I like Johnny Gomes, he seems to have the character we are looking for going forward. Gomes & Ross aren't sexy signings, but I think they are good depth guys. I think the meat of the work is going to get done after holidays. But I think this is paving the way for what to expect. So I'm inclined to think we aren't getting any high priced talent.
I'm still holding out hope for Masterson, maybe for Salty and a bit more. I think he shores up the rotation nicely and seems like another high character guy.
That is the type of spray chart that for 60 years every Sox GM thought would equal 80 homeruns a year at Fenway, but all it really does is deflate homeruns and increase doubles.
That is the type of spray chart that for 60 years every Sox GM thought would equal 80 homeruns a year at Fenway, but all it really does is deflate homeruns and increase doubles.
Not the worst thing....
...it also says he has a slow bat as a righty hitting everything to left when right is the same size in the park over there....
Gomes is an OK signing. They didn't overpay, and I can see what they're thinking here. If you platoon Gomes with a player like Daniel Nava who hits better against righthanded pitching, no one will love the fact that we have "a couple nobodies" playing left field for us, but you'll get average production from that position, or maybe a little above, and you've saved your ammunition for maybe a solution to another problem, like shortstop or SP.
It's a conservative move at a time of year and a time in the life cycle of the Red sox core when conservative moves are appropriate.
Gomes is an OK signing. They didn't overpay, and I can see what they're thinking here. If you platoon Gomes with a player like Daniel Nava who hits better against righthanded pitching, no one will love the fact that we have "a couple nobodies" playing left field for us, but you'll get average production from that position, or maybe a little above, and you've saved your ammunition for maybe a solution to another problem, like shortstop or SP.
It's a conservative move at a time of year and a time in the life cycle of the Red sox core when conservative moves are appropriate.
This. A Gomes/Nava platoon could conceivably be fairly productive.
Jonny Gomes hardly is the most talented player available on the free agent market. But he is widely reputed as one of the most effective leaders...
Regardless, Gomes’ best attribute is his positive presence in the clubhouse, something the Red Sox haven’t had in abundance for the past two seasons. For example, Gomes livened up the mood around the Athletics by marching around with former Red Sox right fielder Josh Reddick in matching yellow bathrobes.
Think of Kevin Millar with the 2004 Red Sox, and you get the idea.
“He makes things easier to deal with,” Reddick told the San Francisco Chronicle during the Athletics’ improbable run to the AL West title. “He takes tension out of the clubhouse and dugout. It doesn’t matter if he plays four (games) in a row or misses four in a row. He’s the same person every day.”
Quote:
10/2 for a guy who made 1M and put up pedestrian numbers with crap defense makes no sense to me.
His numbers were, as a matter of fact, far from pedestrian and he is a great clubhouse guy dating back to his time in Tampa. If he does his job (mash lefties, which he always has) then he will become a fan favorite. Very Ross-esque signing, and it gives them even more versatility to do other moves.
