I have always given Ben credit for his good moves. He just doesn't get all of the credit. He doesn't deserve it. Many people in addition to him played rolls that have been equally important.Originally Posted by Kimmi
I have always given Ben credit for his good moves. He just doesn't get all of the credit. He doesn't deserve it. Many people in addition to him played rolls that have been equally important.
Let's go, formerly fat slob.
The King of TalkSox has Spoken.
I appreciate everyone's input. But, I seem to recall DD saying Swihart will work at catching. What he says matter more than what any of you think. Now he may change his mind but I'm pretty positive the plan is for Swihart to catch until further notice.
1) GMs often say what they think players, media and or fans want to hear.
2) I think the 2016 plan was to play Swihart as a catcher wire-to-wire. We saw what happened when need overcame desire.
3) I agree that the plan should be to keep Swihart at catcher until we know if he can handle it, but things can happen.
4) I don't think Swihart will play 3B or 1B this year. I doubt he plays OF either.
5) I just rarely say never.
I don't see DD kissing ass of media, fans nor players. He's very forthright.
Yup, the best Rex Sox team will have Pablo at 3b the majority of games.
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
Why is it that I can't feel any confidence in statements like yours/
All GMs avoid saying things that will upset their players, unless they think they need a fire lit under them.
I'm sure, if you asked DD last February, what the plans were for Swihart, he'd have said he planned on having him catch all year.
Maybe I'm overly high on Swihart's offensive capabilities, but I think he is going to show he can hit very well this year at AAA. If our catchers our doing well, and someone else is struggling or gets injured severely, I can't see us being locked into the current plan for Swihart.
I'm denying the plan exists, and I actually agree with it. Swihart should not be moved from catcher this year, unless the ML team would benefit significantly by doing so. I laid out one scenario that involved 3 to 4 things needing to happen for Swihart to be moved to 3B. It's not like I'm projecting or expecting it to happen.
I do think the chances he plays some DH with Boston this year are higher than 3B or 1B. I doubt we see him in LF, since we have Young and then Holt out there.
Last year we faced a lefty starter 23% of the games. Starting Pablo 77% of the games would be a vast majority of the games.
He could also PH in the games he does not start. My guess is that even as a full platoon player, he could still get 500-550 PAs, which is probably just about right.
I know. The guy lost his job last spring to Shaw, and now it seems like people are afraid of hurting his feelings if we start the season with him in a 77% platoon having to earn the right to play FT.
i dont think he should be. i am feeling a great year coming from our lovable 3bman.
no platoon necessary.
platoon_1986_6592.jpg
other names i have posted under: none
The Sox will be a good team, whether Pablo plays or not.
The question is, would the Sox be a better team with a platoon at 3b or a consistently producing Pablo?
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
It's got nothing to do with his feelings, Moon.
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
I don't think anyone is worried about "hurting Sandoval's feelings." You posted that Rutledge and Sandoval should platoon at 3rd, completely forgetting about Brock Holt, who will definitely be in the 3rd base mix barring injury. Maybe it's because you had him in 100 different trade proposals in the offseason that you forgot he was on the team. 😳
I understand that Brock Holt doesn't resonate with "stat guys." There's a reason why DD said that as many as 25 teams contacted the Sox about Holt, and it's not because there are 25 teams that think he'd be a better starting 2nd baseman than the one they have. That's not where is greatest value is at all.
Brock Holt is a high energy guy who shows up to the ballpark everyday completely prepared to play any one of 7 positions. He doesn't bitch when he doesn't play and he always gives you 100%. You can count on one hand how many players that can do that with any kind of consistency in Major League baseball, and THAT'S where his greatest value is, not as a starter for another team, where he'll likely get exposed.
True, but there's at least 10 teams who would get solid upgrades by starting Brockstar at 2B. I'd rate him a solid-average starting 2B if given the chance. In a healthy season Brock's been good for 2-2.5 WAR. He could absolutely stake a claim to a starting 2B role if that's what the team needed. He's more useful in the super-sub role though.
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.
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