Dewey Want To Know The Rightfielder?

It's time to reveal our starting rightfielder (and two other outfielders) for my "Thirty Years - Forty Men" series, where I name my lifetime Red Sox 40-man roster.

But first, a quick note:
As an unofficial requirement to be considered for a position, I decided that a player must have been the primary player in that spot for at least one season. For example: Kevin Millar played 425 innings in rightfield in 2004. He played 512 innings at first base. He is listed as the primary first baseman for the Sox that year, but Gabe Kapler actually played 165 more innings in right, so he's the 2004 rightfielder. (Conceivably, a player could qualify at two positions. Conversely, a player who played almost every game might not be the most common guy at any position.) Essentially, I wanted there to be some guidelines here so that I could avoid controversies like, "Rick Cerone played a game in rightfield in 1989. He should have been one of your backup outfielders!" Imagine that being said by a nerd wagging his finger high in the air while pushing his wire frame glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Were you imagining me doing that? I thought so.

Starting Rightfielder: Dwight Evans

For eight of the first ten years of my life, Dwight Evans was the regular rightfielder for the Sox (not to mention seven of eight seasons before I was born). The other two seasons in my date range, Evans qualified as a first baseman or designated hitter (1987 and 1990, respectively). I could inundate you with dozens of stats illustrating why Dewey is the best regular rightfielder the Sox may ever have had. And I think I will. 379 homers in Boston (his six with Baltimore put him three dingers ahead of Hall of Famer Jim Rice's total), 1337 walks (an OBP of .369 to Rice's .352), a career OPS that is higher than Carl Yastrzemski's and 1643 strikeouts! Nobody has gone down swinging more times in a Red Sox uniform than Dwight Michael Evans. Jason Varitek could still make a play for that record, though. Evans has played rightfield in more games than any Sox player ever - by 481 games. He was also a stellar defensive player, had a bitchin' mustache and made my mom swoon. His games as color commentator last season, during Jerry Remy's hiatus, painted him to be a really humble and classy guy to boot. For all these reasons and more, Dewey rules this position with an iron fist and a cannon arm.

Backup Outfielder: Jim Rice

Before you scoff at this choice, it is worth noting that the 1980's Jim Rice was not eligible to be the team's starting rightfielder. Let's face it, the Red Sox have had some decent outfielders over the last thirty seasons. Jim has nothing to be ashamed of for being the team's fifth outfielder. Furthermore, Rice's best years were more than behind him by the time I started paying attention as a kid. The Rice of 1988 and 1989, hobbling out to the plate to, maybe, hit one of his 18 home runs from that period, wasn't overly impressive to a seven-year-old. In fact, I was probably just praying that he'd get on base in one of those DH at-bats, which he did 31.4% of the time. Any way you look at it, though, the pre-JMR Jim Rice averaged 32 homers and 109 RBI; his 1981 and beyond counterpart averaged 21 home runs and 87 runs batted in. I'm not hatin' on Jim Rice at all, but I sort of prefer Dewey.

In The Minors Rightfielder: Trot Nixon

What can you say about Trot Nixon? Seriously, I could use some help on this one. It's like that misquote I've heard: "I don't know what makes a great rightfielder, but I know what I like." I like Trot. I rooted for him to succeed ever since I first heard about him (which was probably when I was 12 or 13). In fact, aside from Greg Blosser, Trot was one of the first real prospects that I remember knowing. It seemed to take him forever to get to Boston (five years before he showed up to stay after being taken seventh overall in 1993). When he did arrive, everybody was pumped. His name was Trot, he looked homely and a little smelly, he loved putting up the Trot Nixon line in the boxscore (that's 1-for-4 with a walk). And hell, his three peak years (2001-2003), the guy averaged 26 homers, a .396 OBP and his OPS was north of .880 (the .975 OPS of '03 was particularly delicious; man, best lineup ever that year). Somebody on my forty-man roster has to toil out in rightfield down at Pawtucket. What better candidate than Trot Nixon?

