You know what, I'd like to revise my statement: If the Padres give us Alan Embree, Cla Meredith and Josh Bard in exchange for Doug Mirabelli and Javy Lopez, I think we could still have a shot at the Wild Card
But seriously, WHAT THE FUCK? Theo makes no trades at the deadline because he doesn't want to deal prospects, yet earlier in the season he threw away a guy who could have been giving us immediate help this season. Cla Meredith is unhittable! I like the strategy of holding onto the young guys, I just question why a reliever who is better than both Hansen and Delcarmen at this point in time was given away to get Doug Mirabelli. If having Wakefield in the rotation means making sacrafices like that then just make the old man retire.
This is by Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus, and I agree 100%:
"This is the downside of the peaking popularity of the Red Sox: the heightened, even unrealistic expectations of perpetual deep October runs and frequent championships. It's also reflective of what I call the 'NFLization' of baseball, where regular-season success, really everything about the regular season, is completely devalued as compared to the postseason. MLB has set it up that way - expanding the playoffs, gimmicking up the regular season, throwing out a century of tradition - and it's led to this place, where contending every year, winning division titles, isn�t nearly enough. It's why history will regard recent Indians and Braves and A's teams as disappointments, rather than dynasties or mini-dynasties.
Flags fly forever, it's true. However, long-term success is the goal, and missing the postseason in one year, an injury-plagued year, a transitional year, is neither a tragedy nor a failure, and it's no call for changing a well-crafted plan or throwing its architect under the bus. The Red Sox will be fine, even if the 2006 season ends early."
I had an inkling that this wasn't the Sox' year the minute Josh Beckett started giving up home runs like John Wasdin (April 21st at Toronto, 3 HRs allowed; next start, Cleveland 3 more in 3.1 innings). Look at it this way: two years ago we had a healthy Curt Schilling AND Pedro Martinez AND Tim Wakefield AND Bronson Arroyo AND Derek Lowe and we barely scraped by the Yankees. (You could scoff about throwing Lowe in there, but he's an innings eater and his ERA is about the same as Beckett's this year) Now, the Yankees aren't as good as they were then, but many other teams have gotten better, and the Sox are far worse. You can overcome problems like this in football, where a couple breaks either way can change a game, but you can't do it in baseball. I'll be upset if the Sox blow it in a year where they have the best team - like they did in 2003 - but not this year, where they would have needed several good breaks to win it all. If you need good breaks, you're probably not the best team to begin with. Plus, they still won it two years ago. No reason to mope around, it's all good for awhile longer. They'll be better next year, and better the year after that. All the Duquette contracts expiring at the same time didn't help anything.
I'm a Theo sympathizer, and while he hasn't made the greatest moves over the last 2 years, he has made some good ones (Loretta, Wily Mo), some that I think will still turn out good for the Sox (Hansen, Crisp) and one that was a no-brainer (Beckett/Lowell, which Theo didn't make per se but unofficially green-lighted). He also warned that this brief downturn would happen, but I think what obscures everything is that the Sox overachieved last year, which led to a fourth year of the highest expectations, even if they were unjustified.
The Sox are in the business of winning titles, and you can't do that every year. It's disappointing that Manny and Papi won't get a shot this year, but we missed with the first six years of Pedro before finally capitalizing - who cares about those six years now? The Sox won't go another 86 years without winning. They probably won't go another 8. I'm willing to wait.
We're in a agreeance Ply. I never expected big things from this bunch. If you'll recall I had them slated for a second place finish, a Wild Card playoff birth and first round exit. However, this season remains frustrating for a few reasons:
1) In Spring Training the Sox had seven starting pitchers who, if they pitched at the level they had in the past, would be all middle of the rotation guys or better. Through injuries, a trade, and some aparrent mental incapacities we are now left with one solid starter.
2) In Tavarez, Seanez and Riske Theo added three guys to the bullpen who have been pretty decent middle relief guys in there career. Looking at those names it hard to believe, but it's true, and at times they've even been much better than pretty decent. Add them to a bullpen featuring Timlin, Foulke and two of the seven who don't make the rotation and you figure the bullpen should be at least average. The fact that Tavarez, Seanez and Riske would all be atrocious, Timlin would fall apart and Foulke would never get close to right... well I guess they all seem at least a little predictable, but for them all to happen at the same time is just bum luck for Theo as far as I'm concerned. And it's frustrating. Bulding a bullpen is always a bit of a crap shoot, but Theo seems to have quite a bit of difficulty finding the right pieces. A bit of an Achilles' heel it seems.
7 comments:
Probably.
Oh hell yes.
The entire staff save for two people is absolute shit right now. The Blue Jays will probably pass us before it's all said and done.
