dustcover

Nothing surpasses desire. https://www.facebook.com/Modmanofficial/videos/311789309287269/

Aah! My bad.

The Sox are at 92-66 with three games left. By winning just one more game they will have 93 wins. The Yankees are 89-69, so even if they win their remaining three games, they will have only 92 wins. So why isn't the 'magic' number for the Sox to win the division '1' ?

I did indeed and predicted during the 'hot stove' season an improved 2017 for Shaw. But I didn't know at the time that it would be for another team.

Shaw hit a walk off HR for the Brewers last night and after 138 games, now has .276 BA, 31 HR, 99 RBI, and only 3 errors at 3B. On the other hand, out for the season with shoulder surgery is injury-prone reliever Thornburg who dealt with elbow injuries in the past. He avoided Tommy John surgery in 2014 when he underwent a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection and the Brewers shut him down for the rest of that season. It galled me at the time and still does that the Sox gave up on Shaw and gift wrapped 3B for Sandoval. With Shaw at 3B from the onset of this season, the Sox would have wrapped up the division title by the end of August.

Don't feel too bad, I'm a genuine old fart, and I too went to bed when the score got to 5-1. You'd think at my age I'd know better, but damn, it seems I'll never learn. I did however stay up the following night for the miraculous 1-0 win on a passed ball in extra innings. They truly are the cardiac kids!

Back when Sale was acquired I remember there was quite a bit of talk as to his previous seasons' performances as being superlative in the first half of the season and fading in the second half of the season. Perhaps there is something to those comments. Maybe because he goes deep into most of his games, by the end of the season he is running out of gas. Sale is 2-3 with a 4.64 ERA in his last six starts after going 14-4 with a 2.51 ERA in his first 24 starts.

Who stayed up to watch the conclusion of last night's marathon? I made it through the 15th, but the clock struck midnight and down I went!

I have some concern regarding the news that Pedroia is ready and returning for the 4-game series beginning tonight in the Bronx. And I do so hope that he is good-to-go! Albeit, Pedey has been a stalwart mainstay in the Sox lineup for as long as I can remember, and a team leader, but he is none-the-less coming off a serious injury and bound to be a bit rusty. Is it reasonable to think that his at-bat timing will be back? I'd feel a bit more comfortable if he were to have a couple of rehab starts with the PawSox or SeaDogs. Coupled with the fact that Nunez has been very steady at 2B and a spark at the plate. To disrupt his routine at this point may well be counterproductive. There's been talk of rotating him in the lineup; alternately substituting him for Bogaerts, Devers, Pedroia on a night-to-night basis, thus giving days-off to players and keeping them fresh for the stretch run in September. There may be some merit to this strategy, but I'm inclined to think that keeping the status quo and a set lineup, that is presently winning ball games, is a more prudent approach. I further believe that ballplayers are creatures of habit and juggling lineups early in the season may be beneficial in coming up with the best lineup, but at this stage of the season, coming to the ballpark each day, players respond better when the lineup is set and they know where they stand.

I hear ya! And I, too, depended on radio broadcasts in my early years as a Sox fan. I particularly enjoyed Gowdy. 'For that straight from the barrel taste, the taste that people who really know beer like best, Hi neighbor, have a Gansett!' However, slap my wrist Mal, but I do enjoy Eck and the color he brings to the game. He sometimes makes me feel that I'm sitting right next to him in the bleachers kibitzing about what's happening.

I am quite well aware of the Red Rocketeers. I know I should not be doing this for fear that I will be starting something that I can't finish, BUT, my graduating year, 1959, Thanksgiving Day - Bombardiers, 14-6

You had to be there in 67, to fully appreciate what this team accomplished and how they did it night in and night out. And clearly for us who lived it, Red Sox nation was never the same thereafter. (In an extraordinarily positive way!)

Have you factored in the $$$ of my original proposal which entailed acquiring a $295M contract (Stanton) while dumping $240M in contracts (Price, Ramirez, Castillo).

No I do not! And that is precisely why I would be inclined to swap them along with Castillo for Stanton and his multi-M contract. Check out the $$$ contract comparisons in my earlier post and tell me who you would be more willing to pay, Price, Hanley, and Castillo or Stanton.

