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MLB 2015 Season Discussion Thread

 

05-01-15 01:20 PM
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The Mets are finally starting to cool off after losing quite a bit which is a bit sad. I'm going to be at the game tonight between Harvey and Scherzer, which is quite odd since resellers are selling tickets 70 to 90 % off regular prices, so I got a field level seat plus the fees for less than $15, while on the Mets site or at the stadium, seats all the way up at the top cost 21-36.
The Mets are finally starting to cool off after losing quite a bit which is a bit sad. I'm going to be at the game tonight between Harvey and Scherzer, which is quite odd since resellers are selling tickets 70 to 90 % off regular prices, so I got a field level seat plus the fees for less than $15, while on the Mets site or at the stadium, seats all the way up at the top cost 21-36.
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05-01-15 02:54 PM
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zanderlex :

I wish good Red Sox tickets were as cheap as that. Unfortunately, all fifteen bucks will get you at Fenway is like one beer. Not even a seat or SRO tickets.

Curse of following one of the most beloved teams in baseball, one that has an extremely passionate fanbase... and one that has a small capacity.

Supply and demand.
zanderlex :

I wish good Red Sox tickets were as cheap as that. Unfortunately, all fifteen bucks will get you at Fenway is like one beer. Not even a seat or SRO tickets.

Curse of following one of the most beloved teams in baseball, one that has an extremely passionate fanbase... and one that has a small capacity.

Supply and demand.
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05-01-15 05:14 PM
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legacyme3 : Sometimes you just need to be at the right site at the right time. A while ago, the site was selling high up tickets for a lower publicity game for $40. Plus the site I went to which is vividseats has some great deals on select games. It wasn't a real sale because the cheapest tickets at the stadium itself were like $30 yet field level seats here were less than 10 with some high up seats for as low as $2. Vividseats is something you should check.
legacyme3 : Sometimes you just need to be at the right site at the right time. A while ago, the site was selling high up tickets for a lower publicity game for $40. Plus the site I went to which is vividseats has some great deals on select games. It wasn't a real sale because the cheapest tickets at the stadium itself were like $30 yet field level seats here were less than 10 with some high up seats for as low as $2. Vividseats is something you should check.
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05-02-15 04:58 PM
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eclipse9508 : Hey, looks like you picked a good game to go to. Only had one dinger but that's all we needed today when you throw 18 strike outs--wow. Fiers had 12 in 6? I had the game on while doing work around the yard and THEY were mowing them down. Maybe we can win the series Sunday.
eclipse9508 : Hey, looks like you picked a good game to go to. Only had one dinger but that's all we needed today when you throw 18 strike outs--wow. Fiers had 12 in 6? I had the game on while doing work around the yard and THEY were mowing them down. Maybe we can win the series Sunday.
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05-05-15 10:08 AM
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   Well, so far, I'm pretty happy with how the Tigers have been playing. Iglesias has been phenomenal defensively, and at the plate so far, and Yoenis Céspedes has been playing well also. However, neither Victor or J.D. Martinez have been playing all that great, but with Victor, he isn't 100%, and I don't know why he's not on the DL yet. He's looked horrible on the bases, more so than usual, and really should be sat out a few weeks. Anybody we put in his spot will do just as well as he's been doing. And then the closer position has been shut down with Soria, being completely lights out so far. I still don't think that the Tigers are a great team, mostly because before Soria, I don't really see anybody trustworthy, but the team is looking a lot better than I thought they would be.
   Well, so far, I'm pretty happy with how the Tigers have been playing. Iglesias has been phenomenal defensively, and at the plate so far, and Yoenis Céspedes has been playing well also. However, neither Victor or J.D. Martinez have been playing all that great, but with Victor, he isn't 100%, and I don't know why he's not on the DL yet. He's looked horrible on the bases, more so than usual, and really should be sat out a few weeks. Anybody we put in his spot will do just as well as he's been doing. And then the closer position has been shut down with Soria, being completely lights out so far. I still don't think that the Tigers are a great team, mostly because before Soria, I don't really see anybody trustworthy, but the team is looking a lot better than I thought they would be.
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05-05-15 10:14 AM
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I can't really tell what I should feel for the Mets now. They lost three straight series but are still in 1st place. They lost their last two games against the Nats, but they were both 1-0 losses, so giving up 1 run is a good sign. They need a lot of offense but it looks like they can pull something together with Jhonny Monell, who they called up yesterday. For some reason they want to have 3 catchers while their main catcher is on the DL. Just the day before yesterday I was wondering why Monell wasn't on the team yet because I think he was 2nd in the PCL with 7 home runs in April and he had a great spring.

Sure, they're giving up 1 run per game, but they can so even better once syndergaard and Matz cone up, they both have an era between 1.6 and 1.8 in a hitters league.

Harvey for some reason is 5-0 with a 2.4 ERA, and after coming off Tommy John even I didn't think he could do that.
I can't really tell what I should feel for the Mets now. They lost three straight series but are still in 1st place. They lost their last two games against the Nats, but they were both 1-0 losses, so giving up 1 run is a good sign. They need a lot of offense but it looks like they can pull something together with Jhonny Monell, who they called up yesterday. For some reason they want to have 3 catchers while their main catcher is on the DL. Just the day before yesterday I was wondering why Monell wasn't on the team yet because I think he was 2nd in the PCL with 7 home runs in April and he had a great spring.

Sure, they're giving up 1 run per game, but they can so even better once syndergaard and Matz cone up, they both have an era between 1.6 and 1.8 in a hitters league.

