ESPN's Bowden Grades The AL Offseasons

I have made it clear I'm not a fan of Bowden's. His use of traditional stats and his questionable logic make many of his opinions questionable. These rankings do the same for me.

3 months ago mr. maniac 21 comments 0 recs |

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Red Sox grading out higher than the Rays ??

No mention of the Rays signing Keppinger. Hard to believe anybody would objectively agree that Boston has improved more than Tampa during the off season.

Believe in the Fuld

by RayJzone on Feb 17, 2012 1:28 PM EST reply actions

True,

I walked past the Popeye’s in Fenway last night, still open….

"It was a little weird seeing Ashley running at me with a closed fist. That was a scary look."-Matt Moore

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 17, 2012 1:54 PM EST up reply actions

Keppinger is not a plus for the Rays

regarding this offseason.

I hope I’m wrong, but as of right now, I honestly don’t even want him to make the team. I’d rather have Helliot.

FREE GUYER!

by SandalsNoPants on Feb 17, 2012 11:51 PM EST up reply actions

Why? They're completely different players that could both bring something to the team. If only one makes it I hope it's the guy that has proven he can handle ML pitching

I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, and that was my relationship with the Lord

by Sandy Kazmir on Feb 19, 2012 12:41 PM EST up reply actions

And for the number of AB they will likely to receive,

I’d rather have the one who can field, particularly at SS.

I dare you to challenge Al Yellon.

You have been banned from Bleed Cubbie Blue.
I see a long moderation log here for you. You've worn out your welcome in just about the entire AL East, including your own home team! Congratulations, you've started on the NL Central. Goodbye.

by SandalsNoPants on Feb 19, 2012 8:03 PM EST up reply actions

Only way E. Johnson makes the team is if Brignac is sent down(or out).

by budman3 on Feb 19, 2012 9:27 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, I know.

I still think he’s more useful than Keppinger for what their roles would be.

I dare you to challenge Al Yellon.

by SandalsNoPants on Feb 19, 2012 11:47 PM EST up reply actions

Well yeah, only one of those guys even has a remote chance of staying and only one of them has an option

so it’s either EJ on the big club and Briggy in Durham or Briggy in Durham and EJ dangled through waivers. Or the third option of Briggy in Durham, EJ through waivers, and signing a bat.

I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, and that was my relationship with the Lord

by Sandy Kazmir on Feb 20, 2012 9:25 AM EST up reply actions

helliotsux

by benderbrodriguez on Feb 19, 2012 11:20 PM EST up reply actions

i don't really understand why ESPN shoves this failed idiot down our throats under the guise of the "GM's Office."

It amazes me how much they love to bring on guys that fail at their jobs to analyze the guys who actually do a competent job.

by rglass44 on Feb 17, 2012 2:43 PM EST reply actions

Bowden sucks so much.

I honestly hate reading his work.

by mr. maniac on Feb 17, 2012 5:39 PM EST up reply actions

At least he's likable

or he looks enough like John Daly, where he just appears to be likable.

"It was a little weird seeing Ashley running at me with a closed fist. That was a scary look."-Matt Moore

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 17, 2012 9:54 PM EST up reply actions

I honestly don't care too much if an analyst is likable.

They are there to analyze, something he seems to struggle at.

by mr. maniac on Feb 17, 2012 10:05 PM EST up reply actions

We're talking about ESPN though.....

Not every non-analytical analyst is going to be Doug Glanville. Granted Bowden makes some bad comments, but he’s got the scoop. I would wager that he’s kept on, not for his intellect,but for his connections. To me, he is similar to Jim Hendry. He’s a player’s GM and is able to cultivate those relationships for personal use (not reflective or indicative of his team building skills).

"It was a little weird seeing Ashley running at me with a closed fist. That was a scary look."-Matt Moore

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 18, 2012 12:11 AM EST up reply actions

It seems to me that an important criteria to judge the success of off-season moves

is to consider how well they addressed their priorities. Even Bowden seems to recognize that as he states regarding downgrading the Indians a bit:

“but the team didn’t address its biggest need: an impact middle-of-the-order bat.”

That is why I think his rating of Boston and TB is backwards. Boston’s #1 need was to deepen their starting rotation. They did nothing to address this beyond hoping that 2 relievers can do the job-which is why they needed to trade for two other relievers. As for the other moves, while we have to wait to see if things work out, right now it seems they weakened SS and moved laterally in RF.

On the other hand, TB had to add LH power and fill voids at 1B and DH which they did relatively inexpensively. They also deepened the bullpen without giving up any significant talent. The biggest holes remain catcher and shortstop offense, and even there, expecting Rodriguez to bolster SS offense and adding Keppinger is as realistic a hope as that Bard and Aceves become adequate starters.

by bobr on Feb 17, 2012 2:57 PM EST reply actions

Well that's not completly true, they traded an above average SS for Clay Mortensen, and they signed

Carlos Silva, Brandon Duckworth, Charlie Haeger, Tony Pena, Chorye Spoone, so clearly they have a plan to fill the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation. Worked for the Yankees last year so you can understand just how foolproof it is.

I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow, and that was my relationship with the Lord

by Sandy Kazmir on Feb 19, 2012 12:47 PM EST up reply actions

I'm not sure any of those guys have the upside Garcia or Colon had.

by mr. maniac on Feb 19, 2012 1:36 PM EST up reply actions

I don't think anyone thought Colon or Garcia had much upside this time last year.

If you recall, the talk in spring was about how quickly Manny Banuelos could join the rotation, and what starters they could get at the deadline. Similarly, no one should expect much from Cook, Silva, and so on, but they’ve assembled a ton of back-end types. They won 90 games with the second fewest quality starts last year (including a 9-3 record in Andrew Miller starts) which tells you that they don’t need much to get off.

I don’t think it’s insane to think they’ll get better production from one of those random arms than they did from Wakefield/Weland last season. Plus, there’s always the chance Bard, Doubront, or whomever give them a decent fourth starter to go with Lester, Beckett, and Buchholz. And I wouldn’t be shocked if they still sign Roy Oswalt.

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 19, 2012 1:46 PM EST up reply actions

What you (and Sandy, sarcastic or not) say is true,

but when grading moves, it is more relevant to consider what we know at the time, not what is unlikely to happen. Perhaps the Yankees did not get lucky with Colon and Garcia; perhaps they scouted and knew something the analysts didn’t know.

And similarly, perhaps Bard or Doubront or any of the pitchers Sandy mentions firm up the Boston rotation. But right now, I think anyone would demand pretty good odds to make that bet. It is kind of like what happened with Melky and Francouer in KC last year, or the reverse, what happened to Dunn or Crawford. The unexpected happens.

It is certainly not insane to think those pitchers will be better than Lackey, Wakefield, Matsuzaka, Weiland et al) were last year, but that is a pretty low bar, and compared to the likely upgrade to the offense in TB (or rotation in NY), I would not select Boston’s improvement as more significant or probable.

Perhaps it was an overstatement to say they did nothing, but what they did was minimal (so far).

Would we rank the Rays as positively if they had finished the off-season by signing Miranda and let’s say Dan Johnson to play 1B and DH in the hope that they will provide more power and overall more value than did Kotchman and Damon?

by bobr on Feb 20, 2012 7:56 AM EST up reply actions