moonslav59

Probably some truth to this, but for me personally, I loved the AGon trade and extension and claimed he'd "hit 50 HRs for us." I hated the CC signing from before it even happened. One of the good things about the AGon trade was that he allowed us to dump CC & Beckett.

I know hometown discounts are largely a dream of fans who care about the budget, but I'm wondering how much this magical season will play in the minds of Eovaldi, Pearce and maybe others. The way the team treated Eovaldi after the extra inning loss was pretty unforgettable. The bonds this team had with each other might play into some of the choices our free agents will make. I just read the SI article on our World Series win. Here are some notable quotes and paraphrasing I found: Cora has 119 fotos on his office wall- one for each win we had this year. Brock Holt agrees with me, when he said, "Now we deserve to be known as the greatest Red Sox team of all time, and if you want to put us with some of the best overall, we'll take that. This team is special." After the 18 inning loss, Price was the first to meet Eovaldi near the dugout,but the entire team was there. Price hugged him hard and patted his chest and back. Cora was next. It seemed like "he was the one who hit the walk off homer!" The article says, "Price never left [Eovaldi's] side. He joined him in the training room...He sat next to him on the bus back to the ...hotel. The next day, he even took adjoining soaks with Eovaldi in the hot and cold tubs." "Nobody has ever done anything like that for me," Eovaldi says. "He's a great teammate." Although Cora apparently "abhors" team meeting, he called one right after the 18 inning loss vs the Dodgers. Holt said of the meeting, that it was a "big reason why we won the next two games...the whole group played for each other and would do anything to help the team." Cora said to the team, "Listen up! We just played one of the greatest games in World Series history. Red Sox. Dodger. Dodger Stadium. World Series. And, the way you competed is something all of us should be proud of. This is a great team. This is a great game, and you guyss proved it tonight. And Nathan..." Cora went on to praise Eovalid, and when he was done, the whole clubhouse erupted into a standing ovation. "There were tears," Holt says. Porcello was one of the ones crying.Then, "every Sox player, coach and staff member lined up to take turns hugging Eovaldi- not one of those quick good game bro hugs. I'm talking about a minute each," Porcello says. "What Nathan did was the epitome of what our team is about...We just lost a World Series game in 18 innings, but after that [meeting], it didn't feel like a loss, It felt like we won." "A short while later, as Cora unwound [in his office], he looked up to see a line outside his office. There stood Price, Porcello and Sale...They told him they were all ready to pitch the next game." At 8:30 the next morning, Eovaldi told Cora, "I'm good to go tonight." Porcello said after the game that during the last week of the regular season, Porcello, Moreland, Price and Kinsler, who had all been to the World Series before and lost, "made a vow over 3, 4, 5, 13 beers," Porcello says, "we'd do everything to win it all this year. I can't hold back the tears. I apologize. This is....beautiful!"" The article also mentions how DD thought Eovaldo could be our "Charlie Morton" in the playoffs, when we traded for him. It mentions how Cora did not think HRam would do well when not playing everyday, and that is why he suggested we cut him, when we added Pedey to the 25 man roster. "people said it was about money," said Cora, "but this it was a baseball move." The article mentions Cora's interview for the manager's job, and how management felt he "aced" the whole interview, except for the question on how he'd handle "reducing a star''s playing time. He dismissed the problem as "no problem at all." He would simply put the best team on the field. Apparently, upper management felt he was being naive. A team source later said, "Well, I guess he did ace the entire test." There's much more to the article, but it really left me feeling very warm inside about this team. They are the best I've ever seen, and again, I think Cora is the best Sox manager of all time.

LOL, just enjoying watching the Pats lose while still thinking of the Sox.

