moonslav59

A vesting Hanley option may close the window earlier or with a slam.

No, there hasn't, but if he fells like we are shorting him out of his vesting option, while he is playing well, I think it's safe to say no player would remain silent (justifiably so).

True. He's already had some dreadful stretches and still keeps on playing full time.

The worst thing might be a close call and a grumbling HRam as a distraction. I, too, hope the choice ends up being an easy one (for the good, of course) for Cora.

I think ERod's injury has always been his knee. Hopefully, the surgery put an end to all the flare-ups. One of Wright's injuries was while base-running. That should not happen again. Pom is the most worrisome to me of the bunch (and Price).

...or Swihart.

That's not as much as I originally thought he'd get, but compared to Lynn, it seems right.

Is it $57M/4?

For argument's sake, let's say by mid July, HRam is on pace for 500 PAs and just barely reaching his vesting option. He's doing "decent" enough: .825 OPS, but he's .900 vs LHPs and .790 vs RHPs. Moreland is doing pretty much the same and is at .790 vs RHPs. Moreland is the better fielder. Would you start Moreland vs RHPs more often vs RHPs? It's the better choice for improving our chances at winning? (Would HRam feel okay with the choice?) What if HRam is at .800 vs RHPs, and Moeland's at .780? Moreland's defense probably makes up for the .020 in OPS? Do you use OPS? It's not really going to be a cut and dry choice, and I'm pretty sure HRam might view the ultimate choice differently, if he comes up short due to being benched for Moreland, regardless of the OPS differential and all the explaining that can be done. I hope it turns out to be an easy choice, and we're probably arguing about the one scenario that won't happen, but if it's a close choice, the choice is obvious to me: keep HRam from 497. If it's not that close, but somewhat close, then the debate can begin, IMO. Right now, I'd start the season by sitting HRam vs about half the RH'd starters and let him convince me by doing better than Moreland & Swihart by a clear enough margin to overcome his defensive disparity with Moreland..

It will depend on just how much of a better choice HRam is over Moreland (particularly vs RHPs) and maybe Swihart/Travis. It depends on just how good HRam is doing. It depends on how far ahead or behind we are from the Yanks and the last wild card slot. Right now, I'm for not letting him vest. He has to convince me he deserves the vest. He's got a long way to go.

It has been a strong indicator in our past championship seasons. 2004: We had only 5 starts from our 6+ starter. 2007: We had 5 starters with 23+ starts and Lester with 11 (11 starts from our 7+ starter) 2013: We had 4 starters with 27+ starts and Buch with 16 and Peavy with 10. (17 starts from 8+). Most non- ring years saw much more starts from or 6/7th+ starters.

I'm not totally convinced of giving HRam his vest, assuming he's doing well. He has to win me over. If he does, I'm still thinking long and hard about letting him vest. A lot depends on how well Moreland is doing, or if Swihart or Travis have entered the 1B picture. I want to win in 2019,also. Besides, playoff PAs don't count, so unless we're fighting for the last playoff slot, playing HRam more and more might not really matter as much as having a rested HRam in October.

He just needs 56 less PAs than last year.

I agree to some extent, but his injury history, as far as I know, has always been the knee. Once that knee is 100%, he should be ready to go. He may no longer be "injury prone.," if the surgery was a complete success. I do worry about a teak happening, so if the doctors are concerned about that, then I'd go very slowly.

I didn't think ERod would be ready until May. If we have to go with Johnson for 2 starts and Velazquez for just one, the rotation health issue is better than I expected.

I have it ranked 147th. (LOL, thanks) To me, Holt is no better than 3rd or 4th on the depth chart at any position. He was 2nd or 3rd at several positions 3-4 years ago.

Good glove/ .550 batters are everywhere in professional baseball. He is a career .710 vs LHPs (93 PAs), so maybe someone might use him in a platoon plus late inning replacement role. (Note his putrid OPS vs RHPs: .487 in 165 PAs)

Yes! He's done EVERYTHING!

Again, the choice will never be between Holt and Swihart. If it is, then it's a huge mistake. Swihart should make the 25 man roster and will get his chance to show his offense. Once (if) he establishes that, a position will find him.

We were 10th in AL LF WAR, 9th in 1B WAR and 9th in catcher WAR. I'm not seeing why Swihart should clearly be the #1 catcher, when he plays all three positions. Perhaps his greatest value lies in the fact that he can and will play all three positions. (Note: of all three positions, he may be worst defensively at catcher... may be...)

Depends on how well Moreland and/or Nunez are doing, and how well HRam is doing vs RHPs. I'm not saying I'd definitely bench HRam, if he's over .850, but the point remains, he won't be worth the $22M in 2019, even if he hits .900, and we'll end up losing Pom or worse by having HRam vest. I'd give Moreland (vs RHPs) and Swihart as many ABs as possible early in the year, and find out what Swihart has to offer (us or in trade).If HRam is at .850, and Moreland is hitting .750, I'll revisit the issue mid-season or late season, but I'm starting the season looking to limit HRam's PAs, until he proves something. It's not like the guy has proven jack s*** to this team. He's earned nothing. If anything, he's earned a spot on the bench, and this is coming from someone who thinks HRam will have a good year. Other here are saying we should DFA him or trade him while paying $20M of his salary. I don't want HRam on the team next year. I want to win it all this year. If I felt we needed HRam to winit all, of course I'd change my mind, but my mind needs to be changed before I say we should play HRam FT.

I'll be complaining, because I'll have very little confidence he will have back-to-back good+ seasons. The second reason will be that, even after a hypothetical good+ season this year, he still won'tbe worth close to $22M in 2019, a year where our budget will be even tighter than this year.

Is it any more deceiving than cherry-picking start and stop signs to make your point? Your point is well-taken. JBJ clearly has one 30 day very hot streak every year since becoming a regular. However, he's had decent to good stretches outside that 30-day stretch that you link to his cold stretches to make it look like he sucks 150 days a year and is great for just 30.

Update on Westmoreland.... http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2018/03/silverman_eight_years_later_ryan_westmoreland_eases_into_life_away_from

Monthly stats can be deceiving, but yes, they are interesting.