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Maybe?

I think we all wanted him in then. I was pretty disappointed he went to the Yankees of all teams. Of course, I have also launched mini-campaigns for all those other relievers except Treinen. Never liked Treinen. He knows why...

Well, you did say the Sox were not a playoff team in 2018...

You can make this argument all you want about "rattled" Ottavino. But his FIP was right there with his 2019 numbers, and he had a higher K/9 and lower BB/9 than in 2019. It's not about "ignoring" that one outing that resulted in a loss as it is keeping it in context. He threw in 22 games, and in 20 of them allowed 1 ER or less. He actually has a good shortened season that looks a lot worse because of one bad outing that might have come on a day when maybe he did not feel well, or was distracted, or just was a little sore. That stuff happens. And when you pitch in 60-70 games, a day or two like that gets more easily absorbed into the rest of the season. Now if you want the downside of the 2020 Ottavino as compared to the 2019 version, his FBv was down almost 1 mph. (This might not mean a thing, as a lot of pitchers around the league had similar issues, likely due to on/off ST). His Contact % was up. His Swinging Strikes were down. And in both years, his FIP was in he 3.40-3.55 range, while his ERA's were 1.90 and 5.89. Still, he is not some "rattled pitcher" who needed to be dumped. He is a good pitcher who will probably settle into the mean of those two seasons, and that means he will largely pitch effectively. He was a good add for the Red Sox and right now represents a loss for the Yankees, although they are more prepared to absorb it, and presumably did so with other moves in mind. But if you think someone like Loasigia is going to merely step in and fill his void, you best hope it is not a very big void...

By the time ERod and/or Sale return, Eovaldi and/or Richards will be injured. If ERod is not on the team by opening day, then Houck is probably in the rotation. If not, I agree with soxprospects.com that he should spend a few weeks in Worcester pitching the "lighter" innings and waiting for his inevitable return to the rotation...

Technically, that they are called "earned runs" because the offense earned them. So while I get your point, even if the pitcher made the error, the offense did not "earn" them...

Ok, but who would be a good opener? The idea of the opener is to use one of the better , if not the best bullpen arm to take out the opponents' best hitters one time through the lineup...

His moves are not bad, but he is in a tough spot. The team has too high of a payroll to simply take steps backwards. (Re: losing money). But not enough room left to add significant pieces without going over while still potentially missing the postseason. If Sale had gotten his surgery immediately after the 2019 season and was ready to return a lot sooner, this team would be in a much, much easier spot to determine what path to follow...

That' has been a Very Rays Model for the past several seasons. But our current bullpen cannot compete with what they have had out there...

Andriese has started 11 games in the past 3 years. He was not acquired to be anything but a bullpen arm/rotation depth...

Right now the Sox have a payroll of $205 million. That's a bit much to just sit back and let other teams make all the postseason money. If they were actually rebuilding and taking seasons off, they would have traded away actual salary. They didn't. Bear in mind, even the Yankees did. Yet the Sox didn't. Going over might not be a bad thing here. If the Sox make smart moves, they could certainly make the post-season this year...

With our fragile rotation? If they move Houck down to Worcester to start the season, he should just rent, not buy...

Maybe. I like him over Brice and Valdez, too. But if they keep him in Worcester actually starting games, that's probably better. Our rotation features both Nate Eovaldi and Garrett Richards. Houck will be starting at Fenway before mid-May. Book it...

Translation: Not wearing pinstripes. Must be insulted. This would come across way cooler if I could type in some 1970's style sci fi robot voice...

Honestly, if we get to accept small sample sizes, did you know Mariano Rivera only pitched in one World Series game 7 of his entire career? And how did that go? 2/3 IP and 3 runs allowed. Sure they were unearned, but it was his error. So I guess when the lights got their true brightest, he faded too. Now someone get him outta the Hall!!!

Or next week?

The “longest deal in the Bloom Era” is now a standard? The guy did sign Kevin Kiermaier to a longer deal than that. Just not on his first day...

Rattled reliever? 3/4 of his ER against came in 2 outings, and he posted 25/9 K/BB numbers in 22 innings. What’s he like when he’s not rattled?

Still not sure that means Ozuna or Bauer are walking through that door...

Bloom had 22 outings and gave up 12 ER. He gave up 6 ER in one outing, and then 6 more ER in the other 21 combined. I’d say that one bad outing definitely ruined an otherwise good season...

Ottavino's numbers last year do look bad at first glance, but he did give up 6 of his 12 ER in one outing (in which he logged 0 IP). So his 5.89 ERA for the season was a 2.94 in all his other games. And of those remaining 6 earned runs, he gave up 3 more in one other game. So in his other 22 games, he only gave up 3 ER total in 17.2 IP (1.52 ERA). He really did not pitch badly last year but instead just had 2 bad games...

The Ottavino acquisition itself is not a bad move, and neither is acquiring German. It just depends on how it affects the budget going forward, if there is one (which it looks like there is.)

I was annoyed they did not end the tied All Star game this way. Much more fun than making it matter, which was the stupidest decision by a Commissioner in the history of organized sports in the USA...

The Sale extension also had more potential to affect winning that the signing of Eovaldi.

Carlos Santana signed with the Royals weeks ago