Kimmi

IMO, the Yankees signing Encarnacion would kind of defeat the purpose of what they are seemingly trying to do. My understanding is that they're pushing pretty hard for Beltran.

I agree. I hope the Sox hang to Swihart until at least midseason, preferably longer. That will give us a better idea of what we have in all 3 of our catchers.

I think passionate fans everywhere will pretty much react the same. However, I think, though I really don't know for sure, that Boston has a larger population of really hardcore fans, and I also think that the media in Boston is tougher on the Sox players than the media in other cities. In other words, I still think Boston is a tougher place to play for some athletes.

It sounds like the two sides will reach an agreement, just perhaps not before the current CBA expires. They won't delay the season. I won't allow it.

He is fat. Whether he is a slob or not is another question.

Look up the definition of the word 'slob'.

I am not trying to paint Pablo as an addict or make excuses for him. I simply used the reference to eating disorders to make a point that calling him lazy or saying that he doesn't care is an unfair assault on his character. It's quite possible that he is just a fat, lazy slob who doesn't care. It's also quite possible that he is anything but lazy, that he cares very deeply, and that he has real issues that cause him to overeat. None of us knows for sure. It is possible to be angry with Pablo for being out of baseball shape and not living up to his contract without assassinating his character.

Bingo.

You can build more than an average bullpen inexpensively. You can build a lights out BP without spending $100 mil on the likes of Chapman. Regardless of how big our payroll is relative to most other teams, our payroll is not unlimited. If you spend big bucks on a reliever, that is money that you don't have to spend in other areas. You get more bang for your buck spending that money in other areas.

FTR, I never liked the Sandoval contract. That said, he should have been an improvement over the production that we got from 3B the year before he was signed, even taking into account 'typical' decline. Also FTR, there's no way in heck that I will ever believe that Cherington was wowed by his post season play. Cherington knows better. Lucchino OTOH....

I defend players on my team when I think they are being wrongly criticized. People have attacked his attitude. I defended it. If you don't care about it, don't respond.

Is somebody with anorexia to be blamed for having that disease?

Thank you.

I can understand fans being upset with Pablo for not being in great baseball shape. What I don't like are the assumptions being made about him concerning things like him not caring or having a bad attitude. My understanding is that Pablo has always been willing to work out and that he is not lazy, but that he has a serious binge eating problem. I would guess that changing something like that, much like kicking a drug habit or alcoholism, is easier said than done. I have no way a knowing for sure, but I honestly don't think that Pablo doesn't care or that he has a whatever attitude.

I'm not sure that I will ever be okay with the prices that GMs are paying for relievers. I honestly think that one can build a light's out BP at a fraction of the cost. Relievers are not worth that kind of money. My disdain for costly relievers has more to do with the 4-5 years they are getting rather than the dollar amount.

Longoria immediately came to my mind as well. The only question with obtaining him would be what to do with Moncada. I would hate to trade him at this point.

Of course this makes sense. If you have a choice between not getting anything or getting something that might help you even a little, you go with the latter.

And this post more or less supports my point in my previous post. You have already condemned him for the upcoming season. Pablo was likely going to be a failure in the back end of his contract. He should not have been a failure for the first two years. He was a pretty good 3B and can still be one.

I'm not questioning Pablo's potential to turn it around. I have said many times that Pablo needs to be given a fair chance to be our starting 3B and that it would be in the team's best interest for him to be successful in that role. Personally, I want him to be our everyday 3B with Shaw playing a utility role. That would be my best case scenario, allowing Moncada the time he needs in AAA. The impression that I get from most posters here is that they want nothing to do with Pablo. If it were up them, Pablo would be gone, even if it meant just releasing him and eating all of his remaining salary. I may be wrong, but I don't think he'd get a favorable reaction on the field unless he played lights out. Being 'mediocre', which would be an improvement over what we had last year, would not cut it from him in the eyes of the fans and media. That is my only reason for being on board with trading him, not because I don't want him on the team or because I don't think he can turn it around. As an aside, I've heard that he looks really, really good right now. Whether he shows up to camp looking as good remains to be seen.

I have been Pablo's biggest supporter here, but if a reasonable deal can be made, I would do it. It's not because I don't think Pablo can return to decency and maybe even be an upgrade over what we had in 2016, but because I don't think Pablo will ever be given a truly fair shake while he's in Boston. Many of the fans and media have already made up their mind on him. It's hard to be successful under that kind of scrutiny.

I don't really disagree with anything in this post. I am not opposed to signing someone like Beltran who can be signed for one or two years. As I stated before, I think it makes sense to wait until midseason to see what, if anything, needs to be done about our 3B situation. As nice as it would be to have someone like Jansen, I really hope Dombrowski doesn't sign a reliever to a big contract. I would look into re-signing Koji.

I don't think any of us think that we're going to make up the loss of Papi with Sandoval, et al. What we're saying is that we don't have to make up the entire difference. Our offense should be one of the top offenses regardless. What I'm saying is that I don't think we should try to go big with someone like Encarnacion because we don't need him.

Well, I didn't like the contract for Price either. LOL I just have a different philosophy when it comes to relievers. It's not that I don't think they're important. A good bullpen is very important. I just don't think you have to pay big bucks to build a great bullpen. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

On the topic of offense, that is the least of my concerns. The Sox scored 878 runs last year, 33 more runs than the next closest team and 101 runs more than the next closest AL team. With the loss of Papi, our offense will go from being the best to merely being one of the best. We do not need to make a big move to replace Papi's lost offense. If the Sox have any hopes of Swihart being a full time catcher, he needs to be in AAA playing every day as a catcher. As far as 3B goes, we currently have enough options that hopefully one of them pans out. I agree that unless we trade away some of those options, it would make more sense to wait until midseason to assess how strong of a need we have at that position.

Bullpen might be the future, but IMO, you can accomplish that goal without spending a fortune on relievers. I would not sign any reliever to a long term contract. Additionally, I'm not sure Melancon can thrive in a 'pressure cooker' like Boston or NY.