notin

But you have repeatedly said that these other players will eventually revert to their career (or last 3 years) stats, but you don’t acknowledge that many Sox players are in position to do the exact same thing. So other players will play to their abilities but not Sox players?

Hes 25, improving snd not the problem…

Ummm. Their loss brings Boston 1/2 game closer. The Sox win brings them another 1/2 game closer. One game swing…

And their 100 OPS+ hitters are average, while our are apparently “incompetent”. Or my favorite - if the Sox extend their younger players and pay them, it makes those players lose their drive and settle into mediocrity. But if the Sox give even more money to a 30+ player, he will clearly focus and play to the best of his abilities and never age for the life of the contract…

A 25 yo old hitter who’s OPS has improved every year and was league average last year is an “incompetent hitter”?

You did say it was still early for Alonso and Bichette…

Yeah so good he made the Cubs all better last year, too…

We needed an infielder, not another 1b/DH. How many times do you need to be told? Please don’t say “we should have just dumped Yoshida.” First of all, learn how benches work. Yoshida isn’t even a starter if everyone is healthy. So sign Alonso and the Sox bench … Duran? Anthony? Abreu? But in this scenario, the Sox start who in the infield with Story and Mayer?

Bichette is a tough call, but Alonso might for 1-2 years and then start declining at an indeterminable pace. But his last 3 numbers (as previously shown) are the same as Contreras. Arguing for him is kind of moot. Id rather have Contreras in and out in 2 years than watch 36yo Pete Alonso pretend he can still bat cleanup and play 1b…

It’s one thing to think a 1 year / $6mill contract was the option overs 5 year $150mill deal. Most people get the team will have 4 bench players at some point. But they also Ave roster spots 27-40 to fill on the 40-man. While I’m not wild about Gasper, I do at least know he was an inconsequential waiver claim roster filler…

I hope not. But do you think age 34-35 Suarez is going to pitch like he has so far?

This conversation has drifted too far. The original point was the Sox could have added MULTIPLE elite hitters. The counter was ALONSO AND BREGMAN ARE NOT ELITE HITTERS. Just because they are better than 5 or 6 guys on the Sox does not make them elite hitters. It doesn’t change whether or not they were Plan A or better than IKF. Alonso and Bregman are above average hitters likely to become average hitters in the next couple of seasons. I get the current lineup is frustrating. These two (and Bichette) have been as well, not to mention in two or three years, the same people saying “release Yoshida and bring in someone better” will be spearheading the charge to “release Bregman and bring in someone better.” And be calling Henry cheap because he isn’t willing to dump a player with $70million left on his deal. Anyone bringing up IKF is a clear straw man. And not even a good one. Bringing Gasper into it caused my IQ to drop 30 points just reading the sentence. My only hope is “maybe it’s a joke that isn’t funny. Not every joke is funny. It happens.” Anyone seriously bringing up Gasper as the Sox substitute for Schwarber/Alonso should be slapped and sterilized. We realize there’s no hope for you, but we also need to make sure it ends here. The only “elite” options this past off-season were Tucker, who didn’t need to be the Sox radar. And I can see an argument for Bichette. Bo has struggled the last few seasons with injury, but he has shown himself to be a very good hitter and is the right age for a breakout. But his recent health issues also make him a huge gamble. Alonso and Bregman are the types of free agents best avoided. I’m glad Boston did…

“Plan A” just means what gets reported first. No one on here knows all the orders of the conversations and back-and-forths. I know you’ve tried to establish yourself as bring in the room where it happens, but the issue is you don’t really know how much you don’t really know…

Right. It came down to IKF or Schwarber - WE CAN ONLY GET ONE!! the biggest sham since Dombrowski blatantly chose Jhoulys Chacin over Bryce Harper and Manny Machado!

It seems like a lot of “spend on the best available” crap. Get good players, not above average hitters you’re passing off as “elite” ball players just because their old teams didn’t want them back…

Hmmm… maybe no one takes his point seriously because the Sox added $65mill in payroll his off-season and he keeps mentioning Mickey Gasper?

Thank you. I’ve been saying for years that free agency is all about PR and the only reason any team should overspend for aging players is because fans equate it to commitment to winning…

Bichette should have been an improvement. To date, he’s been a platinum-coated Durbin with diamonds where his defense should be. Contreras is as good as Alonso, but is a bit older. So maybe some age regression? But if it doesn’t happen this year, it’s probably someone else’s problem. Can’t say that about Alonso…

Or understand the point he was making…

I expect that to change. Also it’s not a horrible contract. It would just work better on a player who wasn’t so selfish…

Anderson wasn’t even around long enough to get the breakfast buffet at the hotel…

You’re two minutes late!

OPS+ from 2023-2026. Big enough sample to matter, but not so large that numbers players put up at age 22 are treated equal to last year. Contreras 129 Alonso 129 Bregman 120 Bichette 109 Yoshida 109 Bichette is far and away the youngest player on his list, but his hitting this year a very unhealthy .571 OPS. That’s Durbin Country, folks. Even without this year, Bichette is far from an elite hitter and barely a good ballplayer. And possibly not even an upgrade over Yoshida. Well, at least he costs twice as much. But again, why are Bregman and Alonso elite hitters but not Contreras?

OPS+ is on the first offensive table for a player on baseball-reference.com

Whether or not you care about OPS doesn’t change the validity of the argument. Especially when you counter with RBIs, a stat you probably don’t understand. Pete Alonso has come up to bat with 107 runners on based and driven in 14 of them. Willson Contreras has come up with 91 runners on base and driven in 15 of them. And somehow you think these two are equal on this stat? If you’re going to keep using RBI, learn how to make them useful…