Sox Sign David Robertson - 4 yr, $46 mil

[LDF]

to be honest, this deal took me by total surprise. don't get me wrong,

he is the real deal a #1 closer, i just didn't think the sox will pony up

to sign him.

 

way to go sox.

[The Ginger Kid]

I'm glad we signed him, but I know I'm not alone in saying it's a shame Bellisario won't be given another chance. I lost 20 pounds last season when he came out of the pen.

 

GIFSoup

[Boopa1219]

I'm glad we signed him, but I know I'm not alone in saying it's a shame Bellisario won't be given another chance. I lost 20 pounds last season when he came out of the pen.

 

GIFSoup

 

I want them to bring back Belisario as a MR, the dude has potential and he throws heat. He is going to be a good reliever.

[witesoxfan]

I want them to bring back Belisario as a MR, the dude has potential and he throws heat. He is going to be a good reliever.

 

He might have good stuff and he may throw heat but he's also 31 years old and he's going to start trending the other way. I do not think good MLB reliever is in his future.

[The Ginger Kid]

I want them to bring back Belisario as a MR, the dude has potential and he throws heat. He is going to be a good reliever.

he was a good reliever, for a couple of seasons a few years ago with the dodgers.

[glangon]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

[oldsox]

I wonder if Mariano ever taught him the cutter.

[Lemon_44]

I don't think the Sox are sold on Connor as an everyday starter. I think they see value in him but would prefer him in a super utility role. He could probably play OF, 1B, 3B, and even a bit of 2B off the bench if you let him work on it. I am not saying he could play those positions well but could provide a lot of flexibility and you could leverage advantageous matchups.

What would be great is if Davidson bounces back and wins the 3b job, which is not out of the realm of possibility, and that allows Gillaspie to fill that role.

[BaconOnAStick]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

I think that's a overly simplistic way of looking at it. Not every blown save results in a loss, some of those blown saves would've undoubtedly happened with Robertson anyways considering the other guys the Sox had in the pen.

 

Conversely, I don't think WAR tells the true tale of how colossal an upgrade this is for the team. If he has a year like he had last year and this year's Sox team is more or less equal to last year's team elsewhere the Sox improve much more than WAR would indicate. Maybe 80 wins? Maybe some of those demoralizing losses go away and the team avoids some of the tailspins they went through last year?

 

Still not all the way there to get into the postseason, but definitely closer.

[Balta1701]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

No team in baseball only had 5 blown saves last year. The team with the fewest, the Padres, had 8. The Royals, who rode their bullpen to the playoffs, had 12.

 

The Yankees, who employed Robertson, had 21 blown saves. The White Sox also had 21, although in fewer chances.

 

That's just not how bullpens work.

[LittleHurt05]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

 

I don't think all 23 of those blown saves were in the 9th inning.

[witesoxfan]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

 

This is very choppy and flawed logic. Many of those blown saves occurred in the 7th or 8th innings when Robertson would not have been in the game. Beyond that, you can't just take his statistics from the previous year, transmute them to the following season, and assuming everything is going to be the same. If he gives up 1 run in a 3 run game, it's still save even if it's ugly. If he gives up 1 run in a 1 run game, it's a blown save and everyone is angry.

 

He is a good pitcher whose addition is welcome. He is not worth 18 games.

[shipps]

This is very choppy and flawed logic. Many of those blown saves occurred in the 7th or 8th innings when Robertson would not have been in the game. Beyond that, you can't just take his statistics from the previous year, transmute them to the following season, and assuming everything is going to be the same. If he gives up 1 run in a 3 run game, it's still save even if it's ugly. If he gives up 1 run in a 1 run game, it's a blown save and everyone is angry.

 

He is a good pitcher whose addition is welcome. He is not worth 18 games.

 

I'm not a saber but if I can understand correctly, he will NOT be an 18 WAR player?

[Rowand44]

This is very choppy and flawed logic. Many of those blown saves occurred in the 7th or 8th innings when Robertson would not have been in the game. Beyond that, you can't just take his statistics from the previous year, transmute them to the following season, and assuming everything is going to be the same. If he gives up 1 run in a 3 run game, it's still save even if it's ugly. If he gives up 1 run in a 1 run game, it's a blown save and everyone is angry.

 

He is a good pitcher whose addition is welcome. He is not worth 18 games.

I like his logic better though because we're in the playoffs then.

[Jerksticks]

I like his logic better though because we're in the playoffs then.

Yep. And Shark is just cheesecake on top.

[glangon]

It was an overly simplistic view but it does show where our issue was and Robertson goes a long way to fixing that. Even if it was only 8 games extra we didn't blow the save. that's a .500 team. Add in the Duke factor over the non-existent lefties in last years pen, Samrdzija and ala Roche and we could be talking play offs next year.

[SoCalSox]

I think it's safe to say with a legit closer like Robertson, this team would have been around a .500 team last year.

 

Couple that in with players like Avi being healthy and a better overall bullpen, plus LaRoche providing better protection for Abreu, who will in-turn be used to the work load this next year and you have yourself right around a 88-90 club just doing what they should do.

 

Then you factor in Samardzija who should be better than anything we had after Sale and Quintana and I think that's good enough for close to 5 or more wins.

 

Call it the short side and you have about a 92 win team.

Edited December 10, 2014 by SoCalSox

[southsider2k5]

I want them to bring back Belisario as a MR, the dude has potential and he throws heat. He is going to be a good reliever.

 

I thought about it, and then I kicked myself in the nuts to simulate what bringing back Belisario would feel like to Sox fans.

[greg775]

23 blown saves we had last year.

 

Robertson saved 39 out of 44 chances last year,

 

Take that he blows 5 of the 23 we blew.

