jacksonianmarch

Bird isn't Tex, but he's better than what a lot of teams have backing up the position. We are starting to run thin, though. I think we're losing our momentum at the wrong time

Drew spit the bit last night. That play changed the whole game. He makes that play and you see Betances in the 8th and Miller in the 9th and we win 3-1

No tear, but any time you hear elbow inflammation, you hold your breath. He has been really good the last 2 months, so this is definitely a loss. Warren is being stretched out to handle the loss. We have enough starters not to need to stretch out Warren, but we don't have a solid 4 for the playoffs without Eovaldi, and Warren definitely was solid in his turn the first half

Dojji, Bogaerts at 3b drops his value considerably. He doesn't hit for power, at least he hasn't this season. His offense still carries with the average. But he is currently an above average SS. The metrics bear that out. You don't mess with that, especially when you have a guy who is hammering the ball at the position and playing better than most of his peers with the D. And remember what happened the last time you moved him off the position? Do you really want to see him hit .230 again?

I hope to high heaven that you guys finish .500. Go for it! That means you wont have a protected pick!

I think they didn't want to mess with Didi's progression by changing his DP partner. Drew has given us good defense, even though his contact and average rate leave a lot to be desired. I think Refsnyder is the guy next yr. He reminds me a lot of Pedroia, albeit he isn't short. Remember, he was an OFer for most of his career, his change to 2b was basically 2 yrs ago. He has improved his D tremendously this yr, but he isn't on Drew's level with the glove. But he's a guy who will hit for average, double digit HRs, double digit steals and great OBP. I think he's the guy for next yr

And that's the thing. We have moved guys up who have succeeded and we still have more sitting in the upper levels. Judge and Sanchez are in AAA. Mateo will be in AA next yr. We are f***ing stacked with relief options. And we got younger on the big league field with Didi from day 1. I like what our future holds, especially as these big contracts come to a close. After 2016, CC, Tex, and Beltran come off the books. Huge money there

Well, I predicted it, lol. Hence why I am going to own UN?'s sig for a month. I thought Didi would give us a spark defensively and having Headley there for a full yr would help. I expected ARod to his about .250 with 20HRs so he and Tex are definitely better than I expected. I didn't anticipate Beltran being this good. I thought Ellsbury would be better. Regardless, we had too much talent on the offensive side to suck for longer than one season and I was right. In terms of our pitching, we have had less tumult than last yr. 4 guys throwing 20+ starts and the 5th spot being a transition from Warren to Nova without anyone taking the ball in their turn of the rotation. Last year we had one guy over 30, one guy at 20 and a bunch of guys in the teens. This yr has been more stable for sure.

Bogaerts is following a similar path to Jeter. sk, in 97 and 98, Jeter had defensive values of 5 and 10 on fangraphs. Bogaerts is at 8.5. So the idea that Jeter never played D like Xander is false. Jeter actually had his best defensive value season in 2009 when his rating was 12.2 and his UZR/150 was 7.8. Bogaerts has a UZR/150 of 3.3 this yr. He is not a great defensive SS, but he is an above average one for this yr. Jeter made all the plays he could get to. His arm compensated well for his lack of range. His defensive metric issue is that after 99, he'd have 3 bad defensive seasons mixed around a good one. Once he started to really grow into his frame, he was mostly below average aside from 2009. Bogaerts is heavier than Jeter ever was even though he's 2 inches shorter. My bet is that over the next 2-3 seasons, his defense plays out as above average and then he starts to slip as he gets bigger and stronger. He's no Iglesias defensively, but his offensive production and lack of liability at SS makes him an amazing value. He's your SS and likely will be for awhile

Your rotation will look different next yr. You will have a headliner, either via trade or FA. My bet is the sox deal for a young ace rather than sign one as that seems to be against Henry's philosophy. I doubt very much that Buchholz is in your rotation. I think they decline his option as he cannot seem to come back from an innocuous elbow issue. Otherwise known as his elbow is not innocuous. There is likely an issue there and they don't want to pay out $13 mil for a guy who's elbow is ready to explode. One of Owens or ERod will be in the rotation. I doubt highly that Kelly is in the rotation. Miley and Porcello are probably stuck there due to cost and lack of performance. My guess is you'll land an ace, sign a innings eater and finish out the rotation with ERod, Porcello, Miley.

He's 32 and has a small frame. He is showing the wear and tear injuries that worry you about small players. His long contract plus moderate sized AAV coupled with his recent injury history and dropoff in OPS and WAR is going to make other teams wary. You can definitely trade him. But the days of getting a top flight young anything are over. A deal for him these days will be a step above a salary dump

Dojji, you are underselling Boston BIG TIME. A fully motivated Toronto has like 5% of the population. They are and always will be a hockey town and country. Boston is AVID Red Sox territory. Every single person here knows about the sox and whether they are good or suck. Also, Boston isn't just about Boston. Sox fans run from mid CT all the way to the northern tip of Maine. New England is an economic monster. The idea that a fully motivated Toronto can out-economically maneuver Boston is wrong on more levels than you are probably aware

I was on record as saying if Pineda and Tanaka make 30 starts apiece, we'd make the playoffs. They wont make 30, probably around 25 apiece, but they're looking like they'll make the playoffs. With the moves that had to be made to get this team ready to be a playoff contender and the in season moves and non moves Cash has made, this is a success regardless of what happens from here on out.

