2012 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[Falcon]

You can't fault him for the on the field performance of the team.

But you can sure fault him for the lack of communication and addtional clubhouse issues that have continued to divide an organization that was already in disarray, he's not exactly a guy the troops rally around.

Bobby's never been a high road guy, never will be.

I hope the Fenway faithful give Youk a huge ovation tonight, he deserves it.

[Falcon]

Sox employee and saber guru Bill James may have very well sealed his fate with his insane comments to ESPN"s Doug Gottleib on the Sandusky/Paterno/Penn St cover up this weekend as well, anyone else catch that?

If not, listen below - it's a worth all 15 minutes.

I thought Gottlieb was going to blow a gasket.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8164789

This from the Sox brass regarding Bill James' Paterno goofiness via Deadspin:

"Red Sox Owner John Henry & GM Ben Cherington spoke to Bill James regarding him making public his personal opinions on Joe Paterno. In that call, Mr. James was informed that his comments in no way reflect the opinions or positions of the Red Sox. Because Mr. James is perceived as representative of Red Sox, he was asked to refrain from further public comments on this matter. "

[tim_m]

You can't fault him for the on the field performance of the team.

But you can sure fault him for the lack of communication and addtional clubhouse issues that have continued to divide an organization that was already in disarray, he's not exactly a guy the troops rally around.

Bobby's never been a high road guy, never will be.

I hope the Fenway faithful give Youk a huge ovation tonight, he deserves it.

Definitely agree with you there. That you can absolutely fault him for.

[Falcon]

Joey Votto out 3-4  weeks with torn meniscus, knee surgery tomorrow.

[Falcon]

Sox fans give Youk a nice hand tonight, well done Boston.

[Falcon]

Cards did something roster wise nobody saw coming, me included.

One of their top young starting pitching prospects Trevor Rosenthal has been summoned from AA to help solidify the bullpen.

It'll be interesting to see how this goes, wasn't expected to sniff the big leagues for at least another year.

[tim_m]

Joey Votto out 3-4  weeks with torn meniscus, knee surgery tomorrow.

Ouch, that's gonna hurt the Reds.

[tim_m]

Sox fans give Youk a nice hand tonight, well done Boston.

Good, i respect fans who remember what you did for them. That's one thing you can say about Yankee fans. They always appreciate you when you come back.

[tim_m]

Cards did something roster wise nobody saw coming, me included.

One of their top young starting pitching prospects Trevor Rosenthal has been summoned from AA to help solidify the bullpen.

It'll be interesting to see how this goes, wasn't expected to sniff the big leagues for at least another year.

Interesting, you don't see a guy go from AA to the majors very often.

[tim_m]

Girardi announced Gardner has suffered another setback. Still experiencing stiffness in his elbow. He's going for another MRI and will see Dr. Andrews again. His return this season isn't looking very promising.

[tim_m]

Wow, Bautista just left the game. Something with his hand after hitting a foul ball.

[tim_m]

As incredible as this may sound, its not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Rivera could return this season. His rehab is reportedly ahead of schedule. He's already tossing balls with his sons and the Dr that performed the surgery was quoted as saying he'd bet on Mo. I wouldn't say its likely to happen, but if its one thing i've learned about Rivera, never bet against him doing something you think he can't.

[faldor]

You can't fault him for the on the field performance of the team.

But you can sure fault him for the lack of communication and addtional clubhouse issues that have continued to divide an organization that was already in disarray, he's not exactly a guy the troops rally around.

Bobby's never been a high road guy, never will be.

I hope the Fenway faithful give Youk a huge ovation tonight, he deserves it.

there were major clubhouse issues last year under a manager everyone seemingly loved. Who's to say ANY manager would have changed the culture? At some point you have to lay some blame on the payers themselves.

And the fans at Fenway gave Youk huge ovations all night long. As long as you don't go to the Yankees via free agency, the fans will always show their appreciation. Youk was a special case though, a fan favorite. No doubt he'd get a welcomed reception. He went 3-4 too AND the Red Sox won, so a good night all around. Oh yeah, except for the fact that David Ortiz left the game with an achilles injury. The trend continues. Crawford comes back, Ortiz goes down. It's like clockwork.

[Falcon]

Who's to say ANY manager would have changed the culture? At some point you have to lay some blame on the payers themselves.

I get what you're saying for sure although wasn't Henry's choosing of Valentine partially due to the perception he would be a strong enough personality to change a clubhouse gone bad?

Cherington wanted no part of Valentine, correct?

[tim_m]

Well if he was looking for someone to change the culture of the clubhouse, picking someone who is kicking shit up in the press about his players is probably not the best choice.

[tim_m]

Bautista has a tendon injury in the wrist, severity unknown yet, MRI to come Tuesday to determine just how bad it is. It didn't look good at all. He had to have someone hold his wrist as he walked off the field.

[pilferk]

Ortiz came up lame last night, too, running the bases.

Any word on that injury.

If that's in any way serious.....Sox are going to be in BIG trouble.

Heard an interview with him after the game where he sort of said he was fine....but it didn't look like he was fine when he did it.

[pilferk]

Sox are just not a very good team period. Partially due to injury partially to under performance. Bobby V is doing the best he can with what he has. You can't fault him for the on the field performance of the team.

And, as bad as they've been...they're .5 game out of 2nd place in the AL East (granted, that's 10 losses out) and only a game out of a wild card spot.

There are teams that would kill to have a GOOD year like that.  Granted, this is the Red Sox, and they (like the Yankees) have higher expectations.   But this team isn't remotely out of contention, yet.

[pilferk]

I also wonder what, when/if the league catches up the Middlebrooks,  people will think in the dog days of August if/when Middlebrooks is hitting .225 and Youk is hitting .260....

Since the trade:

Youk: 61 ABs, .295 Avg, .397 OB%, .475 SLG%, .895 OPS, with 3 HRS (and 5 total extra  base hits).

Middlebrooks:  43 AB's (because of an injury), .186 Avg, .200 OB%, .418 SLG%, .618 OPS%, with 2 HRs (and 4 total extra base hits).

I bring this up ONLY because of the (continued) comments Valentine has made about Youk.

[pilferk]

Ibanez for 1.1 million....could be worth 4 with incentives.

That's cheap enough, if he doesn't perform...and worthwhile if he does.

Another blast from the past:

I think he's already outperformed that salary, especially considering the loss of Gardner (who, at this point, we may not see back this season).

He's been a clutch hitter, a passable defender (with some notable exceptions), and a productive player all around. 

Here's hoping it continues!