beck72

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jun 27, 2009 -> 01:24 PM) Ozzie and Cora saw something in Alexei that led them to believe he could be a SS, and those two know something about middle infielders. So, Alexei must have the tools but unless he can keep head out of his ass he'll be lacking there. I believe it's a matter of self discipline and I just don't know that he can overcome this issue. Ozzie is laying the groundwork for Alexei to make the necessary corrections-telling Alexei clearly what he needs to do in order to improve. Alexei has the 2nd half of 2009 to make those corrections or he may not be around for 2010. Alexei no doubt has the tools. Its just the brains/ attitude/ makeup that are in question.

QUOTE (beautox @ Jun 27, 2009 -> 04:25 AM) getting hopper back is nice, honestly i think he could out produce BA and DWise Hopper seems like the versatile type of 4th/ 5th OFer who could make Wise expendable-even though he hits righty. Hopper has had a lot of sacrifice hits in his minor league career [shows he can bunt] and a fair amount of stolen bases. He's also been able to hit .316 and have an OBP of .367 in his 396 major league AB's. He's no starter. But seems a capable backup. Not sure of his defense, though.

Jacob Rasner [the forgotten 2nd arm in the Danks-McCarthy trade] has really thrown well having been moved to the starting rotation in W/S. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=489229 6 starts, 2.40 ERA, 30 IP, 21 h, 24 K's, 4 BB's, 2.20 GB rate, .199 BAA. He made 18 starts in W/S last year. Could he be moved up to AA before long?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 27, 2009 -> 01:33 AM) Something to keep in mind with Dotel is that he is expected to be a Type A Free Agent. He'll be a type A free agent. Though in this economy, the sox shouldn't offer a set up man a chance to earn close to $6 mill. Dotel would jump on the sox arb. offer, and they would have to pay him. The sox should trade him before July 31, so then they can get something of value for him.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...soxnt27.article Ozzie states pretty clearly the sox are willing to go through the pains of having Richard in the rotation for 2009, with the belief that he'll be far improved for 2010, ala the first years of Danks and Floyd in the rotation. Now if Richard next year can come close to what John and Gavin did in their 2nd years, 2010 will be pretty solid. This is good to see, that they believe Richard can be a long term part of the rotation, not just a trade peice or a bullpen guy. I haven't been completely sold on Clayton in the rotation. And he still may need to be moved to the bullpen later this year, and work on things in the offseason to be fully prepared for 2010. But that the sox view Richard as a key building block for the rotation, bodes well for the sox success next year and beyond. I can see Contreras being signed to a reduced, market value contract for 2010 [provided he continues throwing quality starts], such as a 1 year deal, $6 mill, with a team option for 2011. Then late 2010, a few young arms may be ready to help in the rotation, such as Poreda, Daniel Hudson, Ely or Shirek. That the sox view Richard as a SP also means the sox can spend money/ make trades to add position players and the bullpen, if need be. This is good news, even if Richard can't make it past the 4th inning in any more starts this year, and makes only a few more starts in 2009.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 12:09 PM) Not a chance, Alexei will be a much better SS than Beckham would be able to. Alexei is a rookie at the position and is still learning, give him time. A young player/ rookie is expected to make physical mistakes. The mistakes Alexei's making are mental/ not giving full effort, and may not be correctable by him "learning" anything. It may be low baseball IQ, or IQ in general.

A few thoughts: *Clayton probably isn't meant for the rotation. Maybe he's "hitting the wall", but he's throwing nothing like his first few starts. Richard should be moved out of the rotation, move him to the pen, trade or release Gobble, and call up Carlos Torres for the 5th spot. I'd rather have a healthy Richard for the bullpen, where he can throw 2 innings at a time, than have him tax the bullpen by only going 4 innings per start. *Poreda has been eased into the bigs, throwing in non-pressure situations. Rather than the sox trying to up his trade value, the sox want him the throw innings and be successful. He's going to get more chances to throw in games the sox are tied or have the lead, esp. with Dotel and Linebrink fading. The sox shouldn't put him in the rotation now, messing with his development. *Alexei's brain cramps aren't sitting well with Ozzie, and Hawk and Stoney have called him out multiple times on air. He's got to make the changes in his game or the sox won't put up with it. Esp, with Beckham around.