Kind of interesting that you'd remember Russ Nixon, as he was one of my favorites. However, Russ was a former Guardians catcher when the Sox acquired him in 1960. And he played for the Sox through 1965 after which he played for the Twins in 66 & 67. He then spent his final year with the Sox in 1968 before retiring. But you might find it interesting that in 1967, Dick Williams did the unheard of by carrying 4 catchers on the roster, Tillman, Ryan, Howard, and rookie Russ Gibson who was an all-around athlete from Durfee High in Fall River. I particularly remember Russ, because I attended Attleboro H.S. and we played Durfee in the Bristol County League. Russ was a 3-sport-star at Durfee High and a constant thorn in the side of AHS's whenever we competed with Durfee regardless of the sport. Playing forward, he led Durfee's basketball team to the 1956 New England Championship. Interestingly enough, as a 27-year-old rookie in 1967, he made his major league debut with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on April 14, catching fellow rookie Billy Rohr, who started against Whitey Ford and the New York Yankees. Rohr was one strike away from a no-hitter when Elston Howard who would later in the season join the Sox, looped a two-out, ninth inning single to right-center field. Gibson also contributed to Rohr's 3–0, one-hit shutout, going 2–for–4 and scoring a run. Later in the season, on June 12 he hit a two-run home run at Fenway Park to defeat the Yankees 3–1. This home run was his first major league home run and it was hit off of Joe Verbanic. And to top it off, he caught the first game of that year's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. And finally, before the 1970 season he was sold by Boston to the Giants, playing for them until 1972. On June 23, 1968, Russ went 4 for 4 against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago. All four hits were off two of the greatest knuckle ball pitchers of all time, 3 of them against Wilbur Wood and one against Hoyt Wilhelm.

Hey MVP, thanks for your help, outstanding effort! Perhaps, one of the forum's other members will yet remember noticing the missing #17 who was in attendance. I wonder if the Sox had a group picture taken of the guys who were in attendance?

Hey thanks CP for your response. Another poster added that Jerry Moses didn't play for the 67 Sox. That of course does not invalidate him from being there. Did you catch a glimpse of him or see a picture of him at the ceremony?

Could someone list the 17 players from the 1967 team that were in attendance at last nights ceremony? 1. Yaz 2. Reggie Smith 3. Mike Andrews 4. Hawk Harrelson 5. Rico Petrocelli 6. Jim Lonborg 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Exactly!

Very interesting observations, Mal. However, it will be quite revealing how Devers will do for a full season in 2018, particularly after pitchers have probed for his weak spots, if any. And with those stat guys and their charts showing a batter's proficiency in each section of the strike zone, and the how he handles each type of pitch, and the part of the field where he's most likely to hit the ball, it doesn't take long for opposing teams to get a 'book' on a player. So I wouldn't start measuring him for a bronze bust in the HOF just yet. So until Devers shows me that he can 'adjust' I'll reserve judgement in comparing him to Foxx. Now Williams is a whole different story. I saw quite a bit of Williams back in the day. And this kid has a long, long, long ways to go before anyone can reasonably compare him to 'the greatest hitter who ever lived'.

Stay with me for one more crazy thought. How long do you think it would take for Stanton to convert his skill set to 1B and assume Hanley's role as DH and part time 1B? Now consider the Sox down the stretch and throughout the playoffs sans Price, and Stanton in the lineup instead of Hanley. Nunez Betts Benintendi Stanton Devers Bogaerts Moreland Leon/Vasquez Bradley

------------------2018-------------2019------------2020-------------2021----------2022 Hanley--------22,750,000-----22,000,000 Price----------30,000,000-----31,000,000----32,000,000-----32,000,000----32,000,000 Castillo--------11,771,428----11,771,428-----14,271,428 Total----------64,521,428----64,771,428------46,271,428----32,000,000----32,000,000 Hanley, Price, Castillo 5-year total 239,564,284 Stanton 5-year total 147,500,000 Stanton 2023-2027 (5 x $29,500,000) 147,500,000 Over the next ten years deducting Hanley, Price, and Castillo’s salaries from the $295M owed Stanton leaves a difference of $55,435,716 which averages out to costing the Sox an additional $5.5M per season for the next 10 seasons for Stanton over what is owed Hanley, Price, and Castillo. Or put another way get rid of Hanley, Price, and Castillo's contracts for $239.5M and pay Stanton $147.5M for five years saving $92M over the next 5-year span. And then pay Stanton the $29.5M for the remaining five years. And hypothetically, if Harper and Trout get what is projected in FA, then in 2023 if Stanton was to be in a free agent position, he would easily command $30M/yr.

Crunch the numbers, and then get back to me on what you believe makes this the worst trade proposal in history.

Now that Stanton has passed through waivers, he is eligible to be traded. And IMO, he would look absolutely great in a Sox uniform. But acquiring him would necessitate dealing with the remaining $295M over next 10 years. So the question becomes what would the Sox be willing to give up and what would the Marlins be willing to accept. How about Price, Hanley, Rusney Castillo, and maybe a couple of throw-ins from PawSox?

After watching the kid hit a clutch HR off of one of Chapman's best fastballs, I do believe the Sox have finally found their third baseman!