moonslav59

Yes, I said the rules say "Middy obstructed his way," but I do think Craig chose to take a longer path to home by curving towards Middy and stepping over Middy, instead of taking the easier and straight line from 3B to home. It was the right call. I also think Middy intentionally lifted his legs to trip Craig up, although intention is does not matter on that correct call. Great play by Pedey. If you notice on one angle, Craig hesitates a couple feet off second, then runs to 3rd. Had he not hesitated, maybe a throw is not made, of Middy could catch it. Real tough way to lose a game.

Who says no to this BTV approved trade rated "minor overpay" by the Sox? To BOS C Murphy (OAK) SP Urquidy (HOU) RP Stanek (HOU) To HOU C McGuire (BOS) LF Verdugo (BOS) To OAK 1B Casas (BOS) SS Leon (HOU) P Seabold (BOS) P Murphy (BOS) HOU gets it's two highest needs filled: LF & back-up C. BOS gets a top C and good SP & RP. OAK gets one big prospect and 3 second or third tier hopefuls. My guess is OAK says no, first. Houston second. Sox would do it.

True, but I don't think the rubric is about who is the best. It's about primarily records, then strength of schedule. I thought Alabama would be in. I also thought Ohio St would be #3.

They don't have Boyd anymore, though.

The thing that bothers me about that play is that Craig had a clear path from 3rd base to home, but he chose to push off the bag towards second base- not towards home- and chose a path right over Middy. Yes, Middy lifted his lower legs that ended up tripping Craig. The 1:16-1:18 mark shows it best. Had Craig just ran straight from 3rd to home, he wouldn't have needed to step over Middy. (And he'd have been safe.) To me, it was more his fault than Middy's but the rules still say Middy obstructed his way.

Final Rankings: 1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. TCU 4. Ohio State 5. Alabama 6. Tennessee 7. Penn St. 8. Clemson 9. K State 10. Utah 11. USC 12. Wash (21. Notre Dame) Georgia v Ohio St in Peach Bowl Michigan v TCU in Fiesta Bowl

Agreed, and that is why I think the never shy GM might have one more big splash signing or trade left in him. They have made a couple 2 for one trades and have room of the roster to add at least one more stud. While their pitching looks deep, they may try and make another 2 for one trade, perhaps involving Flexon and then sign one more significant FA.

Many teams can say the same. The Sox have... 3. Bleis (18) a 5 tool stud. 7. Romero (18) looking like a steal in the '22 draft. 9. Anthony (19) looking like possibly the steal of the second round '22 draft. 10. Perales (19) showing great stuff. 15. Jordan (19) .808 OPS in '22 19. Rodriguez-Cruz moving up the rankings by leaps and bounds 21. Cutter Coffey (18) and Brooks Brannon (30) might surprise. Plus, #5 Yorke, #11 Paulino, #12 Wikelman & #16 Bonaci who all just turned 20.

Some selected quotes from soxprospects.com on our top 10 prospects: 1. Mayer: He showed an approach at the plate that belied his age, excellent gap-to-gap power which should translate into more home runs as he adds strength, solid, confident, and sometimes spectacular defense at shortstop, and leadership and an approach to the game more in line with the expectations of a veteran than an A-ball player in his first full professional campaign. Casas: It's hard to write about Casas in the context of being a prospect, because he's probably as ready as a prospect can ever be. By the time he was called up, he was utterly locked in at Worcester, driving the ball with authority--even his walks seemed to show swagger. Bleis: Miguel Bleis (pictured) hits baseballs very hard. Hard in a way that is completely out of alignment with being just 18 years old...; he is an extremely athletic center fielder who has the potential to be a plus defender in center and be a demon on the basepaths. Rafaela: It was a huge year for Rafaela, as he paired a breakout offensive season with highlight-reel defensive play in center field... He earned a promotion after only 45 games, an aggressive timeline usually reserved for some of the top prospects to have come through the system. Yorke: The tools to be a force at the plate are still there, keeping Yorke in the system's top five. Mata: At his best, he has the repertoire to stick as a starter, and there is little question that he has the physicality to match.... Even if Mata does end up in a bullpen, he possesses the high-end stuff that could make him a high-leverage late-inning weapon in the role. One wrinkle: Mata has just one option remaining, which may motivate the Red Sox to ramp him into a bullpen role, at least to start his MLB career. Romero: Boston apparently had Romero graded as a first-round talent. Initial reports have been very, very positive. He shows an advanced approach, gap-to-gap power, and he hits the ball very hard. With soft hands, good instincts, and decent range, he also has a chance to stick at shortstop. Walter: Provided he is healthy in 2023, Walter figures to be in line for a shot with the major league club. Anthony: Equipped with plus raw power, Anthony also showed ability to make consistent contact in his brief professional debut, striking out in fewer than 10% of his plate appearances. Perales: The raw stuff is great, he just needs to get healthy.

