The Window

[mvp 78]

Funny, I have a different impression of Young. To me, it looks like he has lost some bat speed. I don't want him back next year. In fact, I'm not sure I want him on the team past this year's trade deadline. I wouldn't object to replacing him with Brentz this year. With that said, I would rather replace him with an established major league player.

 

I also think Brentz is a potential trade candidate -- maybe some floundering team will give him a chance at the major league level. He has definitely earned another shot.

 

His hard hit% is still above his career norm. He really should be only facing LHP and done really well as a PH. He's fine for a 5th OF spot and I'd try to have him learn 1B in the offseason too.

[moonslav59]

His hard hit% is still above his career norm. He really should be only facing LHP and done really well as a PH. He's fine for a 5th OF spot and I'd try to have him learn 1B in the offseason too.

 

He's hit RHPs better this year, so it's hard to say now, that he should only face LHPs.

 

Since Beni struggles vs lefties, maybe that still should be the plan for the second half of 2017.

 

I can't see Young being offered a contract this winter. I doubt Brentz is in the 2017 picture, but if he is, it will be (IMO) as minor league depth.

 

He's not on the 40 man roster currently, so he will have minor league FA rights this winter. I'm pretty sure someone will give him a better shot at making their 25 man roster than we can. We may just go with Holt as our 4th OF'er or sign a cheap FA that can back up 3B and maybe 1B while giving us LF depth.

 

Note: other minor league FAs:

 

Jesse Barfield, Brian Bogusevic, Bryce Brentz, Dan Butler, Ryan Court, Jacob Dahlstrand, Matt Dominguez, Shawn Haviland, Williams Jerez, Kyle Kendrick, Deiner Lopez, Heiker Meneses, Edgar Olmos, Mike Olt, Mitchell Osnowitz, Jhonny Peralta, Tim Roberson, Jose Sermo, Aneury Tavarez, Herny Urrutia, Elih Villaneuva, Marcus Walden, Jordan Weems

[mvp 78]

He's hit RHPs better this year, so it's hard to say now, that he should only face LHPs.

 

Since Beni struggles vs lefties, maybe that still should be the plan for the second half of 2017.

 

I can't see Young being offered a contract this winter. I doubt Brentz is in the 2017 picture, but if he is, it will be (IMO) as minor league depth.

 

He's not on the 40 man roster currently, so he will have minor league FA rights this winter. I'm pretty sure someone will give him a better shot at making their 25 man roster than we can. We may just go with Holt as our 4th OF'er or sign a cheap FA that can back up 3B and maybe 1B while giving us LF depth.

 

I'd just take Selsky off the 40 man and replace him with Brentz.

[moonslav59]

I'd just take Selsky off the 40 man and replace him with Brentz.

 

That could happen, if an OF'er gets hurt, but by keeping Selsky on the 40 man, we have both him and Brentz as farm depth to the end of the season.

 

Brentz becomes a minor league FA after this year.

[mvp 78]

That could happen, if an OF'er gets hurt, but by keeping Selsky on the 40 man, we have both him and Brentz as farm depth to the end of the season.

 

Brentz becomes a minor league FA after this year.

 

Selsky is useless though. I'd just put him through waivers. No one will claim him.

[moonslav59]

Selsky is useless though. I'd just put him through waivers. No one will claim him.

 

No need to do it until we want to or need to call Brentz up.

[Nick]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Lin has played CF. I would love to see him take the spot of Holt.

 

Lin to me looks to be bit more athletic than Holt. Little quicker. He comes cheap and we need to make choices to lower our payroll for non essential personnel BECAUSE WE f***ED UP WITH PABLO.

[notin]

The C's overlap on the front end and the Pats overlap on the back end. If the sox suck, fans Who would tune in in May or June after the C's are eliminated don't tune in and those that did, tune out in August as preseason football starts

 

Very few fans tune out April baseball, as evidenced by ticket sales in April vs. other months. The NFL plays one game per week.

 

MLB has a virtual monopoly on sports in the summer. The competition is other forms of entertainment. ..

