moonslav59

Also, who will be the team leader in OPS? .942 JD .940 Bogey Can Vazquez reach .800? (He's at .796.) Can Betts reach 30 HRs? (He's at 29.) That would give us 4 guys over 30!

Probably a lot of chatter on the Cubs' blogs.

17 seasons from 2003-2019: 5 AL East Titles 5 Wild Card Entries 4 AL Championships 4 WS Championships (Only three 4th or 5th place ALE finishes)

PR might be part of the reasoning, but I think we make a legitimate offer to Betts, this winter, that is fair and generous. If he takes it, great. If he refuses, there will be no Lester-like debacle. To me, the main reason for making a solid winter offer is to know whether we should trade him or not. If he turns down what we think he's worth, it makes sense to trade him, even if maybe that offer would have turned out to be the highest, and we'd have gotten him anyway. Besides, nothing will stop us from offering the same deal after he becomes a FA. The Sox have a long history of accurately valuing their own players at the time the reach or near free agency, with the exception of Lester and maybe Lackey. I'd like to see us be a good team, next year, but I'd also be okay with hastening the return to glory by maybe trading away a piece or two to brighten our extended future. If we reset, I can't see us having a good chance at winning it all in 2020. I'm not saying we can't. We still have a solid core, and if health is on our side, we could look more like the 2018 Sox than the 2019 Sox, but my guess is, we wait until the deadline in 2020 to decide on trading JD and/or Betts and Workman. We may even look to trade players that will be FAs after 2021: ERod & Barnes, if we are already dismantling the team.

True, but Hembree is a non factor. He could pitch great or s***** his last 5-10 appearances of 2019, and it won't matter. If we need to non tender him to stay under, we'd do it with any late 2019 results.

Hembree's meager arb contract will not make or break the 2020 budget.

Highly speculative. H'es under contract next year. The Sox would have shut him down and put him under the knife, if they felt he needed it. I'm not saying you're wrong, but the guy is still pitching.

A while back, but here it is: FAs after .... 2019 Porcello, Moreland, Pearce, Holt, Cashner, Owings (JD?) 2020 Betts, JBJ, Workman, Wright, Leon, (JD?) 2021 ERod, Barnes, Hembree, Vaz (option for '22) 2022 Price Eovaldi JD (if he didn't before) Beni Pedroia Vaz Marco Sale & Bogey signed for 2023+ Last Arbs: Devers, Johnson, Brasier

3 AL titles.

I didn't mean 5-6 rings, but I do think, looking at our roster and budget, once could have expected at least 5 years of a highly competitive team.

When you spent like we did last year, and by the way, we had less injuries than most teams, you expect a better record than this. Sure, things can all go wrong at once, and maybe one bad year would be okay, if the future looked brighter, but it looks worse.

I said it then; I said it for years before our first ring; I'll say it in 2020 and 2021. By 2022, we better have brighter skies.

I think Henry expected a 5-6 year window not 3, and that's part of the reason he soured on DD. The culture thing just added to it.

Look, I already said I was fine with ruining the farm to get a ring. I have no beef with DD. He got us a ring. That does not mean I have to sugar coat the consequences. He destroyed the farm. It's been bottom 5 for 3 straight years. I never said I could have done better than DD, but I certainly have the right to say I think he went too far. We'll never know if we'd have won a ring or not without Pom, Thornburg, Kinsler, Kimbrel or others. That's what a site like this is all about- debating the what ifs. I've been saying all along I do not think Henry will keep spending 10-300% more than other teams, but it doesn't "please" me to hear him finally say the over-spending is going to be slowed or stopped. It's just reality. I'm glad we have an owner that was willing to do what it took to win us several rings. I wish he'd keep spending what it takes to keep us winning every year, but I don't think it's right to expect it, and part of me thinks we're being a little hypocritical for bashing the Yankees all those years for buying championships and then being more than fine with us outspending everyone else by tens of millions 2 years in a row, and then expecting that to continue, just because he's filthy rich and can afford to spend $500M on the team every year. I'm thrilled we won 4 rings in the last 2 decades. I went 3 decades with nothing. I often said, I'd be fine with 9 last places finishes for just one ring, and although my views changed after that first ring, I'm still fine with some down stretches, if it means we're working towards a long term plan of getting back to the top. (Plus, I don't think the cliff will be as bad as I once thought, but I'm fine with a couple to three years of no ring, as long as our future is looking brighter and brighter each year- that almost surely means our farm is getting better. I don't think DD was the guy to build up the farm. I don't think spending like maniacs for 2-3 more years would have been a great idea, either. The penalties incurred on the farm by maxing out year after year would have deepened the rebuilding process and lengthened the time needed to retool.

