sk7326

The best available first base option for the price is likely Goldschmidt - and the Sox clearly don't have enough to do something there. (I'm not saying ARI will deal, but Hazen is a smart guy - and he will fetch a serious price this offseason if he is shopped) Looking at FA options - really just going 1 year at a time makes sense. Whether that means Steve Pearce as a platoon partner - or give someone like Carlos Gonzalez a first base mitt and take your chances I don't know. If you wanted to be creative - see if Adrian Beltre wants to give it one more go.

He is probably never going to be a great defender - but for a guy like him, the goal is to be able to fake a bunch of them (see Nunez, Eduardo) to get his bat in there. Can he be an upper class Eduardo Nunez? I think that's at least possible.

Yes with Vasquez ... I mean, Leon is a terrific receiver, but he has basically 6 weeks of competent offensive baseball. Vasquez I think can - if healthy - deliver a perfectly acceptable performance at the plate. He's never going to be *good*, but it is clear he knows how to take good at-bats and does a pretty good job making contact. A .250/.300/.380 sort of player with his receiving skills is a perfectly good starter. Swihart still makes sense for me as a backup "C" at worse - and at least capable of being better than that, whether that be as a pure "C" or a sort of catcher-corner supersub. Leon is good for what he is - I'm not itching to run him out of town. But if you have only 2 slots, that's where my head's at.

They could be every bit the team they were qualitatively this year and win significantly fewer games - in fact, that is almost certain.

If he accepted it, I'd be fine - nothing wrong with having a good reliever on a 1-year deal. I don't think he accepts it though. Trading Porcello now actually makes some sense - he is priced reasonably (not a bargain - but not overpaid) and only 1 year left.

A realistic view of 2019. We will not be as good as we were in 2018.

Neither Price nor Pearce was a "bad" choice. Joe Kelly and Nathan Eovaldi were minor steps down from them.

other teams would have killed for the cost controlled talent that was already here - the team had holes, but the cupboard was hardly bare. Dombrowski has been outstanding.

Dombrowski came into a really good situation, and made the right moves to augment it - he has nothing to apologize for obviously. After a couple of good seasons, you get one of the greatest single season teams in history. It is impossible to definitively identify a "greatest team ever" but this team has every right to compare themselves with the 1998 Yankees or the 1976 Reds or the 1970 Orioles or the 2016 Cubs etc etc etc ...

2012: Giants, 2011: Cardinals, 2010: Giants, 2009: Yankees, 2008: Phillies ... that's 5:11 It's just a world and a sport where teams lose 3 games in a row all the time. It is hard to make inferences about league quality from the World Series or the All Star game ... it's why baseball is such a fun postseason. I embrace it for what it is.

I get annoyed at times too - but this was really cool ... https://awfulannouncing.com/fox/joe-buck-stepped-aside-to-allow-bob-uecker-to-call-an-inning-of-game-2.html

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25114303/mlb-boston-red-sox-manager-alex-cora-built-championship-culture

(I am not sure how many players would be even 1 WAR over so few games)

He seems to have a good batting eye - and has the athleticism to be a good 3B who can stay there. Can he make enough contact to have a Napoli-like sort of major league profile? I think there is clearly a high chance that is no - but yes is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

I mean the Red Sox ideally hoped that Price would be a #1-caliber starter for 3 years then they could say goodbye to each other while he got one more #1 starter payday somewhere of his choice. That said, I feel about Price the way I feel about Lester ... even if he is not an ace anymore, I fully expect him (assuming health) to be a solid useful pitcher for another 2-3 seasons. His mechanics and command support that.

The last 4 Red Sox first year managers either won the World Series or were named Bobby Valentine. It's a really funny quirk.

He's a middle of the road first year Red Sox manager by the standards since 2004

Price is not opting out - that is a lot of money. When i saw him getting misty eyed talking about the value of being a teammate, he has the right to enjoy this. He hasn't been the most cuddly person media-wise, but you see how willing he was to do anything to win, and how much his arm was able to bounce back. It was great to see.

You are right about the present day - and the likeliest outcome. Dalbec will start in Portland next year - by definition that is close enough to have a 2019 impact. That will involve a leap on his part. I find he has the most interesting tools and upside of the position players. A name that is interesting and a bit of a dark horse for 2019 impact is Tanner Houck. He started getting swings and misses again once he went back to his old delivery etc. It would not surprise me if he were pegged as a bullpen option by the 2nd half of the season and moved quickly.

It is uncomfortable talking about this so quickly - we just witnessed an all-time great team mow down arugably the toughest road a playoff team has ever had to go. That said: 1. QO Kimbrel - If somebody bites, thanks for 2016-2018 2. Offer Kelly 3 years at something like $25M. 3. Offer Pomeranz a 2-year prove-it sort of contract. If he gets more guarantees elsewhere, thanks for 2017. 4. Go 1-year at a time with Pearce. Puts him on the same timeline as Moreland - it should still be a useful first base combination 5. Let Kinsler go. If Brock Holt is healthy, he and whatever we get from Pedroia is perfectly fine at 2B 6. See what is out there for Bogaerts. Obviously I like him a lot, and would be happy with him returning for us - and if they want to re-sign him, awesome. However, quality free agents of his age do not make it to market that often. If the Red Sox are not prepared to pay $25M+ a year for Bogaerts, now is the best time to deal him for significant value. 7. Swihart probably is the odd man out at catcher. That said, I'd be inclined to keep Vasquez and Swihart over Leon myself. But Leon has certainly been a terrific receiver. My preferences here are pretty weak. As far as the farm goes - Dalbec has a ton of variance but is clearly the most interesting prospect of the guys who could make a 2019 impact. (and if Dombrowski sees it - that he is not at AAA is not a detriment)

The Red Sox have set a very high standard for first year managers clearly ...

I'd favor 2004 in a 4-team tourney ... but 2018 is the firm 2nd seed.

the best team in baseball from wire to wire - just like their last title. What a team.

Dominate the first 18 years of a century - wait 86 years, dominate the first 18 years of another century ... let's hope the pattern doesn't hold.

The most dominant start to finish of our champs ... I would probably favor the 2004 team in a four team tournament of the 4 Red Sox champs ... but this is a firm number two ... It never gets old ...