Just want to quickly point out that we’ve had some great discussions in the comments lately, and I’ve been thrilled to read them all and participate. If you have any interest in expounding your thoughts and posting an article on the Red Sox, all you have to do is register for an account and then click “Publish a post” on the right under “Community Posts” and voila!
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368713 Commentshttp://firebrandal.com/2008/11/25/got-an-opinion-about-the-red-sox.htmlGot+an+opinion+about+the+Red+Sox%3F2008-11-25+20%3A06%3A29Evan+Brunell to “Got an opinion about the Red Sox?”
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Yes!!! The more opinions the better…I am always impressed that the quality of the discussion on Fire Brand is higher than the quality of the post that kicked it off ;)
or is that just me being humble ;)
I couldn’t agree with you more Tim! I get so tired of reading my crap each week, it’s always great to see our community post their much more coherent thoughts and analysis
You are humble indeed, and a wonderful writer. Keep them coming. That is not BS. I truly enjoy reading your posts and often go back and re-read them for insight and data.
What impresses me most is the paucity of personal attacks, which are so common on other sites. Another positive is that this site seems to represent the geographic, political, age, professional, and other factors which dictate the diversity of Red Sox Nation.
Other than bio, it would be interesting to know that I, a Sox fan who grew up taking the MTA to games at Fenway as a kid, and spent years going to games around the country because of job-related moves, and now living in Jacksonville and a ST nut, can be talking with intelligent Sox fans living in Colorado, Maryland, Atlanta, Tunisia. I wonder if there is a way to identify the commentors by their city, and any other information that may be useful. I would love to ask a Maryland resident Red Sox fan, for example, whether the Braves are so serious about Peavy or Teixeira, that we should spend our time elsewhere.
Can something like this be done??????
The second I have a coherent thought, I’ll be sure to pass it on…
(Until then, I’ll just keep reading the posts and comments of those better informed than I. Thanks for all your efforts.)
I must agree with Gerry on all accounts. Living in Alaska you don’t really get to talk Sox with too many people. So yeah this site is awesome. Thanks much everybody.
I honestly don’t have time to write a well-thought through article, but short, sweet comments to help stir the pot? Count me in.
What does everyone think of the Sox’s rumored interest in Derek Lowe? Given our infield (and outfield) defense now and knowing that he’d be filling a 4 or 5 spot in the rotation, I think the move looks interesting if they can agree on the right dollars and years.
My two cents? I would be happy if we signed no one represented by Boras. As the Sox are one of only 4 – 5 teams that are affluent enough for him to manipulate, if one team stopped playing his game, so would the rest, and the cost of D. Lowe, and AJ, etc. would come tumbling down to realistic levels.
That’s a selfish wish, selfish about the game of baseball which Boras is distorting and destroying with his honey-tongued, profiteering, web weaving.
I would prefer the Sox to stick with Masterson, Buchholz, Bowden, et al. Maybe give Kawakami a good shot at #4.
I am not naive, and know that the top teams have to follow the talent, but unless these top teams grow gonads the size of Boras’, he will destroy them.
Ooops. AJ is not represented by Boras, which means his disease is contagious. I just read MLBRumors that the deal which EEI and ESPN and Peter Gammons reported re: Tek’s signing is again denied by Boras. Nasty stuff. I also read that Kawakami has changed agents to a former Dodger, and Japan Majors has an offer for 3/18 coming on the table. Maybe if the Sox decide to get a top pitcher we SHOULD go after Peavy and his $11M contract. I just can’t see the Sox giving lesser talent (Lowe) 2-3-4 times the money made by Beckett, Daisuke, Lester, Wake.
I think signing Lowe would be great, as long as we went for 2-3 years with a club option for one or two, depending. Like many Sox fans, when I think of Derek Lowe, I think of the terrifying, maddening Derek Lowe circa 2001, when he lost 4, with two blown saves, over a period of nine games as a closer. Even when he matured into the starting role that let him pitch all the deciding games of the 2004 playoffs, he still had the reputation for being unreliable. But the Derek Lowe that we remember from ‘99 to ‘04 doesn’t exist any more, and a more mature, more controlled Derek Lowe has taken his place.
Looking at his numbers on Baseball Prospectus, there seems to be a great case for picking him up: one of the things that sticks out is his incredible durability. He’s pitched about 250 innings since the Sox made him an every day started in 2002, posting steadily (albeit slowly) increasing strikeout numbers, diminishing walk totals, a strong adjusted ERA (from 5.83 in his last season with Boston to a strong 3.66 last year). Lowe allows about a hit per inning and keeps his home run totals low. He rarely walks batters (last season a stunning 1.3 walks per nine innings) and you can count on him to record five to six strikeouts a game. With the exception of his walk totals, which fell considerably, his stats were unchanged by the transition from the AL to NL.
Even accounting for league and division, I would love to see the Sox make this pickup. Along with knuckle-ballers, sinker ball pitchers have lower BABIP than their peers, and are benefited by strong defensive infields (our defensive efficiency was ranked 4th in the AL this season). The Red Sox have a great infield, even with Jed Lowrie, and I love the idea of Derek Lowe taking advantage.
Scott Boras doesn’t get his clients the most lucrative contracts simply because he’s a good agent. He gets them lucrative contracts because he’s the best agent, and being the best, he represents the elite players, who get offered the best contracts.
Elite players like Derek Lowe.
This is the best Red Sox page in the web. Even when we can disagree in a lot of issues, I respect and value the opinions of many people here more than the vast majority of professional baseball writers. And I love the fact this hidden gem is made by fans. People who write and post for the pure love for the game and for the team.
By the way, Gerry, I’m writing this from Bolivia, so, you can add this country to the list of “improbable locations” ;) And I would like to use this oportunity to apologize for all my gramatical and ortographic errors. English is my second language, so I hope you all have some patience with me.
Bolivia has to take the prize for most distant commenter. Don’t worry about your ingles, you are doing great. All of us wish we could write spanish a fraction as well. That said, who is your choice for the 5th starter?
Thanks, Gerry, very kind of you.
About our 5th starter, if we could sign Lowe for a shot-term contract, I will do it, even if we have to pay big. But, sadly, I think Boras is going to ask for big money AND many years. And Lowe is too old to make a long term comitment.
So, right now, I’m feeling more inclined to go after Penny for a one-year deal.
Glad to hear you say that about Penny. He has as much upside as AJ or Lowe, but will cost far less and for far shorter time. If he has another great year, fantastic. I just compared AJ’s 2008 stats to the Sox 2008 rotation of Beckett, Daisuke, Lester, Wake. Although AJ was the king of K’s, he rated 4th or 5th in a dozen other categories including big ones like OBA to small ones like SB. He literally ranked #4, yet would earn many times what our Aces do. Penny, Kawakami or Masterson in April, IMO.