The Mariners announced Monday that they’ve traded right-handed reliever Yacksel Rios to the Red Sox in exchange for cash. Seattle had designated the 27-year-old Rios for assignment over the weekend.
Rios pitched three innings for the Mariners prior to his DFA, allowing a trio of runs on five hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts. Seattle had only recently acquired him from the Rays in exchange for cash — a deal that came about as a result of an opt-out clause in Rios’ minor league deal with Tampa Bay.
While Rios hasn’t had much success in the Majors, he was lights-out in Triple-A this year, where he yielded just one run on eight hits and two walks with 17 strikeouts through 13 2/3 frames. A 6.47 ERA in 72 1/3 Major League innings gives plenty of reason to be a bit skeptical of that brilliant showing in Durham, but this is basically a no-risk pickup for the Red Sox, who have an open spot on the 40-man roster after designating righty Ryan Weber for assignment earlier in the day.
Yahoo!!!
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The Sox 26th roster door continues to revolve.
As it should. If I have one roster complaint, it is that we didn’t turn over the roster often enough. To me, it is like the last roster slot on a fantasy team. Unless you are really loaded, the best use of the last slot might be to simply stream players. Look at the BP usage, look at if you think someone might lose 5 days, but isn’t hurt badly enough for the IL.
To me Joe, that’s a legal manipulation of the system that should be fixed. Too much yo-yoing which the PA can’t be happy about.
I assume that every time a player gets promoted, he gets some service time consideration. I don;t know if that works on plateau basis, or if each day accrues a day;s benefit. But if it became more difficult to stream players, it would become more difficult for the Weber’s of the world to get any exposure.
Ask Jeeves
Cue 50 posters joking about how “this is the move that will get us over the top”
Queue
Cue is acceptable. One definition is to signal person(s) or actor(s) to begin their performance.
In fact, cue is correct. Queue would be an entirely different meaning.
It’s amazing someone can be so confident and so wrong at the same time.
Nothing better than discussing grammar in a sports site, But so long as we’ve long since passed the rabbit hole, couldn’t it be either? One definition of ‘cue’ is a hint. Couldn’t one say ‘Cue the commentators to queue up’?
Can’t do worse than Weber did at least they reacted quickly to that garbage. Next man up
Say what you will about Weber, my burgers were always perfect with his grill.
Whatever > Ryan Weber
Have you seen the Yackman pitch? Might change your tune.
I would be quite impressed if he could make me wish for Ryan Weber back instead.
In America, you sell Yak. In Soviet Russia, Yacksel you!
haven’t seen Yakov reference in years, thank you
Starting to remind me of last year and all the junk we picked up… hope this guy brings his A game
No matter our record, I don’t give Bloom much credit for pitching… no reason to resign mediocre Perez this year and he did just that.
Before his last two starts Perez was pitching quite well. He’s had 2 maybe 3 bad starts all year. In his last 3+ innings he has given up 11 runs. Before that he gave up 22 runs all year.
But his career stats are nothing to write home about. Seems like a great guy but he’s nothing more than a stable #5.
Which was what the rotation needed?
3 starts back puts him back into May. So the “all year” you are referring to is a whole 5-6 weeks.
Last time I checked, April and May combined, have more than 5-6 weeks in them.
Yeah. Exactly. What else would you compare him to? Do other pitchers have a longer track record in 2021?
I look at career numbers. Perez has been all but average his whole career. He is very streaky. He will be great for 3 starts then struggle for three but it all washes out to a 4+ ERA. That’s his ceiling, a 4/5 starter, don’t expect more.
Pwndroia – Your memory and assessment of Perez is quite a bit better than TBaggins.
Here are the facts –
April 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA and 1.478 WHIP that qualifies him for AA
May 3-0 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.12 WHIP that is top of the staff numbers.. June 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.091 WHIP that is beyond terrible!!
