Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Do the Red Sox have the right Adrian?

 
December 6th 2010. A day that Red Sox fans rejoiced as the team finally got the face of the franchise. After a year of lukewarm rumors, Adrian Gonzalez came to Boston. Theo Epstein had to part with his best prospects but it didn't matter to fans. His arrival gave the fans back a confidence that was slowly sucked out of them after a season in which injury upon injury put the Sox in the middle of the pack in the American League.

With Gonzo in the middle of the lineup, the Red Sox were set up as perennial favorites to win the World Series. Sixteen months later, the Sox are in rough shape thanks to a patched up bullpen and an ownership closing their checkbooks after a couple years of overspending.

You can’t blame Theo, or anyone really, for being enamored with Adrian Gonzalez. He is one of the best pure hitters in all of baseball; with the perfect combination of discipline, knowledge, and power. The team finally found someone that filled the void created when Manny Ramirez was shipped out of town, the guy in the lineup that will make a pitcher pay if they didn’t pinpoint every single pitch. His Gold Glove caliber defense was the cherry on top. When the Sox signed him for seven years, $154 million it seemed like a steal.

But with how the team is set up and all the issues that haunt them, it’s hard not to look back and ask: Do the Sox have the right Adrian?

Players to watch for in the World Series Part One: The Rangers

With all the drama surrounding the Red Sox, some may have forgotten that there is still some baseball left in this season! The World Series starts tomorrow as the Texas Rangers will take on the St. Louis Cardinals. This is for those that want to watch the drama on the field instead of in the front office or the clubhouse but need a couple people to root for. Some are familiar faces, others will be in the headlines this offseason, and some are just good stories in general. Without further ado...

 

C.J. Wilson

The ace of the Rangers staff stands to make some serious cash as he appears to be the best free agent pitcher out in the market, depending on what CC Sabathia does on his option. He's had it rough in the postseason (8.04 ERA in 15 2/3 innings) but all will be forgotten if he comes out tomorrow and then again later in the series and shuts down the Cardinals. Hell, that's what catapulted Josh Beckett in 2003.

If there were ever a time for the Red Sox ownership to pull off a PR signing, Wilson is their guy. He lives a straight-edged lifestyle, meaning he's doesn't drink, smoke, or use any other drugs. This would all but assure that he wouldn't partake in any rally beers (maybe a rally ginger ale) and the ownership can promote this like Vince McMahon pushed CM Punk when his wife Linda was running for a spot in the Senate.

 

Adrian Beltre

Yes, it's a photo of him in a Red Sox uniform but this photo summarizes the 2010 season when he did everything to keep the team relevant when it was him batting cleanup with a majority of the lineup that should've been in Pawtucket. He was the odd Adrian out once the Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres and went to sign a five-year, $80 million deal with Texas. He continued the hot streak from last year and put together a statline of .296/32/105 RBI in 124 games. Absurd.

He also continued the hot streak in the playoffs and singlehandedly did something that his former club couldn't do, beat the Rays. In Game 4 of the ALDS, he hit three homers to finish off those damn Rays which cued many people to say "where can the Sox get guys like this?!". It'll be incredibly bittersweet if he manages to get a hold of one and hit a homer off of one knee. But the Sox made their bed... let's move on.

 

 

David Murphy:

Remember him?! He rose through the Red Sox farm system in 2006, starting his season in Portland and finished with a September call-up to the Red Sox.

Then the Red Sox packaged Murphy, Kason Gabbard, and Engel Beltre in a trade deadline deal for this guy. (I promised Nick I would never mention his name again.)  Murphy has been the best player out of this deal, playing all three outfield positions and has come up huge in the playoffs, batting .412 in the ALCS. He's that scrappy player that would be beloved in this city... it's just a shame that we traded him for Eric Friggin Gagne. Oh crap.

 

For the Cardinals, check back on Teds Army later on today.

Morosi: Red Sox and Royals have "exploratory" Francoeur discussions

In what must be a joke being played on Theo Epstein by somebody in some baseball executive room, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting that the Royals and Red Sox have discussed OF Jeff Francoeur as a fallback to Carlos Beltran negotiations.

Morosi goes on to say nice things about how Jeff is handling left-handed pitching this year, but let me say this as clearly as I can:

There is quite literally no player in baseball that is less a Theo guy than Jeff Francoeur.

