Red Sox To Sign J.D. Martinez

[Natick to NC]

Who the hell is this fangraphs guy Spud? His name seems to come up a lot here. He must have been a hell of a player. I'm going to check in with Pedroia just hear to what he thinks of him. lol

Watching JD hit cages today with Mookie asking him how he's pulling his hands through on his outer most impact was reallllllly freaking Awesome !! JD will teach Mookie and Mookie will Teach JD Aton .JD and Mookie by the end of that session had what looked like similar swing paths ....Mookie is a baseball savant people .....Mookie will get the largest contract in Red Sox History .

[moonslav59]

Mookie's greatest attribute might be the one we drafted him on: super twitch responses.

I'm not saying he's not smart, and I think he will learn and grow and get better.

[notin]

Same reason catchers do - and we know (from history with Ortiz and Ramirez) that the DH will almost certainly sit during some of these games.

The Sox also moved Adrian Gonzalez to RF to keep Ortiz in the lineup. And hopefully JD works out better than Hanley has where sitting him has been a no-brainer.

Not sure I like the catcher comparison. You're trying to compare the most physically demanding position to the least physically demanding position. .

[Kimmi]

I hope we get chance to see how bad he is. lol
How many of you out there can honestly say that you have watched and scrutinized the way he plays in the field? Raise your hands.

I have not watched him play that many games, and certainly have not scrutinized the way he plays defensively. Do I have to have done that to know that he is pretty bad defensively when I have the stats (and scouting reports) that say he's that bad?

If there were a pitcher with as much experience and playing time as JD, and every year his ERA ranged from 6 to 6.5, would you know that he's a bad pitcher or would you have to see him pitch first to make that determination? I know I'd feel pretty comfortable forming the opinion that said pitcher stinks.

Why are defensive metrics any different?

[Kimmi]

How many times have you seen him play the outfield?

I trust what the defensive metrics tell me.

Can you determine whether a hitter is a bad hitter by looking at his stats?

[Kimmi]

He can be everyday LF in NL parks.

I have no doubt that he will get playing time in the outfield. I also don't have a problem with that, in a limited, 4th outfielder type role.

I'm just saying he's not very good out there.

[Kimmi]

Also,

Boston would be able to make Martinez a qualifying offer, should he decide to opt out of the remaining three years of the deal...

Excellent.

[Kimmi]

I didn't watch him hit all 45 bombs last year, but based on the numbers, I think I have a fair bit of confidence that he has great power. I know people are generally more suspicious of defensive numbers for whatever reason, but at a certain point they, coupled with the consensus around the game that seems to have him as a fairly mediocre defender (although there were other factors at play, the fact that the only team willing to offer him a long-term deal plans to use him primarily as a DH seems noteworthy), are worth something, right? Not to denigrate the value of anyone's eyeballs, but the idea that you can't know anything about a player's defensive skill, and have to be purely agnostic on the subject, until you, personally, have watched them extensively seems...a bit preposterous to me.

Perhaps more to the point, all of us have had the opportunity to watch our current group of outfielders at work, and I for one feel no urgency to break up what should be one of the better defensive outfields in the majors on account of JDM. I expect we'll see him start from time to time to rest one of the starting three, but if it's any more than that, it means that one of the Beni/JBJ/Betts trinity has gotten hurt or their playing time has been cut for some reason, so for that reason alone, I certainly hope we don't see too much of him in the field. As someone else said, he was signed to hit, and I'm excited as hell to see him hit...not terribly concerned about the rest.

Thank you.

[Kimmi]

Worse than Manny?

Manny was pretty bad. So was Hanley.

[notin]

Manny was pretty bad. So was Hanley.

Manny was bad all around. But when he was good, he was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md8j_Sq5Nbs

Not the best highlight reel defense, but maximum bonus points awarded for high-fiving a fan and still completing the double play...

[cp176]

I have not watched him play that many games, and certainly have not scrutinized the way he plays defensively. Do I have to have done that to know that he is pretty bad defensively when I have the stats (and scouting reports) that say he's that bad?

If there were a pitcher with as much experience and playing time as JD, and every year his ERA ranged from 6 to 6.5, would you know that he's a bad pitcher or would you have to see him pitch first to make that determination? I know I'd feel pretty comfortable forming the opinion that said pitcher stinks.

Why are defensive metrics any different?

No one has even come close to saying that people should not consider any metric that might help them make an educated decision. I certainly would but ultimately my mind would not be made up until I saw him play. It seems to me that people who have great great faith in metrics do not even think for one minute that there is any other way to even help evaluate talent. I think that that is very sad. With respect to your view on pitchers - 6 to 6.5 really - 4 to 4.5 absolutely I would have to see him throw before I made up my mind.

[notin]

To me the metrics make it a level field for comparing. Watching one shortstop 150 times and another one 6 times shouldn't lead anyone to conclude whose better.

But the best thing about metrics is they made me and a lot of other people look beyond errors and fielding percentage, which was a very common method of evaluating defense, and easily the most flawed.

Eye Test defense is OK, but it has far more flaws than metrics do...

[Spudboy]

"You have any of them French fried taters?"

JD6.jpg

[cp176]

"You have any of them French fried taters?"

JD6.jpg

The game of baseball is a beautiful game filled with all kinds of strategy that the average player could give two big shits about. The brainiacs as you like to call them seem to be out in force trying paint lipstick on the pig here. Best of luck to any manager who tries to convince these guys that what fangraphs has to say about them daily has any significance what so ever! Gets a big fucking lol from me Spud but remember I am one of the old fools.

[mvp 78]

I have no doubt that he will get playing time in the outfield. I also don't have a problem with that, in a limited, 4th outfielder type role.

I'm just saying he's not very good out there.

He’s not good at all out there.