Harvey for some reason is 5-0 with a 2.4 ERA, and after coming off Tommy John even I didn't think he could do that.
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06-06-15 02:29 AM
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   It's honestly getting pretty funny how awful the Tigers have been doing lately, and that's coming from a fan of the team. Capping it off tonight was a walk off, bases loaded hit batter. The only way it could get worse was having a walk off balk, which if I remember correctly, is something that happened somewhat recently as well. But anyways, they're now 8 games straight, and they've pretty much lost every way possible. But the hitting being terrible during that has been pretty consistent. Basically, they can't hit with runners on base, which isn't something that this team has done great with in recent years. There's a possibility of being in last place in the division soon, which with how they started, is pretty crazy. Hopefully they're able to turn around soon, because this division will probably be the toughest that it has been in a long time, with no teams being all that out of it right now.
   It's honestly getting pretty funny how awful the Tigers have been doing lately, and that's coming from a fan of the team. Capping it off tonight was a walk off, bases loaded hit batter. The only way it could get worse was having a walk off balk, which if I remember correctly, is something that happened somewhat recently as well. But anyways, they're now 8 games straight, and they've pretty much lost every way possible. But the hitting being terrible during that has been pretty consistent. Basically, they can't hit with runners on base, which isn't something that this team has done great with in recent years. There's a possibility of being in last place in the division soon, which with how they started, is pretty crazy. Hopefully they're able to turn around soon, because this division will probably be the toughest that it has been in a long time, with no teams being all that out of it right now.
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06-06-15 06:00 AM
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patar4097 :

At least your team isn't in last place in the weakest division in baseball...

-----

The Red Sox this season have been frustrating, but I can't even blame it on them. We've been besieged by so much bad luck this season. It's absolutely infuriating.

Position by position, let's go down the list of how the season has gone, to see how you explain a record of 25-31...

C - So, remember how Christian Vazquez got injured and we had Ryan Hanigan, who was playing well as a replacement? Well he got injured too, so now the Blake Swihart era is in Boston. He's up far too early. He may have been ready later this year, but he had all of 36 games at the AAA level before being promoted (18 last year, 18 this year). AAA time is very important, ESPECIALLY for catchers, since they have more to focus on than hitting the ball. To his credit, he's been doing very well defensively, and offensively, he's been showing why he was a top 20 prospect in baseball entering the season (at least over the past two weeks, now that his power stroke is out). We're effectively using our third and fourth string catchers right now, and getting about what you expect out of third and fourth stringers.

1B - Mike Napoli has had a tale of two seasons so far... He was ice cold, but now he's red hot. Or was. He's back to being ice cold. Napoli has always been a super streaky hitter, but never to this extent. He either bats .000/.000/.000 or he bats 1.000/1.000/4.000. There's seemingly no inbetween. He's been one of the issues, both offensively, and defensively. Among the 27 qualifying first basemen in the league, he's 21st in WAR. That's bad.

2B - Dustin Pedroia has found the form that made him a perennial MVP candidate half a decade ago. He already has more homers this year than he had all of last year (and with 2/3 of the season left to go!), and he's above the .300/.360 triple slash that his career is known for. So far, this is his second best season by OPS+ (129), and is on par for what could be a 6 WAR season (All star level is seen as 5+). Unfortunately, he won't make the All Star team unless it's as a reserve, because Royals fans are stuffing the ballot, but he's playing well enough that he is the best player on this team, probably... and that's despite his worst defensive season in ever (usually, he's a gold glove caliber 2nd Baseman, but it just isn't there this year). He's 7th out of 22 qualifying 2nd basemen in WAR. So he's not an issue.

SS - Xander Bogaerts is finally beginning to realize his potential. He's hitting .298/.340/.399 this season. He's playing plus defense. He's literally doing everything but hitting for power right now, and even that's been coming slowly back to him. He's done a sneaky good job this year, of becoming a legitimate all star. By WAR (I use WAR a lot, because it's a nice way to boil a players value down to a single number), Xander is the 4th best SS in baseball, behind only Brandon Crawford, Jhonny Peralta, and Adeiny Hechavarria. He is going to be the biggest all star snub this year, mark my words. He's playing well enough to be in the discussion for best SS in 2015, and yet, nobody seems to give him any credit. He's a large part of why this team is still in contention in the division, despite being in last place.

3B - Pablo Sandoval... has not been good. He's not hitting, he's not playing any defense right now... and a large part of that is about a week ago, he got hit in the knee (which is huge for players of his size). So much of his offensive and defensive value is centered around his knees. His knees are what gives him the explosiveness on defense that makes him a plus defender. His knee gives his ball the extra power it needs to turn a lineout to SS or 2B into a gap double that he's famous for. Even before the injury though, he wasn't really producing. Of the 23 qualifying third basemen... he's dead last in WAR. He's been god awful, and not worth the money at all.

LF - Hanley Ramirez was the other big offseason acquisition the Sox made, and just like Sandoval... it just hasn't worked out yet. As hot as his April was, his May was absolutely awful. So awful it dropped him from being a top 5 LFer in the majors to a possibly bottom 5 LFer in the American League alone. He still has power, and lately, it's seemingly come back to him, but even once it does, his defensive failings keep costing the team. He's been the worst defensive LFer in baseball by a wide margin. So wide that it actually makes me miss Manny's defense in LF. Among the 17 qualifying LFers in WAR, he ranks 15th.

CF - Mookie Betts, on the other hand, has been a bright spot. Even when his hits don't fall, they are loud outs, to the warning track almost every time, it feels. He seemingly leads the majors in warning track outs and times robbed by a diving catch. Despite having so little MLB experience, he's showing poise out there each and every day, and has been improving slowly, but surely, like Xander. Among 20 qualifying CFers, he's ranked 11th in WAR. He also isn't an issue.

