The Official 2014 AL East Thread

Or even a coach just to throw to him? Or the countless minor leaguers that are down there?

 

Game got rained out no?

 

Well teams are suppose to send at least 4 regulars to each away game, and the roster the Sox sent was suspect. I guess the home teams are mad because the people buying the tickets want to see some of the regulars from the visiting teams too. But I'm with you, it's Spring Training so it's buyer beware and it's not like the regulars play all 9 innings anyway.

 

John Henry apparently laid the smackdown on the Marlins today on Twitter saying "they should apologize for their regular season line up". While funny I kind of wish he would have continued to stay quiet like he did most of last year.

 

I'm all for Loria bashing but I think Henry is out of line and looks like a clown.

 

Completely agree. I see no point in doing so. I like the Sox ownership much better when you don't hear from them because when they do open their mouths usually it just makes them look bad.

 

Apparently the Sox got fined because of the roster they sent to the Marlins ST game which is what set Henry off. Either way just shut up, I mean why even bother.

 

Yes it's a rule. MLB teams are suppose to send at least 4 "regulars" to each away game. I put regulars in quotes because it's a loose term as they want teams to send guys on the MLB roster who are usually at least starters or part of a platoon. Teams usually send 2 or 3 starters and then a back up catcher/4th OFer/back up infielder.

I believe JBJ was the only Sox "regular" sent to the Marlins game, that's if you don't want to count Ryan Lavarnway or someone like Brandon Snyder as one. Other than that the Sox really didn't send anyone else from the MLB roster. So the Marlins had the right to complain but most teams don't really stick to that rule often.

Again I think it's kind of a silly rule, especially in FL where teams have to travel sometimes 3 plus hours on a bus to play a game. I get why the MLB wants teams to send out starters but I think the ultimate goals for each teams should be to get ready for the upcoming season not who's on the traveling team for the day.

The Marlins were upset because they were charging extra for tickets to the Red Sox game and none of the big name Sox players made the trip.

 

Which is understandable on the Marlins end.

 

I never disagreed with their complaint. If it's a rule, no matter how good or bad, it should be enforced.

 

John Farrell has announced the Sox rotation to start the year will be Jon Lester, John Lackey, Felix Doubront, Jake Peavy and Clay Buchholz.

Also mentioned that Shane Victorino might give up hitting from the left side. A move I would welcome considering his splits and how well he did, granted in SSS, last year.

 

I understand the rule too. Me and you might not mind it, but for the average fan, they pay to go see the game and there's a bunch of players playing you have no clue who they are. Especially since it's very difficult even for the mes or yous to find out who is going to be in the lineup in an advanced notice.


I remember when I was younger being a massive griffey fan, when he was with the reds, paying for quite a few spring games when he wasn't in the lineup. There was no way I could know, and it was a bummer.

 

I never understood why some players didn't do this...the splits didn't lie. One guy I was always dumbfounded by not doing this was Jose Cruz Jr. He couldn't hit right handed to save his life. Especially towards the end of his career.

 

But even at a regular season MLB game you're not guaranteed to see a certain player, it's a crap shoot depending on various things. Granted you're more likely to see the 9 regulars play during the regular season. That's one of the problems the Yankee fans are going to run into with Jeter this year, for example, they might be paying a lot of money to see him play one last time and he might not even be playing in that game.

I feel like in ST it's kind of buyer beware and people should know going into the game they might not see a lot of major league players and if they do it might only be for 1 or 2 at bats and 3 or 4 innings in the field. To me, anyway, ST is more about watching the younger guys playing and see perhaps the future of the franchise. Either way ST games are usually pretty cheap no? I haven't been to a ST game in like 10 years or so but remember it was 10 or 15 bucks.

 

I don't get it either. A lot of it probably has to do with ego I'd guess. I think more teams should encourage players to stop the switch hitting if there are massive platoon splits or at least test out hitting from just one side of the plate.

I kind of remember when Hanley Ramirez first came up and was a switch hitter but quickly stopped hitting from the left side.

