moonslav59

Yes, I have changed my view. I thought we'd finish top 3-5 in runs scored this year. We may come close to 6th or 7th, but I think power is our biggest weakness going forward. Maybe Devers will help a little. Maybe 8 out of 9 batters declining this year from last will reverse itself, but I think our pitching looks fine going into 2018. Wright, Smith and Thornburg could add to what is already the bext staff in the AL. It's a new power era. I misjudged it. I think signing Duda & Nunez might be all we need to do.

ERA- is probably a better measure. 76 LAD 79 AZ 80 BOS 83 CLE 87 NYY 89 StL 92 COL 93 Cubs I'd like to add some context to these numbers. Think of past winning Sox teams with Pedro and Schilling (Foulke), Beckett and Schilling (Papelbon), and Lester and Lackey (Uehara). Here are some comparative Sox numbers from 2003 to 2017: ERA- by seasons 80 2017 83 2007- Ring 89 2004- Ring 89 2008 90 2013- Ring 90 2016 93 2009 96 2010 99 2011 100 2014 102 2006 103 2015 105 2005 111 2012 We're way ahead of every other Sox team, except 2007's. K/BB 3.51 2017 2.78 2016 2.55 2015 2.53 2004 2.47 2013 2.38 2007 We are blowing these numbers out of the water! These pretty much too... WHIP 1.24 2017 1.27 2016 1.27 2007 1.29 2004 1.30 2013 Especially, the pen... (Only ring teams listed here) 1.16 2017 1.21 2007 1.31 2007 & 2013 Starter ERA- 87 2017 89 2008 90 2007 91 2004 92 2013 All three of our previous championship teams had a starter ERA- below 93. 3 of the 4 clubs that had an ERA- that low won it all. This year's team is better than all those teams, so far.

Maybe, but I doubt Sox brass makes him the sole choice. Our biggest need appears to be a big bat with power. 1B is the best position to find power at a relatively cheap cost. I doubt Travis will win the job.

He's half the offensive player EE is.

2013 was good or even pretty good not "outstanding". You cite his 112+ wRC+. That was 7th best on the team in 2013. Even Salty was better at 116. (He was barely our 3rd best OF'er in 2013 by xRC+: Nava 127, Vic 119, JE 112, Gomes 108.) Yes, a .355 OBP is pretty good. It's not great for a lead off hitter. .355 placed him 13th out of 50 among fellow OF'ers that year. Nava was .385 and Vic was close at .351. How is it "outstanding" to finish with the 39th best OF wRC+ out of 110 oF'ers with 300+ PAS in 2013? He placed 27th out of 50 OF'ers with 500+ PAs in 2013. You're choosing this as a season to justify greatness? OK-ok, granted he had the 5th best OF WAR in 2013. He's much better than OPS or wRC+ indicate, but he wasn't worth close to that money based on his overall play from 2007-2013. Of course the SBs and plus defense made him better than his wRC+ indicated, but he looked to be barely worth half of what the Yanks ended up paying him. From 2008 to 2013 (6 seasons), the Sox had 56 instances with a player getting more than 300 PAs. Here's where Jacoby's seasons ranked: #6 2011 (150) A fantastic season! #31 2013 (112) Tied with Scutaro's 2011 season #41 2009 (98) Worse than DMac's 2010 season #47 2008 (91) Below two of Salty's seasons #49 2012 (84) Worse than Lugo's 2008 season and barely better than CC's 2011 season (83) where everyone was screaming, "HORRIBLR SIGNING!". Sorry, I wasn't buying it back then, and I'm not buying it now. 2007-2013 combined (Sample size: 26 players with 500+ PAs with the Sox) 143 Ortiz 140 Beltre 138 AGon 137 Youk 134 J Bay 132 Manny 128 Napoli 127 VMArt 120 Pedey 119 Vic 116 JD Drew 114 Nava 114 C Ross 109 Lowell 109 Ellsbury (The guy barely beat our Stephen freakin' Drew and Jarrod Salt-a-la-caca! 108 S Drew 103 Salty I was almost as thrilled we didn't sign Ellsbury as I was when we traded for... Chris Freakin' Sale!

I would think adjusting to high fastballs is one of the easier pitches to adjust to. Those who have trouble with sinkers down and away always seem to have that issue come and go for longer periods of time. Even Papi went through stretches later in his career where he looked totally helpless against that pitch. Consistently being thrown high fastballs seems to be a "new thing", and perhaps that's one reason we are seeing many more HRs this year.

I'm hopeful. I'm not sure he'd have ever gotten good enough on D to satisfy me, so maybe the injury hurried along what I always thought would happen anyways.

I'm worried this is a one year wonder.

If Pedey has to DH a lot next year, and we know that this winter, then Duda would be a waste of money, assuming HRam will still be here. If Pedey DH's then HRam plays 1B. Maybe we can trade HRam and pay $7-10M of his contract. That would allow us to sign Duda and Nunez and stay under the $20M over extra penalty limit. Nunez could play 2B and Duda (or Hosmer) 1B.

