26 replies to this topic

[RedOctober3829]

Scott Bradley reports Ross Ohlendorf signed with Red Sox. With Miller, Bard highest Staff IQ

https://twitter.com/...140508331573248

Scott Bradley was Ross's coach at Princeton.

Edited by RedOctober3829, 16 February 2012 - 08:47 AM.

[ngruz25]

Ohlendorf is a solid, reliable, back-of-the-rotation guy... when healthy. Unfortunately, he's not healthy often. Pittsburgh people blame Joe Kerrigan for ruining Ohlendorf, for what it's worth.

Also, the guy's a Princeton grad and wrote his thesis on sabermetrics. He wrote it during the offseason while in the Pirates' organization.

Edited by ngruz25, 16 February 2012 - 08:49 AM.

[Don Buddin]

Amazingly, Wikipedia has already updated his page.

[C4CRVT]

More spaghetti.Yipee!

[SoxScout]

Also, the guy's a Princeton grad and wrote his thesis on sabermetrics. He wrote it during the offseason while in the Pirates' organization.

I hope Brian Bannister is next so we can see Bob McClure's head explode.

[jon abbey]

So Aceves/Melancon/Ohlendorf are in Boston's camp and Okajima/Delcarmen in NYY's, who's next? Sergio Mitre? Brian Bruney? Ramon Ramirez? Dustin Richardson?

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Richardson got busted for 'roids, so cross him off the list.

[RedOctober3829]

So Aceves/Melancon/Ohlendorf are in Boston's camp and Okajima/Delcarmen in NYY's, who's next? Sergio Mitre? Brian Bruney? Ramon Ramirez? Dustin Richardson?

Clearly, Abe Alvarez and Lenny DiNardo are walking through that door in Tampa next.

[Rudy Pemberton]

The Sox have certainly accumulated a lot of pitching depth; guys who conceivably could contribute to a major league staff. It was a weakness last year, exacerbated by a lot of injuries and some really poor replacement perfomances. Will be interesting to see, of this group, who makes the team and who they are able to keep around in Pawtucket.

[Carl Everetts Therapist]

Low risk, mediocre reward, nothing wrong with that.

Lots of Turds in camp to throw at the wall, hopefully one or two of them are the sticky kind.

[someoneanywhere]

So Aceves/Melancon/Ohlendorf are in Boston's camp and Okajima/Delcarmen in NYY's, who's next? Sergio Mitre? Brian Bruney? Ramon Ramirez? Dustin Richardson?

Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon, brother.

I still don't get that year.

[Savin Hillbilly]

I bet when Ben Cherington plays Monopoly he always winds up with hotels on Baltic and Mediterranean before he buys any other properties.

Seriously, though, it's good that they've taken last year's SP depth lesson to heart.

[The Boomer]

https://twitter.com/...140508331573248

Scott Bradley was Ross's coach at Princeton.

Bradley and his assistant coach (my wife's cousin's husband) are also both former college baseball Tar Heels. I will try to get some inside scoop on Ohlendorff. While we are accumulating extra low risk but high upside injury prone but brainy Princetonians, I would want to take a flyer on Chris Young who ended 2011 on the DL again but is a free agent who pitches very well whenever he is healthy.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Seriously, though, it's good that they've taken last year's SP depth lesson to heart.

But last year at this time you wouldn't find many, if any posters who thought the Sox were light on depth. In fact, if you polled this place last year at this time and compared last year's staff to this year's, I'd bet a lot of people would pick last year's staff if they didn't have the 2011 season's results to draw from.

Last year they had Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Lackey and Matsuzaka in the rotation with an expectation that Lackey and Matsuzaka would be league average at worst. Then they had Wakefield, Millwood, Andrew Miller (who a lot of people were really excited about), Doubront, Weiland, and Bowden. And if I'm remembering correctly, there were those in the media who thought the Red Sox had the deepest rotation in all of baseball coming into the 2011 season. It didn't break down that way, but it's not like they came into the season with people screaming "We need more pitching!"

