a700hitter

The success of the rotation will depend on Buch and Masterson staying healthy, taking all of their starts and hopefully performing as they did when they had good seasons. That is a crap shoot. If one of them falters, the team will be in trouble. If both repeat last year's performance, the season will be a bust. If they stay healthy and perform well, the team will be competitive.

No one expects them to have a crystal ball and no one expects them to be perfect, but that doesn't mean that the mistakes get wiped off the ledger. We are just a bunch of fans without inside knowledge, expertise or a professional coaching staff. All of us drink the FO Kool Aid to a degree, because we rely on what they say about a player as they are the professionals, the experts, the scouts. Most of the time we base our opinions on what the professionals say about a player. When they are wrong, they are responsible, not the fans. They are trained to know better than us. If you want to give them a pass, that is fine, but we all have right to give our opinion of their moves, and that correctness or accuracy of that opinion rests on the track record of the players and the team. It has nothing to do with prior opinions. Edit: I could somewhat see your point, if the poster didn't also acknowledge that he/she was wrong too, but whether or not the poster acknowledges the mistaken opinion, it doesn't change whether the move was good or bad. The results speak for themselves and the FO makes the big bucks to be responsible for the moves.

Keep saying your Novenas for Strasburg. We might get him someday at the same stage of his career as when we got Mark Prior.

My recollection is that Odorizzi was a pretty highly touted prospect, certainly more highly regarded than Renaudo in the last 3 years.

The Fister trade was surprising. At that time, he had a lot more dephis rotation. If Porcello pitches like Fister, I will be ecstatic and Tiger fans will want Dombrowki's head on a platter.

Israel, a pair of 4's and a pair of 5's and a 3 is not a good hand for a pitching rotation. I like Porcello, but he is not a #1 ace. If he were, Dombrowski certainly would have kept him and extended him knowing that he would lose Scherzer.

Kimmi and some of the newcomers need to understand how things work around here. If you ever question an acquisition or express doubt about a player's ability, some people here don't think that you should be allowed to change your mind about the player based on his performance. The same thing goes for players who you think are good but who disappoint in their performance. You can't point out that they are mistakes by the FO. Ya see if we have the same wrong evaluation of a player that the FO has, it can't possibly be considered to be a bad move by the FO. I guess that it is based on the 2 wrongs make a right theory. When the FO cuts those guys or trades them for a bag of balls they are acknowledging their own mistakes, but we are forbidden to post anything about it. Childish? Yes, but there is that element on this board. Don't let it deter to you.

I am sure that you were concerned about his injury history as was I. Anyone who says he wasn't concerned about his injury history when we signed him was either lying or just plain stupid. The injury concerns were well-founded, but when the guy is healthy, he is a catalyst. Hopefully, he will play 130 + games in 2015.

Kimmi is a good addition demonstrating that you can disagree without being disagreeable or snarky.

This reinforces that you can't get Strasburg for 1 top prospect and add on pieces.

He's a bullpen piece, not worth a top starting pitching prospect. That trade never gets made 1 for 1. Far from your assumption that I undervalue James Shields, you are the one who is undervaluing him. TB got 2 blue chippers for him, not one as you are saying. Plus, Myers was a #4 prospect -- higher than anyone we have. Davis was an add in. He was and still is a bullpen guy, not worth a top starting pitching prospect. Would you part with Owens for him?

Wade Davis had already proven himself as a so- so starter at best with the Rays who deposited him the pen permanently at the time of the trade. KC took a long shot at him starting and he responded with a 5+ ERA. He was not worth Odirizzi. He was a throw in. If we give up Bogaerts, we might only need to add supporting pieces. Take XB off the table and you will need to part with Betts and swihart. This is Steven Strasburg for god sakes.

When I saw him in Spring Training 2013, I liked his aggressiveness at the plate and thought that he would be okay offensively, but he blew his chance in a major way. He will need a metamorphosis offensively to get another chance. It didn't happen with WMB and he has the element of big power that Bradley doesn't have.

If I had to bet, I'd say that it is more likely that he will be out of baseball than starting for the Red Sox.

They got 2 blue chippers for Shields. Wade Davis was a bull pen throw in, not at all equal to Odirizzi in value. Also, Myers was the #4 rated prospect overall. If he could field or run a lick, he might have been #1. We don't have a blue chipper with that pedigree. The closest that we have is Bogaerts. Would you be willing to part with him? That' s what it would take.

I think we have to come to the realization that in 4 weeks we will have a staff of two 4's, two 5's and a 3 report to Fort Myers. They can be successful enough to be competitive if they stay healthy and take all of their starts. An injury to Bunch or one of the others and this will (not might) unravel very quickly. Ben messed up.

I think Fister is realistic and affordable. I think the Nat's will be looking to move Zimmerman instead.

None of these examples would be comparable to getting a 25 year old Strasburg for 2 full seasons. When Shields was traded to KC, he was 29 or 30, and Myers was at the time of that trade more highly rated than any of our prospects. Odirizzi was a blue chipper too and worth more than Wade Davis. 1.5 years of Samardizja = 2 years of Strasburg? Not in my universe. Drew Smyly is a 25 year old lefty just starting to come into his own. Him and Franklin is like getting 2 blue chippers for a 28 year old Price. Strasburg is a pipedream for anything less than our top 2 prospects plus pieces.

With Scherzer off the board, that leaves one top FA, Shields and the Scherzer deal probably drove up his value. Not getting one of the top FA pitchers this offseason was a mistake. I don't care what that old fossil, Bill James' numbers show. Relying on the trade market to land a number 1 is foolish. Not many teams are looking to dump their opening day pitcher in January for some prospects. Even if their are a couple of teams dangling top pitchers, some like Hamels will cost a haul in prospects and cash. Strasburg will cost a bigger prospect haul, and more teams can compete with us when trading prospects than can compete with our cash. We will be lucky if we get Hamel's. Their GM is an idiot, so it probably will not happen. He wants the top 2 prospects and to offload the entire salary. No one is going for that. Zimmerman will cost 1 of our top prospects for 1 year of Zimmerman. That would be tough to swallow. Strasburg is a pipedream.

What examples would be comparable to a 26 year old Strasburg under control for 2 more seasons?

The guy is not a basestealer. He has good speed, but he is neither a burner or base stealer. Pete, being a great fielder doesn't mean that you have the talent to have a good stick. The list of great fielders with no bat is a long one in the history of baseball. I was baffled when I was a kid that fielding geniuses like Mark Belanger and Buddy Harrelson could never hit. You are also overlooking that this kid is very small. He would need to raise his OBP 60 points to be serviceable with the bat, because there is no power coming with that bat. Finally, the Red Sox have given up on him. The Roster is full of outfielders. He would need a plne crash to get back to Fenway.

I don't think that the Red Sox have the prospects to land Strasbourg, but if we did it would cost Betts, Swihart and Owens. Strasburg is a young stud just coming into his own. He put up 200 innings and 242 k's last year. He took all of his starts.

That doesn't add up. Zimmerman is a free agent after 2015. They could back load Scherzer's contract if they need payroll room.

The Nat's would have quite a staff if they add Scherzer. It's already pretty good.

Three points. First, Donaldson did not suffer through such a prolonged period of futility as Bradley has suffered through. Second, at 6'0" 220 lbs, Donaldson packs a lot more power than the smallish Bradley. Third, with Castillo, Ramirez, Craig, Victorino, Betts, Holt and Nava still with the team there is zero room for Bradley unless 2 or 3 guys leave or get hurt.