Home Sports Talk
Options

Red Sox sign Mike Timlin to a one-year contract

BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭
Why? Why? Why? Anyone have more faith than me and can explain how this is a good move?

Comments

  • Options
    ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    There's no pitching out there. Especially middle relief, where I'm sure they envision him (or, setup guy again). His injury last season really hurt his effectiveness, but before that, he's been a solid relief pitcher for the Sox for several seasons. Given the alternative, it's worth bringing him back for one more season.
    image
  • Options
    BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I hope you're right...I just don't get good vibes with Timlin

    or Foulke

    or Hansen

    or DelCarmen

    or...
  • Options
    A761506A761506 Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭
    Timlin was like a corpse out there last season by August and September.

    The shortage of pitching availability is not an excuse to re-sign a pitcher who is completely ineffective at this point in his career. Once that K/9 rate dips sharply for middle relievers, they have lost most of their value to the team. Timlin managed only 11 stirkeouts in 25.2 innings (3.85 K/9 versus career 6.62) during the final 2 months of the year, while giving up 19 runs on 39 hits to go along with it.

    If Epstein doesn't make some significant moves this offseason and get the overall attitude changed on that team, I have little doubt they will be competing with Baltimore and Tampa Bay next year moreso than NY or Toronto.
  • Options
    BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Timlin was like a corpse out there last season by August and September.

    The shortage of pitching availability is not an excuse to re-sign a pitcher who is completely ineffective at this point in his career. Once that K/9 rate dips sharply for middle relievers, they have lost most of their value to the team. Timlin managed only 11 stirkeouts in 25.2 innings (3.85 K/9 versus career 6.62) during the final 2 months of the year, while giving up 19 runs on 39 hits to go along with it.

    If Epstein doesn't make some significant moves this offseason and get the overall attitude changed on that team, I have little doubt they will be competing with Baltimore and Tampa Bay next year moreso than NY or Toronto. >>



    I am inclined to agree with you, unfortunately image
  • Options
    I love the signing, just not the price tag. I'd compare it to catchers who make a little bit more than other positional players with the same offensive stats. Timlin clearly isn't the pitcher he was 2 or 3 years ago but he is the quarterback of that bullpen. He keeps everyone in line and constantly works with the younger pitchers, which, in case you haven't noticed, we have a lot of especially in the bullpen.

    I love having Timlin in the bullpen, just not for 2.5

    Arthur
  • Options
    BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Timlin has a lot to teach, but not a lot to give from the mound. I think the Sox could have saved a couple million and offered him a job as bullpen coach.
  • Options
    RipublicaninMassRipublicaninMass Posts: 10,051 ✭✭✭
    I dont really like Epstein, can't really see how he benefted the team, then whined about how mush $$$ they were gonna give him. Well I guess he paid Schilling more than anyone else, that was tough. The media here keep saying "oh he had thnksgvg day dinner with the Schillings to seal the deal" When it was the $$$. He did get Ortiz, but I think he put too many eggs in Schilling and beckett's respective baskets.
  • Options
    ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    I know its our nature, as Red Sox fans, to complain - believe me, there's a lot of people down on Theo already after this season. But, after we should have won in 2003 (HGH Giambi's HR's were the difference), we did win in 2004, we made the playoffs in 2005 - and got absolutely killed with injuries last year, I think we need to give him this upcoming season before we start to kill him. The Schilling deal was one of the main reasons behind 2004 - and Beckett will be just fine over the next 3. Imagine how much money the Yankees would have thrown at someone like Beckett, if they had the chance?
    image
  • Options
    softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,271 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i> should have won in 2003 (HGH Giambi's HR's were the difference), >>



    This coming just days after Jerry stated that having Gary Sheffield (HGH) on the Red SOx sounded pretty good. Oh the hypocracy image

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • Options
    I'm fine with Epstein. He's made some moves that in hindsight maybe he shouldn't have but show me a GM that you can't second guess? I was fully expecting the Yankees to win it this year and was okay with it. I thought they had the best team out there but it doesn't always work out that way. But I'm happy with the direction the Sox as an organization are going in.

