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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 28, 2023 10:13:18 GMT -5
6.8% walk rate 25.3% K rate .191 IsoP Would we be happy with this?
Jarren Duran with Boston in 2023
ETA: There was a smaller version of Vlad Sr who did ok with outside the zone hitting, Yogi something or other - not a comp, just an observation. Main point is that here is a guy (Rafaela) who plays above average to excellent D at TWO premium positions, who exhibits great running instincts and has great contact skills. I understand that he has what could become serious flaws at the MLB level that might limit him to a super defensive sub, what I don't understand the willingness, almost it seems eagerness, of some to include him in a trade package for anything less than an ace with several years of control left rather than letting him prove himself.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 27, 2023 20:57:37 GMT -5
Well it's not up to @philbosoxfan to convince anyone, it's up to Cedanne Rafaela to do that and it's no secret that I also think he has the qualities to do that.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 27, 2023 13:27:35 GMT -5
I'm in no hurry to trade away 5 years of control for one of the 3 best (if not #1) CF in all of baseball who also can play above average SS when Mayer is out or needs a rest just because he has a low BB rate. I have always dreamed on Duran, but he's 4 years older than Rafaela and now in his prime and if this turns out to be a career year for him you've given up a lot and are now waiting for Bleis or Anthony who isn't in the same class defensively. Meanwhile the guy with the low walk rate has done nothing but hit at all levels and has 4 years to learn to take a walk to be where Duran is now.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 18, 2023 12:54:48 GMT -5
If you think that the 1.5 years of Goldschmidt is not too much less than 5.5 years of Casas with the advantage of being front loaded then you might do it knowing you have not only Hickey but Blaze Jordan who can pick up 1B with the possibility of the QO to Goldschmidt to add a year of needed. If you think Casas is more of a 2-2.5 WAR guy going forward then it's a "no".
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 17, 2023 15:01:51 GMT -5
The transparent forcefield above the park will take care of the weather while still allowing the personal hovercraft docking/seating to have unobstructed views of the action.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 17, 2023 9:10:08 GMT -5
So the young core is looking like: Casas Bello Wong (worst case great backup C) Duran (entering prime) Yoshida (in prime) Story (in prime) Verdugo (in prime) Houck (on the rise -at least great bp) Whitlock (same) Rafaela (on the way - worst case GG CG & Util) Mayer (on the way) Bleis/Anthony (still a good bit away) Yorke (on the way TBD) And some promising pitching a couple of years out
That's a lot and the fact that the team is in the mix already despite a large number of injuries says to me that patience won't be needed much longer.
Can't believe I left out Devers (prime)
That means adding one All Start type bat and/or pitcher puts you there (Yamamoto anyone?)
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 13, 2023 8:25:10 GMT -5
The "last place team" is over .500 despite playing with its 5th string SS and having more pitchers hurt than some folks have fingers. They have a sinning record against winning teams and a rising farm system that is about to send reinforcements to the big club. Could he have done better? Sure especially with 20/20 hindsight and if he'd bailed on last year's team he might have added a good prospect or two who would have been unlikely to help this year. As for Bogaerts, loved the player but no way would I have given him what he got from SD and, honestly not sure where else you can play him on this team unless you let Devers walk or get rid of Casas. And you would have Yoshida here either. OF course he's made mistakes, he's human and no one here knows just what kind of other pressures and considerations he's had to deal with. I'm waiting to see what happens when the team has a real shot at the post season with a powerful squad, what will he do then? Next year looks like it could be that time. And new rule, anyone who brings up the Mookie trade has to drop and give us 50 (I just did mine )
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 12, 2023 21:18:40 GMT -5
Last month it seemed that Rafaela was the one some wanted to trade, now it's Yorke. I don't think either are untouchable, however, each still has much more potential value to this team than some rental or reliever so to move either would have to produce a clear "win" for Bloom. Will that show up in the next couple of weeks? I am doubtful.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 12, 2023 14:23:40 GMT -5
They will play 71 games. Story will replace Kiké in the lineup and hit like him for about two weeks until he gets his groove back meanwhile playing GG level D. Casas will continue to improve, Devers will return to form and Duran and Yoshida will hold their own along with Turner. Pitchers will return and leave but Bello will confirm his status as the lead dog while some combo of Paxton/Sale will hold down the 1A spot.
Final result will be a 90 win season (same as I optimistically and naively predicted at the outset) and the 3rd Wild Card spot where they will beat the Twins in the first round. After that the Magic 8 Ball says things become cloudy - do we get revenge on the Cheatos or feel revenge from the Rays - "Ask Again Later!"
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 10, 2023 19:10:23 GMT -5
Wait - isn't your "cousin's dad's sister's brother" just your uncle?
