mvp 78

You have literally no idea how magical language works.

You don't post enough.

David Ortiz has a plaque that declares him to be the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history. That is a fact. Whether it was done that way as a magical invocation is up for debate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(paranormal)#Magical_language

Kelly has the potential and talent to be a great set up man. He just has never put it together.

Agreed. I hope this team wins 110+ games and gets another ring. My gut is just telling me something else when it comes to the health of the pitching staff. I think some posters are being a little too optimistic about a return date for Price and how successful he'll be when he returns.

See, I don't think 3b is an issue. I think Pablo will be fine. My gut tells me that Hanley may be dealing with injuries this year which could affect DH production bigly. I think C is a question mark as CV didn't have a great glove last year and Leon is probably a flash in the pan. The rest of the lineup should be really, really good. This should be a team that mashes. There are just a lot of concerns for me with the rotation after Sale and Porcello. I think the team will be competitive into late September, but will just drop a few close games in September. The last homestand against the Jays and the 'Stros will either make or break the season, imo. That last month includes a 9 game stretch against the Rays and the A's (at home). They could really clean up, or they could be just really tired after a long season without Price and Pom. At that point, ERod and Wright would be closing on career highs for innings pitched. They could just be flat out worn down. There's a really good chance they could swoon like in 2011 if the starting pitching health really takes a downturn this year.

Why? It may actually get Americans to start watching and caring about it.

Yup. He's showing a lot more range at 3b and his hitting from the left side is looking better than it has since he's been here.

Nope, worst case scenario is 2012, 2014, 2015.

From the Herald: Thornburg falls behind Reliever Tyler Thornburg (shoulder) has missed enough time that he will not be relied upon to be the eighth-inning set-up pitcher to start the season, if he’s even ready to go on Opening Day. That role will be assumed by someone from the right-handed trio of Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes and Heath Hembree. “I think at this point we have to kind of take a wait-and-see with Thornburg,” Farrell said. “If we open up tomorrow, it’s hard to anoint Tyler Thornburg as our eighth-inning guy. He needs to get in better pitching shape just because of the time missed.” After a couple of early and disappointing appearances, Thornburg is slated to appear in a minor league game on Friday. He reported to camp with a shoulder that did not meet the club’s health requirement. “It’s pretty hard to tell where I’ll be,” Thornburg said. “I’ve been bouncing back great from bullpens, but those are a little bit different than games.” I hope Thornburg and Smith pitch as expected, but neither of them are ready yet. Until they are, it's hard to say what kind of performance they will have this year.

2014 vs 2016 Porcello: increase k/9 of almost 2, approximately 20 more innings pitched, bb/9 down over 1, babip was lowest of career, WAR was 2.4 higher. 2016 was way better than 2014 Porcello. Sure, Wright missed some time, but he still pitched more innings than he ever has in a single season. ERod always looks like he's ready to take another step, but still hasn't actually done it. People said the same thing about Doubront every year. Per this morning's Herald: David Price, who has not thrown off a mound since Feb. 28 because of an elbow injury, is almost back to square one. The Red Sox starter has lost enough strength in his arm to where he is weaker than he was when he reported to spring training, the team said yesterday. And until he regains that strength, he cannot begin a throwing program. Pom taking his regular turn means almost nothing to me. The guy is clearly damaged goods. He won't pitch 100 innings this year. Thornburg still isn't ready. If the season started today, he'd be in extended ST. 5 less wins based on scoring more runs than their opponent? I'm sorry, but I don't really buy into that stat. They "should have" won more. If they only win 87 games this year, but still outscore their opponents, am I going to hear "but they were a better team and should have won more games?" You either win or you don't. There's no "should have's." They can match their win total, definitely. I just think there's a bigger chance that they won't.

Which other pitcher the caliber of Price on a contender has still not thrown in ST?

Sale will be good for sure. Often, a pitcher's first year in Boston isn't his best self. I think he'll be funto watch, but don't expect Pedro 99-00. Porcello will not put up CY numbers again, but should be better than 2015. Wright pitched out of his mind last year and I don't see how he can replicate that. Pom is injured. Price doesn't have enough strength to even start a throwing program yet. Thornburg AND Smith are both coming off serious issues. Coming up a few games short of last year's win total isn't out of the realm of possibility.

