Everybody Welcome Mike Cameron to the Red Sox Family
by wolf9309 on Dec 16, 2009 12:41 PM EST
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PrintIn the first of two press conferences on Yawkey way today, the Red Sox welcomed outfielder Mike Cameron to the family.
With almost childlike excitement, Cameron, at the age of 36 still known for being one of the best defensive Center Fielders in the game, joined Theo Epstein and Terry Francona to discuss his role on the team.
Now I didn't manage to watch the whole press conference, I tuned in about halfway through it, so I'm sure I missed some good bits here, and would love anyone who did catch it to chime in with any other information they thought was useful.
The first and biggest thing that I noticed were that a lot of questions centered around where Cameron was going to play in the field- this has been a question here, with some people thinking he will be in left so that the Sox give Jacoby Ellsbury time to develop in center, and other people thinking it is vital to shore up the defense now, moving Ells to left and keeping Cameron in center.
Theo Epstein seemed somewhat non-commital, saying that he knows that Cameron plays great Center field and would also be capable of his plus defense all throughout the outfield.
Cameron himself was a little less reserved, saying that he certainly could take his skills to the corners and use what he has learned at center there, but also saying that he is looking forward to bringing his center field abilities over to the Red Sox. The other thing he was very unreserved about was he wants to win- he is here to win and he is going to play his hardest.
Personally, I would like to see something like they did with Coco Crisp when he and Ells were both around- keep Ells in left when Cameron is in the lineup, and if he gets a day off, move Ellsbury over to center and have Hermida come into left. This will give Ellsbury some chance to develop his skills as a center fielder- and with Cameron's veteran tutelage, while dramatically improving our defense in 2010.
One other thing worth mentioning was that Theo wouldn't specifically say that they were shutting the door on Bay, however did state that whichever team gets him will be getting a great ballplayer.
Remember, if you're on the internet but not a TV, you can still catch John Lackey's press conference live at www.MLB.com/LIVE. I may have to be off working, but I hopefully will be able to catch it, and if not, I look forward to everyone's thoughts on it.
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I was just catching the replay right now.
Some notes:
-Tito and Theo will sit down with Ellsbury and talk about where they both fit in the OF.
-Tito managed Cameron in AA, told him he’d play for him again someday.
-Cameron thinks his 7 steals last year were an abberation.
-Theo was very non-committal about getting a big bat, but mentioned that it was always easier to add a bat mid-season than a pitcher.
USG
just to clarify
he think 7 steals was a low abberation because the management didn’t want him to steal too much.
Macha really did shut down the running game last year
Nobody was runnin’. Nobody. Francona doesn’t mind having his guys who know how to steal do their thing, on the other hand.
Cameron has decent wheels
’should be good for 15-20 SBs, with 2-5 CS.
Not spectacular, but valuable.
I'm undecided where I want him to play.
I can see the case for both.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
Also, I'm going against all my better statistical judgement and saying: Put Ellsbury in Center
His long-term value to the team comes from playing well there. If he learns it better, good. We need to give him that shot.
USG
Cameron is a Gold Glove winner in CF…so why not put him there. I guess my only concern is his age, he’s 37 so Jacoby has the younger legs.
but Cameron is a much better CF
Cameron may not be as fast as Ells anymore, but is definitely not slow. But most importantly, he gets a much, much better read on the ball (the most difficult thing about playing CF).
Everyone should also welcome
Wolf9309, our newest writer, who under no circumstances should be confused with Wolf 359.
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
Welcome, indeed!
Has he been around here for awhile? I’ve just noticed him recently…but I’m something of a newbie still.
Also, where’s BS.UF? His mom ground him or something?
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
I haven't been around incredibly long
well I’ve been watching, but didn’t start posting a ton until the last couple months of the season. Thanks!
thanks, i feel very welcome
As yes, I have very little in common with Wolf359. I will not be assimilated.
Cameron has to be in CF
He is the better defender and has a much stronger arm. The Sox are better off having a better defender in a premium position. It makes no sense to downgrade the offense and not upgrade the team defense. The Sox appear to want to upgrade their pitching and run-prevention. They can’t do that by playing their best defensive CF playing LF.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
You'd maximize Cameron's value by putting him in CF
His game changing D is going to go to waste when he cant catch fly balls off the Monster in LF.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
Exactly
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Dec 16, 2009 2:35 PM EST up reply actions
Hey CW
I went to Cots to try to estimate the Yankees payroll for next year. It has them currently at 187.5, without Damon. Forgetting LF right now, it also does not seem to have any league min. guys included (Hughes, Joba, Edwar, Aceves, Robertson) and does not have Mitre, Gaudin and (I think what is to be) a bump for Melky. Including the 400K guys, one of the low-end starters and Melky makes my guess 195, without any extra signing. Is that off-base?
