true - but if he is past his injury bugs, then we can maybe make Gardy expendable. Heathcott really is some talent though, hope he can finally get things turned around.
no it wouldnt - young is a career backup, he's not going to fetch anything in a trade - Gardner on the other hand can get you some decent pieces in return.
Heathcott has had two shoulder surgeries and two knee surgeries.. That is NOT the player you make a starter. Yes he plays well when he is not on surgeons table. Healthcott is currently behind Judge, Austin,Cave and Possibly Flores and Williams nevermind i think they still have Garcia.
Hey jack - i said "IF", i never anointed him the starter - I SAID IF!!! Jeez, why do you have to be so passive aggressive
And my point is if he makes the 25 man roster it has no impact on Gardner. Its a good story if he can turn it around but lets not get crazy.
It was, they got rid of a dead weight contract in Upton and got value back. When will people learn the closer position is overrated, no matter how good the pitcher is. The only knock I have on this deal is why the Braves waited so long to deal Kimbrel. I wonder if they dealt him earlier in the offseason if they would have gotten a better package back but who knows, maybe they tried and no one bit.
Heyward lookeddamn good yesterday... We will see at the end of the season how that worked out for the Braves..
He looked the same yesterday as he has in the past. Still the same issues. Still wont hit for power. Hes a good all around player, but nothing has changed...
haven't heard anything about the prospects they traded for. anyone else heard anything? I love how the Uptons are off the team and getting rid of that huge contract is great. but, would like to see the prospects actually make impact in the future.
Wow a Marlins segment on ESPN (mostly because of Stanton), but never thought ESPN would acknowledge that Miami has a baseball team too. Usually they only talk avout four baseball teams and thats it.
It is funny I literally was talking to a Sox friend yesterday and saying by the All-Star break RP will be the ace of the staff.......now he is paid like one...
I actually like the signing simply because its only a 4 year deal and it brings him to his age 30 season. I know people are going to knock it because he's getting 20 million a year (and there's no way he's worth that) but the Sox FO the past few years have made it a point to overpay in the AAV in return to lessening the length of contracts. Also with the way baseball salaries are increasing 20 million a year for a pitcher isn't all that much anymore. Also Porcello isn't being paid like an ace, aces are now getting 25 million plus per year. Obviously the Sox are banking on him building on his 2014 and getting better, especially with the Sox defense behind him. If Porcello had a big 2015 season and was a FA he'd most likely get over 100 million. The Sox FO has a plan and is sticking to it which is nice to see.
20 million a year for rick porcello? That is horrible. He's decent, but by no mean is he a 1 or a 2 IMO. Braves trading Kimbrel for that package was a no brainer. Matt Wisler has a big arm and a big future. Getting Wisler alone makes that deal worth it
I like the deal as well, but I have to disagree with you on the paid like an ace thing....20M or more yes absolutely that is ace money....take away from the fact of what fans, scouts, and other people think, he in the eyes of their FO is their ace, as well coming in at 20M is the low end of ace money....They must feel with him entering his 26 year old season his regressions are going to continue downward..... Consider this chart....there are 12 pitchers making over 20M (call it 13 with Price after this year) I dont see how you cant say at the time of their signings they weren't all considered the "ace" of their staff...the only exception is Lee.....as far as "starpower name recognition" I will agree that he isn't the ace. Lastly consider the downward trend of offensive numbers and one could argue you dont need a bonafide shut down guy like Felix, but a few above avg guys that give you innings. I suspect thats what they are thinking. I think it raises red flag for me if they go out and get say Hamels or pay more money for that name ace, because certainly #2 pitchers dont make north of 20 except in NY (facepalm).... http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/contracts/pitching/
I agree with you about the offensive numbers being down that you don't need a bonafide shut down guy but a few above average guys that give you innings, so do the Red Sox front office which is why they traded/signed Porcello, Miley and Masterson this offseason. The other plans the Sox front office had was to load up on offensive players and in terms of the pitchers they acquired was to get ground ball pitchers since the infield defense was above average in every spot but SS. I also don't think Hamels is coming to Boston or was every really close to coming, I don't think they wanted to give up any top prospects or take on his salary. The Sox have really changed the way they look and view FAs since the 2011 disaster and they are clearly more interested in signing guys to short term deals by giving them more money per year, which I think makes absolute sense. I think it's also clear the Sox don't like giving up big/long term deals to pitchers over 30, which is why they let Lester walk.