Year by Year
2021 – 4-4 with an ERA of 4.52 and WHIP of 1.427 – 5th starter at best
2020 – 3-5 with an ERA of 4.50 and WHIP of 1.339 – 5th starter at best
2019 – 10-7 with an ERA of 5.12 and WHIP of 1.518 – Minnesota numbers
10 yr Career – 60-65 with an ERA of 4.70 and WHIP of 1.474
What this proves is that the hot steaks he’s had in 2019 until June and 2021 in May were peak performances not reflecting his true skills.
Perez is not a MLB level SP. He might work in relief but personally I don’t think enough of his stuff to even consider him for relief. He is a DFA waiting to happen. If the Red Sox can’t find a SP who can outperform a 4.70 ERA and 1.474 WHIP they are in serious trouble going forward.
My memory is just what I said quoting stats for 2021.
Yup, I checked and your right.
TBaggins – Couldn’t just leave well enough alone heh? .
Your quote – Before his last two starts Perez was pitching quite well. He’s had 2 maybe 3 bad starts all year. In his last 3+ innings he has given up 11 runs. Before that he gave up 22 runs all year.
Pwndroia’s quote – But his career stats are nothing to write home about. Seems like a great guy but he’s nothing more than a stable #5.
Your data is good but the presentation of it is misleading. You are doing the proverbial cherry picking and let me show why.
Perez’ stats in 2021
Game #, IP and ER per start. Game ERA – Opponent
1) 5 – 3 5.40 ERA = BAD START – TB
2) 5 – 2 3.60 ERA – AVERAGE START – MIN
3) 3.2 – 4 9.80 ERA – BAD START – CWS
4) 3.2 – 2 4.90 ERA – BAD START – SEA
5) 5.2 – 1 1.59 ERA = GOOD START – TX
6) 5.2 – 2 3.17 ERA – AVERAGE START – DET
7) 5 – 1 1.80 ERA – GOOD START – BAL
8) 6 – 0 0.00 ERA = GREAT START – LAA
9) 6 – 3 4.50 ERA – AVERAGE TO BAD START = PHI
10) 5 – 2 3.60 ERA = AVERAGE START – MIA
11) 7.2 – 0 0.00 ERA – GREAT START – HOU
12) 2 – 6 27.00 ERA – TERRIBLE START – HOU
13) 1.1 – 5 33.83 ERA – TERRIBLE START – TOR
My quote says
Pwndroia – Your memory and assessment of Perez is quite a bit better than TBaggins.
What makes his memory and assessment better than yours?
He points out the guys career sucked and the stats I published confirm that. He gives Perez credit for being a good guy which I like and he points out he’s at best a stable #5 pitcher. More than I would give him credit for.
You, on the other hand, factually picked a summary of this season that would suggest he’s not that bad. Obviously, he is that bad. Does it matter that he was doing ok prior to two horrendous blow-ups? No. Why? Because in the end you can’t cherry pick stats. It’s the total that counts because it’s the facts. In 10 years could he have had great games and bad games and more great than bad but his bads were so bad that his totals after 10 years are misleadingly bad? Yes. Does that change anything? NO. He’s still bad.
These are the reasons I felt your recollection of Perez was not as accurate as Pwndroia. He capsulized how bad Perez is and you tried to suggest based on a specific view at the data that he was actually better than he is. It’s called Cherry picking and I called you out on it. Any segment of any players career can be made to look good if you pick a small enough segment. That’s what you did.
Also, lets consider the number of innings he was pitching in each start and how much that taxed the bullpen. Is a great pitcher considered great if all he can throw on good days is 5 innings? In 13 starts he threw less than 6 innings 10 times. That’s a huge burden for the bullpen to pick up. Now add to that he has given up more hits than innings pitched and walked 3.2 batters per nine innings and you have a guy who doesn’t belong on any team’s starting staff. If he was having an off year then you could forgive the numbers but those are very close to his career numbers after 10 years!! That’s a below average pitcher in the Red Sox rotation and even if he had a small hot streak, overall he’s not good.