If we know anything about Epstein's mindset, it's that patience in a hitter -- and in a group of hitters -- is the most important thing to him. There are two blatant exceptions he's made (that I can think of; feel free to correct me) in his time here: Julio Lugo and Adrian Beltre. Lugo is to this day the most curious guy that Theo was enamored by; he offered very little and everybody seemed aware of that except for Epstein. Beltre was a short term, short money gamble that paid off handsomely.

Now, Francoeur may fall into that latter category, but he is not even remotely the same category player as Beltre. Beltre played below his talent level in Seattle, leaving many to think he was terrible (including me), when he really just couldn't hit in that park. Francouer just isn't good. 

2011 has been his best year, by most accounts, though he played well in a half season with the Mets a few years back. But even this year, he has 23 walks against 71 strikeouts. He's inexplicably started stealing bases (double his career high this year already). He's hitting for power -- 23 doubles and 13 homers -- but his OBP is still just .310.

It's not like he's a seasoned veteran so you can couch some "veteran leadership" nonsense into this, either. He's been all over the place and is a free-swinging, fringe player. We're much better off with Josh Reddick and JD Drew, and Theo knows it. Or at least he should.

Player Preview: Jacoby Ellsbury

Baseball is finally here. Everyone is ready to dedicate themselves for the grind that is the baseball year. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. May we suggest some player previews to help you cope until then?

2010 Stats: 18 G, .192 BA, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .485 OPS, 10 R, -0.1 WARP

2011 PECOTA Projections (via Baseball Prospectus): .283 BA, 7 HR, 52 RBI, .727 OPS, 59 R, 1.6 WARP 

2011 Ted's Army Projections: .289 BA, 8 HR, 55 RBI, .698 OPS, 70 R

Jacoby Ellsbury lost a season (thanks a lot, Beltre) last year and comes into the 2011 season with a new and old role.  Ellsbury has moved back to center field but will likely be dropped from the top to the bottom of the order.  Most fans will be comfortable with him back in center and with the stacked roster that the Red Sox have, it makes most sense having him at the bottom of the order. 

Jacoby will make the bottom of the Red Sox order a challenge for opposing pitchers. He will make things happen on the bases and set things up nicely for the 1,2 & 3 hitters.

Ellsbury will give you gold glove caliber defense in center and combined with Crawford, don't expect many balls to fall in the gap.

Game of the Year:

April 1, 2011: The Red Sox kick off the 2011 season in Texas, and coincidentally, Adrian Beltre now plays for the Rangers.  During his first at-bat, Ellsbury hits a ball down the right field line and squeaks out a double. Crawford comes up to bat and hits a line drive into the outfield, giving Ellsbury an easy opportunity to score. While rounding third, Ellsbury takes an EXTRA wide turn and accidentally runs into Adrian Beltre, driving his knee into Beltre's ribs. Oh, payback is a bitch.  The Cliff Lee-less Rangers watch their reign of AL Champions slowly dissipate as he season progresses.

Biggest Question:

Has Ellsbury fully recovered from his injury and has he regained his speed?  We saw Jacoby Ellsbury make numerous attempts to return to the Red Sox with the injury being too much to handle. He was mis-diagnosed and made a few apperances with the Pawsox and Sea Dogs that led to no successful return.  He has made numerous statements that he will put last season behind him and is ready for 2011. If completely healthy, Ellsbury will help the Red Sox with a part of the game that they are not used to...speed.

Your Morning Dump... Where It's Yankees versus Sox

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

1B: Adrian Gonzalez vs. Mark Teixeira

To me, this isn't even close. Assuming Gonzalez is fully healthy by Opening Day (a semi-large leap, I guess)  I think he's a significantly better offensive player than Teixeira. Take a look at the road numbers of the two guys in 2010:

Gonzalez: 308 at-bats, 20 HRs, 59 RBI, .315 BA, .980 OPS

Teixeira: 309 at-bats, 14 HRs, 44 RBI, .227 BA, .728 OPS

Too small a sample size? How about the career road numbers?

Gonzalez: .303 BA, .376 OBP, .568 slugging

Teixeira: .267 BA, .363 OBP, .489 slugging

Gonzalez has played in a hideous hitter's park during his career, stuck in the middle of a lineup filled with Tadahito Iguchi's and Jody Gerut's and Chase Headley's. In 2009 Adrian Gonzalez led the National League with 119 walks, finished fifth with 40 homers and fifth with an OPS of .958. He did all this for a Padres team that finished second-to-last in the NL in runs scored. No regular (other than Gonzalez) had a slugging percentage that even equaled the league average. Pretty sure that's not going to happen with this Sox team in 2011. Would anyone be surprised if Gonzalez put together a .300-45-130 season? And this isn't a knock on Teixeira, a lock for 30-100 each year. But I think Gonzalez puts up Albert Pujols numbers this year.