So Tanaka's 4-seamer is 0.2 MPH less than last year pre-injury, I am trying to figure out where he is going wrong......any thoughts?
Didn't he say he was changing his motion/mechanics to help with the stress on his arm/shoulder? That could be a reason. Of course he did/does have damage in his UCL so that could be another reason. It looks like he wasn't really throwing his 2 seamer at all last game and his 4 seamer was always pretty straight.
I really hate what I am about to say. If CC doesn't have anything respectable by May 1st, they have to sit him down and have a talk with him. They either have to move him to the BP or release him. They cant keep rolling a guy out there every 5th day with a 6+ ERA or even a 5+. It isn't fair to the team, Girardi, and most importantly himself. Sometimes as an athlete you have to be told your time is done. I hope I am wrong but this maybe one of those times... The guy is a great guy, good clubhouse guy, and a true professional but this is going to eat him alive. They have to pay him this and next year I get that, but again this isn't good for anybody....
Harvey pitched a gem yesterday...9k's in 6ip. All Bryce Harper could say after the game was "he's going to win a Acy Young at some point and everyone knows it". I'm not sure if I'm more surprised by how good Harvey was yesterday or the fact Bryce Harper had some humble pie.
I admit I didn't see the game yesterday (just you talking to yourself on the Twitter) but looking at his line CC wasn't terrible, still K'ed 8 guys in 5.1 innings so he's still missing bats. Fangraphs has his FB at 88.8 compared to 89.6 last year but it was still his 1st start of the year. Also I think CC is a bit of a slow starter too, April is his one of his worst, if not his worst month. Plus if you take CC out of the rotation who do you replace him with and is that option any better?
I think people forget that Harper is 22 years old. Most players his age are still in college or in A ball. Hell Kris Bryant is the next big thing prospect wise and Harper is 9 months YOUNGER than he is and has been in the MLB for 3 years now. Baseball is a tough game. I think Harper has been more than fine given his age.
His fastball isn't missing anything, eventually that catches up with you...Toronto is a bunch of free swingers and they still got to him....imagine if he didn't have those K's? Teams are going to start laying off everything offspeed and he is going to have to start throwing his fastball....again I hope I am wrong I just don't see it though... As far as who you replace him with? Who was Shane Green before he came up, kid is doing ok for himself thus far no? I mean they don't have to have an amazing track record on the farm to earn shot.....Nova was an emergency call up and it worked ok (obviously we will see how he comes back but before this injury he was def serviceable)...at the very least try something other than roll out the same tired show...
His top half is not good enough. Lower half is very good. Hes going to continue to be inconsistent because of that.
I would probably just give him more time then 1 month. I mean while his days as being the ace of the staff is probably way behind him I see no reason as long as he's healthy why he can't be a serviceable pitcher going forward. The swings and misses are important.
His swings and misses are important, more importantly though are his runs allowed...fine Fink he gets 6 weeks (grumbles and walks away) lol at "talking to myself on Twitter" ahahahaha I do that a lot....
I would have commented but I was too busy yelling and screaming still about Jeff Franceour's 3 run HR on Wednesday night.
Last night's game was hell when you have to wake up early to go to work. I thought Miley pitched pretty well until the 6th, wonder if him sitting on the bench for 30 minutes got him out of sync. My first impression of Nate Eovaldi is he throws really really hard, my second impression is his fastball is incredibly straight and hittable. I think I read that the Sox only swung and missed at 1 or 2 of his fast balls all night, so he's basically Rubby De La Rosa 2.0. Not sure if he'll be able to survive in the AL without another pitch. Also I'd be maybe a little worried about Betances, he hasn't been right since the start of ST, he's looking like his pre 2014 self. Anyway I suspect you'll see a few fresh arms for both teams for today's game.
Eovaldi is the type of guy you would want to pitch for you at a homerun derby.. Trust me you will see games where he gives up 6-7 runs in 3 innings... Especially in your division..