So forgive me if I find Pwndroia’s comments more factual and his assessment of Perez more accurate. I take no issue with the reliability of your numbers, I simply take issue with your inaccurate assessment of analyzing a small sample of his work. The smaller the sample the easier it is to make anyone better than they are. The opposite is also true when trying to prove how bad someone is.
Perez is doing exactly what they got him for or even more. He just shut out the Astros before his last outing going 7.2 innings. When all our other pitchers lost In their starts.
If he can do it when the lights shine bright that’s all fans are gonna remember.
deesnuts0480 – So you don’t remember the other outings listed above? Do you actually follow the Red Sox? If so, do you really have such a short memory? 10 years of sucking and he’s doing his job? You can’t be serious. Do you even understand the game enough to know how bad his ERA and WHIP are now and over the last 10 years? After he beat HOU he got destroyed by them. The two HOU games totalled 9.2 innings and he gave up 6 runs. that’s a 5.58 ERA and they were back to back so you should remember the deep darkness that followed the light!!! Seriously, get your memory checked. Back to back games and you only remember the first one? WOW. He obviously doesn’t do it when the lights shine bright. At best he did it ONCE when the lights shined bright. Then he failed miserably when the lights shined bright!!
A stable #5 is a complete waste of money, but only if you are going with a 4-man rotation. Not you specifically, but too many posters don’t understand the relative value of players.
We’ve won 7 of Perez’s 13 starts, and his ERA+ is 99. If your worst starter is a league-average pitcher, you will win a lot of games.
pwndroia
That’s his ceiling, a 4/5 starter, don’t expect more.
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I’m not sure you are looking at this from an organizational perspective. Every team has a 4/5 starter. You have to have a 4/5 starter.
Right now, Perez has an fWAR of 0.5. That ranks #74 among starters. That makes him exactly a #3. Having a #3 as your #5 is a huge advantage.
Maybe a better of approaching it is, if you don’t want Perez as your #5 SP, who do you want?
2021 – 4-4 with an ERA of 4.52 and WHIP of 1.427 – 5th starter at best
2020 – 3-5 with an ERA of 4.50 and WHIP of 1.339 – 5th starter at best
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An easier way to do this is to look at his ERA+ for the two years, which is 102, or 2% better than average. Then the next step is to try to find out how many teams have a #5 with an ERA+ of 102. Very few have a #5 as good as Perez.
The mistake you are making is assuming that our #5 should somehow be more than a #5,
The retreads he brought in on MiLB deals looked like crap from top to bottom. Collection of failed and aging minor league vets and his favorite.. “spin” guys who are of no use anyway.
The bringing back of Perez was a slick move however and tad cheaper than the option they held previously from last year. nobody counted on Houck/Mata/Seabold and basardo being out so far nearly all of the MiLB season and not available to be called upon, the 4 real prospects at AAA, with Mata having TJ in April.
1 thing believe could have done better by Bloom so far prospects wise is adding miLB rule rule 5 guy Ort to the 26 man roster, who has been lights out at AAA.
Perez has been decent this year. He’s been an excellent back of the rotation starter.
His ERA recently vs the Astros was only 3.09 and he shut them down to 0 and had the longest outing of the year by any starter on our staff. He left in the 8th inning with 2 outs.
So saying Perez was a horrible singing makes no sense.
An great ERA under 4 for your 4th or 5th starter in the rotation is great
This guy either don’t watch the Redsox or he just seen Perez last game only…
deesnuts0480 – Read the data above taken straight from the record books.
Perez had ONE game vs HOU that was better than anything else he’s done in Boston this year and maybe since he got here and ONE game vs HOU that more than off-set his great game. Adding the two games together gives you a terrible net number and it explains why his ERA and WHIP are so high this year and the last 9 years prior to this year. Not many teams seek out #5 SPs with his numbers. Bloom does but most good GMs don’t. Minnesota dumped him for a reason.
