@PeteAbe
Cora is enthusiastic about how Mondesí looks coming off knee surgery. Said at this point all the others players are ready to go.
Would be nice if he could stay healthy, but I don't see that happening at all.
@PeteAbe
Cora says the rotation decisions will wait until the end. Didn’t say the were necessarily committed to a five-man rotation. Obviously a lot of health questions with that group.
Duh.
I don't think Mata is going to be a starter long term. He should be a good MLB arm though.
2020:
Eovaldi
Perez
Weber
Mazza
Godley
Peacock/Brewer/Hart
2021:
Eovaldi
ERod
Pivetta
Richards
Perez
Sale/Houck
2022:
Eovaldi
Wacha
Hill
Pivetta
Whitlock/Houck/Bello
Winckowski/Crawford/Seabold
2023:
Sale
Kluber
Bello
Whitock
Pivetta
Paxton/Crawford/Winckowski/Walter/Mata
How would you rank them if you didn't know how the results of that season? None of the rotations from 21 - 23 really stand out to me. They've all been underwhelming.
22 to 23
C > C
1B
2B >> 2B
SS >> SS
3B = 3B
RF
CF > CF (Kiké is better than Duvall)
LF
DH = DH
SP = SP
RP
The big changes are 1b and bullpen should be much more sound than last year while MIF is a HUGE downgrade.
Is the banning of the shift really going to take the Rays and the Astros out of the playoff race?
I don't believe the change in the shift rules is going to have an impact on the standings. I also don't think any player is going to have a long term dramatic swing in stats solely due to the shift.
There were a few years when it seemed like great Red Sox teams just struggled to beat the lowly O's. It's not about forecasting who is on the schedule, it's about how you are playing.
I should change the wording to "it's just another reason to why it's more important for US to worry about the Red Sox and not who the schedule has them playing...."
It's just another reason why it's more important for the Red Sox to worry about themselves and not who the schedule has them playing. If the rotation is healthy and the offense is hitting, they should be ok.
I think it's a reasonable position to state that you wouldn't want him back because of the baggage post-scandal. There were people that despised him long before that.
@JesseRogersESPN
The competition committee also voted unanimously to allow position players to pitch only in extra innings, in the ninth inning when leading team is up by 10 or more runs or anytime when the trailing team is down by 8 or more.