SB Nation User Blog: Drugs Delaney

The Sox acquire Wes Littleton from Texas

Drugs Delaney — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:38:04 -0000

According to a press release, the Sox got right-handed relief pitcher Wes Littleton from the Rangers for two players to be named later or cash considerations.

In 102.1 IP, the 26-year old Littleton is 5-3 (3 saves) 3.69 ERA 1.23 WHIP. His walk and strikeout numbers aren't great: 3.25 BB/9 4.84 K/9.

[Littleton] has limited righthanded opponents to a .236 batting average in his major league career. During his rookie campaign in 2006, the California native held righties to a .157 clip, fourth in the American League among pitchers with at least 30 appearances.

Littleton has also been successful in keeping the ball on the ground, allowing just 15 fly balls last year compared to 31 grounders. Among active hurlers with at least 100.0 innings, he ranks 14th with a career ground ball percentage of 71.5 (196 GB/78 FB).

It looks like the Sox are stockpiling bullpen arms. This might mean that Masterson will move to the rotation, which I think is a huge mistake. It might also be the prelude to a potential Masterson trade. We'll see ...

Sox make 1-year offer to Varitek

Drugs Delaney — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:17:13 -0000

From Rob Bradford on WEEI:

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the Red Sox’ initial contract offer to free agent catcher Jason Varitek this offseason was for one year. It was not determined what the monetary worth of the offer would be ...

Bradford doesn't mention how much the Sox offered, although he says it didn't come close to what Posada got ($13.1 million). That's not shocking, as Tek isn't worth that much. While I can't see Boras advising his client to take a 1-year contract, I'm glad Theo is taking a hard line. Catcher is the one true need for the Sox this off-season.

Update:

Nick Cafardo of the Globe contacted Boras, who denied that the Sox made a 1-year offer. I'm wary of anything Boras says during contract negotiations. Bradford is a fairly reliable sportswriter. So, I'm inclined to believe that the Sox did make a 1-year offer.

A few thoughts on the current playoff format

Drugs Delaney — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:49:59 -0000

The wild card has succeeded in getting more teams involved in pennant races, which spreads interest in late-season baseball among more markets, which is good for the game. But the system needs to be reviewed, and the fundamental question is this: Are wild-card teams penalized enough in the postseason for finishing in second place during the regular season? The answer appears to be no.

Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated.

You could ditch the wild card and give the division winner with the best record a bye, while the other two play for the right to advance. Simple and clean. A possible flaw: a team that compiles a great won-lost record in a relatively weak division could get an undeserved edge with the bye. Still, it's much better than what we have now. It has no real chance, though, because the idea of additional playoff teams has taken hold.

Bob Costas

I like the wild card, despite the misgivings of purists. More than that, I believe it is a necessary to off-set the inequities of divisional play, a part of baseball since 1969. While I haven’t read many arguments for ending the divisional system, I have heard many calls to “punish” wild card teams by making it harder for them to advance in the playoffs.

A few of the suggestions put forth for fixing the current “wild card problem” have been: expanding the division series from five to seven games; adding a second wild card and having a one-game or best-of-three playoff; punishing wild card teams by giving them only one home game in the division series; or seeding the teams one through four based on wins. I have no problem with expanding the number of games in the division series from five to seven, except that it will lengthen an already long season. I also don’t mind seeding teams based on record as long as the three division-winning teams aren’t automatically in (this year, the MFY would still be alive as they are ahead of Chicago and Minnesota). That would make for interesting races, even though it favors good teams in weak divisions. All of the other suggestions are ridiculous, in my opinion.

The major flaw in the “wild card problem” argument is the idea that winning an arbitrary, geographical division makes a team more qualified for the post-season than the best second-place team. Looking at the AL from 1996 to 2007 (1995 was a shortened season), AL division winners have averaged 95.66 wins and wild card teams have averaged 94.91 wins. This would seem to suggest that wild card teams have been weaker than division winners. But that has not been the case. The average number of wins for the third-best division-winning team between 1996 and 2007 was 91.25, significantly worse than the wild card team.

There have been only two years (1996 and 1999) when the wild card team had a worse record than the third-best division-winner. The 1996 wild card Baltimore Orioles won 88 games, two games behind the AL West winning Texas Rangers. The ’96 O’s had the worst record on any AL wild card team. The only other time a wild card team had the fourth-best record was in 1999 when the Red Sox, with 94 wins, were one game worse than the AL West winner, Texas, who had 95 wins. Two other years (2005 and 2007) the wild card and third-best divisional winner tied. In 2005 when the Red Sox won 95 games and the wild card, they had the same number of wins as two division winners—the Yankees and Angels. Last year, New York took the wild card with the same number of wins as the AL West leading Angels (94).