Alexei has far more value as a SS than a CFer or at 2b. If he can't play SS for the Sox, he'd be a great trade peice going forward.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 22, 2009 -> 06:05 AM) Of course I'd love to have him. He's a bit overhyped but he's still a legitimate top 30 prospect in baseball, more likely still a top 15 one despite being a Red Sawk. He's got good stuff though and the BoSox aren't giving him up for just anyone. They'd have to get quite the pieces for the deal to make sense. I do think a package based upon the Cuban Missile and a veteran reliever or one of our older bats might work. But if the MIssile plays like he did last year at SS, well that is pretty f***ing tough to replace and Bucholtz hasn't proven a ton. Its tough but thats the only way we are getting Clay. Having Alexei signed for 2 1/2 more years would have to be appealing, with his blend of power and high light reel defense [though he's lacking in some fundamentals and basic baseball IQ]. Lowrie could then be their super utility guy. Buchholz has dominated the minors but hasn't had the sustained success in the majors. I don't know the reason. Yet pitching for the Red Sox, Clay has to get results. Given time, Clay could probably get it figured out. If he struggles with the Red Sox in the bigs, they'll send him back down or put him in the pen. The sox can afford to be more patient with him. I do think the sox need another young stellar RHSP to add to Floyd and Danks. Richard may be coming back to earth. Contreras will be gone after this year. Poreda is questionable. And the sox minor league options are a year or two away. Adding top SP is tougher to do than adding a bat. Esp. as the sox have an in-house option for SS in Beckham. The question would be if the Red sox would want to deal Clay centered around Alexei.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 21, 2009 -> 07:26 AM) Phillies need help in the pen big time. I don't know if they have what it takes to get Jenks, but they could be good trade partners for Dotel or Linebrink. If the Phillies did want Jenks, I'd want Werth back in a package. Michael Taylor is another interesting guy they got in the minors who seems like a KW type of guy (plus there's the stanford connection with the two). Also, the Cards would probably interested in a closer of Jenks' caliber. I'd try and get Brett Wallace out of them, but I doubt they are willing to give him up, especially if he can stick at 3B. EDIT: Actually, Ryan Franklin has been pretty much lights out for them as a closer this year, so I doubt the Cards have that much interest in Jenks. Dotel is the guy to move-before he heads into Nick Masset/ MacDougal territory. The sox have options for replacing Dotel in Jon Link, Carlos Torres, or Omogrosso, with Poreda taking over a more important role and the other rookie coming into games with the sox down runs. Whether it's to the Brewers, Phills etc, Dotel has decent value now. He may not in a week.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Jun 21, 2009 -> 10:53 PM) two words, josh johnson if theres anyway the sox could acquire him via trade or when he hits free agency i hope they do everything they can to get him probably just a pipe dream though I bet the Marlins would like to trade him now that he's healthy. But they might have to move quick. Without seeing his medical records, and seeing what his prospects are far staying healthy, I wouldn't use my best trading chips to acquire him. Johnson might be able to be acquired with prospects a bit better than the Cubs used to get Rich Harden. If that was the case, I could see the sox use assets to get him [if the med records showed he had potential to throw 200 innings a year]. Now, if the Marlins wanted to move Hanley Ramirez, whose contract starts to get high in 2010....

