moonslav59

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.)

They didn't want to wait for Wacha's demands to fall.

The other factor is that we may not even offer him a contract. We have 5 guys on our 26 man roster who are negatives on D.

I know Duvall is a FA, but I included him in the comps because I'm wondering if Abreu would be an improvement on D, and there is chance Duvall is brought back. We will not trade both Dugo and Duran.

Some people liked to criticize the knuckleball, despite the fact that it was hard enough to catch the pitch, let alone hit it. He was a true battler. Not many pitchers gave 130+ innings for 17 straight seasons and all with one team (ages 28 to 44.) He gave over 140 IP in 16 of those 17 seasons. 150+ in 13 of 17. 180+ in 9. He ended up with a 105 ERA+ for us. 3 seasons: 1995-1997 (608 IP) 118 ERA+ 2001-2003 126 ERA+ Incredibly, he had a 106 ERA+ in a 4 season stretch from 2005-2008 at ages 38-41.

The one guy we rush to sign: Kluber.

Exactly, and nobody is suggesting we bench or trade our corner IF'ers.