RF - The combination of Shane Victorino and Rusney Castillo hasn't worked out yet. Victorino is just terrible and shouldn't be a major leaguer anymore, and Rusney, predictably, for a man who didn't play baseball for a full year, is still rusty, and trying to get his head back in the game. He's made many blunders in the past week, although he's shown improvement lately, smoking balls left and right (although he's only getting singles, because #luck). A recent report on batted ball speeds done by a Red Sox reporter has shown that only one player has had better speed coming off the bat this year... David Ortiz. RF has been an issue, but maybe it won't be soon.

DH - David Ortiz. He hasn't been David Ortiz yet, despite his batted ball speed implying he's doing fine. Not much to say here, I honestly think he should retire, so we can put Hanley at DH. Among the 11 qualifying DHs, he's dead last in WAR.

SP - Ironically, the last thing I'm worried about right now is the pitching. Going into the year, everyone told us to be worried about the pitching, and honestly, so was I. But interestingly enough, our pitching has been solid, if not downright dominant at times. Our ERA is still wicked high, as a result of certain players... (Masterson) bringing it way up, but the current likely 5 man rotation looks good...

Clay Buchholz has looked downright ace like in most of his outings this year. He has a 3.82 ERA, which isn't amazing (but it's better than average), but he's been getting routinely unlucky, with regard to both BABIP and LOBster luck. His peripherals (K/9, BB/9) are the best they've ever been, even better than his ace season a few years back that was cut short by injury. That rings especially true when we look at his 2.94 FIP, and 3.12 xFIP (which are closer to the true measure of predicated success for pitchers). Both would imply that he's a top 20 SP in baseball. He's been exactly what we needed.

Wade Miley has surprisingly enough, been our most reliable starter not named Buchholz. I expected him to be our #3/4 guy entering the year, but he's pleasantly surprised me, calming down after a rough first month. Much like Buchholz, his ERA isn't indicative of exactly how well he's been pitching. Lie Buchholz, BABIP and LOB luck have spoiled his season. Once both normalize (like it has been for the past month), he'll be looking much better. I still wouldn't have traded Rubby for him (3.33 xFIP in Arizona of all places), but he's looking more and more like the guy we traded for with each game. He's not the issue either. He's been roughly a top 50 SP, according to WAR. Good enough for me.

Rick Porcello has struggled mightily, and it's no secret why. He's not getting groundballs (which is exactly what made him so good in the past) and he's letting up twice as many homeruns as he used to. Something mechanically seems wrong with him, and he's gone from being option 1B to being a guy who might be the 4th best pitcher in the rotation in the blink of an eye. I think he'll be fine, but until he is, he isn't. xFIP indicates he should be doing much better, just like with the rest of the guys above. I'm not concerned.

Joe Kelly should probably be replaced in the Red Sox rotation soon, and is at the moment the only true issue in the rotation. He doesn't go deep into ball games, always runs into the big inning, and lacks the control a starter needs. His xFIP indicates he's much better than shown, but that's nothing without context. He's walking 3.67 guys per 9 innings. That's simply too much to expect success with. Kelly should probably be moved to the bullpen.

Finally, we stop at who may be the savior of the rotation and the Sox in general... Eduardo Rodriguez. He's only made two starts, but both of them have been beauties. His next game is against the Orioles (the same Orioles who traded him to the Red Sox for 2 months of Andrew Miller). He's not walking guys, he's striking others out, and he's inducing ground balls at a good rate. And he's under control for the next six year. Hottest guy in the rotation right now.

You'll note I didn't discuss Justin Masterson, who was complete garbage. He was one of the problems in the rotation. He had all the control issues Kelly has, but didn't have the velocity to compensate for it. On the whole, he was awful, and tonight, he got lit up in the minors. He's done.

RP - I don't want to talk a ton about the bullpen, but it's been meh so far. This is a place that could use improvement, but all the improvement will come from within. Koji and Tazawa have been good, everything else has been meh at best. Not much to say about it.

-----

Things that need to be done to fix the team, and right the ship...

1. Move Joe Kelly to the bullpen, and call-up Brian Johnson to take his spot. To put it simply, Brian Johnson is as major league ready as it gets. He has never been a high ceiling guy (seen as a #4/5 starter in most circles), but he has something Kelly doesn't have. Major league level control. His ability to avoid big innings is key in a season where we haven't produced the runs we've needed. He may not be perfect, but he's better than Kelly. Moving Kelly to the bullpen also gives the Sox a versatile player whose stuff can play up in the pen. (Kelly is seen as a bullpen guy in many circles)

2. Offense needs to start producing... or changes need to be made. One of these changes involves David Ortiz. He's old, and he's struggling. If he can't get out of this rut soon, I seriously consider putting Hanley Ramirez in the DH slot, and giving Papi time on the bench. This serves a double purpose. For starters, it gets a struggling offensive player out of the lineup, and opens an OF slot for someone like Jackie Bradley Jr (who is playing phenominal defense, and always has). Not only does it add a plus defender to the OF... but it also gets rid of defense from the equation that is Hanley Ramirez. Hanley, as said, is the worst defensive LFer in baseball (expected for a man who has never played out there). Putting him at DH is addition by subtraction. You would literally do better with no one playing defense in LF.

3. Keep everybody, don't splurge on a big name, like Cole Hamels. The Red Sox rotation, quite honestly, is fine. It has done its job recently, and there's no reason to think they can't keep pitching well, especially once Porcello figures his issues out. The Red Sox have a lot of big name prospects they COULD move for an upgrade, but right now, no upgrades make sense. Guys who could be moved are Manuel Margot (seen as a Mookie Betts type player, though not as great), Eduardo Rodriguez (who is unlikely, now that he's made the majors), and Rafael Devers (an 18 year old kid with a BIG bat). They could be moved, but they shouldn't be. Pitching just isn't that big an issue, and the offense isn't hitting well enough to support the pitching we already have.