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jun 21, 2009 -> 10:33 PM) Agreed. No way we trade Missile or Tank. Keeping them together is good for both, especially with Jose likely departing next year. Besides, we want to stay on the good side of Jaime Torres going forward. I don't remember Jose, Alexei and Dayan receiving no-trade clauses in their contracts when they signed their deals. But it's a bit unrealistic to expect the sox to keep all the Cuban players they sign no matter what, just to keep one agent happy, on the off chance that more free agents might come the sox way. These players sign fair market deals and are property of the sox. And just because players are traded, doesn't mean that they are mistreated. It's a business, these are men with legal representation, and the sox have to look out for their best interests. Whether trading Jose or Alexei would be in the sox best interests, who's to say. But a case could be made that both leaving could bring back short and long term benefits to the sox.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 04:41 PM) This team needs to find its engine (3-6 hitters) for the next 4-5 years as quickly as possible. Best Case By 2011 (in-house options): 3. Beckham 3B 4. Quentin LF 5. Allen 1B 6. Flowers C Probably too much to ask for, but if that would work out they'd have a ton of dough to spend on the best possible DH and they have a history of spending for a DH. Probably because they love getting what they pay for and there are fewer positions more predictable than DH. I agree those four look like the sox middle hitters. Though I disagree on spending big money on a DH. The sox have potential DH's in Flowers, Viciedo, and Allen. Better to spend big money on a leadoff hitter/ ace starting pitcher. That way, it eases the pressure on the young players and allows the sox to have them hit low in the order.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 04:12 PM) Absolutely not...even before last night, I said he should have been traded last Saturday. It's not like he's all of a sudden throwing 96 mph again. This will probably come across as bashing Jose, but it's really not meant to...but his first two games back were great conditions. The Tigers game was the 2nd game of a DH with the Tigers going through the motions, and the other game against the Brewers was a game where they couldn't see anything due to the shadows. He's throwing better than he did prior to going down to AAA (obviously), but last night is probably what you can expect. It is what it is-Jose dominated two 1st place teams. That said, few teams are going to be able to pick up Jose and the money owed him. Unless the sox pick up some salary [then, they could get a decent prospect or two], which is doubtful as they haven't in the past, Jose is probably more valuable to the sox than in trade value. Though they probably should send some salary with Jose as they won't offer him arb. Better to get something for him rather than let him leave without getting any return value This all depends on if the sox are still in it come the deadline. If Carlos is gone for the year, and PK and Dye are slow to recover, then the sox could look into moving Jose. If the sox are still in it, KW would be hard pressed to say trading Jose would help the sox make the playoffs.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 03:05 AM) I'd LMAO if the Red Sox offered me Bowden for Alexei. I wouldn't hang up the phone either; I'd just sit there laughing until the Red Sox hung up on their end. However if they offered Buchholz I'd have to think very hard about it, but I'd end up asking for more. Alexei has proven himself in the Majors. Buchholz hasn't. That would be a type of deal that you could very much regret making or not making. That said, the Red Sox would have to be smoking crack to trade Clay. If I were them I'd trade almost everyone else in the organization before I traded that kid. I imagine getting the Red Sox to trade Buchholz would be like getting the Sox to trade Beckham. It's just not happening, especially in these economic times where elite prospects are worth twice what they were 3-4 years ago. From all accounts, Bowden is right up there with Buchholz. The Red sox can't have both sitting in AAA-their value diminishes by the day and they can't keep throwing them out there and take the risk someone gets hurt. Actually, I could see Clay being more available than Bowden. Despite his no-hitter, he's struggled in the bigs with 18 big league starts and has posted a 5.56 ERA. And he's made comments recently about being in AAA, that haven't endeared him to the front office or fans. Bowden is 2 years younger. Granted he's unproven in the bigs. But his numbers in the minors have been outstanding, as well as his makeup, attitude, etc. I like Alexei. But he's not an MVP candidate, like someone alluded to. The sox will probably build their team around Gordon and Carlos. Making him comfortable in the field, at the plate, in the clubhouse, etc, is in the sox best interests. The kid has taken one for the team, in playing 3b where he had never played before. But starting 2010, he may be at SS. People would then say, put Alexei at 2b and trade Getz. But Alexei would have greater trade value then Getz. Other teams would give up more talent for a SS. Yet for the Sox, Getz might be a better fit to pair with Gordon [Getz' OBP skills-as shown in the minors and in the bigs so far-though he has room for improement;, lefty bat, ability to hit the breaking ball, natural glove for 2b, etc. If Alexei can't improve on his 2008 numbers, and improve on his 2009 decision making, IMO, the sox should look into moving him as a way to build a championship type team. How these guys do in 2009 will give the sox information and answers going forward. Can Alexei improve upon his 2008 or will he take a step backward? What do Getz and Gordon look like at the end of the year? Can the sox count on them as regular everyday players for 2010? The sox do a great job evaluating their own players-both in the bigs and in the minors. I trust them to move guys around, via trade etc. to make a good fit.

