Links for Wednesday…
- Daniel Barbarisi of the Providence Journal thinks that Victor Martinez's inability to contain baserunners could cost him millions in free agency and compromise his long-term future with the Red Sox.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Tom Hicks is "concerned" about the sale of the Rangers to new ownership. Hicks' comments prompted MLB to release a statement in which they say the league has taken control of the Rangers' sale.
- Despite Stephen Strasburg's hot start, Mike Rizzo has no plans to rush his prized prospect through the minors, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington. Rizzo says that when Strasburg arrives in Washington, the club wants it to be for good.
- Ever seen a $17.875MM reliever? Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs are moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen on Friday. Carlos Silva will remain in the rotation; Tyler Kepner of the New York Times recently looked at his potential resurgence.
- In a pair of February articles, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune noted that Mark Buehrle's 10-and-5 rights kick in on July 6th, while A.J. Pierzynski's date is June 14th.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times posits that if the Mariners hadn't traded Adam Jones, they wouldn't have Jack Zduriencik and Franklin Gutierrez.
- Though he'll continue to work for ESPN, Joe Morgan has joined the Reds as a "special advisor to baseball operations." Morgan will not be involved in the team's day-to-day operations, learned John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says the Diamondbacks looked into a trade for Nate Robertson before the southpaw was dealt to Florida. Crasnick's article deals with the performances of nine important fill-ins so far this season.
- FanGraphs has added an aspect of catcher defense to its Wins Above Replacement stat.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports talks about the plight of Dodgers pitcher Chad Billingsley. I imagine quite a few teams would like to try to get him back on track.
- Kevin Millar, released by the Cubs in March, has joined the MLB Network as an analyst according to Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball.
It makes more sense to move Big Z, who has been struggling, than it does to move Dempster to the bullpen. I like the move. I also would like to see Colvin play 3-4 games a week, like promised.
So, we still have to listen to Joe on Sunday Night Baseball?
Funny. That was my first reaction as well.
time for some new blood in that booth.
It would be tough to decide who is better out of Jones and Gutierrez. They each play very good defense, though Franklin’s is legendary, and even though Jones has shown some pop and has more offensive potential, I think Gutierrez is outproducing him so far, even though he didn’t look like a great hitter in Cleveland. We’ll have to see a full season out of Jones. Regardless, I think these two may be compared for a while.
I call BS. Neither the Trib nor the Sun Times has this story. There is no way Z is going to the bullpen.
Sullivan works for the Trib. Every Cubs beat writer tweeted it.
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100421&content_id=9468898&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
there’s the link from MLB.com
Move Silva to the pen. Regardless of his great start, he is a terrible starting pitcher.
great day to be a cardinals fan. 18million dollar reliever with a full no trade clause? LOL
So 3/54 in the pen and possibly 5/90 headed to the bench in the very near future?
What can one say? Well, other then read my little icon thingy!
Wow. It’s only April. What else can we expect? If it gets worse, you might have to change your icon thingy yet. Maybe Ricketts pulls the plug mid season, who knows.
I’ve got a feeling the Cubs are going to look to trade Z. Working out of the bullpen is one step out the door. I’m thinking this may be a trial run to see how the rotation does without him — to see if Lilly stays healthy and Silva’s for real. And hje’d be more likely to waive his no trade clause if he can go somewhere else and start. Now the hard part is finding a taker for that big money.
That’s what I’m feeling too, this move seems pretty crazy and you minimize his value with him coming out of the pen. The guy is so volatile I’m not sure why you would want to take his 30 starts over the course of a season and bump that to 50 or 60 with the potential for a meltdown in every appearance. If I’d had to guess I’d go with your assessment and believe their trying to move him, the Nationals may make sense as they’ve been mentioned to want a quality starter yet I’d have a hard time believing he’d approve a trade there.