Edge: Red Sox

WEEI - Who's better? Breaking down the Sox and Yankees position-by-position

This is the one matchup that Sox fans are going to be paying extra-close attention to.  The one that played us versus the future.  The numbers speak for themselves, but there's much more to the picture.

Teixeira has had the luxury of hitting in a loaded lineup for a couple seasons now, while Gonzalez has been a monster surrounded by weak bats.  You're not going to be able to pitch around Gonzalez this year, and more often then not, he's going to have baserunners in his peripheral as he stares down the pitcher.  Two things he hasn't been too familiar with.  Pujols numbers aren't an unreasonable expectation, but if he can just perform at the same level as he did for San Diego, you won't hear a peep of discontent from Sox fans.

The rest of the article is a good read, too.  Pedroia got beat out by Cano, Nick "Ugh, You Disgust Me" Swisher beat Drew, and the Yankees bullpen got the 'slight' edge over the Sox.  Youk did beat out A-Rod, which, 4 years ago, no one would have even considered.  The one area that truly matters, Starting Pitching, isn't even close.  Unless CC is pitching 162 games this year, that's one area the Yankees are too far behind to overcome.

Rest of the links:

WEEI -'Tight elbow' shuts down Doubront 10 days | With one swing, Adrian Gonzalez left his fears behind | Herald - On HR power points, Kevin Youkilis touches ’em all | Hideki Okajima needs command performance | NESN - Jon Lester Continues to Develop Pitching Arsenal to Balance Attack From the Mound (Video)

Your Morning Dump... Where Yankee Fans Make The Best .gifs

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

In the year 2010, we at SB Nation, our regional sites, and our blogs spent millions of words in an effort to tell you who was throwing or catching, or hitting a ball, why he or she was doing so, and why this was interesting or funny. A lot happened, and there was evidently a lot to say about it.

And if you missed the sporting events themselves, you were almost certain to find them on YouTube. In a sense, then, it seems as though we would have little use for the humble animated GIF. There's no sound, the quality of the image isn't always very good, and it's only capable of showing a few seconds' worth of action.

SBNation.com - The Best Animated Sports GIFs Of 2010: A Year Of Faceplants, Miracles, And Absolute Silliness

Do yourself a favor and just click on that link above.  Of course, only do this if you have a cool job that let's you peruse the internet, simply don't care about your job, have a cool boss.  Or, if you are the boss. 

The SB Nation crew did a great job compiling all of these .gifs.  Just fantastic work.

The Yankee crowd shot, which came in at number 8, is my favorite .gif in the list.  I think it speaks for itself.

There's only one Red Sox .gif, but it's a beauty; Victor rubbing Beltre's head in the dugout.

If you're still reading this, stop.  Go to SB Nation, and once your laughter subsides, come back and check out the rest of the links:

Globe - Mmmm, draft picks | Herald - Bill Buckner summering in Brockton this year | NESN -Terry Francona Excited to Start 2011 Season With Revitalized Red Sox Roster (Video)

Your Morning Dump: Where Adrian Beltre is poised to cash in

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Texas Rangers and free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre are close to completing terms on a multiyear deal, a source told ESPNdeportes.com on Sunday.

"They are still talking and have not completed the details, but an agreement appears imminent," the source told ESPNdeportes.com.

Another source said the contract probably will be for five years, with an option for 2016.

Two Dominican Republic media outlets reported Sunday on the negotiations. The newspaper El Caribe reported that Beltre and Texas would complete a six-year, $90 million deal within the week, while the website Piodeportes.com said the contract was a done deal and will earn Beltre $96 million.

ESPN | Source: Adrian Beltre, Rangers close to deal

These reports have floated around for a day now, and it seemed the deal would be finalized any moment. For now, it's still only a report, but it looks as though Scott Boras read the market for his client perfectly.

Rather than take the guaranteed money and years from Oakland last offseason, Boras convinced Adrian to forego $30 million guaranteed to have a one-year stop to re-establish what he can do (and that he can be healthy) in Boston.

Obviously, it worked out for everyone. Without Adrian last year, our injury-ravaged lineup would have been a sieve. But his free swinging, and swinging from the heels, gave us something to watch in an otherwise rough year.

And Beltre gets $90 million and is locked up until age 36 or 37, on a team that looks like it might establish itself as a regular contender.

