moonslav59

Totally agree, and I said it back then, too. Catchers are always in such high demand. We could have gotten something useful. Now, he's near valueless, so we might as well hang on and pray.

I totally agree. I'd let Leon be Sale's caddy and start Vaz about 4 out of every 5 games.

But, first, he must don a gorilla suit and go AWOL, then wait a few years.

Terrific? August 2017 4.38 ERA worst of the season 1.054 WHIP is pretty "terrific", but it was his second worst month. OPS against: .875 Sept .640 May .620 Aug .574June .500 July .433 April His K/BB ratio was 3rd worst in August and worst in September, so I'm not sure how his K rate and BB did not get worse at the end of the season. (1st half 8.09 & second half 6.19) Career 1st half/2nd half ERA: 2.74/ 3.28 WHIP: 0.97/ 1.14 OPS: .583/ .679 tOPS+ 86/ 116 K/BB: 5.34/4.90 tOPS+ by month (career) 87 72 90 101 105 138

Not from me, and he barely got any extra rest. He started 32 games, instead of 33. He did get an extra day every time we got a day off, which was better than skipping another starter's start, but I do not think it was enough. I do hope we plan better next year. Even if we do, I'm not sure it will work, but it's worth a try.

Yes, and poor managing.

162/5 = 33 (ace & #2) & 32 (3/4/5 starters) 162/6 =27 So about 6, but if you never give your ace an extra day (6 days off), then it might be just missing 5 or so. You could conceivably try and get a few more pitches out of your better starters every start, but that might defeat the purpose to some extent.

I was talking about a 26 or 27 man rotation, which could facilitate a 6 man rotation. The union does not have to approve of a 26/27 man roster, but the owners could dangle the idea in an attempt to take something away fro the players. Adding 2 roster spots offers a lot of job security to older players.

I'm also not so sure Lucroy's bat has much longevity in it. Plus, I think one reason our staff over performed this year, despite all the injuries was because Vaz and Leon were behind the plate.

First point about Hanley is that he had one shoulder operated on. I had heard that both shoulders were giving him trouble. His recovery and ability to play first and hit at a decent level could change our priorities. Some significant ifs there. If Hanley can play first, then we can look for a designated hitter, although I would prefer to pick up a field player who can also be a designated hitter. Maybe we get a 1st baseman who can swap off duties with Hanley. Yes, if HRam can't play 1B and we sign JD Martinez or trade for Stanton, we bench and eat $22M for the DH on the bench or DFA'd. I guess we could trade JBJ for a pitcher or 1Bman and play Stanton or JD in LF as we move Beni to CF, but big changes might have to be made to make it all fit. I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop on Pedey. If he undergoes knee surgery it could be a season ending move. He is aware of the possible consequences and has yet to make a decision. We may well need to find a replacement as a high priority. Some have suggested Betts but to take a GG outfielder and move him to 2nd is a questionable thing to do. We have the possibility of Nunez if he is sound, or Chavis out of the minors. Nunez goes under the knife and was estimated to maybe make $7M x 3 by fangraphs. If we get a big slugger, a 1B/DH and a solid pitcher, we can't afford Nunez unless we blow by the second penalty level luxury tax. With Hanley playing first, we have To ask ourselves if Devers defense no only will improve, but also improve enough so he isn't a defensive liability. Honestly, I think Devers at 1B next year makes the most sense for our chances in 2018 and 2019. It might not be whats best for him or the Sox long term goals, but for the immediate future, I'm not sure we can withstand his "learning curve" on defense. That might mean signing Moustakas, instead of JD- who may want to play our west anyways or command too much salary and years for a player his age and with his lack of seasons without injuries. Sign Moustakas, move Devers to 1B, HRam to DH and then maybe try trading JBJ and prospects for Stanton. Again, this plan would, by itself, put us over the second level or very close, so there'd be no room for a SP'er and back-up 2Bman. I would keep Bogey at short and trust that a new hitting coach can get him to make the changes that can make him a more consistent hitter. I think the injury affected his hitting. My worry is his total lack of defensive improvement over 3+ years in MLB. He's actually slightly regressed on D. I do expect JBJ to be moved so that we can pick up a power bat for the outfield. Would Betts go into CF? Would Beni go to RF? Lots of big bats to think about for our outfield. I'm a big JBJ and defense fan, but I can see him being moved. I don't see Beni's arm and instincts in Fenway's gigantic RF. I like Betts out there. As far as looking for one or two starting pitchers, what team isn't? Competition will be fierce. Hope we can get one and live with that. BINGO- one better one.