Bloom took a chance on Perez because he had a nice start in 2019 through May and Bloom thought he could help him regain that brief moment of excellence in Boston and as usual he was wrong. It hasn’t happened. For every good game he throws he throws at least one clinker that more than off-sets the good game.
You did get one thing right! A 4th or 5th starter with an ERA under 4.00 is great in the AL. Unfortunately, that’s not Perez. His 4.50 both years in Boston is slightly better than his 4.70 career ERA but not enough to suggest that it was a good signing. You could say it looked like a good signing at the time if he turned out to be that guy who pitched in April and May of 2019 but that was simply a hot streak which was followed by 4 months of bad games in 2019 forcing the Twins to dump him.
I posted all his starts this year. I posted his last 3 years (2 in Boston and 1 in Minnesota) and I posted his career numbers.
Nothing you have said about him aligns with the facts presented above.
You have to understand cost versus value. If Perez cost $1M or less a year he might be worth the numbers he put up over the last 10 years. Since he’s costing the Red Sox $5M versus the luxury tax he needs to be an effective 4th SP. If he was half the price he could get by being an effective 5th SP but at his price he’s simply a waste of money.
If you need a workhorse that puts up 200 innings a year, you might pay his money for a guy who is an innings eater but not terribly effective. 3 out of 13 starts he pitched less than 6 innings. That’s not an innings eater.
He just meets the criterion of being not terribly effective.
He’s just one more of Bloom’s mistakes. The Red Sox need Sale and Houck back so they can cut Perez out of the rotation. Until that happens he will continue his up and down performances much like the pitching staff in 2020. Check out WHO he did well against and who he struggled against. You can’t have a guy in your rotation that can only beat teams like Texas and Baltimore. He needs to consistently be competitive against good teams too.
“He’s just one more of Bloom’s mistakes.”
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So many mistakes; so many wins:)
JB – What’s Bloom’s number? I’ve yet to see him on the field ACTUALLY helping the team. I can say the same about his additions too but once in a blue moon a Bloom guy has a good game. Usually it’s a DD guy that actually wins the game for the Red Sox but that’s what happens when your GM can’t acquire talent, he relies on his predecessor to provide the talent and DD has come through nicely for Bloom much like Friedman’s predecessor provided almost all the talent in LA.
Just remember, the Red Sox are an injury away from tanking. If JD, Devers or Bogey go down the hiss from the air coming out of the balloon will be heard all the way to California!
Easily calculated. Here are Bloom’s guys, using bWAR,
Total WAR 7.1 Total Payroll $40.6M
Here are the guys pre-Bloom
Total WAR 10.1 Total Payroll $135M
While Bogaerts & Devers are great players, we also have a bunch of non-productive salaries that Bloom inherited. This is similar, or maybe even identical, to what Theo did when he took over. Theo had a couple of great, but expensive players in Manny and Pedro, and he augmented that core with a dozen good, cheap players.
Anyway, how’s that ’70 wins is a fantasy’ prediction going?
JB – Your math is ridiculous. Your misuse of WAR is ridiculous.
Let’s do this the simple way – 9 spots hit
C – DD
1B – DD
2B – Bloom
SS – DD
3B – DD
LF – Bloom
CF – Bloom
RF – Bloom
DH – DD
Opportunity lost – Downgrade from Benny to Cordero, Downgrade from Betts to Verdguo
The season is 68 games old so roughly 42% of the season is over. We are barely past the COVID 2020 season number of games. The hard part of the schedule is still ahead of the Red Sox.
When the season is OVER then quote any stats you want. The top three hitters will be from DD. The fourth is likely to be a Mookie step down guy. And frankly all the rest are insignificant unless Dalbec blooms. Hernandez, Cordero and Renfroe are all utility players.
The hitting is the strength of the Red Sox and it’s dominated by the guys that were here before Bloom and the one exception is a step down from the guy he got rid of.
Your cherry picked data is meaningless.
Opportunity lost – Downgrade from Betts to Verdguo
=================================================================
Just for fun, let’s add Betts & Price to your side of the equation.
