Ha. I miss @Corsi during the offseasons days.You beat soxhop to a news posting. That should go on your gravestone.
Bite your tongue. Nobody beats Red consistently.You beat soxhop to a news posting. That should go on your gravestone.
As your numbers show, it wasn’t only 2 months of awesome performance. He’s had a lot of solid seasons.I have no idea which of the 4 threads was first, so I'll post here. This seems so incredibly anti Chaim. Pay for 2 months worth of awesome performance? I don't get it.
Soon to be 37 year old with a career 3.10 FIP and 119 ERA+.
Maybe he's the next Koji, who knows.
Certainly hope so. Chaim filling a need, and it wasn't a reclamation project this time. Maybe they've loosened the purse strings a bit.As your numbers show, it wasn’t only 2 months of awesome performance. He’s had a lot of solid seasons.
Clearly he got a salary bump from 2022 though, let’s hope it continues.
Ryan Brasier has a career 110 ERA+. I'll let you take that however you want.As your numbers show, it wasn’t only 2 months of awesome performance. He’s had a lot of solid seasons.
Clearly he got a salary bump from 2022 though, let’s hope it continues.
Yeah, what a cold play that was.You beat soxhop to a news posting. That should go on your gravestone.
Seriously. His career walk totals are a column of single digits.Martin's been a nice high leverage reliever since he came back from Japan. He has some of the best control among MLB relievers with a 229/24 (that is not a typo) K/BB over the past 5 seasons, and keeps the ball on the ground (GB is about 50% every year outside of a tiny 2020 sample). Nice addition to the pen, he'll help.
I see what you did here and I approveYeah, what a cold play that was.
That really got posted at The Speed of Sound.Yeah, what a cold play that was.
Doesn't this describe the thinking in signing Wacha too? Which worked out.I have no idea which of the 4 threads was first, so I'll post here. This seems so incredibly anti Chaim. Pay for 2 months worth of awesome performance? I don't get it.
Soon to be 37 year old with a career 3.10 FIP and 119 ERA+.
Maybe he's the next Koji, who knows.
Uh, no? Wacha sucked in 2021.Doesn't this describe the thinking in signing Wacha too? Which worked out.
Nice to have an example where a guy signs for the Rays, sucks, and then signs with us and is good. Maybe it's all random but I think we all want to believe our team has the special sauce to identify players they know how to get the best out of.Uh, no? Wacha sucked in 2021.
Are we sure he's a "non-closer"? Not that I'm advocating that he should/will be the nominal closer, but we've seen the Sox deploy the old "closer by committee" approach fairly recently. He'll be getting some high leverage innings for sure, whether they're in the 9th or the 7th/8th.Looking at his game logs for 2022, he was used mostly as a one-inning pitcher and was occasionally asked to pitch 1.1. He's averaged about a K an inning.
$8.5m/year for a non-closer who's only going to give you an inning at a time feels like a lot, especially with Barnes already making $8m+, but maybe that'll turn out to be the going rate this off-season.
Uh, we were talking about guys parlaying 2 months of performance into a multiyear deal, which is exactly what Wacha did in 2021. Look at his game log. It had to do with changing his pitch mix or mastering his change, can't recall the exact reason.Uh, no? Wacha sucked in 2021.
Except that the Rays unlocked his secret at the end of that season and the Sox bought him out from Tampa to just continue what he was doing.Nice to have an example where a guy signs for the Rays, sucks, and then signs with us and is good. Maybe it's all random but I think we all want to believe our team has the special sauce to identify players they know how to get the best out of.
So Chris Martin, keep pitching like you pitched for the Dodgers. And if something goes wrong, hopefully we know how to Fix You.
Wacha got a one year deal.Uh, we were talking about guys parlaying 2 months of performance into a multiyear deal, which is exactly what Wacha did in 2021. Look at his game log. It had to do with changing his pitch mix or mastering his change, can't recall the exact reason.
Don’t Panic.Ryan Brasier has a career 110 ERA+. I'll let you take that however you want.
Maybe the Red Sox have a trade up their sleeve?Still could use another lefty out of the pen, maybe that ends up being Taylor, but the RHP side looks very solid assuming Houck stays in the pen.
I don’t mind strike outs so much but dear god nothing drives me crazier than wild relievers. The Diekman experience will haunt me for a while.Great move the anti -Diekman. Martin doesn't walk people. A few things that have annoyed me in baseball over the last few years as I head to my 60s age. Relief pitchers that walk and stiffs who strike out. Good move.
Respectfully, Ron.
Isn’t it likely Taylor since they tendered him a contract? The bullpen seems likely done to me.Still could use another lefty out of the pen, maybe that ends up being Taylor, but the RHP side looks very solid assuming Houck stays in the pen.
That was my thought, he's been a rock solid BP arm for a few years now. He might be a touch overpriced, but that bullpen seriously needed an arm like Martin's to eat innings.Martin's been a nice high leverage reliever since he came back from Japan. He has some of the best control among MLB relievers with a 229/24 (that is not a typo) K/BB over the past 5 seasons, and keeps the ball on the ground (GB is about 50% every year outside of a tiny 2020 sample). Nice addition to the pen, he'll help.
Hoping at his age he can still feel the fear in his enemy's eyes.Crazy money for an old pitcher, especially a reliever.
He should adjust to the pitch clocks.Yeah, what a cold play that was.
Probably, but his contract will be small enough that if he sucks they can easily just release him. If he's the 2019-21 version then it'll be Taylor.Isn’t it likely Taylor since they tendered him a contract? The bullpen seems likely done to me.
Totally agree. He's a proven reliever, who worst case is solid, best case is very, very good, and they paid market price for two years. The Sox got better. There is nothing to complain about.Not sure why people hate the price unless you just didn't want them to sign any proven relievers this offseason.
He's not young but it's 2 years and the $ seems pretty reasonable to me given other signings.
Chaim isn't going to get anyone with his recent production at less than this.
Last season, Red Sox relievers walked nearly 10 percent of the batters they faced, the second-highest walk rate in the American League. That wasn’t a new phenomenon. The Red Sox have had the second-highest bullpen walk rate in the AL over the past five years. Ryan Brasierand Garrett Whitlock were the only relievers in last year’s bullpen who walked fewer than 2 1/2 batters per nine innings. Six Red Sox relievers walked more than 4 1/2 per nine.
https://theathletic.com/3963103/2022/12/02/red-sox-chris-martin-add/?source=user_shared_article
Yes! My wife and I were remarking how Kimbrel would walk 34 batters in a weekend after I saw Martin's walk stat. Kimbrel was supposed to be good and he was very not. Maybe I underrated Diekman, so his walks didn't sting as bad. or maybe it was the PTSD from Kimbrel...Yeah, forget the Diekman era, I'm still scarred from the end of Kimbrel's stay here. Can't wait to see Martin in action.