caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 12:45 AM) Hmmm ... As I recall no other team in the postseason has come close to that kind of use of its starting pitchers a few years before and since 2005. I still think the Sabes people and all "modern" baseball tacticians would say that would NEVER work. Magic, destiny I tell ya. It's not ALL about numbers (cough, Billy Beane). Every manager will go his pen when it's finnegan Duffy Herrera Davis and holland. It's when the choice is Ventura vs. Collins/Fraser/Coleman/downs that it gets much trickier. I'm sure ausmus would have pitched anibal Sanchez an additional inning yesterday had he known the outcome in advance...Greg ur a big soria guy and he just doesn't have the crispness or movement after coming back from injury. It's not about sabes. It's about a managers intuition and decision-making ability.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Oct 3, 2014 -> 09:29 PM) The team is in no position to forfeit any draft picks This team is in no position to worry more about 5-6 years from now than 1-2 years.

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 4, 2014 -> 12:51 AM) if I can't convince anyone on 1-seconder rounder for an establish very good rp or a closer in which the sox really need, I will forgo anymore discussion on this particular subject. all you posters are set with your opinions. I respect that. good job. If you could convince everyone that said reliever would be one of the top 2-3 set up guys (like wade Davis or miller or gregerson) or an elite level closer (87.5% or above conversion rate) then most wouldn't have a problem with it...for a second or third rounder that's not the worst tradeoff in the world. The problem is always this years miller is last years uehara...repeatability/consistency and predictability of future performance.

I think we will go after someone like heyward, parra, lagares, Cain, dyson...etc. josh Hamilton should not be in the plans. The only problem is the advantage of strong outfield defenders isn't as pronounced at USCellular. Seeing the direction the royals are going in...we need to get Gillaspie viciedo and potentially avisail off the field and dhing. Of course, that's not possible...but one can easily envision a lineup of semien Johnson and eaton trying to emulate the athleticism of kc. Of course we also need Herrera Davis finnegan and holland lol.

Please don't let ethier markakis Lind and morales be higher on that aforementioned big board list or considered true power bats.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 08:16 AM) I don't mean to speak for Dick Allen here, but I think his big thing is this: if Greg Walker or Jeff Manto get blamed or fired because the offense underperforms, regardless of the talent on hand, why is Don Cooper continually given a free pass and not criticized when the pitching staff in recent years has been mediocre to dreadful, regardless of talent on hand? So many times, it matters not who coaches but insteaad who your players are. Maybe because 50% of that is john danks related, which he has how much control over exactly? Everyone will admit noesi overachieved....so what pitching coach in the majors could have gotten more out of Paulino Carroll rienzo surkamp leesman bassitt etc.???

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 2, 2014 -> 07:36 AM) heck, the Braves organization gets a ton of crap for only winning one world series when they made the playoffs like 18 years in a row. Thats crazy 14

Couldn't have two more opposite games in terms of drama. This will make volquez cheaper to acquire at least.

Hahn has been successful with one of four free agents. He's going to have to go 4/5 to be successful in 2015....see 2013 Red Sox offseason.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 09:23 PM) I don't see how we're close. On a macro level, the team lacks power and is still terrible defensively. On a micro level, the Sox need 1 #2 starter 2 top end bullpen pitchers. 3B LF DH We could fill all of that and still be lousy defensively and lack power. That isn't close I'm going to guess with Gillaspie semien davidson they don't make a move at third. Catcher is highly unlikely as well except via trade.

I think he returns as depth/back-up option at rf lf dh first base.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 07:53 PM) I really don't think there will be such a thing as "too expensive" this offseason. Payroll is so miniscule that I can certainly see at least 1 "high priced" player brought in. Whether that be Sandoval, VMart, perhaps a SP, a few "top flight" RP, or taking on a salary in a trade, the money is there IMO. I just don't think we will see another $75-100 million salary added. That money will be allocated across 4-5 players.