It was hard as hell for us to sign a guy like Fister, because we had a starting rotation with 6 highly qualified starters (including Wright). Good reclamation projects want to go places where they know they can start on day one and show they are back, so they can get biug money the following year. Fister did not do as well as many think he did. Yes, he exceeded expectations and did well for a 5th starter. Watch what he makes next year compared to this. DD is going to have to be very shrewd to get 2 of the better "projects" in hopes one works out as well as Fister or better. I have suggested trying to sign JD Martinez and Duda (as a platoon for HRam at 1B to nix HRam's vesting option for 2019). The problem is, that will eat just about all the money. We can trim $1-2 M here and there by trading or non-tendering certain arb player like Holt, Rutledge and maybe a RP'er to squeeze enough money to sign a better than "project" pitcher, but the 2nd penalty limit may have to be passed for one year to really meet all three of our biggest needs: 1. Slugger (1B, DH or 4th OF'er) 2. 1B, DH or 4th OF'er (the one that is not filled by #1) 3. Solid #3 starter (to cover for injured/questionable starters)

I've been a big proponent of going to a 27 man roster- even 26 would be much better. I know the game is slowed down so much by pitching changes, and this would allow for some more, but for the sake of preventing the league's best players from continually getting hurt, and to allow for some creative managaing to take place, going to a 27 man roster makes a ton of sense. The player's union might even make a concession elsewhere to get this.

I agree a big slugger is our number one priority. First base is the opening we have, and it is known for slugging, but unfortunately, there are not really any great slugging 1Bmen on the FA market this winter. Speaking of medical staffs, I'm wonder if they feel HRam will be able to play 1B FT next year. If so, then we can sign an OF'er to DH and cover the 4th OF'er (JD Martinez/Upton/Bruce) opening at the same time, or we could just sign a DH only type player (Duda?). If we only have about $40M to spend to get just below the second panlty luxury limit point, then it may be very hard to get a great slugger and rock solid SP'er through free agency. That's where trading Bogey (or JBJ) might be our only other option.

Good luck, Alex. I hope this board goes easy on you.

Fire Theo!

Apparently, his arm is held together by a thread or something, so says the medical experts on this board. (I'm not doubting their veracity, but I do feel Price could start 33 games next year or 3.) ERod may not pitch at all in 2018. Maybe late June is the earliest we can hope for. Wright may take time to get back to form, and we're not sure yet what his true form is. Porcello is a huge question mark and should be counted on as nothing more than a 4/5 starter in 2018. Pom has looked solid, but he's had injury histories as well. (Most pitchers do.) That leaves our true ace Chris Sale, who has a history of fading every month of the year and dropping steeply in September-October, so maybe we need to limit his activity during the regular season. All of these factor point towards us needing at least one solid starter and maybe two, or at least one and then a couple Doug Fister types as depth.

I'm not doubting your statement, but where do you find the amount of money teams have in their international signing pool? I know both the Sox and Yanks have made trades for additional pool money.

They thought JF was a bad communicator. This guy hasn't said a word to the players!

I like the signing, but I admit, I don't know much about AC as a manager. I wish we could have kept JF as our pitching coach. \It doesn't work that way: I know.

That was 97th at mid season. He didn't have 31 Hrs then.

The national pundits don't seem to like Chavis as much as his numbers should suggest. He's been hurt and came on strong after the mid season rankings came out, so let's wait and see how the national pundits view him now.

