kenmeister

Oh also, my manager would be Terry Lovullo, who I was really impressed with when he became the interim manager. I can't say it's easy to kick out Farrell when he returned from cancer treatment, but the change in the team was obvious and losing Lovullo stung.

Assuming Eovaldi is in fact a free agent, signed through next year we already have as potential starting pitchers: Sale Porcello Price Johnson Velazquez Wright Rodriguez Eovaldi would have to really impress down the stretch to make the case for extending him. But he just might! Pomeranz, at this point, barring a miracle, is off to free agency.

... though I think the most important thing for 2018 is to cement Swihart's ability to hit. Which is just starting to come along now. Identifying a potential starting role and what position it would be for can be assessed in the offseason.

Ah very helpful! Pedroia is making $16 million this year, $15 million next year, $13 million the year after that, and $12 million the year after that. Price is making $30 million this year, $31 million next year, $32 million the year after that and many years to come. Those two right there make it tough. I honestly didn't realize Price made so much! I see Nathan Eovaldi says "min" for 2019-2021. I thought he was a free agent at the end of the year?

The Sox are in a tough spot with trying to keep this team together. JDM has an opt-out clause, and he will opt-out, and we need him. Does somebody have a schedule of when everybody's contracts are coming due over the next 5 years? From now to the end of the season: No more moves. We'll have a difficult enough time making cuts when/if E-Rod and Wright come back. I would however, immediately send Pomeranz to AAA and reinstate Johnson into the rotation. I also wouldn't have traded for Eovaldi, putting Velazquez into the rotation instead. And Eovaldi actually looks super, so what do I know?

I actually wasn't sure this would be the reception. I was expecting, "Mookie Betts at second are you kidding? Blake Swihart your top catcher? If you don't trade Iglesias, do you win the World Series in 2013?" There really isn't any genius in the above. I just like to hold onto my guys. I would make very few free agent acquisitions. So, I never would have traded Lester, Miller, or Lackey. The off-season that the Sox acquired Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez I was in disbelief because Scherzer and Cruz really didn't get that much attention. Now maybe I couldn't have resigned Lester and gotten Scherzer for fiscal reasons. Chris Sale I certainly would have made inquiries on, and I thought for what we gave up, it was a great trade, so I'd like to think I would have done it too. JDM I think everyone on Talk Sox would have acquired too. Perfect fit. Rich Hill I thought was a great pickup, and I was definitely in favor of dropping Buchholz and keeping Hill. I probably would have held onto him longer than I should have. Pedroia would have moved into the DH spot - with part-time appearances in the field - after Ortiz retired. Maybe not the best use of DH, but he's signed and a good bat when healthy. Betts at second - yes! It's so hard to find a good-hitting second baseman. Good hitting outfielders are easier. Otherwise pretty much everyone else came out of Cherington's farm system. Betts, Bogaerts, Shaw, Swihart, Iglesias, Johnson, I just let them develop here.

We all like to play GM, and criticize or praise moves when they occur, so here's my honest assessment of what the Red Sox would look like now, if I'd been GM since the middle of the 2013 season. Starting rotation SP Chris Sale - I thought this trade was genius, and I can only hope I would have thought to make it as well. SP Max Scherzer - I wanted the Sox to go hard after him when he hit free agency. SP Jon Lester - I would have never let him go. SP Brian Johnson SP Rich Hill - I would have held onto him as well. SP Hector Velazquez (depth) SP Steven Wright (DL) SP Jalen Beeks (AAA, depth) Note that I never traded Lester, so I never acquired Cespedes and I never flipped him for Porcello. I didn't need to sign Price because I already had Scherzer. Outfield LF JD Martinez - Another great signing I fully supported! CF Andrew Benitendi RF Nelson Cruz - The same offseason as Scherzer I would have signed him CF JBJ (depth) Infield 3B Xander Bogaerts - I'm pretty sure I would have kept him at 3rd like he was in 2013. SS Jose Iglesias - I never moved him to Detroit. 2B Mookie Betts - I kept Mookie a second baseman. 1B Travis Shaw - I kept Travis Shaw as a first baseman. Utility Brock Holt Utility Marco Hernandez Catcher/DH C - Blake Swihart C - Christian Vazquez DH - Dustin Pedroia (to preserve his knees; maybe he wouldn't be on the DL now?) Note that Cruz or JD play DH when JBJ plays center. Relief pitching I won't go into, except that I kept Andrew Miller and praised the trade for Craig Kimbrel. I think it's a comparable team to what they have now, but we'll never know Okay, your turn!

