moonslav59

The NCAA rankings are often a joke. That's one reason they formed the BCS. They used to switch up the criteria from year to year. I remember because they used to say a head to head game broke a tie, but ND beat FSU, and they changed the formula. (ND lost to BC, but had the same record as FSU.) With so many teams having the same record, the rankings are based on whatever each voter wants to use. Many speculate on values based on what the team did the previous season and how many key players they lost. The opening day rankings set the tone for the season, and they are based n 0-0 records for all teams. So, team A beats the 0-0 number one team and whoopdie freakin doo, they jump up in the rankings. Of course the NCAA ranking are way different from minor league rankings or even MLB's "power rankings," But they all have speculative nature to them. There really is no way of knowing just how good some of these NCAA teams are, until late in the season, and even then, a key injury or a trend change can be hard to spot. I feel pretty confident in saying the final #1 team in NCAA rankings has not always been the best team, and one can argue the best teams don't always win it all, anyway, for various reasons, including bad luck.

I get the sneaky feeling Houck ends up starting in 2024. Whitlock will be in the pen. Crawford and Pivetta are unknown and may depend on how many we sign and how many are healthy.

No, I'm not. BTW, the rankings are not based on W-L records. ALA is ahead of undefeated teams. It is based on speculation by AP writers and coaches on the values and potential of players some have never seen play.

lmao! He'd be a utility guy on the '07 team.

If we get two really good SP'er, I'd be content. If we set the budget at just below the second tax line, we'd have enough for 3 via free agency, and enough left over for a LH'd RP'er and maybe Duvall. (We won't, though.) SP1 Acquisition SP2 Acquisition SP3 Bello SP4 Crawford SP5 Pivetta/Sale (Gambrell, Wikelman, Perales, Drohan, Hagenman) Closer Jansen RP2 Martin RP3 Houck RP4 Whitlock RP5 (Pivetta or Sale) RP6 Schreiber RP7 Winckowski RP8 LH RP Acquisition or Joely (Bernardino, ZKelly, Mills, Murphy, Mata, Walter, Robertson, Guerrero) C Wong, McGuire (Scott/Teel/Joh Garcia) 1B Casas (Dalbec/Jordan) 2B Urias, Reyes (Yorke, EValdez/Bonaci) SS Story (DHam, Mayer, Zanetello, Romero, Cespedes) 3B Devers (Meidroth, Lugo, Paulino, CCoffey, Anderson) LF: Duran, Refsnyder (Rosier) CF: Duvall, Rafaela (Anthony, Bleis) RF: Dugo, Abreu (Sikes, Castro) DH: Yoshida (Hickey/Kavadas)

No doubt. OSU is the fave for a reason. Home field might help set the stage for un upset, but it would be an upset, if it happens. OSU looks better, on paper. (Rankings matter in college football but not minor league baseball.)

He's just a suspect, until he delivers in the bigs... -Ole Red

BTW, using hyperbole after a great game by Dugo has nothing to do with "optimism."

You really took those off the cuff statements to heart? Wow! Like I really meant "Mookie who?" Geesh. Wow!

Since 2019 is meaningless, since the Sale trade ended after 2019. The Sale trade was for 3 years (2017-2019.) Kopech has a 4.6 career bWAR and 1.9 career fWAR with more to come. Sale gave us 14.5 bWAR and 17.4 fWAR. from 2017-2019. I doubt Kopech catches him. Maybe Kopech + Moncada and others might come closer.

Okay. I was just going by what you said about watching more baseball, again.

So, it's based on fear of being let down, I'm assuming. Still no answer to as why others' optimism seems to bother you, but I'll settle for one answer. You really had no optimism going into game 6 in the 2021 ALCS? You are more gloom & doom than I thought. Not ever being letdown is a nice benefit, though.

Boris Badenov, of course.

Indeed, and yet each GM keeps getting the brunt of the blame.

He sure did a great job in choosing who to keep and who to trade. Many of those he kept were near no-names, but keeping Devers was a big key. Those who say he "emptied the farm" were wrong then, and more than wrong, now. While he did trade over 20 prospects who once were top 20 on soxprospects.com, most turned out to be highly overrated. That does not mean the same is true, now however, and maybe this farm has some sleepers like DD's did with Bello, Casas, Duran and Crawford, and maybe a few more to come, like Rafaela, Wikelman and Perales. It's all speculation, but no team wins without some homegrown infusion.

Why just the ones he traded away? The farm rankings were based on the ones he kept and traded away.

That's when his posting slowed, and he "stopped watching, because baseball was watered down." Now, that we are losing and Bloom is gone, he's posting a mile a minute and suddenly watching the games, again. I guess MLB is no longer watered down.

You sure were quiet when the team was on a roll. I'm not asking you to be an optimist. I was just wondering why you seem to get so upset with people who are. Was the optimism in 2021 under "false pretenses?" In many ways, that team looked worse in March. I'm fine with you choosing doom & gloom. I understand it. You sincerely have nothing to be optimistic about, going forward with the Sox? There is no hope, for you, until you start seeing results? Did you have false hopes in 2019?

Two top ones is probably wishful thinking, but we need 2 near aces or 3 solid SP'er, or no GM is going to turn this around,

Yes, even in the days of Theo and others. Pedro A Beltre Damon...

That just sucks, but it's not irony.

I don't think I did, but I'll apologize if and when you find the link. Again, why does a fan's optimsm bug you so much? I can see my optimism for this year was unfounded, but I'm not sure why you have to stomp all over the idea of optimism for fans. Gloat all you want and throw it in my face that I was wrong, fine, but it seems you just can't handle optimism, in and of itself.

Most of the examples in that song are not irony.

Tell me the last 3 year period we brought up 5 pitchers as good as Bello, Crawford, Whitlock, Houck and Wink? I'm not saying all 5 are great or even sure bets to be good, but when?

Again, you get it wrong. I said our chances could be in our own hands, because we were going to play TOR and TEX. I ever said I expected we'd win. Was I optimistic we still had a chance. because we were playing the teams we had to pass? Yes, to some extent, but I still don't get why that bothers you, or that I stopped posting the WC standings once we had no hope. You won't tell me what the problem you see in that.