Mainly, the issue boils down to "our offense that's supposed to be really good, is actually really bad."

There's still time to make a run of things (only 5.5 back as of today), but if we're not close, I hope we're sellers at the deadline. Not buyers.
patar4097 :

At least your team isn't in last place in the weakest division in baseball...

-----

The Red Sox this season have been frustrating, but I can't even blame it on them. We've been besieged by so much bad luck this season. It's absolutely infuriating.

Position by position, let's go down the list of how the season has gone, to see how you explain a record of 25-31...

C - So, remember how Christian Vazquez got injured and we had Ryan Hanigan, who was playing well as a replacement? Well he got injured too, so now the Blake Swihart era is in Boston. He's up far too early. He may have been ready later this year, but he had all of 36 games at the AAA level before being promoted (18 last year, 18 this year). AAA time is very important, ESPECIALLY for catchers, since they have more to focus on than hitting the ball. To his credit, he's been doing very well defensively, and offensively, he's been showing why he was a top 20 prospect in baseball entering the season (at least over the past two weeks, now that his power stroke is out). We're effectively using our third and fourth string catchers right now, and getting about what you expect out of third and fourth stringers.

1B - Mike Napoli has had a tale of two seasons so far... He was ice cold, but now he's red hot. Or was. He's back to being ice cold. Napoli has always been a super streaky hitter, but never to this extent. He either bats .000/.000/.000 or he bats 1.000/1.000/4.000. There's seemingly no inbetween. He's been one of the issues, both offensively, and defensively. Among the 27 qualifying first basemen in the league, he's 21st in WAR. That's bad.

2B - Dustin Pedroia has found the form that made him a perennial MVP candidate half a decade ago. He already has more homers this year than he had all of last year (and with 2/3 of the season left to go!), and he's above the .300/.360 triple slash that his career is known for. So far, this is his second best season by OPS+ (129), and is on par for what could be a 6 WAR season (All star level is seen as 5+). Unfortunately, he won't make the All Star team unless it's as a reserve, because Royals fans are stuffing the ballot, but he's playing well enough that he is the best player on this team, probably... and that's despite his worst defensive season in ever (usually, he's a gold glove caliber 2nd Baseman, but it just isn't there this year). He's 7th out of 22 qualifying 2nd basemen in WAR. So he's not an issue.

SS - Xander Bogaerts is finally beginning to realize his potential. He's hitting .298/.340/.399 this season. He's playing plus defense. He's literally doing everything but hitting for power right now, and even that's been coming slowly back to him. He's done a sneaky good job this year, of becoming a legitimate all star. By WAR (I use WAR a lot, because it's a nice way to boil a players value down to a single number), Xander is the 4th best SS in baseball, behind only Brandon Crawford, Jhonny Peralta, and Adeiny Hechavarria. He is going to be the biggest all star snub this year, mark my words. He's playing well enough to be in the discussion for best SS in 2015, and yet, nobody seems to give him any credit. He's a large part of why this team is still in contention in the division, despite being in last place.

3B - Pablo Sandoval... has not been good. He's not hitting, he's not playing any defense right now... and a large part of that is about a week ago, he got hit in the knee (which is huge for players of his size). So much of his offensive and defensive value is centered around his knees. His knees are what gives him the explosiveness on defense that makes him a plus defender. His knee gives his ball the extra power it needs to turn a lineout to SS or 2B into a gap double that he's famous for. Even before the injury though, he wasn't really producing. Of the 23 qualifying third basemen... he's dead last in WAR. He's been god awful, and not worth the money at all.

LF - Hanley Ramirez was the other big offseason acquisition the Sox made, and just like Sandoval... it just hasn't worked out yet. As hot as his April was, his May was absolutely awful. So awful it dropped him from being a top 5 LFer in the majors to a possibly bottom 5 LFer in the American League alone. He still has power, and lately, it's seemingly come back to him, but even once it does, his defensive failings keep costing the team. He's been the worst defensive LFer in baseball by a wide margin. So wide that it actually makes me miss Manny's defense in LF. Among the 17 qualifying LFers in WAR, he ranks 15th.

CF - Mookie Betts, on the other hand, has been a bright spot. Even when his hits don't fall, they are loud outs, to the warning track almost every time, it feels. He seemingly leads the majors in warning track outs and times robbed by a diving catch. Despite having so little MLB experience, he's showing poise out there each and every day, and has been improving slowly, but surely, like Xander. Among 20 qualifying CFers, he's ranked 11th in WAR. He also isn't an issue.

RF - The combination of Shane Victorino and Rusney Castillo hasn't worked out yet. Victorino is just terrible and shouldn't be a major leaguer anymore, and Rusney, predictably, for a man who didn't play baseball for a full year, is still rusty, and trying to get his head back in the game. He's made many blunders in the past week, although he's shown improvement lately, smoking balls left and right (although he's only getting singles, because #luck). A recent report on batted ball speeds done by a Red Sox reporter has shown that only one player has had better speed coming off the bat this year... David Ortiz. RF has been an issue, but maybe it won't be soon.

DH - David Ortiz. He hasn't been David Ortiz yet, despite his batted ball speed implying he's doing fine. Not much to say here, I honestly think he should retire, so we can put Hanley at DH. Among the 11 qualifying DHs, he's dead last in WAR.

SP - Ironically, the last thing I'm worried about right now is the pitching. Going into the year, everyone told us to be worried about the pitching, and honestly, so was I. But interestingly enough, our pitching has been solid, if not downright dominant at times. Our ERA is still wicked high, as a result of certain players... (Masterson) bringing it way up, but the current likely 5 man rotation looks good...