This year we're looking at Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Bard and then a combination of Padilla, Cook, Ohlendorf, Maine, Silva and Aceves. And of course they still have Doubront and Bowden in the fold, though Doubront may end up in the pen, and both Aceves and Bard are unlikely to spend the entire season in the rotation. It's nice to have a lot of options, but they had just as many last year and arguably looked like they had more quality arms last year.

What sank them in 2011 wasn't a lack of depth, it was that they had season ending injuries to Buchholz and Matsuzaka, Lackey needed TJ and pitched anyway, Wakefield finally fell apart completely as a starter, and none of the depth behind him could even provide replacement level performance. That's a shit load of bad luck, not poor depth. If anything, I'd say they're building this year's rotation a lot like they built last year's, but with more question marks coming into spring training.

[Carl Everetts Therapist]

BY the way, didn't Cherington say that a decision on Wake (and Tek) would be made last week? Am I wrong or did I just miss the report?

Not that I want either of them back in anything more than a instructors role.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

BY the way, didn't Cherington say that a decision on Wake (and Tek) would be made last week? Am I wrong or did I just miss the report?

Not that I want either of them back in anything more than a instructors role.

Supposedly they both are invited to camp, but neither have been offered contracts, minor league or otherwise. Edes had this on Wakefield earlier today: "Tim Wakefields agent Barry Meister had no comment when asked whether he planned to accept minor league invitation Appears he will not"

[TomRicardo]

So Aceves/Melancon/Ohlendorf are in Boston's camp and Okajima/Delcarmen in NYY's, who's next? Sergio Mitre? Brian Bruney? Ramon Ramirez? Dustin Richardson?

I hear Cory Lidle has been throwing bullpen seasons to Thurman Munson all offseason. Definitely an improvement over Lackey's corpse.

[RedOctober3829]

The 2011 season was one to forget for Ross Ohlendorf. After recording a 3.98 ERA in 50 starts for the Pirates in 2009-10, he missed the final six weeks of the 2010 season with a shoulder injury, worked his way back to the mound for the start of last year and made just two starts (giving up seven runs in 8 2/3 innings) before landing back on the DL with a shoulder injury.
He did not pitch again in the majors until August, when he made seven starts in which he went 1-3 with an 8.40 ERA. That, in turn, led the Pirates to decline to tender him a contract after the season, thus making the right-hander from Princeton a free agent.
“I was hurt almost the whole season. I was on the DL for so long,” Ohlendorf said on Thursday morning, hours after signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox. “Then, when I came back, my arm felt fine but I just didn’t get off to a good start. I felt like I had one good game. I definitely plan on pitching better this year.”
Despite the poor numbers, the Sox saw promise when they scouted Ohlendorf late last year. His fastball was up to 95 mph with life and he showed what the team evaluated as an average to plus curveball and changeup. The team met with him and saw him throw during the offseason in his home of Austin, Texas, and became convinced not only of his intelligence and enthusiasm for the game but also saw a pitcher who could be intriguing as either a starter or reliever.
The Sox’ minor league deal with him would pay Ohlendorf $900,000 if he reaches the majors. He represents an interesting addition not just for the immediate term but beyond, since if Ohlendorf is added to the big league roster, he has a minor league option remaining, and he will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season. So, if Ohlendorf bounces back, he could impact the Sox for a few seasons to come.

http://fullcount.wee...nity-in-boston/

[Papelbon's Poutine]

nm

Edited by Papelbon's Poutine, 16 February 2012 - 03:05 PM.

[Carl Everetts Therapist]

Wasn't Ohlendorf the guy who was supposed to lead the "resurgence" of the Pirates after 2009. I think I remember a Sports Illustrated article about him wrestling cows or something where it talked about him having Ace like stuff and being poised for a huge season. He ended up goig 1-11 (with a decent ERA) and you didn't hear much about him again.

