jacksonianmarch

BTW, you're gonna have Victorino starting the year in the OF. I am guaranteeing you that right now. A healthy Victorino is a wild card for your team as he was the outright catalyst for your WS run. If he can play to his 2013 level at least physically, then you'd be crazy not to at least showcase him. Plus, if you keep your rotation as is, there's no chance you are vying for a title. So starting Vic and building his value for trade is probably your best bet. My guess is that Betts gets pretty regular PT floating through the OF and giving Pedroia a rest at times until you either cut or deal Vic. And if Vic returns to 2013 level and you're somehow winning, you let Betts fight with Rusney for PT.

Napoli stays because, even though he can be a swing and miss artist, he's pretty much a shoe in for an .800OPS. Also, he is in a walk year and seems to play well under those circumstances. Plus, at $16 mil for 2015, you'll likely have to eat money and probably wouldn't get a whole lot. BUT, if you get walk year production out of him this season, then you can offer him a QO and get a pick for him, which is likely a lot more than what you'd get in a trade

I thought our offense looked good on paper coming in. We lost Cano, but adding McCann, Ellsbury and Beltran should have softened that blow. Never would have thought all 3 would have career lows in BA in the same season. I expect McCann and Ells to bounce back. Beltran should be healthy after elbow surgery, but healthy at 37 is sorta a misnomer. No idea what we get out of him. Same for ARod. I am sure the roids have some residual effect on him, and even if he hits .250 with 20HR, he should be a useful addition to the lineup. Not sure he can do that, though. What I do like is our depth. I think having ARod around, although I hate the bitch, allows us to get Teixeira some rest. Tex wore down as the season went along. He was a solid middle of the order hitter prior to the ASB (.805OPS, 17HR) but he wore down as the season went along and finished incredibly badly (.573OPS post ASB). Also, Prado, Pirela and Ryan should really allow us to have a hell of a backup corps. Pirela is akin to Prado, although Pirela can play SS in a pinch. Pirela has played 2b, 1b, 3b, ss, and LF in his minor league career and is probably better suited as a 2b or 3b. Prado has played every position on the field sans CF, C, and P. Ryan gives us a glove first option up the middle should Gregorius flame out. Plus, having probably our best position player prospect in years actually MLB ready helps as well. Refsnyder gives us a glimpse of life post Cano and allows us to see what is coming through the pipe. I like the depth. I do not think this is an elite offense by any means. But allowing the old guys to rest and bringing in some fresh kids with talent should infuse us with some capability to stay relevant offensively. It also gives us much needed insurance for injury

So, we're kinda stuck with the offense we have. 1. Gardner LF 2. Prado 2B 3. Ellsbury CF 4. Headley 3B 5. McCann C 6. Teixeira 1B 7. Beltran RF 8. Rodriguez DH 9. Gregorius SS I can roll with that offense, mostly since we have to. If the guys can produce close to their career norms, it should be a good offense. I'm not asking for Tex and ARod to play like 2009, more thinking about the younger guys.

It's a business. There is time value to money. All businessmen know this. Paying big money up front when you can spread it out or delay it is a bad business strategy

I thought of that as well, but it doesn't make fiscal sense. If you assume 8% on the market, every million you give per year that you didn't need to is costing you $80K. Also, it allows for a negotiation tactic. If a player is worth his contract, then you make a deal straight up. But monetarily, you have more leeway in terms of cost when a player is owed a ridiculous contract

Zimmerman is hitting the market unless you blow him away. He's turned down big money from Washington

No, he's not worth $5 mil. He's a competent swing man. Hes a very expensive insurance policy. He was used wrong in Boston as he's not a true lefty reliever at all. But as a mop up/5th starter, he has a role. I figured he'd get a $1-$2 mil guarantee. $5 mil is ridiculous. I just really hope he isn't our 5th starter at the end of the offseason. We need a real full time starter

The funny thing is, as old as we've been, this is probably the youngest we've been in awhile. ARod, Beltran, and Tex are our oldest position players. CC is our only old starter and at 34, he's not exactly ancient

That's a rather arbitrary number, don't you think? Gregorius is 24. Headley is 30. Ellsbury and Gardner are 31. McCann is 30. Prado is 31. Our starters are 25 (Pineda), 26 (Tanaka), 28 (Phelps), and 34 (Sabathia).

Headley picks down 3b while Prado gives us insurance all over the field. Say Beltran goes out, Prado moves to RF and Refsnyder gets the call at 2b. If bitch tits gets hurt, Beltran moves to DH and Prado moves to the OF. His flexibility gives us a lot of depth all over the diamond

Yeah, Prado moves to 2b. My bet is Refsnyder comes up as soon as either a COF or infielder goes down and Prado fills the vacant spot. We have some depth now. Pirela likely starts the yr as the second utility guy

The sox did have some left side of the bell curve production, but don't forget, you haven't gotten better since the beginning of 2013. Your rotation went from have a true 1-2-3 to having maybe a 2 and a bunch of s***. This isn't 2013 where the sox had a lot of underachieving talent. This is a team that underachieved a bit in its own right last yr, but just lacked the overall talent to compete then dealt away their best three starters and to this point haven't replaced them with much. For NY, I think you might be a little revisionist. We have McCann, Ellsbury, and Gardner, all guys who are in their primes who had down seasons. Jeter is gone, and the 2014 Jeter was one of the worst players in baseball. We replace him with a top prospect who at the very least should have a solid glove. We do have some youth coming through the pipe and we dealt for Prado who is in his prime. We got nothing out of Teixeira and Beltran, two dinosaurs who might still give us nothing next yr or might rebound, but counting on them isn't prudent. Our rotation was decimated with injury, so if you are looking for "left of the bell curve" production, let's look there. Tanaka is said to be completely healthy, which is something I will believe when I see it, but if so, a healthy Tanaka for all 162 last yr gets us into the post season. Same can be said for Pineda. Let's also not forget that for as rough as the Yankee season was, we still finished 13 games ahead of you and were 8 games ahead when you imploded your team.