Clay Buchholz has looked downright ace like in most of his outings this year. He has a 3.82 ERA, which isn't amazing (but it's better than average), but he's been getting routinely unlucky, with regard to both BABIP and LOBster luck. His peripherals (K/9, BB/9) are the best they've ever been, even better than his ace season a few years back that was cut short by injury. That rings especially true when we look at his 2.94 FIP, and 3.12 xFIP (which are closer to the true measure of predicated success for pitchers). Both would imply that he's a top 20 SP in baseball. He's been exactly what we needed.

Wade Miley has surprisingly enough, been our most reliable starter not named Buchholz. I expected him to be our #3/4 guy entering the year, but he's pleasantly surprised me, calming down after a rough first month. Much like Buchholz, his ERA isn't indicative of exactly how well he's been pitching. Lie Buchholz, BABIP and LOB luck have spoiled his season. Once both normalize (like it has been for the past month), he'll be looking much better. I still wouldn't have traded Rubby for him (3.33 xFIP in Arizona of all places), but he's looking more and more like the guy we traded for with each game. He's not the issue either. He's been roughly a top 50 SP, according to WAR. Good enough for me.

Rick Porcello has struggled mightily, and it's no secret why. He's not getting groundballs (which is exactly what made him so good in the past) and he's letting up twice as many homeruns as he used to. Something mechanically seems wrong with him, and he's gone from being option 1B to being a guy who might be the 4th best pitcher in the rotation in the blink of an eye. I think he'll be fine, but until he is, he isn't. xFIP indicates he should be doing much better, just like with the rest of the guys above. I'm not concerned.

Joe Kelly should probably be replaced in the Red Sox rotation soon, and is at the moment the only true issue in the rotation. He doesn't go deep into ball games, always runs into the big inning, and lacks the control a starter needs. His xFIP indicates he's much better than shown, but that's nothing without context. He's walking 3.67 guys per 9 innings. That's simply too much to expect success with. Kelly should probably be moved to the bullpen.

Finally, we stop at who may be the savior of the rotation and the Sox in general... Eduardo Rodriguez. He's only made two starts, but both of them have been beauties. His next game is against the Orioles (the same Orioles who traded him to the Red Sox for 2 months of Andrew Miller). He's not walking guys, he's striking others out, and he's inducing ground balls at a good rate. And he's under control for the next six year. Hottest guy in the rotation right now.

You'll note I didn't discuss Justin Masterson, who was complete garbage. He was one of the problems in the rotation. He had all the control issues Kelly has, but didn't have the velocity to compensate for it. On the whole, he was awful, and tonight, he got lit up in the minors. He's done.

RP - I don't want to talk a ton about the bullpen, but it's been meh so far. This is a place that could use improvement, but all the improvement will come from within. Koji and Tazawa have been good, everything else has been meh at best. Not much to say about it.

-----

Things that need to be done to fix the team, and right the ship...

1. Move Joe Kelly to the bullpen, and call-up Brian Johnson to take his spot. To put it simply, Brian Johnson is as major league ready as it gets. He has never been a high ceiling guy (seen as a #4/5 starter in most circles), but he has something Kelly doesn't have. Major league level control. His ability to avoid big innings is key in a season where we haven't produced the runs we've needed. He may not be perfect, but he's better than Kelly. Moving Kelly to the bullpen also gives the Sox a versatile player whose stuff can play up in the pen. (Kelly is seen as a bullpen guy in many circles)

2. Offense needs to start producing... or changes need to be made. One of these changes involves David Ortiz. He's old, and he's struggling. If he can't get out of this rut soon, I seriously consider putting Hanley Ramirez in the DH slot, and giving Papi time on the bench. This serves a double purpose. For starters, it gets a struggling offensive player out of the lineup, and opens an OF slot for someone like Jackie Bradley Jr (who is playing phenominal defense, and always has). Not only does it add a plus defender to the OF... but it also gets rid of defense from the equation that is Hanley Ramirez. Hanley, as said, is the worst defensive LFer in baseball (expected for a man who has never played out there). Putting him at DH is addition by subtraction. You would literally do better with no one playing defense in LF.

3. Keep everybody, don't splurge on a big name, like Cole Hamels. The Red Sox rotation, quite honestly, is fine. It has done its job recently, and there's no reason to think they can't keep pitching well, especially once Porcello figures his issues out. The Red Sox have a lot of big name prospects they COULD move for an upgrade, but right now, no upgrades make sense. Guys who could be moved are Manuel Margot (seen as a Mookie Betts type player, though not as great), Eduardo Rodriguez (who is unlikely, now that he's made the majors), and Rafael Devers (an 18 year old kid with a BIG bat). They could be moved, but they shouldn't be. Pitching just isn't that big an issue, and the offense isn't hitting well enough to support the pitching we already have.

Mainly, the issue boils down to "our offense that's supposed to be really good, is actually really bad."

There's still time to make a run of things (only 5.5 back as of today), but if we're not close, I hope we're sellers at the deadline. Not buyers.
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06-27-15 08:04 PM
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I just got the best deal that one could get for a baseball game, minus the website fees. I was debating all day whether to go to the Mets game tomorrow because just like 2 days ago Steven Matz was promoted, their top prospect and yesterday it was announced he would start tomorrow, so it's a really big game in itself.

It gets even better when you take into account that todays game was suspended for the rain with a tied score meaning that todays game is going to continue tomorrow before the regular game, so I'm going to get at least 3 innings of free baseball from the 7th on. To make it even better, there was supposed to be a concert after the game today with the Steve Miller Band and that is moved to tomorrow after the regular game so it's really win win.

