Is it really that unconventional? I might argue that it is even MORE conventional than the current 5-man rotation. That is what teams did for so many years up to around the 1980s. It almost seems to me that this is the sort of change that many of the baseball "old-schoolers" would want to go with. It makes a ton of sense though, so it is unlikely to happen.
I would love to see the Sox pick up Napoli. He should be getting so much more playing time somewhere.
Good news to know there about Beckett. Looks like he SHOULD be able to make adjustments and come around next season at the very least. I would hope that he works on his conditioning during the offseason as well as that seems to be part of the issue going deeper into game. The conditioning may help him with the back issue as well. I guess at worst, we could end up with an extremely expensive closer down the road. Boy, I hope it doesn't come to that though.
He has been a real nice surprise this year. He makes a very nice fourth outfielder for a good team who can spell infielders in a pinch. GREAT player to have all in all, if he isn't too expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if a National League team goes after him though, because that is where I think his value and positional flexibility would really be good.
His contact rate is scary. If he does some work with that, with his speed, he will do MUCH better. But striking out 1 in 4 times isn't what will work, especially as he faces better pitching. Hope it works out though.
Way to go Nava. Really looking forward to seeing him play. I have been hoping he gets the call up all season.
Hmmmm.... line-drive, contact hitting, third baseman with a bit of pop. Sounds like Bill Mueller to me. That is not a bad thing at all either.
Do you really think Iannetta can recover? I would like to give him a shot. He just has way too much talent. A change may do him wonders. BUT, I still worry about him. He is one of my favorites for younger catchers (as evidenced by my decision to keep him in my fantasy league.... ugh).
Aside from that one year (08), however, Cano has ALWAYS had a remarkably high BABIP. Not sure why that is (overly natural line drive hitter? I dunno). But, 08 looked like a fluke based on his other seasons all in all. Now, I would still take Pedroia any day for defense and baserunning (plus like everyone else, I love the guy), but I just wanted to point that out about Cano's BABIP.
Whew..... I thought I had the entire thing messed up in my mind. Thanks for clarifying.
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Thingamajig