40-MAN ROSTER

Starters
C -
1B -
2B -
3B -
SS - Nomar Garciaparra
LF -
CF -
RF - Dwight Evans
DH -

Reserves
SS/3B - John Valentin
LF/DH - Jim Rice

Down on the Farm
SS - Luis Rivera
RF - Trot Nixon

Happy Valentin's Day

So, pitchers and catchers reported to camp on Thursday, kicking off everyone's favorite time of year: naive outlook time. It's the time of year where Royals fans and Rangers fans and Reds fans alike can hope and dream about their teams' upcoming season. Yup. Everybody can envision the team they love winning the pennant and competing for a World Series championship (except the Pirates and the Orioles, let's face it). But Thursday wasn't just the official start to spring training. Oh no. It was also the birthday of a man I have the utmost respect for. He's handsome and smart and he's just about all I think about (no, not Robert Downey, Jr.): JMR. In addition to yours truly turning 29, another superstar celebrated with cake and ice cream on February 18th: John Valentin turned 43 years old. In between bemoaning my lost youth and pigging out on pizza, I began thinking about John Valentin and his impact as a Red Sox. This contemplation soon gave way to inspiration; inspiration for a series of articles deciding how important certain players were to the Red Sox during their time there. Since I will be living through my thirtieth baseball season this year, I decided to compile a 40-man roster of the best Red Sox from the three decades of my life (1981-2010).

For starters, I'll let you in on some parameters. For a position player to qualify for a chance to make the squad, he must have played the equivalent of three seasons of baseball for the Red Sox. I used the minimum plate appearance requirement of 502 (which determines qualifiers for batting average and the like) and multiplied it by three. Thus, it takes 1506 plate appearances to be considered. Similarly, 162 innings pitched (the magic number for pitching rate stats) multiplied by three is 486 innings pitched. With that sorted out, I decided to start with John Valentin's primary position of shortstop.

Starting Shortstop: Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar is clearly the best shortstop to play for the Sox over the last thirty years. Sure, trading him away may have been the move that brought a World Series title to Boston, but that doesn't mean he was any less awesome in his prime. I remember watching the All-Star festivities in a year shortly after Nomar, Jeter and A-Rod had emerged as the new generation of slugging shortstops. A-Rod was in the broadcast booth, and I remember him summarizing the three of them by saying: "Jeter wins the most, I make the most money and Nomar's the best." I'm glad A-Rod grew out of his humbleness, but the fact remains, at that point A-Rod was probably right. Nomar's numbers as a Red Sox were ridiculous, particularly during his two peak years ('99-'00). Nomar hit .365/.426/.601, averaging 24 homers, 46 doubles and 100 RBI over that span. Extending two seasons in either direction does not significantly diminish these totals, either (and even improves some of his power numbers). When you're naming the top shortstop, nobody else deserves to be in the conversation. Except maybe...

Backup Shortstop: John Valentin

It's not just because the article headline bears his name, he actually deserves to make this team. Between the years of 1989 and 2003, the Red Sox actually had stability at shortstop. Until Nomar arrived to stay in 1997, Valentin led the team in games played at the position for four years running. During that stretch, he sported a nifty .295/.379/.478 line and averaged 15 homers with 69 RBI. His 1995 was particularly nutty. He hit 27 home runs, knocked in 102, stole 20 bases and had an OPS of .931 - in a strike-shortened season! His move to third base makes him all the more flexible and deserving of a spot on the active roster.

In The Minors Shortstop: Luis Rivera

Remember when I said this position was stable from 1989 to 2003? Well, this handsome fella locked down the spot from '89 to '92. It was Luis battling for the last SS spot with Glenn Hoffman, who I never saw play, and who I doubt had cool glasses like Luis. Their stats are almost identical, so I think I'm justified in giving the spot to this guy:

That brings to a close this first installment of Thirty Years, Forty Men. Stay tuned to find out if Randy Kutcher is the starting right fielder when I reveal three more players next week.

AL East Predictions

Baseball Oxygen will be laying out predictions for each division in baseball and we will begin with the AL East.

