moonslav59

I didn't say we were going to f*** it up, but I guess you have a pessimistic way of viewing things.

After a couple big games, our players' OPS have shot through the roof. 1.035 Ortiz .988 Leon .929 Moncada .919 Betts .851 Bradley .850 Benintendi .845 Pedroia .834 Ramirez .818 Young .817 Bogaerts .780 Hernandez .759 Shaw .713 Holt .708 Hill .733 Rutledge .720 Swihart .690 Brentz .582 Vazquez .474 Hanigan .339 Holaday Some tiny sample sizes, but 10 guys over .800 is pretty awesome! 13 guys over .733 is pretty nice too.

Just imagine how great this line up would be, if we didn't have all those "black holes" in it.

Let's not f*** this up with a 2-1 loss tomorrow!

If Koji is not ready, do you go with Barnes? Does Robby Scott have an outside chance to win his way onto a playoff series roster? Who else is there? Tazawa, Hembree, Elias or N Ramirez? I'm still holding out hope for Wright to get healthy. What if Beni is not ready? I hope we don't get stuck with Brentz.

Nice to see us start this west coast trip with two explosive wins. Let's not piss it away with a 2-1 loss. Only 4 teams in MLB have less losses than us (Cubs, Rangers, Guardians & Nats). No division in MLB has 4 teams over .500, except the AL East. No division has 3 teams over .520, except the AL East ( 3 over .548). No division has two teams over .541, except the AL East with Boston and Toronto at .563. So, when you figure we are tied for the 5th best record in MLB while playing in the toughest division in MLB, I'd say we have done pretty good this year and have a good shot at not just making the playoffs, but advancing far once in.

Yeah, Looks like the shoulder is worse than they thought. What a bummer. A needless bummer!

I totally agree. Props to Ben and DD for sticking with this kid through some tough times, not giving up on him, and not trading him when so many GMs called to ask about him.

It is a lot to pay a RP'er, but we trade 4 prospects for the right to pay Kimbrel more per year than Miller got.

Shaw has the best UZR/150 at 1B over the last 2 years combined. That may make up for some of the projected lower-than-norm production at 1B. Travis may be a help later in the year, but I still have not given up hope on Pablo contributing at 3B/1B/DH next year, particularly vs RHPs. We could also see Swihart at 1B/DH. I'm counting on Young to be our DH vs LHPs next year, unless another OF'er is hurt or getting an off day. He is one of MLB's very best hitters vs lefties over the last 2 years combined.

Next year: 1) Beni (LF) 2) Bogey (SS) 3) Betts (RF) 4) Bustin' Pedroia (2B) 5) Bam-Bam (HanRam) (1B) 6) Bradley (CF) 7) Bomb-cada (3B) 8) Bandee Leon © 9) Blubb-oh PaBlo (DH) [/b]

You stole my "Boncada" nickname! Maybe Bomb-cada would be better.

We may end up DFA'ing Pablo and making him our new Castillo/Craig. His salary wouldn't count on the luxury tax, but Henry would still be paying that instead of a tax.

Me too, but I'd rather have Cespedes than Miller too.

Moon thinks we have $30M to spend....I think it's closer to $40M I could be wrong, but show me where I am... Under contract for 2017 (7 players): $30M Price, $22M H. Ramirez, $20.6M Porcello, $19M Sandoval, $13.75M Pedroia, $10.5M Kimbrell, $6.5M Young. TOTAL: $123.35M (Note: Castillo's$10.25M Castillo and Craig's $6.2M contracts do not count on the luxury tax budget, if they remains off the 40 man roster.) Options ( 2 players): $13.5M Buchholz and $3.75M Hannigan TOTAL: $1.3M (buyouts) 0 to $17.25M (giving both) Let's assume we say no and then count them as off-season options: Updated TOTAL: $124.65M Arbs (9 players): Bogaerts:$650K > ~$5.5M (1st of 3) Bradley: $546K > ~$3.2M (1 of 4) Pomeranz $1.35M> ~$3.5M (2 of 3) J Kelly: $2.6M>$2.7M (2 of 3 arbs) Ross: $1.25M> $1.7M (2 of 3) Holt: $606K > $1.1M (1 of 3) Leon: $minor > $1.1K (1 of 3) Rutledge: $minor> $850K (1 of 3) Workman: $540K > $600K (1 of 3) TOTAL ARBS: ~$20.35M TOTAL of 16 players: ~$145M (without Buch and Hanigan) The 24 other players on the current 40 man roster (listed by seniority on the roster): Wright, Vazquez, Brentz, Betts, Hembree, Barnes, Coyle, Swihart, Shaw, E Rodriguez, Marrero, N Ramirez, B Johnson, Owens, Jerez, Light, Hernandez, Carson, Elias, Holaday, Moncada TOTAL: ~$13M Grand Total: $158M (No Buch/Hanigan) Now, add the $12M for player benefits and our Luxury Tax Total is... TOTAL $170M That leaves us with about $19M to spend without going over the luxury limit as it is right now ($189M), however, the limit is expected to rise to over $200M and perhaps closer to $210M. That would mean we'll have between $30M and $40M, but if we keep Buch and/or Hanigan it will be less. That may appear like a lot of money, but finding a replacement for Papi (DH, 3B, LF or 1B) will not come cheap. We will probably also need 2-3 quality RP'ers and maybe a SP'er. If we don't try to spend big to replace Papi, we will probably sign an aging vet to 1-2 year deal who plays corner IF and/or LF (Beltran?).

E Rod is still young and is capable of becoming next Porcello. It we don't sign Encarnacion, I hope we go after Chapman. The next minute, Kimbrel would demand a trade.

True, but Cespedes had higher trade value than Miller. I'm still happy we have ERod.

Not really. We traded 2 months of Miller during a "lost season" for a promising starter. We could have signed Miller and had both. What Miller has done after free agency should not count against or for the trade.

Very true. We don't need to sign 3 closers to greatly improve our pen. We could use a solid #2 (making Smith our #3) and maybe a couple good #3-4 types. Maybe Kelly will prove he's good enough for one of those roles. Maybe Abad will settle down and show he can be our LOOGY, but I don't see his history as supporting that he be solidly, penciled into that role. I still have hope in Barnes and Hembree, but not enough to not want some reliable insurance against their failure. Although I do not think signing a big bat would be prudent, I think the Sox will look for the best shortest term deal they can find (Beltran?). That will eat up a sizable chunk of the luxury budget limit, but not enough to prevent the pen-building needed. The rotation upgrading will have to wait.

He's the only one I'd kick the tires on, but my guess is the money will be too high for someone his age, and I've heard he prefers playing out west, but winning a ring might change that preference quickly.

His "talent defensively" is limited to 1B only though.

Wonder why the Hill acquisition didn't fire him up.

Hardly dumb and its done by a LOT of managers. Hes not sweating. That's silly man. Let him sit, watch, and learn for a day. Ask questions. See how fast the MLB game moves. There is absolutely nothing dumb about doing this. They did it with Benni too. Its common practice. I don't disagree, but now this forces JF into another of his favorite rituals- sitting a player right after a huge game or during a red-hot streak. I suppose they could start Shaw at 1B, but HanRam is hot too. I suppose they could rest Papi or Pedey, but we have to play our best players so soon after a day off. So, we sit Shaw after one of his best games in months. I'm not saying we shouldn't in this case, but it just seems like this happens so often on this club.

Maybe Moncada's arrival has lit a fire under Shaw.

I can't believe they never really gave this kid a shot! Just kidding.