As always, the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals games won’t be shown OVER 4 HOURS AWAY in North Carolina. What a disaster.
Categories
Tag: baseball
> David Ortiz’s full Hall of Fame case is nuanced. His career numbers fall somewhere between Fred McGriff and Frank Thomas, which puts him right on the border. His extra-base hits total is massive — some of that is Fenway Park. His postseason heroics boost him considerably. His failed drug test will be considered. And yes, he spent almost his entire career at DH. I think you have to throw all of that into a tumbler, shake it up and roll it out. I vote for him.
Sounds about right to me.
Though there were rumors yesterday, David Ortiz made the official announcement today:
Here are some of the articles trying to put Papi’s careeer into context:
* Brain MacPherson says [no hitter has ever meant more to the Red Sox than Big Papi](http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151117/SPORTS/151119348/14009?rssfeed=true).
* David Schoenfield calls him [an iconic player](http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/66461/love-him-or-hate-him-david-ortiz-is-an-iconic-player).
* Jeff Sullivan shows how [Papi has refused to decline with age](http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/david-ortiz-has-refused-to-decline/).
This is no surprise based on Dombrowski’s track record.
This is just seem so weird.
That’s a “fun” headline.
I’m sad to see Orsillo go. I really enjoyed listening to him call games.
I’m fine with this. I think Farrell should get a chance to manage whatever team Dombrowski ends up putting together.
I think NESN has handled this whole situation poorly, so I’m glad to see that they plan to at least do this.
No surprise that Wren is joining the front office. I think it’s interesting that they didn’t give him the GM role, instead keeping Hazen in that role. Hopefully, this means that Dombrowski hasn’t decide to completely scrap all ideas of statistical analysis in favor of “traditional” scouting.
Congratulations to Big Papi. Another great accomplishment in (what I would argue) is a hall of fame career.
It seems unlikely, but I have learned to never count out Big Papi
I am going to be really happy if this means that I’ll get to see JBJ roaming Fenway’s outfield for years to come.
Categories
The Xander Bogaerts Overhaul
An excellent piece from Jeff Sullivan at *Fangraphs* about how Bogaerts efforts to stay back and drive pitches the other way has impacted his plate coverage (and, as a result, his hitting overall.) I especially like Sullivan’s suggestion that Bogaerts’ power should start coming back as he gets more and more comfortable with this new approach.
Categories
Hanley Ramirez, Left Fielder, is no more
Not a surprise, considering how much a disaster this was. The question is: Will he be the regular first baseman next year or will the Red Sox go “all in” with youth and go with Travis Shaw instead? (Based on rumblings about new President Dombrowski, I would think Shaw is someone the Sox would like to trade for pitching.)
Hanley was a disaster in the outfield, so I’m not really surprised by this (especially after the Sox moved Napoli.) I figure he’ll be able to adjust to this position just fine.
> “For the last 15 years it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Don,” an emotional Remy told a small group of reporters immediately after the broadcast. “I can remember him sitting in the booth when the job became available. He was asking me if there was any chance he could probably get it. I said a few things to a few people and he did get it. He’s been an outstanding partner for 15 years and I’m truly going to miss him ‘ on a work-related side, and I’m going to miss him on a personal side because he’s also become a very, very close friend of mine. I know that he’s going to land on his feet and he’s going to be in great shape. I’m sure they’re going to be lining up for his services, I really mean that. He’s terrific at what he does. He’s been absolutely fabulous to work with. I love him. He’s going to do just fine. I’m not worried about that part of it.”
I’m really going to miss Don and Jerry during Red Sox games. This whole change is kind of a bummer.
> All in all, the Red Sox get one of the best front-office guys in the sport. Given his track record, you can bet on Dombrowski not settling for an army of Justin Mastersons serving up meatballs to be pounded over the Monster. Beyond the Cabrera heist, remember that Dombrowski pulled off the following deals: Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, and Phil Coke for Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson; Cespedes, Alex Wilson, and a prospect for Rick Porcello. He also acquired Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez, and Omar Infante for what turned out to be next to nothing. When it comes to landing quality players without giving up assets his team will regret ditching, few do it better than Dombrowski.
