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Here is the sad part. Beyond how foolish this slippery slope argument is, the reality is e-sports leagues already exist. What advantage would MLB have to break into those leagues? And as many of the virtual players used in e-leagues are based on real players, if MLB implemented robots, the e-leagues would have no source material and therefore would collapse. So if MLB tried this step, they would be taking themselves down. Of course, the real problem is there is absolutely no link between the automated calling of balls and strikes leading to turning MLB into an e-league....

Oh sure we will. Thanks to advancements in AI, robots have learned to create arguments and develop their own languages. The ability to negotiate is inevitable, and the ability to out-negotiate humans and financially ruin MLB for the sake of greedy robots then becomes the obvious next step...

I do that once in a while. Usually by accident...

I figure Rosario's ceiling is 4th outfielder anyway. He's here. He's cheap. He can field. Duran (surplus value 23.5) for Quantrill (surplus value 25.1) also works out per the model at BTV. But if I was Cleveland, Quantrill would be my least available of the three. I would suspect McKenzie is the most available, assuming in reality any of them are available at all...

That's because he coated the splint with vaseline. Oldest trick in the book..

Did a700 just quote me?

Duran for Civale. DHernandez for Trivino Bring back ERod and Schwarber and maybe even Robles. And finally, purchase new paint for the duck boats!!!

Unless Bloom starts reading my posts!!! I can see him now. "Brilliant!! This has to be the plan going forward!!! I couldn't possibly have figured out a better one!!" Sure, he's probably being sarcastic, but that doesn't show up in text...

Nope. I don't have to. He's really good anywhere. Anyway, that only matters if they bring back Schwarber...

I suppose it also depends how particular he is. I remember an old SI story about how Jerry Rice would try in multiple jerseys before every game to find one that just felt right. Maybe that plastic fixture in his glove just threw Barnes off his game somewhat. A lot of athletes are very particular...

The Notin Plan 1B: Dalbec. And eventually Casas is he makes a case for himself, which he is very capable of doing. 2B: Kike Hernandez. CF defense will suffer, but 2B defense will improve 3B: Devers SS: Bogaerts. Opt out is a concern, but after the Great Shortstop Re-Shuffling of 2021, Boston might still be his ideal landing spot anyway. LF: Schwarber: He won't exercise his part of the mutual option, but he can still come back CF: Verdugo: Not my favorite for CF, but if Kike plays 2B, he is the Last Man Standing for the job RF: Renfroe DH: Martinez. I know there is a chance he opts out, but for now I will assume he doesn't. BN: Plawecki, Arroyo, OF capable of CF (Jeisson Rosario? FA?) SP: Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, and 2 acquistions that can include ERod either via QO or extension. BP: Houck, Whitlock, Barnes, Brasier, Taylor, Sawamura, Valdez, Davis, DHernandez Darwinzon and Duran might be adequate trade bait to fill a pitching role or two. I know Oakland will be trying to move a bunch of arbitration eligibles, although Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt each have one year. Montas has two, but Duran probably isn't an attractive enough piece to get him. Pitchers with roughly the same BTV value as Duran include Sonny Gray (Cincinnati), Casey Mize (Detroit), Kyle Muller (Atlanta), Chris Flexen (Seattle), Joe Musgrove (San Diego), and Cal Quantrill and Aaron Civale (Cleveland). I don't see Detroit moving Casey Mize here. Atlanta, San Diego and Seattle are both largely all set with young outfield talent either in MLB already or beating down the door. That leaves Cincinnati (30th in fWAR for CF last year, but is Duran the solution?) and Cleveland. Per Roster Resource, the Cleveland 2022 OF features Harold Ramirez, Myles Straw and a Bradley Zimmer/Oscar Mercado platoon. Very, very weak. Now they are far more likely to move around the middle infield depth problem to solve the OF as opposed to dealing Civale or McKenzie, but it's not the most ridiculous solution, either. And clearly BTV would call it fair, not that theyare the end-all of trade value. But they do better than I could on my own. And at the very least, arbitration eligible closer Lou Trivino (Oakland) needs to be on the radar in another potential deal. His BTV trade value is actually very low, at a surplus of $1.1 million. So either he is undervalued or is expected to get a substantial raise from last years's $912,000 salary...

Well, if there is any truth to the impact of the pepper slicing incident, can we really hold that against Barnes? Injuries can derail any player...

Just keep Vaz and Plawecki. It ain't broken...

Even that might not be a hiccup. Schwarber to LF, Verdugo to CF, Hernandez to 2b? I know Kike was an outstanding CF, but he is also an extremely good infielder who is second in DRS at 2B over the past 3 seasons, trailing only Kolten Wong (28 to 21) despite Wong playing over twice as many innings at the position. Signing Schwarber should impact Duran more than it does Dalbec...

Exactly. It fixes a lot of the blips in the game, although it won't affect the overall pace as pitchers who take a long time will still take a long time. I could foresee a tech-savvy team hacking into the system to add an extra half inch or so to the strike zone when their team is up and gain a slight edge. As we have seen with the Astros and the Cardinals, teams will do anything to gain an edge. but this doesn't mean the whole idea should be scrapped...

I think he should get the job to start and then work in Casas when and as needed...

I suppose technically the 1904 World Series was not cancelled due to a labor disagreement, but rather due to one time deciding they already won and didn't need to play anymore...

Except I was joking. Hacking is a legitimate concern, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker...

Fun fact: AL First Base OPS Leaders from 6-10-21 to the end of the season 1. Vlad Guerrero - .955 2. Bobby Dalbec - .916 3. Matt Olson - .897 So why should the Sox replace this guy?

Giving ERod QO strikes me as a no-brainer, and I am far from his biggest supporter. I do think one of Whitlock or Houck moves to the rotation, where we have no idea what to expect. Sox have 3 starters lined up for next season already under contract. If ERod makes 4, then maybe they will think twice about moving Houck/Whitlock there...

Like by having human umpires call balls and strikes?

Two of them did not even have World Series...

Exactly. It happens to nearly every pitcher, and very frequently before they reach age 38. It's a major part of why I hate long term deals for starters in free agency, especially those on the wrong side of 30...

They may or may not use Barnes in that role. but his pre-finger slice 2021 was actually quite stellar. It's really going to come down to how Houck and Whitlock are used. If both stay in the pen (my choice), then one probably handles the closing/high leverage and the other, along with Taylor, Barnes, Brasier, Sawamura, and maybe Valdez and/or Darwinzon Hernandez can give the Sox what looks like it could be a pretty formidable bullpen. But if one or both move to the rotation, then it puts question marks potentially all over the staff, including in the closing/high leverage role, where Barnes certainly remains a candidate. (Of course, not all question marks are answered negatively.)

It actually does bring up what I consider the most glaring concern against robot umpires - what do you do about hackers?