Sandoval too expensive and risky. I think we'll look at Alvarez (dh to start but could be moved back to third if they can fix his throwing issues)...headley would be okay but that makes viciedo or Gillaspie the dh...or Conor and semien. Outfield will be Rasmus or Dominic brown. Would prefer Rasmus but perhaps will be too expensive...simply because of his improving the defense in the outfield at a corner spot. Then someone like volquez with upside but risk mitigated by cooper...two relievers maybe Soria and any lefty reliever not named miller.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 05:38 PM) I think he's saying that signing two free agents with gualifying offers is worth the Sox losing their 2nd and 3rd round picks. Well yeah nobody's going to care about those draft picks if the sox are in fourth or fifth the next two seasons. Hahn would be gone. I should say barring a major injury to sale Quintana abreu.

QUOTE (woods of ypres @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Not to mention the two the Cardinals have won using it. Not really....drafting/player development young pitching in droves and the best catcher in the game when healthy. Cardinals' way 100+page instructional system integrated at every level etc. Luhnow was part of that...but mozeliaks more of a traditional baseball guy. Combination of both aspects. And the m's pitching just ran out of gas down the stretch.

Calling the Red Sox a saber team because of bill James' presence is pushing it... Those World Series can be just as easily be attributed to peds and traditional player development. Maybe the most recent one yes due to the positive contributions of all the undervalued veterans they brought into the fold. Angels and royals split 3-3 head to head this year.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 1, 2014 -> 04:00 PM) Huston Street seems to be the type of pitcher this front office is moving away from. Bit more finesse, throws a lot of fly balls, diminishing velocity. I think if Robertson gets to free agency without a QO, the Sox will make a major push for him. There's also a possiblity that, if he does, the Sox still go after him and then go after another guy who received a QO. It seems weird to think that - signing 2 QO guys gives up 2 draft picks - but then it's essentially a 2nd and a 3rd for those two guys, which really helps even the loss of those draft picks out. I don't quite understand that last sentence....compensates for?

That's still WAY too expensive for a non-closer...and he's unlikely to repeat that season. Maybe they can do what the Royals have done with Finnegan (move from starting to pen for their initial MLB experience) and push Olacio, Danish or Montas up....Beck would be another good possibility, if he's lacking the repertoire as a starter (what happened to Petricka, basically). There's also Sanburn who we got from the A's for Dunn who has as good a chance as Webb to stick going into next season.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 11:24 PM) Right, he's a 110 wRC+ type of player. But on an Oakland team that was basically built around Brandon Moss and Donaldson after Cespedes departed, the crumbling got a hell of a lot worse. At the very least, you know what Cespedes will give you. He's also a game-changer defensively with his arm...you can't discount that part of his game, especially in LF, where most corner guys are noodle armed. http://blog.sfgate.com/johnshea/2014/09/30...dunn-in-lineup/ Poor Adam Dunn. http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...errible-manager Yost ripped to shreds for using Ventura over Herrera/Finnegan in the 6th. The Oakland A’s wrestled with the Kansas City Royals in extra innings Tuesday night, delivering an instant postseason classic in the process. In the end, the upstart Royals overcame in the bottom of the 12th, winning the game with one last unlikely hit, from KC catcher Salvador Perez. The final score was 9-8. But the storyline was epic. It was a lengthy and painful loss for the A’s. And it was also a postseason gem: A game that A’s fans will never forget. And one that KC fans will always cherish. Early on, A’s starter Jon Lester came out strong, but proved fallible, giving up three early runs. Kansas City starter James Shields came out even stronger, only to fall prey to an early hook from Kansas City manager Ned Yost. Back and forth it went, with extra weight on the endeavor. If the A’s lost tonight, their GM Billy Beane would be forever ridiculed for trading slugger Yoenis Cespedes for Lester at the trade deadline. If KC lost, 28 years of postseason waiting would be squandered. On the A’s side, Lester did well enough. And long-struggling A’s slugger Brandon Moss hit two home runs to put the A’s in the lead for most of the game. On the Royals’ side, manager Ned Yost almost wore the goat horns, after pulling starter Shields early, only to have his reliever give up Moss’ second HR. Neither team would give up in extra innings. It felt like the Royals simply had fate on their side. They finally pushed through in the 12th. The Royals now go on to play the Anaheim Angels in the AL divisional playoffs. The A’s go home to a very long winter, contemplating what may have been. At one point. the A’s were the best team in baseball this summer. Then, GM Billy Beane traded slugger Yoenis Cespedes for pitcher Jon Lester, hoping to win a one-game playoff in the postseason. Simply put: The gamble did not pay off. Beane will have to answer for that. sfgate.com/saracevic

