vilehoopster

Please explain to me the universal love for Conforto. I just looked him up. He hit .232 with 14 homers last year. He’s a career .255 hitter. Are we so in need of a left-handed bat that we’re excited to get a crappy left-handed bat. I really don’t understand his appeal. Explain it to me.

All I hear is how far apart they are and how acrimonious both sides are. I have no optimism. May 10th settled. First game on June 1st.

The guy was MVP two years ago. He had 30 hrs and 2nd in majors with 117 RBIs last season. This board was having discussions about putting Abreu out to pasture years before his MVP season. Why don’t we wait for production to actually begin to drop before we put him on the bench as a coach. How many people on this board wanted Sox to get 40 yr. old ‘roider Nelson Cruz last year. I don’t get people who want to replace Abreu.

That's funny, middlecoastbias answered my question and posted while I was typing out the above reply. That's why my comment seems of order.

Are 2nd base and RF weak spots, or are they the only places where Sox don't have an all-star or Silver Slugger candidate? Potential all-stars/ Silver Sluggers: Catcher, check: 1st base, check; shortstop, check; 3rd base, check; LF, check; centerfield, check. So that leaves only RF and 2nd. Vaughn had an OPS of .938 vs lefties last year (rookie year) and Sheets had an OPS of .900 vs. righties last year, also as a rookie. Both were competent in the field. Again both were rookies and should show significant improvement in 2nd year (You know like Moncada and Robert). So, to label a RF hybrid of those two as a weakness going into next year is just not true. Are they all-star/ Silver Slugger candidates? No, but far from weaknesses. Well, maybe defensively, but as someone said earlier on this thread, the move now is to sacrifice defense to get big offense in the line up. I agree with that. Now as for maybe Burger at 2nd base, that's a pretty electric bat, so far from all indications. He might struggle there on defense (let's fine out), but again, is 2nd base really that more difficult than 3rd; let's get that bat in the line up; it has a much higher ceiling than Garcia or anyone else I can imagine the Sox getting.

From what little I saw last year, right-handed or not, I want the Burger bat in the Sox line up. I think 2nd base is possibly a great way to make that happen. I can’t believe 2nd base is that much more difficult than 3rd base. Get that bat in the line up. I’m sure when Moncada was moved to 3rd, people were complaining about how that was a cheap fill-in that would never work. Turn out pretty well. Another thing, I am confident that the Sox can get to the World Series with some sort of Sheets/ Vaughn/ Engel hybrid in RF. That’s not where I think money should be spent. Pitching, especially starting pitching, is where the Sox need to spend FA money. I have no confidence in Keuchel, and little confidence in Kopech.

Oh my God! Didn’t I start with stats? Sox LAST in baseball in passed balls and wild pitches. Sox LAST in baseball in throwing out runners. Those are stats! You guys quote this stat or that stat as empirical proof. Isn’t often the difference between a hit and a error an “eye test”, an opinion. Doesn’t that opinion affect offensive and defensive war? Isn’t the weight given to offense vs. defensive stats in war, and how war was created based on the values attributed to this or that based completely on opinion. Quote any stat you want, You cannot watch Grandal catch a week’s worth of games and claim he is anywhere near the defensive catcher McCann was. You guys making fun of the “eye test” are like the guy standing in the rain while everyone else is under an umbrella insisting that the radar on your phone says it’s not raining.

Simple way to check this. Were the Sox last in baseball at throwing out base runners two years ago when McCann was the primary catcher? Again, last in baseball. still haven’t heard comment on passed balls stat.

There is truth to that. But doesn’t a catcher tell a pitcher to throw to 1st? Certainly, our pitchers deserve blame but not all the blame. Again, last in baseball. And let’s talk passed balls/ wild pitches.

Sorry but have to get back on Grandal topic. You can quote war or whatever stats you want, but Grandal is absolutely horrible on defense, horrible. This didn’t become clear until we heard other announcers beyond Steve and Jason not just telling the management line. Didn’t I hear, pretty sure I did, that this year Sox were last in the majors in both passed balls and wild pitches (in other words, pitches in the dirt that Grandal didn't block). Last in baseball. Also, didn’t I also hear that Sox were worst in majors at throwing out base stealers. Pretty sure I heard that too. Now I know pitchers have to hold runners close, but still most of that is still on the catcher. Last in pass balls/ wild pitches and last in throwing out runners, last; but yet somehow according to war or some other stat, Grandal is a good defensive catcher. How is that possible? When we complain about bad trade or signings, signing Grandal and chasing out McCanns has to be near the top.

If Goodwin sees any action whatsoever in the playoff, I am going to freak out at my TV. He's triple threat awful: with the bat, with in the glove and on the bases.

Fucking DFA Goodwin!!!

Can we please DFA Goodwin. I am so sick and tired of seeing him come up during important at bats and, again, doing what he did tonight, a shit ground out. He had that one walk off, so that makes him . . . . 1 for 100 in big at bats this season.

Did the TV feed turn down the crowd noise so that the boos for Keuchel wouldn't sound so loud? I think so, the volume of crowd noise dropped suddenly as the boos came up.

Seriously, is Keuchel's contract over after this year, or does he still have another expensive year left with the Sox?

Don't the Sox have to pay Keuchel 17 million next year??

My name is Kimbrel and my manager hurt my feeling because he took me out the last time I pitched, even though I couldn't find the strike zone. I am so sick and tired of Kimbrel. The real Kimbrel wasn't the one who was pitching for the Cubs earlier this year, it's the one who has got blasted for the last two years before this one, the guy the Cardinals embarrassed in the season ending series. He is the worst.

I am so sick of Moncada. And people keep justifying him because of his defense. I just don't see it. That bunt attempt to day was so clearly an error. It got out to him and he should have gotten it on one bounce, for a major leaguer, that was an easy out. How many times this year has a friendly home scorer given hits for Moncada (and Anderson) on clear errors? A ton. And if anyone mentions his war, I'll puke.

The Sox would be insane to trade Vaughn, insane. I would be bet anyone that Vaughn is going to become, AT LEAST, a .290 guy with 25 home runs a year for the next 15 years or so years. It's especially insane to trade him ffor someone as violable as a reliever who can be great for one or two years and then become terrible, cough . . . . cough . . . . Bummer.

I just realized Vaughn is up to 10 home runs already. There is a very real chance he’ll reach 25 home runs this year, his first year with only 55 games, 205 at bats in the minors. Just phenomenal.

At least .280 +, at least and with the 25 to 35 homers. Any talk of trading Vaughn is insane. With all the great bats in the Sox line up, I think Vaughn will quickly become THE bat in the line up, more than Eloy, more than Robert, beyond Anderson, anyone.

Is Stone saying what, at least, 90% of the people on this board are saying: That whether he likes it or not, Eloy has to accept that he's going to be a DH and maybe some 1st base so that he doesn't get hurt anymore. Stone is being honest. Is that "lay(ing) in to Eloy"? I don't think so.

Great, so for tomorrow's game, that's at least one total non-bat in the line up.

Remember what Eaton did for Washington in the World Series? I do. I think we definitely want him around and healthy for the playoffs.

Well, for God’s sake, quit going. Or least for Yoelqui’s sake. But really, that’s a drag. You go to see a prospect, twice even, and he stinks up twice. And even worse is that he was awesome the last few games before the one you went to.