The good part about having him in the bullpen is it’s much easier to yank him if he blows up. You can’t do that when he starts because if he blows up early in the game, you’re going to have to empty out the pen…
Zambrano may be much more open to a trade if he knows he can start somewhere else. I keep thinking the Mets (maybe a bad contract swap involving Francisco Rodriguez?). But I’m just throwing darts. I’m not a numbers guy so I could be off on these figures, but here goes…The Cubs still owe Z some 60M (not including vesting option in 2013 for 19M+) Rodriguez makes 23M left with a vesting option in 2012 for 17.5M based on games finished. If he continues to close for the Mets, they’ll have to pay him 40.5M over the remainder of the contract. Maybe that’s close enough in salary for them to take on Zambrano and the Cubs get that veteran reliever they desperately want. The problem is Rodriguez has the same sort of control problems our bullpen already has — except that he at least still has good enough stuff to overcome an occasional control lapse (unlike Samardzija and Berg, for example). That’s just wild speculation on my part…It’s hard to guess what kind of shenanigans the Cubs have planned. But I can’t help but think that something is afoot, whether it’s the Nationals, Mets or somebody. I’m thinking he’s ready to waive the NTC so he can go somewhere and start, now it’s up to the Cubs to find a taker, make the numbers match and get us something useful in return. It won’t be easy!
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html
Note Zambrano’s full no trade clause, and his past quotes about staying in Chicago and retiring after this season. He has made his home in Chicago and doesn’t want to leave. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate and agree with what you are saying, I’m just saying it’s highly unlikely.
Maybe you’re right. I’m just throwing things out there…I have nothing to substantiate it at all 🙂 Did he really say he’s going to retire after this year? I can’t see him following through with that.
Maybe the Sox will take him. They’ve been willng to take on bad contracts in the past (i.e Alex Rios). He can stay in Chicago and he’s Venezuelan, so Ozzie would love to have him. Maybe we can have Bobby Jenks to set up for a year? This whole Z to the bullpen is a little weird and unexpected. I have no idea what the Cubs plan to do next, but I doubt this is a permanent move for Z one way or the other.
No, retire after this contract is up. It’s in the MLBTR archives. I agree with you. This won’t be and can’t be a permanent move.
Ahh, that makes more sense. I did hear that he was considering retirement after his contract expired. I was thrown off when you said, “his (Zambrano’s) past quotes about staying in Chicago and retiring after this season” in your original post.
The one thing the Sox don’t need is a high priced pitcher. They have Buehrle and Peavy, and they want to be able to re-sign Floyd and Danks to long term deals. This makes no sense. Also why would they give up Jenks in the deal? If he’s making too much money, they can just non-tender him after the year. If they want to trade him, it will be for less money, not more.
They also got Rios for nothing, and it filled a need for the team.
Relax, I’m just having fun with some wild speculation. I don’t intend for anyone to take it all that seriously.
A trade is unlikely, but I can’t rule out your thought. These days, who knows! ‘What if’ they approach Zambrano in July and ask him for an approval. I still say it won’t happen, but maybe Ricketts makes noise if things go south.
“A trade is unlikely, but I can’t rule out your thought. These days, who knows!”
One month ago, no one would have expected Carlos Silva to get a rotation spot over Carlos Zambrano either!
Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that there were rumors of Z being discussed with the Yanks and others were throwing possibilities of Z going to the Mets for a high salaried player or two. I’ll admit it if I’m wrong, but if the Cubs are successful with their rotation over the next month or so, I fully expect to hear some Z trade rumors.
“One month ago, no one would have expected Carlos Silva to get a rotation spot over Carlos Zambrano either!”
That is for sure! I posted the same thing. Who would have thunk that one!
“I’ll admit it if I’m wrong, but if the Cubs are successful with their rotation over the next month or so, I fully expect to hear some Z trade rumors.”
Oh, I fully expect those rumors. No one should expect anything less after this move. There are a few scenerios and hidden agendas to wonder. Either way, Pinella clearly called Hendry out on his bull pen arrangement, or lack of one.
Lou has talked about Soriano being benched/platooned early on. Lou made Zambrano a set up guy. If they can make Soriano’s and Zambrano’s massive salaries a non factor in decisions, then they can take Grabow’s little set up salary and throw it in the wind. I’ll be fine with that anytime Lou want’s to step out again.
Soriano looked unusually sharp at the plate yesterday. I didn’t see him chase bad pitches, he worked the count, he even drew a walk and legged out a triple. The homerun was nice too. For one day at least, he looked like a pretty good player!
