AL East 2016 thread

[PhantomWarrior]

Advantage clearly seems to favor the O's tonight when it comes to the pitching matchup

Wish you guys all the best. Yes the Rangers are not sending any Christmas cards to Canada anytime soon.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Wish you guys all the best. Yes the Rangers are not sending any Christmas cards to Canada anytime soon.

1) He's a Yankees fan.

2) You guys will have plenty of extra time to make Christmas card lists once the Jays spare your team from a time-consuming ALCS appearance again

 

[PhantomWarrior]

1) He's a Yankees fan.

2) You guys will have plenty of extra time to make Christmas card lists once the Jays spare your team from a time-consuming ALCS appearance again

Let the games begin.....

 

[Bulletz]

1) He's a Yankees fan.

2) You guys will have plenty of extra time to make Christmas card lists once the Jays spare your team from a time-consuming ALCS appearance again

Let the games begin.....

Congrats to and also fuck the Jays. Should be a great series, I'm not 100% which way I'm leaning just yet.

 

[Pastafazul]

who will indians play for the latin american pennant?

 

[Pastafazul]

The Dodgers payroll is the highest in baseball and they have won 15 fewer games on the road than they did at home......

hmmmm, i am watching the dodgers and nats game right now, where are the yankees?

 

[navamind]

Not the way I was hoping to see the Sox go out, but I'm happy they gave Ortiz another shot in the postseason. I'm more saddened by his retirement than the Sox actually getting swept (2005 and 2009 sucked a lot more, especially coming against teams I hate). It's going to be impossible to replace his presence and bat. He had a 148 OPS+ in 14 seasons with the Sox and had a .947 OPS in the postseason (in 347 PA). Could also be it for Uehara. He's been a fun player to watch and he played a huge role in 2013 (379 ERA+ over 74 innings).

That being said, I'm very excited for the future of the Sox. This is a team returning four homegrown stars (Pedroia/Bogaerts/Betts/JBJ) and they should be getting a full season of Benintendi (not bad for a guy who was drafted in June 2015). Catcher was pretty iffy before Sandy Leon came along, but there's little chance he repeats his success given his .390 BABIP. I still think Swihart could be a good hitting catcher and it was stupid to move him into the OF. Unfortunately there's no replacing Papi's production, but I think they could do just fine with a 1B/DH rotation of Hanley, Chris Young and someone else (Brandon Moss?).

Bullpen is a pretty interesting question. Uehara, Ziegler and Tazawa will be free agents. I'd like to see them keep Ziegler and Uehara. Tazawa just looked shot and even though he pitched well in September, he wasn't trusted in meaningful situations at all. I just don't see him being a viable solution at this point. Joe Kelly looked great down the stretch in September and October and he looks like he could be a legitimate weapon. Ross, Hembree and Barnes should also be in the mix and they're fine. Hopefully Carson Smith can come back healthy and effective.

 

[navamind]

Not the way I was hoping to see the Sox go out, but I'm happy they gave Ortiz another shot in the postseason. I'm more saddened by his retirement than the Sox actually getting swept (2005 and 2009 sucked a lot more, especially coming against teams I hate). It's going to be impossible to replace his presence and bat. He had a 148 OPS+ in 14 seasons with the Sox and had a .947 OPS in the postseason (in 347 PA). Could also be it for Uehara. He's been a fun player to watch and he played a huge role in 2013 (379 ERA+ over 74 innings).

That being said, I'm very excited for the future of the Sox. This is a team returning four homegrown stars (Pedroia/Bogaerts/Betts/JBJ) and they should be getting a full season of Benintendi (not bad for a guy who was drafted in June 2015). Catcher was pretty iffy before Sandy Leon came along, but there's little chance he repeats his success given his .390 BABIP. I still think Swihart could be a good hitting catcher and it was stupid to move him into the OF. Unfortunately there's no replacing Papi's production, but I think they could do just fine with a 1B/DH rotation of Hanley, Chris Young and someone else (Brandon Moss?).

Bullpen is a pretty interesting question. Uehara, Ziegler and Tazawa will be free agents. I'd like to see them keep Ziegler and Uehara. Tazawa just looked shot and even though he pitched well in September, he wasn't trusted in meaningful situations at all. I just don't see him being a viable solution at this point. Joe Kelly looked great down the stretch in September and October and he looks like he could be a legitimate weapon. Ross, Hembree and Barnes should also be in the mix and they're fine. Hopefully Carson Smith can come back healthy and effective.

Couldn't edit my post in time.

Moncada will probably start the season in AAA. The talent is obvious, but he still has to work on breaking balls. He was striking out a lot in AA, it wasn't the least bit surprising he struggled. Depending on how he progresses, he could be back up in the majors in mid-late 2017 (depending on how the Sox do at 3B with Shaw/Sandoval/Holt).

I think the rotation is pretty set with Price/Porcello/Pomeranz/Rodriguez and maybe Wright? I really don't think Pomeranz was that bad overall (he had a 3.35 ERA from July 25 to Sept 5 in 9 starts), but he had 3 or 4 starts that really hurt his ERA. Even then, he still had a 100 ERA+. I don't think they're the 1998 Braves by any means, but I feel confident with that going into the next season. This is a rotation that was in the top 10 in ERA and WAR (11th in FIP).

Rodriguez struggled when he returned to the majors mostly due to command and possibly tipping pitches. But ever since he got recalled, he had a 3.24 ERA in his final 14 starts with 79 K's in 77.2 innings. He played a pretty pivotal role in the Red Sox pitching stepping up in the 2nd half. He doesn't turn 24 years old until next April.

