Boston Red Sox Pursuing Paul Maholm, "Low-Cost" Starters
Courtesy Ronit Shah at MLB Daily Dish. Another option for bolstering the rotation. . . .
5 months ago
lone1c
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Yay.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
Think I've seen a similar headline/blurb
About a thousand times so far this offseason.
by The Name is Dalton on Jan 6, 2012 5:27 PM EST reply actions
Pursuing...
Let’s hope they aren’t too fast, other wise we’ll look like this:
Standing around in our boxers talking about how old we are relative to the s**t we’re doing.
I am Sandy's bitch.
Penn State Forever
by Rogue Nine on Jan 6, 2012 5:56 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
SIGN
SOMEBODY
Galactus does as he pleases. Because Galactus is drunk.
@#$%ing Twit: @blogtard
OTM | Silver Seven
I said, I wanted the Sox to sign Maholm months ago......
Ben was just waiting a bit to please me.
My Twitter @totheights
BLAAARGH OMFG SIGN STARTERS
Seriously… I might make this my signature until Maholm (or, preferrably, Oswalt/Kuroda) are signed by the Red Sox.
I know, patience works in our favor… but as soon as one of those guys signs somewhere else, and our options are thinned that much more, this patient crap better go away. For that matter, once Darvish/Jackson situations are sorted out, we better make a move for one of these three guys.
I thought we’d never win it all. And then we went down 0-3 to the Yankees in 2004, and I thought it was the end of the world.
Wait ’til next year!
Maholm AND Oswalt
And I’ll be a happy boy. Picture that rotation for a moment. Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Oswalt, Maholm. DROOL!
by Rick Bentsen on Jan 7, 2012 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
Oh yeah
ANd that’ll leave Bard in the ’pen making our pen just EEEEEEVIL! :)
by Rick Bentsen on Jan 7, 2012 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
You say that now, but Maholm isn't all that good.
We all just have lowered expectations.
Rather him than Bard.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
I expect him to be better than Lackey was last year...
He at least has a chance to do that.
The Year of Extreme Opinions
I apologize if this post has offended you in any way. Please retroactively ignore it. Thank you for your consideration.
by nuthinboutnuthin on Jan 7, 2012 6:10 PM EST up reply actions
As a number 5 starter
He doesn’t have to be THAT good. He just has to be, yannow, better than Lackey :)
That's probably his ceiling.
My point is, don’t get obsessed with Maholm and think that if we get him everythings all good.
Yeah, I'm talking in the AL East.
He’s the kinda guy who might totally bomb here. I’m in favor of signing him to a cheap deal, but I’m not screaming his name.
See Lackey, John.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
I guess
I’m not the only one that thinks Kuroda and Saunders will get multiple years. As I said in a previous discussion, Maholm interests me the most of the three.
"Man you are one pathetic loser. No offense." - Lloyd Christmas
2011 Varitek League Champion
From MLBTradeRumors
Cherington says they are looking for not but two “low cost” starters.
which is just great
if by low-cost starters, he means guys like Maholm, and not guys like Carlos Silva.
I should amend that a little
at least two is the true quote ,and Maholm has been linked to them.
by aubatron2011 on Jan 7, 2012 10:26 AM EST up reply actions
That's the figure I've had in my mind.
It’s just that I’ve always considered it optimistic. If it’s realistic, then pull that trigger yesterday.
Over the Monster -- SB Nation's Resident Red Sox Site
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jan 7, 2012 12:35 PM EST up reply actions
Anybody else worried that his low K rate
will not translate into success in the AL East?
not so worried
because he’s a pretty heavy groundball pitcher. pretty good K/BB as well.
Though yeah, I don’t think on the Sox he’d be a great starter- but he’d be quite serviceable.
Pretty much.
4.00-4.50 ERA. Better if Scoot/Youk have decent defensive years. See: Nova, Davis, Guthrie
Over the Monster -- SB Nation's Resident Red Sox Site
USG
by Ben Buchanan on Jan 7, 2012 12:39 PM EST up reply actions
I've kinda wondered
If a lefty ground-baller is facing a lot of right-handed hitters, does that create a higher percentage of ground-balls to the right side?
Maholm wasn't worth $9.25M but Buehrle is worth $13M?
They are very similar pitchers, yet Buehrle is at the top of everyone’s list of FA pitchers and Maholm is forgotten. We should sign him $6-7M 1 year or even consider 2 years at $12M and be done with it. The guy isn’t going to be the next Jon Lester, but he can give us 160-180 solid innings and take the pressure of Bard and/or Aceves as they move to the rotation.
- Matt Sullivan
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Maholm is pretty bad.
