mvp 78

Nothing really new in the above post and I've said that the Sox are likely to grab a player or two at the end of ST when teams try to sneak players through waivers. I just believe the Padres deal is dead since it's been reported that the Padres don't want to move their SPers.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/red-sox-still-open-to-adding-rotation-depth.html Sale’s situation doesn’t really alter the team’s interest in potentially adding a new arm from outside the organization, as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters (including the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier and MLB.com’s Ian Browne) that the Sox were exploring such an acquisition even before Sale’s recovery from pneumonia delayed his preseason preparations. “We would always want to accumulate as much depth as we can. So I don’t think that changes,” Bloom said. The Red Sox could look into trade possibilities, perhaps picking up a starter who has become a spare part on another team that already has an excess of pitching candidates. Such surplus arms could also become available closer to the end of Spring Training as teams start to finalize their rosters, not to mention the free agent hurlers who are currently on the market. While these pitchers might not necessarily be picky in choosing a new team this deep in the offseason, the Sox can offer extra opportunity to available starters, since a solid short-term performance could lead to a proper rotation spot even after Sale returns. Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Martin Perez were Boston’s top four projected starters, and with Sale now out for at least the first couple of weeks of the regular season, the battle for the fifth starter’s job now expands to a battle for two spots. (Assuming a “starter” is required at all, since interim manager Ron Roenicke raised the possibility that the Red Sox could use an opener for one or both of the rotation spots.) Hector Velazquez, Ryan Weber, Matt Hall, Chris Mazza, Phillips Valdez, and Brian Johnson are among the names under consideration, and it’s possible that the Red Sox could stick with one or more of these options rather than an outside acquisition. “We have a lot of guys here we’re interested in learning more about, that we’re excited about, and we brought them all in for a reason,” Bloom said. “We have some guys within the organization to help them get better. This is good to see them put those adjustments into play and learn more about them.”

The reason it's less exciting now is because baseball is unable to market the current crop of players they way they marketed Sosa and McGwire. Mike Trout should be the most well known baseball player, even to casual fans. He should be Michael Jordan. MLB has failed to market him and other young stars because it's run by a bunch of old twats they only care about the money, not keeping it going for another 100 years.

Which record? Marris? Aaron? We were all told that McGwire and Sosa saved baseball in 98! It wasn't a joke to anyone then? Or would have only been a joke if Sosa got the record not McGwire? Bonds only became a joke when the BALCO stuff came up. I was living in SF during 2001 so my view on him may not be CLEAR.

I'm just glad they never signed Aubrey Huff.

And they could have used Casey Kelly and Eric Patterson in another trade to bring back talent. It wasn't just Rizzo that the Sox traded.

I'm not calling out you specifically. I'm calling out all the Sox fans that were for some unknown reason frustrated with AGon's performance in 2011 WHEN HE HAD HIS GREATEST FWAR SEASON THAT YEAR. How many players improve from age 28 to age 29? Not many. I think most improvement stops around 25-27. Weird that true prime is 29 - 31 and then everyone falls off a cliff and isn't needed anymore?

@IanMBrowne Today at Twins complex: Lin SS, Devers 3B, Martinez DH, Chavis 1B, Peraza 2B, Plawecki C, Castillo LF, Puello RF, Duran CF, Hart LHP

I agree 100%. Maybe people wouldn't care if they made steroids into a silly joke like Perry was on This Week In Baseball. If the war on drugs never started, this would definitely be a nonissue.

We have no idea what the butterfly effect does, but the roster would have been stronger with Beltre and Rizzo. Rizzo was good enough to start in 2013. The Sox would not have needed to sign Napoli. Maybe that money is used elsewhere?

I just don't see how everyone is calling him a let down when his best season ever was in a Sox uni and was traded the following season. Makes no sense. Instead of saying "he was a let down for not hitting 50 hr's," maybe fans should start saying "I'm a dum dum who shouldn't be projecting stuff like that."

The only problem is that other GM's still work with those deadlines. I don't see the Padres trading Luchessi or Quantril during the season. If they haven't traded them by now, they aren't going to.

Beltre and Rizzo for sure. It's not really close either.

Why would you have to cut him slack? His highest career fWAR was in 2011 when playing with the Sox. Makes no sense.

It's not a debate anymore. Ells was made of glass. Beltre is one of the greatest 3b's of all time. Ells should have gotten out of the way or called Beltre off.

There are lots of HOF purists who don't want PED users in because those players "cheated." I wish they would also look at all the people who were elected by buddies on the veterans committee in the 50's and 60's who don't deserve to be in. The HOF is a racket and built on a lie that Abner Doubleday founded the game.

There was a pretty substantial jump in the late 80's in 1987 too. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml 99-01 was the peak for the PED era. However, we're seeing even higher totals since 2016.

I don't care about the PED stuff. I don't believe what they did was against the rules at the time. Canseco was good, but not good enough for HOF IMO.

Honestly, McGwire and Sosa should be in even if there numbers aren’t quite there.

27 in 2011 and a short season after that which you included because you are making a horrible point.

What’s with this “or not” garbage posting? Anyway, Lowell was coming off one bad year. He wasn’t the train wreck Myers turned his career into.

8 straight games means 2 rainouts!

Rumor is the Pads didn’t want to give up the pitching. If that’s true, Sox are better off walking away IMO.

Seems like Mookie bets on himself.

AGon’s slugging in 2011 was the second highest of his career. How is that not hitting like the NL?