jacksonianmarch

You don’t rebuild through free agency. You supplement through FA. Bloom isn’t going to follow bad money with more bad money. He’ll likely get a piece or two that will be with the Sox into their good times, but anyone expecting a buying spree will be massively underwhelmed, imo

If I were TB, I’d have Snell go game 2. Snell has a rough history with NY and with the Yanks righty loaded lineup, it makes more sense to have Glasnow go in 1 and be available on short rest for 5. You know Cole is gonna come back on short rest if the series goes 5. Also, Snell was never built up, so he’s a guarantee to need 4 innings of pen work in both games. I’m aware they have a good pen, but you don’t want to have to rely on them, especially if playing from behind. If Cole can stay hot, the Yanks will be tough to beat. The problem this year was Cole’s crappy spell coincided with Rays games. Who knows if it was a Cole issue or the Rays being good. Either way, he’s different right now. Also, Tanaka owns the Rays. So our 1-2 can neutralize theirs. Their pen has been better, not that the Yanks dont have the personnel, but they haven’t performed up to snuff for them. I think this thing is gonna go 5. If Snell is the game 1 starter, Yanks are winning in 5. If the Rays go Glasnow, I’m picking the Rays in 5

One of the best pitchers of all time. RIP Hoot

Don't put it past the Cubs to decline Rizzo's option and let him fly. He would be a good sox target offensively

Just took a look at Brusdar Graterol’s stats. The kid has been good, but his K rate cratered yet his GB% jumped through the roof. Did they turn him into a sinkerballer?

Interesting twist here is the NCAA tourney style bracket. No re-arrangement by seeding. In usual times, we would be playing the A's as the AL seeds remaining are 1, 2, 5, and 6. The Yanks being the 5 seed would get the A's as the 2. I would MUCH rather the A's!!

It’ll be weird to watch Yanks Rays at Petco. The Yanks go to the place where homers go to die. This is definitely an added advantage for the Rays

That was a fun game. Now for the buzzsaw. My bet is it’ll go Cole, Tanaka, Happ, Deivi, Cole on short rest if it goes 5. If the Rays follow their pattern, it should be Cole vs Snell. We own Snell for some reason. Neutral site does help rather than being in the dome where dreams go to die. Can’t wait

Well, f***

6-4 good guys, but Guardians threatening

Why the hell would the pirates deal Taillon? He broke out in 2018 and had TJS in 2019. Not surprising that he missed 2020. He will be fully healthy in 2021

Dumbest s*** here. Let’s say the Yanks won their series in 3, just for reference. They’ll have 3 days off and then will play all 5 games (if necessary) of their series in a row? That’s f***ing stupid

Yanks are a different team with Sanchez on the bench. Higgy is a great defender and has been a better hitter than Scary Gary. Bieber was flat the whole game. It was his playoff debut, so there’s that. Carrasco and Tanaka will be a hell of a game. Both have playoff experience.

Weird that a Bloom team would be that bad on D, although 2020 was hard enough to really grapple with anyway. TB always seemed to have arms that threw 100 and defense behind their cannons. So of course, the Sox has pussballing pitchers (sans a few of course) and a group of guys who kicked the ball around

The Guardians are the toughest draw for the first round beyond getting the Rays. Granted, our history after 97 in the POs vs Cleveland has been pretty solid, but new team, new challenges. The Guardians have traditionally been an offense first team with a couple good SPs and a suspect pen. This is not the typical Guardians team. Outside of Ramirez, no player in their lineup had an .800+ OPS. Their offense isn’t gonna carry them. The rotation is dynamite, even after moving Clevenger. Bieber is likely to win the CY. Carrasco found his mojo after beating cancer. Plesac’s only obstacle has been quarantining. It’s a tough assignment to take on those 3 in a best of 3 series. Their pen, traditionally their weak point, has solid middle relief options now with Quantrill, Wittgren, and Perez and then has a lights out duo of Karinchak and Hand to close out games. Like I said before, this isn’t a team you want to face in a best 2 of 3. Cole and Bieber will be a matchup for the ages. Tanaka and Carrasco will be a heck of a second game. Yanks haven’t committed to a third gamer yet, could be Happ or Deivi. This is gonna be a battle, especially since the loaded Yankee lineup has shown it can easily be put to sleep vs good pitching

They are not favorites to win it all, although I dont really think there is any real favorite in the AL. Tampa is good, but I doubt anyone thinks theyre a true threat to win a title. With Houston sucking, it is wide open

Probably time to close this thread

Sox will move on from Roenicke and Bloom will get to pick his own manager

Exactly. The thing with the Yanks is that their top 2 and the 7-8-9 bridge in the pen makes them real dangerous in a short series. Tanaka has killed it in the playoffs. Cole is one of the best pitchers in baseball. If they build in the usual amount of off days, we will see Cole and Tanaka in the 3 gamer, 3 of their starts in a 5 gamer and 4 of their starts in a 7 gamer. They have to be really solid, but if they are, it’ll be real tough to silence the offense and beat the bridge to the closer

I doubt Barnes garners much attention this offseason. He should see a raise on his $3.1 mil salary and to this point has been utterly terrible as a late inning reliever. The best bet Bloom has is to absolutely baby him next year, hope he really finds his groove and sell him at the peak of his value

I do think Bloom will need to save some money, I do agree there. Everyone, everywhere is trying to recoup losses from this year. So would I be surprised if the Sox play it cheap this off-season? Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I think these FAs are gonna need to be willing to punt and take a one year deal so they can get the actual value they were hoping for due to the losses of 2020 and uncertainty of 2021 with fans

3 starts. You don’t even know if Houck will start 2021 in the majors. He’s been impressive, for sure.

It’d be fascinating in a normal year to see which Yankee team shows up for the POS. This year has been so weird and trying in a work and personal way, that it’s not a central thought for me. But it isn’t like the Yanks are bad. They’ve got the offense, the names in the pen and the headlined rotation to go far. But great teams find a way to win, and this team seems to find ways to lose. When they’re on, they’re entirely unbeatable. But they almost don’t seem to handle any sort of adversity. They get punched in the face and then need 4-5 days or more to get their mojo back. It’s strange, like they’re searching for their identity. I will tell you this, if the Yanks come back and pull out a win in dramatic fashion early in the playoffs, that could carry them far.

DD is the perfect guy for a team that hasn’t won in awhile, has some foundational pieces on the current roster, has lots of cap room and a top 10 farm. He will get you to the World Series. There’s a talent there. He seems to always pay the extra fee for the top of the top talents. He’s not an “upgrade with mediocrity” kind of guy.

Yes, it would be. He was good last year and had his season wrecked by shoulder issues this year. He’s the perfect candidate for minor league contract with a kicker should he make the opening day roster