Your WAR went from 10.1 to 11.6
Your salary just went from $135M to $180M.
So you’d be adding 1.5 bWAR for a mere $45M. The math will never work for you.
Jak Se Mas
Another Stellar Pickup by Bloom!!!! We need starting pitching and he picks up a reliever with an ERA north of 6.00. I hope you did not give up more than a bsg of balls for this guy.
It was just cash considerations. Acceptable expense for fodder for garbage time.
Bloom has done a good job so far, what exactly are you complaining a bout? The Sox are playing well above expectations. Bloom just needs to pick up a decent starter and make a couple other small moves and then let them play it out.
Hey you still comment here
And you still have the Green Monster mascot as your avatar
AL34
Another Stellar Pickup by Bloom!!!! We need starting pitching
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We have 4 SPs with an ERA+ of 99 or better, plus ERod. Since ERod is not going to be replaced, we do not need to add a starter. And that does not even include Sale, Houck or Seabold if/when they return.
JB – Don’t be sassing AL34. His comments are ALWAYS spot on.
If you actually believe the pitching is good enough to make the playoffs then I have misjudged you. Eovaldi is earning his money and lots of fans thought his contract was an overpay. Richards is an injury waiting to happen and has done better than expected, Perez simply sucks, Pivetta got a Christmas present from Cora (a lifetime supply of Spider Tack!!) and has to stop using it since the guys in the minors got suspended so he’s struggled lately.
The bizarre Red Sox season all comes down to winning 2 out of 3 games on the road. That’s the only thing that wasn’t predictable. Their home record is a bit higher than expected for me but you as a believer probably thought it was possible. But nobody could have confidently suggested a .667 winning percentage on the road. At least nobody in their right mind!!
You can ride the high for now but in the end, no playoffs and hopefully no Cora and Bloom in 2022!!
About the bizarre comment related to a 99 ERA+. Talk about fitting stats to support a point. 100 is league average and they have 3 over league average but the highest is 123. TB has 3 over 100 with 144 being their high. The Yankees have 3 over 100 with 177 being their highest. Toronto has 3 over 100 with their highest being 127 but unlike the others they have two in the 120s.. Baltimore only has 1 SP over 100 and he’s at 192!!
To summarize the suggestion by you that the Red Sox don’t need a Starting Pitcher is inaccurate. AL34, once again, was right. Ranking the division pitching puts Boston in fourth out of five. If anything happens that impacts their hitting, their place in the standing will plummet. To ensure the inevitable offensive slump doesn’t crush the team Boston needs to get a pitcher, then add Sale and Houck. I’m not sure that Seabold will be a starter this year but he could be by 2022 if he actually proves he is capable.
AL34 = NICE JOB!!!
AL34 has his moments, but right now, we don’t need pitching. A guy like Scherzer, sure, but it would be senseless to trade for an average SP to replace another average SP.
IRT to other division rivals’s rotations, NYY are #6, TO is #7, we are #8 in ERA. Given our offense, and the current state of our BP, I’m satisfied with that.
IRT their H/A winning %, it is a non-factor. There are always unusual splits on every team. Nobody expected TB to have the best road record in baseball either.
JB – It should go without saying that getting a new pitcher MUST be an upgrade not a lateral move. Depth isn’t needed, additional talent is need at many positions but SP is the most critical.
The team one would have expected to have the best road record would be Toronto since their home situation is so screwed. TB wins more than they should every year so it’s not shocking to me that they are winning on the road. Their talent level never explains their winning. The Red Sox, didn’t add talent to a 65 win team and yet have won two-thirds of their road games this season. No other result is more shocking.
It should go without saying that getting a new pitcher MUST be an upgrade not a lateral move.
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I’m game on this one. Who would you trade for, and who would you replace? I’m not a purist on the rotation, but I am also not spending prospect capital to improve a 4.50 SP to a 4.25 SP.
If you can point out a material improvement, at an acceptable price tag, I’d be interested in discussing it.