 

Absolutely their cheaper, and absolutely it is buyer beware. And generally I think people that go to ST games understand it's not going to be a bunch of stars playing, but imagine if there wasn't a rule and then they went to the game and there wasn't anyone playing from the major league team, that's where people would have issues.

 

But you're talking about "fans" in 2 states (Florida and Arizona) for 1 month of the year that's preseason where the games don't count. And unless you're the Red Sox or Yankees or another popular team with a large fan base like the Cardinals, Cubs or Dodgers you're not selling out the place anyway. It's not like teams are making millions of dollars in March.

If I'm a GM or manager of a major league team, there's no way I'm putting my superstar player on a bus for 3 plus hours to get 2 or 3 at bats in 3 innings. Might as well just have him stay back and play in a simulated game or in a minor league ST game. I let my rookies or lesser star players make those trips, which is what teams do anyway. Derek Jeter or Dustin Pedroia isn't making that 3 plus hour bus ride, Nunie and Will Middlebrooks are.

 

I wasn't trying to imply that there aren't fans of all different teams in Florida or Arizona especially since those states are the biggest in terms of retirees and also before 1992 for FL and what 1996 or so for AZ neither state had a pro MLB team there so people in those states had to pick a random team to root for. Again we're talking about 2 states and 1 month and the majority of the fans that go to the ST games will go regardless of who plays. If fans are really complaining about which players are or aren't playing at a specific ST game then they don't grasp how ST really works.

 

Pirates sell out every single game here in Bradenton. And the Orioles the last couple games I've been to have been sell outs at their park in sarasota(one town over). Spring training is huge down here.

 

Gotcha. Thought I saw a Tweet earlier today about ST attendance that had the Sox and Yankees drawing over 9k per game. Have zero idea what the average ST stadium size is. Either way that's good that there is interest in the games, especially a weekday game. So it seems like it doesn't matter who plays or doesn't because of the limited schedule that the teams are there they still bring out the fans.

 

Still kind of early. Let's see where he's at next start or 2. I saw a Tweet from a Yankees writer saying he was consistently between 85 and 87. That's not good.

The Yankees really need their starting pitching to be good this year to help handle some of the weaknesses in their line up and potentially in the bullpen. If he's not right that puts a ton of pressure on Kuroda, Nova and Tanaka.

 

Just saw Brett Wallace got release by Houston. Yankees may want to take a look at him, he's nothing special but he's still young, a former top prospect and a LHH. Plus again the Yankees have zero protection in case Teixeira goes down. Could probably get him on a minor league deal.

 

Nope. He's still got that first round tag. And he can't play much of anything called defense at first.

 

Both Kotchman and Morales are still FAs. Just looked at Kotchman's BR page and how in the world is he only 30 years old? It seems like he's been in the league forever. I would have guessed he was at least 36.

Morales, obviously, would cost the Yankees a draft pick and a major league roster spot. Not sure it makes sense for them to sign him when there would be no place for him to play if everyone is healthy.

I'm not sure why Kotchman is still a FA, he was hurt all last year so maybe he's still hurt now? He didn't have a good 2012 season after playing well for the Rays (shocking huh?) in 2011. He's nothing special by any means but he still has a good glove.

Yeah I heard about the cutter. So CC has learned a new pitch AND is in the best shape of his life? Haha. I seriously wonder if him losing all that weight has some effect on his velocity or even his durability. Of course he has a ton of miles on that arm already.

I wouldn't use the cutter as a reason why he wasn't throwing that hard this season. I mean it's great he's learning a new pitch but he's still got to throw some regular fastballs.

Again, still think it's a start or 2 early to panic. I'd wait until he has at least 4 starts under his belt, but I guess I'd probably be a bit worried if I were a Yankee fan right now, especially with him coming off his worst year last year.

 

Well they clearly learned there lesson this offseason spending over $400 million dollars on 3 out of the top 4 guys that they sign that are in their 30s....