I'd rather hear he's doing better than not, but I don't get all giddy over small sample sizes in winter ball over a guy who has gone too long with no signs of improvement in the one area he knows needs improvement.

It looks that way, but I would expect the current farm ranking to be a significant part of the rubric. Maybe they link farm with recent grads into one grade.

I think we knew he was hurt, but we expected him to recover, at some point, to a higher level than he ever came close to. He might have been viewed as a dump that allowed us to get Kelly, who had a very good outlook, at the time.

The fact is, we don't get Kelly and Craig (who still had some promise at 1B) without that clause. At the time, I had hoped we'd traded most of our rotation for near ML ready prospects, like we did in the Miller for ERod trade. The Lester trade brought us Cespedes who we morphed into Porcello. Peavy got us Escobar & Hembree. Doubront got us Marco Hernandez.

Yes, and although we need a RF'er, it should not come at that cost in top prospects.

Agree, but one note on the pen: Whitlock and Houck started 13 games, last year, so if Houck stays in the pen, and Whitlock stays a starter, all year, we are just losing half a season of pen work and adding a full season of Martin- a slight gain in numbers but maybe not in quality. Maybe Whitlock pitches more IP and takes some strain off the pen, as well, but yes, I hope we add one more solid arm to the pen. Again, I get a sneaky feeling we will not. I think we will add a SP, SS, RF'er and C and call it a day. We'll save some budget space for the deadline. Just my opinion on what we will do- not what I hope we do.

Glad to not hear Kyle Gibson had a deal with the Sox, but chose the O's.

I'm not saying it will be Reynolds, but I think you have one more splash coming. FA or trade.

Because the Yanks go broke outbidding the Giants for Judge?

The Big 12 is not all that strong, but I think a 1 loss team deserves it over a two loss. TCU did beat Texas and K St- both ranked. Yes, Alabama had a tougher schedule, but I think they should keep it at no 2 loss teams ever making it. Bama is better, so I get it.

I don't think you are done wheeling and dealing. Your window is now.

Will the Mariners try to make sure the Rangers stay behind them by going big splash, too?

With deGrom off the boards, does it mean this... Verlander to Mets? Rodon to Yankees?

I like Houck, a lot, despite the whole no vax fiasco. If he comes back healthy, and we stop jerking him around, I think he has a good chance to be a solid closer, but nothing is certain. That being said, I think his BTV value of 18.5 is pretty accurate. Of all our top BTV numbers, I do think trading Houck and Schreiber might make the most sense, despite our pen being a weak area. If we sign a few more pen arms, it would make up for their loss, but cost more. Since we have budget space, that is doable, as long as we can get a better SP'er for them. Maybe we add a prospect and can get Lopez, Rogers or Luzardo & Berti. Our top BTV numbers: 55 Mayer 41 Casas 35 Devers 34 Whitlock 33 Bello 19 Schreiber 19 Houck 15 Rafaela 14 Bleis 8.7 Romero 8.0 Yorke 6.5 Anthony 6.5 Coffey 6.5 McGuire (BTV loving the Sox deadline deals) 5.9 Duran 5.7 Verdugo 5.6 Walter 5.6 Lugo 5.0 Jordan 5.0 Paulino 4.2 Paxton (Hmmmm....) 3.8 Mata 3.6 Murphy 3.1 Hosmer (Another deadline plus) 2.9 Seabols 1.9-2.6: Bonaci, Wink, Hamilton, Taylor, Jimenez, Abreu & Wong Of our top prospects, it seems like Rafaela is the best one with higher value, Yorke might be a sell low option and Lugo due to a bottle neck at SS on the farm. Duran is the obvious over valued one, and if any GM thought he was worth close to his BTV value, he'd be included in my suggested trade. So, what can we get with a combination of this.... 19.0 Schreiber 18.5 Houck 8.0 Yorke 5.9 Duran 5.6 Lugo Other possibles: 5.6 Walter 5.0 Jordan 4.2 Paxton 3.6 Murphy 3.2 Hosmer 2.9 Seabold 2.6 Bonaci or Wink 1.1 Downs

One trade candidate hardly anyone is mentioning is Houck. Maybe his injury makes him an unlikely target, but including him in a trade would help us avoid giving a top 3 prospect. BTV accepted this (I would not do it): Rafaela, Houck, Romero, Yorke and Walter for Reynolds BTV accepted this one: Rafaela & Walter for Keller (I threw in Duran to sweeten the pot)

Sadly, I agree. The close way TCU lost might help them, but 'Bama is a bigger draw and a money-maker.