JB – The obvious candidates who are no longer in the playoff race are Baltimore, Arizona and Pittsburgh. In addition, if Colorado is not signing Story then they might be willing to part with a SP for prospects.
Baltimore has Means. He is the best in the division with an ERA+.of 192. His last three have been 130 and 103 (shortened season). He’s young enough at 28 to be in his prime and he becomes arbitration eligible next year so there are 3 years of control. He’s a lefty that is far better than E-Rod which makes him expendable at the end of the season. It will cost the Red Sox prospects but I say give them the LAD throwaways and a couple of cheap utility players who fit their payroll.
Trade #1 = Means for Downs, Wong, Perez and Cordero.
It give Boston a controllable #3 SP and gives up NO future Starting players. They might not like it but if they buy into the LAD hype on Downs and Wong like Bloom did, this could fly!
Next, Arizona is not stocked with starting pitchers. Zac Gallen is probably the only one worthy of consideration and he is hurt and their prize possession so I’m not sure any trade is available there. Gallen has a 3 year ERA+ of 159 so he would slot in as the #2 SP needed. He throws righty so he slots nicely behind Sale in the rotation in August. What would it take to get a guy like him? Probably Downs, Wong, Jimenez, Potts and lets throw in Cordero since I can’t stand the guy. Again, if Arizona’s front office doesn’t buy in to the LAD hype on the two in the Mookie deal, this won’t happen. Gallen is an ideal candidate for the future too bad the LAD hype prospects can only be dealt for one or the other. Means or Gallen but not both..
Alternate trade #1 – Gallen for Downs, Wong, Jimenez, Potts and Cordero.
Pittsburgh doesn’t have pitchers like we need but they do have a long term solution to the 3B problem. Give them Devers straight up for Hayes. This lowers the money for the next several years, improves the defense and replace Devers bat completely and may provide even better offense. That deal is a no brainer. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Bloom could sell a deal like that to Pittsburgh. This deal frees up the DH spot for JD going forward because he still has good years left and seems to like it in Boston. Hayes is a great kid like Devers but he can field!!!
Trade offer #2 is Devers for Hayes.
Colorado – Austin Gomber has 4 years of control left. He’s been highly successful at every level he has played at. Not pitching in Colorado half the time certainly should help his already excellent numbers. Gomber is another leftie who can replace E-Rod if Means replaces Perez. What would it take to get him away from Colorado? A lot. If the Hayes for Devers trade happened that would free up Dalbec to be traded leaving Hernandez to play 1B until Casas arrives. So, Dalbec, Rosario, Perez and Seabold.
Trade #3 = Gomber for Dalbec, Potts and Seabold.
Unlike Bloom who treasures possessions not rings, I prefer rings and believe strongly like DD that the farm system is there to make the MLB team better not to build a treasure trove of talent but not win.
These deals significantly change the line-up to.
DH – JD
1B – Santana now = Casas long=term
2B = Arroyo for now
SS – Bogaerts
3B – Hayes
LF – Hernandez for now – Renfroe going forward
CF – Verdugo for now = Duran going forward
RF – Renfroe for now – Verdugo going forward
SP1 – Sale
SP2 – Gallen/Means
SP3 – Houck
SP4 – Pivetta
SP5 – Richards for now
CL – Barnes for now
Setup – Ottavino, Taylor, Hernandez, Whitlock and Andriese
Gallen or Means would be great long-term pick-ups.
Hayes for Devers makes sense from our side and might make sense from theirs if they want an all-star on their roster to build around.
What do you think?
I actually expected worse, so I will give you props. But those trades won’t work.
Trade #1-BA wouldn’t do it. Downs is roughly top-50, but the other three are fill-ins. 3+ years of Means is worth more than a #50.
Trade #2-This reminds me a lot of my off-season suggestion, to trade Devers for Roberts. But I never thought the WS would do it, I seriously doubt the Pirates would do your suggestions. 2+ years of Devers just isn’t worth 5+ years of Hayes, especially in a year where we aren’t a big contender for the WS.
