sk7326

This is only a deficit the Red Sox have made up multiple times since 1999

fun weird stat ... Since 1999 Red Sox are 16-6 in elimination games Since 1986, the Red Sox are 4-6 in series where they had to win 3 straight elimination games

Tough town for a 93 win team which was really good in extra innings games.

Alex Cora for manager if Farrell leaves ... managerial experience, player personnel experience, knows the market and has a terrific reputation in the league

he should be mad - he is a competitor Farrell was right to get him - Farrell managed a terrific game yesterday somewhat amazingly

is it a separate attribute from being good? Not really. David Ortiz had more big hits than anybody I can remember. But he was a great hitter to begin with. And he had some hideously bad postseason series too - did he choke then? Who knows. Skill is skill.

Nunez is a bad fielder - but they will find a way to get his bat in the lineup

In terms of choosing players and such of course - but if Henry wants to spend money to keep an excellent young core together, that is his choice. Ilitch does not know more than Dombrowski did - but he knew the direction he wanted - play for the veteran club, damn the torpedoes. Ownership is setting that direction ...

There are a lot of options. Granderson had been better than Moreland this year too despite hitting .228. Bautista has been dreadful though his line drive stats and such are not really out of line with his career. And while I do not discount 1B defensively - it is still a place to put a bat if you don't have JT Snow out there. I am optimistic about getting one of the Duda/Hosmer group though - it is a buyer's market ...

My confidence is low in both - but all it costs is money, and probably not more than 1-year hitch. And at least unlike Moreland, you are actually betting on players who have actually been good before.

one is employed by the other - QED

The WC game is a playoff round ... the league's postseason roster rules apply for the WC round ... that is the weirdest thing about the WC round - that you can reset the roster for the next round

To a degree - he held everybody ... which means that some of these people would emerge naturally. But the team when he was there did not identify - say your Margots or whatnot as premium trade stuff. Considering how young our core is - the commitment to 2020 is really about Henry's commitment, not Dombrowski's.

Of course he can - if their replacements are quality. He has won everywhere he has done his thing.

I've never hated the Yankees enough for their loss to offset the Red Sox not winning. Even 2003 was not comforting to see the Yankees lose the WS ...

Well the Yankees of Mantle, Maris etc (let alone Ruth and Gehrig) were the Montreal Canadiens or Bryant's Alabama team. The championship race was effectively THEM and a few other teams. Of course you couldn't avoid it. But the 1970s and then the late 90s to now have been the only periods when the Sox and Yankees have been good at the same time.

Here is the thing - we don't know whether Dombrowski will keep the scouting and development standard the Sox had - he has shown he can before. What he has shown - which Cherington never did - was an ability to quickly make decisions on the kids. He identified Benintendi and Devers as keepers - and treated them as such ... not trading them, aggressively promoting them. The other guys he has traded - but he traded for premium quality stuff. I don't see how that is a problem. I had an issue with dealing for an 8 figure closer - but Kimbrel at least is a top shelf entry at that position, and after a meh first year has been magnificent this season. His other big trade was for the potential league MVP this season. The Pomemranz deal I did not like (but did not think was stupid) - but again if you are going to deal kids, a pitcher at single-A who was not mature physically is at least worth a calculated risk. Keep who you want to keep and deal for legitimate major league upgrades - that is how a big market team should operate.

The 1B/DH thing - if that is the hole in the lineup - is one of the easier holes to fill. You could look for a big answer - or fish in the pool of one year upside plays. For instance, I cannot imagine the Jays picking up Bautista's option ... I would throw an incentive laden 1 year deal at him to see what he has left. Curtis Granderson is another. Hosmer is an upside play - and 1B is a buyer's market - but yeah his age could mean a team offers 5 years which would be hard to justify. Giving Travis a full legitimate run at the position is still on the table for me too.

Folks my age (I'm 39) remember the Red Sox as basically a good team my entire life. Yeah, there were some turkeys sprinkled in ... and years where they were 85-77 but the chase "ended" by August, but virtually every season you could (and still can) enter the season with legitimately aggressive dreams. This was not the case before 1967. The Impossible Dream is that breakpoint. In a semi-related note - it is also why you can really argue the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry did not really START until the 1970s ... until then, the Red Sox and Yankees were very rarely good at the same time.

Trivia I am not sure of ... is Red Sox-Cardinals the most frequently played World Series matchup that does not involve the Yankees? They've met 4 times since 1918

He is a full time bat who can play a bunch of positions poorly (but better than say, Hanley as a LF). Basically he's a better Brock Holt - but in the land of 12 man pitching staffs that is a very valuable guy to have around.

If you looked at the calendar - the West Coast trip after the ASB made the most sense. Miss a Yankee series, get his feet wet on the road in fairly low profile games. I think what we've seen so far is that Dombrowski quickly identified Benintendi and Devers as the foundational guys in the system - with everybody else being fair game to go get premium major league stuff.

Nunez is a very bad defender at any position ... his longest run at SS was a 600 inning stint in 2015 where he had a rather impressive -28 DRS. Bogaerts career -1.2 UZR/150 at SS, Nunez -17.9 UZR/150.

To a degree - but they also had a high floor option in Vasquez. And Swihart missed a lot of reps with injury - but there is still a player there I think.

Yeah - something like that. And what is interesting is - I think it is good for both sides. Again - if Harper triggers his opt out - it means the club has gotten a ton of value out of him. So yeah a deal which will have a huge headline number (10 years/400 million) but is in practical terms is a lot smaller (4 years 170 million or something)