a700hitter

Let's hope that our crackerjack medical team gave him a thorough exam and that Nunez will be healthy to start the season. It wouldn't be the first time that we signed a wounded duck.

I am not seeing the "widespread under performance." Betts regressed from an MVP type season. That is to be expected. He still had an okay season. XB was banged up for most of the season, and his season was okay despite that. Hanley was clearly injured, but that is nothing new for him. Hanley playing a full season without injury and performing to his potential has become the oddity in his career. I think this "widespread under performance" to which you refer is a creation in your own mind, and I don't think the coaching staff can help with this type of "under performance" that is due to injury and wear and tear, but maybe they can do something about idiotic base running. That is fixable, and so is throwing to the wrong base on from the OF.

5:29pm: The sides have a deal in place pending a physical, per Robert Murray of Fan Rag (via Twitter). If completed, it’ll be a one-year pact with an option.

“Momentum” Toward Reunion Between Red Sox, Eduardo Nunez By Jeff Todd | February 15, 2018 at 5:14pm CDT There’s “momentum” toward a deal that would bring infielder Eduardo Nunez back to the Red Sox, according to MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). Indeed, the organization “could be close” to striking a deal with the versatile veteran. Nunez, 30, has long been mentioned as a target for the Sox, who could use the depth in the infield and are especially interested in finding a fill-in for the still-recovering Dustin Pedroia. While there’s some optimism that the team’s long-time second baseman won’t miss an extended period to open the year, he has been banged up a fair amount in recent seasons. Plus, the organization is also preparing to rely on the relatively unproven (but plenty talented) Rafael Devers at third. Though Nunez has spent most of his career elsewhere, he made an impression during his stint in Boston after arriving in a trade deadline swap from the Giants. Nunez posted a robust .321/.353/.539 batting line with eight home runs in 173 plate appearances after the deal.

There will be nothing comendable about his patience unless he improves this team.

I wasn't making an excuse for being the last team to integrate. I was addressing the issue someone brought up about an alleged quota. Once the color line was finally broken in Boston, Dick O'Connell acquired a number of good african american players, but the town didn't welcome them with open arms... to say the least.

Don’t you know that a stud hitter can’t make those around him better, managers don’t matter, lineup order doesnt matter, speed doesn’t put more pressure on pitchers and on and on. For the record, I agree that good leadership can make all the difference.

A lot of the blame goes to the city. We had a number of really good african american players in the late 60's early 70's. Reggie Smith, Ben Oglivie, George Scott, Cecil Cooper. Reggie Smith was a young superstar, but the city didn't warm up to him very much, or to the others. It wasn't a very welcoming place. Reggie was one of my favorites -- a 5 tool guy and a switch hitter.

Drafts? How many pitchers has Theo drafted who have been good starters?

My point wasn't that he builds his pitching staffs on the free agent market, but that he builds his staff on the open market from outside his own organization, Arrieta and Hendricks were not products of the Cubs system. Theo has not been very successful at drafting and developing pitchers. He builds from outside his organization.

Last year's crew was a lifeless bunch, and the smurfs need a leader. Betts is a really good player, but he is not an imposing player by any stretch. A centerpiece, leader type is needed with some TNT in his bat.

Theo knows how to build a pitching staff on the open market.

Speak for yourself, but I plead guilty to being a crazy Red Sox fan.

And you don’t spend $13 million on a coin flip. That was not a “guess”. It was correct when I took the position and proved to be right. It was no more of a “guess” than any projection of player performance by experts.

Stop the nonsense Bell. It wasn't a guess at all. Buch had a long track record of pitching left than half of a season even when he was performing well. At the end, the quality of his performance had become inconsistent. Being available for only half of a season and forcing the team to find a replacement made him not worth it in my opinion. Most importantly, his performance had deteriorated.

I took that position with foresight, and I was right.

People only do something good to assuage guilt? That's more than a little cynical.

But not for $13 million

Like the Buchholz options were no-brainers.

But he has had 2 terrible years out of 3 in a Red Sox uniform. Two out of three is bad. I wouldn't have done that deal every day. They could have got him for half price after that first year.

i hope this guy is not a head case. I'd rather trade for Encarnacion or Machado and look for an elite bat in next year's FA group.

We reportedly have expressed interest in Encarnacion. I don’t know if I believe that. We have Hanley and Moreland sharing first base and DH. Where would Encarnacion fit?

The Press is tough on most of our players, but I go to lots of games and I don’t recall the fans giving him a hard time. I don’t consider Talk Radio call ins to be fans. They are mo mos seeking attention.

I don’t remember Crawford getting booed at games. I think the fans were very patient with him.

Rosenthal is usually wrong.