Red Sox Offseason Recap
Gnork
I have been gone for a while. I had to deal with some potentially
serious health problems. I have done that rather successfully. One of
the main things was to use my former posting time for exercise. Now
almost every day I get in a combination of jogging and walking totally
1.8 miles. I also lift some weights. My diet has changed drastically.
Carbs are greatly reduced, I am taking even more vitamins, and I feel
better than I have in a long time and I lost weight also. So I will
post sporadically doing my very best to avoid political topics.
Let's go back to the stretch run of the 2008 season. Through gross
ineptitude Francona handed the division title to Tampa. He was content
all along with the wildcard and gutlessly gave away chances to win the
division by "resting" key players when they didn't need it and by
bringing Mike Timlin into key games.
The Red Sox get that wildcard and as always dispense the Angels. Then
they win game one in Tampa. Then game two. Beckett starts and pitches
worse that a batting practice pitcher. Not only is he allowed to give
up 4 home runs, almost every out is a line drive. What he did in many
ways was as bad as Grady Little in game 7 vrs the Yankees in 2003.
Beckett was charged with 8 runs. Yet Francona took only a small
fraction of the heat from those thinking he was a positive force for
the 2004 and 2007 championship teams as Grady Little did in 2003..
They won despite him. Not unusual in baseball. In the series against
the Angels Timlin was not on the roste
So in game 2 the Red Sox tie the game and it goes to extra innings.
Once again Francona chooses the gutless route not pushing for an extra
inning or two from his good relievers. Once again Timlin gets in the
game and allows the winning run. Not surprising. Francona should have
been fired or moved to another role (for health reasons) after the
season. But he is back with the idiots in the media still heaping
accolades upon him. There is no way in hell Timlin should have been on
any postseason roster. I finally figured we had seen the last of him.
He was often on the DL in 2008 and never effective for any extended
stretch when he was active. It was a terrible mistake of Epstein's to
resign him after a lousy 2007 season.If the team felt they had to add
another pitcher they should have added Hansack and/or not shipped
Bowden off to the AFL. Inexcusably stupid.
This spring one of three things will happen concerning Hansack. He
makes the team, he gets traded, or he goes on waivers. He is out of
options. He still has his supporters in the organization. There have
been several pitchers taken off the 40 man roster including Virgil
(why the hell did they claim him in the 1st place) Vasquez, David "The
Hit Machine" Pauley, and Charlie Zink. They wisely have kept Hansack
on the roster.
Other things that have happened:
Pedroia and Youkilis each get long tern contracts. I heartily approve
of both. Pedroia is about the best risk in all of baseball for a long
term deal. It is easy to think he won't improve on his MVP season, but
I won't be surprised if he does. He only had one HR in his 1st 165 at
bats; then he had 16 in his next 488 at bats plus 3 more with 43
postseason at bats. 20-25 home runs in 2009 seems quite reasonable.
Pedroia was hitting a mediocre .260 on June 13. For the rest of the
seaon he hit .375 (141-376). Just let him get off to a good start this
year. Youkilis has improved every year. I don't think that trend has
to end this year although he was great in '08.
The Red Sox are relying heavily on reports from their medical staff
based on all the players injured in 2008 that they have signed as free
agents. I hope they aare correct. I like the John Smoltz deal. The guy
is always a good to very good pitcher when healthy. In 28 innings in
2008 he was very good, 3-2 2.57. He is also a guy who can pitch a lot.
In 2007 14-8 3.11 over 205 2/3 IP; in 2006 16-8 3.49 and 232 IP and
14-7 3.06 in 2005 with 229 2/3 IP. I like Smoltz and despite his age i
consider him a worthwhile gamble.
Brad Penny was worse than terrible in 2008 with a 6-9 6.28 ERA in
L.A. with a pitcher friendly home park. He also was considered a loose
cannon. Shortly after the season ended he was in a bar fight in L.A.
However, he iss only 30 and in 2007 he went 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA.
There is a nice possible upside and Penny has a lot to prove. He needs
to work hard and stay in condition.
Josh Bard had one great year with San Diego and one good one. Neither
was 2008 when he had less than 200 at bats and barely hit over .200.
The injury, the limited playing time (way less than in his good years)
and his age say that a decent comeback can be expected.
