AJP gets exorcised and Christian Vazquez up. Starts tonight
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
pdaj said:
Given his production on offense and especially defense -- where he looks like he has both gained weight and calcified -- releasing AJ Pierzynski is the opposite of waving a white flag. I was never a hater; i thought the clubhouse stuff was overhyped, but he just wasn;t very good here.
Total no brainer. AJP was a placeholder. His role was to get through 2014. He's done that (poorly). The remainder of 2014 he adds no value so it's time to begin the transition.
"Blowing" it up this year is actually "improving the roster" IMO. AJP, Peavy, et al are upgrade opportunities. Obviously Lester, Uehara will be considered different, but who knows what's up with their situation.
"Blowing" it up this year is actually "improving the roster" IMO. AJP, Peavy, et al are upgrade opportunities. Obviously Lester, Uehara will be considered different, but who knows what's up with their situation.
ivanvamp said:
Salty is and has been a mediocre to poor receiver behind the plate. This cannot be ignored at such a critical position. Tying yourself long term to a bad defensive catcher who isn't all that behind the plate (as opposed to Piazza or whoever) is unwise, IMO. Especially when you have a potential viable option in Vazquez who can give you strong D and should be able to bring acceptance at the plate if not better.
ivanvamp said:
Nevermind that, Salty fit here very well with the guys which was a huge component to last year. And while his numbers weren't great he got some big hits at big times. Something AJP has not done much of.
Think we'll hear some rumors about the awful stuff AJP did to get him DFA's (besides his hitting) now that he's out of town?
I hope so. I forget if it was Yadier or Bengie but one of them loves throwing to first between pitches to try to catch baserunners not paying attention. For some reason I love that play.
rembrat said:
I hope so. I forget if it was Yadier or Bengie but one of them loves throwing to first between pitches to try to catch baserunners not paying attention. For some reason I love that play.
joe dokes said:
I think this is a fair point. While "vets", ridding the team of AJP, Peavy, and Drew won't affect the teams win total (negatively) this season. Uehara, Lester, etc. would be the white flag.
Edit: And what yecul said.
yecul said:
I'm not saying they should have signed Salty instead. I'm on record as having had no problem with the AJP signing because it made perfect sense to me (shows you what I know!). I'm just pointing out that Salty has been better than AJP this season, even though neither has been particularly good.
ivanvamp said:
They are on pace to finish the season with about 1 win difference. They are having similar seasons.
AJP is gone, Salty has 2 more years.
Been busy all day. I was actually thinking to myself last night, "Who's going to want a 37 yr old catcher with declining skills having a bad year? They might as well DFA him."
So, SO happy the nightmare is over! The Vazquez era begins tonight!
So, SO happy the nightmare is over! The Vazquez era begins tonight!
If Johnny Gomes says anything that undermines the youth movement, I'd like him DFA'd before he finishes the sentence.
If I were the Dodgers, I'd rather have AJP backing up AJ Ellis than Drew Butera. AJP would be a decent NL PH and in case Ellis gets hurt, AJP is starting instead of shitty Butera. AJ powers unite!Eck'sSneakyCheese said:
Man, some of you guys are gonna feel like jerks if AJP shows up here to thank us for his support.
That said, I'm excited to see Vazquez start tonight.
That said, I'm excited to see Vazquez start tonight.
I agree. I don't want to see X at SS. He's scary enough at third. I kinda understand all the enthusiasm about the youngsters, but X and JBJ have been so disappointing (with the exception of JBJ's fielding, which is beautiful), that I may not want to watch many games. Tonight's a big exception, of course, with the Vasquez debut and the BROCKHOLT at SS thing.geoduck no quahog said:
What, you're saying that Texas wasn't all set for a decade with their embarrassment of riches in Taylor Teagarten, Jarrod Saltalammachhia and Max Ramirez?JimBoSox9 said:
I agree, I thought he'd end up on the Dodgers as well, and maybe net us a AAAA infielder or something.Hee Sox Choi said:
That wasn't really a statement of personal preference, it was half a statement of "OMG, all the available FA catchers suck just as much as AJP" and half a statement of "The Red Sox liked him well enough to sign him for 2014 because he took a 1-year deal, why wouldn't they pick him from the roughly same pool of players for another 1 year deal in 2015?" Plus, he'd be easy enough to start in a straight platoon with Vazquez and then gradually lose playing time if Vazquez showed he could hit. So, it made sense from the standpoint of their revealed preference and the craptastic group of available alternatives who would reasonably be expected to take a 1 year deal.Stitch01 said:
Now that they've DFA'ed him, I'm glad to see they've come around to my point of view. Though I still wonder if Vazquez will crack a 600 OPS in his first 750 plate appearances; he's not my first choice to be starting next April. Perhaps a trade will present itself, such as Hanigan, and they won't pass it up this time.
