Kimmi

I believe I read today that the Sox have the #1 farm system in MLB. I think the owners and the FO do patience a lot better than the fans do. Not patience where they will go into rebuild mode for several years, but patience where they won't sell the farm in an attempt to bring in a superstar to "win it all this year".

For some unknown reason, we don't do shut down innings.

Sandoval isn't a great third baseman, but he should be solid, and he certainly should have been an upgrade over what we had last year. Finding someone to play LF wouldn't be that difficult. Finding another RH power bat to replace Hanley would be. As far as the competence of Cherington goes, I don't think he's as incompetent as people are making him out to be. When the team stinks as badly as it does, of course the GM is going to shoulder the blame, whether deserved or not.

I agree that the FO needs to focus on pitching this offseason, both in the rotation and the bullpen. I think the offense will eventually be fine. If they do trade Hanley and/or Pablo, then they will have created other holes that need to be filled as well.

I should have known it was you. After all, you are the King.

Of course not. I ask that question because so many people want to get rid of both of them because of the way that they have played so far. Everyone knows that they are not that bad. It's possible that they won't be worth their contract. Even so, they should be valuable contributors to the team going forward.

LOL You crack me up.

Does anyone really believe that Hanley or Pablo, much less both of them, are really worse than replacement level players?

I would say the same thing if we were at the end of the season.

Midpoint next season.

First off, no one knows for sure that he will miss half a season, or even any time for that matter. Chances are that he will miss some time based on history, so you prepare for that, but it's not a given. Since 2010, his GS/IP have been 28/173.2, 14/82.2, 29/189.1, 16/108.1, 28/170.1, 18/113.1. Three out of the 6 years he has made close to 30 starts, or has given the team close to a full season. Yes, I realize that that is not exactly a strong track record, but he will also not necessarily last only 1/2 a season. The $13 mil is worth the risk. As far as the back up plan goes, for one, I would not rely on Clay to be the team's ace, so that if/when he does go down, we will not be losing our best pitcher. I realize that his replacement is likely going to be a downgrade if Clay is pitching well to that point. However, that is not necessarily the case either. There is the possibility that one of the young arms can fill in admirably. There is also the possibility of an in-season trade, depending on the timing of the potential injury. Picking up Clay's option is a good start to building the rotation for next year. I don't see it as an excuse to stink again.

Certainly more than 3 months, based on the players they have been career wise and, more importantly, in recent years.

I get it. They have both been terrible so far, and because they have large contracts that they haven't come close to fulfilling this year, the popular sentiment is to get rid of them. I fully understand that. I agree, Hanley in LF has been a disaster. Despite his poor defense, however, Hanley has always been a very valuable player because he's that good offensively. He has not done enough offensively this year to overcome his defense, like he has in the past, but I see no reason for his offense not to get back to expected levels. Honestly, I am not concerned about attitude or clubhouse issues with either Hanley or Panda. I think any talk of that is more a result of the team losing so much than it is a result of either of them really being a problem. If they team were playing well and winning, I'd bet there wouldn't be a single concern about it. When things are going this badly, there is always speculation that someone is a bad presence in the clubhouse.

There might be some internal options at 1B, though none of them are that inspiring. The thought of Hanley at 1B scares the heck out of me. I really like the idea of Castillo, Betts, and JBJ in the outfield defensively, but that leaves the question of what to do with Hanley. Anyway, I am not in favor of trading Hanley and Pablo just to "get rid of them". If the FO is blown away by some offer, then by all means, go for it. But I see no reason to sell low on them just to have them off the team.

Who is it that you are calling a bad fit?

Based on 3 months of play?

Trading those two would do nothing but create more holes. As of now, the Sox offense has a pretty good core of position players, with a good mixture of young guys and vets. Outside of 1B, they are pretty well set for several years. I would rather the FO keep them intact, and focus on pitching this offseason, but in the rotation and the BP.

Bottom line is you are not going to find pitching of his caliber for $13 million a year. And his option would only be for one year. His reward is well worth the risk. The key is to have a solid back up plan in the event that Clay gets injured again, which is very likely. The stupidity would not be in picking up Clay's option. It would be in not having a viable back up plan.

LOL Bell. That's as good an explanation as any.

It wouldn't be the first time I've had a stupid idea.

Cherington also mentioned something about all the transition the players have gone through. Somebody, I can't remember who, brought it up here in one of the threads, and it's a valid point. Some players were transitioning from minors to majors. Some were transitioning to different teams and different leagues. Some were transitioning to different positions. In Castillo's case, he was transitioning to a new country. We can never know how much of an effect that has had on the team's play, or how long it takes all the players to "settle in", but in lieu of being hasty in making a bunch of moves, you have to let those things play out.

He has taken full responsibility for the mess that we call the 2015 Red Sox. That said, there was something in his interview that alluded to the Sox not looking to trade Pablo or Hanley because they are not going into rebuild mode. Cherington feels, and I agree, that those two players will contribute closer to their contract and expectation levels going forward.

I predicted 88 wins, I believe, and first place in the division. I thought the pitching would be middle of the pack, the defense would be top 5, and the offense would be top 1 or 2. Obviously, I was very wrong on all counts.

Well, I really wanted to say that Theo>ANY GM, but not knowing every GM in the history of baseball, I thought that might be a little presumptuous of me. The Sox should never have gotten rid of him. They have have given Lucchino the boot instead.

He's one of the most frustrating pitchers around, but the dude is actually very good when he's healthy. If he only pitches half a season, he should be well worth the $13 million. This year, he has been a 3.1 WAR player, worth $24.7 million, according to Fangraphs. I'd be surprised if the Sox don't pick up the option.