Protecting the Shields -- The Nick Cafardo Thread

[kieckeredinthehead]

 
I'm not saying that Ramirez isn't a problem. But I mean we were all on the Good Ship Hanley back in May when he was a one-man wrecking crew before he got hurt. There were countless articles written about how Hanley was taking extra fly balls in the outfield, how he approached the position change with a smile, how he's doing charity work and how he's grown up. 

Can you please link to those articles? I spent a while searching for actual evidence a month or two ago and found a bunch from spring training about him working out in the outfield and not much after that.

 

[Bosoxen]

Yep, the writers are all going after Ramirez, while Sandoval is getting a free pass. Where are the complaints about Sandoval's work ethic, since he is in far worse shape than Hanley? He is the one who was Instagramming during a game, and had to come out of a game because he was exhausted from running the bases.
He also can't get back on the field now, and the team doesn't miss him a bit either. He also has a giant contract. 
 
I can only imagine what would have been written about Ramirez if he was the one posting to the internet during a game, or he was the one who was a fat tub of goo. And what is this nonsense about his "supposed injury"? He slammed into the wall in foul territory back in May, and sucked as a hitter afterwards. Also became even more tentative in the OF after that too. Why is that injury being snarkily questioned?
 
If one guy is a slug and needs to be dumped, why is the other guy getting no heat?
 
Since it's all the writers piling on Ramirez, something must have happened-- my guess is someone from the front office told them off the record that they plan to dump Hanley ASAP. So the writers can all dump on him and "predict" that he will be traded. And since he's not traveling with the team anymore, they don't even have to worry about seeing him face to face, so it's open season. 
 
Even if everything they write about Hanley is true, the fact that they all are piling on him and just him right now, makes it seem like something happened recently. 

 
On what planet does this even make a shred of sense? Why in the world would the front office engage in an activity that would torpedo the guy's trade value? I get that hatchet jobs are part and parcel of brown players leaving Boston but they usually happen after they leave.
 
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

I am not talking about some front office plan to intentionally leak that Ramirez is getting dumped, I'm talking about the possibility that one guy with some inside knowledge blabbed to a writer or a couple writers.
 
Something like: Reporter: "Hey you are connected with some of the front office people, what about Hanley? He's been terrible, he's owed a lot of money and he seems like a lazy jerk to me. Isn't he going to wreck the team next year?"
Some guy: "This is totally off the record, but you don't need to worry about Hanley next year. I heard one of the assistants say that him not traveling with the team is because he is gonna be gone, DD wants to move him and is really confident that he can."
Reporter: "Oooh, awesome! I will leave this off the record, but I can bury this guy now and get a lot of attention for it, and look like I am really smart and informed about the team when he's traded in November. I can even write my "I told you so" article right after my "Hanley is a Bad Guy" article."
 
I'm not saying at all that that is what happened, but it sure seems like something happened, when most of the writers covering the team (even some of the good ones) come out with Hanley is A Bad Guy stories at the same time.
 
Maybe it's something else, maybe he told a bunch of writers to eff off. Maybe he shoved the traveling secretary, or had drinks in a hotel bar with Enrique Wilson. Or maybe it's all a coincidence. But it seems like something might have happened behind the scenes. 

 

[Humphrey]

The posts on this page bring out what pissed me off the most about the off season signings.   I can see why in a vacuum the Sox front office would say that signing Ramirez would be a good move, whether it was or it wasn't.   I can see the same thing for signing Sandoval.
 
What I have never been able to comprehend is why they thought signing BOTH OF THEM made any sense, not for the money and the number of years.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

The posts on this page bring out what pissed me off the most about the off season signings.   I can see why in a vacuum the Sox front office would say that signing Ramirez would be a good move, whether it was or it wasn't.   I can see the same thing for signing Sandoval.
 
What I have never been able to comprehend is why they thought signing BOTH OF THEM made any sense, not for the money and the number of years.

 
They had two defensive positions to fill and these guys were up for filling them?  It's not like they signed two guys for one position and figured they fit the odd man out into the lineup somewhere.  They signed Hanley to be the left fielder and Sandoval to be the 3B.  It was NEVER a matter of Hanley vs Sandoval in the front office's mind.  That's strictly a fan/media creation.
 
