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Go Get ‘Em Sox! O’s-Sox Gamer

Our Your beloved Sox are already up 4-0 in the 4th, 4-0.  Use this thread as your place to discuss all the details of tonight's return to normalcy in the baseball universe. 

55 replies on “Go Get ‘Em Sox! O’s-Sox Gamer”

John makes the gamer and the Orioles immediate score on a Wieters single in an 0-2 count. Maybe this was a mistake.
And then another bullshit infield single to Lowell, 4-2 now.

As much as I like Aaron, I still dont’ get how we really know who took them and who didn’t.

Devine, I’m going to start using the term “Lugo” the way you just did from now on. Brilliant.

Sure, we know some of them who did. But since there was no real uniform testing, we could be inducting people right next to Bonds or Clemens who also did steroids but without an asterisk.

I’m all for asterisks. I remember when my dad first took me to the HOF in 1999 to watch Nolan Ryan get inducted. Seeing all the names, seeing the plaques and the busts of all the greatest players… it’s sacred. Someday when I take my son to the HOF I want him to know who cheated.

RBF, I will take an imperfect system over no system at all. Steroid users need to be distinguished from the rest of the HOF as best as we can.

100 pitches exactly. I guess they’ll do what they did with Penny yesterday, and throw him back out till he allows someone to get on.

Way to go IBM. Way to go.
Sent Lester back out there; he’s still dominating. Only two extra base hits (both to Roberts), and two lucky infield singles too.

Reimold doubles with 1 out. Tito pulling Lester, though I would have rather given him another chance. Big ovation.

If KC holds on against Texas, we will be 3.5 up in the wild card (TB and TEX tied for 2nd).

It looks like just Buchholz won’t be enough for Martinez. Neither will Bowden, Masterson and another prospect.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2009/07/26/different_varieties_in_apple/?page=1
“At this time of year, one takes trade information with a grain of salt, but according to one NL scout, after the Indians turned down Buchholz for Victor Martinez, the Sox countered with a package of Masterson, Michael Bowden, and an outfield prospect. The Indians turned it down.”

The price for Halladay for the Yankees is Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero. I think you have to pull the trigger on that deal. If the Yanks have Sabathia-Halladay-Burnett-Chamberlain as their rotation there’s no way they don’t win the WS.

It’s not going to happen, Atheose. One, Cashman himself points to the benefits of having not gotten Santana:
1) A league average CF – Melky
2) A dominating 8th inning guy – Hughes
3) An above average RF – Swisher (Marquez in that deal)
4) A legit #1 – CC
Now you’re talking about them giving up even more for Halladay? Montero could Piazza – bat and flaws and all or he could be a decent approximation of Victor Martinez. And Jackson is another league average OF. And Hughes himself could be a Halladay in a few years.
More to the point, Ricciardi ain’t getting anywhere close to that package. The Phillies – who need Halladay more than anyone – ain’t giving up Drabek, Happ, and Brown. And neither Drabek not Happ are at Hughes’s level nor is Brown an equal to Jackson. Montero, meanwhile, is looking like the #1 prospect in all of baseball going into 2010. Hitting .900 OPS over A+/AA as a 19 year old will do that.
I’m not a big Cashman fan, but he’s smart enough not to bite. Plus, his team has been rolling since they got A-Rod back. If they’re not favorites for the Series, they’re close. Why would he mortgage the farm for a championship when he wants to build another dynasty?

The Yankees simply aren’t going to give up Hughes, Joba, or Jackson together. One of them, packaged around tier-2 guys like McAllister, Nova, or Romine, they would do. But giving up two of them, who approximate to be league average at least, and cost controlled for the next 6 years, is lunacy. Cashman is indeed too smart to bite on that.
And Montero, well, he’s simply untouchable. Neither the Yankees or the Red Sox have had a prospect of his caliber since Nomar and Jeter. Cashman wouldn’t trade him straight up for Halladay, much less package him in with the aforementioned Hughes AND Jackson, nor should he. Come on, Ath.