This isn't homerism. Why not answer my 3 questions? Plus, how are most GMs hired? By the team seeking who it wants or candidates going to the teams with openings? This whole story reeks of a untruths. I'd have said the same about the Yanks, Patriots and other winning teams I hate. People want to work for winners. Look, I'm not saying every soul in the world would want the Sox GM job, but there's no way what happened to Ben & DD is keeping anyone from being interested in the job.

MLBTR reports... Red Sox Planning Contract Extension Offer For Rafael Devers By Mark Polishuk | September 28, 2019 at 7:07pm CDT The Red Sox are preparing to offer Rafael Devers a long-term contract this winter, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. In general, most extensions aren’t discussed and/or completed until after the bulk of other offseason business has been completed, so more concrete news on this front might not surface until closer to Spring Training. It only makes sense that the Sox would look to gain some cost certainty over a player who has emerged as a huge force in 2019. Devers has hit .308/.359/.553 with 32 homers over 697 plate appearances, with a 131 wRC+ that ranks 13th among all qualified batters in baseball. There have been questions about Devers’ ability to stick as a third baseman, though he at least held his own defensively depending on the metric; he had a +3 UZR/150...

Yes, I'm speculating, but do you really think Ben's departure is making anyone hesitate to accept an invite to be interviewed for the Sox GM job? Do you really think DD's does? Do you really think anyone wants to avoid working for Henry and having a chance at glory? So far, all 3 GMs who worked for Henry have a ring and have the glory. Plus, the whole idea that execs go to the teams to ask for a job is probably a very rare happening. Teams seek out who they want, and I'd like to see one shred of evidence that someone the Sox asked about being interested said no.

Sources that may just be speculating.

The Dodger dump brought us a ring. This does sound too good to be true. Taking on Price's contract for just one year of Betts makes little sense. I guess, if they made us take Heywood in return to offset some of Price's deal, something might be worked out, but I just don't see it happening. Betts, Price, Marco and JBJ for Heywood and Russell?

Nobody interested in the job looks at the Cherrington departure as a reason for not thinking Boston is a good fit, so this whole 2 GMs in 6 years rant is bogus. Nobody interested in the job and knowing the Sox are looking to rebuild sees the DD departure as something to worry about anymore than they would entering any other GM position. The Sox job is one of the most coveted jobs in MLB, if not all of organized sports. Henry is one of the most respected owners in all of sports. There's a very nice core of players to work with. Sure, there are financial issues, health issues and a tough 2020 season coming up, but if you are a good GM, you'd love to be taking over this team. If the reset is a major priority for 2020, there is no pressure to win it all in 2020 and probably 2021 as well. We'll be able to pick who we want, and the choices will be from the best of the best that are available. Some may think Theo or other ex-Sox execs are the best, but maybe that's not who we want.

"Rushing back?" What's the evidence or proof? I thought teams reach out to those they want- not guys rush to an opening waiving their hands and yelling, "Can I have the job?" Who knows, if we even want any of these guys? I refuse to believe anyone who is not under contract would not be interested in working under the best owner in MLB.

I don't believe any of this Buster's rant.

No team assures 4-5 years. I do think there may be a little apprehension after watching a guy win 3 straight divisions and WS ring and get canned over one season, but I think most GM candidates can see there's more to it than that, and they would love to work under Henry and know they will have a budget larger than just about everyone after 2020.

I doubt anyone is "scared" of being the next Sox GM. Many would gladly swap their current position to be the Sox GM.

I always liked Dan D, but I'm sure he's the guy at this point in time.