The reason they signed both guys is quite obvious.  Agreeing with their decision making is a different animal, but there shouldn't be any question about why they did it.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Can you please link to those articles? I spent a while searching for actual evidence a month or two ago and found a bunch from spring training about him working out in the outfield and not much after that.

 
Here you go:
 
From December: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox_mlb/clubhouse_insider/2014/12/hanley_ramirez_on_moving_to_outfield_i_told_red_sox
From April, he was at the Hennessy All-Star Honors (I'm not sure exactly what that is): https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/04/16/hanley-ramirez-reflects-looks-forward/upnytXUpEgN2bl8Uif75LP/story.html
From April, Hanley Hangs out at the Jimmy Fund (be careful if you're at work, the video auto plays, which is fucking annoying): http://nesn.com/2015/08/jimmy-fund-kids-spend-time-with-boston-red-sox-at-spring-training-video/
 
BTW, I crawled through my Twitter feed for this because I sent it to Tony Mazz. Looking at old Sox tweets now, I really hated Allen Craig a lot. 

 

[joe dokes]

Nick taking up the cause to keep the coaches......in his own Nick Way:
 
On Arnie Beyeler:

Beyeler — This longtime minor league manager is a stickler for working hard. He demands it of his players. But unfortunately for him, his most recent projects were Yoenis Cespedes and Hanley Ramirez.
Cespedes refused to practice fielding balls off the wall, or move to right field at Fenway — where his arm was of much greater value — because he had never played right in his major league career. Ramirez worked hard with Beyeler in spring training, but once the season started, Ramirez just didn’t want to work on making himself a better outfielder.
 
But look at the job Beyeler has done with the Sox’ young outfielders. He’s made Rusney Castillo work hard in becoming a good corner outfielder. He made Mookie Betts into a good center fielder and helped Jackie Bradley Jr. mentally and physically adjust to being a versatile outfielder instead of playing just center.

 
Let's unpack this....it smells, and its wrinkled, and it has stains we can't identify, but let's unpack it anyway:
 
Arnie MADE Castillo work hard. He MADE him do it.  Without Arnie, Castillo would NOT have worked hard.
 
Cespedes and Castillo didn't work hard. They just wouldn't.  Or did Arnie FAIL to MAKE them work hard? 
 
As for JBJ.......I doubt it.
 

Lovullo has said and done all the right things as interim skipper. But it has to be tough to go back into the background when you’ve had a long run as the guy in charge.
 

 
Getting to write one's own professional epitaph is a chance few of us will ever have. I wonder if Nick even realizes he did it.  Enjoy the Globe Santa beat, (St.) Nick.
 
 
 

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Yeah, he's really trying to have it both ways with Beyeler. The guys who don't want to put in the work are lazy and there's nothing he can do about it. The guys who do want to put in the work are doing it because of Beyeler. Nick has this equation half-right, you can't make adults (professionals) do what they don't want. If Cespedes or Ramirez didn't feel like taking extra fly balls, that's really not Beyeler's fault, it's the fault of the two men. 
 
HOWEVER, Castillo, Betts and Bradley Jr. taking extra fly balls and wanting to be better isn't due to Beyeler either. Yes, Beyeler is the guy instructing them and hitting them countless fly balls and he should be commended for that. But he has no more effect on the BBC as he did on Cespedes or Ramirez. 
 
And I'm not saying the Beyeler shouldn't be commended but at the end of the day, he's a coach and this and his job is to instruct and help the players get better. To paraphrase David Cross, I don't throw a fucking party every time the guy at the counter at Dunkin Donuts gets my order right. 

 

[joe dokes]

And I'm not saying the Beyeler shouldn't be commended but at the end of the day, he's a coach and this and his job is to instruct and help the players get better. To paraphrase David Cross, I don't throw a fucking party every time the guy at the counter at Dunkin Donuts gets my order right. 

 
To be clear, I'm agnostic on Beyeler's coaching skills. And, as usual, Nick does little to move the needle.

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

 
Here you go:
 
From December: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox_mlb/clubhouse_insider/2014/12/hanley_ramirez_on_moving_to_outfield_i_told_red_sox
From April, he was at the Hennessy All-Star Honors (I'm not sure exactly what that is): https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/04/16/hanley-ramirez-reflects-looks-forward/upnytXUpEgN2bl8Uif75LP/story.html
From April, Hanley Hangs out at the Jimmy Fund (be careful if you're at work, the video auto plays, which is fucking annoying): http://nesn.com/2015/08/jimmy-fund-kids-spend-time-with-boston-red-sox-at-spring-training-video/
 
BTW, I crawled through my Twitter feed for this because I sent it to Tony Mazz. Looking at old Sox tweets now, I really hated Allen Craig a lot. 