In 1997 the Yankees won the wild card with 96 wins, six better than the West leading Mariners and ten better than the Indians, the Central champs. The following year, the Red Sox took the wild card with 92 victories even though they finished 22 games behind the AL East leading Yankees. The 1998 Sox may have been buried in the East, but they had a three-game better record than Cleveland (the Central winner) and were four games better than Texas (West). In 2000, Seattle won 91 games, finishing a half game behind Oakland. But the wild card Mariners had the same number of wins as the A’s and were three-and-a-half games better then the AL East winning Yankee team that had only 87 wins. The next season the A’s won 102 games and finished fourteen games out of first. Oakland got the wild card and had seven more wins than New York (East) and eleven more wins than Cleveland (Central). The 2004 Red Sox won 98 games, the third most in all of baseball behind New York and St. Louis in the NL.

What the purists don’t understand is that all of the wild card teams mentioned above were “punished” because they didn’t have home field advantage, even when playing inferior teams. The’04 Red Sox and the ’02 Angels (99 wins) won the World Series because they were good teams, even though they finished in second place. Even the 2006 Tigers, a wild card team that lost the World Series, had 95 wins. The Tigers lost to an NL division leading team—the St. Louis Cardinals—that only won 83 games in the regular season! Since 1996, only one AL wild card team has finished with fewer than 91 wins. In the same period, five AL teams won divisions with less than 91 wins.

More often than not, the weakest team to make the playoffs under the new system (at least in the AL) has been a division winner. Between 1978 and 1989, when there were only two divisions, there were only two years when each of the division winners had the best records in the AL. Having a wild card mitigates the problems with the divisional format—which favors teams in weak divisions—by allowing good teams in tough divisions to make the post-season. Those who argue against the wild card favor geography over excellence. AL wild card teams have succeeded in the past because they are as good as, or better than, the teams they are playing. The current system isn’t perfect, but it is better than the alternatives.

Sox to Retire Pesky's Number

Drugs Delaney — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:45:44 -0000

According to both the Globe and Herald, the Red Sox will retire Johnny Pesky's number 6 prior to Friday night's game v. the MFY.

The Red Sox will break their traditional requirements for a player's number to be retired: that he is in the Hall of Fame, that he ended his career with the club, and that he played at least 10 seasons for the Red Sox. Pesky is not in the Hall of Fame.

I'm very happy Pesky will be honored, and have always thought the Sox' retired number policy was stupid. The Yankees have done a better job with their retired numbers, honoring non-Hall of Famers like Thurman, Munson, Don Mattingly, Elston Howard, and Ron Guidry.

Hopefully the Pesky ceremony signals a loosening of the Sox' retired number policy. Here are some other players that should be honored:

Jimmie Foxx

Dom DiMaggio

Luis Tiant

Tris Speaker

Jim Rice

Dwight Evans

Wade Boggs

Pedro Martinez (when he retires).

Sox hitters since 7/1/08

Drugs Delaney — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:46:23 -0000

The Sox' offense has been somewhat inconsistent. Since July 1st, three players have carried the team offensively: Youkilis, Pedroia, and Lowrie. Here's a breakdown of each Red Sox hitter since July 1st:

The Awful:

Cash - (9 G/31 AB) 1 HR 2 RBI .161 AVG/.188 OBP/.290 SLG

Crisp - (21 G/72 AB) 1 HR 7 RBI .181 AVG/.274 OBP/.236 SLG

Varitek - (30 G/105 AB) 1 HR 6 RBI .200 AVG/.306 OBP/.267 SLG

Lowell - (34 G/134 AB) 2 HR 20 RBI .209 AVG/.280 OBP/.299 SLG

The Sox are getting absolutely no offensive production from their catchers. CF is also a dead spot (see Ellsbury). Lowell played hurt until he went on the DL recently. While we should commend him for being a gamer, he clearly hurt the team offensively.

The Bad:

Ellsbury - (35 G/135 AB) 2 HR 10 RBI .267 AVG/.303 OBP/.341 SLG (4 SB/3 CS)

Drew - (36 G/123 AB) 3 HR 15 RBI .236 AVG/.396 OBP/.415 SLG

While Drew has struggled since June, he is still getting on base. His recent numbers suggest that he should be a top-of-the-order table-setter, not a middle-of-the-order run producer. Ellsbury has been a huge disappointment, and should not be leading-off.

The Decent:

Casey - (11 G/52 AB) 0 HR 4 RBI .327 AVG/.407 OBP/.385 SLG

Cora - (17 G/30 AB) 0 HR 2 RBI .333 AVG/.444 OBP/.400 SLG

Ortiz - (20 G/75 AB) 4 HR 19 RBI .280 AVG/..389 OBP/.403 SLG

Bay - (15 G/61 AB) 1 HR 12 RBI .328 AVG/..397 OBP/.459 SLG

Casey and Cora have been decent--getting on base, but doing little else. Ortiz is coming off a wrist injury, and still isn't his old self. As for Bay, his overall numbers are good. But he has been very soft lately. Over his last 6 games, he has only one extra-base hit (a double) and a paltry .391 SLG.

