Thursday, June 01, 2006

research time

JT and I will be down on the farm doing a little research tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be catching the Paw Sox vs. Louisville Bats. Looks like we will see Abe Alvarez since the off day has pushed everyone back, so no Craig Hansen. Oh well, Stern will likely lead off followed by Pedroia and Murphy so we could see a glimpse of the future. While perusing the minor league web sites, I did notice we don't really have a lot of power down on the farm. I guess power tends to develop with age, so lets hope that is the case for the current crop of youngsters. On the plus side, there seem to be plenty of good arms, although if April/May 2006 has taught us anything.....

Another thought keeps coming to my mind - regarding Manny. As that contract gets shorter and shorter and Manny keeps on slugging, I really do think the chances of one or both of those $20 MM options will get picked up. Of course there is always the trade possibility. But one or two year commitments at $20 Million (especially for a team like the sox) are certainly "less" risky than giving guys like Konerko, Drew, Ordonez, etc 5 years at $12MM.

10 comments:

  1. Man, you're in Boston a lot. Is this an extended trip out there?

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  2. Well, if Manny is not re-signed, where does he go? There are only a few answers and one of them I REALLY don't like.

    Obviously, Minaya loves the guy, so the Mets would be in the hunt...and then probably the Yankees.

    For now, it looks like the front office looks like they like the "two-bashers and lots of other guys" approach. Could be they really think Wily Mo becomes the new Manny and then they retain Ortiz.

    What about these questions, as well?

    Does Nixon get re-signed?
    Will this team go with Crisp, Nixon, and Pena as the everyday outfield? Will Pena go to first base, and Youk back to third when Lowell goes?
    Is the outfield then Crisp, Murphy, Nixon? No power there...
    The infield is then Pena, Youk, Pedroia, ???.

    Does Papelbon becomes a starter? Does Lester make a smoothe transition to the big league club?
    Does Hansen?
    Alvarez?

    Tons and tons of questions...

    But, X, I am right with you. Not a lot of power in the organization right now. Is Ellsbury (sp?)considered to be a power guy? They seem to think of him as one of their top prospects.

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  3. I actually can't think of that many big Sox prospects that were power hitters. Izzy?

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  4. And Manny I could see somewhere other than NY or Boston - LA, SF, Chicago, Arlington...

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  5. Seriously, though, Earl, if you look at the minor league teams the Sox have, I don't think you'll find a guy with more than 10 HRs, and most have 0. I don't think they have a guy with potential 20 HR power.

    By all accounts, Pedroia is another Eckstein power-wise. Murphy is a doubles guy. Up and down the system, no power.

    Yes, Izzy was one. Nomar. Nixon. They had some gigantic 1b when we went to see them. Can't remember the name (probably because of how cheap the beer was). They've definintely had some legit power guys down there.

    However, I think the on-base approach trumps power in this organization.

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  6. Wow, I don't know how I forgot Nomar and Trot. And before that was Vaughn...

    Yeah, who was that ginormous dude? I think he even was called up some September...

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  7. I'm looking back at old rosters and finding some old names I totally forgot about. Morgan Burkhardt! Wilton Veras!

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  8. Mo Vaughn. Dernell Stenson. Phil Plantier. Greg Blosser. Luis Ortiz. Izzy. Tim Naehring. Sam Horn.

    There are some guys there. Not all Manny-Ortiz power, but more that what the farm has now. elsbury is not a power hitter. He is compared to damon.

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  9. Actually it turns out Izzy wasn't a true Sox farmhand - drafted by the Expos in 1990 and didn't join the Sox system until he was 27.

    I should've said "recent big Sox prospects". Of all the guys you named, only one (Dernell) was drafted in the last 15 years. So power hasn't been a big deal for a while now.

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