Alexei

[3GamesToLove]

That was mostly Soto offensively and it seems a lot like the pitchers we're hopefully keeping don't fit very well with him. Plus, Soto's going to get a good raise in FA based on his offensive output this year.

 

Flowers has been worth 0.1 fWAR this year. That's not average, that's "replacement level", aka "below average, what you can pick up off hte scrap heap for minimum salary". Maybe you can say "that's ok the staff likes him", but that kind of performance means you MUST be even better offensively elsewhere to offset it.

 

The catcher position is a wasteland right now, offensively speaking. Take Flowers's great pitch framing numbers (even with a grain of salt) and Soto's offense and it's plain that this team has problems more serious than catcher.

Edited September 10, 2015 by 3GamesToLove

[Balta1701]

The catcher position is a wasteland right now, offensively speaking. Take Flowers's great pitch framing numbers (even with a grain of salt) and Soto's offense and it's plain that these team has problems more serious than catcher.

Why are you projecting Soto back last year? He's not under contract. How much are you willing to pay for these 2 next year? Flowers as a 2nd year arbitration player will probably come in somewhere around $3-4 million. You prepared to pay $10 million+ for these 2?

[3GamesToLove]

Why are you projecting Soto back last year? He's not under contract. How much are you willing to pay for these 2 next year? Flowers as a 2nd year arbitration player will probably come in somewhere around $3-4 million. You prepared to pay $10 million+ for these 2?

 

I'm not projecting anything. I'm not talking about offseason plans, I'm talking about how the team has performed. The catcher position was not the biggest problem this season. Not even close.

[GreenSox]

Briefly since I have to get to a radio show (I'm a co-host)

 

Sox have little power, are bad defensively, bad at base running, baseball stupid regarding fundamentals, will not go to a manager who can in essence 'crack the whip' and maybe help players get better. They have black holes at catcher, DH, third base. Will need another starting pitcher with Shark leaving. RF can't seem to stay healthy. Middle infield is still young and learning (assuming Ramirez is gone).

 

The free agent market is poor this off season, if they trade a pitcher they weaken that position (many are advocating they trade Q), will probably have less money to work with since I expect many season ticket holders not to renew.

 

 

Mark

They also have a black hole in LF. Melky had 1 good month, and blight outside of that.

Pitching - meaning Quintana or "shudder" Sale, is all they have to trade. Oh sure, Williams could load up the prospects for veterans, but that won't help. By 2017, Fulmer would be ready (and no, they don't need to rush him up next year; he needs his delivery smoothed first) and a couple of others currently in A should be close. Sale/Quintana, Rodon and Fulmer and Johnson would be a really good rotation.

A starter is their best, and really only, trade chit.

It wouldn't surprise me if they trade Johnson. He doesn't appear to be a Cooper fave, and Cooper rules the roost.

 

As for Alexei and Soto, yea they could re-sign those guys. But Soto hasn't had a particularly good 2nd half. Albers - gotta sign him. These guys are nothing special. At some point you have to let go.

 

Regardless, they should play all the young players the last 3 weeks. Don't understand why they aren't, other than the fact that maybe Don Ventura believe that they're battling for their jobs, and that a few wins will make the difference. I hope the former is true and that the latter is not.

Edited September 10, 2015 by GreenSox

[he gone.]

I've had exactly one exchange with you before this one. It ended with you calling me a dumbass. Not exactly indicative of me always disagreeing with you. Either way, if you don't like people disagreeing with you, don't post on a message board.

 

There are a few problems with all of the above. One, you're citing a bunch of numbers that are either unimportant or dependent on playing time. You act like Alexei is twice as reliable. His ability to stay on the field is definitely an asset, but Freese didn't break into the majors and start right away. That's more responsible for the large gap than anything. Since Freese's first full year as a starter, he's played in 513 games to Alexei's 607. You act like Alexei's 108 homers to 65 are an advantage when they're mostly the result of that initial playing time gap.

 

Batting average is overrated. You can talk about "spreadsheets blah blah blah" all you want, but an offense with a good OBP and slugging - areas where Freese is decidedly better than Alexei - is more likely to score runs than one with a good batting average. RBI's are dumb and I'm sure you've heard the reasons why by now. Stolen bases and strikeouts just don't matter in today's baseball. Sort the teams by SB and K's and look at how randomly their runs scored jump around. Errors? Surely you know they're an inadequate way of measuring defense.

 

Two, you're ignoring home parks. Ramirez has hit a homer once every 45.5 plate appearances to Freese's 40.7. Not that big a deal, but this difference is made more notable by the fact that Freese has played in stadiums that suppress home run power while Alexei has played in one that enhances it. Same goes for Freese's advantage in OPS, one that you glossed over up there but is easily the most important stat mentioned. Check out their home road splits.

 

Three, you're citing career stats. I hardly care what somebody did five years ago. It's almost irrelevant. Freese hit like a bona fide stud for a little while, but that hitter is gone.

 

In his place is a hitter who is still better than Alexei Ramirez. Last three years - that cutoff is a favor to you because it leaves out Freese's best season - Freese has hit .258/.326/.389 to Ramirez' .272/.302/.385. Alexei's key advantages are his offense relative to his position, an advantage you would be eliminating by pushing him to third, and his defensive ability, which is eroding. If I'm paying them the same amount to play third base next year, I am absolutely taking Freese. If you want to continue to argue and talk about RBI's, fine, but know that I don't care.

 

 

I think the Royals would disagree with your speeds and strikeout stats.

 

There is a reason the Sox, who needed a 3B this offseason, and all the other GM's took a pass on Freese this year and he had to settle for a one year, $6.5mm contract. There is also a reason why most likely he will have to settle for a similar one year pact this off season, and IMO will be out of th league in 2 years. He is exactly the list of 2 dozen names the Sox have had at 3B over the past decade.

 

We're both passionate about the Sox (obvious to be posting on this board at this juncture of the season) I just think your views are completely wrong. Freese = bum with one good postseason.