I agree, Andrew, especially on Montero. Even then, I look at McAllister and don’t see much different from Drabek or Happ.
The Yankees (and Sox) could have had Santana. But looking back, if they gave up just Hughes and Melky (or Lester and Ellsbury) it would have been a better package than what the Twins got in Humber and Gomez.
It’s easy to throw names out there. Realism is about whether it will happen. At the prices being discussed the Yankees could get Halladay with Hughes plus scrubs. But the Yankees, smartly, don’t want a guy they 1) don’t really need as a first place team and 2) would have to pay big money to keep. They’ve been building back the farm exactly so they aren’t backed into these types of trades. And Joba has shown why that’s the best approach.

Well, numbers-wise, McAllister and Drabek are similar. But with prospects, what matters more is stuff and scouting reports. I don’t know much about Drabek, but maybe he has stuff at a different level than McAllister. Then again, maybe Philly is drastically overestimating him, which is why you don’t see the Jays jumping on the first package the Phillies include Drabek in.
If the price for the Yankees is Hughes, Jackson and Montero, I can’t imagine what the price for the Sox would be. Buchholz, Anderson, Reddick, Bard, Kelly? I don’t think even that equals the value of that Yankee package, mostly because of Montero.
I think it’s safe to say both the Yankees and the Red Sox are out of the Halladay sweepstakes.

Now reports are the Phillies are offering Happ, outfielder Michael Taylor, pitcher Carlos Carrasco and shortstop Jason Donald.
To put it into perspective, that’s like the Yankees offering McAllister, Jackson, Nova, and Ramiro Pena.

I really hope he gets traded to the Phillies. They can’t put together a package that would in any way equal Halladay’s value. Once again, a GM blocking out the Yankees and Red Sox will come back to bite him in the ass, big time. When will they learn?

Montero hit another bomb today. His lines on the year?
A+: 180 AB, .356/.406/.583 = .989
AA: 149 AB, .309/.368/.537 = .905
Aggregate on the season?
329 AB, .334/.389/.562, 17 HR, 66 RBI, 28 BB, 44 K
That’s plain ridiculous for a 19 year old at those levels. To put it into perspective, Piazza didn’t reach AA until he was 23. V-Mart too.
There is a legitimate worry about Montero sticking behind the plate. But he has a 22% caught stealing rate in his 2 seasons. At AA he’s up to 30%. To compare, Piazza was at 23% for his career while V-Mart sits at 24%. Montero’s passed balls are way too high (24 in 180 games) but part of that might be the pitchers he’s been catching.
I’d hate to get my hopes up, especially with how much Cashman plays it conservatively, but Montero could be knocking on the door – loudly – as soon as next Spring. How cool would it be to see them carry Jorge and Montero?

I seriously doubt it happens, Rob. First of all, the Yankees will have a more than capable backup in Cervelli. Plus, you typically want your backup catcher to be excellent defensively if you have a less-than-stellar defender in there as a regular.
They’ll take the conservative approach, getting Montero at bats every day in AAA. If a spot opens on the lineup, like say Posada goes down, and Montero is doing well, I guarantee you’ll see him then.

Why not carry all three – Cervelli, Jorge, and Montero? Let Jorge start three games a week at C, Montero two, and Cervelli one while coming in as a defensive replacement as necessary. Montero can DH another three games a week. Jorge two. And rotate in the old infielders once a week.
So assuming six games/week:
Jorge – 3 @ C and 2 @ DH
Jesus – 2 @ C and 3 @ DH
Frank – 1 @ C
I also think the best place for Jesus to work out as a catcher is under Pena’s eye. If he could make Jorge better – after almost ten years in the majors – then he’d be great for a youngster. Heck, let Cervelli compete with Montero on drills.
The 2010 Yankees will need a LF and a DH. Why not let Jorge and Jesus share C/DH? Then they only need to sign a decent corner bat.

By the way, I know I’m dreaming. They will start Montero in AAA. But I think they’re going to have a very hard time keeping him there. His bat is ready now.
Still, that means they should spend on a LF and a DH. An outfield of Jackson, Gardner, Melky, and Swisher is woefully underpowered. Adam Dunn, on a pricey, one-year contract would still be a great fit, especially as a lefty in the BomberBox.

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