kleedawg

Kopech may be as effective as a closer, but he has 4 ++ pitches he profiles better as a starter and is more valuable as such. Not on board with trading Vaughn for a pitcher. Especially when you can just sign one. Plus I expect Lopez will be long reliever, spot starter, 6th starter next year.

I think the ditched both the curve and the change because of the hypothesis that relievers only need 2 quality pitches. This has merit because even starters generally through just 2 pitches to start a game and work in the others as they go. Stone alludes to this often when Cease pitches (that he shouldn't through all 4 in 1st inning). But I think Kopech should have kept the change while scrapping the curve until next year.

Maybe, but if they stretched him out and he got hurt, then you would say they fucked him up and overworked him. They had a plan for him that was reasonable. It will always be debatable whether it was the best plan (which is what we are doing) but who really knows what the best plan is. Its not an exact science, we just have our opinion. I think the biggest problem with Kopech was scrapping the change-up as a reliever. Hitters just sat FB against him an took the slider. Sliders are much easier to identify from fast balls than change-ups.

not a eubacteria? LOL

True, but he didn't have the horses in Florida. Ozzie is not going to be around long enough to rebuild a team, but he is a guy who could take a team to the next level. Note, I'm not advocating that we bring him back necessarily. I think There are better options if Larussa is cut loose.

LaRussa ordered the Ripken/Murray beanings because Kittle was drilled in the knee so bad he had to be removed from the game and couldn't play the rest of the series.

I kinda think of Ozzie like Billy Martin. A great baseball mind that wears out his welcome quickly. Hire him and you'll win for 2 or 3 years, then his craziness gets old. Fire him. Re-hire him a decade later for 2 or 3 years, fire him. Rinse, repeat.

I think the problem was that the sox made Kopech a 2 pitch pitcher as a reliever despite having 4 good pitches. He basically just through fastball/slider. Hitters learned they were going to see at least 1 fastball every at bat an usually more. Therefore, the just sat on fastballs and didn't even swing at sliders. He also may have been tipping his pitches. Next year, as a starter, he will be throwing curveballs and change-ups as well.

Another possibility, would be for the sox to pick up his option. Make him the closer (gag) gamble he picks up a bunch of easy saves when the weather sucks, then trade him to a team that needs one. This of course be a plan B to trading him in a few weeks.

Carlos may bet on himself, take the QO, have a big year/stay healthy and break the bank as a FA.

maybe, maybe not. Its pretty hard to expect a guy coming back from TJS to pitch an entire season without limiting his innings. He could very well be an every 5 day guy next year.

I think sheets/engel rf platoon next year.

Cesar Hernandez is my surprise pick to click.

yeah, i bet the dodgers thought that also. Consider this as well. take on Manny's salary and we prolly can't extend guys like robert, moncada, T.A,, Cease, etc.

Sure if you were trading in a fantasy league. In Reality, you might not do the trade because Machado is a clubhouse cancer and the sox currently don't need a 3b, or ss. Sure their is no argument that Machado is a better player then crochet.

No, that cancer is not worth the $$$, prospects it would take to get him, or the headache. He is a 3b/ss by trade and could prolly handle 2b but would he be amenably to playing it...doubtful. Our largest money fix for next year should be replacing Rodon...or Rodon himself.

Just now, a kid in my biology class asked me if the sox were making the playoffs. I live in Cardinal country, downstate.

I'm not sure that was true. Some, like myself, maintained how a team is playing at the end of the year is not a crystal ball on how a team will play in the playoffs. Sure, its is preferable to be playing well going into the playoffs, but does not guarantee anything.

Ideally, Lopez is our long man/6th starter next year. I believe we trade Keuchel (yes we can trade him, but prolly better to explain that as another topic like winter meetings), Have Kopech enter rotation and either retain Rodon or sigh a FA pitcher. Assumming Rodon, for arm maintenance we'd want to limit Kopech's innings as well as Rodon's (prolly should just quotes myself from Rodon thread explaining this in detail). The first month is full of off days so Lopez is long man/dh starter. After April you can start him instead of Kopech one week and Rodon the next to keep them fresh as they build up stamina.

I dunno, Jose is trying to win a third consecutive rbi crown. That is kind of a big deal.

So you think they hit him intentionally in a 1 run game with 1 out in the ninth, with Jose down 2 strikes?

The tigers didn't throw at Abreu intentionally. But, like other teams, They are busting him inside. and like other teams, their young pitchers do not know how to do this. Despite Jose not standing particularly close to the plate, he is getting drilled often. To make other teams "more careful" you can starting pitching their star similarly, slide hard, etc. That's what happened against the angels and now the tigers. We cannot afford to lose Pito for the playoffs because some green pitcher gets careless.

I think the question we have to ask with Rodon is his arm overused or structurally damaged? consider 2 years ago he missed most of the season with tommy john. Last year he had to go on the IL for most of the season. He was non-tendered and then re-signed as a stop gap 5 starter. I think the organization hoped he could be adequate until we could trade for a starter prior to the deadline. No one foresaw him being a cy young candidate. It should not be a surprise he is experiencing arm fatigue at this point. Unfortunately we can't really just shut him down at this point. Nor would he and Boras want that. If he doesn't do structural damage to his arm I have no problem with giving him a QO, or signing him to a reasonable short term contract. Considering he is still throwing well and can reach back and get 97+ it would suggest his arm is just fatigued and not damaged. If he can get thru the rest of the year without damaging his arm, I think we should try to bring him back. I think the sox have a plan to keep getting him rest an limiting his outings. My guess he will be a 3 in the playoffs, with Cease relieving him in the 4th (or earlier) if necessary. In the first round with days off you just need 3 starters. Round 2 Maybe lopez takes over and Cease starts gm 4. Next year If you retain Rodon you can manage him better and treat Kopech similarly. Prolly go with a 6 man rotation with Lopez after April (with all the off days). Lopez can be a long man/spot starter all year. Of course, I'm assuming we find a way to divest of Kuechel next year. A new CBA with a floor for teams would make a trade more likely.

We started the season Ta 1, at Eaton 2 Moncada at 3 Jose at 4

funny, how I wasn't on edge at all watching this game.