Is Dmitri Worth As Much As Livan?

[ronnynat]

Just wondering what you guys think of Dmitri's value this year as compared to the guy that we, so far, have gotten the most out of from last year

[Kenz aFan]

Pitchers tend to have more value than hitters.

[ronnynat]

Pitchers tend to have more value than hitters.

You're right. Plus, he's an inning eater. I just feel that we may be able to pull something good off w/ Dmitri. I guess I'm hoping for a little bit of luck and a lot of skill out of Bowden.

[Ray D]

Comparing Young with either Livan or Soriano isn't very meaningful.  Livan was not considered part of the "plan". Soriano wasn't signable. 

Dmitri could easily be part of the plan.  In left field - he is easily as good a fielder as Manny Ramirez, who does fine within the Red Sox plan. He may not quite be the hitter Manny is, but this year he's not far off.  Young is also signable. 

So please ditch the trade talk. If we are building for the future, whydiscard a key building block?

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Comparing Young with either Livan or Soriano isn't very meaningful.  Livan was not considered part of the "plan". Soriano wasn't signable. 

Dmitri could easily be part of the plan.  In left field - he is easily as good a fielder as Manny Ramirez, who does fine within the Red Sox plan. He may not quite be the hitter Manny is, but this year he's not far off.  Young is also signable. 

So please ditch the trade talk. If we are building for the future, whydiscard a key building block?

Dmitir Young? A key building block? To the future? 

This guy was taken on with the sole purpose of if he worked out, he is trade bait; if he didn't work out, no big loss.  He is a fat, aging, 1B with limited range, and certainly doesn't have the speed to tear up the bases or get to some tough shots.

We shouldn't be pushing our luck with these old timer fill-ins.  They are a temporary answer, nothing more.  If they go hot, we need to make the most of it.  We didn't do it with ($0)rian0.  Lets not look like blockheads and make the same mistake twice.

I agree that pitchers are more valuable.

[tomterp]

Dmitri could easily be part of the plan.  In left field - he is easily as good a fielder as Manny Ramirez, who does fine within the Red Sox plan.

Well, "doing fine" is I think up for debate.  Manny is widely considered to be the worst fielding left fielder in baseball, either league, and on this one you find a rare agreement among scouts, baseball lifers and the stats community.  Stone glove, no range, poor instincts and no interest in hustling are mitigated only by the minute outfield he is tasked with covering.  You basically turn around and play the rebound.

Of course he has been one of the premier mashers for a number of years now, so there is precedent.  I would think Young would rival Manny for defensive skills, with the exception that I think Dmitri gives maximum effort.

[nats2playoffs]

...Dmitri could easily be part of the plan.  In left field - he is easily as good a fielder as Manny Ramirez, who does fine within the Red Sox plan. He may not quite be the hitter Manny is, but this year he's not far off.  Young is also signable...

Dmitri has played zero games in the outfield in 2007 AND in 2006, 20 games in 2005, and 2 games in 2004.  The last time he played over 100 games in the outfield was 2000.  He was the Tigers' DH and is slow on the base paths.  Young was paid $8 million by the Tigers in 2006 AND 2005, and we're paying him $500,000 for the year.  He may be worth $4 million for the 2nd half of 2000 to a contender, so we might get a lot for him in trade.  He missed Detroit's World Series appearance last year and we have the chance to send him to a team that he can help get there. 

Like Soriano, Young will be a free agent at the end of the year, and should be expected to sign with the highest bidder.  I think we could get a substantial discount because of what Bowden did to help him turn his life around, when nobody else called.  But his agent gets a commission on the deal and will want the biggest commission possible.  In the meantime, he's a leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.  It's a storybook tale of how someone at rock bottom, who nearly died, can turn his life around.

     
Dmitri Young
in Va Tech cap

[Ray D]

Well, "doing fine" is I think up for debate.

"Doing fine" in the Red Sox "plan". Certainly not doing fine playing left field.  And that was my point: he is a key to the Red Sox success (and they'll probably win the division) and he's possibly the worst outfielder in the majors.   I've always believed (well not always, but for several years) that leftfield is the one place you can hide a bad fielder if his batting compensates.  Jim Lemon comes to mind.

[sportsfan882]

No way is he part of "the plan".  I would really like to trade him but if that doesn't work out then I wouldn't mind signing him to a 1 year deal to be our backup 1B/supreme pinch hitter.  Anything more than that would be crazy.

[tomterp]

"Doing fine" in the Red Sox "plan". Certainly not doing fine playing left field.  And that was my point: he is a key to the Red Sox success

Ok, I'm with you there.

[Kenz aFan]

You're right. Plus, he's an inning eater. I just feel that we may be able to pull something good off w/ Dmitri. I guess I'm hoping for a little bit of luck and a lot of skill out of Bowden.

You mean a lotta bit of luck, because to pull off a trade similar to the Livan deal, would be almost miraculous.

[ronnynat]

You mean a lotta bit of luck, because to pull off a trade similar to the Livan deal, would be almost miraculous.

I have hopes that we can get a player that perhaps a team may not want anymore 

[Kenz aFan]

I have hopes that we can get a player that perhaps a team may not want anymore 

You mean like sending him to Tampa Bay so he can play with his brother, in exchange for Elijah Dukes? I don't see that particular trade happening, but weirder things have happened.