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 10, 2023 6:58:49 GMT -5
Can't believe no one has said this yet. Teenage Mutant Ninja Shortstop.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 8, 2023 12:12:46 GMT -5
Agreed that Duran, Rafaela, Verdugo left to right would be ideal. Disagree with incandenza in no way would I be trading Rafaela at this point, a gold glove CF who can also play average to above SS is so valuable even if he is a relatively low OBP guy. And Bleis and Anthony are still several years away by which time Duran and Verdugo are nearing or in their 30s while Rafaela will be hitting his prime. By next season the Sox will have a group that consists of Devers, Verdugo (hopefully), Yoshida, Duran, Casas, Wong and Story with Mayer, Rafaela and Yorke in the wings. Along with the young pitching that is here and on the way that is not something to disrupt.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 6, 2023 15:46:19 GMT -5
And STILL no love for Blaze...might as well trade him now /s.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 5, 2023 8:17:06 GMT -5
I think that Musk has admitted somewhere that Twitter is worth about half what he paid for it. So 22 billion down the drain, $22B to go and here comes Zuckerberg. Makes Steve Cohen look like a piker lol.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jun 30, 2023 13:51:31 GMT -5
The failure to get under the tax cap last year has hurt what they could provide this season, however, I believe that the team has had a multi-year plan for a while and it is actually starting to come to fruition. 2 Years ago we constantly heard how the Sox couldn't develop pitching but here we are with Whitlock, Bello, Houck Winckowski and more in position to anchor a rotation for several cost controlled years. The middle infield is a disaster now but...Mayer and Yorke are on the way and Rafaela is a backup. First base, Casa is here and Blaze is moving up. Not to mention Anthony and Bleis a few years away to round out the outfield and Wong to hold down C at a reasonable price. All this means that starting next year and into 2025 they should have a solid offense and defensive base and the money (cap space) to add what they need. And this is not to mention how different things should be (and might have been this year) if Rafael were DEVERS instead of devers.
ETA: I forgot to mention the return of Story to the MI might help a bit also.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jun 25, 2023 15:00:17 GMT -5
The primary CF who actually CAN play SS. If he has ~3 decent months in Worcester could he break camp with the Sox next Spring? ETA: It might make sense as there is a non zero chance for him to be ROY and gain a draft pick versus delaying him to gain an extra year of control. One more thing to debate for the next 9 months
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jun 15, 2023 12:17:02 GMT -5
Or perhaps by mid 2025 you exchange Casas (unless he breaks out) for Blaze who still has a chance to blossom into that RHH masher and, from the SP profile, could pay a passable 1b.
ETA: And then there's Roman Anthony to throw into the LHH OF mix with possibly more pop.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jun 11, 2023 11:49:22 GMT -5
The future of this team is in Portland with 3 top prospects who will be in Boston by the middle of next season. So the question is what would you do that doesn't block Yorke, Rafaela and Mayer. At this point the club has developed them to the cusp of mlb and they need places to play. There is already an pending issue with Story unless one move to LF and Yoshida to DH and we don't know if either can do that (though Story seems very capable defensively but Yorke would fit better if he can manage it). It is certainly ride or die time with Mayer at ss. Frankly anyone who thought this season was more than a placeholder with more than a lightning in a bottle shot at more was deluding themselves. It can be entertaining, we can watch some pitching mature (Whitlock, Houck and Bello are potentially solid pieces even if not aces). Having been to my first Sox game with my grandfather in 1953 (age 6) and grown up through the heartbreaks of '67, '75 and '86 perhaps I have a bit more patience than some.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 24, 2023 19:19:30 GMT -5
Shout out to everyone who was out on a guy who has obliterated NPB every year since 2016 because of 30 bad at batsAfter an emotional WBC where he mashed, followed by an mlb debut in the cold and damp after spending ST and WBC in Florida.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 20, 2023 14:07:23 GMT -5
Very reminiscent of El Duro though, both as batter facing him, or as him as a batter ETA: Probably had his eyes closed on the HR.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 18, 2023 13:06:19 GMT -5
And yet you still said what you said...
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 9, 2023 20:49:31 GMT -5
When I was growing up Boston was always a baseball town and a hockey town. The Celtics were great, but the Bruins had the larger and more rabid following even when they could beat Les Habitants to save their lives. I'm glad the C's are getting so much attention but this epic Bruins season isn't getting the attention it deserves. And there's no doubt that the Stanley Cup is the most demanding tournament in pro sports.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 9, 2023 14:23:49 GMT -5
Makes what Big Papi did all the more impressive.
ETA: in reference to M. Cabrera
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Apr 3, 2023 7:58:35 GMT -5
Fangraphs has him worth 3.8M through 2 games. And it took him three entire games to reach his projected season WAR total, according to Steamer (which FG used for its projected standings).
He leads MLB in fWAR, wOBA, wRC+, and SA.
Win Probability Added? His lead over #2 Yordan Alvavrez (1.21 to 0.78) equals that of Alvarez's over #13 Aaron Judge.
Where are the calls to "Sell High"?
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Mar 23, 2023 15:34:50 GMT -5
That was a nice play, but I think he made it look harder than it actually was by stumbling a little at the end. You say he stumbled, it looks to me like he was getting down to the ball in a semi dive which is the same way I would have handled it as a long time OF. Looking frame by frame I see intention not s trip. YMMV. Regardless, it was a nice play and I agree with others that especially given the profile of the Sox minor league system I'd like to see Yorke in LF soon than later.
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