moonslav59

Highest % Vote in History: 100 Mo 99.7 Jete 99.3 Griffey 98.8 Seaver 98.8 Ryan 98.5 Ripken 98.2 Cobb 98.2 Brett 97.8 Aaron 97.6 Gwynn 97.3 Randy Johnson 97.2 G Maddux 97.2 C Jones 96.5 Schmidt 96.4 Bench 95.6 Carlton 95.1 Ruth 95.1 Wagner 94.8 R Henderson 94.7 Mays 94.6 Yaz 94.0 Appling 93.8 Feller 93.6 R Jackson 93.4 Williams 93.2 Musial 92.9 Guerrero 92.7 Clemente 92.6 Palmer 92.0 B Robinson 91.9 Glavine 91.9 Boggs 91.7 O Smith 91.1 Pedro 90.7 Mathewson 90.5 Carew 90.0 R Alomar

Jete misses by one. Walker 76.6% on 10th ballot. Schill gets 70% on 8th ballot. Close call on future votes. Clemens 61% on 8th. My guess is he gets in on the 10th. Bonds 61% on 8th. Same as Roger. Vizquel 53% on 3rd. I doubt he makes it. Next year, these guys will be on the ballot: Mark Buehrle Tim Hudson Torii Hunter (None are better than Clemens, Bonds & Schill.)

At this point, I honestly don't even care to hear what the setback is. Pedey is toast. Thanks for the laser memories.

It's not happening, but I'll bite. If we are 10 over in July, some players stock will have risen. I'd still have a fire sale. There's no way I'd trade prospects to try and improve our chances. It's time to let go. It's not worth betting the future on 25 to 1 odds or worse. We need to start yesterday on improving our long term plan. We've already wasted time going nowhere. If we wanted to win in 2020, we could have done something about it. We didn't. There's nothing left in the cupboards to raid. Clinging to super long odds on a 2020 miracle is going to hamper and prolong our rise back to the top.

Of the 9 players Bloom acquired, 6 are pitchers. Plawecki, Peraza & Auraz are non pitchers. Perez is a SP'er- the other 5 RP'ers. Of the 5 in-system additions, 2 are pitchers: Hart is projected as a SP'er in AAA and Aybar is projected to start in single A, so we won't be seeing him in 2020.

Last year, I believe we went the whole year with 13 pitchers. I don't recall that ever happening before. (Can anybody check that?) With the 26th man added this year, I'm thinking it might be a stretch to think we go with 14 pitchers for any extended period of time. Here is our pitching depth chart as I see it, assuming everyone is healthy: Rotation (5): Sale, ERod, Price, Eovaldi, Perez Long Relievers (2): D Hernandez & Velazquez Relievers (6): Workman, Barnes, Taylor, Walden, Hembree, Brasier Others on 40 man roster (10): Brice, Weber, Hart, Shawaryn, Brewer, Osich, Mazza, Springs, M Hall, D Reyes Others NOT on 40 man roster who may conribute in 2020 (9): B Johnson, B Poyner, T Houck, D McGrath, B Mata, T Ward, J Diaz, D Feltman, E Bazardo Am I forgetting someone?

So Jete won't be unanimous. Walker deserves in.

Here are the players added to the 40 man roster by Bloom: (Red = 9 acquired by Bloom) Josh Osich Bobby Dalbec CJ Chatham Marcus Wilson Yoan Aybar Kyle Hart Jonathan Arauz Jose Peraza Martin Perez Chris Mazza Kevin Plawecki Austin Brice Jeffery Springs Matt Hall

MLBTR reports... Red Sox Trade Travis Lakins To Cubs, Outright Bobby Poyner By Steve Adams | January 21, 2020 at 2:35pm CDT The Red Sox traded right-hander Travis Lakins to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, both teams announced Tuesday afternoon. The Sox added that left-hander Bobby Poyner went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Both teams now have full 40-man rosters. Lakins, 25, was designated for assignment last week. Although he’d consistently ranked in the No. 15-25 range of a thin Boston farm system, the Ohio State product has yet to put together a particularly strong showing in the Majors or in the upper minors. Lakins made his big league debut this past season, yielding a 3.86 ERA with a lackluster 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings for Boston. His work in Triple-A has been rather similar, as he’s compiled a 3.82 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and slightly below-average grounder rates in parts of two seasons there. Scouting reports on Lakins praise his curveball as a potential above-average offering, and he did average 93.8 mph on his heater in his brief MLB work. Clearly, the new Chaim Bloom-led front office isn’t enthralled with the right-hander, but the Cubs and their ongoing quest to stockpile ’pen depth without actually adding to the payroll in a meaningful way saw enough upside to take a flier. Poyner, meanwhile, limped to a 6.94 ERA in just 11 2/3 innings last year. He posted solid numbers for the BoSox in his debut campaign (2018) and has averaged nearly 10 punchouts per nine innings pitched over the life of his minor league career. Having gone unclaimed, Poyner will remain in the organization without requiring a 40-man roster spot, so the Sox could take another look at him down the line in 2020.

