A Realistic View of 2023: Part II

[Nick]

MIA might want more than Rafaela and will likely get better offers.

 

Would you give Rafaela and Mata?

 

Rafaela and Walter?

 

I would say maybe if our window of winning opens up next year and coincides with this acquisition. So we will have 3 years of this Marlins pitcher?

Edited May 28, 2023 by Nick

[mvp 78]

Mayer getting promoted to POR on Tuesday. That team will be stacked.

[Old Red]

Mayer getting promoted to POR on Tuesday. That team will be stacked.

 

Glad I got some tickets a long time ago for that June 6th game, which will be his first in Portland.

[moonslav59]

Mayer getting promoted to POR on Tuesday. That team will be stacked.

 

This will be a good test for him.

 

That Portland roster does look good.

 

Who moves up from Portland to Woo or is booted? Any ideas?

 

Maybe Fernandez? Kavadas or Lugo?

[Nick]

Keeping track of series wins and losses is the most meaningless exercise.

 

On our road trip, we won two and lost 1 series. Yet we had a losing record.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Nick

[moonslav59]

Keeping track of series wins and losses is the most meaningless exercise.

 

On our road trip, we won two and lost 1 series. Yet we had a losing record.

 

Those damn sweeps.

[Larry Cook]

Mayer getting promoted to POR on Tuesday. That team will be stacked.

 

I think Jordan is ready to be promoted as well

[Bellhorn04]

Keeping track of series wins and losses is the most meaningless exercise.

 

On our road trip, we won two and lost 1 series. Yet we had a losing record.

 

Yep. You can have fun with numbers all you like, but the only ones that really matter are that we're 28-25 and 3 games back of the last Wild Card spot.

[Old Red]

Yep. You can have fun with numbers all you like, but the only ones that really matter are that we're 28-25 and 3 games back of the last Wild Card spot.

 

Tampa in town for 4 this weekend, and then the next 2 weekends after that against the Yankees. The Red Sox have played the least amount of Div games in the Div so far. I know some on here likes the new schedule playing less games in the Div, but I liked the old schedule. If you are good enough you will beat the Div teams, and if you aren’t you won’t, and I just think Div games bring a little more excitement to the mix.

[notin]

Tampa in town for 4 this weekend, and then the next 2 weekends after that against the Yankees. The Red Sox have played the least amount of Div games in the Div so far. I know some on here likes the new schedule playing less games in the Div, but I liked the old schedule. If you are good enough you will beat the Div teams, and if you aren’t you won’t, and I just think Div games bring a little more excitement to the mix.

 

The problem with the old schedule is it rewarded teams in weak divisions…

[notin]

MIA might want more than Rafaela and will likely get better offers.

 

Would you give Rafaela and Mata?

 

Rafaela and Walter?

 

I’d go over just Rafaela. Not sure any of our younger pitching is much of an enticement right now..

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Mayer getting promoted to POR on Tuesday. That team will be stacked.

 

Who will play shortstop for Boston's MLB team first: a rehabbing fast guy with an artificial brace in his elbow who is very good at second base? a rehabbing ghost who was once even faster, but blew out his knee? the healthy fast-track prospect and the only one who's played all season and played really well?

 

Place your bets! And remember, predictions most likely won't pertain at all to pre-trade deadline or even 2023 at all...

[Old Red]

The problem with the old schedule is it rewarded teams in weak divisions…

 

I get that point, and I would get rid of divisions altogether, but the Red Sox have played in the same division since divisions were created, and when they have been good enough they have made the postseason, and beyond, so all of this gee if we were in a different division we would have a better record, and a better standing is just sour grapes. Get good enough, and it doesn’t matter what division you are in, and what the schedule is. I would rather play the Yankees 25 games a season compared to 19, or 13 myself, and let the chips fall where they may.

[Old Red]

Who will play shortstop for Boston's MLB team first: a rehabbing fast guy with an artificial brace in his elbow who is very good at second base? a rehabbing ghost who was once even faster, but blew out his knee? the healthy fast-track prospect and the only one who's played all season and played really well?

 

Place your bets! And remember, predictions most likely won't pertain at all to pre-trade deadline or even 2023 at all...

 

Story may be very good at 2B, but he was signed to be a SS even though he had a bad arm in Colorado.

[Bellhorn04]

The problem with the old schedule is it rewarded teams in weak divisions…

 

Teams in weak divisions are still rewarded.

[Bellhorn04]

Story may be very good at 2B, but he was signed to be a SS even though he had a bad arm in Colorado.

 

Who really knows if he was signed with being a SS or 2B in mind - Bogey was SS in 2022 and Mayer is coming soon - Story may not play much SS for us. I just hope he plays period.

[notin]

I get that point, and I would get rid of divisions altogether, but the Red Sox have played in the same division since divisions were created, and when they have been good enough they have made the postseason, and beyond, so all of this gee if we were in a different division we would have a better record, and a better standing is just sour grapes. Get good enough, and it doesn’t matter what division you are in, and what the schedule is. I would rather play the Yankees 25 games a season compared to 19, or 13 myself, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

 

But the entire point is with wild card teams, schedules do matter. I mean, don’t you think the Cardinals get this boost every year from playing Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Chicago 57 times?

 

From 2019 to 2021, the Cardinals made three postseason appears including two wild cards despite playing under .500 against everyone who wasn’t the Pirates, Reds or Cubs. Now this year, the team is asked to play a real schedule and they’re simply not any good. The MLB radio talking heads ask every day “what’s wrong with the Cardinals? Is it rule changes? Do they miss Molina that much?” No one ever says “maybe they were always bad but just had an easy schedule”.

