SB Nation User Blog: RVachon

Six-man rotations?

RVachon — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:34:54 -0000

Okay, so with the recent (re-)signing of Curt Schilling by the Red Sox, the idea started to bounce around about the Sox using a six-man rotation. My initial reaction was that this is a horrendous idea. However, as I've thought about it, I can see some merit to the six-man rotation, especially with a rotation like the one the Sox will sport next year.

Though most teams have some type of mix between veteran starters and young pitchers breaking in, the Sox seem to be an extreme case. Two pitchers nearing Social Security in Wakefield and Schilling, two very young arms in Buchholz and Lester, a young Japanese import who appeared to tire down the stretch in Matsuzaka, and (of course) Josh Beckett. Here's how I envision a six-man rotation could work for the Sox:

The rotation would function just like a regular five-man rotation, and each week one pitcher (non-Beckett division) would be rotated out and replaced with the pitcher who was skipped the week prior. In this way, the Sox would gain additional rest for Schilling and Wakefield (which could help with the age concerns) and Matsuzaka (thus enabling him to remain fresh and strong deeper into the season), while also keeping the innings down on Lester and Buchholz, allowing them to break into the Bigs more gradually. It would also have the benefit of throwing Beckett out on regular rest all season, so you'd still get 30-35 starts from your ace.

Now this all comes with the caveat that no plan survives contact with the enemy, but if/when someone goes down with an injury, the rotation could then be converted to a simple five-man rotation.

Obviously, this would not be perfect for all teams. But with a team with such an extreme distribution of young pitchers and old pitchers, there seems to be a certain elegance, to my mind, in experimenting with this. And many teams could use a similar model to break in pitching prospects (as opposed to sending them to the bullpen when they first come up).

I guess I don't have too many questions about this idea (beyond am I a total bunny-boiler for thinking it up?), but I thought it was one of my more interesting concepts (however admittedly few they may be...).

Are you kidding me?!

RVachon — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 00:51:41 -0000

Let me get this straight: It's Opening Night. The FIRST GAME of the season, and we can't even get through the top of the third inning before they start carrying on about steroids?!

I'm sorry, while I understand that it's a big issue right now in sports, can't ESPN just let me enjoy the start of a new season w/o going on and on about steroids and Barry Bonds?!

My god I hate ESPN.

Bye Bye Nats

RVachon — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:09:20 -0000

Well, the D.C. Council has continued to show that Washington is easily the most dysfunctional city in the U.S. by rejecting the Nats stadium lease plan (version 2.0 or whatever the heck it was...)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR2006020701727.html

As a DC area resident, this sucks. And so does the D.C. Council.

Coco Crisp for Andy Marte

RVachon — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 04:10:24 -0000

Rotoworld is reporting that Mota failed his physical for the Indians, and that the Crisp-Marte deal is in serious jeopardy of dying.

http://fantasybaseball.rotoworld.com/content/home_mlb.asp?sport=MLB

As a Red Sox fan, I hope this is true. I'd like to see the Sox hold onto Marte. I like Crisp, to be certain, but I don't think the Sox need to overpay to fill the CF hole. Then again, I understand that I'm in the minority in thinking that the Sox' holes aren't as horrible as advertised.

Theo returns!

RVachon — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 03:47:05 -0000

That's right, Theo Epstein is coming back to the Red Sox. Officially.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/01/19/theo_epstein_to_rejoin_red_sox/

Now, can we PLEASE stop all of the "Red Sox have no direction/head" stories?

And FOR fans

RVachon — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 22:34:18 -0000

I thought I'd post this separately, since I like jc3's premise and didn't want to muddy up his thread. But I thought it would be interesting to turn the questions around and see what the A's and Sox fans think about their respective teams. For those who don't recall, here are the original questions put forth by jc3:

Are the Red Sox OK with their team the way it is today, especially at SS and CF? Are they a favorite to make the playoffs?
Are the Red Sox currently at a disadvantage in trade talks?
Two-part Joe Blanton question:

a. Will his ERA jump significantly next year?
b. What is his ceiling?

Is Barry Zito a "shutdown" pitcher?
Is Oakland currently a better team than Anaheim (or whatever they are called!)?

My answers (as a Sox fan):

1. Are the Sox ideally situated for the upcoming season? No, of course not. But are they okay as things stand, I think so. I think CF is more problemmatic than SS. In house, the Sox have reasonable stopgaps with Cora (who isn't overly inspiring) and especially Pedroia. Personally, I'd like to see Pedroia get a shot at the SS job in spring training. He's held his own (and more) at every level until getting hit by a pitch in AAA. I know that some scouts worry about his range and arm at short, but if David Eckstein can play there, I think Pedroia deserves the benefit of the doubt. CF, as I said, is more of an issue. There really don't seem to be too many in house options. Stern could be put there, but I really think he needs more time in the minors to get ready. Reed still seems to be a possibility through a trade, but it appears that the Sox will be unwilling to part with Lester or Papelbon, so I doubt anything will come of that.
Are the Sox a favorite to make the playoffs? Talk about a loaded question. I'd have to say "no" if for no other reason than I think the Yankees will win the East (can't really pick against them until they lose), and the Wild Card is going to be hotly contested by the Sox, A's/Angels runner-up, and possibly the Blue Jays (not to mention any other surprise teams that rise up this year). And how can you really pick a WC "favorite"? But I do like their pitching situation quite a bit. I think they've upgraded their rotation and the pen over last year, though the health of the starters will certainly be a concern.

2. I don't really think the Sox are at a disadvantage in trade talks. True, many teams have likely increased their trade demands to the Sox, but I think the Sox are only at a disadvantage if they feel the must make a trade with another team. That hasn't been the case thus far this offseason, and I see no reason that it would change. Until the Sox make a desparation trade, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I think they've earned it (from my point of view) these last few years.

Latest trade rumor

RVachon — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 15:54:49 -0000

Despite my derision of all these trade rumors involving Boston, there is another one that has been floated around.

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=119817

Would anyone here actually trade Marte for Lugo? I believe Lugo is an underappreciated SS, but I think the Sox are far better served holding onto Marte.

So I guess it's obvious that my answer to the poll is a resounding "NO".

Poll

Would you trade Marte for Lugo straight up?

Yes

31 votes

No

151 votes

182 votes | Poll has closed

Red Sox get their revenge!

RVachon — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:45:35 -0000

The Yankees may have taken Damon from the Sox, but the Sox struck back by stealing Flaherty from New York!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2269236

Seriously, I think the Sox come out ahead on this one. On arm-strength alone Flaherty puts Damon to shame! End of discussion!

New Sox GM

RVachon — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 05:10:33 -0000

Take this with a grain of salt, as it's coming from the Boston Herald...

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=116270

It appears the latest rumor regarding the Sox search for a GM is that they are going to name Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington co-GM's. If this turns out to be accurate, I'm going to be very, very happy. And it will have the added bonus of killing off any chance that Jim Bowden could get his greasy hands on this team...

Soriano to Dodgers?

RVachon — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 03:13:53 -0000

According to ESPN (and Peter Gammons) it looks like the Rangers and Dodgers are close on a trade of Alfonso Soriano for Jonathan Broxton.

I'm not sure I make this trade if I'm the Dodgers. Sure, Soriano is a proven commodity, but he's OBP challenged, defensively challenged, and expensive (relative to Broxton, at least). Then again, you do know what you're getting. Power. Speed. Strikeouts.