They spin things as if people are stupid. If the sox just said they were building their rotation for the future and didn't shove this whole "5 man rotation of #3 starters" down everyone's throats, they'd get more credit from the fan base. The good will from 2013 allowed them to suck in 2014. Sucking in 2014 therefore makes the sox kinda have to make a run to regain some of that good will. Another half assed offseason allows for a broken team. Let's look at the scoreboard here... Starting in 2014, the sox were not a playoff team. So, they need to make improvements on what they were at the start of last yr to make the playoffs, right? Let's look at the scorecard here Guys who moved away: Jon Lester (6.1WAR) John Lackey (2.8WAR) Jake Peavy (1.9WAR) Andrew Miller (2.3WAR) Jonny Gomes (-0.3WAR) Rubby de la Rosa (0.9WAR) Allen Webster (0.5WAR) Guys brought in: Rusney Castillo (nil) Justin Masterson (0.3WAR) Rick Porcello (3.1WAR) Wade Miley (1.7WAR) Joe Kelly (0.6WAR) Allan Craig (-1.4WAR) Hanley Ramirez (3.4WAR) Pablo Sandoval (3.0WAR) Even with all the moves, you're 3.5WAR behind what you had at the start of 2014. Maybe Rusney plus a resurgence from Masterson gets you back there, but that's still a sub .500 ballclub

I think the sox want to have a TB like run of excellence with the capability to add high payout players as well. Dealing Bogaerts goes away from that significantly. A franchise level SS who has light tower power should not be dealt at all. I think the sox have what it takes to get Hamels, I just question the financial commitment it would take to have him on your roster and what the sox were unwilling to do with Jon Lester. Think about it... Lester got a $155 mil guarantee. Hamels would require his vesting option be picked up. That's a $114 mil guarantee. Are Bogaerts, Owens, and Betts worth $41 mil to the sox? I would assume so. Dealing one of those guys or multiple of those guys to get Hamels is penny wise and pound foolish.

Kelly is scary because he doesn't strike guys out and walk them far too frequently. You can have a near 4BB/9IP if you are mowing down hitters as well. But if you're a contact guy who walks a lot of batters, you're in trouble.

Pineda and Tanaka are 1's in production....assuming good health. But I see your point. A 1 is more than just production, it's dependability. And we definitely cannot lean on either guy as dependable due to injury concerns

I am still looking for the #3's? Porcello is a high 3, borderline 2 based on IF defense. Miley isn't a 3, he's a 4. Masterson could be a 2, pitched like a AAAA player last yr. Buchholz pitched like a AAAA player as well. Joe Kelly is a 4 as well. Right now, I see a 2/3, two 4's, and two 5's.

Pulled that from rotoworld. Looks like the ball is in his court, so long as we don't hit our payroll ceiling before he makes his final decision

Kuroda hasn't decided yet, and I am not sure if the Yankees want him back just yet. Not sure why. If he says he'll return for one more season, then he's worth it. He has been incredibly consistent. And the funny thing is, he had a lower WHIP last yr than any yr as a Yankees and his best K/BB total of his career, yet his ERA shot up by 0.4. A guy capable of throwing 200IP with a mid 3's ERA who doesn't walk batters and is willing to go year to year is incredibly valuable. We should be re-upping him regardless

Your pen is such a weird spot this season. Uehara was amazing for a year and a half, then imploded. Mujica was nearly cut before the ASB, then he finished with a flurry. Tazawa was good as well. Layne was used like Mike Myers and posted solid numbers. That being said, you are losing 88GP and 99IP with Wilson being dealt and Badenhop being a FA. Both those guys were solid last yr. Not sure what you should expect from your pen.

Your rotation as constructed will have you solidly behind us in the AL East, and we are likely solidly behind Baltimore and Toronto (as it stands now). Without a true front line starter, you're still down in the dumps. That being said, I think the market for starters next yr is ridiculous and waiting one year after losing Lester isn't a terrible strategy. It just likely means you'll have another s*** season this yr

Plus, we have a LOT of pen depth in the minors. It is probably the only location of pure depth in the system, and with us no longer needing to rush a LH reliever, we have a pretty nice level of talent there too. I am against Romo coming unless the plan is to move Warren into the rotation. I think if we cannot add a rotation piece over the next month or so, then a guy like Romo works great. As it stands, we have Tanaka Pineda Sabathia Phelps ??? That is the rotation to start the yr with Nova on track by the ASB. If the year started right now, I think Warren is the #5 starter. We also have Banuelos as an option, but with him working back from TJS last yr, they didn't get to stretch him out. He might be more of an option come the ASB as well assuming he shows the durability in the minors. We don't have the internal depth we have had in years past. There is no Shane Greene waiting for his chance, which makes me think we have to bring in one more starter. Who knows, that starter might just be another year of Kuroda

I think Dellin deserves a shot at the 9th inning. He had a near 4WAR as a reliever, which is Kimbrel territory. But I also don't think he deserves every shot as the closer. I would have Girardi mix and match the 8th and 9th depending on the handedness of the hitters coming to the plate. If the 8th looks more RH, then Dellin goes in the 8th and Miller the 9th. If both of them show aptitude to close, then you have the perfect scenario. If one chokes and one shines, then you have your set closer.

Meh, Warren had an awesome year. Betances and Miller were otherworldly. The only reason to sign Romo is if Warren is moving back to the rotation