moonslav59

It wasn't "soon." It was later. Our opening day budgets were... $184M in 2015 (Ben signed Pablito & HRam) $197M in 2016 (signed Price) & 2017 $233M in 2018 (signed JD) $236M in '19 but no Kimbrel and Kelly, but extended/re-signed Sale & Nate It was 2019, when the spending shifted and the choice was made that Betts was about to be traded. (They almost traded him in the summer of '19 under DD.)

I think MIN would have taken... Duran or Abreu 2 from Clarke, Sandlin or Mullins or Early, Sandlin or Mullins (maybe Clarke & Early- maybe Valera & Mullins/Sandlin) I would not give Tolle. I'm not sure about Mayer, but not Abreu & Mayer.

Our season has been like this, all along. As soon as you think we are looking really good, we hit a tailspin. As soon as you start doubting how good we really are, we go 7-1 on a road trip. I've said it before, the whole American League looks the same way. Many teams are barely above mediocrity, and nobody stands alone as the clear favorite. DET is just a handful of games or less ahead of 4 teams, including the Sox. They are 5-5 in their last 10 and 26-26 in their last 52. Their division shows their 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th place teams all have worse records than the ALE & ALW. They are very beatable. TOR was playing very well for a long time, but they too are 5-5 in their last 10. They are 15-16 in their last 31 games. They have 12 games remaining vs BOS, NYY, HOU & KCR & 3 vs .500 CIN. They can be beat, although they have had our number, this year. NYY was having a real hard time, but they match our 7-3 record over the last 10 games. They are 37-37 since early June. They have as many holes as we do and can be beat. So far, we have had their number. SEA looked like the improved their team at the deadline, but here are their last 4 months records: 13-14, 13-14, 14-12, 14-12. That screams of mediocrity. They are 5-11 in their last 16. Beatable. HOU is 20-26 in their last 46. Like us, they are getting injured players back, but they are beatable, too.

DHam has been hitting well, recently as well. He hits LHPs better than RHPs, and Romy is the opposite. I'm okay with the choice, as Cora knows more than we do. I'm hoping Lowe can keep it up. We need a boost from our rightside infield.

Keller has been a consistently decent pitcher for several years. Gio has looked better and worse over the last several years. Since Keller joined MLB in 2019, they both have similar IP numbers. fWAR: Gio 14.5> Keller 12.1 ERA-: Gio 94>Keller 106 xFIP: Gio 3.91>4.12 But if you take away 2019-2021 and go with 2022-2025, the positions flip: Keller is 11th in IP at 680, while Gio is 65th at 465. fWAR: Keller 10.0 (26th)> Giolito 4.2 (66th) ERA-: Keller 98> Giolito 109 xFIP: Keller 3.97> Giolito 4.15 2025 Keller 2.5 fWAR, 101 ERA-, 4.16 xFIP (0.9 bWAR) Giolito 1.6fWAR, 81 ERA- , 4.36 xFIP (1.6 bWAR)

Thanks for clarifying. I still disagree. I also think that even if we miss the playoffs, JH & Co would not fire Brez.

We need to take care of business, today. The Yanks are surging. SEA is playing well. TOR is trying their hardest to make the ALE a 3 way race. Our strength of schedule looks harder than others, but we seem to be beating the better teams more than the worse ones, recently. Starting today, we have a good chance at gaining on 1-2 teams. Next series: NYY @ HOU (both are WC competition) TOR @ CIN (a .500 team in div w MIL & CHC) SEA @ TBR (SEA is 3-0 v TBR, this year) CLE @ BOS (CLE is no pushover)

I think worries about Bregman's decline on offense have been rebutted, this year, but now injury concerns might be higher. How long this slump lasts may change my first statement. He had a long slump, last year. His OPS+ was between 152 and 162 back in '18-'19, then dipped some (after the trash cans were taken away) before reaching 134 in 2022, then... 134 '22 122 in '23 117 in '24 (age 30) I'm not sure he has gained any more bargaining power based on this year's current 139 OPS+ and constant stellar defense at 3B. He's a year older, but it's hard to know what other GMs are thinking and wanting. To me, bring him back is essential. If we miss out, we'd need to sign Alonso at 3B, maybe Torres at 2B and pray Mayer stays healthy enough to play FT 3B in 2026. Lock him up, Get Gio on board. Make one big trade for a solid SP'er, like Ryan, and onward & Upward we go!

