mvp 78

I'm more leery on BABIP than WAR. BABIP can fluctuate like crazy from year to year. To me, it's the biggest indicator of luck and must directly compare it to a player's career norms.

@pgammo Red Sox to hire Bianca Smith as minor-league coach, making her first Black woman to coach in pro baseball history

From reports, yes.

ATTN: Moon

Depends on your definition of early on. Do you think they are a below .500 team?

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/12/rays-trade-rumors-kevin-kiermaier.html It’s not an overly burdensome contract, but at a time when teams throughout the league are scaling back on payroll, it’s a notable chunk of cash. That’s all the more true when Kiermaier’s skill set is similar to that of free agent Jackie Bradley Jr. — a player who may not command as much as the two years and $26MM still owed to Kiermaier. Bradley would cost only money for a team seeking a center field boost, and while he’s not a great offensive player, he does have a steadier and more productive track record. Also problematic is that while Tampa Bay’s trade of Snell to the Padres brought a huge prospect haul, a trade of Kiermaier might resemble more of a salary dump in terms of its return. Some interested teams may even ask the Rays to kick in a bit of cash to cover a portion of the remaining money owed to the 2015 Platinum Glover. For a player of his status in the organization, a straight salary dump would be a tougher sell both to the fans and to the clubhouse. Given all that context, it’s perhaps not surprising to see MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweet that despite Kiermaier’s availability on the trade market, the chances of a deal coming together “aren’t great.” The Rays have already weakened their 2021 roster by trading away Snell and declining Charlie Morton’s option, and jettisoning Kiermaier for nothing of immediate value (on the heels of a World Series run) would only further diminish their hope of a return postseason bid. Granted, some of the dollars that had been earmarked for Kiermaier could be invested back into the free-agent pool, but it’s extremely difficult to find a player with Kiermaier’s upside on the open market with the limited resources they’d save in dealing him away. Kiermaier has still topped seven WAR over the past three seasons combined, even with his bat on the decline, and in that aforementioned 2014-17 peak, he checked in at 21 wins above replacement. Not only is Kiermaier’s ceiling higher than any replacement the Rays would bring into the fold, but the possibility of trading him for pennies on the dollar, only to watch him rebound and send his value soaring, looms larger in this instance. It’s a very different situation than moving Snell when his value was much closer to (or arguably even at) its apex.

That's why they dumped DD. He wanted Betts. They didn't.

They can get over .500 just by fixing their bullpen and having a full season from ERod.

And you aren't going to take this team from doormat to WS title in one year with this FA class and farm. It's going to be a slow and steady process. Find the right core guys now and keep them around for a while. (I don't think that's Bauer)

No s***. I wanted them to sign Mookie for more than what the Dodgers paid. They didn't want to.

The MLB was about to start. The virus looked like it was under control at that point. It's not unreasonable to think that Betts took an offer he would have accepted 6 months prior.

We'll never know, but I don't think he would have.

Didn't the Sox also do that through 2013? The farm didn't tank until the bad drafts and trades took its toll.

Sox could have gotten that if they offered it IMO. Staying put and not countering above 300M was dumb.

He gets less money up front. He'll get some of it paid after he retires. Clearly, he's not living paycheck to paycheck so I don't know if it really matters all that much if a portion is deferred. I believe the Sox were still paying Manny deferred money in 2020.

It hits a lot of the same notes.

He's a Yankees fan. Have I told you the tale of Jesus Montero?

One of my friends is a Sox/Mariners fan. He popped a beach ball in the CF bleachers at Fenway once. The season ticket holders around us cheered him. Everyone else booed him. He spent years being upset about losing that first Seahawks Super Bowl due to a holding call or something. Now he just spends his weekends burning his bitterness off by sleeping in the woods.

Stop blaming the pandemic on Mookie not being in Boston. The second the Sox traded him, he was NEVER coming back.

Why do you need to hurt me like this?

This does not mean they give him away for free as some have suggested on here.

Sox offer could have included deferred money as well.

That's what the beat guys have been saying all along. If we get to ST and the Sox have only signed Renfroe and Andriese, then get worried.

I think this team's core is good enough to contend for a WC spot while going cheap this offseason.