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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 8, 2014 17:08:14 GMT -5
I will say it if no one else is willing to admit what they should be thinking.
Vazquez's comparison sure looks to be David Ross as a great backup who's defense is very good and his batting is enough to keep him in the show for a long time.
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 8, 2014 14:30:43 GMT -5
Britton is walking his way to a DFA by his performance of late.
In the 9th today: Ground out to 1st batter, walks the righty, single to the lefty, walks the righty, single to the lefty.
He needs to find some confidence or ask for his walking papers.
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 6, 2014 22:07:13 GMT -5
Anyone know what is going on in Salem? It says Matt Gedman just pitched the thirteenth inning with 2K's and a fly out.
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 6, 2014 21:18:06 GMT -5
It would be lovely if the Red Sox decided to keep Xander at short for the remainder of his career. You might get your wish if they trade him for Hamel this week!
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 6, 2014 18:15:11 GMT -5
Yeah, one year of a relatively low-risk, below-market 3+ win player is a pretty good get for a rental pitcher. I just don't think elite prospects were on the table, but that gets us back to square one. At the very least, having had him on the team in 2015 makes signing him for 2016 and beyond more likely, and he is the sort of young, athletic position player that this front office has been willing to commit big money to. I think this is probably true to the prospects. If we look at what Ben strives to get in prospects it would seem to me the logical outcome is the Number One in league team at the time (Oakland) had to do just enough to keep Lester out of the contenders hands (Detroit, Angels, Baltimore, etc) without the prospects Billy had to make the call to Ben and figure out what was just enough to get Lester for the rest of the year. What appeals to Ben he figured out and made the swap with Ben and next year in mind. The pick was to Console Ben for losing Lester, the appeal of a big name player who ESPN hypes to the people at will was the bait and if the trade works out for both it pays bigger dividends to each. Ben keeps seats full which is his job plus an immediate start to a recovery plan he is trying to sell. That is actually better for Ben today than a top prospect (if he could even get one)because it keeps him in the owners best regards. Ben actually won big hear in regards to his keeping his job and the selling of seats next year.
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 6, 2014 10:35:38 GMT -5
if Aiken was to reenter the draft this year, assuming he doesn't show anything different that would drop his value, wouldn't he once again be the top rated draft prospect? With all the stuff they were saying about him they made him sound like a rare talent. Let's hope it's not the Astros again. But if or when he plays sore or ends up with lower numbers than does that mean the Astro's got something right for once!
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 5, 2014 21:53:50 GMT -5
Dare I say JBJ prevented both those runs. No he was playing way to far out of place to even field them couldn't you see that... lol
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 5, 2014 21:43:03 GMT -5
Holy crap. Up to 90 players could be named in the new Biogenesis case. This is going to be awful. Good luck new commissioner. True enough, but the worst part of the new charges for me is the targeting of high school kids. The only article I say a mention to that was in USA Today and they stated it was a player last year who was Quoted and they used that for the ninety today. "Remember when one major-league player told USA TODAY Sports last year that he was informed there were 90 major-league and minor-league players whose names surfaced in the documents?" Tat kind of says they new about it last year and most who they had evidence on were suspended to me. I think through the end of last summer and winter didn't we have a bunch of kids suspended. Could be some of them and if that's the case there might only be a few to look at today. www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/08/05/biogenesis-tony-bosch-new-names-revealed/13624217/
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 16:26:12 GMT -5
Domesday Dan Shaughnessy said we are the Kansas City Royals now Maybe we can trade CHB to the royals for ah ah well maybe a broken down bullpen mitt.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 15:47:52 GMT -5
Like 2012, they get rid of everyone and fired Bobby Valentine as manager & coaching staffs. My predict is they'll fire John Farrell & his coaching staffs after finish last place this season. I have a better chance of making out with a play boy bunny then JF being fired There fixed it for ya...
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 14:04:48 GMT -5
Jon Morosi ?@jonmorosi 1m Andrew Miller deal to the Tigers, which was close to happening earlier today, has fallen apart, source says. Ken Rosenthal ?@ken_Rosenthal 36s Andrew Miller not going to #Tigers, per @jonmorosi. Not going to #Braves either, per source. Baltimore according to Rosenthal on MLB TV Eduardo Rodriguez he claimed
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 13:18:40 GMT -5
What is there to not accept - basic principles of economics? At this stage in his career, Lester's time is worth more than $500K. In fact, his agent will likely indicate that Lester's time (not to mention his risk of injury) for 2015 alone is worth more than approximately $10 million. Ok, I'm not stuck on the 2/20 extension, but something similar would be obvious. Passing on 2/20 and sitting out the season is very risky, to assume he'd get 20m on the open market for 2016 is risky and probably the best case scenario for him. I'm not sure if you're suggesting that option has no value, but it very clearly does. They aren't going to tear it up and give him a market deal, and if Lackey won't at least agree to a reasonable extension he'd be a fool to sit out (unless he genuinely wanted to retire/re-sign in St. Louis). Lackey just said he intends to honor the contract and not sit out but no extension at this time. On MLB TV from Rosenthal.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 13:13:57 GMT -5
MLB TV is reporting Lackey will honor the 500K deal but no extension at this time according to Rosenthal
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 12:34:54 GMT -5
Here's the thing: even if we accept that they're contending for 2015, what's more valuable next year: Kelly and Craig or Lackey at the minimum? There's a really strong argument to be made that it's Lackey. Lackey was never going to pitch for the league minimum. For $500 K, he'd instead take the entire year off, hang out with the family, barbecue, watch the kids grow, etc. Just from the standpoint of him potentially being injured during 2015, it never made sense for him to play for that little. That contract clause was ill conceived from the get go. If he did/does that doesn't he get a grivance filed against him and would be under team control for the next year ('16) too?