Holt's arb is estimated at $2M. My guess is, we let him go or trade him. Hernandez, Lin, Swihart and Marrero might fight for the last 3 slots on the 25 man roster. I don't think Hembree is good enough to make the 25 man roster, if all pitchers are healthy, but I agree, we keep him as long as possible. I want to try to make room for Johnson, even if to just give him one last try.

Certainly, we are much worse off than a year or two ago, but we do have some very young promising prospects that might rise quickly next year. True MLB ready or near ready prospects are rather thin and weak, granted: Maddox 26 Velazquez 28 Travis 24 Johnson 26 Brentz 28 Taylor 24 Beeks 24 Chavis 22 Shawaryn 23

It's not too long for the time to add rule 5 players to the 40 man roster or risk losing them to the draft. (The team drafting a player must keep the player on the 25 man roster for 90 days.) Here's the list: Jalen Beeks Danny Mars Jeremy Barfield Jake Cosart Justin Haley Kyle Martin Jordan Procyshen Victor Acosta Jake Romanski Chandler Shepherd Teddy Stankiewicz Yoan Aybar Trey Ball Ty Buttrey Rusney Castillo Jantzen Witte Kevin McAvoy Danny Bethea Jordan Betts Harrison Cooney Enmanuel De Jesus Jhonathan Diaz Willis Figueroa Pat Goetze Daniel Gonzalez Juan Hernandez Bryan Hudson Dedgar Jimenez Raiwinson Lameda Deiner Lopez Isaias Lucena Algenis Martinez Daniel McGrath Ritzi Mendoza Mike Meyers Mike Miller Samuel Miranda Joseph Monge Jhon Nunez Justin Pacchioli Yankory Pimentel Hildemaro Requena Jeremy Rivera Fernando Rodriguez Josh Smith Cole Sturgeon Carlos Tovar Jordan Weems I see maybe 4 or 5 players that should be, or are close to being, good enough to protect. Now, how many roster spots can we open up? (Not counting the slot(s) to be taken by signing free agents.) The 26 sure keepers unless traded: Betts Benintendi Devers Sale Bogaerts Bradley Kimbrel Pomeranz Rodriguez (place on 60 day DL?) Pedey Vazquez Smith Kelly Maddox Wright (place on 60 day DL?) Thornburg (place on 60 day DL?) Workman Barnes Travis Velazquez Scott Ross (place on 60 day DL?) Leon Porcello Price HRam 4 bubble players with options remaining M Hernandez Tzu-Wei Lin Brock Holt Ben Taylor 4 bubble players with no options remaining (DFA, trade or non-tender): Marrero Hembree Johnson Swihart Gone: Owens Rutledge Elias If we keep all the bubble players, we're at 34 and can protect 6 rule 5 players. I'm not sure, but I think you can't have players on the 60 man DL during the rule 5 period. Assuming we get rid of Owens, Rutledge and Elias, I'm not sure we can keep all 34 players later on, since so the 4 no-option players will not all make the 25 man roster, unless we have several players on the DL. We could just decide now, who to let go and perhaps keep 1-2 more rule 5 guys, at least until we sign a FA or two and are forced to make further choices. I don't really see a major dilemma this year, but some choices might be tough. Your thoughts?

Soxprospects.com recently posted it's Fall Rankings. http://soxprospects.com/index.html Some significant changes.... 1. Groome 19 2. Chavis 22 3. Mata 18 4. Houck 21 5. Flores 17 6. Travis 24 7. Ockimey 22 8. Brannen 19 9. Shawaryn 23 10. Scherff 19 11. Beeks 24 12. Johnson 26 13. Chatham 21 14. Dalbec 22 15. D Hernandez 20 16. Raudes 19 17. Thompson 23 18. D Diaz 16 19. Lin 23 20. Lakins 23 21. Maddox 26 22. Velazquez 28 23. Brentz 28 24. Netzer 21 25. Taylor 24 I'd move Maddox up, despite being 26 y/o. I'd move Travis to number 10 or 11.