moonslav59

Yes, true. On CLE, weak div as mentioned. but even in that weak div, only 2 seasons in the last 7 with 88 or more wins. (85 this year seems undeserving.) MIL is a mid tier spender- not low tier, but still amazing results. They are deserving because they have the best record, and more deserving for doing it without being a top 10 or 15 spender most years. Since 2021, total wins: 608 LAD 566 MIL (Never won a ring) 554 NYY (Lost their killer playoff mystic) 552 ATL 547 HOU (on the downswingO 540 TBR (mostly as a bottom 5-10 spending team) 538 PHI 524 SDP 519 SEA & TOR 11. CLE at 513 12. BOS 505-467 13. NYM 499 14. SFG 493 15. CHC & STL 492

I'm thinking Mead and AR were attempts at Dull Object Syndrome, and we try to add one more like them, this winter. Who could it be? Rooker is probably too shiny. I don't see the O's trading Mayo, but they make dumb trades all the time. I'm thinking wee go for a LH'd dull object. Kurtz is too shiny and costly. STL is too smart to trade Burleson. Here is a shot in the dull darkness: Griffin Conine. Ty France might be a steal. BLowe and Arozarena both hit RHPs very well, but have some downsides and will be costly. As for shiny objects, I think we may have a shot at FA Sato or a trade for Abrams. DLC and Suzuki would cost too much for Brez & JH.

I'm not a Rays fan, but they have done such a good job for many years with low budgets, that a ring would seem like a just reward.

April 3 to mid SEPT is long, but no report of anything else.

I tend to value younger prospects more than most, and Primera is hard to ignore. Yes, time will tell. To me, Gonzales has to be top 3. (No Delzine.) There is a big gap between these 3 and the next 4: Valera, Godbout, Delzine & Hull Another big gap between those 4 and all the others.

Or, The Mass Tolleway

We've actually had exceptional SP'er depth the last two years, and it still ended badly. Last year, we had to trade for Dustin May, who was like #12-13. This year, we did trade Early, but he was already on the IL and never came back, so the trade did not lessen SP depth, in reality. We ended up throwing 11 pen games, which was obscene. 2 starts from Paez and Houck combined makes it 13 GS beyond our top 8 starters. We got zero starts from Oviedo and Crawford, which was unexpected. Counting those two plus Houck, we went 11 deep. Paez was 12th. That seemed like more than enough. In 2027, we go 8 deep and Paez is #9 not #12. That does seem scary. A Sox team needing that much SP'er healthy seems like an absurd ask/wish. I'm not beyond concern. Major concern. I just think the need for an elite bat or two significant ones is the number one priority. I realize Mead, Anthony or even AR could end up being a "major add," and with 3 chances, hoping 2 come through is not an asburd ask, I just feel we have to strike big, this winter. 1. Sato or DLC 2. Suzuki or Abrams big gap 3. BLowe, Chisholm, Bauers, Arraez 4. Torres, Happ, Springer (37) T Ward, Jeffers, Varsho, France, Bohm, Dubon, Grisham, Laureano 5. JP Crawford, T Taylor, Tauchman, E Suarez, E Sosa, C Kelly. J Bell SP 1. Skubal 2. T Rogers 3. Gray (37) or N Martinez (36) 4. King, Guasman (36), Peralta, Peterson, Mize 5. Bubic, Mahle, Flaherty, Holmes, Severino, Bassitt (38) 6. R Ray, Singer, Woodruff, Imanga, Griffin, M Perez Rp 1. Morejon 2. Bednar 3. Okert, Newcomb, T Alexander 4. R Iglesias (37) G Soto, Pagan

I'm not sure why I'm thinking there might not be any missed games next year. Lost Money?

We could try to baby Tolle & Bennett. Tolle went over 150 IP counting the playoffs. That is rather high but not real high. He's a big strong guy who seemed to not tire out like Bennett did. Bennet only pitched 113 IP (455 PAs against) Here are some numbers that kinda ease my mind on these two big pitchers: Pitches per PA were low: 3.56 Bennett (455 PA Against) 3.61 Gray (686) 3.78 Tolle (604) 3.79 Bello (503) 3.88 Suarez (614) League AVG 3.88 3.92 Early (390 before injury & trade) Sandoval was at 3.80 (321) Crochet 3.75 (138) Last year: 3.83 Bello 3.84 Gio 3.85 Crochet 3.86 Buehler (3.87 League AVG) Bennet threw just 90 more pitches than Early did. I'm not sure 1618 is enough to burn him out. 2282 by Tolle could bite the team back, but it was about 200 less pitches than Gray and 100 less than Suarez who was babied all year long.

I always like adding a SP'er, and losing Gray should make me 100% behind the idea. I'm just not sure JH & Co. gives Brez enough of a winter spending budget to meat my full wish list, and SP'er is not a top 3 priority, to me. One long-standing philosophy I have held and always will is that I dislike trying to fix a rotation by slightly upgrading the 4 or 5 SP'er. I want a solid 1-2 and then push the current starter down one peg. This is not the same as wanting the GM to add SP'er depth. Where would we have been without the "depth" add of Bennett? Depending on the spending budget and who we can afford to trade, I'm thinking our over-reaching goal should be to add top quality rather than 2-4 decent quality upgrades. I'd prefer 1-2 over 3-4 players added. Now, if the budget is expanded and we can make 1-2 major trades, then 4 is fine, but that seems like a wish more than a tangent possibility, so here is my top 3 priority- ranked wish list: Option A: 1. Elite bat (Sato, Suzuki, DLC or Abrams) 2. Solid second tier bat (BLowe, Chisholm, Arozarena, Bauers types) (No significant 3rd addition) Option B 1. Solid bat (BLowe, Chisholm, Arozarena, Bauers types) 2. Solid bat (BLowe, Chisholm, Arozarena, Bauers types) 3. Solid pen arm (Morejon) or Solid 2-3 SP (Nick Martinez)

