Willie Harris

[pesky6]

It's only a matter of time before the criticizm starts over this one. Papi gets us to within 1 and Harris runs into the final out. Not good, Willie. This isn't Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and you're NOT Dave Roberts.

I'm sure that others won't agree with me, saying that it was just an aggressive play and he was unfortunate, and that's fine, but we've had Baltimore's number for a while now, and I would have liked to have seen Nixon (who is a good fastball hitter, BTW) have a crack at it.

JMO.

[RichardLikeWhoa]

supposedly it was the managers choice to send him...

don't blame the guy, he's only doing what they tell him to do.

[YOUgodofwalks]

"I was told [after the game] I was on the hold sign," said Harris. "I saw the hold sign the first pitch. I kind of thought maybe it was just for the first pitch. After the game, he kind of told me, 'You know you're on hold, right?' I thought it was just the first pitch.

Thats from http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20060517&content_id=1458201&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos

I will blame him for doing what he was told not to do.

[Williamsburg2599]

If he made it and that won us the game he be considered a hero.Cut him some slack,unless he does it again :(

[Sean Casey]

So far, Harris has shown no redeeming qualities during his stay in Boston. He can't hit, bunt, or catch, and now he can't even get the signs right.

[pesky6]

If he made it and that won us the game he be considered a hero.Cut him some slack,unless he does it again :(

You can play the "what if?" card all you want. What if Babe Ruth wasn't sold to the Yankees? What if Macnamara played Stapleton instead of Buckner for defensive purposes? What if Bill Lee hadn't served up his eephus pitch to Perez (or was it Morgan?)?

Now that we're back to square one. . . It's only one game, but with the Yankees pulling wins out of their @$$E$, we need to do what we can to keep mistakes like this happen too often (once is enough for me).

[Jager]

He screwed up. I don't think it's a big deal. Every time he's been on base they have given him the steal sign, so I don't think it's a big deal. With that said I agree that he can't hit or bunt, but he can definetely play defense. Not a GG caliber guy, but he gets good reads, and has very good speed. It sucks that he got caught, but I think that's his first time all year getting caught. He's a good guy to have on the bench for speed purposes late in the game.

[efin98]

So far, Harris has shown no redeeming qualities during his stay in Boston. He can't hit, bunt, or catch, and now he can't even get the signs right.

Been holding that one since he debuted haven't you :rolleyes:

Amazing how Manny Ramirez can screw up on easy catches and everyone laughs it off as "Manny being Manny" or Wakefield can end up throwing pitches that not even Gold Glove catchers can pick out of the dirt it's shrugged off as being a knuckler...but have a guy who is extremely valuable and has shown before that he is needed and all of a sudden people want him run out of town.

Fans at their finest :rolleyes:

[SoxSon]

Been holding that one since he debuted haven't you :rolleyes:

Amazing how Manny Ramirez can screw up on easy catches and everyone laughs it off as "Manny being Manny" or Wakefield can end up throwing pitches that not even Gold Glove catchers can pick out of the dirt it's shrugged off as being a knuckler...but have a guy who is extremely valuable and has shown before that he is needed and all of a sudden people want him run out of town.

Fans at their finest :rolleyes:

How can you compare Harris to Ramirez or Wakefield? I don't have any problem with Harris right now, but I also wouldn't expect him to be cut much slack relative to these two veterans.

[platinum epidemic]

supposedly it was the managers choice to send him...

don't blame the guy, he's only doing what they tell him to do.
Yeah! He's only human. :ughh

[Sean Casey]

Been holding that one since he debuted haven't you :rolleyes:

Amazing how Manny Ramirez can screw up on easy catches and everyone laughs it off as "Manny being Manny" or Wakefield can end up throwing pitches that not even Gold Glove catchers can pick out of the dirt it's shrugged off as being a knuckler...but have a guy who is extremely valuable and has shown before that he is needed and all of a sudden people want him run out of town.

