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I like how the author gives Brauns batting average of .372 then qualifies it with him having a .409 BABIP. LIke duh !! Kind of what one would expect with a batting average of .372. It's not like his BABIP is going to be .300 .

QUOTE (SoxAce @ May 3, 2016 -> 08:39 AM) One of my biggest pet peeves with certain posters that do this. Aren't they called opinions for a reason ? They are like assholes. Everyone should have one and be able to back up their arguments . I thought the point of a sports message board was to do just that without being obnoxious or insulting about it which I have not been. If you have a problem about actual good old fashioned baseball arguments/discussion. I don't know what to say. I just saw Eric Brynes arguing with Christopher Russo about Mattingly's decision to remove his pitcher with a no hitter after 7.2 innings. All that stuff is great for baseball. Without a healthy back and forth it's not any fun . Who was better Mantle or Mays or Duke Snider. When there were 3 teams in NY this kind of thing went on all the time.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:57 AM) I always have a hard time naming a starting pitcher as most valuable. The comparison to an everyday player makes it almost unfair. Sale of course is a solid pick for MVPitcher but I would give the MVPlayer to Eaton. I want to find a spot for Lawrie besides being the top Canadian Sox player in my lifetime. I do too actually but in the absence of any one player with outstanding offensive stats I had to go with Sale. Lawrie leading the team in walks, tied with Melky for 1st in OBP and 1st in OPS was why he was my 3rd choice but 1st position player choice .

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 3, 2016 -> 08:23 AM) Dream on Dream on Dream on I think we have a winner.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 3, 2016 -> 08:17 AM) If Danks goes on the DL, Gonzalez could come back. Otherwise, I'm not sure who else is on schedule. Volstad has major league experience, and has been decent so far. Just saying, if he doesn't pitch tonight, he may get a spot start. Didn't Gonzales just get hit in the face with a line drive ? How is he doing ?

QUOTE (flavum @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:57 AM) It's a nice thought, but he shouldn't. The Sox took the risk when they signed him. I could see him hitting the DL today. Try to clear his head for a couple weeks. I saw an interview with Jim Kaat yesterday and he said he was pitching poorly one season with the Sox and Tanner gave him 10 days off to work with Johnny Sain and that's when they came up with working very quickly and Kaat won 20 games that year for the Sox.Of course Kaat pitching poorly was like a 4-6 record and an ERA of 4 so not quite the same as Danks .

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ May 3, 2016 -> 08:04 AM) What's the point in starting a thread to ask for people's opinions on who the MVP has been if you are just going to tell them they are wrong for not agreeing with your opinion? I never said anyone was wrong .I am just disagreeing and stating my case for my opinion. To me that is just good old fashion baseball talk which I like a lot more than attendance or announcers jabber.

QUOTE (daggins @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) 1. Sale 2. Eaton 3. Q! Holy s*** you did just what I asked for in the 1st post. Great job. And yes that is a little jab at those of you who listed just one.

Just had a crazy thought . What if Danks retired and left that money on the table like LaRoche did .

QUOTE (hi8is @ May 2, 2016 -> 08:07 PM) Well, now that's a cryptic post from you if I've ever seen one. LOL why do the guys with inside info always want to tease us in that way ? Is there some commandment that says " Thou shalt not say anything unless you make your meaning mysterious."

QUOTE (bmags @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:40 AM) But he did rob a home run? I don't think so but if you show me a highlight of it I will apologize.

QUOTE (MEANS @ May 3, 2016 -> 05:37 AM) I'd say Latos, not having two holes in the rotation has made a HUGE difference. That's why he was in my honorable mention because no matter if you think it was smoke and mirrors or things will even out for him we're still talking about just April here. And he was amazing except for the last start, which the Sox won anyway.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:22 AM) But the thread is asking who the MVP is? Right, maybe I misunderstood you but you said he robbed a homerun or homeruns and that's not true so correct me if I did misunderstand you. I just don't like when people say untrue things to heighten their argument.

