mvp 78

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/06/trade-rumblings-athletics-gray-marlins-red-sox-yankees-martin-prado-tigers-verlander-trade-deadline-padres-brad-hand.html Rival executives feel that the Tigers will market veteran righty Justin Verlander, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes, though Detroit’s intentions (and asking price) remain unclear. He’d be an easy product to pitch were this 2016, when Verlander was in vintage form. But he hasn’t followed that up with any degree of consistency thus far in 2017. Still, the $56MM he’s owed in 2018 and 2019 seems fairly reasonable, and it’s hard to ignore the top-line upside that still seems to reside in Verlander’s powerful right arm. I think it's more likely DD makes a move for Verlander than for Prado. That's a lot of money though.

@redsoxstats Trading for Prado right now would take up all the remaining room under the tax line, and then $13.3 next year, $13.3 2019. Nah.

I think Prado is fine as a player, but don't think the Sox can add on more salary at 1B/3B/DH until Pablo and Hanley are gone. I can't imagine the Marlins looking to eat any of that contract.

Ewwww. Where'd you see that one?

http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=2717&position=P&type=&gds=2015-08-26&gde=2015-10-04&season= He doesn't have to be 2016 good, he just has to pitch like he did in 2015 after coming back from injury.

Drew: Hey guys. https://www.instagram.com/p/BVzqblWgIJ5/ My wife is cooking up some crow. Hungry? Me: Ok. Can I hold out until the end of the season tho?

http://news.soxprospects.com/2017/06/scouting-scratch-owens-callahan-and.html Left-hander Henry Owens was demoted to Double-A on Monday after a string of poor starts with Pawtucket. For the year, Owens has 60 walks in 69 innings, and in his last three starts he has walked 19 hitters in 15 2/3 innings. I was at the second start of that stretch, when he walked four over seven innings. This was a weird outing for Owens, who struggled for the first two innings, then retired 14 hitters in a row. His overall line was seven innings, three hits, two runs with four walks and five strikeouts. It was clear from the start that Owens was struggling with his mechanics. He has been tinkering with them significantly since the beginning of the year including raising his hands at the start and going to a full windup. The Red Sox announced along with the demotion that they plan to drop Owens’ arm slot from high three-quarters to a true three-quarters. At this point, something had to be done—even though Owens had a couple strong innings in the start I saw, it was clear something wasn’t right with his mechanics. Owens long limbs mean he has a lot of moving parts than can be tough to keep in sync. In this outing, Owens was starting on the third base side of the rubber, but his foot was landing on the first base side and pointing in different directions each pitch. His arm was also dragging behind, leading to him constantly missing high and arm-side. Owens’ velocity was also inconsistent, varying from 86-92 mph, but primarily sitting 88-90 mph. He couldn’t control his fastball, and when he was successful, he was pitching backwards off of his curveball and changeup. His curveball and changeup both weren’t as good as I had seen in past years either. His curveball was rolling to the plate and he struggled to find a consistent release point for it, failing to record a single swinging strike against it. His changeup lacked the downward movement it had shown in the past and also didn’t fool any hitters, which used to be something he could rely on even when he was struggling. I hope Owens can figure it out, but he's closer to flaming out than ever pitching in the majors again.

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/06/28/miguel-montero-to-be-designated-for-assignment/ The sad saga of Miguel Montero.

With Robot Umps and pitch clocks.

It doesn't matter. The W/L record when a certain player plays is completely irrelevant, especially in a SSS. If wins don't matter for a starting pitcher (King Felix 2010), how could they possibly matter for a 3b?

If the Sox are in first place on 7/1 and anyone is poopy about it, they should be launched into the stratosphere.

No, it doesn't. Pablo has a winning record too.

Do you want 9 guys in a bullpen, because that's how you get 9 guys in a bullpen.

They have a winning record when Pablo plays too. Might as well sit Xander and play Pablo at 3B and Marrero at SS!

Bryce Brentz since May 23: RBI: 35 (1st in MLB/MiLB) OPS: 1.196 (2nd in MLB/MiLB) SLG: .748 (3rd in MLB/MiLB) HR: 13 (t-3rd in MLB/MiLB) I thought he did ok last year when he was up. Was surprised no other team went after him this offseason.

Yes, he did. Too bad he ran into the injury bug again. Unfortunately, health is a huge concern for him going forward.

If the offense comes around, this team could win the division pretty easily.

Rick and Morty time.

If it was "at any cpst" they'd have spent more at 1b.

Yup, AAAA

Looks at a pitch right down the middle...

I think that's why they have thrown so many different utility guys into the mix. Just need to find one that can stick for a while. Marrero just doesn't have the hit tool to stick around. Maybe Lin can? Who knows?

That's what roasts do. Any other setting and this would be an issue. Here? Not so much.

@PeteAbe John Farrell suspended one game for poking umpire Bill Miller on Saturday. Gary DiSarcina has the #RedSox tonight.

What I've read isn't that he's struggling with offspeed stuff, just that he's waiting on fastballs. Again, this is all hearsay and may not be reflective of the reasons the Sox are holding him back. He's only 20 and in AA, it's not unheard of that the guy would stay in the minors a little longer just because.