So congrats to Adrian and kudos to Scott on the imminent new deal. We should have plenty to be excited about in 2011, but in 2010 Beltre was the offensive star of the show, and while he wasn't a personal favorite of mine, he sure was effective.

Well, I suppose it didn't work out for everyone. This marks another marquee free agent not headed to New York or LA, with two consistent AL rivals continuing to strike out on the free agent market. And the Yanks have their hands full with Andy Pettitte's Brett Favre routine. Fun times in the Bronx.

Herald | High achiever: Carl Crawford | Carl Crawford's options limitless | Yankees: Andy Pettitte situation not affecting other moves | Globe | Mets sign Taylor Buchholz | MLBTradeRumors | Reds to sign Jeremy Hermida

Nolan Ryan is interested in Adrian Beltre

Surprisingly, Adrian Beltre has not found a home yet but there has been interest around the league.  Now Nolan Ryan expressed his interest in Beltre, especially with all that extra cash they had in the bank for Cliff Lee.  I'm not suggesting they would pay him that much, but they can do a little more spending now for some other free agents. 

via WEEI

During an interview on Dallas radio station SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket, Rangers president Nolan Ryan stated that his team may have interest in free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, but would have to move some pieces around.

Ryan said regarding Beltre, “Well, when you have a player of his caliber out there, you have to have an interest if it’s realistic within what your budget is and how he would fit into your ball club and how you would hit him in the lineup and stuff of that nature. So, obviously with our ball club, it wouldn’t be nearly as clear-cut as somebody else, say whether it be the Angels and the rumor is that Oakland has made him offer. I would say if you looked at the free agent market right now, he’s probably the premier free agent that’s still unsigned.”

Beltre signing with the Rangers would be the best-case scenario for the Red Sox due to the fact that both the Angels’ and A’s first-round picks are protected, not allowing the Sox to receive them as compensation for the third baseman signing with another team.

Red Sox fans should be rooting for this deal to go through for the compensation from Texas.  Nolan Ryan seems to like him enough and may have the most money to offer.  I wonder if he is going to take him hunting.

The Angels take Beltre out of their shopping cart

AP photo

The LA Times reports that the Angels pulled their offer to Adrian Beltre but are still interested.  

The Angels have pulled their free-agent offer to Adrian Beltre, but a major league source familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday that "the door is still open" for the slugging third baseman to sign with the team.

The Angels' stance on Beltre contradicts a recent Internet report that the Angels had "dropped out" of negotiations for Beltre, a 31-year-old who hit .321 with 28 home runs, 49 doubles and 102 runs batted in for the Boston Red Sox last season.

The Angels' offer to Beltre, who also is a Gold Glove-caliber defender, was believed to be for five years and at least $70 million, but Scott Boras, the agent representing Beltre, called those reports "inaccurate," adding that he "has spoken to the Angels front office" and was assured that information did not come from them.

Who thought Beltre would be out on the market this long and there would be a team withdrawing an offerer to him.  It's like Christmas shopping, you put an item in your cart, you are about to check out then you stop and say, "Hmmm, I might be able to get this cheaper somewhere else.  If I can't I'll come back and get it."  So Beltre is sitting at the cashier waiting for the Angels to come back and pick him up. 

The Beltre market is developing slowly

Tim Dierkes compiled the latest on Adrian Beltre's quest for a big contract, and it sounds like things are progressing slowly.

We learned Friday that the Angels' offer to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre is believed to be in the five-year, $70MM range, with the player seeking a sixth year.  The Halos' offer is "not likely to be increased," Mike DiGiovanna wrote at the time.

Scott Boras seeks the sixth year, or at least something in the $85-90MM range on a five-year deal according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal says the Angels "are not angry to the point they were two years ago, when they publicly withdrew from the negotiations for Mark Teixeira."

The Angels must be quietly fuming over the offseason, but they have no one to blame but themselves. They've missed out, as they almost always do, on the big-ticket free agents, because of an unwillingness to go the extra mile and overpay (it was rumored that they privately found the Red Sox' contract with Crawford to be ridiculous). So this is why they always get stuck with the Torii Hunters and Adrian Beltres of the world. Which is fine, but probably keeps them at the level of first-round playoff exit, since most of their internal talent doesn't seem to develop (Hello, Brandon Wood).

Beltre will get paid eventually. Since there don't appear to be any other suitors (if only the Nationals needed a 3B...), unless Boras can manufacture a mystery team, it looks like 5 years, $70 million is where it's going to stay. In a world where Jayson Werth goes for $126 million, that would be quite a bargain.