The Very Good:

Lowrie - (24 G/80 AB) 0 HR 23 RBI .322 AVG/..394 OBP/.500 SLG

Youkilis - (38 G/143 AB) 10 HR 34 RBI .336 AVG/.402 OBP/.650 SLG

Pedroia - (38 G/168 AB) 4 HR 21 RBI .357 AVG/.398 OBP/.536 SLG

These three players have carried the load offensively for about a month and a half. Let's hope they don't cool off any time soon.

Zink will start tomorrow

Drugs Delaney — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:59:30 -0000

The Sox have announced that Charlie Zink will take Wakefield's spot tomorrow night.

The 28-year old knuckleballer is having his best minor league season. He is 12-3 2.70 ERA 1.08 WHIP in 133.1 IP for the PawSox.

Zink is 55-42 in 8 minor league seasons. His career minor league numbers aren't great: 4.08 ERA 1.42 WHIP 4.41 BB/9.

While I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch, he'll have a tough assignment. Texas is a very good offensive team.

Here's the socuting report from www.soxprospects.com:

Zink was signed as an undrafted free agent on the recommendation of Luis Tiant, his former coach at Savannah College of Art and Design. Tim Wakefield has tutored Zink on the fine art of the knuckleball. Zink understands what he needs to do to get hitters out. Good athlete. Also throws mid 80s fastball and cutter for strikes, using the same delivery as his knuckler. Fearless with his knuckleball, even behind in the count.

Wakefield to the DL

Drugs Delaney — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:02:56 -0000

Wake has been scratched from his scheduled start this Tuesday because of tightness in his shoulder, the same injury that kept him off the World Series roster. The Sox will place him on the 15-day DL. I guess we now know why Wake was pulled after 81 pitches in Kansas City.

Hopefully, Wake will come back strong after a couple of weeks off. If not, this is a huge loss. Wake has been very consistent this year, with a 3.67 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 147 innings. Wake is leading the Sox in quality starts with 16, third-best in the AL.

The Sox have not announced who will start on Tuesday.

Ortiz may be back by July 25th

Drugs Delaney — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:48:48 -0000

According to the Globe, David Ortiz is tentatively scheduled to return to the Red Sox on July 25.

Papi has looked good taking batting practice against high-speed pitching machines.

"I feel good," Ortiz said. "Actually, it was my first time hitting off the machine. I was acting like I normally do, locating, check swing, swing and a miss. Stuff like that. Everything was fine. That's all I need. Make sure there's no pain when I'm doing that."

"David did well," Francona said. "He did the machine, tried to simulate as much as he could, ball down and away ball up and in. He'll go with us to New York Monday and Tuesday and hit in the cage because he has some obligations as the guy who got the most (All-Star) votes to be there represent the American League and the Red Sox."

If all goes well, Papi will play 3 games for Pawtucket: July 17-19 against Toledo and head to Portland for 3 against Connecticut, July 21-23 (get your tickets now).

Masterson sent down

Drugs Delaney — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:55:08 -0000

From boston.com:

Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson will be sent down to Triple-A Pawtucket this week to become a reliever, Sox general manager Terry Francona announced today.

Jeff Bailey was called up to hold the roster spot until Buchholz gets called up to make a start on Friday.

Francona said Masterson is scheduled to get some relief innings Wednesday at Richmond, and Friday and Saturday at Norfolk.

I like the move and expect Masterson will get called up soon, probably in late July/early August. Masterson will have to cut his walks and HRs down to be successful out of the pen.

Also, there is some positive Papi news:

David Ortiz took some swings in the batting cage before the game tonight. He hit a home run to right field on his first swing. He did the normal five rounds with about seven swings in the first few rounds and then the swings decreased in the later rounds.

Game Thread 7/2/08

Drugs Delaney — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:25:58 -0000

Since no one else will do it.

Line-ups:

Red Sox

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Ramirez DH
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Varitek C
Moss LF
Lugo SS

Matsuzaka SP

Tampa Bay
Iwamura 2B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Floyd DH
Navarro C
Hinske RF
Bartlett SS

Kazmir SP

There's some good news about Papi:

The Sox accelerated their schedule with David Ortiz; the slugger for the first time yesterday hit some soft toss and was planning to do so through the weekend in New York. He said he hoped to be hitting in the cage next week, which of course is terrific news for the Sox. Don't pencil him in your post-All-Star Game lineup just yet, there are hurdles to be crossed, but things appear headed in the right direction.