On the Mets website, seats all the way up at the top cost 32 to 35 dollars and on some reseller sites they go for 23 to 30 minus the fees, but on one of the site I found 1 ticket in field level behind the right field foul pole for $30. With all the fees it came out to be $39 and on the Mets website and other resellers, tickets there cost at least $48 so it's really a steal for the seat, the hype of the game, the make up game, and the concert.
I just got the best deal that one could get for a baseball game, minus the website fees. I was debating all day whether to go to the Mets game tomorrow because just like 2 days ago Steven Matz was promoted, their top prospect and yesterday it was announced he would start tomorrow, so it's a really big game in itself.

It gets even better when you take into account that todays game was suspended for the rain with a tied score meaning that todays game is going to continue tomorrow before the regular game, so I'm going to get at least 3 innings of free baseball from the 7th on. To make it even better, there was supposed to be a concert after the game today with the Steve Miller Band and that is moved to tomorrow after the regular game so it's really win win.

On the Mets website, seats all the way up at the top cost 32 to 35 dollars and on some reseller sites they go for 23 to 30 minus the fees, but on one of the site I found 1 ticket in field level behind the right field foul pole for $30. With all the fees it came out to be $39 and on the Mets website and other resellers, tickets there cost at least $48 so it's really a steal for the seat, the hype of the game, the make up game, and the concert.
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07-01-15 09:35 PM
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All I am going to say here is that the Indians aren't doing too well, and that the guy tonight almost threw a no hitter.

It was terrible watching the game as the LAST pitch ended as a hit. 2 strikes 2 outs bottom of the 9th, and I can't believe he hit that ball right where no one could catch it. That was a pretty sad moment. 
All I am going to say here is that the Indians aren't doing too well, and that the guy tonight almost threw a no hitter.

It was terrible watching the game as the LAST pitch ended as a hit. 2 strikes 2 outs bottom of the 9th, and I can't believe he hit that ball right where no one could catch it. That was a pretty sad moment. 
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07-01-15 10:26 PM
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It's a shame that he couldn't get the shutout either, at least if he had gotten that it would have still been terrible but he would have walked away with a little something.
It's a shame that he couldn't get the shutout either, at least if he had gotten that it would have still been terrible but he would have walked away with a little something.
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07-06-15 06:33 PM
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   As if the Tigers weren't already going to be in a hole going into the All Star break. Miggy's going to be out around 6 weeks, meaning out offense, which is basically the only thing we have that can really win us games, other than our defense at least, but losing one of the best hitters in the game is a huge blow to this team, who's already pretty far behind KC for the division lead. Our pitching is leaning too much on a very inconsistent bullpen, with Soria being the only arm there I can really say I trust right now.
   Verlander is playing much bigger of a role than I was hoping he would, having to actually play well if we want to win. But like I expected from him when he returned, it hasn't been well. The guy's done for all I care if he doesn't do what Sabathia and Weaver did to transform their pitching, even though Verlander still has decent speed in his fastball still. But he hasn't gotten the same amount of swing and misses, and his walk rate is way too high.
   Still, after all that, with the Royals being the leader in the division, with all the problems we've had, and how little hope I really have that this team can do a whole lot, I still think we've gotta make huge deals at the deadline to try to win this year. Because I think this is the last chance we've got. David Price is most likely gone after this year, so we'll have nobody at the top of the rotation. Sanchez is not that guy, and Verlander certainly hasn't shown that he's that guy anymore. The attempt to get over the bump, or even just on the bump at this point is probably petty, but what's the worst that could happen? It isn't like letting go a few more AAA guys is going to matter much as this point. We've already traded away most of our pieces, so if we're going to be crap for years to come, let's at least show that we tried one last time before that happens.
   As if the Tigers weren't already going to be in a hole going into the All Star break. Miggy's going to be out around 6 weeks, meaning out offense, which is basically the only thing we have that can really win us games, other than our defense at least, but losing one of the best hitters in the game is a huge blow to this team, who's already pretty far behind KC for the division lead. Our pitching is leaning too much on a very inconsistent bullpen, with Soria being the only arm there I can really say I trust right now.
   Verlander is playing much bigger of a role than I was hoping he would, having to actually play well if we want to win. But like I expected from him when he returned, it hasn't been well. The guy's done for all I care if he doesn't do what Sabathia and Weaver did to transform their pitching, even though Verlander still has decent speed in his fastball still. But he hasn't gotten the same amount of swing and misses, and his walk rate is way too high.
   Still, after all that, with the Royals being the leader in the division, with all the problems we've had, and how little hope I really have that this team can do a whole lot, I still think we've gotta make huge deals at the deadline to try to win this year. Because I think this is the last chance we've got. David Price is most likely gone after this year, so we'll have nobody at the top of the rotation. Sanchez is not that guy, and Verlander certainly hasn't shown that he's that guy anymore. The attempt to get over the bump, or even just on the bump at this point is probably petty, but what's the worst that could happen? It isn't like letting go a few more AAA guys is going to matter much as this point. We've already traded away most of our pieces, so if we're going to be crap for years to come, let's at least show that we tried one last time before that happens.
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07-06-15 09:17 PM
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patar4097 : I had to drop Verlander from my Fantasy team because of how much pain he caused me. He will never be what he was in the past but any improvement would be awesome.


I'm happy for Degrom making the All Star team and I'm really hoping that Familoa gets that last spot on the roster but we all know its going to Kershaw.

Steven Matz has been great both pitching and hitting, he has allowed only 2 earned runs in just over 13 innings and in his 2 starts has 5 RBIS.
patar4097 : I had to drop Verlander from my Fantasy team because of how much pain he caused me. He will never be what he was in the past but any improvement would be awesome.