Fans at their finest :rolleyes:

Overall, Ramirez and Wakefield balance out their occasional mistakes by 1) being one of the best hitters in baseball, and 2) being a decent starter for his entire career. Harris is batting (and slugging) .136 this year, with a .269 OBP. There is nothing about his play this season that makes up for that. Despite being used primarily as a pinch runner, he's a mediocre 3 for 5 in stolen base attempts, and his defense certainly isn't spectacular either. He's doing nothing for the Red Sox that any AAA outfielder couldn't do in the majors.

[YOUgodofwalks]

but have a guy who is extremely valuable and has shown before that he is needed and all of a sudden people want him run out of town.

Fans at their finest :rolleyes:

I'm curious, what do you see his value as? No one is going to say hitting, obviously being a .242 career hitter. I'm sure he can bunt, but he hasn't been able to drop down a good wen when we needed it so far. His defense is good, but not spectacular. So i suppose it's just his speed, and i realize he is fast, but as a basestealer he has only been decent. And running through a hold sign, he was being held for a reason.

Also when has he shown he's needed? What reason has he shown to be on a major league roster?

[efin98]

How can you compare Harris to Ramirez or Wakefield? I don't have any problem with Harris right now, but I also wouldn't expect him to be cut much slack relative to these two veterans.

I didn't. I compared the reactions to their screwups.

[efin98]

I'm curious, what do you see his value as? No one is going to say hitting, obviously being a .242 career hitter. I'm sure he can bunt, but he hasn't been able to drop down a good wen when we needed it so far. His defense is good, but not spectacular. So i suppose it's just his speed, and i realize he is fast, but as a basestealer he has only been decent. And running through a hold sign, he was being held for a reason.

Also when has he shown he's needed? What reason has he shown to be on a major league roster?

I've answered this over and over again. Look for it in the other threads:rolleyes:

[efin98]

Overall, Ramirez and Wakefield balance out their occasional mistakes by 1) being one of the best hitters in baseball, and 2) being a decent starter for his entire career.


And if you rant that he shouldn't be here how in the heck is he going to ballance out his mistake by winning the team a game?

OH wait, he already did win them a game. The first game against the Yankees this year- he won it with his running, screetching to a score to go ahead.


Harris is batting (and slugging) .136 this year, with a .269 OBP. There is nothing about his play this season that makes up for that.

He isn't there for his bat, he's there for his legs and glove. Most of the games he has played has been only an inning or two.


Despite being used primarily as a pinch runner, he's a mediocre 3 for 5 in stolen base attempts, and his defense certainly isn't spectacular either.

He's the fastest outfielder currently on the active roster. They will take his horrid hitting in exchange for getting at balls quicker.


He's doing nothing for the Red Sox that any AAA outfielder couldn't do in the majors.

Those AAA outfielders don't have his experience. If there was one in Pawtucket that did he wouldn't be with the Red Sox this year. Stern isn't coming up regardless of how much ranting and raving you do so you can forget about that.

[SoxSon]

I didn't. I compared the reactions to their screwups.

I think you're contradicting yourself for the sake of your argument.
Yes, you're comparing the reactions to their screwups, which is comparing fans' perceptions of each of them, which is in turn comparing them. That's clearly what I've already said. I'm also saying that you can't compare how we perceive their screwups in a void, without taking into account their contributions. Ramirez and Wakefield have given more than enough to the Red Sox at this point to garner some slack. Harris hasn't. That's why it's ludicrous to compare our perceptions of them.

[KingJ]

Why is this guy on your team? He can't hit, his speed is only good for 15 SB or so, and his defense is nothing special.

If the Red Sox want a new Dave Roberts, they should either trade for Dave Roberts or sign an unwanted old speedster like Tony Womack.


Release J.T. Snow when Hee Seop Choi is healthy, too.

