jacksonianmarch

I absolutely think Portland could snag a Floridian baseball team. I also think Vegas can snag one. There’s a real change the Rays will have to change their name after moving to the cloudiest city in America. I think MLB’s push into Florida was ill conceived. Floridians that have time to watch games are retired from elsewhere, so there isn’t a draw to the local team. The born and bred locals have been going to spring training for a century now, so the teams ST home closest to these locals become the team’s they rooted for. Florida will never be able to be successful with a baseball club because of this. In the next 20 years, I expect both Floridian teams to move on

Had the resources to do both. Now you’re too close to the top penalty and your prospect pool is dead.

A DH first base option who isn’t an elite level hitter is not worth the option. He cannot earn the option unless he out hits JD, and he won’t do that

Yeah, I disagree. Talk to me at the end of the season. You don’t watch the best closer in baseball walk as well as a capable starter and stay as good. You’re hoping that Thornberg can be good again, but that surgery is a mixed bag. Smith hasn’t looked good in his return from surgery either. You might need to pay a premium to keep Kelly and let Kimbrel walk and hope for the best.

We were talking about how tanking seems to be better rewarded. Nobody is calling for the Sox to deal Pom and Kimbrel

You don't have a choice but to go for it. You have guys coming to the end of their arb times or contracts who are about to get paid and not a single option to replace them. Allowing Cora to use Hanley enough to vest really hurts you next year. Having contracts on the books for poorly performing players hurts as does having contracts for guys not on the roster. The team you have now is very good, world series level good. But you have peaked in terms of ability to add. Now, you can only hope to keep the band together. If Hanley vests, that will be impossible for 2019

Exactly. I heard the same garbage when Betances found his stuff and dominated out of the pen. There is a reason Kelly is out there. It’s not because he never got the chance to start. It’s because he sucked at it and works better with a limited arsenal in a limited amount of innings

BTW, Domingo German was dynamite. I told you all that this kid was solid. He gets a lot of Severino comparisons and they aren't without merit. High 90s fastball that moves, circle change with great bite, slider that is just wicked and location of all three. He just hadn't gotten the chance beyond some mop up duty to this point. JMont may not come back to a spot to pitch. German has top shelf ceiling and I am glad he is getting an opportunity, especially since Adams hasn't been great, Sheff isn't ready and Acevedo is on the shelf

That too. Mantle was too drunk to want anything to do with fans

I didn't get to see either, but from what I have read, Joe D was viewed in a different light. Mantle had more god given talent and ended up with gaudier numbers, but I think DiMaggio is the one who every Yankee fan seems to hold in higher regard. It may have something to do with the fact that as great as Mantle was, he could have been better had he not been drunk almost all the time

I think your arb estimates may be a bit low. Final seasons are usually market value and if Bogaerts continues to massacre the ball, he will be more in the $15 mil range. I also foresee Bradley not sucking for the whole year. If he is a .750OPS player by years end, he will crack $10 mil. Betts should be right on especially since he is looking like an MVP candidate right now. Even with the $47 mil from Pablo, Moreland and Hanley coming off the books, the sox need to avoid long term deals next offseason. This year, you lose Kimbrel and Pom. You could find a cheaper version to close if need be and Pom looks pretty bad right now, so you might not be missing much. Next season, you will have to decide on Sale and Bogaerts. If Bogey keeps playing like he has been, then he is pricing himself into the elite category, near the $25 mil AAV club. Sale will clearly look to exceed Price's record as well. You might have some cash to spend for minor upgrades, but you wont be able to lock in anyone for more than 1 season.

Also, there are stories, but they are incredibly rare of guys with middling talent or production out there who find it and have successful runs with teams. I know Arroyo was one for you guys and Hill reinvented himself, but those are rare. With how baseball is now, your best bet is to develop the pitching talent so you can deal it for young pitching talent or use it. FA pitching talent is frought with dangers mostly since an ace pitcher is one arm injury away from being replacement level

The sox didn't see a curable flaw. They saw that he could repeat his delivery in the stretch and that he was deadly when focusing on only two pitches.

The problem right now is that current CBA rewards it significantly. Bigger draft pools are almost as important as draft order. Bigger INTL pools allow you to get multiple elite talents and allow you to return to dominance reliably. The Cubs and Astros are true models of this approach. Tank and reload. I think that might be changed a bit in the upcoming CBA. The following teams were actively trying to get better going into this year AL NYY BOS TOR BAL CLE MIN LAA SEA PHI NYM WAS STL CHC MIL ARI SF COL LAD HOU 18 of the teams in a 30 team league were actually trying to win. 2 teams out of the "bottom 12" may be good enough to contend in PIT and ATL, although I think both are pretenders for this season. 1 team that actually tried to upgrade their roster is already 17 games out for the division (BAL). We entered the year with 40% of the teams not looking to upgrade or worse, actively looking to tank. That's the most I have seen in recent memory. This clearly affected the FA market and that is going to set off alarm bells with the MLBPA.

Hidden gems are exactly that. They are hidden and as they are gems, they are rare. Your best bet would be to develop solid talent which has been a major issue during the DD years. If you are talking about arms, that goes all the way back to the Theo years. The sox haven't developed a good starter since Lester and Buchholz came up.

Mikolas has a sweet stache too

And they have a prospect laden team with big pockets in need of a rental SS for this season. I think the Dodgers end up with him in the end, the question is, how much do they give up?

Are you willing to hitch your horses to Neck Tat's wagon? I highly doubt he stays effective as a starter long term in the majors. Johnson is garbage. Beeks is not a great prospect as he has literally no room for error. I doubt you have depth beyond your current 5 and maybe Wright, assuming he can actually pitch

If HanRam's option vests, you cannot afford to keep either without jumping over the final threshold unless you deal from your current team's salary.

Gleyber is a very professional hitter. I am very impressed. Great AB to take the game. We are killing it right now. Riding high with our top 3 on the mound going against Boston minus Sale in Yankee Stadium. We should do well!

Betts got dead armed on that throw. Those hurt

Boone once again doesn’t learn his lesson. Betances has been great of late in 1 inning outings. He sucks when you go for two. He blows the no no and the game

Montgomery may have just been Wally Pipp’d.

You’re in for a treat. Everything moves. Velocity is high. Command is a work in progress. He’s a legit prospect, one who could be in the Bronx soon

Beat a good pitcher today. 2 straight solid starts from a gray. We are rolling. German tomorrow for the sweep