Thats probably pretty close
Melk is going to be in the 2.3 range I’d guess. I actually think my might make a run at Holliday which would put it up close to 210.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
by CasanovaWong on Dec 16, 2009 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
You should just become a Sox fan.
Seriously…you LOVE us. Just join us.
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
Hahaha, well I do like Cameron, as well as the OTM community here but lets not get crazy. I can’t even fathom a situation where I would convert. I just got chills imagining being a Sox fan. Plus I’m so deeply entrenched there’s at least two people I know for a fact would murder me for switching.
Could anybody here do it? Unimaginable.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
by CasanovaWong on Dec 16, 2009 3:35 PM EST up reply actions
Lackey's voice
Does anyone else think that Lackey sounds exactly like Ray Romano? I can picture him yelling “Debrahhh” without missing a beat.
by Gnick on Dec 16, 2009 3:33 PM EST reply actions
Ugh
Rosenthal tweet
Lackey breakdown: 3.5M signing bonus, 18M first year, 15.25M each of next four. Front-loaded deal.
To zobrist; verb – to overlook the superiority of a person or object based on misleading sensory or conversational factors. e.g. "My teacher totally zobristed me on that paper – I’d included all the points he asked for but I didn’t drone on about Grover Cleveland enough. He’s totally biased towards Cleveland. What’s worse is that Danny Dukowski got an A, and his prose style is terrible. He’s a total Victorino." deadspy3 - Amazin' Avenue
Yup.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Dec 16, 2009 5:45 PM EST up reply actions
If you want to trade him, sure.
From a cost perspective, it’s worse. With normal yearly inflation, $15 million in 2015 dollars is worth less than $15 million in 2010 dollars. This is why nearly all MLB deals are backloaded – because it costs more over the long-run to frontload.
What this frontloading tells me is that Theo wants it to be easier to dump Lackey in year 3, 4 or 5, if necessary.
"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.
Or you want to be paying him lots o money
while he is most productive.
Strikeouts are boring- Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.
by CasanovaWong on Dec 16, 2009 6:13 PM EST up reply actions
Yup.
Money now is worth more than money later. Backloading is definitely better for the team. If we pay him less now and want to trade him later, we can always eat some of the money.
"Ninety percent [of my salary] I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
-Tug McGraw
unless we decide
we can afford it now with all the moves we want to make, then it makes him cheap for his performance later and takes away the risk of angry fans killing Theo because he’s eating a ton of Lackey’s contract. If they have a long term goal that they think will stretch finances more than they are stretched now, it makes a lot of sense.
-also it kind of reassures me that they aren’t done for the season, because I find it hard to imagine they’d front-load a contract like that when we have a significant gap in the lineup we can’t afford to properly fill.
lol
what an upgrade over Bay. Sounds like another brilliant Smoltz/Penny/Bonser deal by Epstein.
not even close
Smoltz and Penny were injured and needing to prove themselves. Bonser has never really established himself. Cameron might be older, but he has a solid track record.
what exactly is his track record? the only thing i remember about him is a decent season or two, breaking his face on beltran’s head, and being suspended for steroids. sounds solid. someone like Smoltz, whose had injury problems before and pitched fine the next season, I’d think that would give him a solid track record. considering he pitched pretty well in St. Louis after the Yankees ran him out of boston. I dont know…
by Ihatetheredsox on Dec 16, 2009 7:41 PM EST up reply actions
Also
The year of the collision with Beltran was the only year since 1997 (his first full year of service) in which he didn’t play 120 or more games. The man is a tremendous defensive player with at least an average bat for his position.
Smoltz was an older pitcher with an injury that prevented him from even starting the season on time. The Cameron signing is absolutely nothing at all similar to the Smoltz signing. We aren’t buying low, Cameron is a very legitimate major league ball player. You should probably get your head out of the sand Mr. IHATETHEREDSOX.
"We are not normal, We are Legends. People will tell their kids about us." - Deon Butler before Ohio State Game 2008.
and defense doesn't slump
Pitching and hitting both slump.
Defense tends to hold up (barring a significant injury like Lowell’s hip, of course).
Baseball 101
Courtesy of Rob Neyer.
I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.
by Drugs Delaney on Dec 16, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah
Not everyone can make the brilliant “buy up any available all-star” moves of brian cashman and his trophy-buying bosses.
Yahoo!
I know it doesn’t mean anything, but Yahoo! has already solved the Ells/Cameron in CF debate one their depth chart:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/bos/depthchart
:)
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