Comments on: Fan Confidence Poll: May 4th, 2009

By: MattG

MattG — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:58:01 +0000

This post is crazier than the first. It might be true that the Yankees have less patience than the Red Sox, but there is no evidence. The Red Sox have not had to have patience:

Ellsbury was a national phenomenon in the world series of 2007, then posted a .730 OPS with phenomenal defense as a rookie.

Pedroia wins an MVP in his second year (and when was he horrible? His first season was .317/.380/.442!).

Lowrie had a .739 OPS with solid peripherals in his rookie year.

Masterson had so-so peripherals, but great results (3.16 era as a rookie), so that’s not hard to be patient with.

Delcarmen’s had one year where he was the opposite–but the Sox are smart enough to understand BABIP–and has a career 3.26 ERA with a 179/77 K/BB ratio.

And Jon Lester, after missing a whole season with cancer, pitches 210 innings (!) with a 3.21 ERA (!!).

Man, I’d like to see the Yankees have that kind of patience, too. Maybe if Hughes and Kennedy can combine to have an era under 8, they’d have been a little more patient.

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:07:53 +0000

Don’t need to. I Know the Red Sox have more minor league talent. I though you meant depth on the 25 man roster.

But incidentally, their top 30 prospect are now closer in talent than you think, because most of Boston’s highly rated players are now in the majors.

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:01:58 +0000

“Crazy much? How much patience did the Sox have with Papelbon, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Lowrie, and Masterson?”

They had a good amount of patience with those guys.
Pedroia was terrible his first season in the majors. Masterson was so-so, Ellsbury was inconsistent last year (I think he has a streak of about 0 for 35 at one point), Delcarmen got roped for quite a while after his initial call-up, Youkilas was mediocre for about 3 years before becoming the elite player he is now, and Lowrie hit around .250 last season, but the Red Sox didn’t rush out and sign a new SS. Only Papelbon was great from the moment he suited up for the Red Sox.

“Only Buchholz and [the reliever from St John's whose name I cannot remember] had any trouble at all, and they’re not there anymore.”

Huh? Buchholz is still one of their top pitching prospects in the minors. They haven’t given up on him. And they’d still have Hanson, if it wasn’t for Manny basically forcing their hand in a trade. I mean, they got rid of Manny’s salary and turned Hanson and Moss into Jason Bay.

“No patience required. The call the guys up, and they immediately go on to pitch with 0.00 eras, compete for WS MVPs, or actually win an AL MVP.”

Unfortunately, that’s complete bullshit. But don’t let the statistics get in the way.

“Are you serious?”

Yup. The Sox have more patience with their young players than the Yankees do. Yes, they scout and draft better too, but I should NOT have to convince you that the Yankees are notorious for having ZERO tolerence for slow-developing young players. I mean, are YOU serious???

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:34:14 +0000

No, no abuse. In a close game like that, you can stretch him out a bit. Like I said, I had no problem with him being left in the ballgame that inning. If the Yankees had a sizable lead, sure, you can go to the bullpen. But in a close game, you don’t want to remove your ace and then have the pen lose the game, because then you’ve wasted Sabathia’s turn in the rotation.

A game like that is Sabathia’s to lose. And unfortunately, that’s what he did.

By: tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:34:31 +0000

Agreed. But, I think we’re a long ways from that. Nothing so far has looked like pitcher abuse to me.

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:12:30 +0000

He looks anxious to me. He is drawing alot of walks, which is a good sign, but he seems to lurch at the pitches he swings at……..most of his long outs to right field are off the end of his bat. He’ll eventually relax, and everything will be fine. Of the 3 big signings, Teixeira is the last one I’d be concerned about.

By: MattG

MattG — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:11:47 +0000

You need to go compare top thirty prospect lists.

By: MattG

MattG — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:09:44 +0000

Crazy much? How much patience did the Sox have with Papelbon, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Lowrie, and Masterson? Lester had freaking cancer. Only Buchholz and [the reliever from St John's whose name I cannot remember] had any trouble at all, and they’re not there anymore.

No patience required. The call the guys up, and they immediately go on to pitch with 0.00 eras, compete for WS MVPs, or actually win an AL MVP. Patience? Are you serious?

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:08:19 +0000

“the other reality is that right now, I think Girardi doesn’t have anybody he trusts more in that situation than CC.”

All the more reason to protect his arm over the course of the season. But having said that, I have no problem with Girardi trying to get him through that inning.

By: Chris C.

Chris C. — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:05:13 +0000

Yes, but since he was brought here for 8 years and an enormous amount of money, and has a good many miles on his arm in his career already for a guy his age, you can’t treat him like your first car……during the first two months of the season.

Once you pay a guy that kind of money, he stops being his own manager. The DL is filled with guys who “know their own body”.