Nomar Garciaparra retires as a Red Sox
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 9:54 pm on March 10, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season | 1 Comment
It’s been almost 7 years and 2 World Series championships since the last time Nomar Garciaparra donned the uniform of the Boston Red Sox. That all changed today as the team signed him to a 1-day minor league contract so that he could retire as a member of the club that brought him to the big leagues all the way back in 1996.
Personally speaking, I know that Nomar was the brightest spot on a team that hovered slightly above the .500 mark for a handful of seasons. My dad’s generation looked at him as the best thing to come out of the farm system since Roger Clemens. My generation looked at him as someone who could possibly take the bad taste of Roger Clemens out of our collective mouths. Nomar didn’t disappoint as he slugged his way to the 1997 Rookie of the Year award and a few top 10 MVP finishes. Like most good things it eventually came to an end as he was booted out of town after turning down a ridiculous contract and being labeled as a cause of some clubhouse conflict. Red Sox fans were furious but all was forgiven on October 27th, 2004.
Anyway, the big question remaining now is whether Garciaparra should be elected into the Hall of Fame. Just for arguments sake, this is how he would stack up against other HoF shortstops if he DID make it in:
Batting AVG: .313 (3rd)
On-Base %: .361 (T-9th)
Slugging %: .521 (1st)
Hits: 1,747 (18th)
Home-Runs: 229 (4th)
RBI: 936 (10th)
His career wasn’t as long as most guys in the Hall but his numbers stack up and show that he dominated for a solid decade. I guess we’ll find out in a few years but for now, let’s check out some quotes from today:
“From the first day I had the thrill of putting on a Red Sox uniform and playing in front of all the great fans at Fenway Park, I have felt at home in Boston” – Nomar Garciaparra
After being told that Nomar didn’t cry at his press conference, a reporter asked Dustin Pedroia if he would cry when he retired and he responded with: “Legends don’t cry.”
Sox claim RHP Casey Fien off waivers
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 5:20 pm on March 1, 2010
Filed Under 2010 Season | Leave a Comment
The Red Sox have claimed reliever Casey Fien off waivers from the Tigers. In another minor move made today, the team has designated RHP Gaby Hernandez for assignment.
Fien, 26, made his Major League debut for the Tigers last season, going 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA (10 ER/11.1 IP), nine strikeouts and six walks in nine relief appearances. He spent most of the year with Detroit’s Triple-A Toledo affiliate, posting a 2-1 record with 14 saves and a 3.41 ERA (22 ER/58.0 IP) in 42 games out of the bullpen. He fanned 66 batters and walked just 15 and ranked among International League relief leaders in strikeouts per nine innings (2nd, 10.24), fewest walks per nine innings (3rd, 1.86) and fewest base runners per nine innings (4th, 10.55).
I don’t really know much about either player but Fien has to be substantially better than the performances Gaby Hernandez has put up so far in his career (stats.) As far as I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong with a waiver snatch of a reliever with a 4.4 K/BB ratio. Fien is expected to report to spring training with the team tomorrow.
Peppering the Monster.. in Spring!
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 7:06 pm on February 25, 2010
Filed Under Baseball Miscellaneous | 2 Comments
The Red Sox and Lee County have been bouncing back and forth over the past couple of years about trying to keep the team in southwest Florida every spring. The latest developments were that the new stadium being built is only going to hold 11,000 fans rather than the 12,000 originally agreed upon. The Sox put that little misstep behind themselves as they released a handful of concept art today detailing the yet to be named park:
In short, it will be equipped with a miniature Green Monster in left field, six adjacent practice fields, and some open commercial space that the team will probably try and turn into a Patriot Place v2.0. The team has signed an agreement to stick around for at least 30 years after the park opens in 2012.
I’m looking forward to breaking into this park and exploring, like I did with City of Palms a few years back. Hopefully tighter security isn’t one of the new features that they’re adding!
NESN’s Red Sox Blog Roundtable – Feb 25, 2010
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 12:30 pm on February 25, 2010
Filed Under Red Sox Roundtable | Leave a Comment
Our pal Evan, formerly of Fire Brand of the AL, has moved on to a job at NESN. Part of his job involves doing a blogging round-table for all of the major Boston sports teams. This week it was time for a little Red Sox action so go check out NESN’s Red Sox Blog Roundtable. I was honored to participate and my full answers can be found below:
Who do you think will end up being the MVP of the Red Sox team by season’s end?
This season’s team seems to be built heavily around pitching and defense. The pitching staff should have an outstanding season but the team MVP is going to have to go to the man that helps carry the offensive load and I’m making my pre-season guess that it will be Kevin Youkilis. The past two seasons have seen Youkilis with an .OPS of over .950 while averaging about 600 at-bats. He is one of those rare players that shines defensively while still getting on base and hitting the stitches off the ball. If he continues to do this while the new additions to the team work on meshing offensively, then he is an invaluable asset to the team.
The rotation saga is the storyline to watch during spring training. Assuming everyone is healthy, who should go to the bullpen?
With the assumption that the entire starting rotation is healthy, I think Daisuke Matsuzaka has to be sent to the bullpen. I realize that his potential as a starter is through the roof; however, I’m also aware that he struggles getting through a lineup for the second and third time. Take that and combine it with his arm fatigue from needing 120 pitches to go 5 innings and it looks like the pen is a better fit for him than the 15-day disabled list. Putting Tim Wakefield into the rotation (again, with the assumption that everyone is healthy) may seem like a wild card every 5th game but his potential to eat innings when needed is a huge positive for a team that suffered from bullpen ineffectiveness last season because of how overused the relievers were.