 

But it might be the case. And if the Sox are going to compete with inferior AL West and AL Central teams for postseason spots, there’s no reason to give them an advantage. The postseason should have the best teams, not the teams that do the best among some arbitrary grouping loosely based on geography…

Edited May 29, 2023 by notin

[Bellhorn04]

But the entire point is with wild card teams, schedules do matter. I mean, don’t you think the Cardinals get this boost every year from playing Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Chicago 57 times?

 

From 2019 to 2021, the Cardinals made three postseason appears including two wild cards despite playing under .500 against everyone who want the Pirates, Reds or Cubs. Now this year, the team is asked to play a real schedule and they’re simply not any good. The MLB radio talking heads ask every day “what’s wrong with the Cardinals? Is it rule changes? Do they miss Molina that much?” No one ever says “maybe they were always bad but just had an easy schedule”.

 

But it might be the case. And if the Sox are going to compete with inferior AL West and AL Central teams for postseason spots, there’s no reason to give them an advantage. The postseason should have the best teams, not the teams that do the best among some arbitrary grouping loosely based on geography…

 

And the only way it can be totally fair is to have no divisions at all, as Red suggests. But that ain't happening, of course.

[notin]

And the only way it can be totally fair is to have no divisions at all, as Red suggests. But that ain't happening, of course.

 

I’ve been on the “no divisions” bandwagon for decades.

 

But the new balanced schedule is a step in the right direction…

[notin]

Teams in weak divisions are still rewarded.

 

They are, but it’s not as blatant now…

[notin]

Who really knows if he was signed with being a SS or 2B in mind - Bogey was SS in 2022 and Mayer is coming soon - Story may not play much SS for us. I just hope he plays period.

 

 

Clearly Red knows. Didn’t you read his post?

[Old Red]

Clearly Red knows. Didn’t you read his post?

 

When lots of posters on here kept asking who was the Red Sox were going to sign to play SS after Bogey left I kept saying Story was going to be the SS, and that was going to be the plan until he game up lame throwing in the offseason to getting ready to play SS. I get it that Story is a good 2B, but I believe the plan all along when Story got signed was to play 2B for 1 year, and then take over SS for a few years until Mayer was ready. It wasn’t really that hard to come to that conclusion no matter how good Story looked at 2B.

[notin]

When lots of posters on here kept asking who was the Red Sox were going to sign to play SS after Bogey left I kept saying Story was going to be the SS, and that was going to be the plan until he game up lame throwing in the offseason to getting ready to play SS. I get it that Story is a good 2B, but I believe the plan all along when Story got signed was to play 2B for 1 year, and then take over SS for a few years until Mayer was ready. It wasn’t really that hard to come to that conclusion no matter how good Story looked at 2B.

 

That may have been the plan, but there’s also a good possibility it wasn’t. And certainly his play at 2b might have changed things as well.

 

If you do believe they wanted Story at 2b for a year and then move him, they clearly never planned to bring back Xander. And if so, it certainly explains why the reported low ball offer was made. Although I don’t know what other offers were…

[Old Red]

I’ve been on the “no divisions” bandwagon for decades.

 

But the new balanced schedule is a step in the right direction…

 

1967 was a good of a race as you can get with 4 teams fighting for 1 spot, and coming down to the very last game. No divisions are the fairest way of all with everyone playing the same schedule, and best records going on to the postseason.

[Old Red]

That may have been the plan, but there’s also a good possibility it wasn’t. And certainly his play at 2b might have changed things as well.

 

If you do believe they wanted Story at 2b for a year and then move him, they clearly never planned to bring back Xander. And if so, it certainly explains why the reported low ball offer was made. Although I don’t know what other offers were…

I think the lowball offer to Bogey was the telltale, and it was just spin, and grin after that. Certainly his play at 2B last year did not change anything for the plan for this year as Story was the plan to play SS.

[notin]

1967 was a good of a race as you can get with 4 teams fighting for 1 spot, and coming down to the very last game. No divisions are the fairest way of all with everyone playing the same schedule, and best records going on to the postseason.

 

Of course in 1967, the entire postseason was only one week and the entire AL was only 10 teams.

 

Those days are gone, but I wouldn’t mind two 15 team leagues with no divisions and minimal (if any) interleague play and the top six go to the postseason seeded accordingly. I even like these new 3 game series in the divisional round - much better than the old “one and done” wild card game that was so unbelievably anticlimactic…

[Old Red]

Who really knows if he was signed with being a SS or 2B in mind - Bogey was SS in 2022 and Mayer is coming soon - Story may not play much SS for us. I just hope he plays period.

 

The real Story Land opened this weekend, but the Red Sox Story Land has been down for repairs more than he’s been opened.

[notin]

I think the lowball offer to Bogey was the telltale, and it was just spin, and grin after that. Certainly his play at 2B last year did not change anything for the plan for this year as Story was the plan to play SS.

 

 

Hard to say, since the Sox didn’t go get a 2b to replace Story there either…

[Old Red]

Of course in 1967, the entire postseason was only one week and the entire AL was only 10 teams.

 

Those days are gone, but I wouldn’t mind two 15 team leagues with no divisions and minimal (if any) interleague play and the top six go to the postseason seeded accordingly. I even like these new 3 game series in the divisional round - much better than the old “one and done” wild card game that was so unbelievably anticlimactic…

This we agree on.

[Old Red]

Hard to say, since the Sox didn’t go get a 2b to replace Story there either…

 

Arroyo, and Kike were already options there, and the Red Sox weren’t going to spend anymore money just like at SS when Story went down.