A Realistic View at 2019: Part I

[moonslav59]

Red Sox Select Josh Smith
By Jeff Todd | April 26, 2019 at 2:25pm CDT

The Red Sox have selected the contract of righty Josh Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll make a start today for the club if the scheduled contest isn’t rained out. Reliever Travis Lakins was optioned down to open active roster space.

Smith, 31, saw 127 1/3 innings of big-league action from 2015-17 but failed to make it back up last year. He owns a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at the game’s highest level. (Note: another hurler by the same name also pitched in the upper minors last year with the Red Sox. He’s now with the Indians.)

Though he has never posted dominating numbers in the upper minors, Smith has struck out better than a batter per nine at the Triple-A level since the start of the 2017 season. He has racked up 23 strikeouts against five walks in 16 2/3 innings in three starts for Pawtucket to open the present season.

[Kimmi]

I'm okay with Sandy catching.

But can we not over valuer his pitch calling? Starters still need to hit the spots.

You'd think Rick would be pitching a perfect game with Sandy behind the plate.

I think some people undervalue his pitch calling.

Of course a catcher is not going to make any pitcher become a Cy Young candidate. The pitcher still has to make his pitches. Don't you think that having the comfort level with and the confidence in the catcher would help the pitcher make good pitches? Leon is knowledgable beyond just what the scouting report says. The pitchers trust him and are on the same page with him.

[Kimmi]

1.46 13 0 0 6 7 12.1 9 2 2 2 2 11 .205

ERA G W L S SO IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG

Ryan Brasier ($577,500), in the starring role of CLOSER.

Kimmi says "How do you like them apples?"

I was and still am critical of Dombrowski's first 2 years here.

I am mostly very pleased with what he's done the last 2 years.

[Kimmi]

I was surprised DD passed on Justin Wilson an Alex Wilson, since he’s acquired both before with Detroit. Justin has been good. Alex not so much...

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

[Kimmi]

How about taking a flyer on this guy?

White Sox Designate Ervin Santana For Assignment

For a minor league contract, I'm in.

[notin]

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

Disagree.

This is based on the myth that relief pitchers are inconsistent and therefore you can get. a good one for cheap. I think that it is true that inconsistent pitchers do become relievers, but paying for consistent relievers is acceptable.

And platoons are small market baseball. It’s a strategy for teams that realize they cannot pay one good player, so instead they pay 2 players who only stink part time...

[Bellhorn04]

And platoons are small market baseball. It’s a strategy for teams that realize they cannot pay one good player, so instead they pay 2 players who only stink part time...

What? Not even teams with the highest payroll can afford to have good players at every position.

[notin]

What? Not even teams with the highest payroll are going to have good players at every position.

No.

They have bad players, young players, or players who don’t contribute on both sides of the ball.

But they don’t anticipate the bad players being bad. If they did, many more would go get a platoon partner...

[Bellhorn04]

No.

They have bad players, young players, or players who don’t contribute on both sides of the ball.

But they don’t anticipate the bad players being bad. If they did, many more would go get a platoon partner...

Moreland isn't a flat-out bad player. But having a platoon partner for him makes a lot of sense to me.

I don't disagree that the money spent on Pearce mightn't have been better spent. But it doesn't mean a Moreland-Pearce platoon is a bad thing.

[notin]

Moreland isn't a flat-out bad player. But having a platoon partner for him makes a lot of sense to me.

I don't disagree that the money spent on Pearce mightn't have been better spent. But it doesn't mean a Moreland-Pearce platoon is a bad thing.

I thought and still think it was a waste. The upgrade from Moreland to Pearce, if and when it happens, is tantamount to a handful of runs per year and not worth downgrading the bullpen to it’s current state of a slot machine...

[Bellhorn04]

I thought and still think it was a waste. The upgrade from Moreland to Pearce, if and when it happens, is tantamount to a handful of runs per year and not worth downgrading the bullpen to it’s current state of a slot machine...

Maybe they wouldn't have spent the 6.25 million on the bullpen anyway. Or maybe spent it on Cody Allen or one of the other guys stinking it up.

DD just seemed determined not to spend a nickel on the pen.

[S5Dewey]

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

I agree that a team can get good relievers for cheap. The trick is being able to recognize the good ones. A team can also sign a lot of bad relievers for cheap without finding that good one and be stuck with a bullpen of bad relievers whom they're paying good money for.

DD has been very adroit and finding those good ones and I appreciate that. However, the philosophy of signing a bunch of pitchers and hoping one of them works out doesn't seem like a good approach.

[Bellhorn04]

Just imagine if we took Pearce's 6.25 mill, added another 2.75 mill plus tax and signed Allen. Oh yeah, we'd be much better off right now.

[Bellhorn04]

Or we could have re-signed Joe Kelly for a mere 25 mill. That'd look great right now.

[mvp 78]

Or we could have re-signed Joe Kelly for a mere 25 mill. That'd look great right now.

The only one who wanted Kelly back was jacko.