kenmeister

I'm extremely pessimistic about our chances to keep Bogey now that he crossed the 20 home run threshold in only 513 at bats.

Just because the Red Sox won the World Series did not convince me that the classic lineup of best hitter going 3rd is wrong. But I do think having your strongest OBP guys hitting 1st-3rd makes sense, and Betts has great OBP numbers and steals, so hitting him first does make good sense in that respect. It's almost like the 30 homers are a bonus.

Put me down for Eovaldi and Porcello. I don't think Sale can last a full MLB season as a starter.

If Pedroia is healthy and productive here is my preferred lineup: 1. Benitendi 2. Bogaerts 3. Betts 4. Martinez 5. Pedroia 6. Devers 7. Bradley Jr 8. Moreland / Pearce 9. Vazquez

Given our dead last finish in 2012 with a 69-93 record, most of us were just hoping to get back to being a .500 team in 2013. That year was incredible!

I'm in the camp where you never really know until you give a guy a chance. For instance, let's take a look at this pitcher. Age 26 season: 7-13 in 28 starts, 160.2 IP, 4.82 ERA, 1.512 WHIP Age 27 season: 14-11 in 33 starts, 219.2 IP, 3.65 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, led the league in walks allowed Age 28 season: 13-10 in 33 starts, 201.1 IP, 3.98 ERA, 1.505 WHIP, led the league in walks allowed Age 29 season: 12-14 in 31 starts, 210.1 IP, 3.77 ERA, 1.417 WHIP, led the league in walks allowed (but also in strikeouts, and hit by pitch) You would probably say he's a respectable innings eater who is 'effectively wild'. But at age 30, he put it all together. Age 30 season: 19-8 in 34 starts, 255.1 IP, 3.24 ERA, 1.112 WHIP, 308 strikeouts And from then on, he went on to become a 300 game winner. That pitcher, of course, is Randy Johnson, and I'm not saying Hector Velazquez or Brian Johnson or if we'd stuck with Kason Gabbard etc. could be Randy, but what I am saying is that Montreal gave up on him, and Seattle stuck with him, and he blossomed out of mediocre numbers. I'd like to think the 5th spot in the rotation is the 'experiment', where we give someone promising a chance to show what he can do. Not that I'll complain if we resign Eovaldi though.

On the other hand, we weren't expected to contend in 2013, but we had just the right free agent acquisitions. I'm still stunned that team won it all.

If Pedroia really is healthy and returns to hitting .300, where would you put him in the batting order?

So if I’m reading this correctly the numbers agree with me that Velazquez could be better than Johnson.

I happen to be higher on Velazquez than Johnson for taking the fifth spot in the rotation. Why does Johnson get all the attention?

I have to admit I wasn't crazy about the Pedroia extension. He just gets hurt too often. You know, it's funny. I get all excited about prospects, but I find it much easier to part with veterans. The only veteran player in recent memory that I was pissed they lost was Jon Lester. Oh, and going back a little further they should have locked Beltre up at 3rd. Edit: oh and Rich Hill

2-0 with a 0.69 ERA, 13 innings pitched. He was supposed to be 'little Pedro'.

I do think they've learned their lesson with silly contracts - and that's why I think Bogaerts, Betts, and eventually Benitendi will be snatched up by other teams.

I think Henry Owens was the biggest bust of the list. He clearly couldn’t play at the mlb level and I don’t know why he was so highly regarded in the first place. Pena, Gabbard, Johnson, all had some initial impressive play.

I'm with Dojii. I love the home-grown or at least rookie talent! Thoughts on Juan Pena gentlemen?

I liked Bryce Brentz and didn't understand why he didn't see more major league playing time.

I think we need them both. I fully expect long stints on the DL from Sale, E-Rod, Wright, and perhaps a shorter one from Price, and Eovaldi as well if he comes back. Porcello, he's my rock. But I think this team needs all 8 of its starters (Sale, Price, Porcello, E-Rod, Wright, Johnson, Velazquez, Eovaldi yup that's 8).

I'd be tempted to grab Anibal Sanchez for the right price. Had a nice rebound season last year.

My heart broke when he was traded for Eric Gagne.

I love the appeal of these guys who come up to the majors, have a short period of success, and then are never seen again. Juan Pena. Ryan Lavarnway. Kason Gabbard. Creighton Gubanich. Izzy Alcantara. Great stories! Is Brian Johnson a Brian Rose or a Carl Pavano? We'll find out...

Also we would never have acquired Steve Pearce if Hanley was still on the team.

They'll be in the running, but even Cano was swooped up by Seattle when he'd been a long-time Yankee.

Just in case there's a "Sandy Leon" effect.

He was hot or cold as I remember. Let's go to the game log. July 29th he went 7 shutout innings against Minnesota August 4th he went 8 shutout innings against the Yankees August 10th he only lasted into the 3rd inning, giving up 4 earned runs. August 15th he went 5 innings allowed 1 earned run. August 21st he went 5 1/3 innings allowed 4 runs. August 26th was a bad start going 4 innings and allowing 5 runs. August 31st was the worst, just 2 innings allowing 3 runs. September 3rd pitched into the 4th but didn't allow any runs. (Why was he pulled?) September 11th didn't make it out of the 4th again, allowed 2 runs. September 18th he's back. He pitched 6 shutout innings. September 24th 5 innings allowing only one run. September 29th just 2 innings allowing no earned runs. It looks to me like Cora's hook was quite often too quick. I think this guy could be great for quite some time to come.

Yeah, that's why I'm extremely pessimistic that we keep Betts, or Bogaerts, or Sale, or Benitendi for the long run. I'm just going to enjoy next year.