en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/684904 Comments by ChiTomA http://firebrandal.com/2010/06/18/618-online-seats-game-thread-la-again.html#IDComment80916045 1 game back in the East! Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:18:06 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/06/18/618-online-seats-game-thread-la-again.html#IDComment80916045 http://firebrandal.com/2010/05/20/520-online-seats-game-thread-lester-host-liriano.html#IDComment76448326 Lester is just filthy tonight. Thank goodness for the homegrown talent! Fri, 21 May 2010 01:14:13 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/05/20/520-online-seats-game-thread-lester-host-liriano.html#IDComment76448326 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70913420 Yep, you've got it. The Yankees and Angels have that spot locked up. The Mets may if Ike Davis works out for them and with the Mariners you wonder if they'll be able to outlay that much money. I don't think Gonzalez is going to trump the average value of the Howard extension. Smart teams may front load a deal with him so he's making more during his productive earlier years of the contract and less later. Unlike the Phillies who are just paying a ridiculous amount the whole way though. Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:30:37 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70913420 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70912695 I think that Jeff is talking about there being more players of Howard's caliber on the market. If he, Pujols, and Gonzalez were all free agents in the same year, there might be a better chance of signing them at least one of them at a lower price, whereas the situation I was talking about was if there's only one star player at a position that is a free agent in a year and there are multiple teams with the money to sign them. We were talking about opposite situations. Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:28:30 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70912695 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70882932 I think Jeff's on the right track here. The Howard contract will be viewed more as an outlier than as a trend-setter. Look at the really bad contracts given over the last few years: Soriano, Vernon Wells, Zito. All of these contracts weren't then replicated by other teams. They were viewed as terrible contracts and not representative of the general market. In fact, what a player gets as a free agent has more to do with the teams bidding (or perceived to be bidding) than anything else. The fact that Howard wasn't going to be a free agent for another two years and the Phillies had to pay a premium rather than get a discount is just a disaster for them. In fact, the market for power-hitting first basemen has been pretty reasonable. Other than this new Howard monstrosity, the only major deal we've seen recently was the Tex's deal with the Yankees which had an annual value less than $24 mil per year and he's a significantly better player with a much friendlier career trajectory than Howard. If Pujols gets re-signed for $35 mil per year by the Cards now then all bets are off, but otherwise I'd expect that Gonzalez is looking at about the same amount, or slightly less, than Howard. Now, the Red Sox may still go in another direction, but I don't think that their decision will be related to Howard's contract. Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:16:31 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/27/adrian-gonzalez-takes-another-step-away-from-the-sox.html#IDComment70882932 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/21/421-online-seats-game-thread-sox-try-to-turn-two-against-texas.html#IDComment69551854 Great way to end the evening...of course I will admit that I abandoned the Sox for a couple hours to watch the incredible Bruins double OT win. Just a superb Boston sports night. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:08:00 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/21/421-online-seats-game-thread-sox-try-to-turn-two-against-texas.html#IDComment69551854 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/21/421-online-seats-game-thread-sox-try-to-turn-two-against-texas.html#IDComment69495467 JD Dreeeewwwww! I always love it when he gets a big hit. Way to cover for a struggling Becket so far. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:13:56 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/04/21/421-online-seats-game-thread-sox-try-to-turn-two-against-texas.html#IDComment69495467 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/24/report-from-the-fort-what-its-like-inside-the-press-box.html#IDComment63860165 Nice write-up Gerry. Good to see Fire Brand recognized by the Red Sox and it sounds like you got treated quite well. Thanks for doing this for us. Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:01:39 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/24/report-from-the-fort-what-its-like-inside-the-press-box.html#IDComment63860165 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/23/john-lackey-walks-like-a-sabermatrician.html#IDComment63655966 I would think that there are a few reasons for this: For one we don't see a lot of 20 game winners anymore no matter where they are. Lackey's had some injury concerns for a few years so they may not have pressed him to make 30-35 starts and get him 20 wins. Another reason could be that, until last year, the Angels weren't known as a slugging team and may not have given him the run support to get to 20 wins. The fact of the matter is that 20 wins has more to do with the offense, defense, and relief pitching around the starter than with anything that this starter does for himself. Zach Grienke had one of the best starting pitching seasons in the last 10 years last year and he still only won 16 games. Just goes to show how much of this is up to the teams, not the individual starters. Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:17:30 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/23/john-lackey-walks-like-a-sabermatrician.html#IDComment63655966 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/16/tim-wakefield-returns-to-the-bullpen.html#IDComment62408354 You are probably right Troy. Of course they're playing 15 straight starting that third week of April so they very well might try to rest people up a bit beforehand. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:22:17 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/16/tim-wakefield-returns-to-the-bullpen.html#IDComment62408354 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/16/tim-wakefield-returns-to-the-bullpen.html#IDComment62405547 That was my thought too. If Dice-K doesn't throw in a game until this weekend at the earliest (and that's a big if given all that he's had trouble with this year) then I can't really expect him to be ready in two weeks. I think Wake will probably start in the rotation. