They will not trade Betts, I'm quite sure.Originally Posted by Kimmi
Making a trade like that will always raise the question, why didn't you just sign a free agent pitcher when you had the chance?
They will not trade Betts, I'm quite sure.
Making a trade like that will always raise the question, why didn't you just sign a free agent pitcher when you had the chance?
I don't think they will trade Betts either. I absolutely agree with the idea of signing a free agent pitcher over having to give up prospects and money to acquire a pitcher through trade.
I could see Betts getting dealt only if a generational top of the rotation talent comes available, and as good as Hamels is, he isn't that. If a guy like Bumgarner hit the market for some reason, I could see the sox selling on Betts to get that guy. The fact that he is murdering Rusney Castillo in the spring competition and the sox are already looking to lock him up long term tells me their org view is sky high when it comes to his value. I thought Betts would be in any talks with Hamels, but to be honest with you, the way they are approaching him is almost as if theyd deal Bogaerts before dealing Betts
Hal sucks
Betts has looked great, but I'm not sure 'murdering Castillo' is accurate, since Castillo was hurt and is now 3 for 4 with a home run since he started playing.
Betts has had a great spring. He has very few bad ABs and he hits the ball hard to all fields. He has earned a job. Who is the odd man out?
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
It's pretty simple now, I think. Either Castillo starts in AAA or Vic is DL'd or traded.
Victorino is playing every day with no nagging problems. He's looking healthier than he has been since he has been with us.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
Since his return from injury, Castillo has been making it tough for the FO to send him down. I still think he's the odd man out though.
Yadier Molina is the best defensive catcher in baseball. it's not a slight on Vazquez to point out that Yadi is just as good defensively, is still more or less in his prime, and has a decade of experience and 2 world series rings.
I would be very, very grateful to get 80% of Molina out of Vazquez. He's got the potential, it's just a matter of whether he can put the whole package together. But if you could trade Vazquez for Molina you do it 20 times out of 10. Not that I think either the Cards or the Red Sox would make that trade, they both seem to know what they have.
BTW look at what Yadi can do for Cardinals pitching. There hasn't been a pitcher in a Cardinals uniform that hasn't outperformed his talent during Molina's tenure. Catchers that can do what Yadi can do, and what Vazquez is capable of learning to do, are made of pure wins.
Last edited by Dojji; 03-22-2015 at 02:57 PM.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
Honestly I think that when the Sox brass look in the mirror, they admit to themselves (but can't admit to us because they're afraid of losing ticket sales revenues) that this team is not a true top flight contender for the forseeable. One FA pitcher more or less isn't going to help when the problem is that the rotation has aged and several key figures of prior championship runs left, or declined, or are stupidly inconsistent and injury prone (Buchholz) and that the team is probably going to wind up replacing at least 3 of its starters over the next 4-5 years. This remains true whether or not Lester is on the team, which is probably why he was moved on and the team made moves towards younger free agent arms.
What you saw this offseason was a team that wasn't confident in its ability to field a worldbeating rotation no matter how much money they spent so they focused on other priorities and just tried to make sure all the starters they picked up were durable guys who could pitch a lot of innings on a good day. In other words, we're in a holding pattern while our younger players grow into the stars we hope they can be.
Given the state of the lineup as well, I think that was the right call. There's too many things on this team that aren't A+ grade for an honest assessment to spend whatever it takes to go for it now. That's just not what the team is as of now. The potential is there, certainly, but it's not clearcut enough to go maxed out right at the outset. We need some things to go right with prospect development (which has been a sour spot on the team for half a decade now) before this team is a top contender again.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
Ah. This explains why Buch, Kelly, and Masterson are in the rotation.
Now I get it!
Can't answer to why the Sox are still clinging blindly to the vain hope that is Buchholz, but Masterson is a very durable pitcher, even in the years where he isn't very good. Prior to last year he pitched 216, 208, and 190 innings in the prior 3 seasons.
and Kelly averaged between 5 2/3 innings a start, which is good for a 5 they're still stretching out.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
Anybody who has had back problems can feel great one day and be in trouble the next. It's a crap shoot. Hopefully since Victorino is a great guy, everything works out for him.
Give Farrell a call and debate his evaluation with him.
I don't think the FO would have spent as much money on Panda and Hanley if they thought that they didn't have a contender for the forseeable future. That just doesn't make any sense.
I'm not sure what you mean by the state of the lineup. The state of the lineup looks pretty good to me.
The FO might not be as confident in the starting rotation as they're letting on, but I think it's now a wait and see approach. I think that they are confident enough in the team as a whole to believe that they are a contender.
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