Bill James and the Red Sox

Hardballtalk notes that Paul Henry wants to give Bill James more power in the Red Sox organization moving forward:

...as Henry informed the Herald, James had fallen “out of favor over the last few years for reasons I really don’t understand. We’ve gotten him more involved recently in the central process and that will help greatly. He’s the father, so to speak, of baseball analysis and a brilliant iconoclast who looks at things differently from everyone else.”

Two quick thoughts:

1. I wasn't even aware that James was still with the team. It's good to hear that he's still around!
2. I wonder if his lack of influence led to the FO losing its way with the Lackey and CarlCrawford signings. I'm curious to hear what exactly his input was over the last few years.
3. This is another good sign that the Sox are committed to James' typical method of building up their own talent and finding free agents in the rough.

Update: Over the Monster writes more eloquently about this announcement: "For John Henry to say that James had been marginalized in some way these past few seasons strongly implies that this upcoming rebuild will truly be a return to what Rob Neyer (James’ former research assistant) recently called "first principles"- namely payroll flexibility, a strong farm system and avoiding long term free agent contracts."

More thoughts on the Punto Trade

Joel's thoughts on the Sox' mega-trade are well-worth reading. I'd add a few things:

One, we need to call this the Punto trade. There really isn't any other option.

Two: I second Joel's sentiment: Show Ortiz the money.

Three: I think one of the major reasons the Sox gave up on Gonzo and CarlCrawford so quickly (other than wanting to save money) was that they expected 2011 & 12 to be their prime - the peak of their bell curve, if you will. The risk in long term contracts is that you'll end up overpaying  for past performance in the last years, and since the Sox didn't get what they expected in the beginning, they blanched at the risk over the rest of the deal and took the opportunity to dump both the salaries and the risk.

Implicit in this decision is that they're now committed to building the team "right": developing and promoting in-house talent; making safe, short-term free agent signings; not signing older free agents to long-term deals, etc. The problem with this is that not only can it take a while to develop in-house talent, but it's a crapshoot. There's no guarantee that any of the players we received from the Dodgers will become serviceable major league players, much less superstars. I read somewhere this weekend that the great '04 team only had one regular player that came up through the Sox organization (Nixon). But it's one thing to rely on Pedro and Manny and Damon; it's another to find these type of players on the cheap. Face it: the Sox haven't been great at finding diamonds in the (free agent) rough recently. In fact, in the last few years, the only unqualified success I can think of (although i'm sure there are more) is Beltre. For every average to above-average guy they find (think Cody Ross), there's a slew of Camerons, Renterias, etc.

My point is that while the trade may have been the right move to make, the Sox gave up known commodities in favor of the vagaries of the talent market. And while this may prove successful, it just as likely may mean years of mediocrity. At the very least, it will mean a year or two of odd lineups that blend proven players with developing skills, like what I saw in person on Saturday:

1. Podsednik, LF
2. Pedroia, 2B
3. Ellsbury, CF
4. Ross, RF
5. Gomez, 1B
6. Saltalamacchia, C
7. Lavarnway, DH
8. Aviles, SS
9. Ciriaco, 3B

Carl Crawford

This blog post made me really, really sad. Especially the ending:

"I want to end the diary saying something to the fans of Boston. I just want to say I'm sorry for the year I've had. You guys have been really supportive and I appreciate that. Hopefully when we get into these playoffs, I can be the real Carl Crawford that I know I am. We'll see."

On the Bright Side

"On the bright side, Crawford is one of the really dangerous eight-hole hitters in the game."

What a Relief!

It almost turned out to be a very disappointing night indeed for Boston sports fans. But then, Carl Crawford remembered he had a hitting streak on the line, and Jose Iglesias decided to show that he can RUN. On top of his speed, he's being called baseball's best defensive prospect, which sounds awfully nice given our string of errors at shortstop. But, there's question's about his offensive potential....

Crawford's game winning hit came against right-handed relief pitcher Jim Hoey, who entered the game with a 5.40 ERA and left with a 6.75 ERA. Meanwhile, Minnesota had a much better righty warmed up and sitting on the bench. Why didn't they use him? Because Matt Capps is the closer. And the role of closers is to save games.

Having suffered through multiple stretches of watching Boston put together a "closer by committee," I understand the comfort in knowing who is going to be pitching your team's last three outs, should they get ahead. But the 11th inning that is happening right now is a whole lot important than some future inning that may or may not occur. Their closer should have been in the game, giving their hitters a chance to get to the 12th inning.

Of course, I still think Crawford would have come through!

Gonzo

I've missed most of his timely hits, but Gonzo (don't like the nickname? Come up with a better one!) has been raking lately:

Gonzalez is hitting .359 (32 of 92) in the last 22 games with 13 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. He has hit home runs in three of the last six games at Fenway, two of them going over the wall. His batting average is up to .314 and he has a healthy .873 OPS.

So this is what the hype was all about. Now only if Carl Crawford would start doing the same...

Hello!

Two friends of mine spend a lot of time thinking about and writing each other regarding reading, running, and the Red Sox. Free free to share along with us!

A brief introduction from me about the three topics:

- Reading. I have an eclectic taste in books, preferring fiction leaning towards the fantastical and thought provoking. Favorite author: Thomas Pynchon. Books i'm reading right now: Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins, and Finder by Carla Speed McNeil.

- Running. After a long hiatus as an occasional runner sporting 20 extra pounds, I'm now really getting back into pounding the pavement. I typically run around Framingham and Ashland MA, focusing on competing in 5Ks, although am practicing to run in more 10Ks. Dreaming of a marathon someday, but i'm not there yet.

- Red Sox. Not sure what to say about the Sox this season, so i'll share a few random observations I hope to expand upon in the near future. 1) Jacoby Ellsbury is suprisingly good this season. It's looking like Theo will regret not showing him the money. 2) When the Sox signed Carl Crawford, all I heard about was his speed, but all I see from him in the outfield is him jogging towards fly balls landing softly in front of him. 3) I love them as much as you do, but Wake and Tek are done. The lack of a better catching plan was the biggest flaw in this offseason, even more so given that Victor Martinez was in the house. 4) Dustin Pedroia batting is assignment television. I'm still recovering from his 10 minute at bat against Weaver last Monday night. 5) I'm still not sure how such a talented group of players isn't above 500 yet.

So there you go. Much more to come, hopefully. As for the others, I hope they'll be joining me soon. If you're anything like me, you'll be interested in what they have to say.

Cheers!