moonslav59

We disagree, a lot, but I have always respected you and your opinions. Well said.

Yes, that is an issue. If both Rafaela and Abreu don't work out, we'll need to add a platoon bat for Ref at minimum and 1 or two more OF'ers, unless... We move Yoshi back to LF Anthony is ML ready Rosier surprises (or someone else) On this front, trading Dugo makes more sense. It's widely believed Duran would bring back a better return, due to his years of control, speed and upside potential. I think most of us think we will need a major trade to go along with some key signings, but nobody agree on who that might be. If you look at our roster and system, to me, it seems like the OF is the deepest.

There were certainly reasons to pull Pedro, but to me it was Pedro freaking Martinez, and we lost on a bloop hit. I know all the talk on Pedro thinking his day was over. I get it. We'll never know what might have happened had they yanked Pedro. We know what happened leaving him in.

I get the sneaky feeling they feel they can come up with 4 decent starters from what we roll over. We've beaten this to death, but jerking RP'ers into the rotation and then back and forth doesn't seem like a winning plan. I think we will decide to keep Whitlock in the pen, so that might work out well. (It did for Wink.) Bello is a lock for one slot. My guess is Pivetta is for another. Signing one makes it 3. That means we would need 2 from these guys: Sale Houck Crawford (Murphy, Walter, Gambrell, Wikelman, Mata, Drohan) Personally, I'd keep Houck and Crawford in the pen and have a viable option as back-up to Sale, so we don't have to slide Houck or Crawford back to the rotation. I'm not downplaying the talent of Houck and Crawford. I like both, a lot, but they seem like great pen arms and questionable starters.

I'm sure he loves the tax brackets in CA.

My point was none look like we should be trading them. We are likely to lose Turner and have 3 candidates on the 26, already, to take his place. I don't want to jettison any of the 3- just make one the next DH.

Yes, but Kluber was maybe worse, in that area.

It seems a year ago, everyone and their uncle would have rushed at the chance of getting anything of value for Duran. Now, some think he's borderline untouchable. I do think we should see what we can get for Dugo or Duran but not both. I'm not for handing anyone away.

Probably not much will happen until this question is answered.

I think the talk is about moving a current poor defender to FT DH or near FT DH, not jettisoning one or more. My choice is Yoshida at DH FT with Casas playing there on his off days. That will give Casas some "rest" without losing his bat in the line-up. Others suggest Casas to DH and Devers to 1B, which I think might happen, someday, but I would not do it in 2024. Other Sox players who are poor defenders might fit the bill, but their bats or profiles don't quite fit the DH profile. EValdez (LHB) & Refsnyder (RHB) but who wants to use two roster spots for marginal platoon bats? Duran (LHB) Seems to have a chance to become a decent LF'er.

I hope so, too. They might leave one slot open for Rafaela or Abreu, and allow the other to try and oust Refsnyder from his back-up/platoon role.

Thanks. You, too. Let's hope it is an eventful one with lots of encouraging events.

Many fans are about as fed up as can be. I'm not sure, if that is enough to light a fire under the current team ownership and management group, but a fire is likely what we need to seriously compete in 2024. We'll be talking Rule 5, options and arbs, trades and signings before we know it. Most of us agree our top need is the rotation, and not just one top starter, but two or three. LH'd relief has been mentioned as has a big RH'd bat. Improving the D has been a topic, too. The budget is a big question mark, again. Here is what I think the foundation will be for 2024. I'm leaving 4 slots for additions via free agency or by trade: SP1 _____ SP2 _____ SP3 Bello SP4 Sale (Houck or Crawford) SP5 Pivetta Closer Jansen RP2 Martin RP3 Houck RP4 Crawford RP5 Whitlock RP6 Winckowski RP7 Schreiber RP8 ______ (LHP) C Wong & McGuire 1B Casas 2B Reyes & Urias 3B Devers SS Story LF Duran & Refsnyder CF ______ (RHB) Rafaela or Abreu RF Verdugo DH Yoshida 40 Man Roster on the Farm C S Scott (Rule 5) 2B/DH EValdez SS DHam OF RaFaela or Abreu SP Wikelman (Rule 5), Gambrell (Rule 5), Perales (Rule 5), Drohan (Rule 5) P Murphy, Walter, Mata, RP Bernardino, Kelly, Robertson Gone from 40: 1B/RF Dalbec RP Joely, Mills, Garza, Jacques, Llovera, Weiss, Gillaspie I like the foundation. I know others don't. I know other teams have better and deeper foundations, as of now, but things can change over a winter. I'm hopeful about 2024, but we will need to see some major additions for me to be optimistic about our chances. Let's see what the new GM brings to the equation.

I'm eternally grateful for the last two decades. I'll take all the bumps and potholes. 4 rings is about 3-4 more than I ever imagined.

The option is not player friendly. Bloom waited until the last minute several times. He should have, here.

Game Over! Season Over! Wait Till Next Year!

I can't blame Grady, and never did. Pedro out of gas is still better than almost anyone else.

Yes, I did. I need new glasses.

I seriously doubt we take the $4.5M Joely option, so that leaves in house options Murphy, Bernardino, Walter or force Sale to the pen.

Many of our RH'd RP'ers do well, very well or even have reverse splits vs LHBs. I do think we try to add one, but it's 4th or 5th on my list. 1. SP 2. SP 3. SP or RHB 4. RHB or SP 5. LH RP or RHB/SP

Yes, and of the 4 or more areas can do that.

So he leaked an opposing view to his own statements?

If that's bias, I'd love to see what he'd be like unbiased.

Yes, certainly possible, or $295M guaranteed.

Yes, that's it in a nutshell. If we needed a DH, sure, but we have a chance to improve our defense and maybe improve Yoshida's offense, too, by allowing him to not wear down by playing DH nearly FT. We have other big needs. It will not be easy replacing his bat and his spirit, but it seems like the best thing to do. (That doesn't mean he's not coming back.)