[jacksonianmarch]

I must say I am enjoying this season, even if my team didn't upgrade at the break. That being said, this is my post from 2017 predicting the 2020 closing of the window. Bradley and Sale fell off, which is why Sale signed for less money and Bradley is staring a DFA in the face. Bogey extended at cheap money for the sox. Kimbrel went packing. The sox did next to nothing in the draft and development range outside of getting Casas who is a long ways off. This 2019 team is seeing what a lack of depth and development gets you. Nobody to deal off for parts, no rookies to bring up to bolster the team's weaknesses. The sox farm is considered so bad that they are 30th in baseball with a "wide gap" between them and the 29th ranked team. The sox looked for pen options at the deadline, but teams had no interest in their minor leaguers due to either lack of production, ceiling, or proximity.

 

This is why I am glad Cashman didn't pay the insane prices being asked of him. When you deal off major talent for short term upgrades, you end up with a window and a cliff. The sox haven't had a cliff like this one in the Henry era. Theo and Cherries ALWAYS maintained a solid farm system. Even if the sox took a step back in farm rankings due to promotions, they were only a year off before the next wave replaced their losses. Yes, the sox spent 3 glorious years in last place since 2003, but during that time elite talents like Bogaerts, Betts, and Devers were making their way steadily up the chain or graduating to the club. Shrewd moves like dealing Miller for E-Rod helped replenish the depth and add to the team on graduation. The problem you have now is that DD shot the load and either graduated or traded every prospect with a pulse. He then brought in a development team that has failed immensely and the sox 2 scouting directors who have been utter disasters. The sox then spent a wild amount of money on players and extended others leaving them with no financial wiggle room for years to come. This leaves the sox in their current predicament. Farm is too bad to deal for any major upgrades, cap is too close for the sox to spend. Without a drastic deconstruction of some sort, the sox are staring at a prolonged and protracted rebuild.

 

One of the only ways I can foresee the sox jump starting this process is to actually lose enough to miss the playoffs this season and sell Betts. One year may not garner the type of return he would have a couple years back, but his return would be pretty substantial to a team with literally no depth. The only way that happens, though, is if the sox miss the POs by a wide margin. DD isn't the type to blow it up unless it is painfully obvious he needs to do that. If the sox win the WC or miss it by a game or 2, that may embolden DD to sell off whatever assets he has left to make one last push, which will deepen the cliff once Mookie leaves or gets paid.

Edited August 2, 2019 by jacksonianmarch

[harmony]

Very few fans tune out April baseball, as evidenced by ticket sales in April vs. other months. The NFL plays one game per week.

 

MLB has a virtual monopoly on sports in the summer. The competition is other forms of entertainment. ..

Soccer rules summer sports in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Check the attendance figures for the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps.

[moonslav59]

The cliff came early, and even outspending everyone by tens of millions when including taxes & Castillo couldn't keep the nice run we had going.

Trying to play it half way will only prolong the recovery.

We will need to be bold this winter. Reset the tax sooner not later. Keep the young core and blow up the rest.

[Bellhorn04]

The cliff came early, and even outspending everyone by tens of millions when including taxes & Castillo couldn't keep the nice run we had going.

Trying to play it half way will only prolong the recovery.

We will need to be bold this winter. Reset the tax sooner not later. Keep the young core and blow up the rest.

 

Specific moves in mind?

[moonslav59]

Specific moves in mind?[/QUOTbE]

 

Sign nobody but maybe Holt & Leon at min. Trade JBJ and someone else to get under the tax line. Extend Betts after 2020, start the clock over on the luxury tax and hope we draft well after a down season in 2020.

[notin]

Specific moves in mind?

 

Trade Betts. Non-tender JBJ. Bring no one back.

 

(Talking about potential free agents, of course.)

[jacksonianmarch]

Trading Betts will return depth to the farm, but it doesnt fix the fact that $77 mil AAV is stuck in your rotation between 3 guys who aren’t even 1-2’s in Price, Sale and Eovaldi and it will stay that way for 3 more years.

 

My bet is DD rides with this squad for one more hurrah and the Sox probably do achieve more than 2019 just based on them being managed better in ST and likely not playing deep into October. But I doubt the Sox reach title contention in 2020. But I bet DD thinks they will

[OH FOY]

We lose 21.125 million in Salary for Porcello, but give Sale a 15 million dollar raise, net gain in Salary Cap, 6.125 million.

[Bellhorn04]

We lose 21.125 million in Salary for Porcello, but give Sale a 15 million dollar raise, net gain in Salary Cap, 6.125 million.

 

Sale's increase in AAV is actually 10.6 million. The AAV of his new contract is 25.6 million, it's reduced because of deferred money.

[OH FOY]

So it counts later right?