I'm happy for Degrom making the All Star team and I'm really hoping that Familoa gets that last spot on the roster but we all know its going to Kershaw.

Steven Matz has been great both pitching and hitting, he has allowed only 2 earned runs in just over 13 innings and in his 2 starts has 5 RBIS.
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07-09-15 04:56 AM
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One more series until the all star break and my team doesn't have the worst record in baseball anymore! yay! I knew that the Brewers needed a miracle from their starting pitching this year to contend, but when they lost arguably their two best offensive threats(Carlos Gomez and Jonathon Lucroy) for over a month it got pretty ugly. At least they had a couple of series against the Phillies and Reds and managed to sweep both of those. They just lost two of three against Atlanta at home though. For whatever reason their home record is atrocious. I'm not sure what it is exactly but it's way lower than their road winning percentage. The word is that they plan to keep Francisco Rodriguez all year and not trade him again. He's played on the team for four years now and never been in the press guide because he always gets traded to a contender or they don't sign him until late. lol This time he has a two-year deal. So far he's 19 for 19 on saves. I hate when your only all-star is a reliever though. But then again, you have just as good of a chance as seeing them play as anyone if they don't start. I remember a year when Dave Parker made the team for Milwaukee when he was too overweight to do anything but DH and he never got into the game. Disappointment ensued.
One more series until the all star break and my team doesn't have the worst record in baseball anymore! yay! I knew that the Brewers needed a miracle from their starting pitching this year to contend, but when they lost arguably their two best offensive threats(Carlos Gomez and Jonathon Lucroy) for over a month it got pretty ugly. At least they had a couple of series against the Phillies and Reds and managed to sweep both of those. They just lost two of three against Atlanta at home though. For whatever reason their home record is atrocious. I'm not sure what it is exactly but it's way lower than their road winning percentage. The word is that they plan to keep Francisco Rodriguez all year and not trade him again. He's played on the team for four years now and never been in the press guide because he always gets traded to a contender or they don't sign him until late. lol This time he has a two-year deal. So far he's 19 for 19 on saves. I hate when your only all-star is a reliever though. But then again, you have just as good of a chance as seeing them play as anyone if they don't start. I remember a year when Dave Parker made the team for Milwaukee when he was too overweight to do anything but DH and he never got into the game. Disappointment ensued.
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07-09-15 09:39 AM
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Ferdinand :

I think I'd prefer having a reliever in the all star game, over what we have...

The Red Sox ONLY REPRESENTATIVE IS BROCK f***ING HOLT.

A utility guy who wouldn't even be starting if everyone was healthy.

Instead of a shortstop who is top 3 in the AL in WAR (Xander Bogaerts), or an outfielder who is arguably better than half the outfielders on the roster (Mookie Betts), or even our ace SP, who is basically third in the league in xFIP (Clay Buchholz), we get Brock Holt, a guy who even I don't have any excitement to see at the all star game.

I'm not watching this year.

Fan voting is a travesty, and has led to two of the most deserving players in the AL from getting on the roster (Too many Royals were brought in on fan voting).
Ferdinand :

I think I'd prefer having a reliever in the all star game, over what we have...

The Red Sox ONLY REPRESENTATIVE IS BROCK f***ING HOLT.

A utility guy who wouldn't even be starting if everyone was healthy.

Instead of a shortstop who is top 3 in the AL in WAR (Xander Bogaerts), or an outfielder who is arguably better than half the outfielders on the roster (Mookie Betts), or even our ace SP, who is basically third in the league in xFIP (Clay Buchholz), we get Brock Holt, a guy who even I don't have any excitement to see at the all star game.

I'm not watching this year.

Fan voting is a travesty, and has led to two of the most deserving players in the AL from getting on the roster (Too many Royals were brought in on fan voting).
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07-09-15 11:05 AM
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legacyme3 :   I'll agree with you on that one as far as fan voting. I knew it was getting bad about 5 years ago when the Brewers were able to get Corey Hart into the game by voting him in over somebody else. I don't remember who, but I know they were more deserving. I myself voted for him the max of 25 times. I guess it just seems like when you send a reliever to the All-Stars it's like a concession. I suppose like your situation with Holt. I actually did read an article a day or two ago on ESPN about how he was the least deserving all-star and how overrated he is. No joke. Just goes to show that money alone isn't enough to be a winner. I don't know what their payroll is but they only have a few more wins than Milwaukee right now but I would imagine twice the payroll. I don't usually watch the All-Star game anyways though since it falls in the same week as my birthday and I have other things going on. Last year it was on my birthday.
legacyme3 :   I'll agree with you on that one as far as fan voting. I knew it was getting bad about 5 years ago when the Brewers were able to get Corey Hart into the game by voting him in over somebody else. I don't remember who, but I know they were more deserving. I myself voted for him the max of 25 times. I guess it just seems like when you send a reliever to the All-Stars it's like a concession. I suppose like your situation with Holt. I actually did read an article a day or two ago on ESPN about how he was the least deserving all-star and how overrated he is. No joke. Just goes to show that money alone isn't enough to be a winner. I don't know what their payroll is but they only have a few more wins than Milwaukee right now but I would imagine twice the payroll. I don't usually watch the All-Star game anyways though since it falls in the same week as my birthday and I have other things going on. Last year it was on my birthday.
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07-09-15 11:27 AM
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Ferdinand :

Yeah, money doesn't win championships, talent does. And the thing is, we have plenty of talent, it just never works at the same time.

One night, we might score 10 runs, but our pitching will blow and give up 10 runs.

The next, our pitcher might be dominant and only give up a single run over 7 innings, but lose because our offense scores 0.