You know what, I'd like to revise my statement: If the Padres give us Alan Embree, Cla Meredith and Josh Bard in exchange for Doug Mirabelli and Javy Lopez, I think we could still have a shot at the Wild Card
But seriously, WHAT THE FUCK? Theo makes no trades at the deadline because he doesn't want to deal prospects, yet earlier in the season he threw away a guy who could have been giving us immediate help this season. Cla Meredith is unhittable! I like the strategy of holding onto the young guys, I just question why a reliever who is better than both Hansen and Delcarmen at this point in time was given away to get Doug Mirabelli. If having Wakefield in the rotation means making sacrafices like that then just make the old man retire.
This is by Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus, and I agree 100%:
"This is the downside of the peaking popularity of the Red Sox: the heightened, even unrealistic expectations of perpetual deep October runs and frequent championships. It's also reflective of what I call the 'NFLization' of baseball, where regular-season success, really everything about the regular season, is completely devalued as compared to the postseason. MLB has set it up that way - expanding the playoffs, gimmicking up the regular season, throwing out a century of tradition - and it's led to this place, where contending every year, winning division titles, isn�t nearly enough. It's why history will regard recent Indians and Braves and A's teams as disappointments, rather than dynasties or mini-dynasties.
Flags fly forever, it's true. However, long-term success is the goal, and missing the postseason in one year, an injury-plagued year, a transitional year, is neither a tragedy nor a failure, and it's no call for changing a well-crafted plan or throwing its architect under the bus. The Red Sox will be fine, even if the 2006 season ends early."
I had an inkling that this wasn't the Sox' year the minute Josh Beckett started giving up home runs like John Wasdin (April 21st at Toronto, 3 HRs allowed; next start, Cleveland 3 more in 3.1 innings). Look at it this way: two years ago we had a healthy Curt Schilling AND Pedro Martinez AND Tim Wakefield AND Bronson Arroyo AND Derek Lowe and we barely scraped by the Yankees. (You could scoff about throwing Lowe in there, but he's an innings eater and his ERA is about the same as Beckett's this year) Now, the Yankees aren't as good as they were then, but many other teams have gotten better, and the Sox are far worse. You can overcome problems like this in football, where a couple breaks either way can change a game, but you can't do it in baseball. I'll be upset if the Sox blow it in a year where they have the best team - like they did in 2003 - but not this year, where they would have needed several good breaks to win it all. If you need good breaks, you're probably not the best team to begin with. Plus, they still won it two years ago. No reason to mope around, it's all good for awhile longer. They'll be better next year, and better the year after that. All the Duquette contracts expiring at the same time didn't help anything.
I'm a Theo sympathizer, and while he hasn't made the greatest moves over the last 2 years, he has made some good ones (Loretta, Wily Mo), some that I think will still turn out good for the Sox (Hansen, Crisp) and one that was a no-brainer (Beckett/Lowell, which Theo didn't make per se but unofficially green-lighted). He also warned that this brief downturn would happen, but I think what obscures everything is that the Sox overachieved last year, which led to a fourth year of the highest expectations, even if they were unjustified.
The Sox are in the business of winning titles, and you can't do that every year. It's disappointing that Manny and Papi won't get a shot this year, but we missed with the first six years of Pedro before finally capitalizing - who cares about those six years now? The Sox won't go another 86 years without winning. They probably won't go another 8. I'm willing to wait.
We're in a agreeance Ply. I never expected big things from this bunch. If you'll recall I had them slated for a second place finish, a Wild Card playoff birth and first round exit. However, this season remains frustrating for a few reasons:
1) In Spring Training the Sox had seven starting pitchers who, if they pitched at the level they had in the past, would be all middle of the rotation guys or better. Through injuries, a trade, and some aparrent mental incapacities we are now left with one solid starter.
2) In Tavarez, Seanez and Riske Theo added three guys to the bullpen who have been pretty decent middle relief guys in there career. Looking at those names it hard to believe, but it's true, and at times they've even been much better than pretty decent. Add them to a bullpen featuring Timlin, Foulke and two of the seven who don't make the rotation and you figure the bullpen should be at least average. The fact that Tavarez, Seanez and Riske would all be atrocious, Timlin would fall apart and Foulke would never get close to right... well I guess they all seem at least a little predictable, but for them all to happen at the same time is just bum luck for Theo as far as I'm concerned. And it's frustrating. Bulding a bullpen is always a bit of a crap shoot, but Theo seems to have quite a bit of difficulty finding the right pieces. A bit of an Achilles' heel it seems.
The Red Sox are ten games under .500 (42-52) against teams that are not in the National League and not named the Orioles.
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