pdaj said:I like the move; and, yeah, this is waving the white flag. Trying to win a title every year catches up with you eventually. It's why Theo's in Chicago and the Yankees suck. Boston made a few curious moves this season after unexpectedly winning the title last year, as there seemed to be some pressure to give it another whirl. I'm glad to see the FO stick to their new way of doing things -- operating like the rich man's Tampa Bay Rays.
Dogman2 said:
Oh bullshit. You know damn well AJP was a one year bridge to Vazquez at a low cost. You also know offering Salty 3 years at a similar per annum cost was something the team didn't want to do because of the young C's in the organization. As mentioned, AJP was dumped painlessly today and only owed 3.6M. The same can not be said if this was Salty behind the Yawkey dish.
Oh, and AJP and Salty are having very similar seasons.
Have a nice day.
ivanvamp said:
Pierzynski: .254/.286/.348/.633, 76 ops+
Saltalamacchia: .225/.324/.404/.728, 100 ops+
Neither has been good, but Salty certainly has been better.
ivanvamp said:
Pierzynski: .254/.286/.348/.633, 76 ops+
Saltalamacchia: .225/.324/.404/.728, 100 ops+
Neither has been good, but Salty certainly has been better.
rembrat said:Any chance Vasquez is 2nd cousin to the Flyin' Molinas?
yecul said:.
"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.
joe dokes 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.
yecul 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:
Pierzynski: .254/.286/.348/.633, 76 ops+
Saltalamacchia: .225/.324/.404/.728, 100 ops+
Neither has been good, but Salty certainly has been better.
Dogman2 said:
How about defensively?
ivanvamp said:
Fangraphs has this for dWAR numbers:
AJP: 3.1
Salty: 3.5
For whatever that's worth.
brandonchristensen said:Well this is exciting!
I don't disagree with you that it was a bad signing, but what changed since last week when you thought he was a viable option for catcher in 2015?Plympton91 said:2012 was a mirage, possibly drug induced; and he had a .676 OPS and .275 OBP in the second half of 2013. This was a terrible signing. Hundreds of SOSH memebers said so at the time it was announced.
Stitch01 said:I don't disagree with you that it was a bad signing, but what changed since last week when you thought he was a viable option for catcher in 2015?
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: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!
But we are only TWO OUT from 1.1 and some guy named Nutella! Mmmmmm.garlan5 said:Wouldn't it be awesome if these young guys started hitting and sparked the club. Here's to hoping we go out fighting and win some games
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:
Stephen Drew doesn't merit being spoken in the same breath as AJP.
- AJP had half a season, plus spring training, to prove that he sucked
- Drew deserves some patience, particularly from baseball-savvy Soshers. He is what he is but he ain't there yet.
- SS is the most critical defensive position on a team. Pitcher pitch better when the know there's real strength up the middle. Why would you fuck with that? (Imagine the playoffs last year if Bogaerts had been at SS, despite the light hitting of Drew)
- The "future" at SS is more likely Marrero than Bogaerts. The future at 3B is more likely Bogaerts than Middlebrooks.
I hope we see some patience with Vazquez. Odds are he's not going to hit as well as AJP. No, matter - it's still a good move.
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:
Man, carrying two young catchers is tough. Much like pinch-hitting for a C, it's something managers just don't like because if it goes bad it goes baaaaad. I would say it's unlikely, but I'm very heartened by the potential of Vazquez to get maybe 750 PA at the ML level before Swihart is ready to come up. With his defense, if CV can handle a pitching staff, he can play the 'veteran C' role.
Bleedred said:If Johnny Gomes says anything that undermines the youth movement, I'd like him DFA'd before he finishes the sentence.
I'm not sure the universe can handle AJ and Beckett on the same team.Hee Sox Choi said: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!
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: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!
Great, now we'll be losing 3-0 instead of 4-0.yecul 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.
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:I don't disagree with you that it was a bad signing, but what changed since last week when you thought he was a viable option for catcher in 2015?
I'll always remember him hitting a walkoff triple and almost killing Jennings and Myers in the process.HillysLastWalk said:At least he got that one Fenway home run. Let's all remember that moment and it's glory!
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:If Johnny Gomes says anything that undermines the youth movement, I'd like him DFA'd before he finishes the sentence.
Hee Sox Choi said: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!
Very fair pointTheoShmeo said: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.
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:
Ned Colletti has already had the AJP experience.
Plympton91 said:Just like Steven Drew won't be with the 2014 Red Sox?