I was asking for evidence that Hanley was working on his defense after spring training?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I was asking for evidence that Hanley was working on his defense after spring training?

 
Be more clear next time. 

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

 
Be more clear next time. 

 
You said there were "countless articles written about how Hanley was taking extra flyballs in the outfield..."
 
So were you being unclear or wrong?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

 
You said there were "countless articles written about how Hanley was taking extra flyballs in the outfield..."
 
So were you being unclear or wrong?

 
Go back to the original post, please: "here were countless articles written about how Hanley was taking extra fly balls in the outfield, how he approached the position change with a smile, how he's doing charity work and how he's grown up. "
 
I mentioned four things, actually. 
 
And fuck you, do you own Google search. 

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

 
Go back to the original post, please: "here were countless articles written about how Hanley was taking extra fly balls in the outfield, how he approached the position change with a smile, how he's doing charity work and how he's grown up. "
 
I mentioned four things, actually. 
 
And fuck you, do you own Google search. 

 
I did, and I counted them. One article on February 21. One article on February 31. One on April 19. All three suggest he couldn't put in more than 15 minutes at a time. I guess you were just unclear about which of the four things you were referring to had countless articles written about them.

 

[ifmanis5]

Was that Nick really using WAR as his MVP metric this morning or did someone kidnap him?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

It was probably the one exec who wants the Wild Card series to be seven games and the World Series to be only one game.

BTW, that was the only exec who wanted the postseason to change, no matter how hard Nick pushed.

 

[ifmanis5]

It was probably the one exec who wants the Wild Card series to be seven games and the World Series to be only one game.

BTW, that was the only exec who wanted the postseason to change, no matter how hard Nick pushed.

Classic Nick.
 
Comes up with a half-baked column idea, runs it by a few people, they all shoot it down (including the Commish) but slaps a 'could' in the headline and goes with it anyway because why spend anymore time on something else?

 

[joe dokes]

And now Beyeler's gone. I wonder if Nick knew something.
 
 
 
On Lovullo:

One major league source said, “Maybe it doesn’t make sense on the surface, but you have to know the whole story. Did [president of baseball operations] Dave Dombrowski promise him anything? Did he tell him he’d be the manager if things didn’t work out with John Farrell? Did he offer him a contract where he’d be paid as much as a first-year manager? Was he promised the job after Farrell is done? Those are things we don’t know.”
 

 
If only there were people who had jobs where they could ask people questions and get answers, instead of just more questions.

 

[Humphrey]

I see his opinion that the Sox should have kept Ross as being 20-20 hindsight.  
 
And in the same notes column, he gives kudos to John Lackey but doesn't say the Sox should have kept him (for more or less free)?
 
Where did they do worse, catching or pitching...and that's with Vasquez going down in March.
 
(edit) and I think his paragraph about Ellsbury was faxed to him by Borass.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

And what about the fine leadership of AJ Pierzynski, who led the Braves to a magnificent 95 loss season?
 
Christ he's so fucking stupid.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

After this week's edition, I really think I'm done with this waste of space.

From the Ellsbury, Teixeira and ARod back rubs to the older guys are awesome (even though a bunch of his examples LOST their positions and the guy he opens with didn't play in the majors this year), he's complete lost it.

With the old guys can still do it bullshit, he's essentially advocating for mascots. Expensive, shitty mascots.

 

[Yelling At Clouds]

And now Beyeler's gone. I wonder if Nick knew something.
 
 
 
On Lovullo:
 
If only there were people who had jobs where they could ask people questions and get answers, instead of just more questions.

 
In semi-fairness, do you think anyone is going to answer the question of "was Luvullo promised anything?" on the record?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

You know what's most fucked up about Cafardo's theory about older players? The Astros (a team that he wishes picked up Raul Ibanez) beat the Yankees 3-0 and are leading the Blue Jays two games to none. You might remember the Yankees as the team with a roster that is stacked with the old players that Cafardo loves and the Blue Jays are also stacked with veteran old types too. 
 
But other than that, great fucking theory, guy. Spot on. 