There is a reason for that, and it is on both sides of the ball. On the pitching side, we got stronger as the year went on. Tanaka is going to surpass his GS total in his next start. Pineda only had 13 starts last yr, and he's at 21 and climbing right now. Eovaldi has come on and replaced, albeit to a lesser degree, the loss of Kuroda. We have had less abject disasters who have filled in as well. Last year we had 14 starts from Nuno who was abysmal (-0.7WAR). We had 17 starts from Phelps who had an exact 0.0WAR. We had 12 starts from Whitley who had a -0.4WAR. Nova's 4 starts generated a -0.7WAR before he left with TJS. Last year we had one guy start 32 games (Kuroda), one guy start 20 games (Tanaka) and then the next highest was Phelps at 17. This year, we have 4 guys who have started 20+ games and even with how bad CC has been, he has still generated a positive WAR (0.8), I don't really know how. And the fifth spot was a direct handoff from Warren to Nova totaling 27 starts. We have had continuity in the rotation if not so much durability. Also, by our rotation evening out, our pen got really strong. Adding Warren to the pen effectively have them that other righty we didn't have outside of Betances. Adding Shreve and Wilson shored up middle relief and Miller has been better than Robertson was last yr. Our relievers went from 8th in the AL with a 3.70ERA down to a 3.33ERA and 6th in the AL. Our starters have actually dropped a spot from 7th to 8th in ERA with a 0.5ERA worsening. Our offense has come alive this season, which was predictable IMO, although not predicted to be this good. We had a few guys coming over in their first seasons who struggled. This yr, Beltran and McCann took significant steps forward. We've had a full yr out of Headley. Didi has been a significant upgrade at SS. With his power and defense, Drew has been an upgrade over Brian Roberts and the Drew from last yr. And ARod returning as he has and Tex having the season he was having massively improved the club.

Pedroia's lack of health is the biggest issue and the biggest reason why your return would be minimal. That and the contract

I think the Dodgers will let Greinke walk, take the pick, and sign Price or Cueto

He's not our most consistent offensive producer. But what he brings defensively and in the clubhouse adds to his plus offensive production out of a spot that doesn't usually see good production.

Sox are currently slotted 9th in the draft. You're 1.5 games back from being 11th. Go Sox! Get an unprotected pick!

He should be #2, but I could see him as the #4. Nova wouldn't be on the PO roster and neither should CC

I will tell you what, I have uttered the words "Fire Cashman" over the past 24 months more than a few times. I thought he had a very vanilla off-season. I thought his passing on the chips moving at the deadline was a mistake. Turns out, I was wrong. Start with the off-season. Re-signing Chase Headley. The other 3b options on the market are at a total of -1.7WAR. Headley's WAR of 1.3 is rather pedestrian, but when you consider that his value is dropped by an uncharacteristic 18 errors and you see a guy who is proving to be the cream of that steaming shitpile of a crop. Dealing Shane Green for Didi Gregorius. I wasn't the biggest fan of this move because Greene was trending up and Didi lost out on the SS spot in Arizona. As it turns out, Cashman sold the stock at its highest and bought low on Didi. Didi is at a 2.7WAR and has played defense unseen at SS in these parts for more than 20 years. The kid is starting to hit as well and is looking like a future franchise SS. Greene came out gangbusters, but sucked to the point of being the worst starter in the AL and eventually ended up on the DL for the year. Kudos. Dealing Prado and Phelps for Eovaldi and German. German ended up getting TJS, so we shall see how he develops after surgery. Prado is under .700 in OPS and missed time due to injury. Phelps has a 0.0WAR and has been just as bad in the NL as he was in the AL. Eovaldi started off as a 5 inning pitcher who somehow managed to win his games. Since the ASB, he's averaging 6+IP per start, the K rate is up, the WHIP is down and his HR allowed are down. He's showcased a nasty splitter which has made his 100mph fastball much harder to hit. The guy is also only 25 and trending up. We dealt away a 31 yr old with 1 yr left on his contract who hasn't played well and a 5th starter type for a guy who looks to be a future top of the rotation starter. Going to the deadline...Not dealing Severino has turned out to be a find. This kid looks like an ace. He has the stuff, the demeanor, the control. Girardi is managing him well also, making sure to keep him from imploding. He's a rook, so I know there will be bumps in the road, but he has the makings of a front line starter. Not dealing Greg Bird. He has been promising and has shown an advanced approach to the dish in his short time here. But shortly after the deadline, we lost Tex. Bird single handedly won one game and has proven to be no pushover in the box against big league pitching. He looks like he should be a productive big leaguer for years to come. Somehow Cash did the unthinkable. He lost the offseason. He lost the deadline. But he somehow turned over an old team, invigorated it with youth and ended up keeping us in contention. I am willing to eat my crow Brian, good work

sk, the Padres thought they had 2 future stars in Alonso and Rizzo, so they dealt Rizzo to get what they thought was an ace. Alonso ended up being a fringe big league 1b and Rizzo is turning into a generational talent

I am honestly rooting for the Red Sox. I want you guys to have the #11 pick in the draft next year.

Severino has looked like a future ace. Heck, a now ace. The kid has real deal stuff, solid location, and looks unafraid about all aspects of the mound. The kid is the goods

The view is all post menopausal women, right? A single period would be more. Mind blown

And any thought that the sox were improving enough to play with the big boys is quickly extinguished