Only his replacements aren't better. I get that CC hasn't been very good the last two years but he's still better than the Phelps, Aceves, Whitley and Nunos of the world.
Statically he isn't though that's the problem, dont get me wrong I would rather have him in there than not. What you get right now with CC is a guy who takes the ball and pitches every 5th day, you just have to hope he figures it out...
Is Sabathia worse stat wise? For all the talk about Sabathia pitching badly the guy still has 48K to 10 BB in 46 innings, he's still missing bats. And Nuno and Aceves haven't been better and Phelps started 3 games and Whitley 1, so SSS alert. Anyone that thinks CC being out for an extended period of time is a good thing just isn't thinking clearly or putting way too much faith in Phelps, Nuno, Aceves and/or Whitley or whoever else is a replacement. Even with CC declining stuff wise, he's still the better talent and has better stuff than the other guys.
Nuno is 1-1 with a 5.82 ERA and Aceves is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Phelps has been fine in his 3 starts and Whitley has had 1 MLB start, so SSS. And of course wins/losses and ERA aren't the best pitcher measures but we all know that. But hey if you're glad CC is hurt and out for awhile that's fine.
Whether he occasionally he misses a few bats or not when he DOESN'T miss a few bats he gets hit, and gets hit hard which is commonplace....again I want him in there, for leadership value and because he wants to be there, he is a bulldog.....this is a case where the advance stats dont tell the whole story which happens alot, it is putting lipstick on a pig in this case.....
Occasionally misses a few bats? The guy has a 9.4 K per 9. He K's a batter per inning pitched. He's 8th in the AL in that stat. Again I'm not saying Sabathia has been great or even good this year but he hasn't been terrible or even bad. Plus his replacements aren't clearly better. For Yankees fans being happy he's out for awhile is crazy.
dude stop....... He has 11.7H per 9, his WHIP is 1.48....his slash against him? .300/.346/.528...he even has a negative WAR at this point, Christ what is his BABIP? Probably dreadful.... If I am a manager going into a game facing him at this point, I will give up some strikeouts for the chance to hit BB's off the guy....
We're still talking about SSS here as Sabathia has only thrown 46 innings this year. Historically in CC's career he's been a better 2nd half pitcher with April always being his worst month. My point remains that Sabathia is still better than the replacements. Sabathia has a better WHIP than all of them, better K per 9, lower BB/9. Yes the HRs and hits are a concern but again it's only 46 innings. The positives is he is still striking guys out and has good command so that slash line will probably adjust.
So the question is, which is the fluke? The K's or the H's. Historically I would say hits, between between this and last year, I am not so sure..... I agree about the 2nd half, but given this injury now not sure he has a shot to get in any sort of rhythm....
I would say both the Ks per 9 and hits per 9 would come down if he were to pitch his usual 200 plus innings, obviously with the injury that's not going to happen. Sabathia historically has always had good command thus good K rates and walk rates. His hits per 9 average is 8.4 in his career, last year it was over 9 for the first time ever. I can't see him having a hit rate over 11 though. Plus don't forget though the hits can be misleading as it does depend on defense too.
Stupid question Fink but why if they need another bat, why not sign him? and play him at 3rd and send WMB down?
At this point I would guess that it doesn't make sense for Drew to sign, might as well wait until after the draft and get more teams involved to drive Drew's price up.
Shows how much I know, Ken Rosenthal is reporting the Sox just signed Drew to a 1 year deal for 10 million (which is basically the 14 million dollar qualifying offer prorated). Nice job/good move by the Sox.
Now it is degenerative? lol...I was joking about him not coming back at all this year but................. At least it explains a few things....
Nothing yet. I would be shocked if he wasn't DLed though, simply because the Sox need to get Stephen Drew on the 25 man roster then opt him to the minors, so a player will have to be sent down so if they send down someone like Brock Holt then he couldn't be called up for 10 days meaning the Sox wouldn't have a back up infielder for those 10 days unless they call up Cecchini and have him waste a minor league option while sitting out for 10 days. So yeah. The Red Sox and Brewers have been the only MLB teams they started just 5 guys all year. If Doubront does hit the DL no idea who takes his spot between Workman, Webster, RDLR or Ranaudo.
Drew is a much better defensive SS than Bogaerts is and Drew has never played 3B (or any other position other than SS in the majors or minors) while Bogaerts has. It's similar to the reason why the Orioles moved Manchado to 3B and kept Hardy at SS. I also think the ultimate plan will be to have Bogaerts play SS against LHPers with Drew sitting out and have Middlebrooks/Herrera play 3B.