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:00:42 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/03/16/tim-wakefield-returns-to-the-bullpen.html#IDComment62405547 http://firebrandal.com/2010/01/04/red-sox-and-adrian-beltre-agree-to-terms/#IDComment50421243 Great deal. I thought we were going to pay him that much per year on a 3 or 4 year deal. This is very exciting. At this price they may even consider keeping Lowell. Man, this defense has me salivating already. Tue, 5 Jan 2010 04:41:35 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2010/01/04/red-sox-and-adrian-beltre-agree-to-terms/#IDComment50421243 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/16/sox-fans-step-up-to-the-plate-while-theo-plays-whack-a-mole/#IDComment47456674 But is it the post that's really out of line or is it the Boston media that's out of line. I think that Mike's general point is not that the Red Sox made bad moves, but that the media and to a lesser extent the fans are going to get worked up if we don't see production that in all honesty we can't really expect from each of these players. It doesn't seem to me that Mike hates this team or these moves necessarily. The problems are that Cameron and Scuturo's best qualities are things that fans and the Jurassic-age Boston media can't quantify well. This reminds me of JD Drew in a lot of ways since by most metrics he was the 6thor 7th best OFer in the AL last year, but still half of Boston wants to put him out on a rail. I really think that's Mike's point and its a valid one. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:12:57 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/16/sox-fans-step-up-to-the-plate-while-theo-plays-whack-a-mole/#IDComment47456674 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46191700 I don't think anyone disagrees on this. The difference is that you've been advocating locking all our money into a mediocre free agent class for the next 8 years while everyone else realizes that we can't do anything about the past, but we should wait until next year to spend. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 21:25:51 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46191700 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46190367 Thank you Sean. You said it far more succinctly than I would have, but I completely agree with you. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 21:05:46 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46190367 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46184109 Just what I said... completely right on that note. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 19:51:08 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46184109 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46174768 Completely agree with you Kurt. Even worst case (and I mean real worst case, not what I'm rooting for) without Bay or Holliday, I think a L/R platoon involving Hermida and one other cheap option could come close to replicating their numbers enough that this team would be competitive. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 17:41:10 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46174768 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46174354 Well to correct your thinking it would actually be John Henry and the rest of the Red Sox ownership that are cheap bastards since I don't think that Theo gets a cut of the "profits" that the Red Sox supposedly make every year. Speaking of which...do we really think that the Red Sox are making money hand over fist every year in the same way that the Yankees are? Lets face it, the Yankees can spend more because they make a lot more. It comes down to media and TV revenue and the Yankees are in the largest media market in the U.S. They also have a palatial new stadium with all of the luxury revenue that comes out of that. I don't want to be the Yankees since I like the fact that I'm not obnoxious enough to expect to win the World Series every year and be disappointed when we don't. I love it when Yankees fans say that their titles mean as much as everyone else's, but just the way they talk about it proves them wrong. Having a payroll 50% higher than everyone else not only makes you look bad, but its not a guaranteed way to win even when you have the Yankees financial situation, which the Red Sox don't. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 17:34:43 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46174354 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46161449 What're they going to spend money on? Matt Holiday is a big risk given the money that he would require...far more so than Tex last year. I don't see the point in turning us into the 00s Yankees where we sign the big free agent on the market just on principle. What did that bring the Yankees...just the bottoming out of their franchise in 2008 and no World Series titles. You have to spend your money smartly and this shitty FA class would not be a smart bet. Yes, I probably like Holliday better than Bay, but I don't really think either of them are worth $100MM plus contracts. There's a big difference between spending $100MM on a LF for 8 years and $11MM for a SS over two years. Not to mention the relative difference between a minor leaguer in SS vs Scuturo and a Bay/Holliday vs a Johnson/Hermida platoon is about the same only we don't need to spend $100MM over 8 years to do it. Think before you just call him a cheap bastard. I hate it when we start turning ourselves into Yankees fans expecting to buy the world every year. Mon, 7 Dec 2009 15:10:10 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/07/epstein-warning-fans-about-sox-downturn-in-10.html#IDComment46161449 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/04/thumbs-up-to-scutaro/#IDComment45855035 What do you consider to be average offensive production at SS? Average AL SS production last year was .274/.329/.391 for a .720 OPS...not great is it? This is, coincidentally enough, about what Scuturo's career averages are. In fact, his stats over the last year were significantly higher. If he produces at his career average then we have at worst a league average SS. If he follows the trend from last year then we have a bit more than that. For $6MM a season that is very good production. While the Pedroia idea was interesting, there are a lot of major questions in there. Noone actually knows what Pedey's SS defense would be like at this point and there are major risks to making that decision on the fly. Fri, 4 Dec 2009 22:48:09 +0000 http://firebrandal.com/2009/12/04/thumbs-up-to-scutaro/#IDComment45855035