Where in the order should Drew, Beltre and Cameron hit?
This year’s batting order is probably not going to be much different looking than in previous years. Francona usually likes to stack lefty/righty hitters so that the other team can’t play the numbers by having a right-handed specialist pitch against 3 right-handed hitters in a row. My guess is that they’ll go with a lineup like this: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Martinez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Cameron, Drew, Scutaro, and Beltre. This leaves the only mismatch being with Scutaro and Beltre, both right-handed hitters, batting next to each other. The up-side is that there will still be some offensive pop almost everywhere in the lineup.
What player currently projected to start in the minors will end up having the most impact in the majors?
With a payroll like that of the Red Sox, the chances of a prospect taking over for a position player (barring injury) are pretty slim. Playing the odds, I would say that a pitcher will make the biggest impact and I’m putting my money on that pitcher being Junichi Tazawa. Last season he pitched some big innings against the Yankees but was also knocked around quite a bit. If he puts it all together this year, and if Casey Kelly doesn’t beat him to it, then I think he’ll turn some heads in Boston with his above-average slider and change-up.
Do the Red Sox have what it takes to overtake the Yankees and hold off the Rays?
The Rays still have a nice young core of players but I don’t see them being in the race for the long-haul. They tried to stick around last year but finally waved the white flag in August by dealing Scott Kazmir. If the team looks shaky AT ALL then I think they’ll try to spin Carl Crawford before the trade deadline and try to maximize their returns so they can make a run at it in 2011 after the team has matured a bit. That leaves the Yankees and make no mistake about it, they are THE team to beat this season. After spending what amounts to the GDP of a small country during the last off-season, they topped the century mark in wins and cruised through the playoffs on their way to their 27th World Series championship. The bad news for Red Sox fans is that since last October, the Yankees haven’t gotten any worse. They added Javier Vazquez to their pitching mix, traded for Curtis Granderson, and signed Nick Johnson. “Keeping up with the Joneses” has never been so hard and I don’t think that the Red Sox made the kind of moves this offseason that will allow them to recapture the AL East. The Wild Card, on the other hand, is a much more realistic goal.
Bay’s agent says Jason’s ‘moving on’
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 10:01 pm on December 12, 2009
Filed Under 2010 Season | Leave a Comment
News from Jason Bay’s agent Joe Urbon is that he has rejected the latest contract offer from the Boston Red Sox. There’s no word yet if this contract was the 4yr/$60m that was offered previously or a revised version of that.
“We don’t agree with their evaluation of the player,” Urbon said. “Frankly, we have other offers on the table that are of greater interest to Jason.”
I didn’t have high hopes for Bay re-signing with the Sox after he put up such monster numbers last season. Truth be told, I’m fine with that because his defense is horrendous and his strikeout rate is getting a little bit out of hand. Boston’s stat genius Bill James came up with this projection chart on the rest of Bay’s career. The numbers are alright but definitely not worth what he is bound to get paid this offseason.
I guess it’s time for the Sox to start seriously looking elsewhere and I’m not sure Matt Holliday is the answer either. A transition year before prospect Ryan Westmoreland reaches the majors could be in store.
2010 Preview!
Written by Michael Christopher of http://www.soxaddict.org
Posted at 7:24 pm on October 12, 2009
Filed Under 2010 Season | 5 Comments
It’s been approximately 24 hours since the Red Sox were swept out of the playoffs and right into the harshness of an early off-season. I’ll probably do a season wrap-up sometime this winter but for now, all eyes on the future..
- The Houston Astros dumped their manager and are looking for a replacement. They’ve received permission from the Sox to talk to coaches Tim Bogar and Brad Mills. Both are potential candidates and could benefit from everything they’ve learned in the Red Sox organization.
- Cleveland is also without a manager and it only makes sense for them to consider a man with Indian ties, pitching coach John Farrell. They’ve been granted permission to speak with him from Theo Epstein but early rumors are that Farrell is happy in Boston and not interested in leaving (especially not for a team that finished below the Kansas City Royals last season.)
- The outfield might look drastically different next season as both Jason Bay and Rocco Baldelli are free agents in less than a month. Bay and Boston seem to enjoy each others company but he’ll probably, at the very least, dip his big toe into free agent waters. Baldelli spent another season injured and seems less likely to be granted a return trip back to Fenway.
- Alex Gonzalez wants to anchor down the SS position but the front office is a huge fan of Jed Lowrie. If they think that Lowrie can stay healthy for a full season, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Gonzalez sign somewhere else.
- While Jason Varitek has yet to activate his option for 2010, one of the things talked about in today’s press conferences was who will be the starting catcher. Theo drove a nail in the coffin by saying that Victor Martinez is THE catcher for next season, and he’s “about as good as it gets.”
- Clay Buchholz has done his time in the minors and will be in the rotation next year. Beckett’s option has vested so the sure members of the staff look like this: Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, and Matsuzaka. Tim Wakefield is going to have surgery later this week and is expected to return next year and make “some starts.” It sounds kind of like he’s going to fill a Paul Byrd type role.
- Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito are likely not coming back. This leaves a large hole in the bullpen, especially with the late-season struggles of Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen.
- The most depressing part of the press conference (other than the whole losing the ALCS thing..) was when Theo Epstein said that 2010 is likely the last chance for the core Sox players to “make a run” at a championship. This sounds to me like the wallets are closing and some rebuilding years might be in the future but I could be wrong.
I guess that’s about it for now. I’m heading back to my bottle of 151 and my punching bag.
Viva la Red Sox 2010!
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