That said, half of all my trade suggestions are similar. A smallish downgrade in offense for a major upgrade on defense. But I think this is substantially over the line. If this were the Reds or Rox, maybe.
Another suggestion would be targeting the LAD. They’ve had a lot of injuries. The 2+ years of Devers could be appealing to them in pursuit of a repeat.
Trade #3-Another non-starter. Three decent lottery tickets for a good, established SP. not going to happen,
In summary, the good news is that all three trades would add value to the RS. The bad news is that they add to much value, and the other team won’t do them. I think Devers for Hayes is the closest, but Cherry is building for the long-run, and even if the value was closer, he still wouldn’t trade 5+ years for 2+ years.
That said, maybe think about expanding the trade. Devers & Downs for Hayes + ??? I don’t see any way Cherry trades Hayes, for almost anything, but I’d love to see him in a RS uniform.
Who cares if he can throw 99 mph!
If he can’t get it in the little box over home plate…..
I think the old Manny phrase needs to move to these worthless moves by Bloom.
It’s just BLOOM BEING BLOOM.
No added value, just the churning of players for a paycheck for a worthless GM.
A lifetime minor league player who has 69 MLB appearances in relief where he sucked.
Should send chills down the spine of guys like Vlad Jr. and Judge!!
I do enjoy when you drink from goblet of bitterness.
JB – Getting a bit poetic. WOW. Bloom being Bloom. The t-shirts should be available any day now. Like Pat Riley and Three Peat – I’m hoping to copyright it early!! haha
Also, you really don’t comprehend the emotions fans are going through with regard to Bloom. It’s not bitterness, it’s massive disappointment. I’d suggest you ask your parents about it but that would be mean and bitter!!
In regard to your bitter disappointment, the RS’ .603 winning % will do that to the haters.
IRT my parents, they have both unfortunately moved on. But I think they’d be very pleased with how things worked out. In a family filled with high-IQ types, and one BB-obsessed black sheep, I somehow managed to stumble into the best education of the lot. Even with hindsight and foresight, I have no idea how that happened.
JB – Sorry to hear your parents have passed. Unlike you, I’m a former player along with my father and my sons and daughter. BB has been the focus of three generations in my family so far. That’s why your use of hatred is an odd adjective that doesn’t apply but you always use it.
I’ve always assumed it’s more your issue than my issue. I’m simply a completely disappointed lifelong fan. As a former player, coach, manager, trainer and young player advocate I relate far more to the players on a team than the organization itself. I dislike the actions of individuals not organizations. My anger is always directed at the ownership for their actions, Bloom for his lack of action and poor choice with respect to Mookie and Price and Cora for being caught cheating twice. Cora is the most offensive because he didn’t embarrass his organization he embarrassed baseball by his actions. Hiring him is a spit in the face to fans who think he deserved far more punishment for directly cheating for two teams who won rings the years he cheated. Hatred is your word always, not mine.
I’m not sure where you got “Unlike you, I’m a former player”. Where I grew up, and especially in my age group, everyone played baseball.
IRT to your anger at the ownership, it’s the best ownership group in BB, and has been for a long time.
JB – The unlike you reference was related to me being from a baseball family and you suggested you were the lone baseball person in yours. I have no idea whether you played and at what levels. I played high school, college and semi-pro prior to grad school. I coached youth baseball and softball for my kids then I moved up to coaching/managing Elite select baseball teams that did national tournaments. I also spent lots of time trying to help talented local players get opportunities in baseball through the people I knew in the game.
One of my most fun memories was coaching a select 8 year old team that competed in tournaments in the Chicago area. Of the 12 players on the team, 2 never played after high school, 3 played at Div I schools and started and 1 is on the roster of the Toronto Blue Jays. For me, seeing kids have a dream and realizing it is the best part of baseball.
