KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

I for one am stunned and happy with this trade.
Lester, for whatever reason, wasn't going to be signed by the Sox.
I don't understand why they gave fading Dustin Pedroia a long term contract, but not
the durable Lester.
That said, all the pundits were saying the Sox would get prospects for Lester, because he is a two month
rental.
Some were excited at the idea of the Pirates Josh Bell. Did they look up his stats? He's hitting
.219 in AA, and is listed as a DH.
In Cespedes ( and a draft pick for next year) they get the proven right handed power hitter
they've lacked since Jason Bay's 2009 Silver Slugger year, and Manny before him.
Cespedes is only 28 year old. Has a cannon arm and steals bases. He's not having a great year,
which is why he was dealt at all.
The bonus is unloading Jonny Gomes, who is a disgrace in the outfield.
Great trade, and who says the Sox won't sign Lester in the off season?

He's Cuban so his age is probably suspect. I'd feel better about it if the Sox sign him to a longer contract. Also, who is going to replace Lester? Bucholz looks finished. I don't see a bounceback year in 2015 unless they sign a Cole Hamels or a David Price.

Really like the trade for both teams...Billy bean is going all in this year

Rod, you're on the money here. Lots of hand wringing in Boston about this, but I don't get what people are upset about. Makes me think maybe the fan base isn't as smart as it thinks it is.

he's hitting .256 with only 17 hrs and 80 strikeouts and now Sox have no pitching

Well Lester was never going to pitch a meaningful game again for the Red Sox, but they addressed their biggest weakness (power bat) by moving him now. I wish Cespedes was under control for longer, but all in all it was a steal to get a guy as talented as Cespedes for a two month rental of a guy who was not worth anything to you anymore.

17 home runs makes him a clear 2nd on the Sox.
Bradley is on a pace to strike out 150 times, and he has ONE home run!
Lester was gone anyway. This is a terrific trade.
Cespedes is only 28 and in his prime, plus he has an awesome arm.
'74. how old is Papi, really?

rodfromcranston wrote: '74. how old is Papi, really?

A lot of players from that region have questionable ages. But point taken. If he can produce then it doesn't matter.

I don't get the people saying Lester is coming back in the off season, they didn't have the money now I don't see them getting it in the off season and he's shown he's not going to take less

Agreed with twisted, Lester isn't coming back. It does address a need, the Sox outfield combined has three fewer home runs this season than Cespedes.

And now Lackey is going to St. Louis.

Only if you believe in the ultimate conspiracy theory.
Lester gets traded to help the Sox and wink wink, comes back and
signs.
Time will tell. I also wonder what else will happen by 4:00 today.

I hoping the Jays can grab a someone to help them (I am the only Jays fan on the board)

Joe Kelly and Allen Craig for Lackey!
Sox rebuilding their OF already.
Kelly was 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA last year for the Cards.
NICE!

sounds like Miller could be on the move too

I think the Lester trade is OK - Cespedes is probably at least a two to five year answer in the outfield, but it does worry me when Oakland is willing to give up on a player. His plate discipline is also pretty horrible, so he needs to keep hitting for power to have value, but he does have a hell of an arm out there. However, getting him and dumping Gomes is a decent return for what's essentially two months of Lester for the A's.

It's crazy for me to say given where has was just two years ago, but I don't really like the Lackey trade. I would have rather had him next year than Joe Kelly - you're lucky if you get more than 5 innings out of him, his ERA is 4.37 this year, and while he had the good year in 2013 the scouting reports peg him as more a No. 4 or No. 5 starter. Allen Craig is older than people realize (30) and his OPS is 638 this year. I think they could have gotten more for Lackey. Like I definitely would have moved him for Josh Bell if that deal was on the table (not sure if that was only for Lester). Bell is only hitting .241 in AA, but he's only played 14 games there. In 84 games at A+, he hit .334 and slugged .502.

Re: Sox resigning Lester, I think they could get him... as long as they're willing to pay more money than anyone else. I don't think that's going to happen. I think they were willing to go long on Pedroia because he plays a position of scarcity (not a ton of quality 2B out there) and he had been with the team a bit longer. It doesn't look good now, but going long (5+ years) on a starting pitching contract almost never works out. The extensions given to Verlander and Matt Cain already look like bad contracts one year in, IIRC.