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

You know what's most fucked up about Cafardo's theory about older players? The Astros (a team that he wishes picked up Raul Ibanez) beat the Yankees 3-0 and are leading the Blue Jays two games to none. You might remember the Yankees as the team with a roster that is stacked with the old players that Cafardo loves and the Blue Jays are also stacked with veteran old types too. 
 
But other than that, great fucking theory, guy. Spot on. 

 
Astros are playing the Royals (another young-ish team) and are tied 1-1.  The Rangers are leading the Jays 2-0.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

 
Astros are playing the Royals (another young-ish team) and are tied 1-1.  The Rangers are leading the Jays 2-0.

 
That's very true. I was blinded by rage. 

 

[joe dokes]

 
In semi-fairness, do you think anyone is going to answer the question of "was Luvullo promised anything?" on the record?

 
That's a reasonable point.  But Nick got his questions (ones that anyone could have thought of) from one source. Maybe look back to other sucessful fill-in managers. Or frame the issue with his one source as "did You ever face this dilemma?"  Did YOU ever make promises.

 

[joe dokes]

Here's Nick, with the kernel of an idea germinating in his brain:
 

Six days off can squash a lot of momentum.
It’s the penalty you pay for wiping out your opponent in four games, like the Mets did with the Cubs, guaranteeing them a spot in the World Series against either Kansas City or Toronto. Game 1 is Tuesday night.
 

 
 
But reality intrudes, blowing his thesis to hell:

Of the 15 teams that had a layoff of five or more days after winning the LCS, eight won the World Series.
 
 

 
But that didn't stop Nick from soldiering on for 18 paragraphs of  "Dave Dombrowski talked to me."

 

[JGray38]

I thought momentum was only as good as your next starting pitcher? Anyway, I'm sure you are wrong about his thesis being blown apart; those 8 teams were filled with gritty veteran gamers who rose above their relaxing time off to win more baseball games. 

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

He's like Smooth Jimmy Apollo, "When you're right 51% of the time, you're wrong 49%."

 

[Dummy Hoy]

He's like Smooth Jimmy Apollo, "When you're right 51% of the time, you're wrong 49%."

 
L-O-V-E the score of the game behind him. 

 

[Humphrey]

The Sox hiring Ruben Amaro must have put a spring in Nick's step today.    He's getting quite aroused thinking of all the stories Amaro's going to leak to him.

 

[cmac24]

Kapstein was let go.  Nick seemed a little melancholy about it.  On the plus side, Kapstein's resume/obituary is practically written.

 

[joe dokes]

Nick saves the best for last (courtesy of "bill chuck"):

 

From the Bill Chuck files — “Gerardo Parra and Yoenis Cespedes each hit .291 and had an OBP of .328; Parra hit 14 homers and whiffed 92 times, while Cespedes had 35 HRs and 141 K’s.”
 
 

 
If only there was a way to measure further........
 
Parra slugged 452 with a 110 OPS+
Cespedes slugged .542 with 137 OPS+
 
 
Also from the files: 
 
Maple syrup and irish whiskey are both sold in bottles.

 

[ForKeeps]

Kapstein was let go.  Nick seemed a little melancholy about it.  On the plus side, Kapstein's resume/obituary is practically written.

 
Is there one person that cares about this aside from Nick Cafardo? Does it not bother his employers that Nick uses his column to prop up his buddies? Remember when he tried to make Kapstein's kid out to be a legit prospect and not just a nepotism draft pick?

 

[Van Everyman]

Kapstein is Nick's idea of what a baseball guy should be – people skills, vaguely involved with a number of successful enterprises, and a favorite of...well, other old school baseball guys.

The whole column actually reads like a eulogy for a different era in baseball – when guys like Kapstein could schmooze their ways into front offices and never leave, curmudgeons like Gardenhire could get away with blowing off input from front offices, and "character guys" like Torii Hunter were valued by the league.

 

[joe dokes]

On Buchholz:

If the Red Sox have an ace who can throw 220 innings and make 32-34 starts, then Buchholz’s 15-20 starts — as long as they’re effective — could be worth every penny of the $13 million.
 

 
7 Major leaguers threw 220 innings last year.
 

 

[Humphrey]

A couple of weeks ago he pontificated about how you needed teams that hit homes to win in the postseason...wonder what he thinks now not that Fenway is the model park for a Kansas City type ballclub.