Just when I started to like Coco Crisp they traded him. After 2 2/3
seasons of mostly being a bad hitter in Boston he was really good the
last third of 2003. His off balance spaghetti swing disappeared and he
began slashing the ball all over the park. I wouldn't have minded had
they kept him. If Ramon Ramirez pitches in 2009 like he did in '08 he
will be a big help. Regardless, if Coco hits all thru '09 like he did
in late '08 it will be a great deal for KC. Given that this isn't real
likely and that his arm will continue to be routinely exploited, I
can't complain. I do wish Coco good luck. It is funny how in 2007 he
sucked down the stretch and in the playoffs and Ellsbury was great and
then in '08 the roles were reversed.
Concerning Dice-K I doubt that the inept Francona will realize he is
different. Many times he struggles early walking way too many batters.
Many time he got in together all rolled of something like 9 of 10
batters retired and looked great. Many time Francona then pulled him
out of the game because of the bastard pitch court. They should let
him throw 135 or more pitches in those games, than the many time the
bullpen lost the lead for him can be reduced. He needs to pitch 200+
innings.
The new backup OFers are Baldelli and Kotsay. Baldelli is a good
backup if his health will allow him to play more often. We must again
trust the medical staff. I would have let Kotsay go. After the season
he said he wanted to be a regular. It seems no other team thought of
him in those terms. After his 1st week in Boston he was awful, but as
a veteran he got a pass from Francona who went out of his way to keep
playing him. Jeff Bailey should have got those games at first base. A
few more HRs would have helped. On the maybe front Daniel Nava hit .
341 ,424 .523 with Lancaster in his 1st season in affiliated pro
ball. I hope he gets a chance to start for Pawtucket this spring. He
can play all OF spots and perhaps could be a damn good major league
backup.
I had planned to list the 2 dumbest moves of the entire offseason. Now
it is the 3 dumbest moves.
#3. The Red Sox offer arbitration to Varitek.
#2. Varitek refuses the offer.
#1. The Red Sox offer what amounts to an $8,000,000 guarantee for one
season to the washed up worthless Varitek.
Keep in mind that no other team offered him busfare. I wouldn't offer
him even the major league minimum. I wouldn't have him on the team if
he offered to pay for the spot. Too harsh? After all as assorted
thimbleheads keep reminding Jason was once an a very good player.
Well, so was Johnny Pesky, but I don't think he has any offers.
Varitek was wretched in 2008 after slipping some in 2007. Very few 37
year old catchers (if any) ever make a major comeback after such a
dismal season. He started well in 2008 but from May 24 until the
season ended he went 55-294 .187 with a .289 "Slugging" Percentage. He
also rarely threw out opposing baserunners.
Bringing back Varitek is 95% likely to be an abomination. Because of
his lengthy veteran status and the idiotic contract offer and the
serial stupidity of Francona, Varitek will be catching 75% or more of
the games until arround the All Star break even if he hits like last
year, Epstein said he wouldn't mind going with Brown or Kotteras as a
backup to Bard, but failed to back it up. Varitek has become detritus
that would not be missed.
I even had a solution (possible) if the Red Sox wanted to shore up
their catching for the next 10-12 years. Trade for Russell Martin. The
Dodgers have a depleted starting pitching staff. The Red Sox have
plenty including a vastly overrated so called "ace" who in 3 years
with Boston has had one lousy year, one excellent year and one
mediocre year in that order. Yet a bevy of buffoons want to ignore
everything but the excellent year and assume that is what they can
expect from Josh Beckett every year. Guess again. I am not saying he
will never have another good year. I am saying he will never have one
as good as 2007 which is and will remain his career year.
Trade Beckett, give the Dodgers their choice of Bard, Brown or
Kotteras, let them have Bubba Bell and Chris Johnson also. All for
Martin who caught the 2nd most innings of any catcher last year and
also played several games at 3rd base and DHed a bit in interleague
road games. He played in 155 games all in all. Not surprisingly he
slumped at the end of the season. Let him "slack off" with 130 starts
at catcher and the Red Sox will have one of the very best catchers in
the majors. He has a fine arm, steals bases and is highly regarded by
teammates and fans, If the Dodgers push a hard deal, I could give them
their choice of MDC or Lopez instead of Johnson. Alas, it looks like
an absolutely insane and indefensible decision will bring Varitek
back. The Red Sox dodged a rocket propelled grenade when Varitek
turned down arbitration. Now they are putting the ball back in his
court for about the same money. This is outrageous. At the worst give
the guys they now have a chance. None of them cost much and a trade
could be pursued at a later date if needed. Varitek is so far over the
hill he can't see the top of the hill. On top of that he would be 100%
untradeable. Please Jason, retire while people still remember what you
once were instead of what you have become.
r. I finally figured we had seen the last of him. He was often on the
DL in 2008 and never effective for any extended stretch when he was
active. It was a terrible mistake of Epstein's to resign him after a
lousy 2007 season.Hello All,
Sarge
> Hello All,
>
> I have been gone for a while. I had to deal with some potentially
> serious health problems. I have done that rather successfully. One of
> the main things was to use my former posting time for exercise.
