mvp 78

Increased it by a whole percentage point did you... Wow.

Dumb.

Casas isn't up before May at the earliest.

Are we sure it isn't broken though?

I think you have to keep Kiké in CF. He's just too good out there.

"Most" of the season, but it's really only 58%. Pretty close to half IMO.

I think you stick with him because he's very cheap. If he sucks, just send him to AAA. If he's great, you can find a way to fit him on the roster even when Casas is ready.

I offer it because I think he'll most likely opt out. May as well get the comp pick. If he stays? At least then you have a guy that can get on the bump every 5 days and will keep you competitive.

There was concern in ST that Barnes wouldn't hold up as the closer. I'm fine with him being the 7th/8th inning guy when his stuff returns.

Uhhh

Chris Taylor is a perfectly average player who can't hit a breaking balls and offspeed stuff. His whiff and k rates are bottom 10%. His hard hit % is well below average and he relies on his speed which will continue to diminish as he gets older. Is he good enough to push Verdugo or Renfroe to the bench? Maybe? I wouldn't start him against RHP and put Verdugo on the bench though.

Wong and Downs both finished the season off strong. Ronaldo Hernandez is terrible behind the plate, but his bat may be able to carry him. Ward will not be ready by 2023 considering the amount of time he'll lose to TJS. Mata is probably a relief profile going forward, unless he just becomes a 3 inning opener. Nobody has a clue about what Song will be. He may never get out of the FCL. He may get fast tracked to MLB. Huge variance there.

And if that is the case, will less money be spent on ace FA's?

I'm not sure what "deceivingly good" is supposed to convey here. Numbers that seemingly look good, but are kinda not? Numbers that are good, but you have to dig into them? He had a 0.5 fWAR, 4.70 xFIP, 4.21 ERA. His GB% was below his career norms. His LOB% was below career norms. BABIP was slightly above career norms. K rate was average, but bb rate was higher. When you did into his statcast numbers: 93rd percentile average exit velocity 95th percentile hard hit % 90th percentile xSLG 90th percentile Barrel % 7th percentile bb % 6th percentile chase rate Whiff rate on his slider dropped 10 points. Put Away % on his slider dropped 12 points. He got much more vertical movement on his slider, but it seemed to have caused players to recognize it better and lay off of it. At times, that pitch stayed well out of the zone. His slider used to be his out pitch, but it is much less effective now with a run value of -1. In 18 and 19, it had a run value of -14 and -11. What does it all mean? IMO, Ottavino was ok. It was a fine season for him, but I think he's overpaid at his current salary. Batters are laying off his slider and no longer chasing it which is driving up his bb rate. If that slider is less effective, he's no longer a high leverage reliever.

I think $7M is a high price tag for a catcher with not even 1 fWAR this season. I think JD is 60/40 to opt out. Sox need to decide which of Houck and Whitlock should be moved into the rotation. I don't think they will put both of them there, but I guess it's within reason. I would give the QO to ERod. I think there's a chance DHern and Sawamura are dealt. Barnes will be better next year.

Especially considering the situation with the CBA. The only thing we'll know in the near future is about opt outs and QO's.

I agree on Scherzer. It's going to be a lot of money and his much more prone to breaking down and ineffectiveness as he ages. One day, his stuff will just fall off the cliff.

^^^

Baker and Cash’s teams had higher hopes going into the year. The Sox surprised nearly everyone.

It’s the time of year when everything starts to Bloom.

Two strikes per robo ump

Feeling blah

Not a Quality Start!

Taylor is a keeper

Arroyo is a quart of milk that is 3 months old.