A brief look at our Bull Pen: Free Agents (or DFA'd) this winter: 142.1 IP total 62.1 Kimbrel 0.995 WHIP) 65.2 Kelly (1.355) 14.1 Smith (1.395) 61.2 Barnes (1.265) Can he be a closer? He was a very respectable set-up man this year. We may not want to mess that up. 33.2 Brasier (0.772) Maybe has the better profile to close but has so little ML experience, one wonders. I can't see us letting just Brasier and Barnes fight it out for thenex closer slot. 60.0 Hembree (1.333) This could be the year, he is given a more prominent role. He needs to prove he can do it. 41.1 Workman (1.210) I've always been a big Workman fan, but I feel like 2019 might be his last chance to show he can win and keep a key role in the pen. 22.1 Poyner (1.119) Showed some promise this year, but the sample size is rather small. 24.0 Thornburg (1.583) This guy was supposed to be a key pen force. The injury really messed that up, but maybe he can shine in his contract year. 6.2 R Scott (2.250) Maybe he can have a big bounce back season. He was pretty decent and consistent before 2018. 14.2 Walden (1.159) Kind of an unknown. Lakins and Feltman both may give us some help from the farm. Long Relief/Spot Start (numbers in relief only) 29.2 Wright(1.213) If we don't re-sign Eovaldi or another starter, one of these guys will fill a starting rotation role. My guess is Wright, if healthy, is top of the depth charts. 38.2 Johnson (1.397) Showed some promise this year and could step it up next year. 54.2 Velazquez (1.372) He looked real good at times, and maybe some hidden injury kept him on the bench for some stretches this year. I'm hopeful he can get near 90-100 IP this year. I seriously doubt we don't add an arm or two to the pen, but if not, her might be how we make up for the 142 IP Kimbrel, Kelly & Smith gave us. +30 Brasier (34>64) +20 Poyner (22.1>42.1) +20 Thornburg (24>44) +10 Workman (41>51) +40 R Scott (6.2>46.2) +20 Walden (14.2>34.2)

Sox By Age (Notice how few are past prime or significantly past prime) (Age on opening day 2019) Top 15 Players 35 Pedey (may not even play again) 34 Wright (at least most injuries are not arm-related) 33 Price (mechanics adjustment might add years to career) 33 Moreland (injuries seem to be taking their toll) 32 Nunez (hopefully gets his knee fixed) 31 Brasier (could have a major role next year) 31 B Holt (maybe has gotten his durably issues solved) 31 Martinez (second most games & PAs of his career in 2018) 30 Porcello (2019 last contract year) 30 C Sale (turns 30 just before season starts) 30 Velazquez (maybe his time to seriously increase his IP) 30 Hembree (has been very healthy) 30 Workman (needs to prove he belongs) 30 Thornburg (last contract year) 30 Leon (seems older) 30 Walden (maybe a wild card for 2019) 29 Barnes (may be given a chance to win closer role) 29 R Scott (was very promising before last year) 28 JBJ (came into his won with a very consistent last 4+ months) 27 Vazquez (may be our FT catcher next year) 27 Johnson (may be counted on for bigger role in '19) 27 A Maddox (showed promise in 2017- out injured 2018) 27 Cuevas (could be a bubble 40 man roster player) 26 Betts (amazing he's still so young) 26 Bogaerts (just really entering prime!) 26 Poyner (may fill a key role next year) 26 Swihart (trade bait) 26 Marco Hernandez (could be his last chance) 26 Shepherd (may be a trade or DFA candidate) 25 ERod (turns 26 in April) 25 S Travis (could be traded or DFA'd) 25 Lin (key utility AAA depth) 24 Benintendi (scary still pre-prime) 22 Devers (still a baby)

But, the "gamble" was there before the Series MVP.

Just think, if we sign Harper, the JBJ trade thread will spring back to life! Please, God, NO!

How long does it take to recover from a hernia operation? BTW, I'm home now. Feeling good.

Pearce seems better, but he's on the wrong side a platoon. I'm not sure his nice splits vs RHPs with the Sox is an indication that, at age 35, he finally figured out how to hit righties. I still think $15M/2 might be as high as anyone might go. Maybe $20M/3?

He's not trading any big name this winter. I'm skeptical about next winter, too, but we may trade one big name then and try to keep a young core to go forward with and rebuild around. I doubt we ever blow everything up.

If JD can play 1B, we probably won't sign Pearce, but there still remains a gap. At NL parks, it's easy: JD plays 1B, but if JD plays 1B in AL parks vs LHPs, who DH's? We still need a bat better than Swihart, Nunez, Holt or Devers (if Nunez is at 3B some). Maybe we wait to see if Pedey could DH and play a little 2B, before we make the choice to acquire someone or re-sign Pearce.

