Feeky Magee

So pumped for Eaton this year

QUOTE (BFirebird @ Mar 4, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) I think he is going to be really important for success of this team in the next few years. Our best pitchers are lefties so we need some righties to step up and hopefully take the next step. He just gave up a run in the second, trade him.

3 up, 3 down for Erik Johnson.

Abreu reaches base for the first time as a Sox, first-inning walk. Gordon Beckham doubled earlier.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Mar 3, 2014 -> 12:39 PM) If we're choosing our closer on the basis of who would bring back the most in a trade Jones should be the guy. Lindstrom doesn't offer enough upside. He's a decent reliever who'll have hitters driving the ball into the ground and is valuable in several roles but he's not someone a playoff team can sell as a closer. The guy cannot get LH hitters out well enough to close IMO. Webb is too young and would drive up his salary in future years by stacking up saves. Make Webb one of the guys in the pen and hopefully he has a great year and is heir to the closer throne. Jones has two good years under his belt, has the stuff and could very well be a tradable commodity come July or next offseason. Delaying that until after July though and make him the full-time closer then, and there could be savings of up to $10m in arb. Even if you still count on trading him, it's a pretty good selling point in that he'd be relatively cheap, or leverage in that the Sox can easily afford to keep him. That's worth skipping one trade deadline for me.

JR Murphy hit a 3-run homer for the Yankees yesterday: http://m.mlb.com/video/v31420417/nyytor-mu...t-in-the-eighth

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Mar 2, 2014 -> 05:06 PM) Yeah, I don't think Lindy will be thought of as a closer to potential trade partners, even if we put him in that role. But Jones, with 100mph heat, yes. If a contender is struggling with it like Detroit last year and Lindstrom has around 25 saves with an ERA around 3, I think he could be, at least for a couple of months.

Jose Abreu 0-for-4 so far in spring. Disgraceful.

1.2 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 4 ER, 1 K. Solid.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 2, 2014 -> 03:31 PM) Any idea of velocity? Fastball 90-93mph, most commonly 91. Curve typically 81-83, one at 74. Slider at 84. Gameday also claimed a change-up at 91, the silly thing.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Mar 2, 2014 -> 12:31 PM) True, but if there are guys in the system that you like better for closer long-term; Webb, Goldberg, you can increase Jones' trade value by getting him the saves this season, while never bearing the burden of the arb year costs. Not saying that's their strategy for certain, as I don't know how they view Webb and Goldberg internally, but it's another plausible scenario, especially given the Santos and Reed moves. Right, but delay Jones being the closer out of the gate and you can have it both ways. Lindstrom closes until the trade deadline, Jones takes over when Lindstrom gets traded but is not properly considered a closer for arbitration as he merely took it over for the run-in. Then you have Jones close for as long as you want, so he's considered a closer by other teams but his arb is based mostly on set-up because years 2 and 3 are based on year 1. All it means is you can't shop Jones as a closer at the 2014 trade deadline but I'm not sure they'd be shopping him then anyway.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Mar 2, 2014 -> 07:54 AM) Lindstrom hasn't been a closer for a few years, so why try again with him? He closed with Houston one year, then lost the job. Strictly a set up guy now. I think he and Boggs should be fighting for the same roster spot, but they will both probably go North in April. I don't get the Boggs' signing. Because he's been a good reliever for 3 straight years, because our best reliever is arb-eligible next year and it would be very profitable to prevent him from closing, because saves would increase his trade value and because the other options aren't as stable as him?

I think Lindstrom gets it. Jones is the outstanding candidate, but with the arbitration system over-valuing players who close before their first year, the Sox could save $5-10m on his arb years by delaying having him close for one year. Lindstrom is the most stable option behind him, and I think Hahn would like if he racked up some saves to be enticing to a contender looking for someone with closing experience at the deadline.

QUOTE (Knuckles @ Feb 28, 2014 -> 03:13 PM) How is Davidson loooking on defense? Hasn't been a ball hit his way. Beckham's made like 5 or 6 plays.

Sportsnet LA just showed an amazingly tense moment of a kid eating a hot dog, dog was this close to falling out of the roll. Back to you in the studio.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 28, 2014 -> 04:01 PM) Yes, but anything free? Messaged you. Abreu in his second at-bat took a rip at the first pitch and fouled it off, took two balls, took a breaking ball for a strike and hit a chopper to second base.

Sale looked awesome - 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4K.

I've got a pretty good stream from Sportsnet LA, if anyone wants it, PM me.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Feb 28, 2014 -> 03:18 PM) How did Eaton and Abreu look? Following gamecast because I cant get audio or video at work Eaton in his first at-bat took a strike straight down the middle, two balls and then lined a single to centre-field. Ryu threw over to first a couple of times and then he was out at second on a Garcia grounder. In his second at-bat, he drew a good walk taking a couple of close pitches inside. Abreu got fooled by a change-up on one pitch and his bat flew out of his hand on another but worked the count well to 3-2 before lining very hard to left field, not that close to going out, but extremely well hit.

Keith Law also had him in his 10 prospects who just missed out on the top 100 overall.

So will there be separate Sunday jerseys with last year's Sundays becoming alternates?

Baseball America moved Murphy from #18 to #4 on the Yankees top prospect list from 2013 to 2014. Fangraphs from #15 to #2.

- Obvious suggestion: roundtable discussion of top prospects - Each guy could pick a lottery ticket prospect he likes - Talking about what the Sox might do with their slots, particularly if there's no consensus at no.3 - A look at Marco Paddy and how the Sox are recovering/have recovered from the kickback scandal - Tony Bucciferro and Adam Lopez, Sox prospects who were 1st and 4th in all of MiLB in FIP in 2013, but also 23 year-olds pitching in Low-A

I'd love a podcast

Andrelton Simmons is another I could watch all day, in the field obviously.