1 inning bullpen appearances against the bottom third of the order seems fair. Except he will be competing with Joe Kelly for those situations.

If Johnson moves to the rotation we are left without a lefty. Unless that's what Pomeranz ends up being good at.

Workman is more deserving than Tyler Thornburg. I made a new thread for relief pitching discussions.

With the success of my starting pitching thread, I thought I'd create a thread focusing on our relievers. As of today, with Brandon Workman sent down to make room for Eovaldi, we have: Matt Barnes - one of our most dependable relievers Ryan Brasier - 8 very quality innings so far! Heath Hembree - middle of the road Brian Johnson - seems to excel more at starting, but he seems to be our only lefty in the pen (makes me wonder how Pomeranz would do as our lefty specialist instead) Joe Kelly - After his opening day gaff, excelled for a while, now can't get anyone out Craig Kimbrel - awesome! Tyler Thornburg - Close your eyes and have someone tell you when the inning is over Hector Velazquez - great long reliever

To make room on the roster for Eovaldi, Boston optioned right-hander Brandon Workman to Triple-A Pawtucket. He is 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 appearances for Boston this year. “He wasn’t too thrilled about it, which I understand,” Cora said. “He’ll be back. I don’t know how soon, but he’ll be back.” ******* I really like Workman on this team. Really a shame.

Great article! Still not convinced Pomeranz can help this team even from the bullpen.

He's hitting .216 with a respectable but not overwhelming .839 OPS. Our right fielders: Mookie - .347 / 1.092 JD - .323 / 1.026 Beni - .298 / .895 We really don't need Harper, unless we move Mookie to 2nd base or something like that.

Nah, we've got this awesome Drew Pomeranz guy. Who needs Johnson?

Madder than ever that Johnson returns to the bullpen and Pomeranz gets one more shot in the rotation.

Ha! Thanks. Fyi, I sadly sold my mint condition Megatron about 10 years ago on eBay. Maybe a mistake but I needed the cash at the time.

And if I’m not mistaken Poyner is back at AAA and we could probably use him.

When is Eovaldi’s first start for Boston?

What??? Sigh. Well, since I have little faith Pomeranz will be effective this year, I'm sure eventually the two will be swapped. Also, I have a new avatar. I hope you all like it.

1999, 2003, and 2004 yeah and nothing since then. We had tense series in 2007, 2008, and 2013 with the Guardians, Rays, and Tigers respectively, but haven't been back since ourselves.

Of course, the Yankees may likely lose prior to playing the Red Sox. If the season ended today, the Yankees would have a one game playoff with the Mariners. If they win that, then I *think* the division series would be Sox vs. Guardians and Yankees vs. Astros. The Astros are very tough, so the Yankees really have to run the gauntlet to make the World Series.

I feel good about the Sox chances IF Sale doesn't have a second half swoon.

I *still* think Velazquez should be in the rotation.

Boston.com: With the Red Sox trailing by a run in the sixth inning on Tuesday, manager Alex Cora called for Joe Kelly. The reliever has struggled of late, but Kelly was set to face the bottom of the Baltimore lineup and Cora felt that was a “good pocket” in the game for him. “Two guys that are hitting .200 and a lefty in there,” Cora said, per the Eagle Tribune. “We have to trust him. He’s very important for us. It just didn’t happen.” In other words, he thought sending Kelly in against the bottom of the Orioles order would be a confidence boost for Kelly. Unfortunately, Kelly + Pomeranz in the same game = loss.