jacksonianmarch

Not the best thing we should have done defensively

Not sure why Boone has kept Tanaka in. He has nothing

Hembree is my favorite Red Sock

Voit has really hit well for us. The kid can crush to all fields. Quite the nice pickup for us

We can get two big names and stay under the lux tax in its entirety. I agree with you slav, we don't "have" to get a guy like Machado or Harper. But the fact that we can easily slip them under the cap and into our lineup makes us really want to. I also think we can get these guys with lower AAV's yet higher payouts. Maybe Harper is looking for $35 mil a year and he gets that in the first three seasons with a buyout and a 7 year deal at $25 mil after that if he gets hurt. 10 year deal $280 mil total, but $105 mil comes years 1-3 with an opt out. Harper sees $35 mil a year, but the AAV is only $28 mil per year. If we decline all options and let all FA's walk, our team will be at around $140 mil after medicals and 40 man add ons with the following team C- Sanchez, Romine 1B- Voit, Bird 2B- Torres SS- Gregorius 3B- Andujar LF- Stanton, Frazier, Ellsbury CF- Hicks RF- Judge DH- Stanton, Sanchez SP1- Severino SP2- Tanaka SP3- Gray SP4- Loaisiga, King, Sheffield, German SP5- Loaisiga, King, Sheffield, German CL- Chapman SU- Betances MR- Kahnle MR- Holder MR- Green MR- Cole Post ASB return for Montgomery The team will be good, but we need to upgrade the pitching. Maybe we re-sign Happ. Maybe we get into a big bidding war for Kershaw (I'd rather not, tbth, as his velocity has dipped big time). Maybe we sign Morton (he wants to be close to his family in Delaware). Maybe we get Keuchel. Maybe we deal for Bumgarner or DeGrom or Thor? Who knows, but we will need at least one addition to the rotation, probably two with Gray moving on to greener pastures. Assuming we don't sign a marquee guy like Kershaw, we will likely spend at most $30 mil on the rotation. With the cap starting at $205 mil in 2019, that leaves $35 mil to burn. That would get us a marquee name while still keeping us out of the lux tax, even though we wont need to worry about that as we reset

Tanaka had him leaning on the slider and split and he throws a cookie cockshot fastball up 0-2. Dumb

Dumbest f***ing pitch call of all time. Sanchez, you are a f***ing idiot

No idea why Tanaka didn’t just walk JDM

You were saying? A good throw and he’s dead, but Sanchez is trying to ruin all of his utility

We also could just re-sign JA Happ

Agreed. We also have our pitching peaking at the right time. Tanaka and Happ have 2 of the top 4 second half ERA's and Severino looks to be coming out of his slumber. If the offense comes alive as well, we should be a really tough out in the playoffs.

We are now 2-0 since Judge came back. Clearly, not Judge's doing, but finally back to full strength. If Judge can shake off the rust and Giancarlo can find it before the end of the season, we will make some noise this post season. This team is really, really good. They have just been sleeping for 2 months now

He has certainly taken advantage of his opportunity, hasn't he? If he ends up closing in Anaheim, the deal they swung for Kinsler could be quite the kick in the pants

You can’t get a “bunch of guys” for the money you’ll keep from letting Kimbrel walk. Well, I guess you could get a bunch of guys off the scrap heap, but I digress. You can go after a reliable guy with good but not great production. That was Brian Shaw before he imploded in Colorado. He got $9 mil AAV. Then you have Brandon Morrow, a flamed out starter with a log injury history but a real solid season as a shut down set up man. He got $10.5 mil and will miss the playoffs. The contracts given out to this point have all been disasters minus the one Miller got from NY.

Good relievers signed for $10 mil AAV last year. You can have Kimbrel or two good career setup men.

Sevy threw a bunch of fastballs tonight. He also threw a bunch of changeups. I agree, a fastball only pitcher is gonna have issues, but they will vs any club. The thing is, a good hitter has an SR to get them out, but the margin is razor thin. The other guys, the margin has become canyon wide

It will bite you in the end, but not signing him will kill you next year. Your team requires a lock down relief ace. Outside of Kimbrel, you don’t have one

Sale wouldn’t line up in YS, though. I’m anticipating Sale as the 1 and the 5 of the ALDS. If you had to place the other 3 spots, I’d think he’d throw a lefty in there at YS and that’d be dumb

We’ve got our hands full with Oakland or the late charging TB. They’ve both got good bullpens and are willing to use them from inning number 1. They’ve also got polar opposite offenses that make them painful. TB gets on base and terrorizes teams with the ability to run. Oakland can drop bombs. We have to find a way to get through them. If we do, I like our chances against the Sox. I don’t think the Sox will win a game in NY without throwing their #4 and #5 starters and I don’t foresee them doing that especially if game 4 is an elimination game.

It isn’t that teams have learned how to pitch your players. It’s that the ancillary players came back to earth and 4 hitters does not a lineup make. Betts, Beni, JD and Bogey are the only consistent hitters. If the opponent shuts them down, the Sox don’t hit. If the opponent keeps them from seeing good pitches in RBI spots, the Sox don’t hit. If the opponent keeps them in the yard and sticks to the above, the Sox don’t hit. Sevy allowed 3 JD singles today. Nobody was in scoring position. No pitches he hit were driveable. I told you guys months ago that your lineup was too top heavy. It’s shown in this series.

Kid gets out of it. Hope the jitters are gone for later. Yanks bats didn’t quit. Everyone going to RF was a thing of beauty. Price shaking his hand was funny as well. Sox have scored 1 earned run in the first two games. The second best pitcher of the second half goes tomorrow and we face another lefty in the stadium. If I were Cora and the Yanks do face the Sox in the ALDS, I’d ensure Porcello and Eovaldi start at Yankee Stadium. No way I send a lefty out there

With the long inning, there is absolutely no reason why Sevy is still gonna be in there. Give Sheff a shot

should never have started the full squad. No need to show a potential playoff opponent your entire card right before the playoffs

With the expected Yankee win tonight, here are the W/L's NYY 8-7 OAK 2-4 HOU 3-4 CLE 2-2 You are right, the only team Boston has a winning record against is NYY and that may change tomorrow. The others aren't exactly whitewashes, but they certainly played them all pretty tough

What is an "honest" swing? Going the other way is good baseball and it is a method to stay on a breaking pitch and stay up the middle with a fastball. Our stadium should keep RHH slump proof as they shouldn't be looking for a pulled homer every time up. Alas, it doesn't always happen