2009 MLB Thread (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Hey...all the teams in that conference are in first place today!

Opening day is Saturday against Tri-City! AND, there's gonna be fireworks! Go, already!

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Yesterday they were talking on WEEI about the Red Sox planning to trade Takashi Saito for Hank Blalock, which got nixed when one of Blalock's current teammates got injured.

Every year, it seems that one team's bullpen really clicks. That team always goes deep into the postseason. WHY WOULD YOU MESS WITH THE BEST BULLPEN IN THE MAJORS?!?!?!

 

[Ockeghem]

^^^

I too would leave the bullpen alone for this year. Matsuzaka, on the other hand....

 

[Mike Frezon]

As much as the Sox need a shortstop, and as deep as they are with pitching, I fail to see the upside of trading away good, live arms. It would have to be a really good position player...

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,

Do you think they really need a shortstop? I know the media has been saying this, but with Lowrie, Green, and Lugo, I don't think they are all that bad at the position. (And yes, I know about Green's errors in recent weeks.)

I've been impressed with Green's arm on occasion, and his bat hasn't been all that bad. Lugo? I don't know. And I don't know how Lowrie will come back from his surgery.

Is Petrocelli still available?

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Pedroncelli is still available. Why do you ask?

 

[Ockeghem]

Good one.

 

[Mike Frezon]

How about some perciatelli with that pedroncelli?!?



I heard a rumor a couple of weeks ago that the Sox were thinking of making a trade to get Orlando Cabrera back. For that, I would give up a pitcher...

 

[Aaron Silverman]

No way. IIRCE Cabrera's sucked this season.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Ooops. I see he is only batting .229 at this point. But he's also on a different team than where he was the past two seasons (.301 & .281). I dunno. I thought he was still getting it done.

He batted .294 with the Sox during the second half of '04. Maybe he just needs to be on a good team...

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,

Hey, those are neat images. Remember the days when you had to collect cards and hope that your favorites were in the pack? And that bubble gum....

Petrocelli hit 40 home runs back in the day (1969)? I remember following him in those days, along with Yaz and (my personal favorite) Tony C.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I became a Sox fan when my dad bought me my first baseball glove in 1968 (I was 9). In the palm of the Spalding glove (which I still have) were Yaz' triple crown stats from the '67 campaign (.326 BA, 121 RBIs, 44 HRs--tied with Killebrew!). And the rest, as they say, is history. I was hooked!

 

[Jason Seaver]

It's called "selling high".

As good as Saito's been, he's a one-year signing who is probably the highest-risk guy in the pen due to his age and the fact that he's coming off injury. Trading him wouldn't do anything to Boston's long-range plans, and short-term...

Well, the shortstop situation in Boston is bad. Jed Lowrie is a complete wild card when he comes off the DL, and neither Julio Lugo nor Nick Green, despite each having played well lately, is really to be trusted. I've thought pitchers were going to kill Lugo at various games this year (heck, one time when I had seats on the 3B side, I pondered whether his next miscue would send me into enough of a berserker rage to rush the field and put the man back on the DL before security caught me), and the manager seems to have completely lost patience with him. We like Green mainly because he is not Julio Lugo, even though he may actually be worse in the field - overachieving career minor leaguers get more good feelings than guys who have a long, expensive contract despite exactly one above-average offensive season.

And since the Sox are in the AL Beast, they've got to do every little thing to get better, as there's an argument to be made that the division contains the four best teams in the American League.

 

[Ockeghem]

I like Green's bat. I also like his arm. How old is he? I think he could work out at that position, if given some time. But I do realize that the Sox can (and should) always get better.

I've been thinking too that it is entirely possible that the AL East contains the four best teams in the American League.

Mike,

Nice cards! I owned a couple of those you posted, although I don't have them any more....

 

[Mike Frezon]

I've still got my cards. Thanks, Mom!

Shortstop is what's really killing us right now (David Ortiz aside). It would be awesome if we could find anyone who wanted to take on Lugo...although I don't know who, in their right mind, would. We could wait & see on Lowrie...but a wrist injury makes that way too risky (see the aforementioned Ortiz). They've got to make a proactive move. And since we seem to have a surplus of arms...it should be doable.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Nick Green is having the best year of his career at 30. If he were hitting home runs, people would be making ugly accusations.

And don't look, but Ortiz has an 1123 OPS for June as of now.

The weird thing about short right now is that Lugo and Green are just about even, offensively; they've both got a 98 OPS+. They both look terrible in the field, and neither is helped by the fact that Mike Lowell has no range any more. Lowrie is out because he did the Trot Nixon thing and tried to play through pain and wound up making things a lot worse. But the frustration seems to be entirely with Lugo.

Hardly fair. But I'm not immune; he annoys me like no-one else on the team.

 

[MarkHastings]

I still can't imagine Lugo as a Red Sox. He just doesn't seem to fit.

He's definitely the last guy I think of when I think of the Red Sox.

 

[Ockeghem]

Jason,

Thanks for that link on Nick Green. It looks as though I'm about the only Nick Green fan in this thread. That's okay.

BTW, I read that stat with regard to Ortiz last night (I think) on ESPN. His output in the last seven or eight games has been excellent.

I think Green's arm (esp. velocity-wise) and bat are worth keeping. He's made a few errors, but he's also made some excellent (if not Web gem) plays. Of course, if they could get someone better, then they should maybe put a deal together. If that occurred, I would be all for including Matsuzaka (and Lugo) in such a deal at this point. Matsuzaka is having a horrible year thus far (granted, injury and all); what bothers me more though is that his eighteen wins last year were IMO highly deceptive. I just don't think he's all that good of a pitcher. Even when he was 'on,' he had major control problems.

I might even include Penny in that mix, but no one from the bullpen at this point. So whom could we get for Matsuzaka, Lugo, and Penny?

 

[Jason Seaver]

Baseball Reference. Everyone who likes baseball should have it bookmarked. I gather they have sister sites for inferior sports, too.

I get a little suspicious of highlight-reel defense sometimes - diving catches just as often indicate poor positioning/range as excellent defense.

Maybe Green's a guy who just needs regular playing time, and he's certainly proven to be useful guy to have stashed at AAA when (a classic Theo depth signing). Still, a guy with his track record seems like a guy where you mostly just hope he doesn't regress to being a fringe guy before your real shortstop is healthy.

 

[Walter C]

I find that web site very useful, looking up old schedules and box scores, including one of the very first game I saw on TV, and first one I went to.