He is interesting as a guy who is controllable, throws hard and has a "pitcher's" frame. I think as a reliver he could have some value maybe as a Fat Albers lite.

[The Boomer]

This fits here without adding a separate thread. I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else but it looks like the Sox added some decent corner infield depth for AAA and in case of emergency:

http://www.baseball-...id=gomez-001mau

Gomez is a powerful righty who is basically a AAAA player at age 27 but might be OK in the majors if pressed into service.

[JakeRae]

This fits here without adding a separate thread. I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else but it looks like the Sox added some decent corner infield depth for AAA and in case of emergency:

http://www.baseball-...id=gomez-001mau

Gomez is a powerful righty who is basically a AAAA player at age 27 but might be OK in the majors if pressed into service.

http://sonsofsamhorn...an-mauro-gomez/

[Plympton91]

But last year at this time you wouldn't find many, if any posters who thought the Sox were light on depth. In fact, if you polled this place last year at this time and compared last year's staff to this year's, I'd bet a lot of people would pick last year's staff if they didn't have the 2011 season's results to draw from.

Last year they had Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Lackey and Matsuzaka in the rotation with an expectation that Lackey and Matsuzaka would be league average at worst. Then they had Wakefield, Millwood, Andrew Miller (who a lot of people were really excited about), Doubront, Weiland, and Bowden. And if I'm remembering correctly, there were those in the media who thought the Red Sox had the deepest rotation in all of baseball coming into the 2011 season. It didn't break down that way, but it's not like they came into the season with people screaming "We need more pitching!"

And that is exactly why they couldn't accumulate depth. The reason all these pitchers are willing to sign here this offseason is because there is an opening in the rotation that they're convincing themselves will be theirs. If the Red Sox had 5 healthy major-league ready starters, most of these players would have signed elsewhere. No one like Padilla or Cook or even Ohlendorf is going to say, "Well, the Red Sox don't need a starter, but I'd rather pitch in Pawtucket than Kansas City."

[Buzzkill Pauley]

And that is exactly why they couldn't accumulate depth. The reason all these pitchers are willing to sign here this offseason is because there is an opening in the rotation that they're convincing themselves will be theirs. If the Red Sox had 5 healthy major-league ready starters, most of these players would have signed elsewhere. No one like Padilla or Cook or even Ohlendorf is going to say, "Well, the Red Sox don't need a starter, but I'd rather pitch in Pawtucket than Kansas City."

Not really -- the Sox started the season with Millwood, Wakefield, and Miller. None of whom had a starting spot, and each of whom might have been as good a gamble before 2011 started as the three guys you named. Problem was, the Sox needed all of them by June, rather than just one for a half-season or less.

There's just no way to lose 3/5 of a starting rotation to injury/ineffectiveness and remain competitive unless the upper minors is stacked with talent or the manager is willing to convert valuable bullpen arms to the rotation. Theo traded away several valuable arms since 2008, the pitchers left in the system were also injured or ineffective, and Tito was unwilling to weaken the bullpen. That's the perfect storm of pitching disasters.

And amazingly, the Sox still would have gone to the playoffs if either Beckett or Lester had just held the line for another month.

[Rudy Pemberton]

Not really -- the Sox started the season with Millwood, Wakefield, and Miller. None of whom had a starting spot, and each of whom might have been as good a gamble before 2011 started as the three guys you named. Problem was, the Sox needed all of them by June, rather than just one for a half-season or less.

Millwood started the season in AAA with the Yankees, didn't join the PawSox until May or June, IIRC.

It seemed like the Sox had depth last year, the problem was that every guy they called on completely shit the bed.

[OCD SS]

The real issue with the supposed "depth" is how much of it can opt out and become free agents if they aren't on the MLB club by a certain point? Injuries happen in the second half of the year, too; it's not really depth if it can leave June 1st.

[PaulinMyrBch]

And amazingly, the Sox still would have gone to the playoffs if either Beckett or Lester had just held the line for another month.

Actually all they needed to do was hold it together for a couple of hours one time in the last month...