Boston 99-63
Naysayers will say their nay, but this team is built to win. Sporting the best defense in sports and owning a rotation that resembles the 2004 Championship team, the Sox had a very productive and successful offseason. Not biting on expensive sluggers like Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, the Sox gathered up some great defensive players that should all prosper in the comfy confines of Fenway Park. Beltre, arguably the greatest defensive 3B of all-time, will see his offensive numbers improve with a move from baseball’s worst hitting park to one of it’s best. Many pundits think the Sox lineup lacks a big bat, but others would argue you don’t need that big bat when you’ve got Beltre, Scutaro, and Cameron as your 7-8-9 hitters. And if David Ortiz can play an entire season like he did the 2nd half of 2009, the big bat will be there already. The Red Sox also boast a rotation with three aces. Newly acquired John Lackey joins Josh Beckett and Jon Lester as probably the best 1-2-3 punch in the majors. Daisuke should also return to form as he tends to pitch well in even years (and non-WBC years). J.D. Drew should benefit from the on/off platoon with Jeremy Hermida and Ellsbury will be able to save his indigenous legs by moving over to left field with the introduction of gold glove caliber center fielder Mike Cameron.

If the Sox can stay healthy and get some good pitching from Matsuzaka and Clay “high hopes” Buchholz, the Sox will win the AL East.


New York 95-67
What superlative hasn’t been used to describe the 2010 Yankees? Oh here’s one: stupidest. I remember reading a few weeks ago that one Yankee’s season ticket holder was so disgusted by the home team’s offseason moves that he turned in his tickets at the box office. This is the year after they won a World Series! But I’m with this nameless fan; the Yankees brass effed up. They brought in Nick Johnson and Javier Vasquez, two players who have already established that they can’t deliver under the bright lights of NY. And of course their biggest acquisition, Curtis Granderson. This will prove to be a mistake. Granderson will be trying to pull the ball over the short right field fence every time he steps into the batter’s box in the Bronx, and he’ll pay for it. Yeah, he’ll jack some out, but he’ll fan and fly out in astronomical numbers too. He is not a disciplined young man. The rotation will be fine. CC will swallow up some tasty numbers, Burnett and Pettitte will be good for 25-30 wins combined, and whether it’s Hughes, Joba, or some guy the Steinbrenner’s buy when the Yankees go on a 3-game losing streak in April, the pitching will be adequate. The offense will unquestionably score enough runs. Texiera and A-Rod in the lineup together for a whole season is downright frightening. They should be better defensively with the addition of Curtis and the possibility of Brett Gardner playing in left field every day.


This team will be around in October.

Tampa Bay 84-78
Did the Rays miss their chance? After years of laboring in the AL East cellar, wringing out Yankees jerseys, folding (to the) Sox, and ironing Blue Jays bills, the Rays ejaculated their shame and won the East in 2008. They almost won the World Series too. Then they won 84 games last year, finishing a distant third. Was that the result of their “rebuilding” process? It’s hard to say. The Rays have a plethora of present stars and future stars, so they’re very hard to predict. Three of the guys in their rotation are former 1st round draft picks (Niemann, Garza, and Price, with Price being a former 1st overall) while James Sheilds has already established himself as no. 1 or no. 2 starter. Wade Davis, slotted for their 5th starter, threw a complete game shutout, with 10 Ks, in only his fourth major league start. Basically, if the rotation clicks, this team could win an assload of ballgames. And the Rays will score runs. B.J. Upton will canter under looping line drives and find his stroke at the plate, Longoria will continue to close the gap on A-Rod as the most dangerous 3B in the majors, and Carlos Pena should be good for 40 bombs.


If Bartlett and Zobrist were serious last year, the Rays should stay with the Yankers and Sox for most of the summer.

Baltimore 81-81
The Orioles could have the biggest turnaround of any American League team in the coming season. Nick Markakis, Nolan Reimold, Matt Weiters, and Adam Jones will be a year older and a year better adapted to the grind of a 162-game season. As always, Brian Roberts will get on base and jump start the offense, and if the O’s are lucky they’ll get 35 HR from Luke Scott and new first baseman, Garret Atkins, combined. They also have some much needed veteran presence in the infield and in the rotation, bringing back old fan favorite Miguel Tejada and getting Kevin Millwood from wherever the hell he was last. Like the Rays, this offense will score plenty of runs- it’s the rotation that will determine the Orioles’ fate. Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie will top out a rotation that includes super prospect Brian Matusz and righty youngsters Chris Tillman and Brad Bergensen.

If Tillman and Bergensen can hold their own in the unforgiving AL East, and new closer Mike Gonzalez can pick up where he left off with the Braves, the Orioles could break even in 2010.