I'm fine with people clinging to 2020 hopes, but I take issue with anyone who thinks keeping everyone doesn't affect 2021 and beyond. I'm not saying our opinions matter to the team and how well or poorly they do, but the win here and now philosophy is what got us into this scrape, and it seems like some are finding it hard to let go of that mentality. To me, doing that as the GM will severely impact our longer term hopes. Doing that as a fan comes natural to many and has no affect on the team's present or future.... nor does hoping we start the rebuild now.

That's your choice, but I'm not going to pretend it won't affect 2021 and beyond, if we keep everyone for the long odds of 2020.

On top of all this, all the good AL teams, except the Astros improved over the winter (on paper). I get how being a fan means believing in your team, but how about believing in 2021 and beyond? This all our eggs into a sketchy 2020 season seems absurd, to me.

Gobble dee goop. We sucked last year after losing Kimbrel, Kelly, Pom, Nunez and more. We just lost Porcello, Moreland, Pearce and more. We gained Perez and Peraza. Call it whatever you want, but there are great odds against us having even a decent season, let alone a strong one. Clinging to a faint hope will only make 2021 and beyond worse. Time to cut our loses and look beyond 2020. I'm trying to be optimistic by hoping 2021 might bring high hopes (maybe 2022), but if we shoot high for 2020, I'm thinking 2023 might end up being our best hope.

There can be no "crank." All the best FAs are gone. We've already lost more than we've gained, so far this winter, and the starting point was a team that missed the playoffs and has numerous health issues that don't appear to be imrpoving. I'm not sure we'll end up with penalties, and we shouldn't plan on it, but even if we do get some- all the more reason to get some young talent any way possible.

I'm all for that, but you rarely find "young" in free agency. I'd be fine, if we spent the money for Betts on quality arms, and I trust Bloom to know who those are. No more Price & Eovaldi blunders.

Wrong, the reset greatly alters the product going forward (not for the good in 2020). Regardless of what the penalties are, we'll be better off, going forward, with 2 prospects and a reset budget. It's funny how you've been bashing the Sox for months and now say they have the talent to make the playoffs. Which is it?

If the Dodgers get Betts, they will have a better chance to win than us. They have a better chance even without him. "Way worse" than bad is not all that bad. Trading Betts and Price would set us up nicely for 2021 and beyond, both in terms of the added prospect(s) and the budget spade created. Then, sign Betts or a bunch of other FAs this coming winter.

Not doing much to get better after breaking the record for team wins is one thing. Not doing much to even keep a losing team intact is another. It's obvious we are not trying to get better in 2020, and not better than 2019 is pretty bad.

Ticket sales & NESN subscriptions, maybe.

Bonds & Clemens will make it on their last ballot chance. Schill may never make it, but maybe his last ballot will be his best shot. Looks like Walker and Jete go this year.

Bye bye Pedey.... Dustin Pedroia Suffers “Significant Setback” By Jeff Todd | January 21, 2020 at 9:27am CDT It’s unpleasant to read about even if it isn’t entirely surprising: veteran Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has suffered a “significant setback” in his efforts to return to the field of play, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Details are scarce as yet, but it seems that Pedroia’s oft-repaired left knee is again to blame. According to Abraham, Pedroia is now considered “questionable” at best to participate in Spring Training. That seems like a mild summation if indeed there’s a truly significant new problem with Pedroia’s long-problematic joint. He’s said to be weighing his future at the moment.

I seriously doubt Cora is innocent, in fact I'm certain he was part of the Houston cheating scheme. It doesn't matter if he was or was not the "ringleader." He was part of the cheating and should be no part of the 2020 Sox. The press conference doesn't matter, to me. It was for the casual fan. They may be exaggerating Cora's role in the cheating, but he was certainly a part of it in a coaching capacity. He cheated as a coach, and he cannot manage us in 2020. I'm not seeing any reason to debate this. It's a slam dunk decision with NO qualifiers. No 'what ifs?" We are not going to find out that Cora was thrown under the bus and was totally innocent. That's a pipe dream.

Teams often give up a lot for a just two month rentals of great players. Of course, they will give up a lot for 6+ months, but the team must be in "win it all now" mode. That's just a limited amount of teams, so Bloom does not have a lot of options. If we can't reset by trading some combination of JBJ, Eovaldi & Price, or the cash wanted with them is too high to be worth it, then trading Betts makes a ton of sense, especially, if we can unload Price or Eovaldi with him. This has nothing to do with not wanting Betts. I want him as much or more than just about anyone on this site. Trade him and then re-sign him, if the offer is not too outlandish. (Notice the word "too." I'm all for offering him more than what seems fair.) We cannot afford to get nothing back for Betts. Our farm is too weak for that. Our team is a mess right now. Sure, we could put it all together for one last hurrah, but the chances are so low, that I'm for looking to shorten the cliff to just 2019-2020 and go for broke in 2021 or maybe 2022. The Sox are NOT the team with the "best chance to win with Mookie in 2020." It's not even close. Clinging to hopes for 2020 will damage our chances for several years afterwards.

I have always been against signing Puig, but in this context, and in the interest of selling tickets and appearing competitive, I'm okay with this plan. We still need to dump Eovaldi or Price to reset.

Agreed, and that's why he should NOT have said what he said. Regardless, he ain't spending, this year.