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 11:54:57 GMT -5
I like how for the last week we heard reports about the Red Sox asking for top prospects and now all of a sudden "They're plan is to get better for 2015!" I like how all those expert twitters are alway so great and know everything before it gets done. lol
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 9:53:15 GMT -5
Rotoworld calls Oakland the most pitcher friendly park in baseball. Lester should be one happy camper with this move and it's not like they will re sign him. Gotta belive Cespede's numbers go up in Fenway. 2014 Cespedes Home: OBP .309/SLG .481/OPS .790 Away: .298 /.448 /.746 Added Fix to it for ya New Home: .385 /. 455 / .839
(And the sample size is going up daily)
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 9:38:13 GMT -5
Warming to this deal. Cespedes is a good player at a position of need who seems tailor-made for Fenway. Optimistic about our chances of signing him beyond 2015 if we choose to do so. The draft pick is a decent little throw-in. Also, we put Lester in a place where he's very unlikely to resign, so the chance to grab him back up in the offseason is as alive as it was ever going to be. Yea I agree except with all earlier excitement maybe Oakland has a handshake deal with Ben to sign Lester (with a new hometown discount) and trade him back to us this spring!
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 31, 2014 9:06:54 GMT -5
Nice to live in the past and have your head in the sand. Can't blame you. Reality is messy, so are the Sox right now. Change is sometimes the name of the game, and sometimes you screw up making changes. The issue now is whether they can right the ship, or did they crash the ship?. Remember baseball is entertainment and us fans support it. It is suppose to be fun. It is play ball. Don't make it entirely a businesses. By the way. suggested the Sox were bad early in the season. Many mocked. Suggested at the same time Lester would be gone. Many mocked or said good riddance. But still time for the Sox to change this. The other teams may actually help them. However anyone here complains about it ... this is the same stuff we heard on the board in 2012 at the deadline it was whine the ownership is mean wah wah wah ... in the winter it was ownership is being dumb they can't win with those new losers wah wah wah. Then spring of 2013 season hey these guys are playing above their heads cool. Deadline shows up: WOW ownership did the right thing ... Yah Yah YAH Play offs start we got shot anyone can win if they get in. WS Hey Ben was great but the Lucchino what a jerk. Spring of 14 hey these kids are the world beaters we got a shot. Deadline 14 hey these owners are worthless and beyond repair what jerks Whine whine whine. Cycle begins anew but the sox still go on and money talks again no matter who complains. I'm not blaming you it is just the way the board is going in circles that gets old in a hurry. Ok, let the fun err attacks begin.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 17:01:59 GMT -5
Wild guess but the Dodgers clearly want to move an OF badly and apparently they want a starter also. We are a big market team looking for pop and maybe that pop is ideal in LF. And we have starting pitching to move. It would seem to be a perfect storm for a Matt Kemp deal of some sort or I suppose another Dodger OF but it would seem Kemp is the most likely. He's hurting them bad defensively and they are not moving Crawford any time soon. Dodgers picking up a lot of salary, maybe we getting a few prospects also for Lester or Lackey but we kind of solve some of our power bat problem. It may well require 3-4 prospects added in to make such a deal but a big transfer of personnel both ways between the Sox and Dodgers makes a lot of sense. Maybe Miller involved also. My point being that the Dodgers have a ton of incentive to move Matt Kemp and Ben should be able to find some sort of solution. No way it's Lester for Kemp straight up but somehow, someway there should be a multiplayer solution. The ankle injury doesn't bother me that much but the shoulder injuries seem to often involve power loss. This deal would have to be incentive laden but who else is going to pull the trigger on him? The Dodgers want to move him bad and the Redsox are one of the few teams who might actually want him and be willing to pay part of his salary even. It seems to me that part of being a good GM is being aware of people's pain. Where there is pain, there is opportunity, just like in a sales situation. There is a bargain opportunity in LA somehow. A lot of pain. A big OF problem with defense and playing time and resources allocated. Will Ben find a solution? Sounds like if Ben was really good he could convince them to move Kemp to first to save wear and tear on his body ... We could then get Adrian to save them money for Lester.
What a deal Ben could turn there!