Toronto 62-100
Things do not look hopeful in Toronto. You’ll recall that they shot out of the gate last year, thanks to surprisingly good pitching from several pitchers Blue Jays fans had never heard of. The same team went 18-32 in the summer months of July and August. What scares me most about the Blue Jays is their pitching. Ricky Romero, Shaun Marcum, Brendan Morrow, Brett Cecil, and Scott Richmond are penciled in for the starting rotation. Shaky at best. Roy Halladay is gone. Someone will have to explain to the Canadians that he is NOT allowed to pitch for two teams, and he won’t be lumbering out of the dugout once a series to salvage their dignity. The Blue Jays have several promising relievers but it won’t get that far. They'll be lots of mopping up to do. The offense should be fine- a handful of young players just entering their prime. However, I’m not sure we can expect Aaron Hill and Adam Lind to duplicate their 2009 numbers. Unless Vernon Wells starts earning his paycheck, the Jays won’t be able to outslug their opponents.

Maybe Cito will bring back Paul Moliter and Ricky Henderson and all the other HOFers from the early 90’s and the Jays will be fine, but it’s not something to count on.


Final AL East Standings:
Boston 99-63
New York 95-67
Tampa Bay 84-78
Baltimore 81-81
Toronto 62-100

20 Bold Predictions for 2010

It's February 18th, time to report. The Baseball Oxygen season has officially begun. I'll open with 20 bold predictions you can expect for the upcoming season.

-Wade Davis is the Ray’s most effective starter, winning 16 games and striking out 170.

-The Texas Rangers break the MLB record for runs scored in a season, 1,067, by the 1931 New York Yankees. The 2010 Rangers score 1,074 times.

-Cliff Lee wins his second AL Cy Young in 3 years.

-Tony LaRussa uses hitting coach Mark McGwire as a pinch-hitter in September and Big Mac goes yard.

-Ryan Braun collects over 200 hits, bangs out 40 HR, bats .325, and steals 20 bases. He wins the NL MVP, beating out Hanley Ramirez. Albert Pujols finishes out of the top 5 in MVP voting for only the 2^nd time in 10 years.

-Despite Cito Gaston’s best and bravest efforts, the 2010 Blue Jays lose 100 games and finish last in the American League.

-Jacoby Ellsbury leads the Red Sox in runs, stolen bases, hits, and batting average.

-Five years removed from baseball, Benito Santiago returns to the Padres and inexplicably wins his 2^nd Rookie of the Year award.

-The Angels finish 3^rd in the A.L. West. Someone else finishes first.

-Bronson Arroyo releases his 2^nd (?) studio album, Bringin’ the Heat, which consists of 9 acoustic Nickelback covers and one original, titled, You Taught Me I Loved You.

-Shin-Soo Choo has another 20/20 season while leading the AL in strikeouts with 184.

-Manny Ramirez finishes the season 10^th on the all-time HR list. He does so by hitting more than 27 HR and at least 18 HR more than however many Jim Thome manages to hit.

-Jeremy Bonderman wins 13 games for the Tigers, and is slated for Game 1 of the Divisional Series. Working with a flashlight and a crayon, Jim Leyland scrawls the playoff roster on the back of a Monopoly board while he defecates in a batting helmet in his attic and ponders how the Tigers went from World Series challengers to missing the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.

-Travis Hafner wins MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, by hitting 31 HR, with 98 RBI, and batting .299.

-Miguel Cabrera hits 40 HR and wins his first MVP award.

-Curtis Granderson bats .235 for the Yankees. He also misses 18 games after colliding with Jeter, A-Rod, Nick Johnson, Gary Darling, and Scott Bakula while chasing down a shallow pop fly.

-Free Agent Antonio Alfonseca reveals a 7^th “mystery” finger while trying out for the Dodgers. He remains unsigned.

-Roy Halladay wins 23 games for the Phillies and records 254 strike outs on his way to winning his first NL Cy Young.

-Pedro Martinez wins 5 more games than Smoltz does in 2010. Pedro Martinez goes 7-2.

-Thanks to a .874 BABIP, Paul Konerko leads the American League with a .511 average.

-The Red Sox go 99-63 during the 2010 regular season. They defeat the Yankees in the ALCS and beat the Phillies in 6 games to become World Series Champions for the 3^rd time this century.

