moonslav59

I hope so. GO ROBO UMPS!

If we went by selected sample sizes, we'd have dumped JBJ long ago.

I don't disagree, and I'm usually very bid on defense "up the middle," but our defense sucks. It would help having Arroyo over Chavis, but I still think Chavis brings more total value- same way Bogey does at SS, depsite his less than average defense at SS. Maybe I'm blinded by the HR power by Chavis: 31 HRs in 471 AB in 2017 (37 2B+3B) 9 HRs in 171 ABs in 2018 (14 2B+3B) 7 HRs in 70 ABs in 2019 AAA 18 HRs in 347 ABs in 2019 MLB (11 2B+3B) That's 65 HRs in 1059 ABs prior to 2020. OPS: .910 in 2017 .919 in 2018 .766 in 2019 (.943 in AAA)

SP: Odorizzi SP: Kluber RP: Hand 2B/OF: E Hernandez 4thOF: Marisnik Trade Beni for RP Lopez

Neither has a big enough sample size to use WAR. Arroyo is a better fielder. To me, Chavis has a much better bat, despite the K's (hole in his swing). It's a close call, to me. Arroyo over Chavis- fine. We'll probably have a better choice by opening day, anyway.

This is like the union steward joining management during a labor dispute.

They can but haven't been, yet. I don't see us getting another ace this winter, so until we do, I'm thinking we can't win it all without Sale being healthy and near top form. Ask me, later, after we've made half a dozen meaningful moves.

I'm not into the L-R-L thing as much as some, but if all things are close to even, then yes. I'm also not big on using someone's slot history as a big determining factor. Beni is a singles hitter. I like our best hitter up #2. Your line-up was fine. I'm not a big Chavis fan, but to me, he's better than Arroyo- overall.

Yes, but they had Betts, Price, Moreland, Kimbrel... Unless we make some radical additions, we need Sale more than we did in 2018. (BTW, Sale helped "set the tone" for greatness in 2018.)

Unless we make some radical additions, I can't see us winning in the next few years without a healthy Sale. I trust Sox brass knowing that.

Makes sense, assuming we acquire 2 OF'ers after the deal is made.

I think the plan is to try and improve for 2021 with an eye towards 2022 and beyond. These two priorities need not be conflicting in many decisions. Hopefully, we get good enough to make a run at the playoffs. If it looks like we might be in the hunt, we may be buyers at the deadline. If not, we may try and move all free agents to be- like Barnes & ERod amd maybe even some who may become FAs after 2022: Vaz, JD & Eovaldi.

The early metrics were not all that bad on Chavis, although the sample sizes were small and scattered. He had a 0.0 UZR/150 in 2019 and has a career -1 DRS at 2B. Nobody is saying he is great or even good, on defense, but he surprised me by not looking all that bad. Arroyo had 193 innings at 2B at the ML level and has a +2 DRS and career +7.7 UZR/150.

It's not a prediction. Someone asked what the lineup would be tomorrow. As of now, Beni is here.

We've given up on D. Hopefully, we add some top defenders, but as of now, only Verdugo looks like a sure plus.

None of this should make a difference: he should only start when good & ready.

Maybe we just need to reset our clocks and start thinking of Hot Stove as being January and February not December and early January.

Nothing too enlightening... Report: Red Sox preparing to make 'a series of moves'

Eovaldi Benintendi LF Verdugo CF Xander SS Devers 3B JD DH Dalbec 1B Renfroe RF Vazquez C Chavis 2B

He may not be the very next big signing.

You know he'll bust his butt trying to get back as soon and as strong as possible. I'm hoping he doesn't overdo it, himself and has a trainer who is keeping him from doing so. I doubt the Sox try and push him hard.

I'm hoping July, but we should not push him too hard, even if we happen to be in the playoff hunt.

I'm afraid Pederson will cost too much for a platoon. I'd rather just keep Beni. Find a cheaper platoon for Renfroe in LF, or count Renfroe as the 4th OF'er by adding 2 OF'er (Ozuna & Marisnik?).

I was actually thinking the exact same thing. I'm not a big fan of Ozuna, mostly because of his defense, and we already have a DH for the next 2 years (JD), but with Fenway's LF the way it is, a guy like Ozuna might fit best in Boston. He could also transition to DH after 2022, assuming he signs for 3+ years. If we trade Beni for a non LF'er, signing Ozuna or Rosario could end up being a nice upgrade of both the ML team and the farm or whatever position we get back for Beni.

Again, CERA had no value at all, when comparing Vaz to a catcher on another team. That is why no stat geek uses it. It has very limited and specific value, when you compare how specific pitchers do, one by one, with catcher A v catcher B on their own team. Of course, other factors come into play, like maybe Price faced a mighty line-up when Vaz caught him vs when Leon did, but that can be said about any stat. The other big criticism is sample sizes, and it is a valid concern. Since several pitchers have one catcher catch them most of the time or even nearly all the time, many sample sizes comps are widely skewed. Also, some catchers catch much better pitchers than the other, so looking at just team CERA each year is near useless. Only when used correctly, and who does the research, can CERA have any meaning. Who does the reseacrh? I do, and I did. Here is what I found, in general, and I have studied this since the days of Varitek and Posada. 1. In cases where both catchers caught the same pitcher during the same year AND over several years for similar sample sizes, Vaz got less with nearly every single pitcher. Only ERod did slightly better with Vaz (career 3.98 v 4.05. 2. In cases where one catcher had a significantly smaller sample size than the other, the trend still showed Vaz got worse or much worse from each pitcher. 3. In cases where bot catchers has small sample sizes, the same was true. Maybe, each case, one-by-one, may look too small or unbalanced to make a determination, but when you look at all the comps- big and small- together and over 90% all show each pitcher does better or way, way, way better with the back-up catcher, something must be wrong with Vaz. Despite having more time with Vaz, they did better with Leon. Having near equal time- they did better with Leon. Having more time with Leon- they did better with Leon. Just about every single pitcher with somewhat significant sample sizes or more with both catcher did better with Vaz's back-up.