Yea but Hardy was already at SS and had a couple years left on his deal. I realize its only been about 2 months. But Bogaerts was at SS and then they signed Drew. Bogaerts never played 3rd before last year either. I understand not calling a prospect up and then moving a decent vet if the prospect can play elsewhere, but I dont think you sign a vet and move a prospect over. Unless that vet is a stud.
Again through Drew's defense is much better than Bogaerts and Drew has never played 3B while Bogaerts has. The Sox are a better defensive team with Drew at SS and Bogaerts at 3B instead of Bogaerts playing SS with Drew at 3B.
Fink what is your take on the starting pitching of the Sox? It seems like their starters aren't doing well this year... They rank 24-29 on AVG/OBP/SLG/WHIP/OPS..... Besides Lester, it seems they aren't getting the samething they got from them last year so far....Lackey you could expect a drop he was lights out last year but the others? Injuries? Need to settle in it is still early? You think they will start calling on some of their farm depth? I think their hitting while a drop out of their leadoff spot is a flaw they are all still good hitters and will figure it out, but I dont think they counted on the SP they are getting so far and is a bigger problem? Not ballbusting, just asking, **** NY pitching isnt good but at least you can equate much of that to injures.... on a positive note their relievers are stating out great....
Lester has been really really good all year and Lackey has been pretty good too (he had two bad games back to back in early April that have thrown off his numbers). Buchholz has been god awful and the Sox and him keep insisting he's fully healthy which actually worries me more. At least if he was hurt it would explain why he's been so bad. His fastball velocity still isn't very good and he hasn't had a change up all year. Teams are simply teeing off his fastball. Doubront has been pretty inconsistent all year and Peavy has been walking everyone. So overall the starting pitching has been pretty eh. The bullpen has been really good though outside of Muijica, so that's the 1 positive. I think their biggest problem has been just being inconsistent from game to game. They have talent on the roster and for the most part are healthy but they aren't the same team as they were last year, especially with the line up and power. Guys like Peavy, Doubront and Buchholz clearly need to make some adjustments to get back on track. But I think they're going to have to make some moves to upgrade the team hitting wise and also in the rotation. Whether it's going to the farm or making trades. The positive thing is the Sox have plenty of money and prospects to make those moves if needed. The SPers in Triple A have been pitching fine, not terrible but nothing eye popping crazy. I still think the Sox are going to have to count on a few of them this year because I'm not confident the Sox can count on Buchholz at all this year. With that being said, maybe they should sign Lester to that extension now... What I'd do right now is call up Nava and DFA Sizemore and have Nava platoon with Gomes. I'd give Pierzynski and JBJ until July to see if they can turn it around at the plate. If not, I'd dump Pierzynski and call up Christian Vazquez (of course that depends on if he's ready of not with the bat, he's very good defensively especially with the arm). If JBJ doesn't turn it around then I'd look for CF help, the guy's defense is great but with the line up struggling they can't carry someone hitting .200 right now. Chris Denorfia from SD is a name that keeps popping up on the Sox radar. Although if the price is right (prospects and money) Andre Ethier wouldn't be a terrible LF platoon partner with Gomes but again the Dodgers would have to eat a good chunk of his salary. The good thing is the AL East is still wide open. I know the Orioles are the popular pick right now, but I don't see them running away with the division (or anyone else either). At this rate though the East will be lucky to get 1 team in a WC spot. But outside of Oakland and Detroit none of the other AL teams look very good either.
True but both teams are really really good and much better than any of the AL East teams. The Tigers probably have the best team overall in terms of hitting and pitching.
Good timing talking about how good Lester has been this year. He picked a bad time to suck for the first time this year. This team needs a big time wake up call.
Shocking that an extremely overweight player would struggle so much as he gets older and then gets hurt.
Well Fink this is more of a freak thing, this reminds me more of Peyton Manning, he isn't overweight....I would agree in the case more of knees/ankles/bad backs etc etc.... But a herniated disk in your neck?
Maybe he hurt his neck while eating? I was talking more about how his production going down for about 3 years now. Either way, the guy is signed through 2020. 2020! Rangers and their fans must be loving that trade right about now. It's funny though when CC Sabathia was fat he was good and healthy but once he lost all that weight and got "skinny" he starts to stink and gets hurt. So maybe it's not so obvious/shocking.
Great interview with Pedro on pitching: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pedro-martinez-on-the-art-and-science-of-pitching/ His comments are really great and insightful, especially comparing having a feel for the ball with marriage and touching your wife. Good stuff. Pedro is the man.
There are certain players that I'd love to sit at a bar and just talk baseball with and Pedro is at the very top of that list.