First-as I have said before add 0.5 to his FIP/ERA as a conversion from crappy hitting NL Central to AL East. Plus he has lived on low HR rates skewed by his park (gives up 0.4 more HR/9 on the road). The GB rate is excellent, BB rate good, but he can’t K anyone and is going to get smacked around in the AL. He is 5 ERA guy in the AL East. And the reason why Buehrle is worth more is because he had to pitch in a real park and not face a pitcher for 3 outs a game.
Maholm has proven he can be decent,
but I doubt he’s the answer for us.
The AL Central isn't THAT bad in terms of hitting
He didn’t have to face his own team, St. Louis and Cincinnati were both Top 10 offenses last year and Milwaukee was 11. Cubs were below average and Astros sucked, but whatever. Pitchers CAN succeed in both divisions.
by South Coast Ghost on Jan 8, 2012 1:17 AM EST up reply actions
See Haren, Dan; Pinero, Joel, Jackson; Edwin.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
A good idea of the difference
can be found with Matt Garza who despite a babip higher than his average and a bad strand rate for him had numbers in the range of a full point better in terms of era and fip- also facing the same “good” hitting central teams in a hitters park. Maholm is a serviceable 5 I just wouldn’t get to jazzed about a guy who was a lefty pitching to one of the biggest left fields in the majors and can’t k anyone pitching in the al east in Fenway.
by Buzzy on Jan 8, 2012 9:42 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sox signed Aaron Cook
posting here, since there is not yet a thread on it. I assume this is one of the two, perhaps three SPs we will sign.
by dennet on Jan 8, 2012 11:32 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I hope not
I’m cautiously optimistic about Cook, but I’d rather not start him if we don’t have to.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
by TheLoneDavid on Jan 8, 2012 11:34 PM EST up reply actions
Hopefully, he and Silva are the "In case of Emergency-break glass guys."
The more I think about it I could see Harrison coming to the Sox. It was speculated earlier this off-season that Cherington wanted a second lefty to be in the rotation, that’s why the links to Gio, Maholm and Saunders. When the Rangers sign Darvish, that probably frees up Harrison.
by aubatron2011 on Jan 9, 2012 12:10 AM EST up reply actions
my concern at this point
is what happens when the raft of injuries come in the 2nd half? Let’s say the Sox sign another low cost SP, like Jon Garland. Then, between Bard/Aceves/Garland/Silva/Cook/Dubront they get 2 SPs for the back of the rotation. Given what happened in 2011, panic has become a default reaction to uncertainty, but I’m actually not that worried. The probability of any individual being an effective starter in 2012 may be less than 50%, but the probability that collectively we can extract 2 league average starters from the pile isn’t so bad.
But my problem is this. Between Lester, Beckett, and Bucholz, I bet there will be one point, after the all-star break where two of the three are injured simultaneously. What then?
by dennet on Jan 9, 2012 12:22 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think that's why a trade for a guy like Harrison would be smart.
He’s young and could fill the fourth spot, and then really you need Bard/Aceves et al. to compete for the fifth spot, and store the guys like Silva, Cook, Garland and hope some starting prospects pan out so if one of the top guys goes down, as long as it’s not a season ending injury, you can have fill-ins for the period of time they are gone. We do have a major wild card too, Dice-K. He’ll probably be back around July and maybe with a manager who knows how to use him, he could give us something.
by aubatron2011 on Jan 9, 2012 12:35 AM EST up reply actions
We wouldn't get Harrison at the deadline
unless something astounding happens. We’d be looking at guys on non-contenders. Vargas maybe, McCarthy, Santana, so on and so forth.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
right
I don’t think Harrison is a plausible get. And while he would (obviously) benefit the rotation, I’m not sure I would even want to pay up what it would take. We need to see through our next generation of prospects. It requires patience. Trust me, I’ve played Baseball Mogul.
by dennet on Jan 9, 2012 1:12 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I agree that it would make sense
in that it would be a major benefit to the Sox. Having real talent in the #4 spot goes a long way toward mitigating top-of-rotation losses from injury.
Even if we could successfully fill as many as 3, 3.5 rotation spots with fluff (I think calling it fluff under-sells what they are capable of, but I’m willing to assume for the sake of discussion that it’s just fluff), it would be too much exposure for inadequately talented pitching.
We’ll see what Dice-K does. I’m thinking 7 starts, 80 ER and 1 perfect game.
by dennet on Jan 9, 2012 1:10 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Well
Not final yet but supposedly the Cubs are “close” on Maholm right now.
by The Name is Dalton on Jan 9, 2012 1:21 PM EST reply actions
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