hogan873

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 05:07 PM) I get sick of how bad our players are considered on this board. I thought it a fair question to assess some other guys and see if they suck, too. Can't believe that post caused this freak out. Thanks. I'm surprised you think those Royals are good players, but glad to read this. The Sox team right now is bad. And there are some bad players on this bad team. Some are bad enough that their badness isn't even hidden by having one decent stat. Some are bad when you look a little deeper using advanced stats. There are some good players, but not many. Look, I'm not as sold on advanced stats as some, but I do recognize that BA, OBP, HRs, and RBIs do not tell the whole story. Not by a long shot. A guy like Davidson, who I like, who has a ton of power but strikes out a third of the time he comes to the plate isn't that good. My reaction to your post was based on you assuming that because the poster was critical of our players that he'd be extra critical of the Royals players and state that the NL all star team is a bunch of shlubs. I mean, come on man. Your posts are coming off as troll-like because of the ridiculous statements. You can disagree with posters all you want, but forming a decent argument is paramount. We're always going to be more critical of our own players. Always. And we're always going to look deeper at the stats of our own players. Especially those who have the potential to be a part of the future.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 21, 2017 -> 02:21 PM) If you do get a chance I'd like you to assess Salvy Perez and Lorenzo Cain and Moustakas and Hosmer for me. Should they be starters? Are they worth a damn? My guess is they will come up lacking. I'd love to see your assessment of the NL all star roster. I'd think most of those guys suck and shouldn't be regulars. I do realize most of the Sox do suck, but I think Delmonico, Avi, the catchers, Moncada, Abreu, yes Davidson are actually not so bad. Perez by the way has 21 homers; Davidson has 22. " For God's sake, just stop.

QUOTE (Jim Busby @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 06:37 AM) Get Rid of Beck, Goldberg & Infante. Bought 5 Pitchers from other Teams for Charlotte who are much better than those Three. We could lost 117 games this season with our bad relief staff Yes, those guys are terrible. I watched Goldberg pitch the other day. He's awful. I think the Sox will have to consider bringing up an arm or two for the September call-ups. The ones they want to develop for the future should be getting some innings down the stretch here. I understand they'll still have to roll out the walking dumpster fires that currently smolder in the bullpen, but we might as well see some future arms get some work.

After blowing through the first two seasons of Broadchurch on Netflix, we were looking for another show to watch until some of the network shows come back. Started watching The Fall. Wow. What a creepy, fantastic show. Watching some of these British shows has made me realize that a lot of American network shows are pretty bad.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 12:02 AM) I contend though that if we are 10 games out of first at the end of next April, individual performance means very little. How can a player give optimal performance when the team is that bad? It has to affect the little things in your approach. Why move a runner when it doesn't matter? Just swing from the heels and try to homer. The young studs will put in the time and get used to pitching and hopefully do well enough. My point is, all that training will be put to the test when we are projected to be a good team. On April 1 of that season, whenever it is, is when the can't miss guys like Moncada, Robert, Eloy, etc., begin their trial periods. When it matters. I'm not saying Moncada can hit .111 and management will be satisfied but none of it really matters til the team is projected to be a contender. Then the apprenticeship is ova. False. The performance of Moncada, Lopez, Engel, L. Garcia, A. Garcia, and Delmonico matter now. The team winning or losing doesn't really matter right now. Management put Moncada, Lopez, and Delmonico in the positions they are in to see how they perform. You don't wait until you're projected to contend to test your prospects. You do it during a rebuild. So, when it comes time to contend those guys will be there if they have proved themselves...or they won't because they didn't. This is simple stuff. This is how a rebuild works.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 18, 2017 -> 05:38 AM) Jose Abreu is pretty damn awesome. Him as the DH on the next contending team just makes way too much sense, it's impossible not to respect him. Couldn't agree more. Abreu is the type of guy a team needs. A true leader who looks out for his teammates.

I'm not terribly concerned about his defense. For one, the team needs a DH for next season, and he could fit that position well, especially for an rebuilding team. The Sox have players that can be plugged into the positions he could play (OF/3B/1B?), and that would allow him to concentrate on being a DH. The other reason I'm not concerned is the Sox are rebuilding, and if they want to plug him into LF next season to let him work on his defense, so what? I'm interested to see how he plays over a full season and 500+ ABs. If he could end up being a .270ish hitter while belting 20+ HRs, that would be great.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 02:24 PM) I'm not excited about the rebuild; I'm totally against it. I still give it a 2 until it starts to prove worthy of the grade increasing. But I told u all before I have the right to cheer for the team if it works. That's what fandom is all about. I'm just pointing out what's going to happen now. With all the positions covered, the Sox will with the blessing of the fans make more money than ever, cause the payroll will be nothing. I'm against all the losing seasons involved in a rebuild of course but I have the right to continue being a fan if it works and they get good again. I'm still watching games during the down times. Well, your previous posts in this thread tell a different story. Saying that all of the pitching prospects are sure things and talking about how good it's going to be in a couple years is pretty much the opposite of being against the rebuild. But anyway...

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 10:12 AM) The names on the list I mentioned are can't miss maybe with the exception of Cease and Burdi. I guess Fulmer could bust. The rest have too much going for them. There is no such thing as a can't miss prospect. That's why they are called prospects. The ones we're talking about have huge potential and very high ceilings, and the chances are good that they will succeed to some extent. But there are no guarantees. By the way, since when are you so excited about the rebuild? A couple weeks ago you were rating it a 2 out of 10.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 14, 2017 -> 09:44 AM) What do you mean bout the pitching being a disaster zone? The starting rotation is Rodon, Giolito, Lopez, Kopech (sp?) and Cease. these are all can't miss major leaguers. Plus Hansen, Fulmer and Dunning. Burdi, Adams and Clarkin. You already have a full staff of starters and relievers here. Like I said add one vet starter maybe and 2 bullpen guys for a few bucks and you are talking low low payroll for a No. 1 in the league pitching staff. The two prospects for 1 major league player doesn't make sense regarding these guys. And I'm probably forgetting somebody. Way too early to say that. If they all pitch to expectations, the rotation will be one of the best. If some exceed expectations, could be the best in baseball. But we've got a long way to go before we know how they will all perform.