Just a minor point on Lester, he came up the same year as Pedroia, and I believe he had been the longest tenured player in the organization. He started in the Sox minor league system in 2002.

Sounds like Andrew Miller to the Tigers could be coming up soon.

Josh Bell or Cespedes? Are you kidding?
Some DH type hitting .241 in AA? Not that much power.
Pass!
Allen Craig hit over .300 for the past three years.
He's having a down year. So he's 30 BFD! He JUST turned 30 on the 18th! Like that's soooo
old!
Check his superb post season record, while you're at it.
Joe Kelly will be pitching long after Lackey is gone. Both players under
control until 2018.

Andrew Miller to Orioles for prospect

rodfromcranston wrote:Josh Bell or Cespedes? Are you kidding?
Some DH type hitting .241 in AA? Not that much power.
Pass!
Allen Craig hit over .300 for the past three years.
He's having a down year. So he's 30 BFD! He JUST turned 30 on the 18th! Like that's soooo
old!
Check his superb post season record, while you're at it.
Joe Kelly will be pitching long after Lackey is gone. Both players under
control until 2018.

Craig hits well with RISP .... a huge weakness this year for the Sox.

I subscribe to the theory that Lester could be back. I'm a natural skeptic and it wouldn't surprise me if there was some sort of wink nod early on this season, where the Sox told him they wanted to see where the season was going, would offer him X for a contract, and if they were out of it, would try to get back some players who could help for next year. At least I hope that's the play, otherwise the pitching staff is in huge trouble. I'm all in favor of letting the young kids pitch, but now there are lots of holes moving forward, more holes than I would want rookies filling. What's the rotation as of right now? Bucholtz, De La Rosa, Kelly, Workman, Webster?

Now that the Sox brought in 2 OF bats, what does that mean for J. Bradley? Is this their solution for next season, to have an OF of Cespedes-Craig-Victorino, and have Bradley and Victorino split time? Or will the Sox invest in another OF as a one or two year stop gap in the offseason? Or is Bradley the 1 and the goal is to move Victorino around because they know there is little chance he holds up over the season? But even so, don't you need another option in case JBJ has a similar .225ish BA?

My other curiosity is the left-side infield problem. Who plays SS next year? Are they willing to give it back to Boegarts? Or are they going to invest in someone else? If that's the case, what do they do with Middlebrooks and Cecchini? And if they decide not to invest in a FA, do they go with another rookie in Marrero?

Well, it's audition time on the left side, Drew to the Yankees.

One thing I think we can all agree on - there is a 0.00% chance Oakland re-signs Lester. So who's to say the Sox don't have a shot at him?

If they wouldn't give him 5/125 before this season, they won't give him 6/150 after the year. And don't give me this conspiracy theory crap, the Red Sox didn't think they'd be sellers this year, so this whole don't give Lester a deal, suck, trade Lester for someone, sign him after the year makes no sense. The Sox thought they'd be contenders and they still didn't want Lester at anything close to market value.

As far as Bradley JOONYAH (who the hell is senior?)
Superb fielder, without question.
However, his approach at the plate is insane. He's a little guy
who has hit ONE home run, and has a very weak .307 SP.
Yet, on every at bat, he's swinging from the heels, like he's Jose Canseco.
That might work for Dustin Pedroia, but even he shortens up when it's two strikes.
Somebody better sit down and talk to this kid.
They're going to need the 1927 Murderers Row if he's going to hit like this
in the future.

I would guess Sox ownership is planning to open their wallets over the offseason. Otherwise they are going to struggle for a couple of years while the young players mature.

However, I don't agree with those who think Lester is coming back. Somebody is going to make him an offer he can't refuse, and it's not going to be those on Yawkey Way.

He's gone for good. Either he or Scherzer will be in Yankee pinstripes next season. Book it. Especially if Tanaka ends up getting TJ surgery, which I think he will.

Sell Mortimor! Sell! Sell! Get back in there and sell! Turn those machines back on! Get those traders back in here!

Rhody74 wrote:

rodfromcranston wrote: '74. how old is Papi, really?

A lot of players from that region have questionable ages. But point taken. If he can produce then it doesn't matter.

I feel like Papi has been 36 for like 10 years now.