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  1. Fireball Fred

    Farrell on the hot seat

    Too early in the season to make a move, but JF has been disappointing. For me, the ongoing problems with the pitching are especially telling as that's his expertise. '13 was great but shouldn't be over-emphasized. That was a special team (and no, '14 wasn't the same team without Ellsbury and...
  2. Fireball Fred

    Infinite trade speculation

    "some"
  3. Fireball Fred

    Infinite trade speculation

    Castillo built up his value some today, in the field, at the plate, even on the basepaths.
  4. Fireball Fred

    Will Joe Kelly Ever Fulfill His Potential?

    Following up on uncannymanny: Obviously Kelly would pitch more innings if he pitched better/varied his pitches more; but we haven't seen real evidence that he has the stamina to be a starter. It's an additional question mark on a staff that's overloaded with them.
  5. Fireball Fred

    Life w/o ERod - 6th SP and SP depth

    Hope he's back soon. The current rotation - #1, #4, #4, #5, #6 - doesn't inspire much confidence.
  6. Fireball Fred

    Cherington's bad run

    2013 was great, but ... the Red Sox position under this ownership has been that the GM's job is to put together a team that gets to the postseason; after that it's a crapshoot from the FO perspective, up to the players and manager. By that standard, Cherington was not a success. Blowing $400m...
  7. Fireball Fred

    Infinite trade speculation

    Castillo is at least a fourth OF, rather than a AAAA player, because he can play all OF positions. I'd say he does have negative value, given his contract and age, but a team that would start him in CF might take a chance, or offer another possibly overpaid player in return. Playing half in LF...
  8. Fireball Fred

    Which type of plate discipline is eating Panda?

    There's no such thing as "sitting Panda." He's the starting 3B, or he's not a major leaguer. Put it this way: which reliever would you drop to keep Panda on the 25-man? Sure, play him in spring training to see if he has value (to the Sox or anyone else); but come Opening Day there has to be a...
  9. Fireball Fred

    Start, Sit, Trade: Play Along with Dave

    If the Sox were as worried about Castillo as I think they should be they would have made a bigger move already. They're rolling the dice, perhaps thinking they'll make an in-season trade if he doesn't hit.
  10. Fireball Fred

    Swihart v. Vazquez: The Value of Framing

    But the trend may be less that umpires improve accuracy, and more that they increasingly resist being "played" by specific catchers with reputations for framing.
  11. Fireball Fred

    It's Way Too Early to Talk About 2017, But What the Hell...

    Until we see what Hanley, Panda, and Shaw do this year, Travis too, it's hard to think about '17. My guess is Hanley at DH, as ACRS says. The possible acquisitions mentioned in this thread all seem like desperation moves, and we have no idea how desperate the FO will be. I only wish I could...
  12. Fireball Fred

    Which type of plate discipline is eating Panda?

    IMO it makes little sense for the Sox to trade a lot more prospects for pitching at this point. The truth is that the rest of the team is so loaded with uncertainty--significant doubts about 6 of 9 positions--that they can't sacrifice too much future for a roll of the dice this year or next. A...
  13. Fireball Fred

    Sox send Miley to Seattle for Smith (RP) and Elias (SP)

    I'll be interested to see how the Sox actually use Smith. With his sky-high GB rate, and two established closers on the staff, he might take on the old-time relief ace role, coming in with men on base. These are high-leverage situations, and having a guy who can handle them could be a...
  14. Fireball Fred

    Huh, Wade Miley projects to be pretty valuable

    Reliability is a very important quality in a starter. Miley has it; Buchholz and Kelly don't. If the Sox are trading a starter, it shouldn't be Miley.
  15. Fireball Fred

    2016 Starting Rotation/Bullpen Spillover

    I've said it before, but I have a lot of trouble with a rotation that includes both Buchholz and Kelly. Each is sometimes very good, but neither has shown he can produce a full season. It's a misallocation of at least moderately valuable resources. To my mind, either Kelly to the bullpen, or...
  16. Fireball Fred

    Dombrowski: SP likely from FA. Which should we sign?

    $22m/year still seems to me like a lot for Zimmermann -- but it really isn't, of course. Price and Greinke are going to be very expensive indeed, but they're in a whole other class.
  17. Fireball Fred

    Dombrowski: SP likely from FA. Which should we sign?

    The Sox shouldn't care about the media per se, but they have to worry about fan perceptions. Their business model depends on the pricing power that comes with being a contender, and they've been out of it two years in a row. Pre-season ticket and ad sales matter more than sales after July 31...
  18. Fireball Fred

    White Sox Fan Posting Here- Would you do this trade?

    What we're seeing here is the paradox of great young pitching: it's become so valuable that a "reasonable" trade for a top young pitcher represents an unacceptable risk - too many eggs in one basket.
  19. Fireball Fred

    Free Agent Bingo

    What MikeM and BCsMJY say about Heyward/Gordon and OF defense seems to apply to Chris Young as well - Sox have OF defense, really need offense. This is true, I think, even of a fourth OF, as all three presumptive starters could play CF. I like Young, but the ideal 4th OF for this team is a RHH...
  20. Fireball Fred

    Start, Sit, Trade: Play Along with Dave

    Vazquez now apparently without a team. Not helpful in terms of progress and assessment. If a spot isn't found for him, unlikely to start season in majors, seems to me.
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