QUOTE (shysocks @ May 3, 2016 -> 07:23 AM) Eaton has made a lot of difficult plays look easy, and some of his throws have, indeed, been spectacular. I imagine our pitchers' ERA's wouldn't look so shiny if some of the running catches Eaton made went for two bases instead. I agree that WAR isn't the end-all, though, which is why my pick is Quintana. I could pick Sale too, but he's supposed to be this good. Q seems to be ascending to another level right now. He hasn't given up a single homer (!!) and while that is probably gonna change, he's been limiting longballs for long enough now that it seems to be one of his hallmarks. Hey I am a huge advocate for defense. Always have been and I am certainly not discounting Eaton contributions in that area. I just think there has to be more than that . He's hitting OK, no power numbers at all and his OBP is above average but nothing elite . The biggest contribution Eaton is making on the bases is not trying to steal because he is terrible at it. Any way so finally someone agreed with me . I had Sale and Q 1-2.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ May 3, 2016 -> 12:15 AM) That is one hell of an analogy. Thanks. I'm always kind of upset when I see these threads about how bad Hawk is or has become. The lack of sentiment seems hurtful to me. It's hard for me to understand how any Sox fan can dislike Hawk or go from liking him to disliking him. To me it's like disliking your grandmother because now that she has Alzheimers she can't remember who you are. Just because that old dog is now a pain in the ass doesn't mean you stop loving him and forgetting all you've been through together.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 3, 2016 -> 06:18 AM) On a team that has won several one run games, Eaton has saved three runs literally with throwing runners out, and more from a few doubles, home runs and more that he's made plays on. Eaton is too short to have robbed any HR's. Lets not get crazy here. Yes they have won quite a few close games but we could also make arguments that was all a team effort. Good starting pitching, good defense, good bullpen.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 3, 2016 -> 06:18 AM) On a team that has won several one run games, Eaton has saved three runs literally with throwing runners out, and more from a few doubles, home runs and more that he's made plays on. I guess people buy into the new age stats a lot more than I thought they would. Traditionally MVP's of the leagues have been guys who put up big power numbers with a high or at least decent batting average or pitchers who had outstanding years. If a pitcher is bad no amount of defense can save him (see Danks ) Sale is Sale and Q is Q and good defense from the whole team not just Eaton has contributed to his fine start but it's still mostly Sale. I just don't think great defense alone gets you MVP. I mean give me an OBP above .400, OPS around .800, lots of steals, leading the team in some other categories. If you go 1-4/ 2-5 and make all the routine plays but nothing spectacular which is what happens on most days how valuable is that ? I know I am fighting a losing battle here just like on pitch framing but seriously bWar is not the end all be all . Guys like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Miquel Cabrera , Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays , guys who contributed defensively and offensively are MVP's not guys like Heyward or Kiermeier.

Switching from Hawk to Bennetti is like going from your old faithful dog with his bad eyesight and rickety joints and even more rickety bowels to a new puppy. Puppy's are cute and all but I grew up with that damn old mutt.

Fun Note: I put this in another thread but I'll repeat it. Sale is the only lefty to start May 6-0 since Randy Johnson in 2002 when he went 24-5 and won his last Cy Young at the age of 38.

I will say that it's good the Eaton's defense is being lauded . All off season I was saying to have great starting pitching without a good defense is a total waste and it had to be improved drastically .I remember Jason (Chisoxfn) saying this as well and excuse me if I can't remember anyone else saying how important defense is. Frazier's defense has been pretty good too and it's been so nice to have a guy like him in the middle of the lineup hitting home runs and driving in big runs.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ May 2, 2016 -> 09:40 PM) Eaton is a big reason why the pitching has looked great. See I can't really go with that kind of argument. Sure the overall defense has been much better and Eaton has been the best part of it but it is just one position on the field. Not everything is hit to him. I'm actually kind of shocked at the answers so far. I mean, yes, lots of names to choose from but I thought Sale would be an easy choice .

QUOTE (aryzner @ May 2, 2016 -> 06:25 PM) The American League in general is not easy, in my opinion. The NL is outscoring the AL so far this year but I think that's because the good teams are fattening up on the dregs. The Sox won't be playing very many bottom feeders like the Braves , Brewers, Padres and Reds unless Houston and the Twinkies keep playing so much different than they did last year.

I couldn't find room for Eaton in my top 5. His OBP is good but 3rd on the team and as good as his defense has been its just not enough because of the great pitching the team has got and the better power stats of Lawrie and Frazier.

That is great. And I'd like to just throw this out there that Sale is the first lefty since Randy Johnson in 2002 to complete April with a 6-0 record. Johnson went 24-5 in 2002 at the age of 38 and won the last of his 5 Cy Young Awards.

With a great April behind the Sox give me your top 3 in terms of most valuable player for the Sox for the month. Thankfully there are quite a few players to choose from. Sale, Quintana and Latos all had a great month. In the bullpen Robertson, Albers and Nate Jones have been lights out. Among position players Frazier has played good defense and leads the team in HR and RBI and has brought a winning attitude. Eaton has hit fairly well and played great defense in RF, Brett Lawrie finished the month strong at the plate and leads the team in OPS , SLG.,and tied for the lead in walks. It's really difficult to pick just 3 so feel free to throw in an honorable mention or 2 . My Choices: 1. Chris Sale 2. Jose Quintana 3. Brett Lawrie Honorable mention Latos and Frazier Sorry bullpen you deserve a lot of recognition but no room.