Barry Zito

How many Cy Youngs should Pedro have?

I know ERA+ wasn't used much then, but his 1.74 ERA was well over an earned run better than the next guy on the list. And Pedro did all this in a hitters park! A place where routine flyballs hit to left field turned into doubles.

When arguing who the greatest pitcher ever was, one should include that Pedro Martinez was the best pitcher in baseball four times, not three. And there was a fifth time, too, where it wasn't all that far-fetched to say that Pedro was the greatest pitcher alive.

February 28, 2009 sean o

Fenway Park

TRIVIA: Alcohol at Fenway

When was the last time alcohol was banned at Fenway Park?

February 26, 2009 evan brunell

Dustin Pedroia

Examining the Red Sox’s defense via Defensive Runs

A couple years ago, The Fielding Bible took baseball by storm with John Dewan's Plus/Minus system to evaluate fielders. This year, he's back at it with The Fielding Bible--Volume II in which he takes all the metrics created in the original volume and distills them into Defensive Runs, a statistic that can show how good a player is at preventing runs.

February 26, 2009 evan brunell

Coco Crisp

Coco’s Value > What I thought it was

And sure, I was understanding that he was worthy of a Gold Glove. But his overall value was well above what I would have guessed. Coco was not the 48th best player in baseball at the time. But he may very well have had the 48th most valuable season that year. He could track down balls up the middle with the best of them, and that translated into a year that many overlooked his true value, or so it seemed.

February 25, 2009 sean o

Fireside Chats Podcast

Fireside Chats #35: Where we touch all the bases with Chad Finn from Boston.com and really…Julio Lugo?

With all quiet in Camp Tranquility down in Fort Myers, FL, we dig into the bag of tricks and call on Chad Finn from Boston.com to bring some fresh perspective. Whether it's talking about your favorite Red Sox players of all time or ranking the 2009 team by importance from 25 down to 1, there's never a shortage of Red Sox angles to talk about when Chad's around.

And, oh yeah, are there really "Julio Lugo will be the starting shortstop" rumors floating around these parts? Say it ain't so...

February 24, 2009 tim daloisio

Jacoby Ellsbury

Poll: Better or Worse: Jason Varitek’s Average in 2009

New Poll Question: Better or Worse: Jason Varitek's Average in 2009?
Coming off a career low batting average of .220 in 2008 and one of the lowest averages for a primary catcher in the past ten years, will Jason Varitek be able to right the ship and break the .240 barrier this season? Vote in the poll to the left and give your community projection for Varitek here. Find out how you all responded to our previous poll, "How many bases will Jacoby Ellsbury steal in 2009?" after the jump.

February 24, 2009 tim daloisio

Fenway Park

Red Sox out for money in woeful economy

Earlier today for MVN Outsider, I commented on the poor economy and how the Arizona Diamondbacks are taking steps to ensure that the consumer can still afford to go to a game while clubs such as our beloved Red Sox are content to squeeze us out of every last dollar.

To Henry's credit, most of the profits have been put back into the team. Also, understand this: it's a business. Businesses are not successful unless they make money.

But there's a place where we all have to go, "Whoa, wait a second."

February 23, 2009 evan brunell

Boston Red Sox

Lars to play some OF in AAA

Last December, Sox Director of Player Development Mike Hazen released a statement to announce that the ultra-versatile Casey Kelly will both pitch 100 innings and play shortstop in a way that provides both the team and himself greater flexibility for the long haul, and help increase the likelihood that his professional career will ultimately progress at the position at which he is most valuable. Recently and similarly, another announcement was made that top prospect Lars Anderson will get a cup of tea as an outfielder when he gets promoted to Pawtucket some time this year.

February 22, 2009 daniel rathman

Adam Jones

Lucchino and Henry want civilized spending

See, in a perfect world, every team would have a General Manager/Front Office that could make good moves, while spending as little money as possible. In this world, the top-tier payrolls would have a distinct advantage. If every GM was skilled at their job, and there wasn't much difference between the minds that are within each organization, then the extra money that a club would have, would play an even more significant role.

February 21, 2009 sean o

Community post

2009 Affirmation

It felt very good, today, listening to the panel of gurus on MLB TV agree with Baseball Prospectus that the…

February 20, 2009 josh lacey