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 11:02 PM) Cespedes isn't that good. This loss isn't about losing Cespedes. It's about having a team built on a lot of iffy parts and those iffy foundations crumbling down the stretch. When it came down to it, they're a fortunate bounce of a ball away potentially making a run in a playoff series. But that's what the A's and Twins have been saying for nearly a generation of fans. In the end, they're not getting it done when it counts. Gardenhire was just fired despite being a manager who led his team to 6 titles in 9 years. When you have Jon Lester retiring 12 or so hitters in a row, a 7-3 lead, and one of the best bullpens in the majors...you just have ZERO excuse for not closing that game out. The Royals were shell-shocked and back on their heels. Herrera wasn't even his normal self coming in with a two run deficit.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 10:53 PM) Agreed. I'm hoping the Sox go with Sale, Q, Noesi, Danks, Bassitt to start the season. Hopefully Danks pitches well enough to be traded sometime around June and then move Rodon up from Charlotte into Danks place. Hopefully one of Montas and Danish continue their paces and one of them be ready to challenge Noesi in ST 2016. They better get going soon. The Twins are coming. The Royals will have Ventura, Duffy, Finnegan, Vargas and Guthrie as a very solid and youthful rotation, and could get even better with some momentum going their way with a chance to knock off the Angels and even add some free agents (not retaining Shields or Butler's salaries). The Indians have Bauer, Salazar, Kluber and Carrasco.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 10:55 PM) Amazing game. What a disaster for the A's. They acquire an ace prematurely for their cleanup hitter thinking they had already won the division in July...only to fall out of contention because of their lack of offense. Then their ace more or less gives up a 4 run lead in a their only playoff game and they end up with nothing. It sucks to be an Oakland fan right now. Moore/Yost and Beane/Melvin changed places from goats/geniuses in the span of an hour or so. You almost have to feel a bit sorry for A's fans. They really mortgaged their future trading Cespedes and their future starting SS. Is their owner going to have the willpower to replace Lester and find a starting SS AND a bat to replace Cespedes (which was critical when Donaldson and Moss slumped and Dunn wasn't enough to stop the bleeding). Alexei Ramirez would make a lot of sense as an acquisition target for Beane.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 10:53 PM) I'm fairly certain Hammel is going to blow it here and it'll create a storyline of how Beane's trades were bad... And he does...lol Just like you knew Frasor would give up the lead against Callaspo. Destiny type of thing. Ever since the 10 game winning streak in July/August.

The Royals win the Wild Card Game, the Royals win the Wild Card Game, lol. Ryan Levebvre is going nuts at least. Absolutely thrilling/amazing/crazy post-season game. Good for their fans, they deserve it...having lived there in the worst of times (1996-2005, and 2006-07), no franchise's fans deserve something like that to happen more than Cubs fans, haha. Which of course we would never want to happen in our lifetime/s.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 30, 2014 -> 10:46 PM) Well, Gordon failed. I'm not sure why Melvin is taking Abad out after just one batter in a game that might go on forever... He's bringing in Pomeranz though, who can probably go 4 innings if he needs to. Edit: nvm it's Hammel. Nothing like a former blown Rockies' pitching prospect to settle it...or was he with the Indians as part of the Jimenez deal? Can't remember exactly how he ended up with the A's now. SEVEN steals tonight for KC. A's brain trust all over it but couldn't hold onto the ball. Previous post-season record was only three. Talk about breaking a record.