a700hitter

Hopefully, Farrell doesn't stubbornly stick to what he said originally.

You will probably always miss Ami, and that has nothing to do with this discussion.

True, but if Young is going to get every AB against lefties, I can't see that happening at the start of the season without him taking most of those ABs from Bradley.

Today, he made a nice play on a line drive, but.....and this but really concerns me, he let a foul pop up fall behind first base. It was an easy play, and he barely made a move for it. By the time he reacted, it was too late, and he just stopped. Pop-ups are going to be a problem. On one of the first NESN broadcasts, the announcers said that Pedroia said that the strategy was for him to take whatever pop-ups that he could get to and not let Hanley handle popups. When I heard the story, I thought that it was a bit concerning. There was a second play that was a foul pop-up between home and first toward the dugout and about 1/3 down the line. Swihart made the catch, but Hanley did not even attempt to run down that ball. It was not a difficult catch for Swihart, but very often, maybe more often than not, the first baseman takes that ball. He did not make an attempt. He jogged in to head toward the dugout. I am concerned about him fielding pop-ups and picking throws out of the dirt. I don't think he will have trouble with ground balls. Our catchers will have a very big area to cover for pop-ups, because Pablo can't cover anything more than 2/3 to 3/4 down the line and Hanley has no idea where these balls are going to land. Our catchers will need to be catching pop-ups in fair territory possibly out as far as the mound.

This will really test the depth of the staff, and I don't think that depth is adequate.

He's not going to get any of Betts ABs, Castillo is right-handed so he will not be playing for Castillo against lefties. That leaves Bradley.

People have opinions. Sometimes players look like they are half-assing it. There's nothing wrong with saying that even though it can't be substantiated. It has been going on forever. If a player doesn't run out a ground ball, he will get booed. People don't wait to find out if he has a leg cramp.

Good point.

Lol I think the best lineup, both defensively and offensively would have Shaw at first and Hanley at third. I don't see the upside of holding Shaw back for Pablo who was never very good IMO and he is declining in every aspect of the game. Getting him was a really bad move, and letting him block more deserving players compounds the mistake. They should cut their losses with him, and move Hanley to his natural side of the infield.

Lol! I have often wondered if the translators edit the remarks.

I have seen him get the chance to pick only 2 throws out of the dirt, and he is 0 for 2.

And I have heard that he is a terrible card player.

Craig is just taking up space. Hernandez has looked good too. He swings the bat with authority and looks like he has major league tools. Other prospects may project ahead of him, but he is getting it done on the field.

The reality is that his ego would not fit this bullpen, because he would want to close. I am not sure what 2019 had to do with the 2016 bullpen. I am pretty sure that Koji will not be a major piece of any bullpen in 2019 and neither will Papelbon.

Travis looks like the real deal. The ball explodes off his bat. He tracks and identifies pitches very well. He can handle pitches on the outside edge with authority and turn on the inside pitch. As far as Craig is concerned, there is no place for him in this organization. If neither Travis or Shaw come North, they will be the everyday first baseman at AAA and AA. That would leave Craig nowhere. They should just cut him loose.

I would rather have Papelbon than Carson Smith. I think Papelbon is as good as Koji or Tazawa, but Papelbon would want to close and he would not close ahead of Kimbrel.

I was at the last 2 games. Pablo is not going to be making any big turnaround. He looks awful in the field. In addition to his two errors today, on Sunday he made a misplay on a steal of third base. Hanigan made a very accurate throw that had the base runner beat. Pablo arrived at the base in time to take the throw, but he could not stop the momentum of his massive body and over ran the base and had to reach back for the throw and couldn't apply the tag. He looked ridiculous I think DD should convince JH to eat Pablo's contract and move Hanley to third base. Hanley just cannot pick balls out of the dirt. I like Travis Shaw and Sam Travis. I think both can handle first base and hit well.

This may be the beginning of the Red Sox setting up Farrell for his exit. They need to dirty him up if they want to move on from him after the cancer.

By Yep, unless you live on a very large parcel of land in a very rural area, intentionally discharging a firearm within (usually 200 yards) of another residence is a criminal offense. Guns are legal in Florida and carry licenses are easy to obtain, but you can't discharge your weapons in your home in a residential neighborhood. This is pretty standard as it is extremely dangerous. I know a guy who about 20 years ago took his kid into his yard and set up a target in his garage and had his kid take target practice with a high powered rifle. Bullets were ending up all over the neighborhood in people's homes etc. He got arrested and it made the local broadcast news. I remember it well, because the kid was in my son's Scout troop. Yankee $ made this go away. You or me get charged and convicted. We might not get jail time, but we would get charged and convicted unless we had connections.

It is still a very hypocritical puritanical town.

Not necessarily as to the first part.

Registered or not. I am pretty sure that willingly discharging a firearm within a certain distance from residences is illegal.

Intentionally discharging a firearm on one's premises isn't illegal? I find that hard to believe.

Foulke gets my vote, but Uehara was a strike throwing machine who was nearly perfect.

Visiting major league teams only bring 3 starting players to Spring Training games, so you are usually watching a lot of no name guys. there isn't a lot of high level competition at Spring Training.