jacksonianmarch

The Mets didn't get much. Mesoraco is a shell of himself and being paid highly. Also, Harvey had been an ace. Swihart never did anything in the majors

I am not sure anyone believes Moreland will be able to keep up a blistering pace since he did the same bit last year only to tail off and have a mediocre season. I also wonder how much of Hanley's success is luck driven. His BABIP is 50 points higher than last year at .321. His value can rise if his power shows up, but he is on pace for the lowest Iso since 2014 when he only hit 13HR in 128 games. If he regresses due to luck and his power doesn't show, then he will not be an asset to your club

Exactly, when you suck and are .500 during your sucky spells, then you're gonna be ok. I know a lot of exposure is on the pen, but I think the sox biggest area of worry has to be pitcher. Yes, the C spot sucks and JBJ has been awful, but carrying one bad apple offensively works and Moreland allows the flexibility to turn JBJ into a part timer. The pen has had its issues, but for this year you have a 1-2 punch in Kelly-Kimbrel that has been dominant and guys coming around them that could solidify a good bridge as long as health allows. The major concern has to be the rotation. 1. Sale is Sale. Velocity is down from last year but the same as it was in his final CWS season. He is still dominant and should continue to be a lock down ace 2. Porcello has had a few blips on the radar, but for the most part has been able to keep the ball down and hence out of the bleachers. He is settling in as a solid #2. 3. Price has been bad and unreliable. His velocity is way down and he isn't finishing guys off. His velo is even lower than his lackluster 2016 in Boston. If he doesn't reclaim his stuff, he will be a middling pitcher akin to Porcello from a year ago 4. Drew Pomeranz has been hurt, terrible and a pen killer. His velocity is down 3mph from last year after another "forearm strain". I doubt he lasts the season in Boston. My assumption is he is either phantom DL'd or sent to the OR for TJS 5. E-Rod is E-Rod. Tantalizing stuff. Dominant at times. Enigmatic at others. He has the stuff to be an ace, but the approach of a rookie even though he's been in the bigs for awhile now. He is the one guy who could help stabilize your rotation

When it comes to your pen, you guys have two potential 3 WAR players out there. Joe Kelly and Craig Kimbrel have the same WAR (per fangraphs) through the first quarter of the season. Carson Smith has been better of late. Velasquez had been solid as a swing man. Hembree and Johnson have been garbage. Who knows how Thornburg returns, but he is a wild card. If he struggles and the sox see Kelly return to his prior lack of success, I anticipate the sox will be adding to their pen. If Thornburg reclaims his prior stuff and Smith finds success at a lower velocity than his pre TJS days, then you might be set. The lefty reliever thing is a thing of the past IMO. If you have power arms capable of striking out anyone, that decreases the need for a LOOGY

Swihart is heading for a DFA. He's a first ball swinging guy without power or OBP. His worth was as a high average hitter for his position. Now that he has no position, he is effectively useless. Someone will snap him up off the DFA pile and try to resurrect his career as a catcher, but that ship has sailed in Boston

I posted earlier, cmon now

Not scared of Gio. We eat lefties for breakfast. Scherzer different story

2 down. Tough out at the dish. One out away from the good guys moving into sole possession of 1st!

The A's can hit. They have a lot of power and the makings of an ace. The rest of their rotation is garbage and their pen sucks too. It's very un-A's like.

You don't have the prospects to get him

Clint Frazier is killing the ball in AAA. .362 with a 1.125 OPS in 47 ABs since he returned from a concussion. He doesn’t really have a spot unless Hicks continues not to hit.

Pom lives with a high low plane change rather and east-west. He relies on fastballs up and curveballs down. Losing 3 mph off the fastball makes the high fastball a meatball rather than a ball he sneaks by a hitter. It’s common baseball sense. Anyone can have a good day and Pom had one against NY. Doesn’t mean he will continue to have the same success with diminished stuff

That’s a pretty stupid take. When you lose significant fastball velocity you lose your margin for error. He therefore needs to nibble more

Pom is afraid for a reason. His average FB velocity is down near 3mph. If he does t regain his velocity, he’s going to be pretty terrible

Mine was HS Varsity. .570

JBJ would be scooped up in a heartbeat if he hit waivers. He’s got another year or two of control and over the winter had enough stock to return significant value. A team out of contention would snap him up and throw him out in CF for the season then swap him for something of value either at the deadline or over the winter. I also wonder if JBJ might thrive out of the limelight as well.

They couldn’t do that. They’d need to hold him out for a week or so. The easiest option is the most obvious. Swihart is the a band aid that you know has to come off, but you’d rather leave it there for a bit more time and pretend you don’t have to rip it off. Swihart is useless to this squad

Still won the game! The A’s can hit, but their pitching is suspect. Walker once again in on the shenanigans in extras. The guys has been nails in late inning spots. Good win for us

Todd Frazier from the Mets wants to have a players forum with Manfred and the umps due to the sad state of umpiring right now. When a guy like Frazier is looking to focus on umpiring, you know something is up

German struggled that inning but the last two runs are again on the umps. Clear swing on a would be strike three missed by the ump followed up with a two run single. Seeing some real bad umpiring of late

Gardy’s .340 OBP is third highest on the team behind our #2 and #3 hitters

Pen arms always get moved for something of value at the deadline and you don't even know if you need one. Smith is pitching better and Thornburg is apparently ready to rock. Before you empty what little else you have in the minors, you are better off seeing what you have. Barnes and Hembree aren't very good as a bridge, but they could be pretty good when shifted to mop up or "behind" duty.

I am not saying take Beni out of the lineup. I am saying stack the guys who are hitting well so your best hitters are batting with guys on base. JDM is batting 3 spots after Mookie, wouldn't it be better if it was 1 or 2?

Pedroia to go on rehab assignment in Pawtucket starting Monday. Look for him in Boston within a week or two

Any reason why Cora keeps Beni as the #2 hitter and Hanley #3? You’ve got 3 guys killing it hitting 4-5-6. Seems like your lineup should be Betts-Bogaerts-JDM-Moreland.