Jurr
12-17-2004, 11:08 PM
Okay, so we've seen KW use restraint (either forced or not), and didn't overspend for a number 3 starter. Good deal. It would've been very nice to see Clement in our pinstripes, but it's not to be.
Sooooo....what do we do now? How about nothing.
Let's see what the stew tastes like before trying to add, add, add.
What did we do this offseason so far?????
1.)Well, we made the bullpen VERY solid. We've got balance, power, and adequate depth in the pen to be competitive in late innings or to hold leads. Good job, Kenny.
2.)We added some speed at the cost of some slugging with the addition of Podsednik, and we also added a strong replacement for Magglio with Jermaine Dye.
Okay, you say, now what?
Do we go and add more talent for the sake of adding it, or do we go into spring training and start the season with the talent we've got?
This is a very good question.
Pros to staying put:
It would be nice to see the team go from here and begin the season for a couple of reasons. We seem to have a good rotation with Garcia, Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, and Grilli. Grilli isn't the perfect 5 guy, but he did win us some ball games last year, and could do better in his second season in the bigs. We can't predict how good he's going to be with the experience he got last year, just the same as we can't predict that Matt Clement will go through 2005 healthy and in control of his breaking stuff. Every single player has question marks. Every single team has question marks. It's just the business. Now, is it better to let some of our question marks grow into solid players? If we had done something to that extent in previous years, we wouldn't have seen the growth of Rowand, the emergence of Loaiza, or numerous other situations like that. But, it may be better to go ahead and spend on some guy that we HAVE seen do big things before. That seems to make a lot of fans feel better.
You can't have an All Star at every position. Last year, the Sox had a ton of question marks going into the season (Schoeneweis was the 4th starter, for God's sake!!!), yet we were competitive until injuries took their toll. Now, if we stay put and see what this new roster can do, we will have money to burn at the deadline (along with trades) to really bolster this unit to make a push. If we have a bad start and aren't in contention at the break, then the Sox just weren't a good team. The signing of one pitcher like Clement doesn't make the difference in 15 games in a half season. So, if the Sox suck, they suck...if they're competitive, then we add a pitcher at the deadline. That's one scenario.
Cons (why we need MORE!!!!):
There's the other line of thought that we need to add and make a paper champion. This would mean bringing in a possible catcher (AJP), a second baseman (Cairo?), and a fifth starter (God knows). Yes, we know the guys we have currently at these spots aren't proven, and getting any of these players gives us someone that has proven themselves over the course of numerous years. That always makes us feel better because we assume they'll do it again.
Maybe the Sox make another move or so...maybe they won't. Maybe it isn't the best thing in the world to add for the sake of adding. Maybe we should watch the kids play. I'm not sure exactly how I feel on this, but I am beginning to think more and more that this team is NOT YET a World Series contender, and they need to have a young team grow together, generate excitement, and make a surprise run at the playoffs. Then, we may see some payroll increases and things of that nature to make this team great.
Most people believe that a player is only as good as what he's done so far in his career. Even the "experts" are guilty of it. Morons like those guys pick the same teams every year in every sport to repeat as champs, disregarding the potential in the players of other teams. Nobody would've thought New England was going to be a Super Bowl team last year, because they were too busy saying the Bucs were going to be champs. That's what happened the year before, so it made sense to pick 'em again. This is an example of the notion that given time, a team can come out of nowhere and believe in what it's doing, all the way to the point that it becomes a contender. Is it a coincidence that the 2000 Sox players all had career years? No..the reason is that they all believed they could win and elevated their games. Who knows??? Willie Harris, Juan Uribe, Ben Davis, and Jason Grilli could all be solid players next year. I'm not smart enough to know, and neither is anyone else. It would be something to see for a little while, at least.
Sooooo....what do we do now? How about nothing.
Let's see what the stew tastes like before trying to add, add, add.
What did we do this offseason so far?????
1.)Well, we made the bullpen VERY solid. We've got balance, power, and adequate depth in the pen to be competitive in late innings or to hold leads. Good job, Kenny.
2.)We added some speed at the cost of some slugging with the addition of Podsednik, and we also added a strong replacement for Magglio with Jermaine Dye.
Okay, you say, now what?
Do we go and add more talent for the sake of adding it, or do we go into spring training and start the season with the talent we've got?
This is a very good question.
Pros to staying put:
It would be nice to see the team go from here and begin the season for a couple of reasons. We seem to have a good rotation with Garcia, Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, and Grilli. Grilli isn't the perfect 5 guy, but he did win us some ball games last year, and could do better in his second season in the bigs. We can't predict how good he's going to be with the experience he got last year, just the same as we can't predict that Matt Clement will go through 2005 healthy and in control of his breaking stuff. Every single player has question marks. Every single team has question marks. It's just the business. Now, is it better to let some of our question marks grow into solid players? If we had done something to that extent in previous years, we wouldn't have seen the growth of Rowand, the emergence of Loaiza, or numerous other situations like that. But, it may be better to go ahead and spend on some guy that we HAVE seen do big things before. That seems to make a lot of fans feel better.
You can't have an All Star at every position. Last year, the Sox had a ton of question marks going into the season (Schoeneweis was the 4th starter, for God's sake!!!), yet we were competitive until injuries took their toll. Now, if we stay put and see what this new roster can do, we will have money to burn at the deadline (along with trades) to really bolster this unit to make a push. If we have a bad start and aren't in contention at the break, then the Sox just weren't a good team. The signing of one pitcher like Clement doesn't make the difference in 15 games in a half season. So, if the Sox suck, they suck...if they're competitive, then we add a pitcher at the deadline. That's one scenario.
Cons (why we need MORE!!!!):
There's the other line of thought that we need to add and make a paper champion. This would mean bringing in a possible catcher (AJP), a second baseman (Cairo?), and a fifth starter (God knows). Yes, we know the guys we have currently at these spots aren't proven, and getting any of these players gives us someone that has proven themselves over the course of numerous years. That always makes us feel better because we assume they'll do it again.
Maybe the Sox make another move or so...maybe they won't. Maybe it isn't the best thing in the world to add for the sake of adding. Maybe we should watch the kids play. I'm not sure exactly how I feel on this, but I am beginning to think more and more that this team is NOT YET a World Series contender, and they need to have a young team grow together, generate excitement, and make a surprise run at the playoffs. Then, we may see some payroll increases and things of that nature to make this team great.
Most people believe that a player is only as good as what he's done so far in his career. Even the "experts" are guilty of it. Morons like those guys pick the same teams every year in every sport to repeat as champs, disregarding the potential in the players of other teams. Nobody would've thought New England was going to be a Super Bowl team last year, because they were too busy saying the Bucs were going to be champs. That's what happened the year before, so it made sense to pick 'em again. This is an example of the notion that given time, a team can come out of nowhere and believe in what it's doing, all the way to the point that it becomes a contender. Is it a coincidence that the 2000 Sox players all had career years? No..the reason is that they all believed they could win and elevated their games. Who knows??? Willie Harris, Juan Uribe, Ben Davis, and Jason Grilli could all be solid players next year. I'm not smart enough to know, and neither is anyone else. It would be something to see for a little while, at least.