Fake Edit: Geez, Hanigan hasn't been much better than AJP with the bat; every time I look for an alternative, the new normal in the level of offense just comes and slaps me upside the head again. It's 1968 for crying out loud.
A flashback to my favorite moment of the Red Sox AJP era. http://www.sportspickle.com/2014/02/mlb-approves-limiting-home-plate-collisions-unless-involve-hole-pierzynski
As much as we'd like to see the Red Sox avoid mistakes like AJP, it is more than refreshing that they are willing to admit them, even when the price tag is big, and move on.
Other organizations would have said "we're paying this guy a ton of money and we're not going to just cut him!"
I get that AJP might be an exception given his dickishness. On the other hand, signing Drew after not signing him at first was another tacit admission of a blunder that they were willing to make. Now I know that many believe that it was indeed a mistake to sign Drew (and understandbly so), but my point is that both moves show an emotional maturity and confidence level that I think bodes well for the future. Having won a WS (and two prior ones) will do that for you but no matter, this is a good thing for the Red Sox.
Other organizations would have said "we're paying this guy a ton of money and we're not going to just cut him!"
I get that AJP might be an exception given his dickishness. On the other hand, signing Drew after not signing him at first was another tacit admission of a blunder that they were willing to make. Now I know that many believe that it was indeed a mistake to sign Drew (and understandbly so), but my point is that both moves show an emotional maturity and confidence level that I think bodes well for the future. Having won a WS (and two prior ones) will do that for you but no matter, this is a good thing for the Red Sox.
I was wondering about Swihart to Pawtucket and hadn't heard anything but it seems not quite yet.
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 2m
No promotion for Swihart at this time, according to Cherington
Gordon Edes @GordonEdes 2m
No promotion for Swihart at this time, according to Cherington
Really? What makes you think that Gomes would even begin to be less than 100% supportive? He's happy to be alive much less playing for the Red Sox. Nothing arrogant about him at all. Everyones favorite team mate.Bleedred said:
Ah, that's right. I remember he wasn't too well-liked in SF and they gave up a lot to get him and he was gone after a year. Good call.Lars The Wanderer said:
I'm glad he's gone. He was hard to watch, although he did have a remarkable ability to get his bat on bad pitches; behind him, two feet outside, over his head. It's not a baseball skill, it's a circus skill.
He did give us this. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24598635/aj-pierzynskis-outstanding-one-liner-earned-ejection-in-early-june
He did give us this. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24598635/aj-pierzynskis-outstanding-one-liner-earned-ejection-in-early-june
I have felt all along that the FO expected to sign Carlos Ruiz, then had to scramble for a backup plan when Philly inexplicably offered him 3 years. (Ruiz has been good this year, but that kind of commitment made no sense for a team that had little shot at contending this season -- the Sox could reasonably have been caught by surprise.)
Maybe my hunch about Ruiz is wrong, but I'm convinced that signing AJP and platooning him with Ross wasn't what Ben set out to do. At any rate, I'm glad Ben cut his losses; if Vazquez plays decently in the second half, maybe the decision not to match the Marlins' offer to Salty will work out OK after all.
Maybe my hunch about Ruiz is wrong, but I'm convinced that signing AJP and platooning him with Ross wasn't what Ben set out to do. At any rate, I'm glad Ben cut his losses; if Vazquez plays decently in the second half, maybe the decision not to match the Marlins' offer to Salty will work out OK after all.
Looking back, they should have just offered Salty the QO. It would have been a ridiculous overpay, but they could afford it, and it would have bought them the year they needed.