I’m not as down on this move as others are. Then again, you and I are more of the optimistic types! I know it’s 18M for a reliever, but it’s money already spent. The question to me is: are the Cubs better off with a)Zambrano starting and Silva setting up Marmol or are they better off with b) Silva starting and Zambrano setting up Marmol. I think I like B better and either way they’re spending 25M between the two. If Silva is healthy and pitching closer to his career norms, there may not be as big a dropoff in the rotation as people are making it out to be. When weighted for innings pitched Zambrano’s xFIP over the last 3 years averages out to 4.47. Carlos Silva’s career FIP? Funny you should ask. It’s 4.47. All the Cubs need is for Silva to have a year that’s close to his career average for this crazy plan to work. The Cubs aren’t asking for miracles. If he can do that and if Z fills that bullpen hole, then the move will make the Cubs better, regardless of who’s getting paid to do what.
Yes, sir! That great to see for at least one game. Soriano looked like a player. It was so refreshing to see him jump out of the box after he hit the ball and see him drive the ball to both fields with authority. I’ve been on him for his limited efforts in the past. Who knows how long it lasts. Lou’s calling him in his office after his lackluster double the day before paid off yesterday.
Actally, I’m not so angry over Zambrano to the pen as I should be, I guess. I would rather not see that many innings lost from a pitcher. From that standpoint, it makes little sense. I did not look at Silva’s numbers you pointed out. I decided to close my eyes and not expect much when he made the rotation. Honestly, I was hoping for one good start out of him while Lilly was on the mend. I don’t expect these last three starts to keep up, especially as he faces better teams. But I hope Silva can keep the team in more games than not. You can’t place Silva in the pen. He pitches to contact and not the guy you want to bring in for a possible strike out in a jam. So I am ok with Silva keeping his spot for now.
I have been on Lou for sleeping in the past at times. Right or wrong, he is shaking it up and sending messages to the big salaries like Soriano and Zambrano. If Lou can generate some consistant winning baseball this year, I don’t think fans care. Old Lou sending messages is fine. The biggest message is to Hendry for the bull pen mess!
I’m just shocked on the Soriano thing. He is watching fastballs go right by him and patiently waiting for the slow curve or slider he actually has a chance to drive. Its bizarro world itself, but the fact he and Ramirez have seemingly switched bodies makes this even more unbelievable.
But anyway, no, the Cubs are not better off with Zambrano in the Pen – ever. He has averaged 6 innings and less then 3 runs his last three starts. Sure they werent pretty, but they are what we have come to expect from Zambrano when he is off without being in the implosion zone he hits from time to time. We know just leaving him alone he will give an ERA in the range of 4.0 or lower. The odds of Silva doing that are astronomically low and the odds he is even under 5.0 are not in our favor, it is pretty close to the miracle you said it isnt because he has proven time and time again he is much worse then his FIP/xFIP would indicate with his rubber arm.
You also need to think about when they switch back, it will take a week for Z to get stretched back out I imagine and its going to be coming after a Silva implosion for that week the pen will be a mess. And are we sure Zambrano isnt going to hurt himself trying to go on back-to-back nights? Shoot, are we even sure he is going to be good in one inning stretches since his struggles have come in the early innings so far this season? And besides, this is a guy that has problems when he is overthrowing his stuff – something he would be more inclined to do in one inning stints. Then we have the laughingstock we have become because of it, its a PR nightmare.
I hate it, and see no positive what so ever in this mess.
LOL! That was definitely bizarro Soriano. I’d like to see more of it!
I’ve heard the reasoning on why it’s a bad idea, and in all likelihood it probably is. But, on the other hand, who knows? I’ve seen crazier things happen. I actually wrote a little piece on it, playing devil’s advocate to the conventional thought. If Silva can be his pre-Seattle self (where there was a huge discrepancy between his xFIP and ERA…what’s the explanation there? bad defense?), the dropoff isn’t too bad from what Z has been the past 3 years. And Z has a good chance of being that power pitcher out of the pen who can get outs without having to pitching to contact, something we lost when Guzman went down – and something we wouldn’t get from Silva in the pen. If he only has to get through the order once, we may see some of the old Zambrano 4 seam heat that he used to blow past people in his glory days. Contrary to his struggles this year, I believe I read somewhere that Z is historically most effective the first time through the order (giving up like a .600 OPS or something). It’s just a nutty idea, but I’m willing to keep an open mind. Like I said, it may just be crazy enough to work if a few things fall into place. We’ll probably disagree on that, but that’s cool. At any rate, it’s not like we’re breaking up a WS caliber team. And I’d rather do this than trade a top prospect like Jackson or Carpenter for a reliever. One thing we’ll definitely miss is Z’s bat. That’s almost worth a win by itself!