I think 2019 is a very interesting season. I don't think they'll compete for the division, but they'll be in contention for a wild card spot all season. However, that all depends on the rest of the division. If the rest of the division struggles, you never know. I think 2020 starts a string of years where they dominate.

First two episodes of the new season of Ray Donovan have been great. Seems as if a lot has happened between the end of last season and now. I like the flashbacks that have been filling in the blanks.

I like what I've seen from Delmonico so far...at the plate at least. I think we all know he's not going to be a .380 hitter, but I think he's working on earning himself a chance to be part of the 25-man next season. I could see him being the DH while getting a few starts at 3rd or in the outfield.

To address the Sale discussion, I don't think his behavior had anything (or very little) to do with the trade. I'm sure the front office was upset with the way he behaved at times, but if they did not get the offer they were looking for he would not have been traded. To Sale's credit, it seems like he's doing well in Boston. He's pitching very well, and it seems like he's been mature. If a meltdown occurs in the playoffs, we'll have to see how that goes. As far as Moncada, man it's nice to see him excel. He has quickly turned around his slow start. The patience he shows at the plate with his ability to see pitches is very encouraging. That home run last night was great. Hitting a 98 mph pitch on the outer part of the plate to left center requires a lot of power. His swing looks so smooth. And the walk-off...fantastic. This kid is going to be a star.

Watched the first episode of Mr. Mercedes last night. Really good so far, and it follows the book pretty closely. The opening scene is gruesome and just like the book's opening. I like Brendan Gleeson as Hodges, even though in the book he wasn't Irish...well, at least it was never mentioned that he was Irish. Harry Treadaway is perfect as Brady Hartsfield. I'm looking forward to see how the season plays out.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Aug 9, 2017 -> 01:05 PM) No, the weekend of Aug 25-27 (home series vs DET). Ah, thanks. Great jerseys...but $150 is a bit steep. I might have to pick up the shirt option, though.

Are they wearing these during a game this weekend?

Engel's catch was amazing. I'm glad I was able to see it as it happened. As soon as McCann his the ball, I said to my wife, "That's gone." We both said something along the lines of "holy s***" when Engel caught it. Even my daughter, who was not really watching the game, said, "He caught that!?" I don't know if his bat will come around, but with his defense and speed he wouldn't need a ton of offense to be a valuable piece.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 9, 2017 -> 12:47 AM) That's our rare winning formula say once out of every 7 games. I fully expect us to lose 6 of 7 the rest of the season. The formula is to once every seven games hit the s*** out of the ball and survive like tonight, 8-5. Only hope for regular wins is Rodon or Friday's starter dominating a game. Right now here's how I'd rate our team. Starting pitching: D-minus. Bullpen: F. Lineup: D to D-minus. Defense: D to D-minus. Baserunning: F. Managing: D to D-minus. Who cares about rating the team? We're concerned about the development of the young players that will be part of the rebuild. It was a good game yesterday seeing Moncada, Garcia, Engel, and even Anderson play well.

I've been watching Broadchurch on Netflix. A couple episodes into season 2. What a great show. There are some gems coming from BBC America.

I'll say this about Davidson - he can hit the hell out of a baseball. I was at the game yesterday, and it was really cool to see him hit that line drive HR to win the game. The only true way we'll know how good of a player Davidson will be is to give him consistent at-bats. He's been getting those recently, and I expect him to play for most of the remainder of the season. He'll likely hit 30 HRs. But I'd have to agree that the rest of his stats are not great. I don't see the Sox having anyone else at 3rd next year, so maybe that will be the true test. From what I've seen, I like the power, but he seems to be a three outcome hitter: HR, fly ball, K. Long story short, he'll most likely be part of the team next year, but I don't see him being part of any long-term plans. But you never know...he could surprise us all.

Where will Gillaspie fall on the prospect list for the Sox? He was the Rays' #10, but I imagine he'll be quite a bit lower in our system. Somewhere in the 20s?

He's already a quality starter. The question is whether he can become an ace. He's obviously not 100% back from the injury, and as someone else pointed out, this is sort of like spring training for him. He's got nasty stuff, as evidenced by the 11 Ks in four innings yesterday. His biggest issue seems to be walks. Once he gets more control of his pitches and learns a few more things, he'll be a very good pitcher. I expect him to slowly improve this year. Hopefully he'll be healthy throughout the season all the way into spring training. I think we'll see what kind of pitcher he truly can be next year.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jul 25, 2017 -> 12:07 AM) He's 32, not 42. He's batting .295, is posting a positive WAR and is a respected veteran who is good in the clubhouse. Saying he is going to sign somewhere for the minimum is absolutely ridiculous. I agree. The Melky hate is ridiculous. He's not a great defender, but he's been pretty good offensively and as you said he's a good clubhouse guy. I could see him signing for a 3 year deal worth $12-$14 million per. The Sox won't, as that wouldn't fit with their rebuilding plans. But someone will.

Both of these guys would require a long contract, like 8+ years. I don't think the money per year would be an issue for the Sox, but the years might. However, as others have posted, this is a different team being constructed. The culture has changed, and if things work out I could possibly see the Sox signing one of these guys for 10 years.