moonslav59

I agree. I was not being critical. We needed a SP'er: Eovaldi was the wrong guess. (I liked the signing.) We needed help at 1B, because Moreland always gets hurt and sucks vs LHPs. (I didn't think Chavis was an option. I wasn't high on the Pearce signing, but it did fill a need.) In hindsight, had we signed Morton and Ottavino instead of Eovaldi & Pearce, it would have cost about the same in 2019 and overall. Again, it was a guess. I did not want Morton, so I can't bash DD for not signing him. I did like Ottavino alot, but I also liked Cody Allen, so again, I can't bash DD for these choices, except in hindsight. We'd probably be the WC lead with Morton and Ottavino. We might be 3-4 games closer with just Ottavino instead of Pearce (and a non tendered Thornburg).

The point was about liking it at the time. It worked. We won a ring, largely because of JD. Now, it may not look all that great, but I'd do it again for 1 ring.

I was at the time, and I thought he'd be playing OF more than he did, or he'd be tried at 1B.

Was he wrong for not knowing Chavis could play well enough to cover for a likely injury to Moreland?

Yes and Yes!

Plus, cost per season was about 33% of Eo's.

I agree, but if you add his $6.25M to what we had under the tax line, we'd be close to what Ottavino got.

Good one. I'm still watching every pitch of every game and always root for every player to do well and for us to win.

I hope to God you are right. It's not like I've never been wrong. When you're opinionated as I am and voice those opinions freely and often, it's easy to be wrong many times.

He never said he "was the reason," but the answer to your statement rang truer than your statement.

Yes, he was, for him, amazingly consistent from Mid May to season's end. Then, he was hot for the playoffs.

My bad. He did make $1.25 to 6.5 for 4 years. $12.5-13.25 for 5 years. $14-15 for 3 years. $16M for 2 years. If you figure for inflation, he still was paid significantly less than JD just about every year.

Had we signed Morton & Ottavino, instead of Eovaldi and Pearce, we're still in this thing. It's hit or miss, so I don't blame DD for guessing wrong. As it turned out, we needed a SP'er and 1Bman, but who knew Chavis would do better than Pearce and play more than Moreland?

7th out of 15 is nothing to write home about. It also shows just how bad 8 other teams must be.

Lmao!

First, try to trade him. If there are no takers, then non tender and maybe he signs for less.

We only paid Papi half that.

Agreed. Selling low makes little sense. If he is pitching well next year, and we are resetting, then maybe trade him at the deadline.

Ooops, sorry. I thought this was the Realistic thread.

Nope.

MLBTR writes... By Connor Byrne Considering his age, contract status and performance, there is no question that Boston’s Rafael Devers is on the short list of most valuable third basemen in the game. That Devers has reached this point isn’t something which would’ve shocked many observers back when the Red Sox promoted the then-touted prospect to the majors in July 2017. However, his production was closer to average than excellent over his first season-plus in the majors. That’s not a knock on Devers, who was – and still is – incredibly young for the level. This season, though, the 22-year-old has overcome his age to perform like one of the absolute best players in baseball. Devers went off on the Orioles on Sunday, collecting four hits in five trips to the plate, including a home run and a pair of doubles. Just a few days earlier, he victimized Cleveland for six hits in as many attempts, notching a ridiculous four doubles. The left-hander now owns a .332/.380/.596 line with 27 home runs across 546 PA this season. We seldom cite RBI here at MLBTR, but the fact that Devers has piled up 101 is mighty impressive, too. Among all position players, Devers ranks fifth in fWAR (5.5) – tied with multiple players, including Astros third base superstar Alex Bregman – and ninth in wRC+ (147). That’s the output of an elite player, not to mention a far cry from the 1.0 fWAR and 90 wRC+ Devers recorded over 490 trips to the plate just a year ago. How did Devers go from there to here in such a short period of time? It starts with his strikeout rate. After fanning in roughly 24 percent of plate appearances in each of his first two campaigns, Devers has slashed the number to 16.1 this year. He’s only walking in the 7 percent range, which was the case from 2017-18, but drawing free passes at a below-average rate stings a lot less when you seldom strike out. Devers’ downtick in K’s has come in spite of a more aggressive approach, believe it or not, as he has swung at a higher number of pitchers in general while making far more contact outside the zone. He put the bat on the ball in the neighborhood of 63 percent between 2017-18, but he’s all the way up to 70.9 in ’19. Furthermore, Devers has held his own against every pitch hurlers have thrown at him, evidenced by his production versus fastballs (.422 weighted on-base average/.405 expected wOBA), breaking balls (.357/.302) and offspeed offerings (.437/.411). Devers’ success against offspeed pitches has helped him get past his woes against lefties, who held him to a ghastly 63 wRC+ a year ago. He’s up to a much more respectable 109 in that department versus southpaws this season. Meanwhile, after sitting in the low .190s in previous years, Devers’ ISO (.264) has gone through the roof this season. Considering pitchers can’t seem to get anything past him anymore, that’s no surprise. While Devers has hit fewer fly balls this season, he has also amassed fewer grounders at the expense of more line drives. That’s a recipe for success, especially when you rank 17th in baseball in average exit velocity on liners and flies (96.9 mph). Similarly, Devers sits 18th in percentage of balls hit at 95 mph-plus (49.2). As you’d expect, then, he’s a Statcast darling overall, also ranking near the pinnacle of the sport in expected weighted on-base average (89th), expected slugging percentage (92nd), expected batting average (96th), hard-hit rate (96th). The “weakest” figure of the bunch is Devers’ xwOBA, but his .376 (compared to a .405 real wOBA) is still fantastic and a 71-point increase over last year’s .305. To be sure, a likely unsustainable .359 batting average on balls in play has nudged Devers’ numbers upward this year. But a high BABIP isn’t anything new for Devers – who, aside from last year, has regularly logged marks well over .300 since his professional career began in 2014. Even if Devers’ BABIP does drop going forward, the Red Sox should still have one of the most coveted players in baseball on their hands. In a season that hasn’t gone the defending champions’ way, Devers has clearly been a bright light, and with one more pre-arbitration campaign remaining and four more years of team control left, he could be a Boston standout for a while longer.

Yes, and they use it to add to the "WTF" Cora bashing. To me, I'm just talking about maybe 1-2 games for 2-3 players. It's not a biggie for me. I also have admitted I do not know everything Cora knows, and maybe if I had all the data and input he has, I might be arguing for more rest.

+1 But, I called for him and Price being shut down before they went on the IL.

His 2018 K Rate was his career high (9.8). It dipped a little with the Yanks (8.9). but that is a full K above his career 7.9 mark. Sorry, I hate the Yanks, too, but I won't misrepresent the facts. Look, I expected decline and argues with Jacko over his value, but his numbers were pretty darn good last year- almost all better than his career norm. Yes, some slipped from 2015-2017 numbers, but others were his career best: WHIP, K/9, K/BB...

Okay. I will withdraw his name as even a remote possibility.