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 16:57:27 GMT -5
@jared_Carrabis: Spoke to a source within the Red Sox: "Lackey is gone. He asked to be traded. So if this is true at all then the rumors over on MLB Trade Rumors that teams are skeptical about if he will pitch next year are totally wrong and/or bogus. So we can rejoice and know he will give us a bigger trade value then.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 15:33:31 GMT -5
I understand he should be traded, but I think this was a bit of a knee jerk reaction. We held off with Peavy and got a decent return. I still think the only reason he was traded was so Workman could be called up for this start. I'd rather let Doubrount get a start and hold onto him till we can actually trade him for something. So did anyone watch him pitch the other night? Do you think he was really throwing his best or was he tanking then whining after the game again?
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 11:47:38 GMT -5
What is a "true hometown discount"? BTW, if the Sox wanted to sign lester, the deal would be done. Henry has always been willing to deal in big number on short or long term deals. If Lester truly wanted Homer Bailey plus $1 why didn't he make yah offer to the Red Sox? Negotiation is offer followed by counter-offer. If Lester came to BC her is my final offer, take it or I'm going to free agency, then a deal might have been done. The first offer in a negotiation is never serious, and experienced negotiators know that. I think you have that right... There sure has been a bunch of suckers who fell for the Lester low ball line though. The world today has totally forgot how to dicker on getting the shiny new car (toy) it seems! Ii might be old but every new toy I ever bought I started low and never ever paid sticker value either.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 9:33:03 GMT -5
It does not matter if it is not binding or not, it would be highly unethical. If found our Red Sox would be penalized and Lester's agent would probably lose his MLB certification. Regardless on what we think Lester will do between now and free agency the team he was traded for would have exclusive negotiation rights. If I today own the rights to a player and he tells me he is going to free agency regardless than I still have a right to ask him or negotiate the price it would cost ME compared to the other teams to sign him this fall. I also have the right to ask if this would still be true if I traded him for the rest of the season if that price or deal would still hold. Nothing illegal in that answers so I don't see any problem here. IF another team trades for him, he than can talk to them IF they desire for a price or early sign while under their control. The only time ethical would come into it is AFTER the trade was made and they still tried to talk to him before free agency. If he commits to a price Publicly after hitting free agency then later turns it down that might border on you ethics claims but that is all.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 9:14:12 GMT -5
Where we are this morning (Lester edition): We love Jon Lester. He's wonderful. We wish he was staying on acceptable terms. But ... Lester is hellbent on going to free agency. That may or may not have been the case had the Red Sox made a better offer in spring training. The Red Sox have flagged, for whatever reason, that they are not going to pay market value for him. Lester's camp has flagged, for whatever reason, that he's not going to sign for less than market value. Period. Whatever romantic notions of Lester we all have, that's where we are. Therefore, our options are to take the comp pick (approx. #30) or trade him for value in excess of the comp pick. The organization appears to be running a competent auction for Lester's services for the next two months and appears to be lucky that no other Lester alternative (read: Price/Hamels) is currently available on the trade market. By 4pm tomorrow, I'm pulling the trigger on the best deal in excess of the comp pick. Period. My thoughts on realistic packages for Lester: STL - they could end this quickly with a package of Piscotty, Martinez and the comp pick (Round A, #2). I don't care what reports are out there, STL is the lead dog in this race IMO. LAD - their issue is, besides Pederson and Seager, they don't have a position player prospect of significance. I think trading for a heavily subsidized Kemp makes sense, but it's likely too complicated for this compressed time frame. Therefore, I think a deal like Lester/Breslow for Pederson makes the most sense. My gut is that LAD won't pull the trigger on Lester and are more likely to swing a smaller deal for other Red Sox pieces. PIT - I sense that they will eventually come to their senses and give up a top 5 prospect. I viewed the planted article as posturing at best. PIT has too many OF prospects at the majors and high minors to be unwilling to trade one. A Bell+ or Marte+ deal makes some sense. SEA - my package begins and ends with DJ Peterson. No Peterson, no wasting time. Jack Z is notoriously difficult to deal with, and I don't have time to cater to him in an auction context. If they want to trade Walker or Paxton+, great, but I'm not counting on it. I note that SEA has a Round B comp pick (#3). OAK - OAK is intriguing because of Beane's ability to get deals done. I'm sure he has the go-ahead from ownership to go for it this year, which makes Lester a perfect acquisition for them. My initial thought are noted earlier in this thread once the news broke that OAK was involved and I could wrap my arms around their system. Unlike the other offers, this would be a quantity-over-quality deal, with the comp pick (Round B, #2) as a backstop. Not listing BAL, TOR, KC or MIL, as various reports have them on the outside, looking in. Great summary of the auction ... however on that note do you really think the comp picks are going to come in to the sale? Seems to me that the sox are needing quite a few parts for next year even if they find that elite type hitter. Losing Lester they will once again need to make a bigger splash in the off season to appease the normal fans. Losing the comp pick seems like it won't come into play for that reason. All it would do is save them their 2nd round pick at best.
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Post by Gwell55 on Jul 30, 2014 9:01:10 GMT -5
Doubt he would be making these jokes if he thought there was a chance he was getting traded. Nah, he is just trying to be bigger than the game!!!
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