 

Simplistically, we'd have won 18 more games with Robertson as closer.

 

That would have taken us 91 wins.

 

That is worth the $11.5 million a year we are paying him.

Great post. It's always good to have a closer with a track record. Not meaning to start a fight here, but is this guy a LOT better than Addison Reed? But having a closer is great cause we can put some of those other guys in the battle for setup guys. It really was annoying last year seeing our guys blow game after game. I hope he gets off to a good start and is an effective closer all year.

 

What would be great is if Davidson bounces back and wins the 3b job, which is not out of the realm of possibility, and that allows Gillaspie to fill that role.

 

Great point. Just imagine if Davidson wins the job and fulfills the promise the Sox obviously thought he had. Would be amazing if we had a power bat at third and he could field at least as good as Gillaspie.

 

[caulfield12]

I think it's safe to say with a legit closer like Robertson, this team would have been around a .500 team last year.

 

Couple that in with players like Avi being healthy and a better overall bullpen, plus LaRoche providing better protection for Abreu, who will in-turn be used to the work load this next year and you have yourself right around a 88-90 club just doing what they should do.

 

Then you factor in Samardzija who should be better than anything we had after Sale and Quintana and I think that's good enough for close to 5 or more wins.

 

Call it the short side and you have about a 92 win team.

 

 

 

1) You still don't know what you're going to get out of LF, Avi Garcia, Conor, 2B and Tyler Flowers. That's a TON of line-up uncertainty for a contender.

 

2) The only positions where we're getting average or above defense are CF, SS (and that's slipping) and C. 1B should be better with Abreu more experienced and LaRoche's presence. But unless we employ Sanchez (who will have his offensive struggles), 2B with Micah Johnson will be downgraded. Will Conor and Tyler continue to improve? What about Avi, who looked as bad as Viciedo or even worse at times. I guess things can't get much worse than Dayan/DeAza, so that should be an upgrade as well.

 

3) You don't have a proven lefty unless you think Duke's going to be another Thornton or Marte (pre-2005). Your loogy is even more of a question mark.

 

4) You're relying, at least until Rodon arrives...on Danks and Noesi at the back end of the rotation. At best, that's a mixed bag, at worst? Plus, our best insurance policy at #6 in Bassitt was just traded away. Beck and/or Erik Johnson aren't going to inspire much confidence in anyone.

 

5) We were pleasantly surprised with Conor, Putnam, Guerra, Noesi and Eaton. Will they continue to progress, or will they fall off the map (especially the first four guys)?? Can Tyler Flowers be at least a league-average catcher? Will the second half declines of Ramirez and Abreu trend into the first half of 2015? How long will it take LaRoche to adjust to the AL?

Edited December 10, 2014 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Great post. It's always good to have a closer with a track record. Not meaning to start a fight here, but is this guy a LOT better than Addison Reed? But having a closer is great cause we can put some of those other guys in the battle for setup guys. It really was annoying last year seeing our guys blow game after game. I hope he gets off to a good start and is an effective closer all year.

 

 

 

Great point. Just imagine if Davidson wins the job and fulfills the promise the Sox obviously thought he had. Would be amazing if we had a power bat at third and he could field at least as good as Gillaspie.

 

 

 

They can't afford to have that kind of a sieve at 3B unless he's going to hit 25-30 homers and not strike out 200+ times.

 

Davidson's a LONG shot right now to be on the Opening Day roster. He's going to have to get white hot for at least 2 months in AAA before that trust is regained...unless Conor just starts hitting like Robin Ventura his first two weeks as a rookie and can't get out of it.

[RockRaines]

1) You still don't know what you're going to get out of LF, Avi Garcia, Conor, 2B and Tyler Flowers. That's a TON of line-up uncertainty for a contender.

 

2) The only positions where we're getting average or above defense are CF, SS (and that's slipping) and C. 1B should be better with Abreu more experienced and LaRoche's presence. But unless we employ Sanchez (who will have his offensive struggles), 2B with Micah Johnson will be downgraded. Will Conor and Tyler continue to improve? What about Avi, who looked as bad as Viciedo or even worse at times. I guess things can't get much worse than Dayan/DeAza, so that should be an upgrade as well.

 

3) You don't have a proven lefty unless you think Duke's going to be another Thornton or Marte (pre-2005). Your loogy is even more of a question mark.

 

4) You're relying, at least until Rodon arrives...on Danks and Noesi at the back end of the rotation. At best, that's a mixed bag, at worst? Plus, our best insurance policy at #6 in Bassitt was just traded away. Beck and/or Erik Johnson aren't going to inspire much confidence in anyone.

 

5) We were pleasantly surprised with Conor, Putnam, Guerra, Noesi and Eaton. Will they continue to progress, or will they fall off the map (especially the first four guys)?? Can Tyler Flowers be at least a league-average catcher? Will the second half declines of Ramirez and Abreu trend into the first half of 2015? How long will it take LaRoche to adjust to the AL?

Well if you want to see an opinion that is as negative as possible about the team here it is.

[SoCalSox]

Well if you want to see an opinion that is as negative as possible about the team here it is.

 

Exactly what I was thinking...

 

Oh well. No one is going to burst my bubble. With a better closer, this was close to a .500 team last year. Good pieces so far this year lead me to believe they can contend.

[Harry Chappas]

Every team has holes. You need to minimize them best you can.

[Bigsoxhurt35]

Ya the Royals are losing Shields, may trade pen pieces for a bat. They have to struggle and manufacture runs. Very little power in the lineup.

 

Tigers bullpen sucks, lost Hunter, their SS has injury issues. They may lose Scherzer. Verlander is declining.

 

Truth is this division will beat up on each other.