox looked better with pitching. The only way the Sox were going to beat Houston was for the pitchers to be at the top of their game and for the hitters to actually hit. Neither has happened. Even the bullpen has not met expectations.
The Sox have the potential to be a historically outstanding team in a year or two, as these young players get more experience. The talent is there. The experience isn't. But it will be.
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danr
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Post by danr on Oct 5, 2017 16:21:30 GMT -5
I am watching it on MLB on Direct TV here in Oregon at no charge.
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danr
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Post by danr on Sept 30, 2017 8:30:45 GMT -5
Top batting average on the Arizona team, .327 (SSS-49 AB) belongs to Jeremy Hazelbaker. Also in their stats but I don't know if he is on their current roster is Rey Fuentes.
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danr
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Post by danr on Sept 8, 2017 17:18:57 GMT -5
Back in the late 1960s, when I was the Baltimore bureau manager for United Press International, I covered a hurricane that came up the coast. I was in Ocean City, Md, when it hit. Ocean waves went completely across Ocean City into the bay that separates it from the mainland, and I drove through them. My car suffered quite a bit of damage from the salt water. My story on the hurricane was on the front page of the Sunday New York Times, the only time that ever happened! I was infamous in UPI for my love of weather stories.
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danr
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Post by danr on Aug 28, 2017 23:14:12 GMT -5
Pomeranz, Kimbrel and Sale. Where would the Sox be today without them? And think of all the hostility to those trades on this board at the time, especially Pomeranz and Kimbrel. Add Nunez to the acquisitions and any reasonable person has to concede that Dombrowski has done some good work.
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danr
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Post by danr on Aug 13, 2017 22:26:27 GMT -5
No, it is a great game. Baseball doesn't get any better than this.
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danr
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Post by danr on Aug 13, 2017 21:18:03 GMT -5
Went to UVA Law. Wearing my UVA t-shirt at Bowie today, usual "scoutfit" be damned. Charlottesville also is one of my favorite places. i have been there dozens of times and have great memories of it. Visiting it is one of things I miss from having moved to the West Coast. On the other hand, I can watch the ESPN telecast of the Yankee Red Sox game and still be able to watch Game of Thrones.
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danr
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Post by danr on Aug 5, 2017 18:00:38 GMT -5
Just noticed that Panda is hitting cleanup for the Giants tonight.
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 30, 2017 2:48:18 GMT -5
The last time I can recall a mid-season acquisition having such an immediate impact as Nunez has was 2004. I hope we have a similar result.
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 26, 2017 11:10:35 GMT -5
Nunez has hit pretty well the last three years. OPS in the mid 700s, OPS+ around 100, 98 so far this year. He also hit 16 HR last season. Only 4 this year. He is at the end of his prime years. He'll be 30 before the season ends. Prime years ending before 30? That's baseball.
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