I'm just not so sure a lifetime platoon player's value is going to sky rocket based on one post season. I may be proven wrong, but MLBTR's did not even list Pearce as a top 30 FA. Now, I think he is, but I'm thinking he might get $15M/2 max, and we can afford that, especially, if we trade Moreland.

Hr may choose a winner and not the O's and Yanks.

Then, sign Pearce, make him FT and trade or bench Moreland.

I don't think GMs fall for small sample size heroics like fans do.

Plus, Theo apparently had 2 forced on him- Lackey & CC.

Depends on your definition of "ace". I lean more towards the view that the top 30 starters are "aces" with some wiggle room, of course. From 2014-2015, Gray placed here in starter numbers: T23rd in fWAR at 6.9 13th in ERA- at 77 16th in WHIP at 1.14 To me,those are clearly ace numbers and the sample size was over 425 IP. Even his 2013-2017 numbers are close to top 30 numbers... 33rd in SP'er WAR (11.8) 34th in ERA-at 87 35th in WHIP 1.21 His injuries really kept these numbers down. https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=sta&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2015&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

If you looked at Crawford's splits with the Rays, as I did at the time of the signing, you'd see he was only a FT player for a team like the Rays but not the Sox. Yes, his defense fell off a cliff, but that was the least of his issues after the signing. I called Crawford "nothing more than a glorified platoon player ...who would drag us down for years to come." I'm not trying to make any superiority claim here, we all know I've been wrong enough to dispel that, but to me, Crawford & Pablo both showed major warning signs.

Stick legs and big gut are displayed in fotos. Yes, thinner in his early years, but always a ponch. https://www.google.com/search?biw=1242&bih=597&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=wAXnW_zWMY3ezwK9joOABQ&q=babe+ruth+red+sox&oq=babe+ruth+red&gs_l=img.1.0.0l6j0i8i30l2j0i24l2.32559.33993..35279...0.0..0.152.443.1j3......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i67.BxFEJlk9g_Y#imgrc=C8G0k2W1IrP5VM:

I think he pushed this... Hey, Theo, we have the money, we want to keep fans interested, keep us good through your so-called "bridge year(s) by signing someone big. Maybe, Theo got to choose who the big signing was, but he was pushed into doing something big for the fans and the marketing. Not sure, if that applied to Ben & Pablo/

I only said to assume we don't sign Pearce for argument's sake and to point out that even if we don't sign any everyday players, I still would rather trade Swihart. Swi is not the answer to our platoon 1B issue. Yes, I think Pearce will be on DD's radar. I hope we find a way to keep him.

Nobody ever asked Papi to lose weight. You don't mess with greatness. Granted, Devers plays 3B not DH and occasional 1B, so losing weight makes sense for defensive purposes, but it does make me wonder about it possibly (maybe if only slightly) with his swing and offense. I recall, the photos of the mighty Babe showed him to be on the heavy side as well. Would he have hit better as a skinny guy?

While not pure evidence I think this article speaks the truth. https://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/06/15/roche-red-sox-jumped-the-shark-with-lackey-crawford-signings/ Here's a quote from a link provided in the article. While he wouldn’t comment too specifically on Lackey, he did admit that he regretted feeling pressured to make a move when the move he hoped for didn’t work out. “Some of the offseasons that we had were more offseasons of convenience — giving in to the need to be good next year,” Epstein explained, while bringing up the infamous “bridge year” talk from a few years back. Theo seemed like he was fine with having "bridge years," (or maybe "mini-cliffs"- my words), but Lucchino didn't want lost marketing opportunities, and so seemingly pushed for big splash signings. Lackey, Crawford, Pablo... I recall he was also given much of the credit for the Schilling trade, too.

Assuming we carry 13 everyday players, and don't sign anyone to play 1B. Are we really okay with Moreland's platoon or back up being Swihart or Holt? Unless we get JD on board with the idea of playing 1B, and he shows he can do it, I doubt Swihart makes the roster next year. Vaz Leon Moreland Nunez Holt Devers Bogey Beni JBJ Betts JD 2 slots for... Pedey or Lin/Quiroz/Hernandez Swihart (or Butler) Chavis/Ockimey/Dalbec My guess is we sign or trade for a 1Bman, which squeezes Swihart out of a job.

They might keep 3 catchers again, but if Pedey returns and we sign Pearce. I just don't see Swihart as our 1Bman vs LHPs.