Red Mosquito

Why wouldn't they just put Craig and cespedes in the corner of spots and platoon Vic and jbj in center?

I don't even really want to entertain the idea of Lester coming back because I think it's spin, but if that did happen today becomes absolutley brilliant.

numbers wrote:Why wouldn't they just put Craig and cespedes in the corner of spots and platoon Vic and jbj in center?

Probably, but if they can get someone for Napoli at the waiver deadline they'll do it.

Why? Napoli is a good piece for next year if they are serious about going for it.

cutuphalfdead wrote:Craig can play 1B and Napoli has a contract that can clear waivers...

I'd much rather have Napoli than Victorino

Wow. Never, never have seen anything like this from the Sox. Glad to get a good return here on all the deals. But who's gonna pitch next year? Pedro?

Coach wrote:Wow. Never, never have seen anything like this from the Sox. Glad to get a good return here on all the deals. But who's gonna pitch next year? Pedro?

We can probably be certain of Buchholz and Workman. After those two, I really don't know.

I could see having one of De La Rosa, Webster, or Ranaudo being in the rotation to start the year, but I can't imagine the plan is to have all of them on the opening day 25-man roster.

What is the deal with Dempster? Does he come back next year to fulfill his contract which was set to expire after this season or does this count as his final year of the contract? Or did he retire and missed it?

I could see Ben targeting any of these guys (which offers no comfort):
Gavin Floyd (32)
Jason Hammel (32)
Brandon McCarthy (31)
Ervin Santana (32)
James Shields (33)
Edinson Volquez (30)

actually, all but Hammel and McCarthy carry draft-pick compensation, so never mind the other four guys if they're qualified offers (which I'm sure they will be).

I'd be a little surprised if Anthony Ranaudo isn't up at some point this year and has a shot at your rotation next year. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Edwin Escobar earn a shot. Pitched really well for Paw Sox the other night.

Ranaudo is starting tomorrow night for them.

numbers wrote:Ranaudo is starting tomorrow night for them.

Oh nice. I didn't know he was up already. Saw him pitch a few times in college. Has the looks of a solid starter.

Yeah, we'll see. They've been raving about him for a couple years, but they do that with everyone.

elliseamos wrote:actually, all but Hammel and McCarthy carry draft-pick compensation, so never mind the other four guys if they're qualified offers (which I'm sure they will be).

No chance Floyd or Volquez receive QO's.

all i'm saying is i wouldn't expect them to start the service time clock on ranaudo next april.

philpritchard wrote:

elliseamos wrote:actually, all but Hammel and McCarthy carry draft-pick compensation, so never mind the other four guys if they're qualified offers (which I'm sure they will be).

No chance Floyd or Volquez receive QO's.

my parenthetical was my thinking that they'd likely get more than a 1-year deal on the open market, so their current team would be safe to seek compensation.

can you name the current 2 red sox represented by scott boras?

Spoiler: show

Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr.

I'm not sure if you guys have watched either Joe Kelly or Allen Craig aside from last year's World Series, but both are having pretty terrible years. Craig in general has been worse than terrible this year. I think a change of scenery will help him (I'm not sure he thinks this though; the trade apparently gutted him; he wouldn't even talk to the media he was so upset) and maybe a different hitting coach can help him recover some of his batting form. When he's healthy he's a hell of a hitter, but not much of a defender (minus 1.5 WAR the past two years or runner (expect at least a couple of TOOTBLANs before the end of the year). That being said, I'm going to miss him a ton. He's a really great guy and he really loved being a Cardinal.

As for Kelly, he throws really hard but he has command issues. His numbers for last year look great but a lot of it was smoke and mirrors. He doesn't have a real out pitch aside from his fastball (though some of his secondary stuff looked good last night, at least at first) but his fastball is really good. He's still young so there's a lot of room for improvement if you can get his command right. He's also a really fun guy, and everybody on the Cards really loved him. Oh, and he's also fast as hell. Hopefully you'll get to see him run - he was legitimately one of the fastest players in the NL, which is weird but totally true.

I hate this trade even though I know it will probably help the Cards this year. John Lackey is a turd.

matt reeder wrote:I'm not sure if you guys have watched either Joe Kelly or Allen Craig aside from last year's World Series, but both are having pretty terrible years. Craig in general has been worse than terrible this year. I think a change of scenery will help him (I'm not sure he thinks this though; the trade apparently gutted him; he wouldn't even talk to the media he was so upset) and maybe a different hitting coach can help him recover some of his batting form. When he's healthy he's a hell of a hitter, but not much of a defender (minus 1.5 WAR the past two years or runner (expect at least a couple of TOOTBLANs before the end of the year). That being said, I'm going to miss him a ton. He's a really great guy and he really loved being a Cardinal.

As for Kelly, he throws really hard but he has command issues. His numbers for last year look great but a lot of it was smoke and mirrors. He doesn't have a real out pitch aside from his fastball (though some of his secondary stuff looked good last night, at least at first) but his fastball is really good. He's still young so there's a lot of room for improvement if you can get his command right. He's also a really fun guy, and everybody on the Cards really loved him. Oh, and he's also fast as hell. Hopefully you'll get to see him run - he was legitimately one of the fastest players in the NL, which is weird but totally true.

I hate this trade even though I know it will probably help the Cards this year. John Lackey is a turd.

thanks for this, i didn't really know the two new sox (other than last year and their seasons on paper this year). I myself like the trade b/c it gives the sox known guys (each w/ realistic potential), rather than some kid who's going to be in A-ball for two years and then be dealt (but projected/imagined potential).

I've been a huge fan of Craig for a few years now, an I liked the look of Kelly in the WS. I absolutely love that trade.

cutuphalfdead wrote:

numbers wrote:Why wouldn't they just put Craig and cespedes in the corner of spots and platoon Vic and jbj in center?

Probably, but if they can get someone for Napoli at the waiver deadline they'll do it.

Agreed. Craig can play first. There might be a contender who will overpay (over trade) for Napoli.