    For decades the Red Sox as an organization have operated under the mantra "sacrifice the future for right now" and it never worked out. I like the idea of building towards a solid string of contending years and am willing to take a few lumps along the way. The overwhelming need to win this instant in Boston is gone (to an extent) and they're trying to take the organization in a direction the Yankees were in mid- to late-90s. I don't see them blowing up the team or trotting a group of players out there that aren't capable of winning games and at the same time they're progressively trying to make the team younger and better for the long haul.

    image

    Arthur
  • Options
    BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>For decades the Red Sox as an organization have operated under the mantra "sacrifice the future for right now" and it never worked out. I like the idea of building towards a solid string of contending years and am willing to take a few lumps along the way. The overwhelming need to win this instant in Boston is gone (to an extent) and they're trying to take the organization in a direction the Yankees were in mid- to late-90s. I don't see them blowing up the team or trotting a group of players out there that aren't capable of winning games and at the same time they're progressively trying to make the team younger and better for the long haul. >>



    Josh Bard, Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli.

    Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez for Josh Beckett.
  • Options


    << <i>

    << <i>For decades the Red Sox as an organization have operated under the mantra "sacrifice the future for right now" and it never worked out. I like the idea of building towards a solid string of contending years and am willing to take a few lumps along the way. The overwhelming need to win this instant in Boston is gone (to an extent) and they're trying to take the organization in a direction the Yankees were in mid- to late-90s. I don't see them blowing up the team or trotting a group of players out there that aren't capable of winning games and at the same time they're progressively trying to make the team younger and better for the long haul. >>



    Josh Bard, Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli.

    Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez for Josh Beckett. >>



    Unfortunately, we don't know about all the trades that weren't made. If you remember correctly, we were in a ridiculously tight bind and we needed a catcher. Do you remember watching Wakefield pitch without Varitek or Mirabelli? It was like Russian roulet. Every fifth pitch either got by the catcher, nearly got by the catcher or got swatted down by the catcher. It was like watching an NHL goalie getting peppered in his own end. I defy you to show me one person that thought Meredith was going to come up to the majors that quick and perform the way he did. What did you think of the trade when it happened? I bet you were just relieved to get somebody that could handle Wakefield's knuckler.

    As for the Beckett deal, I think it's far from being in a position where you can determine who made out on that end. Beckett is still VERY young. But this trade, in some weird way, actually helps solidify my original point. The Sox had made a concerted effort to stick with the young arms they had brought up through the minors. With names like Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen, Hansen and a few others there simply wasn't room at the MLB level for that many pitchers who haven't proved themselves yet. At some point an organization has to prioritize their prospects, keeping the ones they think will pan out and dealing the ones they think won't when you can get good value for them.

    How would you have felt if in 2005 they dealt Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen and Hansen for older players on their way out in order to increase their odds of winning JUST THAT YEAR? And if they didn't win? You'd be up in arms over how they traded away all these young players and never even won.

    If you want to criticize an organization for past moves you have to include the moves that they didn't make and how much worse it could've been had they acted on the information they had AT THE TIME.

    Prospects are always a roll of the dice. Some "can't miss" prospects can't maintain a level of play that even remotely resembles decent MLB. Some appear out of nowhere to have HOF careers. You think SF would have traded Francisco Liriano if they knew how good he was going to turn out? These things happen all the time. My point is that we're in a position to win NOW and we're putting ourselves in a positiono to win in the FUTURE.

    Arthur
  • Options
    BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,458 ✭✭✭✭✭
    what a well-thought out answer. Of course, I agree with your premise and your points, however, I reserve the right as a lifelong Sox fan to criticize them even when they win image

    I had no problem with dealing Bard, Meredith was my concern. I had no problem with dealing Sanchez, I really wanted them to keep H. Ramirez. Despair over "today" has hurt them in the past (Bagwell, Lyle are notable ones in the distant past) and I saw some of that this past year and really didn't like it.

    I always thought that the Sox make a mistake in not having Varitek catch Wakefield. I would hope they'll correct that problem in 07 and have catcher #2 work with someone else every fifth day.
  • Options


    << <i>I reserve the right as a lifelong Sox fan to criticize them even when they win image >>



    You wouldn't be a Sox if you didn't. image

    Arthur
Sign In or Register to comment.