Steven Wright also played a pivotal role this year before going down on an unfortunate baserunning injury. He threw 156.2 innings in 24 starts and threw 4 complete games, helping keep the Sox pitching staff together in the first half. If it wasn't for him, the Sox could have been in a pretty deep hole in the summer. He probably won't put up a 3.33 ERA again, unless he does have control over quality of contact. He had one of the best soft contact rates in MLB. Regardless, it's hard to ignore a guy with a 3.58 ERA over 263.2 innings. I'll be pretty damn happy if ends up being Wakefield 2.0.

I'm still not against the idea of shooting Buchholz into the moon, but he did step up when Wright went down. He had a 3.17 ERA in his final 48.1 innings of the season (8 starts). It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up his option for 2017, as he would still provide some depth. But it's good to know that the Sox would no longer give him a long leash (as evident by him being taken out of the rotation several times). Sox do have several other options in the minors (Owens, Johnson).

 

[navamind]

I wouldn't be opposed to Justin Turner. He's been a very productive player since joining the Dodgers (.296/.364/.492, 136 OPS+, 13.1 WAR). He'd provide some good versatility as well (has played SS, 2B, 1B in the past). Trade Shaw in the offseason.

Biggest priority is extending Bogaerts and Betts. I'd keep JBJ, though I don't know if they'll be able to hold onto him. He struggled a bit down the road, but it was his first full season in the majors. He still finished with a 116 OPS+ (53 OPS+ in his first two seasons) and ~5 WAR (fWAR has him as a top 5 OF in MLB). All in all, I'd say he had a very successful 2016 campaign.

 

[poprocksncoke]

I think the rotation is pretty set with Price/Porcello/Pomeranz/Rodriguez and maybe Wright? I really don't think Pomeranz was that bad overall (he had a 3.35 ERA from July 25 to Sept 5 in 9 starts), but he had 3 or 4 starts that really hurt his ERA. Even then, he still had a 100 ERA+. I don't think they're the 1998 Braves by any means, but I feel confident with that going into the next season. This is a rotation that was in the top 10 in ERA and WAR (11th in FIP).

I disagree, they still need an Ace. I don't believe that Porcello can recreate the season he had this year.

 

[navamind]

I disagree, they still need an Ace. I don't believe that Porcello can recreate the season he had this year.

Porcello might be due for some regression, but he was still a top pitcher in the AL going by FIP/xFIP/WAR. Even in his Detroit years he was a good pitcher, but was plagued by an atrocious defense (Sox had one of the best defenses in MLB this year).

On the other hand, I think Price could have a better 2017 season. He had a career high BABIP allowed (.310) and HR/FB rate (13.5%). Though at first glance his numbers feel disappointing, his 2016 season was still a strong season and was in line with Price's 2013/14 seasons (114 ERA+ in 2016; 115 in 2013-14). Price's 230 innings are the most the Sox have gotten from a SP since Pedro's 233.2 in 1998.

As I said, I don't think it would hurt to add a little more stability to the rotation, but I don't think it's a pressing need. I'm more worried about the bullpen if they decide to part ways with Ziegler/Uehara and C/3B/DH (and even at C, I think the best answer is to just ride out Swihart).

 

[navamind]

Sean McAdam: Red Sox Will 'Zero In On' Edwin Encarnacion In Free Agency

Him or Carlos Santana (career 124 wRC+ and .365 OBP; he's been pretty steady in the majors) are the best ways to address "replacing" Ortiz IMO. I'm all for trading for Votto, but I'd be shocked if he goes anywhere just because he's the only real draw on the Reds at this point. Ortiz had the 2nd best wRC+ in MLB and was worth at least 4.4 WAR. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill, like when lost Damon (4.0 in 2005), Bay (5.2 in 2009) and Ellsbury (5.7 in 2013). I'm not sure a platoon/rotating cast is the way to do it.

Of course, there is the matter of signing a 34-year-old with no defensive value.

 

[navamind]

Fun little stat. The 1992 Red Sox got 4.4 WAR from their position players combined. The 2016 Red Sox had four position players worth 5+ WAR (Betts, Pedroia, Bradley, Ortiz).

1992 Boston Red Sox Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

2016 Boston Red Sox Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

 

[navamind]

Celebrating David Ortiz’s greatest moments: The moment that wasn’t

You have to go to around 2:42:40 in the video for Papi's at bat.

 

[Pastafazul]

big slappi was nothing b4 he came to the sox, PEDS , he should be treated no different then aroid, you think the twins would have given up on a player with such potential?

 

[navamind]

big slappi was nothing b4 he came to the sox, PEDS , he should be treated no different then aroid, you think the twins would have given up on a player with such potential?

You say this like the Twins were a well run franchise.












You also type like a petulant child.

 

[Pastafazul]

the twins org. like every other is made up of the same type people other org's are made up of, a wealthy owner, scouts, cross checkers, former players.. so your point is?

 

[navamind]

You say this like every organization has the same thought processes. The Twins and Phillies (at least up until Amaro got shitcanned) are prime examples of teams being behind the curve.

Look no further than the Twins' drafting over the last 15 or 16 years, especially on the pitching side. The best starters they've developed were the likes of Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey.

 

[navamind]

Hazen leaving the Red Sox to take the GM gig with the Diamondbacks. In all honesty, he's more of an actual GM there than he was in Boston. That being said, I'm not too thrilled about it. He was one of the few remaining members from Epstein's tenure and I'm scared the Sox may drift away from those philosophies, especially if Wren takes over as GM.

That's not to say that Wren was a bad GM in Atlanta.

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

What time is the Red Sox game tonight?