Because most guys are right handed, and it would be easier to scratch our only nut with the left one removed.

I'd be happy to have him on the Sox, but I'm not convinced he is really as good as this half season sample size shows.

He had a fantastic season last year before the injury. One can imagine him continuing that this year, but nothing in baseball is for certain.

I've always been a big fan of Wright. I had very high hopes for him this year. It's hard to imagine him adding 5 wins to this... GS'd (Team Record) 6 Fister 3-3 (4 starts with team scoring 6 or more runs) 5 Johnson 5-0 (5 starts with team scoring 5+ runs/ 3 w 6+) 2 Velazquez 0-2 (No games with 4 or more run support) 2 Kendrick 0-2 (no games with 5 or more run support) 8-7 Total He'd have to have gone 13-2, assuming the same run support.

Can Viagra help Pom last longer? I'm not sure I want to mess with him in any way. Keep giving us 5-6 innings, and I'll be happy. It's Porcello and Price that need to get their act together and start giving us 7-8 innings of solid pitching.

I've been suggesting 1B or 3B for a long time, too. Maybe his bat will never reach what some of us hoped it would, but I still think he has a chance at making it at 1B. If he can also provide the ability to be a third string catcher, he'd open up a lot of PH opportunities late in games for our relatively poor hitting catching tandem.

Maybe we can find a way to sign Duda and Nunez. 1. Pedey 2B 2. Beni LF 3. Duda 1B 4. Betts RF 5. HRam DH 6. Devers 3B 7. JBJ CF v R/ Bogey SS v L 8. Bogey SS v R/ JBJ CF v L 9. Vaz C Bench: Nunez can play 3B, SS, 2B, LF, DH and probably get 450+ PAs with no significant injuries to anyone. Since he can play LF, he can play anytime we rest JBJ or Betts due to Beni's ability to slide to another OF position. When Duda needs a rest at 1B, HRam can play 1B as Nunez DHs. Essentially, Nunez can play, if any player, except catcher is rsted or injured. Leon is the back-up catcher Holt, Hernandez, Lin and marrero can fight for the utility IF position, but Holt might get the nod due to his ability to play OF and 1B. SP1 Sale SP2 Price SP3 Pom SP4 Porcello SP5 ERod SP6 Wright (long relief) RP1 Kimbrel RP2 Smith RP3 Thornburg RP4 Kelly RP5 Barnes RP6 Hembree (out of options) AAA: SP- Johnson, Beeks, Velazquez, Haley, Elias, Owens RP- Workman, R Ross, R Scott, Maddox, Taylor, Martin, Cosart, N Ramirez C- Romanski, Swihart? (D Butler re-signed?) 1B- S Travis, M Chavis, Swihart (Ockimey) 2B- Hernandez 3B- Marrero SS- Lin LF- D Mars/ Brentz? (minor league FA) CF- Castillo RF- A Tavarez DH- J Barfield, J Witte

Swihart is now playing 1B in the GCL. I wish him luck at his new position.

We now have a new OPS leader (after today): 80+ PAs .807 Beni .805 Betts .784 Pedey .780 HRam .756 JBJ .751 Young .749 Moreland .730 Bogey .700 Vaz .622 Pablo .576 Marrero .558 Rutledge .523 Holt .681 Leon ______________________ 1.179 Nunez with BOS (57 PAs before today)/ .811 Nunez (2 teams after today)) .938 Devers (61 PAs after today)

I rarely watch the games in real time. Too many commercials.

Frazier has had a worse second half in every single season he's been in the majors. Very smart.

Marrero goes 2 for 4 with an HR. He's now up to a .194 BA. Carson Smith: 1 IP 0H 0ER 0BB 2K Barfield with his 22 HR (.310 BA) Henry Owens with only 2 BBs in 5 IP! (1H and 1 ER)

I have very few complaints about how JF handles the staff and how he chooses who will catch each starter. He'd have been great as our pitching coach all along.

The biggest surprise of the year, to me. Yeah, Sale is doing off-the-charts great, but I always thought he was one of the greatest. I hope the pen continues to be the best, but I'm worried about Kelly's return, Barnes and Hembree's struggles and Reed in general.

.781 is not "outstanding". I don't think Jacoby was ever a great defender. His speed made up for slow starts, bad routes and other mistakes. The metrics showed he was pretty good on D, but I always felt like once his speed fell off a little, so would his D. He also had a noddle arm, and in Fenway Park, that's a big disadvantage. Yes, CF is an important defensive position, but it's not like SS. Other than 2011, he never had an OPS above .781. He was only over .770 twice in his 5 seasons with 300+ PAs. He was under .730 in 2 of his 5 seasons. He had over 325 PAs in only 4 of his last 6 seasons in Boston. He was about at .750 before 2011 and .750 for the two seasons after 2011 with Boston. You don't pay .750 that kind of money. Warning signs abounded.

I think we'll get Duda or Hosmer, but we'll want to go as short range as possible. I think that means Duda.