QUOTE (Adele_H @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 12:16 AM) Dotel and Contreras I can understand.... but we're talking dumping Ramirez at the deadline now? Give me a break. Before this season, I thought Alexei had the talent to contend for AL MVP in the next 5 years [as he learned the pithers and American way of life]. Rollins, Pedroia-style. He's still one of my favorite players, but it's clear that Cuban Missile didn't put in the time in the off-season -- both getting bigger/stronger and in terms of studying the game. If anything, he looks smaller than last year and without much of a plan at the plate. His slow starts aren't coincidence, IMO. Hopefully the Cubs series represent a turning point. I never said "dump" him. But if the price was right, in terms of talent [such as Bucholz or Bowden +], I think the sox would look into it.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 11:40 PM) Why would we trade Alexei? A number of factors would have to be present. If the sox thought his inability to hit a breaking ball was not easily correctable, if they thought his mental errors were more the norm than the exception, if they viewed Beckham as a better long term fit at SS [even factoring in defense], if they thought the package was right [for a top SP prospect/ young arm that has some major league experience], it wouldn't be that far fetched.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 10:30 PM) Alexei just doesn't have much baseball IQ or he's not focusing on the game for some reason. What really pissed me off yesterday was how he completely bailed at 2B because he was scared of getting hit and dropped the feed. No harm was done that inning, but come on, show some balls, stay in there, and get the out. That could have been a very costly mistake, but Floyd got around it. Also, what's up with him lobbing the ball every time to 1B? He's come very close to throwing away a lot of balls the past year. Oh, and he has absolutely no communication with the other infielders and even the outfielders. Was it yesterday where we had the play at 3B and Alexei cut the ball off for some reason? And then you got those shallow fly balls where he doesn't back away when the CF calls him off. And offensively, it seems like the 20+ homers he hit last year got him in a bad habit. His approach last year was awesome, he got up there looking to hit and hit the ball hard somewhere. This year, all he is doing is swinging from his heels and trying to drop some bombs into the bleachers. It's very frustrating when a player that talented is playing well below his capabilities. That's what Stoney and Hawk were alluding to in regards to Alexei. Not physical errors but mental errors. But, if Alexei boosted his numbers a bit by the deadline, the Red sox would have to see him as an offensive and defensive upgrade over the Lowrie, Green, Lugo trio. They were talking about getting Jack Wilson for crying out loud.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 06:54 PM) I think he and Beckham will switch positions next year. Alexei at 3b? If alexei isn't at SS, IMO, he has more value on the trade market than at 2b or the OF.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 06:21 PM) Throw in one of those two guys you mentioned along with Jed Lowrie and you've got a deal, IMO. Lately, I've heard Hawk and Stoney dog Alexei, saying how he plays deep in the hole even in double play situations, that he runs across the bag out of control, etc. Hawk mentioned yesterday that "In my 40 years of baseball, I've never seen a guy play that deep of SS". Kind of exasperated. I'm just saying.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 04:35 PM) Also, Ramirez is really starting to piss me off at SS. His head is not in the game or he thinks he's the greatest player ever. All year he's made a bunch of boneheaded plays. Sure, he makes the great play every so often, but that's not gonna help us when he throws away a ball to 1B, drops a feed at 2B because he's scared of getting hit, etc. I don't know if he has no baseball IQ (he's a great natural ball player, but he's probably the dumbest guy on the team regarding baseball), thinks he's the greatest s*** ever out there, or has his mind on something else, but he's becoming a liability out there. If we didn't have PK at first, Ramirez would have had a ton of throwing errors because of that stupid lob toss he does. I love Alexei and all the potential he has, but he's awfully frustrating at times... Now, say the Red Sox called and offered Michael Bowden or Clay Bucholz for Alexei.... would you hang up? That said, I like Alexei's power and ability to play SS and 2b. But do the sox move Beckham away from his natural position, to play 3b, or move Getz who looks like he's from Minnesota farm system [something sox fans have been wanting more of], and hope teams don't realize he can't hit a decent breaking ball?

If the sox are either buyers or sellers, I don't think the lineup for 2010 would be greatly affected. No one is going to trade a leadoff hitter, and the sox have internal options that are near major league ready for other spots. I could see the sox be buyers if it means trading away young talent for proven vet, talent that would be around for a few years. Or the sox trade position player young talent near major league ready for pitching that is near major league ready, or vice versa. Say Poreda for an OFer that is near the bigs. Or Vicedo for pitching near ready for the bigs. A guy like Dotel could be a major chip, that could give the sox 2 good prospects but not major building peices. The major building peices seem in the system. 2010 Lineup: Paulie-1b, [brandon Allen, 2011] Getz-2b. Beckham-3b, 2009 and 2010 Alexei-SS AJ-C, 2010; Flowers, 2011 Quentin-RF That leaves: *sign Chone Figgins for LF [also provides insurance in case of injury for 3b, 2b, CF]; also lets the sox bring in young players to hit near the bottom of the order, having Figgins hit leadoff for the next 4 years; *Jordan Danks/ Brian Anderson-CF *DH-Dye, re-signed to a lesser deal/ Flowers/ Allen/ Dayan Viceido;

What has been very important these last 3 wins, is the 6, 7, 8 hitters [bA, Getz [Nix on Sat.] and Beckham] showing life. They've hit .300 [9 for 30], with 6 BB's, 8 Runs and 6 rbi's. I really like how lately Getz and Beckham are approaching their AB's [going with the pitch, not trying to overswing, making contact, working counts]. I like Steve Stone's comments about how teams will get tired of pitching him away if he keeps going to RF, then when they come inside, Gordon will be able to get his rips.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2009 -> 01:40 AM) If booing a player made a team get rid of a player, I'd agree with you. It doesn't. I agree. The sox aren't going to get rid of Wise because he's booed by fans.

Got done watching the taped game. Mitchell looked very good. Smooth on the bases, seemed effortless even though he was burning. He's got a great eye at the plate, even though his swing will need some work. He might need 2 full years in the minors. But when he comes, he has the chance to be special. Looks like Carl Crawford with a better OBP. Don't know what his glove looks like. But looks like he has all the tools on offense.