The whole piece is great (not a surprise, since Keri is my favorite baseball writer), but this quoted paragraph gives me some real hope for the future.
Goodell would have suspended him for the rest of the season.
Categories
Red Sox in Transition
In a surprising move, [the Red Sox have hired former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski](http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13465358/boston-red-sox-hire-dave-dombrowski-president-baseball-operations) to be the new President of Baseball Operations. As you might expect from such a decision, there has been a lot of fall out.
First, Ben Cherington, unexpectedly, resigned from his position as Red Sox GM. That means one of Dombrowski’s first decisions as new Red Sox president will be hiring a new GM. Early reports indicate that former Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren is already the “leader in the clubhouse.” Though I do not know a lot about Wren, Craig Calcaterra [seems to like that choice:](http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/19/frank-wren-thought-to-be-the-frontrunner-for-the-red-sox-gm-job/)
> Seems like a pretty good combination, actually. Dombrowski is a good trader and a bold big picture guy. Wren had his issues with some of the grander moves made when he ran the Braves, but was pretty darn good at the day-to-day and the more complimentary moves like, you know, building bullpens. And, of course, there is unlikely to be ego issues there. Wren is not really anyone’s idea of a new-breed team president and shouldn’t have issues with the new, somewhat diminished role of the general manager these days.
Of course, as Dave Cameron points out, this move to a Dombrowski / Wren front office [could be a shift away from the analytical philosophy](http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagraphs/red-sox-hire-dave-dombrowski-signal-change-in-philosophy/) that has been a defining characteristic of the Red Sox over the past few years:
> Wren was ousted in Atlanta in part because the team had fallen behind the curve analytically, so a Dombrowski/Wren combination would make for one of the more old-school front office tandems in baseball today.
In a similar vein, one of Cherington’s greatest successes as GM was how [he had built the Red Sox farm system one of, if not *the*, best in baseball](http://www.overthemonster.com/2015/7/23/9020529/keith-law-ranks-red-sox-farm-system). Reading Tim Britton’s description of [Dombrowski’s team building philosophy](http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150819/SPORTS/150819302/14009), however, makes me think that the farm system wouldn’t be as much of an emphasis under the Dombrowski regime:
> Dombrowski has been known for quick turnarounds, often aggressively moving highly rated prospects in order to secure more established major leaguers. He owns a reputation as one of the game’s best evaluators of major-league talent, and time and again, he has brought in impact talent to his roster through trades.
As someone who has really enjoyed watching the young players develop (and [finally start to “get it” at the major league level](http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-currently-exploding-jackie-bradley-jr/)), I’m not sure I really want a team president who is going to trade away a bunch of prospects to get “established” major league players. That seems to be what got the Sox into trouble during the Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford era. (Is there a Red Sox fan out there who wouldn’t want to have Anthony Rizzo right now?)
In the end, I guess I will just hope that hope Jeff Passan [is right](http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/Jeff+Passan/SIG=14at1lguj/*http%3A//sports.yahoo.com/news/short-sightedness-of-the-red-sox-will-work-only-if-they-give-dave-dombrowski-autonomy-long-065034098.html)
> The thing is, Dombrowski inherits one of the best situations in baseball. It’s not just the Fenway cash cow or the ownership willing to spend money. It’s Mookie Betts in center field, Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia up the middle, and Blake Swihart at catcher. It’s Jackie Bradley Jr. and Rusney Castillo showing signs of completing the most athletic outfield in baseball. It’s Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens on the mound. It’s Yoan Moncada and Javier Guerra and Rafael Devers in the same infield, with Manuel Margot and Andrew Benintendi providing even more outfield depth.
If I look at things that way, I think I’m ready for Spring Training 2016 to get started.
*SIDENOTE: Though the decision to keep John Farrell on as manager will ultimately be up to Dombrowski, [Gordon Edes reports that Farrell is likely to stick around](#). I really would like Farrell to get another year with the team, and, of course, wish him well in his current [fight against cancer](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2549143-game-closes-ranks-as-red-soxs-john-farrell-takes-leaves-of-absence-for-cancer).*