[OH FOY]

Yeah 10 million for 5 years. 2035-2039. Hope I get to bitch about that.

[Bellhorn04]

So it counts later right?

 

No, the deferred money is discounted to present day dollars and that's it.

[notin]

Trading Betts will return depth to the farm, but it doesnt fix the fact that $77 mil AAV is stuck in your rotation between 3 guys who aren’t even 1-2’s in Price, Sale and Eovaldi and it will stay that way for 3 more years.

 

My bet is DD rides with this squad for one more hurrah and the Sox probably do achieve more than 2019 just based on them being managed better in ST and likely not playing deep into October. But I doubt the Sox reach title contention in 2020. But I bet DD thinks they will

 

Trading Betts is among those things that is easier said than done.

 

Using baseballtradevalues, the Sox could supposedly trade Betts to Atlanta for Foltyinewicz, Toussaint and Camargo. This is one of those “hey it fills holes on paper and actually works for both sides” deals, but then, it might suck for Boston. Not like those three are killing it this year.

 

Another deal that works out the same way is Price to the Cubs for Heyward, which alleviates the financial logjam in the rotation and replaces Betts’ defense in RF. And the Cubs can reunite Price with Madden. But while the Cubs certainly want to move Heyward and do need pitching, it doesn’t mean they would make this trade...

[notin]

Trading Betts will return depth to the farm, but it doesnt fix the fact that $77 mil AAV is stuck in your rotation between 3 guys who aren’t even 1-2’s in Price, Sale and Eovaldi and it will stay that way for 3 more years.

 

My bet is DD rides with this squad for one more hurrah and the Sox probably do achieve more than 2019 just based on them being managed better in ST and likely not playing deep into October. But I doubt the Sox reach title contention in 2020. But I bet DD thinks they will

 

I agree DD makes minimal changes and avoids the overhaul. My impression of him is he learns from his success stories but not from his mistakes...

[Bellhorn04]

Trading Betts will return depth to the farm, but it doesnt fix the fact that $77 mil AAV is stuck in your rotation between 3 guys who aren’t even 1-2’s in Price, Sale and Eovaldi and it will stay that way for 3 more years.

 

Sale fWAR 3.1

Price fWAR 2.5

 

Tanaka fWAR 2.1 (highest of Yankee starters)

 

If Sale and Price 'aren't even 1-2's' what are the Yankee starters?

[notin]

Sale fWAR 3.1

Price fWAR 2.5

 

Tanaka fWAR 2.1 (highest of Yankee starters)

 

If Sale and Price 'aren't even 1-2's' what are the Yankee starters?

 

Those are Yankee Wins. Each one is worth 3 regular wins

[jacksonianmarch]

We don’t have an ace on our club. Paxton can be the ace, but aside from last night he hasn’t pitched like one.

 

Now let me get this straight, Sale is an ace in WAR but not an ace when you need him? I think every one of you guys is bagging on him for sucking on big moments and losing velo, but because of WAR, he’s great? I’m confused. This is the problem with WAR in this day and age. The over-reliance on K rate in a K league has artificially inflated WAR for Sale. You, me, and everyone else knows he’s not an ace anymore. Price is a good pitcher for 5 innings.

[Bellhorn04]

The word 'ace' is a big problem to begin with. It seems to me when anyone talks about a 'true ace' they're talking about a guy who's on a Hall of Fame track like Verlander and Kershaw.

 

Chris Sale has been a huge disappointment this year but I think there's still hope he can pitch at an elite level.

[OH FOY]

This year makes no sense. Sale might get hammered, and Johnson another Lefty might Pitch a 3 hitter. I don't like 4 Lefties in a row.

[OH FOY]

Like I said weird year Yanks hit Righties better, .274 and Lefties .252. Big Right handed line-up, and they struggle go figure.

[Bellhorn04]

Like I said weird year Yanks hit Righties better, .274 and Lefties .252. Big Right handed line-up, and they struggle go figure.

 

I blame everything on the Manfred Missile.

[harmony]

Soccer rules summer sports in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Check the attendance figures for the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Seattle Mariners on Sunday drew a crowd of 24,219 on the final day of the Edgar Martinez Weekend.*

 

On Sunday I attended a home match of the Portland Thorns, who drew 25,218 fans, an all-time record in the National Women's Soccer League.

 

* Saturday had the main festivities celebrating the induction of Edgar Martinez into the Hall of Fame.