Bill Hall and the free home runs

First of all, I would like to thank the Milwaukee Brewers organization for footing the tab on Bill Hall and most of his $8.5 million dollar salary. It’s nice every time Hall blasts a 400-foot shot over the Green Monster that I’m able to think, “Hey, that home run was almost free.”

In January 2010, there was a MLB deal that amounted to a three-team interaction. The Red Sox acquired Hall from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Casey Kotchman. Hall had just been traded to Seattle in late 2008 and Milwaukee was still on the hook for the contract. Milwaukee had sent Hall to Seattle with a wheelbarrow full of hundred dollars bills, just to get rid of him.

Sox Farmhands Make Good: Buchholz, Kalish, Pedroia, and the Future

Last night's 6-0 victory over the Angels didn't gain the Sox any games in the standings. With the Yankees and Rays both victorious, Boston still sits five and a half games behind the AL East's co-leaders. You'd be forgiven, though, if you felt a surge of hope after the final out, because this game displayed all the reasons the Sox are still in contention this year, and a harbinger of the one recovery that might propel them ahead.

This season has been as trying as any in recent Red Sox history, but it has also been as inspiring. Going into the year, I anticipated this club to be one of my favorites, and it turns out I was right, but for the wrong reasons: while I was expecting a run-prevention monster with a solid, top-five AL offense, what I got was a ragtag crew beset by injury but still, through a better than expected offense and contributions from the most unexpected of places, managing to hang in contention all year. Between the strong and consistent pitching of Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester to the season-saving heroics of journeymen and minor leaguers like Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall, Daniel Nava and Ryan Kalish, this team has kept on the trail of a playoff berth when they should have been written off. And now, the day after Dustin Pedroia's emotional return, the most important cog in the team's machinery is back where he belongs. This season has defied every prediction so far, but if the Sox were to go on a tear from here on out, count me among those who wouldn't be in the least surprised.

Prospective Additions and the BoSox’ AL East Title Chances

There’s no doubt the Sox recent injuries have done a number on the club’s chances of winning the AL East. So we thought it would be interesting to uncover how bleak -- or rosy -- the those chances have become. Prior to the slew of injuries that befell Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Jason Varitek, Baseball Prospectus had the Sox at about a 99-win team with an 853-702 scoring differential. That team, with the current standings, would have won the division about 38 percent of the time -- a solid second best to the Yankees' expected title rate of 45 percent. The Devil Rays take the cake about 18 percent of the time while the Blue Jays and Orioles are almost nowhere to be seen. But that was a different team. Injuries have decimated this club and with it, their chances at the division. So, we sought to quantify this question and see just how often the new lineup would win the AL East. We’ll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but the essentials are this: based on the expected run production of the new lineup, we simulated 10,000 “seasons,” the end result being an AL East championship probability. Further, we plugged in some of the club’s rumored trade targets and internal options to measure their effect on the team. Playing time estimates are rough estimates and are subject to change. Production estimates are based on Fangraphs.com’s CHONE projections. Below are the results.

This is what a straight pitch looks like

If you ever wondered what a nearly perfectly straight fastball looks like Bill Hall showed us Friday night. He threw 11 pitches and the average horizontal movement was about -2 inches, which is basically straight with about 10 inches of "rise". His location was good down in the zone and always fun to watch a position player give pitching a shot. Last year we had Nick Green throw and now Hall, but let's hope we don't see it again soon.

Poll: Early Season Stories.

As the season settles in, which Red Sox story has your eye?

Wrapping Up the Offseason

Spring Training is only a day away, and it's been a busy offseason for the Red Sox in 2010. The team struggled in the playoffs last year after putting up another solid regular season; tweaks were made to sew up the loose ends on the team's defensive deficiencies. Another front line starter was brought into the fold. Is Lackey here to supplant Josh Beckett in 2011 and beyond, or simply be another high priced compliment to the rotation? With the Olympics currently underway, let's review what's happened this offseason, and see what moves the teams made deserved a spot on the podium. Third Base: Adrian Beltre replaces Mike Lowell While the Lowell trade was derailed by an injury the fan base is still scratching their heads over (was Lowell hiding it, was the organization?), the acquisition of Beltre signaled the end of Lowell's regular playing time. Arguably the most talented defensive third basemen in baseball, Beltre brings his slick glove to Fenway to provide the teams with the defensive wins they had lacked all last season. Even returning just to his 2008 level of offensive woudl make Beltre a 4 WAR player, a huge bonus for the Red Sox with minimal risk.

Red Sox deal Casey Kotchman for Bill Hall

It's been spread on Twitter that Casey Kotchman is headed to the Mariners for Bill Hall, a minor league PTBNL and cash considerations. When I first saw this deal I was curious to what this accomplished, but after looking at the numbers this makes a bit more sense. The cash is likely the money that Seattle got from the Brewers when they got Hall to cover some of his 2010 contract. So they are probably not adding contract and could be dropping some.

Nine Up, Nine Down: Getting to know the Brew Crew

With the Milwaukee Brewers coming to town, I went looking for some information on the Brewers. Al’s Ramblings was more…

Should Beckett be DLed?

With the word being that Josh Beckett tore part of his skin on his middle right finger, the question now…