2014 Bill James Projections - Mike Carp

Source

2011: 79 games, .276 BA, .326 OBO, .466 SLG, 12 HR, 46 RBI
2012 projection: 79 games, .258 BA, .327 OBP, .442 SLG, 11 HR, 40 RBI
2012: 59 games, .213 BA, .312 OBP, .341 SLG, 5 HR, 20 RBI
2013 projection: 61 games, .252 BA, .329 OBP, .410 SLG, 5 HR, 19 RBI
2013: 86 games, .296 BA, .362 OBP, .523 SLG, 9 HR, 43 RBI
2014 projection: 126 games, .257 BA, .330 OBP, .436 SLG, 13 HR, 49 RBI

Oh, the life of a fourth outfielder/backup first baseman. Mike Carp played the most games in his career last season, and Bill James and his crew are projecting him to blow out that personal best in 2014.

Carp was an important role player last season - he played in just over half the regular season games, and had just eight plate appearances in the postseason (where he had exactly zero hits, but it was a light hitting postseason for everyone not named Ortiz).

Bill James' projection for playing time could be curtailed if the Grady Sizemore experiment pans out, but Carp's outfield versatility should keep him around.

I often catch myself thinking of Mike Carp as much older than he is: he won't be 28 until almost July, and because of his age and limited playing time, he's under team control for a few more years.

#GetBeard

Three months ago, I wrote a post extolling the virtues of the various beards of the 2013 Boston Red Sox. It was intended as a whimsical post: I thought the scruffy beards were fun, and fitting for the kind of "anything goes" personality the team was developing. 

It has since become the most viewed post on my blog, as Red Sox fans actively search for information about their favorite bearded baseball team. The Red Sox social media team has finally caught on to this phenomenon, and responded with enthusiasm, producing images like these:

For Twitter

For Facebook

They've introduced a hashtag (now useable on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) for fans to use when expressing their love for the 2013 Red Sox: #GetBeard.

They're even using the beard-mania to get fans into Fenway (I can't believe attendance is a problem right now, but that's a different issue), at the lowest price I've seen in my lifetime:

That's right, bearded Sox fans: you can see the Red Sox take on the Orioles next Wednesday for just $1! And for the ladies, children, and sparsely whiskered gentlemen, fake beards and even drawn-on beards will get you that same incredibly low ticket price.

None of this would be possible without the incredible beards of the men on the field: though Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes have the fluffiest beards on the team, nearly all of their teammates are giving them a run for their money.

By far the greatest unforeseen consequence of a bearded team is how much they all seem to revel in the beards of their cohorts; every time a bearded player returns to the dugout after a successful play or at-bat, his teammates tug on his beard in jubilation:

It's part of what makes this team so easy to love: the camaraderie is impossible to miss, and their never-give-up attitude and winning record are just icing on the cake. As the Red Sox continue their (hopefully) relentless march back into the playoffs, I'm developing beard envy - and though it's a problem I never anticipated having, I'm totally okay with it.

Pitching is the story

Just as the story in the Red Sox success so far in 2013 has been the pitching, the loss this evening was all about the men on the mound. Jon Lester was less than sharp, giving up five earned runs in six innings pitched, before giving way to Junichi Tazawa, who gave up two earned runs of his own and took the loss. Joel Hanrahan, fresh off the disabled list, took the ball for the bottom of the eighth inning and gave up the ninth and final Blue Jays run of the night.

And so even on a night when the offense scored seven runs, the Red Sox suffered the loss. David Ortiz led the drive with a home run and four RBIs, while Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes also had homers. But it doesn't really matter how many runs you score if your pitchers can't stop the other team from rounding the bases.

There are obviously going to be nights like this. I'm not worried about Jon Lester - he's been so incredibly solid so far, this is just a blip on the radar. I'm also unconcerned with Junichi Tazawa, because his stuff is great, and I'm confident that he'll go back to being an important part of the bullpen. I do have to admit to being somewhat worried about Joel Hanrahan - but even if he turns out to be an enormous flop, Andrew Bailey has proven he can be the everyday closer.

The Yankees are about to pick up a game on us (they're currently experiencing the joy of playing the Houston Astros), but the Sox have Clay Buchholz on the mound tomorrow, going for his sixth win. I'm not worried.