And meanwhile the spelling in here has been atrocious !!!!
Magnus, Robot Fighter
wrote:
I don't need to go any further. You're useless.
Christina
wrote:
Yes, my husband says I have a type O personallity LOL! Gnork I am
glad you are feeling better, I started to read your post but it was so
long, I am sure you make good points but I have to reply later, it is
too much to chew on now.
Gary
wrote:
>Hello All,
>
Some things never change, but sometimes they get delayed.
McDuck
wrote:
>Hello All,
>
>I have been gone for a while. I had to deal with some potentially
>serious health problems. I have done that rather successfully.
Glad to hear it (your improved health).
I'll not comment on your Francona bashing. Hopefully, it is good for
your blood pressure.
You are a bit over the top on Varitek, but I basically agree that the
RS should move on. I was willing to do a one-year at $5 million, but
even that has some problems.
Martin almost certainly will not be available. Yes, you have pushed
that possible trade before, and he would be a great addition. But I
cannot see LAD making a trade that cost them Martin. The catcher
trades (AZ, TX) that COULD happen all involve prospects, and most
teams do not want to go to the playoffs with only a "prospect" at
catcher.
I've expressed mild unhappiness with the Kotsay signing. Not an awful
signing, but I was not thrilled. Although I expect a small decline
from Youk and Pedroia, I do expect both to have good seasons, and
improvement is a real possibility --- just not the way to bet..
I'm amazed you wanted to keep Coco after all the bashing you did of
him. But I agree that he looked like a different hitter in the last
part of the season and playoffs. Unfortunately, so did Jacoby. I
assume the RS had pretty much promised Coco that they would move him
if he was not to have a starter role. He was a good sport about being
on the bench for 2008.
I also like Ramon Ramirez, so that is good value for Coco --- you
predicted nothing for Coco unless the RS picked up most of his salary.
I assume you are pleased to be wrong. But you are right in wanting to
trade the guy at his high water mark.
And we agree on the SP signings. I'm pretty excited about Smoltz. I'm
hopeful about Takashi Saito, and mixed on Penny. I have concerns about
Beckett but find your comments abouthim excessively negative (but I
agree on your description of his time with the RS). You wanted to
trade him since he got here and took appropriate gas for that view in
2007. Now back to Beckett bashing. And you are dead wrong on usage of
Dice-K, but I assume you know that and are just posturing.
I think the current LAD manager should not have written some of the
stuff apparently in his ghosted book. Grady Little would not have done
that <g>.
Gary
<wallyDELE...@comcast.net> wrote:
>And you are dead wrong on usage of
>Dice-K, but I assume you know that and are just posturing.
Oh, come on. He's not posturing, he actually believes it. And refuses
to understand that if Francona regularly allowed DiceK to throw 135
pitches, Francona would be out of a job and Dicek would be on the DL.
(He pitched with six days rest in Japan, so that isn't comparable.)
And to complain about only making it to game 7 against Tampa Bay with
no Lowell, a less than 100% Beckett and a less than 100% Ortiz was
pretty remarkable.
Steve Robbins
> Hello All,
>
> I have been gone for a while. I had to deal with some potentially
> serious health problems. I have done that rather successfully. One of
> the main things was to use my former posting time for exercise. Now
> almost every day I get in a combination of jogging and walking totally
> 1.8 miles. I also lift some weights. My diet has changed drastically.
> Carbs are greatly reduced, I am taking even more vitamins, and I feel
> better than I have in a long time and I lost weight also. So I will
> post sporadically doing my very best to avoid political topics.
Welcome back Gnork. Glad to hear you are doing well.
--
The Unofficial a.s.b.b-r Reference Page
http://redsox.robbins-ut.com/index.html
thereco
>
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Gnork,
Welcome back. We need a little vinegar in here every once in awhile.:
-)
Glad to hear you're well. We'll have to get together again this year
after I finish transferring my business. You'll have to drive tho' as
I'm pretty well incapacitated these days. Send me your phone# and I'll
catch you up.
Cheers old friend,
Don
Wayback1918
>
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What ever came about with Don Cornelius?