“If Silva can be his pre-Seattle self (where there was a huge discrepancy between his xFIP and ERA…what’s the explanation there? bad defense?)”
Short answer? (expletive)-y stuff
Come on, bad D? He was on the Twins for 4 years – the team that stresses fundamentals possibly more then any other in the game to get the most out of everyone. While Silva the Hutt was there, he was constantly posting the same well-above-normal BAbip marks he has seen everywhere else. Besides, whens the last time poor defense ever created higher then normal HR rates? He just has (expletive)-y stuff that hitters can hit all around the park with absolute ease. He’s a rubber-armed bum that occasionally gets lucky when most of the balls hitters generally pound are finding fielders.
So so far we have seen Silva hold the Mets (77 OPS+), Astros (49 OPS+) and Reds (82 OPS+) in check in three starts to start the season. We aren’t exactly talking top of the line offenses here, and they have been beating themselves against him as much as he has been beating them. Next up though? Washington in Chicago, and they are hot with the bat right now so will be interesting to see if its his first implosion on the season. What we do know though, his stuff is (expletive)-y and its just a matter of when he gets torched.
^Interesting Fact Insertion^
4-2, 2.79 ERA, 1.17 WHIP in 42 Innings
That is Carlos Silva in his first 6 games of 2008 on his way to that sparkling 4-15, 6.46 ERA, 1.598 WHIP in 153 IP season.
Yeah, anyway, as I was saying – its just a matter of WHEN it happens
Went to get a few beers and watch the Hawks finally play the way they’re supposed to. Hockey’s the game I don’t have to analyze…I can put the frontal lobe away and enjoy it on a visceral level. I’m sure there are people out there who analyze the game, I’m just not one of them.
Meant to say that huge xFIP/ERA discrepancy was in Seattle, where I believe that the Bavasi gang never really caught on to the concept of defense. Silva + bad defense = problems.
Anyway, I’ll take the Twins version of Silva. He had a 3 WAR or better 3 of the 4 years there, if memory serves. Zambrano has only reached it once in the last 3 years. If Silva pitches at a 3 WAR level again I’ll take it. In that circumstance, Zs upgrade to the bullpen can more than offset Silva’s downgrade to the rotation. If Silva begins to relive the sleepy in Seattle days, then sure…we should yank him ASAP.
Silva’s stuff hasn’t been so s—-y to this point. 90-91 mph sinker, decent slider, and a good changeup that he’s been able to command and throw at anywhere between 10-12 mph slower than the sinker. That’s enough variance to keep hitters off balance. Good command overall has kept him ahead of most hitters. It isn’t top of the rotation stuff, but as a 4-5 guy, it’ll play.
(Moved over, replying to last post)
You cant compare the xFIP of Silva from 2004-2007 to the xFIP of Zambrano 2007-2009 and just say Silva is somehow better. You would be manipulating numbers.
First, what xFIP is – its FIP with a normalized HR rate. That is, what his FIP would be if he gave up merely a normal amount of HR. Thing is, take a look at Silva’s numbers, there is zero reason to think a normal HR rate should be expected – he consistently gives a very high rate because, well, (Expletive)y stuff. Meanwhile, Z has consistently given up well below average HR rates. So clearly, comparing them on xFIP is illogical, you would have to use FIP because we should not expect either pitcher to be a logical choice for a HR rate change.
So, we shouldn’t be using xFIP, but how about just the normal FIP? Well, what is FIP? FIP is fielding independent of course, and corrects for lower or higher BAbip rates. But looking at Silva, only once in his entire career has he had a below average BAbip, leaving 7 times where he has been average to well above average. So based off his career, realistically Silva should be expected to hold a BAbip somewhere in the .315 range, roughly 15 points higher then FIP adjusts for. Meanwhile Zambrano has posted a 300+ BAbip once in his career, and has otherwise consistently been in the 285 range or lower. Zambrano should, realistically, be expected to put a BAbip somewhere in the 285 range again.
But again, FIP normalizes BAbip to 300, where there is a consistent 30 point swing between the two players we are talking about.
So now we are to the point where we know FIP is the better choice for what we are going for, but we have to realize that Silva will almost certainly hit or under-perform it slightly (depending on how his HR rate goes) while Zambrano is a really safe bet to out-perform it as he has done constantly.
So what does that mean?