He Muldered It Over And Decided To Retire

Mark Mulder announced his retirement: http://www.seattlepi.com/scorecard/mlbnews.asp?articleID=275076

Or did he? http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/02/former-south-holland-star-mark-mulder-to-retire.html

Either way, Mulder has been pretty irrelevant to me since he left the Athletics, from a fantasy standpoint at least. I always really liked the "young trio" of A's pitchers: Hudson, Mulder and Zito. It's weird to think that one of them is at least contemplating retirement. Mulder always seemed to me like he had the build to be a pitcher deep into his thirties, if not his forties. The big lefty was 6' 6", after all, and though ESPN lists him as a svelte 215 pounds, his strong jaw makes him seem like he was built to stand the test of time. Apparently not.

I'll be rooting for Mulder to find a place to settle in and pitch this year, if only so I don't have to watch the A's stud youngsters start calling it quits just yet...

J.D. Drew article in the Boston Globe

This was going to be the subject of my first entry in the "Is he worth it?" column. Drew was the whole idea behind the section. Thanks a lot, Globey.

Regardless, it's a good article.

Articles to Look for

Only four days till we report with pitchers and catchers and the blog officially opens. Here are a few blog topics you can look for in the upcoming weeks/months:

1. Season Predictions- This will be an entry arriving in six installments, one for each division in baseball. You'll see some bold prophecies about who will finish where and why.

2. Series Breakdowns - After each series the Sox play you'll see a break down of why they were or weren't successful. If possible, we'll be interviewing former Sox greats for their input on the 2010 team.

3. Fantasy Stars - In depth analysis of fantasy sleepers, the stars, the overrated, and those guys we keep drafting every year in hopes that they'll reach their potential.

4. Guest Pieces - Articles written by fellow bloggers and followers of Baseball Oxygen on subjects as diverse as Red Sox Nation, the depressing life of fantasy managers, The Best and Worst Ballparks, and more!

Ask Not For Whom The George Bell Tolls

Wow. I have been invited to be a contributor to my favorite Major League Baseball blog! This is a major moment in my week-old blogging career. Unfortunately, my addition to the staff means that this blog's number of non-contributing followers has just been reduced by 100%. But that's okay, baseball season hasn't even started yet...

I read L A Keyes's post yesterday and saw our illustrious founder's proclamation that this blog was going to expand in all sorts of new directions. We will be focusing on MLB, Sox and Fantasy activities. It's very exciting news.

So, you can call me JMR. I'm not usually able to catch the 75% of Sox games that L A does, but my percentage should improve dramatically this season due to changes in my day job hours. But since I want to be able to bring some kind of unique voice to this blog, I was thinking that I would carve out my own niche here. So, because I know that I have an advantage over L A in this area, I will be including information about this year's baseball video games. Primarily, I will be focusing on the Xbox 360's version of MLB 2k10, but I imagine that I'll be able to get a hands-on look at other games as well. Additionally, you can expect to see many articles/blurbs talking about classic Red Sox players from the eighties, like Jody Reed. Trust me, I'll find a way to work Randy Kutcher into at least ten posts this season.

Pitchers and catchers report to camp on February 18th, which will be a wondrous gift to this baseball fan on the last birthday that he plans to celebrate. We'll see you then.

fantasy becomes reality

Found this link online today, showcasing the absurd amount of Red Sox blogs that exist today. Yes, I realize there is nothing original about Baseball Oxygen as an idea, but I'm going to try and not let that bother me. Which is not to say it won't encourage me to adapt and improve.

In light of this recent "discovery" that I was not alone (which was patently obvious really, I'm just using it to stir up some interest) I have decided to expand the concentration of Baseball Oxygen. Starting February 18th (when catchers, pitchers, and I report for duty) I will begin blogging on the Red Sox, Major League Baseball, and Fantasy Baseball. There are just as many fantasy blogs out there to contend with but I'm going to try and keep most of my fantasy forecasting and postulating to pertain to the Sox. We'll see how long that lasts.

I visited a few of the Sox blogs and it's truly stunning. I can't compete with the glamor and advertisements or in updating information, but I do have a few ideas for weekly fantasy bits and I'll be writing my own pieces on most of the games. In the next week I'll be introducing some of the columns I'll be regularly posting to familiarize folks with the format before the "season" begins.