MiddleCoastBias

You guys know more about this than I do so here's another dumb question: what's the process for hiring/retaining/promoting/firing minor league coaches? Do they have contracts and, if so, so they ever span multiple years? Always just hear about how some coach is no longer there (Vizquel, Grudz, etc) but no mention of being fired or contract expiring, etc - they just disappear. And then you hear coaches are with one level one year (Jirschele, etc) and then moved to another the next year. Are they not locked in for multiple years? I get the sense that everyone serves on a one-year contract basis that is reviewed annually but there must be something I'm missing, yes?

Considering we haven't finished a season higher than third place in the last 7 years, I think we would get absolutely roasted publicly claiming that second place isn't good enough.

I feel like I can guess your age ?

You beat me to it haha

I think this part is huge. So often people think framing as stealing strikes by bringing a ball back into the zone, but equally important is avoiding bringing a strike OUT of the zone with poor receiving. Narvaez really seemed to struggle with receiving pitches at the bottom of the zone and would flail at them, swinging his mitt out of the zone. He cost pitches like Rodon a ton of strikes by swiping at low sliders that caught the zone but were called balls because of how awkward the catcher was in receiving it. The human nature thing is right - if the catcher moves as little as possible, pitcher hits the mitt/target, and the catcher doesn't need to adjust to receive it, the ump is naturally going to be inclined to think "that's a good pitch". Having a 'quiet' catcher that doesn't blow calls with poor receiving skills is just as important as stealing the odd strike, imo.

Best Thread (for me) was the continued Manny Machado saga with the ever-changing titles. So many highs and lows over the first couple months of 2019. "We have him!" "We don't!" "But sources!" Even when it ended it heartbreak, it really was a thrilling ride that brought a lot of old posters out of retirement and attracted a lot of new posters (or activated old lurkers) to the board.

This is a broader question outside of EE, but anyone concerned about the cyclical nature of the game swinging back from the HRs and launch angle, and limiting Eloy? All it takes is MLB overreacting and changing the ball again, and now we have Eloy's development years geared toward hitting dingers that end up as long pop outs. Not saying that's guaranteed, just that I want Eloy to be focused on being the best pure, all-around hitter with monster power, and not just limit it to being a Joc Pederson high-launch-angle-dependent guy.

Tim Anderson has hit 20 HR once in his career, so projecting 25 is... not conservative.

Hell, put the replay up on the jumbotron like they do in tennis with the Hawk-Eye technology so everyone sees it as the same time. Tennis challenges take literally 5 seconds, are entertainingly visual for everyone to see together, and get the damn call right. Now I really want this.

If we're doing a list of Sox that are past their prime, I'll contribute: Kenny Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf.

Lots of good names in here. Has no one said David Wells yet? I'll say David Wells. And does Bartolo Colon count even though he has appeared to defeat time?

Minnesota Only Children is woefully underrated

Thing is, I think a number of teams would think that as well. Then we're back to who offers more money or an extra year, and are the Sox the team that is going to do that?

No. That's a move a team on the brink of contention makes, someone that needs that final piece vet presence to win *this year* while leveraging the future. That is not us.

We're just now wrapping up the Winter Meetings and there are still a few big names on the board, though we don't seem to be publicly connected to them yet or anymore. The off-season isn't over yet but they haven't performed well to this point. Their progress report reads "needs improvement" at this point, trending toward a final bad grade. Still time to prove us wrong though.

Hear me out... What if it's so obviously a fake account that we all know to ignore it, that it's actually Kenny Williams playing 4D chess on a burner hiding account in plain sight and leaking us news? Makes you think hmmm ???

Well that was an exciting 30 seconds.

Is this an actual quote? From where?

I'd like to petition that future Winter Meetings are held in the Northeast so 1. they wake up earlier in the day relative to the rest of the country so I don't have have to wait for three timezones for them to wake up, and 2. they can't be distracted by nice weather - stay inside and make some moves

I hear you, I think it just sounds pretty and childish for an entire organization to think and act that way. It's a business, not the playground.

I don't understand this - what does it matter if it leaked before they can announce it? Why get all stubborn and hold off announcing it just to prove a "point" that a leak was wrong? Like, it's not going to be a secret from the other teams when he shows up on the field wearing our jersey, so why this push to keep a signing secret after it's agreed to in principle?

Speaking of, whatever happened to Ranger/Rongey? We scare him off?

Anyone catch what was talked about?

Is there evidence for this? I've only heard about how loyal the org has been, to a fault, nothing about burnt bridges for a million here or there. The "snitty for less money" thing sounds like the Astros or some comparable team on the other end of the spectrum.