With TOR starting to buckle, we've missed a great chance to gain on winning the ALE.

Agreed, and I went a step further and predicted that they would and will not do that.

Apparently, not winning a ring in August is grounds for termination.

You are not "willing to wait." You say Brez needs to be fired. The bottom line is that we are winning and greatly improved over just 2 years of Brez. Could be implode and miss the playoffs in 2025? Yes. Would I love to see a ring, this year? Of course, and I do think we could have/should have done more at the deadline, but I don't know what the offers were, I hate overpaying for rentals, and I think the strategy to make major moves in the winter is generally a good one. Brez has done way more good than bad, and to me, most of his bad moves (in hindsight) has serious merit, at the time. Saying, "He needs to be fired" does not seem like someone "willing to wait."

We are still in the Pennant chase. Brez has not lost his job, nor will he, this winter. I agree, he should have done more, but deadline deals are gross overpays, and I respect the plan to make the major deals in the winter. A GM should not be fired because of a disagreement over one aspect of his portfolio, which hasn't even had a chance to show if it was a failure. There was a point where we all felt the Gio signing was a horrible mistake. Many of us hated the plan of adding just Chapman and Wilson to a weak 2024 pen that then lost Jansen & Martin. Many hated us missing out on big name FAs like Soto and Yamo, and then we added Bregman. Many were pissed off at the Devers trade, and we did "get better" after it. I could go on and on. Yes, I wish we had Ryan, but we don't know if that trade would have worked, just like we didn't know some of his past moves would have worked out as well as they did. We are playing the best ball since 2021, and to me, this team looks better than that one: better 26 man roster, better 40 man roster & better farm. It wasn't like that when Brez took over. In my company, when someone improves nearly every aspect of his company, he is rewarded not fired.

Is it really a far-fetched idea to sign Alonso, Gio & Bregman, then trade Abreu, Casas, Clarke & Mullins for Joe Ryan? 1. Anthony RF 2. Bregman 3B 3. Duran DH/LF 4. Alonso 1B 5. Story SS 6. Garcia LF/DH & Romy DH (Campbell) 7. Mayer 2B (DHam) 8. Narvaez C (Wong) 9. Rafaela CF Crochet, Ryan, Bello, Ryan, Tolle, Sandoval Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock, Crawford, Dobbins, Weissert, Bernardino

He's already earned $24M.

Manny for Jason Bay (3 teamer)???

Of course, I wish Brez & Co. would have realized the window was wide open, already and did more for 2025, but we have a damn good team, a good chance to win it all, and an even better chance at winning in future years. WAY BETTER CHANCE in 2025, 2026, 2027...!

Last time I checked, we are a winning team. The team is way better. It's not even close. It's a "widely accepted fact." If I made my company way better, I'd get a bonus not a firing.

I still think the Dodger dump trade of Crawford, Beckett and AGon was one of the top 10 Sox trades of all time, and maybe the best alltime trade ever made where the winning team got nothing in return.

Price sucked, but they threw in a kid named Betts on that one.

Even Brasier burger helped the Dodgers.

MLBTRs reports... Chapman is guaranteed $13.3MM by the deal, and that if [he] throws enough innings to vest his 2027 option he’ll earn $26MM over two seasons.

You mean they don't want Wong back? LOL

I didn't assume you give a rats ass what I think, although you seemed to care when I pointed out that you were right about us being flops year after year. I may be wrong, but you say everyone sucks who plays poorly for a couple weeks to a month, so I'm not out on a limb to think you'd be blasting Brez, if Ryan was struggling as a Sox addition. If I was wrong, I'd admit it, too. I seriously doubt I would have been. Anyway, you missed the point of the whole Ryan comment, anyway. It may be widely accepted by some, that Brez failed at the deadline, but not on the fire Brez point. No GM does everything right. While I wanted Brez to get Ryan, his failure to do so doesn't come close to a firing him. You act like we're 10 games behind the WC and have been acting like it all season long.

SP: Crochet, _____, Bello, Giolito, Tolle RP: Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock, C: Narvaez, Wong DH: Duran, Casas/ Romy 1B: Lowe, Casas/Romy 2B: Mayer, DHam/Romy SS: Story, Mayer 3B: Bregman, Mayer LF: Anthony, Duran CF: Rafaela, Duran RF: Abreu, Garcia Adding Alonso and trading for Ryan would be a WS contending team.