I like the dead money idea. That might ease in the creation of a cap. The idea of a floor could really help players stomach the cap (soft, hard or somewhere in between.) Upping the roster to 28 and addine two teams (2 x 28) would mean 116 more players making MLB money ve minor league money. That's a HUGE gain for players. Chopping one year off the ard process or pre-arb years will likely be the max gain they might expect. I think this added to 116 more MLB paid players should be enough to get a majority player vote, as most players are pre-arb, arb or understand how it was when they were. The final give back could be significantly raising the min wage. That and the 1 year less of arb or pre-arb status gets nearly all the prearb players to a yes vote. 1. Floor 2. 116 more MLB paid players 3. 1 year less to become a FA 4. Min wage increase (goes along with adding a "floor cap" for many teams) Other than the salary cap, what else do owners want?

I always liked him, but I was slow to join the "could be a great one" club. Silly me! I'd rank our starters like this going into 2027: 1. Crochet 1A. Tolle 3. Suarez 4. Bennett 5. Bello 6. Houck (if not forced into pen role) 7. Crawford 8. Oviedo 9. Paez 10. Holobetz or Wehunt (not on current 40)

He had a flexor strain injury and came back in September to pitching the minors. He should be healthy for ST'ing. Crawford injured his flexor while trying to comeback from another injury. He was scheduled to start the final AAA game of the season, but it was cancelled due to weather. He should be ready for ST'ing. Crochet and Houck were pitching at the end of the 2026 season and should be ready for ST'ing. I'm not projecting greatness, especially out of the gate, but these guys are not like how Sandoval, Crawford and Houck looked, last winter. We knew all of them would be out for a while to start the season. No SP'ers is projected to miss the first day of ST'ing. That's is rare for the Sox.

We may not match the Brewers or their 2027 outlook, but our top 7-8 SP'ers are likely going to be ranked top 3 in projections, even without Gray. I fully agree the guys I mentioned are close to sure bets. Crochet, Houck, Crawford and Oviedo all need to prove they are healthy and back to somewhat the same form they once were. Having 3 as our 6-7-8 guys is not as bad as what other teams have in those slots, this time of year. The Brewers have Priester as a possible comeback story, but he had less proven success before his major injury than our 4 guys. I'm not in the camp of posters who think any young pitcher who jumps their IP in a season is destined to get hurt, just because Crochet, Crawford and others did, but the is an added aspect of concern and worry for a guy like Misiorowski, who went from 66 to 175 IP, this year. (129 IP in 2025, if you add AAA IP.) He's the best pitcher in MLB, today, so I'm not trying to downplay his value. I'm not all that impressed with the future outlooks of their other starters. Here are their IP leaders and 2026 ERAs: 125 Drohan 4.19 116 Harrison 4.20 109 Gasser 3.87 106 Patrick 3.40 (mostly in relief) 98 Henderson 2.47 97 Sprout 5.57 None of these guys are 28, yet, but they don't Wow me, even adding Priester. 2nd Half (last 66 games on '26) GS ERA 12 2.12 Misiorowski 12 2.19 Henderson 11 2.86 Glasser 10 5.60 Drohan 10 5.65 DMay (replace Harrison) 7 7.31 Harrison The Brew Crew has some major questions on their 2027 rotation and SP'er depth.

Not to downplay how Holobetz did, this year, and I'm not sure where you had him ranked earlier, but on soxprospects,com he was ranked 19th last fall and 14th in April. He's 9th now, but the EOY Rankings have not been released. Here is the rub, and it's not to say Holobetz didn't improve, but by means of attrition, he'd have risen in the rankings without doing better as well. 1. Tolle- graduated 2. Arias- now #1 3. Early- traded (Primera jumped from #36 to #3) 4. Witherspoon- traded 5. Valera- now #4 6. Eyanson- traded 7. Phillips- now #15 8. Gonzales- now #2 9. Soto- now #17 10. Bennett- graduated 11. Godbout- now #5 12. Romero- now #22 13. Uberstine- traded 6 players above him graduated or were traded, and he went from #14 to #9. 4 players jumped over him: Primera, Delzine (23>6) Hull & Schaffner (draftees)

Possibly, too many.

Gotta say, watching the Dodgers get swept is almost as pleasurable as seeing the Yanks knocked out.

Grump mood today. My apologies to all.

Some clown said this... Do you think it makes you less wrong if you suggest something instead than predicting something? It doesn’t. One is just as wrong as the other. I don't see the words "can be just as wrong" in this posters statement.

Yes, into some other meaning. You finally got it right. Admitting your problem is the first step to recovery. Good luck on your journey to recovery.

Red: Do you think it makes you less wrong if you suggest something instead than predicting something? It doesn’t. One is just as wrong as the other. We must both be wrong, but I thought you said we were both right. I get it now, one is as wrong as the other, unless it is red's opinion, too. Got it.

Thanks for the perfect example of missing points. Not agreeing is different from not understanding- just as suggesting is not a synonym of predicting. You'll never get it. I'm just as dumb for even engaging in conversation with you.

I say the sky is blue. You respond, I was wrong about the water being cold. It's not about having different veiw points, which we do. It's about you not being able to follow the meanings of points being made.

Were we right or wrong on Alonso?

Ole Red has alternate meanings for words and phrases. He even said that one time. I've also never met a person who misses the point of someone's statement at a 99% rate.