(reading backwards, so top = newest)
5.97
4.63
4.24
5.76
4.18
4.36
There is only one year where Silva beats Zambrano in FIP, and otherwise is constantly +0.50 higher. But that doesn’t account for the +/- the two players experience, so you can tack on another .25-.50 points. All of a sudden you have a pitcher that should be expected to have an ERA around a run higher then Zambrano. Not surprisingly, Silva has averaged an ERA 1.10 points higher.
And in 2010, we should expect the same. That is, Silva giving up about an extra run a game over Zambrano. There is just nothing, anywhere, that says we should expect otherwise – his (expletive)y stuff dictates as much. And yes, its (expletive)y stuff, and its proven by the career .302/.337/.465/.802 hitters have posted off him. Think about that, League Average AL hitters hit in the .270/.335/.425/.760 range but they hit Silva for a .802 OPS over 8 years. Now THATs (expletive)y stuff
Oh, and of course WAR is created off FIP. Knowing that we are talking about two of the very few players who defy FIP here, WAR gets thrown out the window – or at least needs to be adjusted.
One final note just because of the comedy in it:
“Silva + bad defense = problems.”
because our defense is fantastic, right? :/
Ha! Just about every statistical analysis I’ve ever read manipulates numbers to support their opinions!
I’m just dumbfounded… The only thing I can figure is that Lou and/or Hendry is TRYING to get fired. And dont get me wrong, I’m all for those results – but to put us through this to get there?
Yeah, 2 weeks into the season and its like 102 years of failure is coming to a head in grand mind-blowing fashion. Wow, just wow…
We all are dumbounded. Lou is obviously sending messages. After Lou called Soriano in his office to get on him for not hussling the other day, he sends a message to Hendry that he screwed up the pen.
One Carlos does not go to the pen and is staying in the rotation while another Carlos is going to the pen to set up the other Carlos.
Silva starts the year with three good outings (no matter the teams he faced, I’ll take it) and Zambrano ends up as the set up guy before April is out. Who would of thunk it!
Yeah, this really seems like nothing more then Lou sending Hendry a giant “I ain’t going down alone for this mess” message. Lou is smart enough to realize that he will be the one fired if things continue like this. This seems like he is holding up a giant red arrow which he has pointed directly at Jim.
Wow, what a joke we have become – and really, really quickly this season. But with this horrible BP, we probably should have realized their on the field problems would extend to the manager/front office side fairly quickly.
Maybe Lou is saying he is not going down alone. Either way, he told Jim loud and clear what he thinks of his offseason bull pen arrangements.
Paul Sullivan works for the Tribune. Carrie Musckt, Len Casper and Heyman are all reporting this move.
Someone has to pop this cherry..
‘Ever seen a $17.875MM reliever?‘
Maybe once or twice, on the Yankees..
not even the yankees have a 18million set up man. they have a 12million dollar closer, but not a set up man.
I think moving Z to the bullpen may mean a trade. I’m sure he’s willing to waive that NTC now…
People are overreacting to Billingsley’s struggles. MOKM broke it down best(Ill post the link further down). It shows that Chad has not remained erect in his windup, compared to last April and this April. Simply put, he needs to stand up straight… http://www.memoriesofkevinmalone.com/2010/04/whats-wrong-with-chad-billingsley.html
The guy is looking more and more like a headcase. A million dollar arm and a two cent brain. What A waste.
How? He pitched through an injury to his lower body and was bad. Most likely, the troubles he is having with standing straight stem from those injuries. If his hamstring was injured, he could have gone into a more-bent windup so his hamstring wasn’t stretch as much… The link I posted goes frame by frame of his windup/delivery. You can see the difference, clearly, and the problem is simply getting him to stand back up straight… I see no way how this has anything to do with his brain
It is good to know he has had all of spring training and the early season to work on it. With the stuff he has after all these years like I said a headcase. A few more starts like the last one and he will be at the back end of the bullpen.
You realize he had a 1.8 ERA going into his last ST start. He was roughed up by the angels for 5 runs, four of which scored on a grand slam. He has had 3 bad starts this year… THREE. And yet, a simply mechanical flaw makes him a headcase? You’d get more respect here if you simply said you don’t like him. This guy has amazing talent and has a career mid-3 ERA as a starter. Hey, is Sherrill a headcase because he struggled early?
