Next year will tell the story.

yaz

i had to stop saying that about glenn braggs.

Krypton native Mike Trout

Rates a hah.

I feel like every day I get more and more convinced that I want the Sox to pursue BJ Upton. While Upton is a flawed player I think his youth really works in his favor. The other thing about him is that I think signing him would speak well that the organization wasn't trying to win the PR war in the off-season. There would be a LOT of criticism if they signed him ("hey great, another TB outfielder, it worked so well last time") but I think it would be a move with a good chance of success.

Ellsbury is Russian?

I thought only foreigners could be enigmatic.

I feel like every day I get more and more convinced that I want the Sox to pursue BJ Upton.

What is part 2 of that plan? Which player do you move off of CF? or do you trade Ellsbury?

Phase Two: ???

Phase Three: Profit!

I feel like every day I get more and more convinced that I want the Sox to pursue BJ Upton.

Ironic, considering the article title. "If you think Ellsbury is enigmatic, just wait til you get a load of BJ Upton..."

Is enigmatic a synonym for injury-prone?

What is part 2 of that plan? Which player do you move off of CF? or do you trade Ellsbury?

Probably Upton if I truly believe that Bradley is ready for 2014. I think there is no chance of Ellsbury being here after 2013 so I probably go L-R Ellsbury/Upton/Ross.

Admittedly this is just off the cuff though. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about the off-season moves or the impact on the club. So far my thoughts are;

1. Bring back Ortiz. Whether he deserves it or not the Sox are going to stink and I need something to root for. A farewell tour isn't the worst way to spend a year.

2. Play Iglesias everyday and find out.

3. Um...profit!

Probably Upton if I truly believe that Bradley is ready for 2014. I think there is no chance of Ellsbury being here after 2013 so I probably go L-R Ellsbury/Upton/Ross.

Admittedly this is just off the cuff though.

It's so off-the-cuff that you contradict yourself about which player moves to LF within 2 sentences! J/K. I'm guessing you will be in the minority of Sox fans in wanting Bossman Junior to be signed.

Actually that two sentences accurately reflects my thought process even though you're right, they are contradictory. At first it was Upton but as I thought about it I felt "I'm signing a center fielder, I should put him in center."

I agree I would be in the minority. That's part of what I got at when I noted that it would be a change from the recent "let's win December!" mindset the organization has gotten into too much. If it's the right move, it's the move that should get made.

I'm guessing you will be in the minority of Sox fans in wanting Bossman Junior to be signed.

I'm in that minority, too, though I admittedly have no idea what kind of deal he'll be able to get.

To me Ellsbury = Darin Erstad

At first it was Upton but as I thought about it I felt "I'm signing a center fielder, I should put him in center."

I agree I would be in the minority. That's part of what I got at when I noted that it would be a change from the recent "let's win December!" mindset the organization has gotten into too much

I think signing Upton to play CF would be repeating the mistakes of signing a guy for a position at which they already have a solid player (Cameron signing) and wasting a speedy outfielder in LF (Crawford, Cameron signing again).

2. Play Iglesias everyday and find out.

Iglesias looked amazing in the few games I watched in Baltimore. Is there any chance he'll be able to put up an OPS in the .650-.700 range?

I think signing Upton to play CF would be repeating the mistakes of signing a guy for a position at which they already have a solid player (Cameron signing) and wasting a speedy outfielder in LF (Crawford, Cameron signing again).

Unlike Ellsbury/Crawford you could move Upton to right field. From what I've read about Bradley's arm that may be an option with him as well. Also, with Crawford/Ellsbury you had a multi-year situation at work, in this case you've got a one year situation. The "worst" case is you are able and willing to keep Ellsbury AND Bradley pans out. If the Sox head to 2014 with an outfield of Ellsbury, Upton and a Bradley/Ross platoon, they are probably in good shape.

The reason the Cameron/Crawford moves didn't work is because the guys sucked. If Upton comes in and hits .250 with 25 homers and plays very good defense that's not a problem.

EDIT: And like I said, I'm off the cuff here. I'm assuming Upton's not getting an 8 year, $150 million deal and I'm pretty sure 3/36 ain't getting it done either. Somewhere in that wide range is a sweet spot.

Iglesias looked amazing in the few games I watched in Baltimore. Is there any chance he'll be able to put up an OPS in the .650-.700 range?

Boy if he can get to .700 in this environment I'll do cartwheels. From what I've seen of him I think his offense is going to look a lot like Alex Gonzalez' with doubles more than home runs which probably puts it down in the .600-.650 range.

The reason the Cameron/Crawford moves didn't work is because the guys sucked. If Upton comes in and hits .250 with 25 homers and plays very good defense that's not a problem.

Well, the reason the 'Let's win December!' moves didn't work is because those guys sucked. If Hamilton comes in and puts up a couple of monster hitting seasons, his $25m price tag is not a problem.

To be honest, I doubt the Sox sign either Upton or Hamilton.

Since they got rid of Beckett, maybe they should go full circle and re-acquire Anibal Sanchez.

Iglesias has a .589 OPS in 783 AAA PA. What's the best MLB career by a player who couldn't muster a .600 OPS in AAA? Not trolling, just curious.

OPS+ of 107, meaning that his OPS (adjusted for parks) is 7 percent better than the league average.

Grrr ... no.

The great Rey Ordonez mustered a 554 OPS in AAA, 634 overall in the minors. WAR has him as replacement level. It was a lot of fun watching him field. And endless aggravation watching him hit.

Iglesias has a .589 OPS in 783 AAA PA. What's the best MLB career by a player who couldn't muster a .600 OPS in AAA? Not trolling, just curious.

I would think Brendan Ryan is Iglesias' absolute, tippy-top, upside. He OPSed 644 in AAA, and 750ish in A and AA. Iglesias was only at 672 in AA.

Iglesias has a .589 OPS in 783 AAA PA. What's the best MLB career by a player who couldn't muster a .600 OPS in AAA? Not trolling, just curious.

I would've thought that some people didn't get above .600 OPS for their total OPS in AAA until a third go-round (which will be Iglesias in 2013), but the only one I could find was Mike Gallego.

I would've thought that some people didn't get above .600 OPS for their total OPS in AAA until a third go-round (which will be Iglesias in 2013), but the only one I could find was Mike Gallego.

The mighty Alvaro Espinosa didn't break 600 until his third AAA year. He also broke it in year 4, but slipped down to 567 in AAA year 5. Not a good player, but he did get 2600 MLB PAs.

He had more home runs in 2011 than in his entire prior professional career combined, including minors, 2005-2010. I think anyone expecting more 30/30 years from him is going to be frequently disappointed.

I assumed comment #26 was about Jose Iglesias, and was stunned.

Upon further inspection Jose Iglesias did have more home runs in 2011 than in his entire prior professional career, having hit 1 that year.

Iglesias looked amazing in the few games I watched in Baltimore. Is there any chance he'll be able to put up an OPS in the .650-.700 range?

He has an outside shot, if and only if OPS is used as a counting stat.

Rey ordonez had a .554 ops in aaa, career .600 ops in the bigs.

Igelsias has a long track record of being unable to hit. He's never going to be an acceptable offensive performer at the big league level and it's my hope the Sox understand that sooner rather than later.

OPS+ of 107, meaning that his OPS (adjusted for parks) is 7 percent better than the league average.

Grrr ... no.

No? I thought that was exactly what it indicated?

Is there any chance he'll be able to put up an OPS in the .650-.700 range?

Sure, assuming they stick him at AA next year.

I thought only foreigners could be enigmatic.

That's his Navajo side coming through.