[efin98]

I think you're contradicting yourself for the sake of your argument.
Yes, you're comparing the reactions to their screwups, which is comparing fans' perceptions of each of them, which is in turn comparing them. That's clearly what I've already said. I'm also saying that you can't compare how we perceive their screwups in a void, without taking into account their contributions. Ramirez and Wakefield have given more than enough to the Red Sox at this point to garner some slack. Harris hasn't. That's why it's ludicrous to compare our perceptions of them.

I give up.

It's pointless arguing with fellow fans.

[SoxSon]

I give up.

It's pointless arguing with fellow fans.

I'm not asking you to give up, and you're always entitled to your opinion.
The key word here, though, is arguing. It's possible to discuss without arguing...try not to look for problems so much. You've pretty well worn out that "sarcastic" smilie, ya know. ;)

We all love the Red Sox, and I think everyone here would like to post without feeling like someone might jump all over them. Your response to Sean Casey is an example of what I mean...it has a really nasty edge to it. I think we should try to be a bit more discussion-oriented than that.

[Jager]

Why is this guy on your team? He can't hit, his speed is only good for 15 SB or so, and his defense is nothing special.

If the Red Sox want a new Dave Roberts, they should either trade for Dave Roberts or sign an unwanted old speedster like Tony Womack.


Release J.T. Snow when Hee Seop Choi is healthy, too.

Yeah, I haven't been impressed with Snow at all. I know he hasn't played much, but even when he's in for defensive purposes he doesn't look like he's a great defender. I know sometimes its hard to just jump in a game for a couple innings, but he's hasn't impressed me at all, especially when Youk is playing such good defense.

[pesky6]

I give up.

It's pointless arguing with fellow fans.

No offense, Efin, but most of the time you're like 20-grit sandpaper. By and large, Sox fans are fickle, and I think we don't get on Manny's and Wakefield's case is because of their numbers. Which, by the way, is exactly what others have pointed out.

[Mike D.]

Well, Harris just did something to help the Red Sox win. :clapping

[Sean Casey]

Well, Harris just did something to help the Red Sox win. :clapping

No, actually the Tampa Bay third base coach did something to help the Red Sox win :D

[Jager]

Yeah I have to agree with that. A little leaguer could have thrown him out. Bad call by the 3B coach. Good for us though.

[FlashGordon]

I'm not asking you to give up, and you're always entitled to your opinion.
The key word here, though, is arguing. It's possible to discuss without arguing...try not to look for problems so much. You've pretty well worn out that "sarcastic" smilie, ya know. ;)

We all love the Red Sox, and I think everyone here would like to post without feeling like someone might jump all over them. Your response to Sean Casey is an example of what I mean...it has a really nasty edge to it. I think we should try to be a bit more discussion-oriented than that.Thanks for pointing this out. There are more than a few who post in these threads who seem to be crossing up the two definitions of argument. On the one hand is the contentious variety, but on the other is argument defined as a logical rational presentation in a public forum. We strive for the latter around here.

Harris is a utility player for a reason: namely, he isn't a consistent, well-rounded player. To draw a comparison, if Manny were such a lousy outfielder he would have been our regular DH long ago. The hole Harris has been brought in to fill is mainly the pinch-runner situation that requires him to play an inning or two of defense. The fact that the Sox have had so many injuries that he's had to take on a larger role is merely incidental, especially with Coco approaching reactivation. I'm sure we'd all love the Sox to have some other team's starting outfielder as their utility outfielder, but that isn't likely for a number of reasons, including the grumbling from the players themselves (just remember back to the the complaints from Dave Roberts).

Didn't have to get nasty or personal to make that point, did I?

[Mike D.]

Yeah I have to agree with that. A little leaguer could have thrown him out. Bad call by the 3B coach. Good for us though.

A little leaguer, huh? I don't know about that...what I do know is that Harris was the only person that entire inning that made a throw of any value (including about $6 million a year in relievers) to the team, and I'll take it.

[BFaymous]

Willy Harris = useless

[SoxSon]

Willy Harris = useless

Welcome to BBF, BFaymous.
I disagree with you, though. A club like the Red Sox needs a guy who can come in off the bench to pinch run, if nothing else.