Hot Stove Part II

[cryptique]

Come on, Crisp isn't that bad, and the Cubs have no CFer, do they?

They do if Felix Pie hits worth a damn this year.

[bobbob1313]

What is there outfield with him? Pie, Soriano and who?

[cryptique]

What is there outfield with him? Pie, Soriano and who?

Fukudome

[bobbob1313]

Ah, yes. I forgot about him. He could be good.

[JerseyMike]

he Cardinals signed Lohse for 1 year/$4.25 million

 

This was something we had to do, with only Wainwright and Looper locked into the rotation to start the season.

 

If the rehabbing guys continue to improve ahead of schedule, our July rotation may look like this...

 

Carpenter

Wainwright

Mulder

Clement

Lohse

 

Of course it would take some luck for all to heal with no setbacks, but that's an impressive starting 5!

 

 

The Cards could be the 1st team in MLB history to have every member of their opening day roster on the DL by the end of the year.

 

Their offense is going to score a lot of runs, and if they can get even league average pitching, they'll compete. I definitely think they are better than the Blue Jays, who didn't get any better in the offseason. I don't think the Rays will be anywhere close to the basement. That will be the Orioles by a wide margin.

 

Their offense will be good, no doubt, but the top 3 in their rotation are all question marks and their bullpen is horrendous in a division stacked with offense. Toronto will improve just by being healthy, if they can stay healthy. They had a lot of injuries last year in the rotation and in the pen. The Orioles, though, are definitely headed for the basement!

[Mr. Kinsley]

Speaking of Felix:

The Chicago Tribune reports Chicago Cubs OF Felix Pie (testicle) is not expected to play again until March 16, almost a week after surgery to repair a twisted testicle. "He probably could go Saturday in Tucson, but we don't want him sitting on the bus for two hours," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Apparantly it isn't Felix's hitting that you need to worry about, it's his junk that is your main concern.

 

I know we brought this up before, but how in THE Hell do you twist your nuts to the point it needs surgery? I know it is serious and could lead to a nut-extomy, but... really now.

[jmacomber68w]

Crisp is an above average CF. Where he kills you is at the plate. He's also been injured on/off for ST.

 

 

yeah crisp isnt the type of guy who will kill your playoff chances, he can bat 275-290 in the NL for sure, Ever since Jacoby made his presence known Ive jokingly referred to coco as the sox spot starter in waiting, he will be traded at some point, defense wise he is a top outfielder for sure, I rember going to fenway for a rockies game in june and being in the right field GS and coco made the greatest catch I have ever seen (ever will see) in my life, coco's got range for sure

[bobbob1313]

Their offense will be good, no doubt, but the top 3 in their rotation are all question marks and their bullpen is horrendous in a division stacked with offense. Toronto will improve just by being healthy, if they can stay healthy. They had a lot of injuries last year in the rotation and in the pen. The Orioles, though, are definitely headed for the basement!

 

I don't see how those three are question marks. Any more than the top three of the Yankees are Red Sox. I think they've got a shot to be every bit as good as their top 3.

[Lammycat]

Not sure if any of you have ever had anal fissure issues before, but Kaz Matsui is out for a spell because of anal fissure problems. Matsui will miss a couple of weeks due to his anal fissure injury. Once the anal fissure deal is repaired Matsui should be good to go and anal fissure-free. Apparently an anal fissure is pretty much the same thing as hemmoroids.

 

Link to Matsui's anal fissure leave of absence;

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5621709.html

[MrRain422]

Coco Crisp has not been an above average centerfielder since probably 2005. They're better off giving the young guy a chance.

[Lammycat]

Coco Crisp has not been an above average centerfielder since probably 2005. They're better off giving the young guy a chance.

Wow. Absolutely disagree. Crisp was fantastic last year and is still near, some have said at, the top in fielding the CF position in all of MLB. I don't disagree with BOS probably going with Ellsbury but Crisp still has very solid value as a CF, particularly off the bench as his offensive decline continues.

[jmacomber68w]

Coco Crisp has not been an above average centerfielder since probably 2005. They're better off giving the young guy a chance.

 

 

yeah, i dont agree with this at all, when healthy he is good enough to be your centerfielder for the WS champs, can you ask for more???? especially since, he will probably go to the NL

[bobbob1313]

yeah, i dont agree with this at all, when healthy he is good enough to be your centerfielder for the WS champs, can you ask for more???? especially since, he will probably go to the NL

 

This is really bad logic.