I took 87-89 because I really question the health of Price and Pom. I also believe Wright and Porcello will regress from last year. ERod could really be a huge lynchpin or a huge letdown. There are also a few major relievers coming back from injury that may not be very effective this year. The offense should be fine though.

Yup, I like both of them. Good thing you have 2 DL slots!

My guess on Thunder's moves: Waive Rodney, Holiday, Bruce and Snell Pick up Greg Holland, Hellickson, Lynn and Moncada Dahl and Desmond will start the season on the DL so he'll have a few other changes to make pretty soon.

Pitchers really struggled against Bonds from 2001 - 2004. Wonder what his secret was? Maybe the Sox need to figure that out and give it a shot.

Fake news. The team is actually not even talking about a timetable. I think there is a better chance of him starting on the 60 DL than pitching before May. http://www.csnne.com/boston-red-sox/recuperating-boston-red-sox-ace-david-price-probably-out-until-least-may No timetable has been offered by the team on Price, but the longer he's off the mound, the more time to build up is needed. He was hurt Feb. 28. Per Farrell: "Still strengthening phase," manager John Farrell told reporters in Florida on Monday. "He still does some light throwing just to keep his arm moving. I know there’s going to be a recheck (on Tuesday with head team orthopedist Dr. Peter Asnis). So based on that, on how he feels, what the next phase will become and when that initiates more throwing with some intensity, I don’t have that start date. I don't want to say he gets full clearance to begin a mound progression at that point. It’s more about just evaluating his strength, where he is now compared to where it was when he came into camp, where it was at the time of the incident. I know it’s not a clear cut answer for you, but that’s what I have right now."

Already making excuses. SMDH

And another: http://boston.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/20/steve-selsky-man-of-mystery/ What’s the catch? – He’s had 54 major league plate appearances since getting drafted six years ago. Fifty-four. If he was a sure bet to even reach his relatively low ceiling, you’d think he’d be closer to reaching it by now. – Sure, he’s had some good years. But he also hit .181/.281/.205 over 32 games at Double-A in 2013 and .240/.259/.339 over 55 games in Triple-A in 2014. He’s had some clunkers. – He strikes out a LOT. Like, a lotttttttttt. His career K% hovers around 20 percent, and over 54 games with the Reds, that number shot up to 40 percent. I don’t care about your small sample size caveats; that’s so many strikeouts. You might even say it’s a lot with extra Ts. – For being someone who supposedly brings some power potential, he doesn’t have that much power. After hitting 15 homers in 2012 and 13 in 2013, Selsky hasn’t reached double-digit home run totals since. In fact, outside of 2016, when he had nine homers (which is actually good news for Red Sox fans but we’re already past the good news part of this article), he hasn’t had more than two in a season since 2013. – Even his major league numbers are misleading. .314/.340/.471 over 24 games is just enough time to be optimistically intrigued, but those numbers were never going to last. Over that time period, besides striking out 40 percent of the time, he also has an absurd .519 BABIP. He also only posted a 3.7 percent BB%. To recap: he was striking out half the time, never walking, and was abnormally lucky.

http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/03/steve_selsky_boston_red_sox_ro.html Article that mentions Selsky potentially playing 3rd.

RotoWire News: Selsky, who has played outfield and first base during his career, will get some playing time at third base, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports. (3/18/2017)

I like Marco. I think he can be a useful MLB guy. However, I don't think he's good enough to move Xander off position.

Bill James projections for 2017 Marco: Marco Hernandez: 94 games, 245 at-bats, 73 hits, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 27 RBI, 30 runs, .298 batting average, .331 OBP, .424 slugging, .755 OPS, 34 runs created, 5.08 runs created per 27 outs, 12 walks, 49 strikeouts, 4 stolen bases, 2 caught stealing, 67 stolen base percentage.

Bill James: Josh Donaldson is 30, turns 31 in December. Not young. I know you will think this is crazy, but I am not sure I would trade the Red Sox' Marco Hernandez for any of those guys. I have been waiting since the opening day of spring training for Marco Hernandez to do something I wasn't impressed with, and I'm still waiting. He is way faster than any of those guys. May not have the arm to play third every day; I haven't seen enough of him at third to be sure. But everything else is good." Someone must have slipped something into his coffee.