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Sox Sign Vince Velasquez


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2 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Hopefully Hendriks’s home run spike was either bad luck or the Happy Fun Ball getting him. If that’s the case, then you kinda say that no matter what.

Bummer being better than last year would help a lot. Nails down the stretch but inconistent a lot of the year.

Hendriks really needs to go back to that multiple pitch mix to keep opponents honest.  Those off speed pitches only make it that much harder to dial up the fastball.  Hopefully some better pitch calling after one full season of familiarity with his arsenal will make acdiffetence. He's a horse, wants the ball practically every day and is clearly one of the emotional leaders of the team.

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2 hours ago, fathom said:

It’s what happens when you think too highly of guys like Leury and Engel

I think  that's furthest from the truth here.  Maybe some folks have confidence that the other 8 in that lineup should pound the ball as well as any other team in baseball.

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2 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

I think Bummer will bounce back nicely. He was definitely inconsistent and had trouble commanding the zone at times, but he was the unluckiest pitcher I’ve ever seen last year. I’ve never seen so many ground balls deflecting off of gloves or seeing eye singles. 

A bit reminiscent of how Thornton would go through tough stretches even though the stuff was still there until his last couple of seasons.  Bummer could be downright nasty, but had that uncanny knack of giving up weak contact that ended up with the worst possible results somehow.

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2 minutes ago, HOFHurt35 said:

I think  that's furthest from the truth here.  Maybe some folks have confidence that the other 8 in that lineup should pound the ball as well as any other team in baseball.

It's more about TLR and how he utilizes his roster...Leury and Harrison will be almost impossible to get out of the everyday lineup.

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Just now, caulfield12 said:

It's more about TLR and how he utilizes his roster...Leury and Harrison will be almost impossible to get out of the everyday lineup.

Health will dictate that.  The only reason Leury played as much as he did this past season was cause the roster was banged up all season.

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20 minutes ago, SoxBlanco said:

I think Bummer will bounce back nicely. He was definitely inconsistent and had trouble commanding the zone at times, but he was the unluckiest pitcher I’ve ever seen last year. I’ve never seen so many ground balls deflecting off of gloves or seeing eye singles. 

When that is defense quality and defensive positioning, isn’t that likely to be an ongoing problem? And one that leads to inconsistency when a few balls get through in a row?

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1 minute ago, Balta1701 said:

When that is defense quality and defensive positioning, isn’t that likely to be an ongoing problem? And one that leads to inconsistency when a few balls get through in a row?

A 30+% strikeout rate paired with a 76% GB rate will lead to better results than Bummer got almost every time. Obviously we all saw him pitch into poor luck, but that'll happen to certain guys on any staff every year. The Sox as a team last year basically pitched right to their FIP, xFIP, etc.

I don't see any reason to think Bummer won't be one of the best relievers in baseball again next year.

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23 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Hendriks really needs to go back to that multiple pitch mix to keep opponents honest.  Those off speed pitches only make it that much harder to dial up the fastball.  Hopefully some better pitch calling after one full season of familiarity with his arsenal will make acdiffetence. He's a horse, wants the ball practically every day and is clearly one of the emotional leaders of the team.

Compared to his 2 seasons as Oakland’s closer, his HR/FB rate went from 5% to 15%. That was the big negative for him last year, so - was that all bad luck and Manfred using the Happy Fun Ball in big games, or is that telling something more long term? My guess is more the former, that seemed like a lot of WTF home runs that made no sense.

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3 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

When that is defense quality and defensive positioning, isn’t that likely to be an ongoing problem? And one that leads to inconsistency when a few balls get through in a row?

Some of it is sure. But he was getting a ton of high choppers and little dribblers because of the sinker and batters just hitting the top of the ball. Then a walk and its 3 men on and grab the pearls time .

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17 minutes ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

Some of it is sure. But he was getting a ton of high choppers and little dribblers because of the sinker and batters just hitting the top of the ball. Then a walk and its 3 men on and grab the pearls time .

The issue is between Bummer, Graveman and Kelly, that could happen to any of them at any time. That's how it is with sinkerballers. 

Edited by Jack Parkman
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16 hours ago, Balta1701 said:

Compared to his 2 seasons as Oakland’s closer, his HR/FB rate went from 5% to 15%. That was the big negative for him last year, so - was that all bad luck and Manfred using the Happy Fun Ball in big games, or is that telling something more long term? My guess is more the former, that seemed like a lot of WTF home runs that made no sense.

Could the ballpark be a factor?

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2 minutes ago, Whisox05 said:

 

3 million? 

Man, they better still make a big addition this offseason. Thus far, they've spent 17 million on Harrison, Kelly and Velasquez. They also have Kimbrel still on the roster making 16 million. 

If these salaries stop them from going after someone like Conforto...no bueno. 

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5 minutes ago, Tony said:

3 million? 

Man, they better still make a big addition this offseason. Thus far, they've spent 17 million on Harrison, Kelly and Velasquez. They also have Kimbrel still on the roster making 16 million. 

If these salaries stop them from going after someone like Conforto...no bueno. 

Hahn said pitching depth was priority #1, then they go and spend $3 million on a guy who had a ERA near 6 last year. If that's a sign of things to come, we're definitely not getting Conforto. 

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