 

I think he meant in terms of total production, offense included. I don't see how that is arguable.

[bjorn_skurj]

KISSIMMEE, Fla.

[MrRain422]

yeah, i dont agree with this at all, when healthy he is good enough to be your centerfielder for the WS champs, can you ask for more???? especially since, he will probably go to the NL

 

Sure, he was on the championship team, but unless you mean to say every player on the Red Sox is better than everyone on any other team, then I'm not really sure what your point is. By my count Crisp was about the 15th most important player on that team last year.

 

What more could I ask for? Well, he put up an OPS+ of 83 last year, so he was 17% worse at the plate than the league average hitter. I think I could ask for a bit more there.

 

And yeah, he's an above average centerfielder, but enough to make up for the hole in his bat? In my opinion, no. Sure, centerfield is a hard enough position that if you can find a guy who can play it well then you can accept some weaknesses in his hitting game, but at this particular time there are actually quite a few very good hitting centerfielders (Granderson, Sizemore, Beltran, Ichiro, Hunter, Ellsbury, Pence, Hamilton), and Crisp is among the worst hitting starting centerfielders in the game. In order for Crisp to really be a player you want, he'd have to be substantially better in the field than just about anyone else, and he's not. He's above average in the field, but that's about it.

[jmacomber68w]

Sure, he was on the championship team, but unless you mean to say every player on the Red Sox is better than everyone on any other team, then I'm not really sure what your point is. By my count Crisp was about the 15th most important player on that team last year.

 

What more could I ask for? Well, he put up an OPS+ of 83 last year, so he was 17% worse at the plate than the league average hitter. I think I could ask for a bit more there.

 

And yeah, he's an above average centerfielder, but enough to make up for the hole in his bat? In my opinion, no. Sure, centerfield is a hard enough position that if you can find a guy who can play it well then you can accept some weaknesses in his hitting game, but at this particular time there are actually quite a few very good hitting centerfielders (Granderson, Sizemore, Beltran, Ichiro, Hunter, Ellsbury, Pence, Hamilton), and Crisp is among the worst hitting starting centerfielders in the game. In order for Crisp to really be a player you want, he'd have to be substantially better in the field than just about anyone else, and he's not. He's above average in the field, but that's about it.

 

 

the point is he didnt lose them anything, he wasnt a liability, and he isnt average in the field by any stretch of the imagination

[MrRain422]

Right, I said explicitly that he's above average in the field. Just not enough above average to outweigh his poor hitting.

 

And just because he won doesn't mean he was a liability. It just means that he was not enough of a liability to bring down a team that was so stacked elsewhere.

 

Anyway, to get back to the point that started this discussion (whether it makes sense for the Cubs to try to pick up Crisp), Pie is one of the most highly touted prospects in baseball, especially at that position. He is predicted by many to be among the best centerfielders (fielding and hitting) in all of baseball. So why would you not give him a shot, even if he may not quite be ready, rather than spend a rather large some of money on a guy who is a significantly worse hitter and at best an equal fielder to Pie?

[Lammycat]

A case can be made that Crisp's abilities in CF saved enough runs to balance his wretched offense. It'd be a bit of a stretch but also a fair argument, I think. Regardless, his contract and offensive ineffectiveness merits him being moved from BOS in lieu of Ellsbury

[MrRain422]

Yeah, Boston is wise to try to get rid of him. I'm just not sure what team should want him though. Certainly not the Cubs, who have their own hot prospect in center. They shouldn't want Crisp for the same reasons that Boston doesn't.

[PigSooie]

[jenbobblehead]

Red Sox Considering Japan Trip Boycott:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basebal...position=recent

[Sir Stewart]

Red Sox Considering Japan Trip Boycott:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basebal...position=recent

 

It would be cool if they boycotted "because it's a stupid idea."

[Twisted Acres]

With all of the money pouring down the waterfall into players' and owners' pockets, it's ludicrous that the coaches would be treated this way. Kudos to the players and Francona for having their backs.

[Lammycat]

With all of the money pouring down the waterfall into players' and owners' pockets, it's ludicrous that the coaches would be treated this way. Kudos to the players and Francona for having their backs.

I agree. I also like the trip to Japan. Kind of cool to bring MLB to other countries.

[cryptique]

The Sox have taken the field for today's game. No word yet on whether the dispute has been resolved.