cp176

Obviously if he can unload Ramirez i think that his common sense meter is too good for him not to do it. We probably will be stuck with him. If that is the case, he will a DH in waiting posing as a first baseman. Believe it or not, the day will come when Ortiz hangs it up. If that happens sooner (as in a year or two), Hanley might actually still figure into things.

One of each would be a good thing I think!

Anthony Rizzo - Where have I heard that name before?

It was borderline late for sure. If the ss had not had to turn away from the play Utley might have eaten the throw to first. It is part of the game. He plays hard.

I would be stunned in a good way if Lackey actually had any interest at all in coming back to Boston. Once you get past Price, I don't see an body worth the big bucks. Price - yes I think that he would be worth the risk. if the scouting reports are accurate, you have Moncada, Devers, and Guerra, Benintendi, and to a lesser extent maybe Margot projecting to be more than just contributors on a contending team. Throw a catcher in the mix along with Owens, Kelly, and whoever else and I have to think trading for a young ace or maybe more than one is a possibility. We all love our prospects and I know they are all very young but Red Sox have a history of hanging on to or not bringing up potential players who could help out the big club. you could make a case for anyone of these guys being blocked for quite some time. It won't benefit anybody. For instance take Moncada. Being brought along as a second baseman. Many consider him to be our number 1 prospect. How long do you think it will be before he gets a start at second in Boston? Guerra is a gifted young ss. I don't think he will ever play in Boston. See anybody currently standing in the way of those young outfielders? I do. What is going to happen at third? I am not saying that any of these guys are ready just yet but if we try to hang on to everybody it won't work.

Plus - He really wasn't all that bad offensively or defensively this year. Maybe it is a stretch but I think he was pretty good regardless of the age and experience factor.

I agree with you on this one. To go one step further, we saw some encouraging signs from JBJ as well as from Castillo, but the only one that looks like a solid all around keeper out there at this point is Betts. As good as they look defensively, they have to be able to hit a little. No one is going to let a young ace go for hood ornaments and hopefuls. If Betts, XB, and E-Rod are off the table, who would you be interested in. I know who would interest me.

I think that he would make that type of move in a heartbeat. With Betts, XB, and E-Rod probably off the table, most teams will want something significant for a player like Gray. I hope he sticks but Swihart's name is going to get thrown around a lot. If he isn't our starting catcher next year, I think that he plays somewhere else.

When I first fell in love with the game, Yogi was a fixture. God bless him. He was the real deal. What a player - what a person.

I don't see Betts moving to the Mets. Unless you have read or heard of the Red Sox targeting Harvey during the the off-season. My guess is that who ever they decide to go after, the team they deal with is going to be very excited about the possibility of acquiring a young catcher. If Harvey was the only potential number one out there, possibly but he isn't. Pretty sure they kick the tires of free agency before they decide to ship anybody for anybody.

There is a big difference between people that pitch in the bigs and those that pitch really well. It is very important to have inning eaters for sure but the odds of winning titles become enhanced by having guys that just don't eat innings. Balance is important as is depth but if you can't have it all or you are slightly in rebuild mode I'm thinking that you might be a little numb if you don't start by having the best defensive team that you can have first. Pitching being part of your defense. There probably will always be exceptions to every rule but in terms of who makes the playoffs and who doesn't, most have at least one if not two guys who could be top of the rotation arms. Our team went in a different direction this year during their off-season. It did not work. Go get the arms!

Stockpiling prospects is fine if it doesn't cost you wins. Better players still need to play. it is a little early to get too excited about Espinoza. Great great potential - we shall see. Did he graduate from high school?

It kept my interest for sure.

good luck

Whether you happen to like it or not the Red Sox did the right thing by bringing Farrell back. I'm not sure that I think he is the best possible option to lead the way but I certainly don't know who is. I'm not sure that I understand the the firing of Arnie Beyeler but Hey it's their gig. The Red Sox start to hit and Chili Davis rises from the ashes. Team starts to win and Brian Butterfield (as he should) starts to get credit for being the teaching coach he is. We all get frustrated from time to time, but firing John Farrell after what has developed would have been akin to selling Babe Ruth. If it works out - great. If it doesn't - move on once again.

My Red Sox dream = David Price 9 ( free agent ) and Sonny Gray ( trade )

That is a very good point. Wish I had thought of it.

The length of the contract and the amount of money to be paid was ridiculous. Under a different set of circumstances it would have been a risk worth taking. Less money, fewer years. Throughout the history of the game, players have been able to transition from once position to another and still be adequate and get a job done. Before you saw him screw up his play in spring training, I don't think that anyone would have predicted that he would become the stiff that he became in left field. It just was not normal.

I think that a lot of what you are saying is right. The genuine concern that I had with his signing had a lot more to do with his attitude and who he seemed to be while playing for other teams. His approach to the game which includes his attitude regardless of what anyone wants to think was one of the reasons the Sox unloaded him very early in his career. Bringing him back bothered me for those reasons. Fool me once ...! That being said, most of what I have read appears to be speculation with respect to the type of teammate he has been since coming to Boston. If he has been a negative influence on anyone and if he has caused problems in the clubhouse, no one is openly saying so. The media's attempt to sell stories once again does make you wonder if something is going on but I will reserve judgement until there is some real proof. I just don't want him back because there is no place for him to play and make a positive contribution next year.

yup guess that's honesty. That is why our New England teams are loved all over the world. Maybe they will bring him back. Maybe the "never signing anyone over the age of 30" concept might even get tweaked a bit. Hey - What the hell is up with your Graham DaLaet anyway? he killed my fantasy team. tell me it isn't his back again.

I would love to see hill brought back but I hope things work out positively for him. His story has been a good one.

How do you think Dombrowski tends to look at his players? I'm sure that he will make use of the available analytics, but I do think he gives great merit to the fact that other compelling forces help make these players what they are. I think that he wants to win too much to allow better players to be blocked. I'm thinking - play them or trade them. i don't think the stockpiling method is the way to go. I bet we see quite a bit of movement.

Noted as well is the fact that Ramirez, Buchholtz, and Sandoval (to some extent ) have not been around as well. I hope management considers this carefully going forward. It has been said before that too often our best prospects waste away time in the minors when we are counting on lightening to strike with an aging veteran or another free agent signing. We have a fairly healthy group of young players who appear hungry to win and to play hard daily. Here's hoping that the size of a player's contract does not inhibit actually putting the best team on the field daily.

I like this. I think that I would like to see Hill stick around as well.

Obviously I see your point about having depth. I have to say though that Buchholz and Kelly do not represent good pitchers to me. They can be good in the short term but they become a burden to the development of the pitchers that are actually good in my estimation. Once again, I hope that DD goes out and gets two but I could live with one. Keeping Buchholtz and Kelly around represents the same type of risk that we lived through this year. It may happen, but it isn't necessary. There is no way that Rodriguez loses a spot in the rotation to either of these two. Owens may have to compete with one or both of them, if he is still around. Hey - maybe knowing that someone else wants their job, both will experience health transformations. I don't dislike them. I just prefer players that stay healthy.