As far as the ownership goes we’ll need to agree to disagree. What they did to Mookie and Price is unforgivable. Their racism is unforgivable. Their treatment of a two time cheater is unforgivable. Pumping a bunch of money into an organization doesn’t make for a great ownership. Integrity, character and fair treatment of players makes for an outstanding ownership group. This one does not qualify on any of the key characteristics I listed.
“1 is on the roster of the Toronto Blue Jays.”
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Free tickets?
My career was largely forgettable. I have either anisometropia and antimetropia, depending on who you ask. I might never need glasses, but I have poor depth perception.
I live out my athletic dreams from my daughter. Unfortunately, even in that case, softball was a social event at the local school, not a sport. Basketball, OTOH, was played with malice aforethought, and that was a lot of fun.
Yacksox
Eckersley has his new Yack man now!
I hope Yacksel makes it to the Show, if only because the nicknames would be endless –
Yack, Yacky, Yackity-yack, Yackuzo, Yacko Ono, homerun = Yack-jack or yack-on-yack-off, outfield assist = the runner’s been yacked.
REASONS TO OPTIMISM
He’s from Caguas, Puerto Rico. Why does that matter? Cora is from Caguas. Ramón Vázquez is from Aibonito, only 25 miles away. Now he’s on the Quasi-Puerto Rican National Team. Cora must have seen him pitch for Indios de Mayaguez in P.R. and was impressed with him. Now he has the opportunity to play against the best teams in baseball, in the toughest division in baseball, on a team he can fit in with, and perhaps play in the post-season for the first time.. He’s only played in small market N.L. teams. It could all add up to Lightning-in-a-Bottle. Yogi said, “Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.”
If it doesn’t work out then the total cost of acquiring him was a Starbucks gift card.
LOL! That’s about right. He probably won’t amount to much, but if he gets cut, I will chip in $1 to the cost of the gift card. FWIW, this display of outrage over the RS picking up minor league depth, is strictly a RS thing. Most fans of other teams range from liking something slightly, to absolutely not caring.
it is only RS fans that get apoplectic over minor league depth.
JB – It’s not depth if for every one added you drop one. It’s supposed to be an upgrade. There is NO evidence that the guy cut would have contributed less than the new guy. This is the whole problem with Bloom’s approach. You don’t stock pile talent you do your best to upgrade minor league talent. If you pick up a bunch of unknowns and you cut a bunch of unknowns it is impossible to say whether you upgraded or not.
Remove the concept of stock piling from your mind. The minor league roster total is defined so for each one added you must drop one. Upgrading the farm system is Bloom’s goal but swapping unknowns is nothing but churning the roster. Added value won’t be perceived for years and at that time it might not be added value or it might be lost value. Bloom hasn’t positively impacted the overall value of the farm system or the MLB team. He’s churned a bunch of minor league players with no ACTUAL value being added at this point AND he lost value when he dumped Betts/Price. He has yet to replace the talent he lost at the MLB level.
Rios throws hard but his fastball lacks movement and he has command issues. Also doesn’t have a decent secondary pitch.
Kind of reliever who can post good numbers at AAA based largely on his fastball velocity but just doesn’t have enough to stick at the MLB level.
Phils tried to develop him because they have desperately needed hard throwing relievers but when the Rays cut bait then that is a red flag.
I wouldn’t deal with TB (or CL) unless I had to, but when a player is acquired for cash considerations, there are no red flags. They could sign me to a minor league deal, and it would make no difference.
No matter how much panic there is on the Tobin today.
Blame it on Rios.
And Yak wins the game. How much of a genius is Bloom? He trades for the guy, uses him in his first game, with two guys on in a tied game, retires every batter he faces, and wins a key game for the RS.
And threw strikes. More than can be said about most of our starters, Andriese, Darwinzon, Workman…he can’t be hit any harder than Andriese…
Mostly cannon fodder guys. Darwin is the exception, since he can’t be hit, even if he doesn’t always know where the ball is going.
The Sox really need to call up Houck & Duran they’re both more then ready.. I think Frenchy is also ready to be called back up…