2021 Free Agent Pitchers

[wegner]

5 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Without a game today, it’s gonna be a long Thursday. 😆

Is it too late to bring the Pirates back for just one more game tonight? 

[hi8is]

28 minutes ago, wegner said:

Is it too late to bring the Pirates back for just one more game tonight? 

Priceless.

[Jose Abreu]

3 hours ago, BrianAnderson said:

Bauer is outspoken, hard-headed, stubborn, fun, hard-working, etc. I don't have problems with those adjectives. He's a lightning rod in a sport with not a lot of lightning rods. Now i think it's fair to ask is that one too many personalities in the clubhouse? Kopech is a big one. Bauer would be a big one. Timmy. etc. 

I'm not a fan of Bauer as a person but FWIW, he and Tim are actually good friends

3 hours ago, fathom said:

Also another huge factor could be how critical he is of Manfred. I’m skeptical that Reinsdorf would be comfortable of this.

Reinsdorf hates Manfred so if anything that's a plus

[fathom]

13 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

 

Reinsdorf hates Manfred so if anything that's a plus

Good to hear 

[raBBit]

4 hours ago, fathom said:

Two completely different approaches to pitching. Bauer is set in his ways with regards to pregame prep, etc.  I watch every single VLog he produces and I can confidently say he and Cooper would be a disaster together. 

I don't think Cooper has to be involved. Bauer is almost 30 already (crazy), I wouldn't expect Cooper to be all over a vet with a track record joining the teams as a 30-year-old. Like when we traded for James Shields (horrible reference), I don't think Coop was all over him before and during first starts saying he should "stay tall" and "stay closed" or whatever Coop does. He's another professional opinion at the pitchers' disposal but with respect to established arms (especially starters), I think they're kind of expected to get on a regimen and go about their business. If they need help the coach is there.

I could be wrong as Samardzija would serve as contrary evidence but that may be more of a factor of both Samardzija and Cooper being hardasses. 

4 hours ago, hi8is said:

The movement toward advanced modern pitching tech has been really recent for us, going back just to what... 2018? 

You’re absolutely right that we’ve made some great advancements but I really do think that it’s not a crazy thought to think Bauer would want to tread his own path.

Guess the question shouldn’t be Cooper / Bauer but rather, would our organization give him freedom over his own processes.

The Sox don't shed light any on anything they're doing behind the scenes. They don't allow access to media or bloggers trying to get information on these matters. They consider it proprietary and treat it as such. That said, there is a growing group of Ivy League types.  On the other side of things, a lot of people that were being kept around as loyalty hires have been excused of their roles with COVID serving as the convenient excuse. 

Given how Bauer is into all this stuff and is a great pitcher, I feel like the Sox front office would probably welcome him. Given his price tag and authority issues making constantly prod the MLB and its rules brazenly & publicy, I don't think think Jerry Reinsdorf would welcome him.

36 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

I'm not a fan of Bauer as a person but FWIW, he and Tim are actually good friends

Bauer goes out of his way to support TA and to bring attention to the way TA markets himself, looks at baseball as a business, etc. They're not a natural pairing at first though but Tim's history with Bauer is seeing Bauer throw nasty shit multiple times a season and Bauer going out of his way to speak positively on what TA's doing. 

When you say they are friends, do you mean they are friendly or do they actually have a relationship?

[hi8is]

9 minutes ago, raBBit said:

The Sox don't shed light any on anything they're doing behind the scenes. They don't allow access to media or bloggers trying to get information on these matters. They consider it proprietary and treat it as such. That said, there is a growing group of Ivy League types.  On the other side of things, a lot of people that were being kept around as loyalty hires have been excused of their roles with COVID serving as the convenient excuse. 

Given how Bauer is into all this stuff and is a great pitcher, I feel like the Sox front office would probably welcome him. Given his price tag and authority issues making constantly prod the MLB and its rules brazenly & publicy, I don't think think Jerry Reinsdorf would welcome him.

Great insights, thanks for sharing.

[ptatc]

5 hours ago, hi8is said:

Because Bauer is heavy into pitch design and more modern pitching technology than Cooper is. He also doesn’t seem to subscribe to Coopers methodology of sacrificing velo for movement, but I don’t know that for sure.

Cooper really doesn't do this anymore with the new emphasis on the technology. The primary fastball pitch for nearly all of the pitchers is the 4 seam up in the zone. That is the antithesis of the decreasing velocity for movement.

[hi8is]

8 minutes ago, ptatc said:

Cooper really doesn't do this anymore with the new emphasis on the technology. The primary fastball pitch for nearly all of the pitchers is the 4 seam up in the zone. That is the antithesis of the decreasing velocity for movement.

That’s nice to hear also.

[ptatc]

4 minutes ago, hi8is said:

That’s nice to hear also.

Depends on your point of view. I think this is the primary reason for all of the UCL injuries in the past few years. However, with the success rate we have of return to sport after rehab, this has been pushed to the side.

[Jose Abreu]

5 hours ago, raBBit said:

Bauer goes out of his way to support TA and to bring attention to the way TA markets himself, looks at baseball as a business, etc. They're not a natural pairing at first though but Tim's history with Bauer is seeing Bauer throw nasty shit multiple times a season and Bauer going out of his way to speak positively on what TA's doing. 

When you say they are friends, do you mean they are friendly or do they actually have a relationship?

Not just referring to their friendly banter on Twitter. Back when Tim's YouTube channel was a thing during Spring Training 1.0, one of his videos included him and Bauer hanging out and talking for a bit. They seemed to know each other pretty well

[he gone.]

I've gone back and forth on Bauer before in the past, currently I like him, but i can clearly see how he can rub people the wrong way. I think he's probably in the boat with Giolito and Timmy, etc. that are smart enough to know the game needs change and they're willing to embrace it. I really think the team could be even more wildly fun to watch with him aboard. The personality and swagger of a team with Bauer, Kopech, Timmy, Eloy, Robert, etc. would be crazy. I honestly haven't seen a better fit in a while. A top end pitcher, who is willing to take 1 year contracts, and wants to win coupled with the Sox, who could theoretically use one more Ace to put them over the top, an owner who hates long term pitching contracts, is old, and wants to win. Giolito, Bauer, Keuchel, Cease, Kopech  -- I mean .... good luck to the rest of baseball. 

 

Now it's a luxury - that rotation means no Dunning, no Stiever, Crochet, etc. for a while. The next opening in the rotation would be injury, or when Keuchel/Bauer leaves which means people like Dunning, Lopez, Rodon are all out for good and you're probably, maybe delaying a Stiever or Crochet. 

To me, Rodon is already as good as gone. I love the dude, but I think the Sox intended to give him every chance this year to succeed and win a permanent contract/rotation spot, and unfortunately i dont think its in the cards on the southside. He seems destined to have a garrett richards type of career which is fine and well. He'll make money, probably have flashes of brilliance followed by injury. So unfortunately i think its time to move on. Lopez has been a bullpen guy to me for a while, give him the 7-8 innings. Dunning is someone I'd be sad to see go in a big acquisition because a) i dont think his trade value reflects his true value - aka i see him as a buehrle, quintana, kyle hendricks, keuchel type mode. Probably a poor mans all of those guys - not going to overpower you, but can bring consistent value to a team, so it'd suck to see him go, but worth it for a bauer.