10/30 - TGIF; Leave No Stone Unturned, Or You Might Miss a Gem

by bdalebs on Oct 30, 2009 5:00 AM EDT in Daily Links

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Clay Buchholz' Transformation - Yawkey Way Academy

Pitch F/X breakdowns are FUN!!! Perhaps we need to look into the available pitchers using this technique. Hmm...

In the meantime, here's some other links about those pitchers:

Pitcher Rich Harden Worth a Test Drive for Thrifty Red Sox - NESN.com

Pros & Cons: Erik Bedard - The Bottom Line

Good to see that everyone is looking for every option possible. Of course, there are sometimes when those options should be for Plan B, not Plan A; here's an obvious (to me) situation:

The 2009 Shortstop Free Agent Market - Fire Brand of the American League

We definitely don't need to overpay for some safety net. While it's important to account for the risk associated with Jed's wrist, players shouldn't be paid more than they're worth when there's similar talent available.

How much will the Red Sox spend in 2010? - The Bottom Line

Taking the information from Mazz's column, Bottom Line has created a table showing the expected payroll of the Sox.

After the jump, a few more links to get you to quittin' time. Think BIG: big question, big trade, big difference of opinion.

POLL: One person only - Fire Brand of the American League

* Jason Bay [depends on when Holliday signs]

* Adrian Gonzalez [going to cost a lot, but may be worth it for the right price]

* Matt Holliday [should be the first option, unless he's too expensive]

* Felix Hernandez [probably going to require too many prospects]

* ~~John Lackey~~ [not worth the money he's going to get]

Trades Of The Decade: Colon To The Expos - MLBTradeRumors.com

Many of these players are big names right now. Also, the Expos got screwed so many times it isn't even funny.

Jason Bay Chat Wrap - Full Count

I think that the monster is a little intimidating at first, but after getting used to it, I really like the nooks and crannies and the effect that it has on the other team and players who aren’t used to it.

Deep roots will not bend - Eric Wilbur's Sports Blog on Boston.com

Mazz, perhaps you should have realized that NO ONE is going to root for the MFY, no matter how much rationalizing you put into it.

Comments, links, funny stories about attempting to get non-OTMers on the saber-bandwagon - anything to pass the time.

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Comments

Problem with Harden vs. Bedard

as I have mentioned before, Harden is totally damaged goods. He has not had his injuries dealt with, and I see no reason why we should think last year (when he was pitching with the same injury he has now) was not just an indication of how bad he is. He was a 5 tRA pitcher in the absolute worst division in baseball. He could not even go 5 and 1/2 innings per start. No thanks.

Bedard on the other hand has had his labrum repaired. He is always at risk for shoulder injuries, and while it is not a cake walk recovery by any means, he should be fixed and at full strength by June. I view this more as a longer term fix (with possible upside in 2011) and thus The Sox might also want to look elsewhere (eg Sheets). I don’t think the Bottom Line AL East splits discussion mean much. Beside putting up decent numbers overall (while hurt) Bedard dominated the good lineups in the AL East in 07 (when healthy) at a time the Yankees were a much better offense (969 runs) and the Rays were as good or better offensively than they were in their 97 win 08 season. Splits:
Yankees 2-0 21 innings 1.29 ERA (Team-968 runs)
Rays 3-0 25.1 innings 2.84 ERA (Team-782 runs)
Sox 1-0 13.2 innings 3.29 ERA (Team 867 runs)

Thus, a healthy Bedard can pitch well in a division with stacked lineups. The key here is health. I would take a guy like this who, at 30, has a chance of recovering from surgery and being this pitcher, over a damaged guy who has not fixed his problems and can’t pitch at all in AAAA.

by Buzzy on Oct 30, 2009 8:54 AM EDT reply actions

Just say no to Bedard..

Torn labrums are major injuries, and they never are going to 100% recovery before they were torned..

I am always hesitant to have more than one southpaw on the Sox’s starting pitching rotation.

I would look for someone younger, and probably a bit cheaper.

by superferret on Oct 30, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree and Disagree

Agree Labrums are tricky. I assume the Sox can do their own investigation on the status of Bedard’s health and if the see it as too risky then they will let it go. However lefties are good to have in the AL East-you turn around all of those swich hitting Yankees so that the probability of a right field cheepie is reduced (helps the Yankees to have 2 lefties) and at least in 08 the Rays had real trouble with lefties.

by Buzzy on Oct 30, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Don't pretend that the Rays were good in '07

Good stuff Buzzy. Were the Rays surprisingly mediocre offensively in 2008? Yes. But you can’t really lump them in with the Sox and Yanks when they scored 100-200 less runs…

Bottom Line: Bedard was very good in 2007, but he was 28… He’ll be 31 in March 2010 and is coming off of surgery… can he get back to that ‘07 form? I’m not sure he can, but he’s a great option for out No. 4 or 5 man…

The Bottom Line blog

by bottomlinesox on Oct 30, 2009 9:51 AM EDT reply actions

The Rays

W-L record in 07 is not the point-and that was the point I was trying to make. They scored more runs in 07 than in 08, so it does not matter how good or bad they were as a team, since Bedard did not have to hit. Thyey sucked in 07 because they allowed 944 runs, which has nothing to do with how hard it is to pitch to them. The AL East in 07 was a monster run scoring division.

Bedard is a risk, for sure. But 31 recovering from surgery is a lot different ahn 42 (Smoltz) recovering from surgery. And I am glad he has had the surgery. Harden to me has a broaken wing that has not been fixed. We see what that does for you in the NL Central. How would it look in the AL East?

by Buzzy on Oct 30, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions

968 vs 782

Buzzy… all I was getting at is that 772 runs put them smack dab in the middle of the league that year… and their .268 BA (although better than the .260 ’08 mark) was also middle of the pack…

Was Bedard good vs NYY and BOS in 2007? Yes, but you can’t really count the Rays as part of the “ALE Monster” in 2007.

Bottom Line: Any starter that comes here will be expected to beat up on the O’s and Jays and at least hold the Yanks and Rays in check. Bedard has the most ALE experience, but he hasn’t really faced the new look ALE since he landed in SEA.

The Bottom Line blog

by bottomlinesox on Oct 30, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions