There’s been quite a bit written about the Red Sox’ lack of an ace, but as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes, acquiring an ace-caliber pitcher is harder now than ever before. Speier looks back at the top 20 pitchers in terms of WAR from the 2004 season and notes that not only did pitchers remain elite later in their careers, but they were also more readily available in both free agency and trades. The average age of the top 20 pitchers in WAR has dropped from 29.5 to just under 28 in the year 2014, and none of the top 17 were signed as free agents. One talent evaluator noted to Speier that teams simply aren’t trading established aces anymore. The evaluator continued, “Very few come from free-agent signings given that, traditionally, their age was such that when they signed, they’re aces in age but not in [future] performance.”
Here’s more from the East:
- The Red Sox have continued to field a lineup that stresses “grinding” at-bats, but at present have yet to deliver much power, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. That continues something of a trend from last year, says MacPherson, who notes that unearned runs have propped up the team’s run scoring totals.
- Complaints about the Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre turf have been hard to ignore, with Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reporting on Twitter that the Orioles actually considered forfeiting a recent game rather than taking the field. Baltimore has contacted the league, per Encina, though Jeff Blair of Sportsnet.ca tweets that the commissioner’s office has not received any formal complaint.
- Top Phillies prospect Maikel Franco has been on a tear at Triple-A, but the team still does not have immediate plans for a call-up, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Service time remains a factor despite the fact that he saw action at the MLB level last year; as Zolecki explains, by waiting until approximately mid-May, Philadelphia can earn itself an extra year of control. With the big league club seemingly going nowhere and fellow youngster Cody Asche playing well at third, there is little reason for the team to move quickly on Franco.
- There have been some limited bright spots for the Phillies, of course, and veteran righty Aaron Harang may be chief among them. The 36-year-old righty has tossed 26 1/3 innings of 1.37 ERA baseball, allowing a meager .800 WHIP and striking out 21 batters. Despite an excellent 2014, Harang signed a one-year deal for just $5MM (which he discussed recently with MLBTR’s Zach Links). He is starting to look like a rather appealing summer trade candidate for clubs that need to fill in at the back of their rotation.
Why would the O’s consider forfeiting a game oppose to taking the field? I realize that the new turf has apparently caused balls to slow down, but why would there be an extra incentive to quit over something like that? It must be really hard on their feet, or something like that. I think it is time they remove the turf and put down real grass. It might be more costly, but it’ll attract more free agents, and cause less controversy.
It’s just crotchety Buck playing games. Jeff Blair predicted this was going to happen before the Orioles even came to town.
they are trying to figure out a way to get grass into the stadium for 2018. also, there was a writeup on fangraphs that refutes any of these claims being made by the orioles…just ridiculous
Am pretty sure you also watched the Sox-Rays series? How did you like how much balls slowed down when they hit that high platic grass when they hit the OF? You could see the “grass” part it’s so laughably high in tampa, like Moses parting the sea when a ball goes thru that stuff in the “grass” on the OF turn at Tampa now.
Agree with you Draven.. Get rid of those domed stadiums, or places where they “say” nothing but that kind of turf is workable.. Problem solved.
Toronto chose it to make it easier on their own players. Its supposed to be far easier on the legs than what they had. But maybe the Orioles see something there that we dont.
Hey Draven. The plan is to replace the (embarrassing) artificial turf with real grass after the lease with the Toronto Argonauts (CFL) runs out. I believe that’s after the 2017 season. There are some interesting articles online about the development of strains of turfgrass they’re working on at the University of Guelph that will tolerate lower light levels and not create too much unwanted humidity for a domed stadium. And you’re right about it attracting more free agents!
Before the first game in the series they showed Buck out trampling on a fairly noticeable bulge of turf just beyond the infield behind first base that was possibly a legit safety concern for a player to trip over. I suspect the complaint is related to that.
Red Sox offense should be fine, I think. The fact that they’re at 10-7 despite such relatively little offense and “no pitching” feels promising.
Pretty easy schedule I think, and that’s a SSS. They are fortunate the AL East is so weak and devoid of good pitching.
They played all division teams except for the Phillies who are terrible and the Nats who are good.
Devoid? Pineda, archer, tanaka, odorizzi and about 10 others that can be considered good.
The Sox have been fairly lucky so far. There were a couple of games that were just handed to them.
They will need to make a move midseason for pitching but there have been promising signs so far even in the games where the end result wasn’t great for the starter. Like Porcello showing off his stuff and striking out the first 5, Buch with 10 ks. I’m still hoping they eventually stop having that bad inning where these starts fall apart but we will see. That said the Yankees in my mind arent legit and will taper off eventually. Their hitting is led by Tex, Arod, Young which is not sustainable in my opinion.
What happened to the Red Sox farm system. They have not developed an ace since Lester who came up almost 10 years ago.
Aces show up, Darvish, Tanaka, Price (trade), Shields (FA), Scherzer (FA), Fister (trade), Kazmir, Greinke etc. But you got to pay and they may not be aces for long. Better you develop your own.
You’re getting really generous with your definition of “ace” to include Shields, Fister, and Kazmir in there
Red Sox rotation has kind of lowered the bar I guess, but if not an ace all 3 are at least a number 2 and I don’t see the Red Sox as having anything more than a 3.
How is Porcello not a #2? Last year, his FWAR was 38th of all major league starters. That puts him in the middle of the pack of #2 pitchers. All his peripherals support that, as well.
The logic in the off-season was that he was a #3 on Detroit last season, simply because it was based on the team having Scherzer and Price in front of him. Well, its a new season, if you follow that logic, he’s got to be a #1 or #2, depending on where you place him in the Red Sox rotation.
Personally I think the Red Sox farm has focused too much on hitting prospects and when they try to develop arms (Casey Kelly, Trey Ball) they seem to take riskier prospects rather then safer guys.
Who would you consider riskier? Moncada, ERod?
None of those guys are very risky, but I think the point Bob was trying to make is that they have been drafting more on high upside, oppose to high floor recently. Owens, E-Rod, and Johnson have middle-of-the-rotation stuff, while a guy like Trey Ball and Michael Kopech have displayed the ability to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, but their chance of busting is quite high.
Wish the Braves would’ve brought Harang back to be the #5 starter. Or at least tried.
Even with the idea that the team wouldn’t be good this year, I’d rather keep someone you know over bringing in new retreads. Not like he’s breaking the bank at $5mil either. Better him than Stults and Cahill at their salaries anyway.
Showed some power last night, Ortiz and Hanley back to back and then Holt with the game winner. Kind of glad Victorino is out because Holt needs to be out there. The guy seems like he was made in a Pedroia mold, just plays hard every day.
I love Holt, and he needs to be playing when he is hot. He will regress a lot eventually, but that’s when he can slip back into a utility role. Let’s just hope Farrell is willing to play Holt over Victorino. Bogaerts definately needs to be playing everyday.
In related news: The Baltimore Orioles have filed a grievance with the MLB over Bautista stealing their swagger.
I don’t think the turf was the reason for the 24-14 run differential…
Players complained that the Rogers Centre turf was hard on the body. So, they put in a softer surface. Now, teams are complaining that the turf is too slow. There has been a lot of tension between the Jays & Orioles this season. I think it is just an extension of that and the Orioles were looking for something else to complain about. The Jays have beaten the Orioles 5 of 6 this season and they don’t like it