moonslav59

I think we have to "ignore" the starting AND Relief pitching. I do see the value in going for one more ring within this window, but I think trying to win in 2020 would mean signing someone good (or 2-3 good FAs), and you don't get "good" with 1 year deals, so trying to win in 2020 would further complicate the budget going beyond 2020 and making it nearly impossible to have a quick rebuild period. Then, there's the losing Betts part.

One could argue $22M is not really "elite," but I guess that depends on what you think "elite" means.

Lin is better defensively, and I guess he can play OF, too, but I'm clinging to the hope Marco can hit over .720- something Lin will likely not do.

Me too. I'm on record for wanting to offer Betts 10 years at $30M. If we don't get him, we may sign 2-3 mid tier players and maybe do well.

LOL. I'm still hanging onto my thin thread of hope for the guy.

All I can say is "WOW!"

This will be the game we win, then.

...and ERod did not pitch "extra innings" in the 2018 post season, so he didn't need any ST'ing rest.

True enough. The amazing thing is how different they all are from each other.

Well, we might have a season to burn and find out. My guess is, he wouldn't play 600 anyways as Chavis will play more 2B to make room for a kid or two at 1B.

Just look at the better Yankee pen last year vs this year and the Pythag changes, and the point is refuted.

My opinions: 1) As much as I love JBJ, I'd trade or non tender him- possibly bring him back at a lower than arb cost, if possible, if we trade Betts. 2) It makes sense to trade Betts, if we know we can't or won't sign him. 3) I want to keep Betts, and I wouldn't have signed Eovaldi or Sale, if I knew it meant losing Betts. I'd rather have Betts than Bogey, but Betts at $33M vs Bogey at $20M makes the choice different. I'd try to keep Betts, but $30-35M can get 2-3 very nice free agents, and the risk is spread out.

I'm still proud to be a Sox fan. I like the idea of winning a ring every 3-5 years.

The other things is that most other offenses improved while ours kinda stayed the same. Bogey, Devers and Vaz made up for drop-offs from JD & Betts.

I totally agree, but I did hope that after so many October IP'd, the extra rest might help them be fresher for the end of this season. Oh, well. They can get plenty of rest, now!

How does that 9-5 compare to last year. And, BTW, those extra inning wins usually were supported by excellent pen work, sometimes for over 7 innings.

The funniest part is that when he's serious, he's funnier.

Hmmm.... So, 3-51 vs 12-43 is a 9 game swing. That's more than the blown save swing (27 to 20).

It's all about the question of the reset. Even if we lose JBJ's contract, we'll have just a tiny bit of wiggle room that is usually the amount put in reserve for mid season pick-ups. That would mean we sign no one at all. This is what that JBJ-less 2020 team might look like: SP: Sale, Price, ERod, Eovaldi + one from DHern, Johnson, Velazquez, Houck RP: Workman, Barnes, Taylor, Walden, Hembree?, Brewer?, Brasier?, Lakins? (SP>RP?) C: Vaz + Leon (if he takes big pay cut) or Centeno 1B: Chavis/Travis/Dalbec/Ockimey 2B: Marco/Chavis/Lin/Chatham 3B: Devers SS: Bogey LF: Travis/JD CF: Beni RF: Betts DH: JD/Ockimey Besides the obvious holes in the pitching staff, a defensive CF'er might be the highest priority with the little funds we'll have.

In theory, the extra rest should have made them better after April.

We're still waiting on the evidence.

Yes. It's those damn spread sheets that are killing the game. Do you even listen to yourself? There's an old wive's tale. If you find yourself agreeing with Dan, it's time to re-examine your whole foundation of thinking.

Several times. Great flicks. Love Umma.

He won't extend unless he feels like the offer is better than he'll get after next season. He may think he'll have a monster 2020 season and make more than $35M/yr x 9+ years.

And the bullpen could bring back Barnes, Workman, Walden, Brewer, Hernandez, Taylor, and Johnson. If they add a reliever, one of these pitchers is expendable. We used 24 pitchers, this year. We could sign 3 decent RP'er and I'd still keep at least 7-9 of the ones we have already, not necessarily Johnson. If everyone in our pen was knocked down a notch or two, they'd be pretty good in their lesser roles. Workman and Barnes as 8th inning men. Taylor and Walden as 7th inning men. DHern and fill-in-the-blank as long men or 5th or 6th inning men. I agree, we aren't trading Price, Sale or Eovaldi, especially when their stock is low. I'm not saying their stocks will all rise, but we won't et anything of value for them, except maybe some salary relief. We'll be better off, assuming a reset, to lose JBJ's contract and only sign a couple bit pieces to fill out the roster and keep us under $208. Play some kids and see what they got. Maybe we find a keeper(s) or trade piece(s) for the future. 1B: Chavis, Travis, Dalbec, Ockimey (Maybe give Ockimey some fill-in time at DH.) 2B: Chavis, Marco, Lin, Chatham OF: Travis, Lin, Duran P: DHern, Houck, Reyes, Shawaryn, Velazquez/Johnson (not really kids), Brewer, Lakins, Poyner and maybe late season Feltman, Ward or Mata.