I take back Head case, I meant a Nutjob.LOL
Damn… You’re so funny
Stay tuned for the inevitable whining about a former member of the Red Sox being hired in a media role.
(And I’m not a Red Sox fan–it’s just a tired complaint.)
too late! nomar garciaparra took that job.
I AM a Redsox fan and while I agree with you…Its KEVIN MILLAR!!!
I really just wish he would go far far away…someplace where there is no media.
Kansas City?
I was thinking southern hemisphere
Well, it is a place with no media 🙂
Why do Sox fans dislike this guy?
If you had to watch him hit .230 for half the season and play what could possibly be the worst defensive 1B,you might too. Yet, it is his mouth that is most annoying of all.
I still have nightmares about when they used him in RF.
apparently you are a red sox fan who only got on board after ‘cowboy up’
millar’s attitude was as integral to breaking that little 80-some-year slump as manny and papi’s strokes, as roberts’ feet, as Keith Foulke’s flutterballs or anything else that happened that season
grow-up punk-ass or “cowboy out”
No,I’ve always found him annoying. I’m in my 30’s,so i’m pretty sure that I ‘m done growing up. Cowboy up,really? REALLY?! Trying to talk tough and using the title of a Keifer Sutherland movie. Sorry man,you just look foolish.
you might want to expand your Google search to “Cowboy Up Wiki” before you start calling others foolish
It was hard watching that game last night, Bills is a complete mess.. But hes 25 years old and so far in his career has looked better more often than not.
If you havent already, look at the link above. It goes frame by frame and shows the difference from last April and yesterday. Also, just watching the game, Billingsley had multiple good pitches that were simply hit. It wasnt a bad pitch, but the Reds were either looking for the pitch or just got lucky….
Also, it doesnt help that pretty much every hit found a gap
Exactly. I saw most of the 2nd before I had to leave and every pitch was at the knees, or lower, but they were hit hard and into gaps.. I mean, Bruce pulled off on a FB running away and got a triple.. he was simply unlucky…
As for AJ I’m not sure what the incentive is for moving him as I can’t see any type of decent return for half a season of him and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t make it easy on the sox front office in terms of approving a trade.
If they trade him before June 14th, he won’t have a say in the matter. And you’re right, I don’t think the Sox can get much back for AJ. The only real incentive to make a deal would be to get Tyler Flowers’ bat in their lineup. He’s off to a hot start at AAA.
One of the Cubs’ most glaring needs was just solved, and the Cubs rotation is still deep and arguably better and more balanced with Lilly coming back. Even if one of the starters, or two for that matter, were to go down, the Cubs could sustain it.
Dempster
Lilly
Wells
Gorzellany
Silva
That might not be the most fearsome bunch, but they have all won at least 12 games and the R, L, R, L, R combo will throw teams off.
At this point the contracts aren’t even worth complaining about. This might be the best move the Cubs have made in the last 2 years. If the offense could get some life in them, the bullpen might be able to hold a lead.
Wins are worthless stats to measure how good a pitcher is.
“I imagine quite a few teams would like to try to get him back on track.”
What is this suppose to mean?
If the Dodgers were dumb enough to think of trading him, most teams would love to get the shot to get him back to normal…
Mets should really push to get him. Starters have looked better as of late, but really should go for another.
For the record, the Yankees have never had a $17 million setup guy. They have however had a $6 million swingman (Sterling Hitchcock in 2002 and the majority of 2003). By the way, the Red Sox have a $13 million backup third baseman.
Yes, we do. He should be the $13 million DH though.
Then a $12 mil pinch hitter in Ortiz then ?
don’t forget, the Sox almost were to pay a $13 million third baseman to wear a Rangers uniform.
Well it looks like Victor might be screwed next year instead of cleaning up with Mauer off the market.
As a Sox fan, I’m completely infuriated by V-Marts inability to throw guys out. I’ve already commented on another thread, talking about options for a more defensive-minded catcher. So far the best possibility seems to be, if Ortiz can’t pick it up, to release Papi, move V-Mart to DH, and bring up a guy like Mark Wagner. And this is all because of his lack of an arm. It may be overreaction, but it’s really frustrating to see guys run all over you like that. The Rays got ahead early in each of the four games because of baserunning; we were lucky these past few days that the offense woke up, otherwise it would be the same thing with the Rangers. Right now I don’t see Martinez staying with the Sox, unless they can move him to the DH slot.