Rarely, but more often, lately, when we hit, we pitch, and vice-versa, so there's still hope. Our division is extremely competitive, despite what the records might say, and it truly is anyone's division to win, at this point (5 games separate first and last place in our division, the only division where you can make that claim, we're about as close to first place as the Pirates are to catching the Cardinals).

We have all star level players, not just according to my personal opinion, but to just stats in general. Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts are all star level players, but neither is on the roster, because of fan voting and Ned Yost.
Ferdinand :

Yeah, money doesn't win championships, talent does. And the thing is, we have plenty of talent, it just never works at the same time.

One night, we might score 10 runs, but our pitching will blow and give up 10 runs.

The next, our pitcher might be dominant and only give up a single run over 7 innings, but lose because our offense scores 0.

Rarely, but more often, lately, when we hit, we pitch, and vice-versa, so there's still hope. Our division is extremely competitive, despite what the records might say, and it truly is anyone's division to win, at this point (5 games separate first and last place in our division, the only division where you can make that claim, we're about as close to first place as the Pirates are to catching the Cardinals).

We have all star level players, not just according to my personal opinion, but to just stats in general. Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts are all star level players, but neither is on the roster, because of fan voting and Ned Yost.
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07-09-15 11:54 AM
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legacyme3 : Well, in that case you have to look at the manager I guess if the talent isn't producing. Unless they're hurt.. I know those feels though as far as not being able to get hitting and pitching to both click at the same time. The Brewers have lost a lot of close games this year. More than normal. 4-3, 3-2, one run games where we were a clutch hit away. If they get into the late innings with the lead our bullpen has been lights-out this year with only a few notable exceptions. K-Rod is still a perfect 19 for 19 as of last night. Our biggest problem is getting him out there in a save situation. I really do think too though that the second half of last season counts towards whether a player is deserving to go to the All Stars. A lot of guys start out slow each year. And a lot of guys start out hot, then tank, or just run out of gas after the break you know?
legacyme3 : Well, in that case you have to look at the manager I guess if the talent isn't producing. Unless they're hurt.. I know those feels though as far as not being able to get hitting and pitching to both click at the same time. The Brewers have lost a lot of close games this year. More than normal. 4-3, 3-2, one run games where we were a clutch hit away. If they get into the late innings with the lead our bullpen has been lights-out this year with only a few notable exceptions. K-Rod is still a perfect 19 for 19 as of last night. Our biggest problem is getting him out there in a save situation. I really do think too though that the second half of last season counts towards whether a player is deserving to go to the All Stars. A lot of guys start out slow each year. And a lot of guys start out hot, then tank, or just run out of gas after the break you know?
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07-09-15 12:13 PM
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Ferdinand :

The thing is, it isn't the manager's fault either. He's made mistakes, but all managers do. Realistically, our team probably has an average level manager.

Our team's issue isn't any one thing you can pin down.

We're a top 10 team in OBP, we're top half in SLG, we're top half in batting average. Top 10 in runs scored, RBI, and just outside the top 10 in HR. We basically lead the league in line outs (which is both fantastic, since it means we're hitting the ball hard, and terrible, because it means we're hitting it right to defenders).

Our pitching hasn't been great, but it's better than the stats are showing (the numbers are inflated by a few Justin Masterson and Rick Porcello appearances, but Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Wade Miley, and various fill ins have done great work.

If I had to say one thing, ONE thing that is causing our team to lose?

It's probably just bad luck. We're hitting hard (which you want to do!) but the ball never seems to fall fast enough, or it gets hit RIGHT to the outfielders (which is just awful), while our pitchers aren't giving up hard contact (it's good!) but the soft dribblers are getting by guys who are normally great defenders (Pedroia, Napoli, and Sandoval).

Our best defensive infielder is Xander, who was a year ago, our worst defensive infielder.

But defense isn't screwing us over, by UZR, we're within that second tier, between 10-20. We're roughly average, on the whole.

It's frustrating. We're better than this, and yet, at the same time, we clearly are not.
Ferdinand :

The thing is, it isn't the manager's fault either. He's made mistakes, but all managers do. Realistically, our team probably has an average level manager.

Our team's issue isn't any one thing you can pin down.

We're a top 10 team in OBP, we're top half in SLG, we're top half in batting average. Top 10 in runs scored, RBI, and just outside the top 10 in HR. We basically lead the league in line outs (which is both fantastic, since it means we're hitting the ball hard, and terrible, because it means we're hitting it right to defenders).

Our pitching hasn't been great, but it's better than the stats are showing (the numbers are inflated by a few Justin Masterson and Rick Porcello appearances, but Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Wade Miley, and various fill ins have done great work.

If I had to say one thing, ONE thing that is causing our team to lose?

It's probably just bad luck. We're hitting hard (which you want to do!) but the ball never seems to fall fast enough, or it gets hit RIGHT to the outfielders (which is just awful), while our pitchers aren't giving up hard contact (it's good!) but the soft dribblers are getting by guys who are normally great defenders (Pedroia, Napoli, and Sandoval).

Our best defensive infielder is Xander, who was a year ago, our worst defensive infielder.

But defense isn't screwing us over, by UZR, we're within that second tier, between 10-20. We're roughly average, on the whole.

It's frustrating. We're better than this, and yet, at the same time, we clearly are not.
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07-09-15 12:24 PM
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zanderlex
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legacyme3 : Remember back a few weeks ago when there was that issue where MLB discarded like 50 million fake votes because of the Royals? Do you think something like that might have happened again before voting ended?
legacyme3 : Remember back a few weeks ago when there was that issue where MLB discarded like 50 million fake votes because of the Royals? Do you think something like that might have happened again before voting ended?
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