 

[joe dokes]

Early in his career, Greinke had anxiety issues in Kansas City, where current Red Sox vice president of scouting Allard Baird was general manager and dealt directly with those. But Greinke seems to have outgrown them, and may have been the best pitcher in the game in 2015 with the high-profile Dodgers. He had the highest WAR among pitchers (9.3) and the lowest WHIP (0.84).
 

 
"Outgrown them?!"

 

The preference of Red Sox owners would be for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to find an ace via the trade route — an under-30 ace, to satisfy the preferred criteria of the organization . . . . . Otherwise, Dombrowski will have to consider the pool of free agents to find someone who could be an ace, something he has said is important to a winning franchise and something he had in Detroit in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So there are plenty of names to mull over, but the Red Sox have to make sure they’re getting an actual ace, not someone they think will be one. 
 

 
So they'll have tro consider someone who "could be an ace," but they have to make sure they don't get someone who "they think will be one."  His writing is about as clear as mud.
 
 
 
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/11/06/red-sox-look-for-ace-deck-isn-exactly-stacked/r5iIp53scugSPxAGboDEtO/story.html
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[E5 Yaz]

Oh boy ... here it comes.

Nicxk's Sunday column is about the "battle" between analytics and scouting. Among other things, he lists which organizations are -- in his mind -- analytics based, and which are traditional. He says the Red Sox, under Dombrowski, will now be run traditionally.

And, by the way, analytics are responsible for everything from New Coke to the Hindenberg:

Fundamentals have slipped throughout the game. Pitchers can’t throw to bases. Few players can bunt. Hitters don’t even know how to beat shifts by slapping the ball the other way. Outfielders are consistently unable to hit the cutoff man. Base-running blunders are the norm.

Has all this occurred as a result of a shift in philosophies? If not, what a coincidence.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/11/08/baseball-battle-between-scouting-and-analytics-continues/vplsMNmBXQuYrXfsxlwydM/story.html

 

[ifmanis5]

He's literally Abe Simpson there.

 

[The Gray Eagle]

These stupid team should not have put analytics people in charge of teaching batters to bunt and pitchers how to throw to bases. I agree with Cafardo, these analytics nerds should not have been hired to be on the coaching staff of teams, those jobs should have been given to old school baseball guys, who have PLAYED THE GAME.

THEN the fundamentals would have been taught properly. All of these teams with Ivy League nerds as base coaches and bench coaches are fools. What a bunch of fools. I can't even believe this happened. Why is Nick Cafardo the only one BRAVE enough to call out all the teams who have analytics NERDS as coaches and instructors? Let's make a list of all the DUMB teams who hired Ivy League analytics NERDS as coaches and instructors.

1.

No wonder fundamentals have fallen off so badly lately, it's JUST COMMEN SINCE!

 

[Van Everyman]

The best part about this column is that 3/4 of the stuff on analytics m vs. scouting is insightful analysis like this:

In the National East, the Braves and Nationals lean traditional. The Mets use analytics, but they also lean traditional. The Marlins are traditional but are developing their first analytics department this offseason.

Also, guys, think about what we're really losing here:

You won’t see two GMs sitting at a bar over a few drinks and making a deal. Some of the greatest deals in baseball history were made that way.

Some of the greatest deals! In history! At bars! With rounds by Jeremy Kapstein!

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

All this is is Nick carrying water for his scouting buddies. It's so transparent.

 

[lexrageorge]

Meanwhile we're told that Lucchino's investors are not happy with him because Kapstein was passed over when Lucky was picking the folks to run the PawSox.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Meanwhile we're told that Lucchino's investors are not happy with him because Kapstein was passed over when Lucky was picking the folks to run the PawSox.

I'll take "Things Nick says that are completely full of shit" for $600, Alex.

 

[Cousin Walter01]

Never have I read an article more in need of the FJM treatment.

 

[joe dokes]

At least Nick was able to back up his claim that some teams don't use "analytics" with photos of scouts in action:

 

[threecy]

You won’t see two GMs sitting at a bar over a few drinks and making a deal. Some of the greatest deals in baseball history were made that way.

Is that how the Andersen-Bagwell deal came about? Those were the days!

 

[Van Everyman]

That deal was likely done over lunch.

 

[timlinin8th]

At least Nick was able to back up his claim that some teams don't use "analytics" with photos of scouts in action:

What happened to the "like" button? I just choked on my sandwich, well done.