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Were those announcers watching that game? That ball was borderline at best and I cannot fault the ump for calling it a ball at all. I would guess there were a lot of borderline calls that game that went against Strasburg. That one didn't seem all that egregious. And certainly not enough to get ejected over...

Will the Cardinals ever play that elusive 6th game of the season? It's August 13th and their record this month is 0-0. How are they ever going to make up all those games?

Be fair. That's a good season for Sanchez...

I already have. multiple times...

He's a pretty fierce hitter. He'll have more. But they won't outweigh the good he does for that team...

Yeah!! Sox bullpen day!! Said all the Yankee hitters...

It's hard to match him up. San Diego, for example, has the pitching prospects in Mackenzie Gore and Luis Patino. But they also have 3B locked up with Machado for the forseeable future. And they can't move Machado to SS, where they have Fernando Tatis. And they can't move Devers to 1B, because they have a lot of money tied up in Eric Hosmer at that position. The Dodgers have youn pitcing prospects, and might need a 3B for next season. But Friedman appears unlikely to move any of them. The Nats could use Devers at 3B. But they have no pitching prospects worth considering in a deal.

Unless you are a believer in that Arauz can maintain pace with Devers in RBIs over a full season...

Mata, who to me is a questionable omission from the player pool...

Well if the season lasts18 more days, the Sox reset becomes official and Bloom can spend again. If he does, Trevor Bauer might be a good target. As I doubt Bauer maintains his "year to eyar" strategy throughout free agency, he should be on the Sox radar. And if the Sox can return to some of the big-spending ways, they should be among the frontrunners for his services. One team potentially not among the frontrunner should be the Yankees, as they signed Gerrit Cole last year, creating two possible concerns. First, Cole takes up a substantial portion of their budget, and also apparently Cole and Bauer, despite being college teammates, apparently hate each other. Now, Bauer might be able to stomach Cole as a teammate again for the right price, but one has to wonder if going directly to Cole's rival (for the right price) also has some appeal to the rather vocal Bauer...

Well, he inherited a pile of messy contracts and no farm system to speak of and was not allowed to spend any money. Not exactly an ideal situation. (In fact, probably about as bad of a situation any GM can be put in.) Maybe the team had a better chance of keeping Betts if not for the extensions to Sale and Eovaldi. And if the Sox still had a few prospects to take on roles at minimum wage or to deal for cheaper MLB-caliber players. If anyone anticipated immediate success, their wishes were unrealistic. Especially once the two best SP on the team went down, along with their best pitching prospect...

Idoubt they move him. Dalbec maybe, but not Devers. And for all the talk about how [pathetic the Sox rotation is, if Sale, Erod, and Darwinzon Hernandez all return next season, it can certainly improve by a substantial amount. Add in Eovaldi and Perez, and other than being overwhelmingly left-handed, is the rotation necessarily an area of weakness? Maybe realistically add one pitcher, since Sale is probably out until July. Now the bullpen looks pathetic going forward. Especially if the Sox (as I predict) move Barnes and Workman. That leaves Hembree, Walden, Brice and Brasier atop the depth chart, whereas things would look a lot rosier if they were at the bottom of it...

Burnes is a SP. Turang is another trade chip to get more pitching. Tough to deal Devers for an established SP, since any team acquiring him will want to put their best team around him, which will include their SP. And if the Sox have any weakness that rivals their pathetic rotation, it’s their bullpen. But at least their rotation can look forward to the potential returns of Sale and Rodriguez...

Would you trade Devers to the Brewers for Hader, Corbin Burnes and minor league SS Bryce Turang? The Brewers have no internal 3B hitting the pipeline, and lose (if that is not too strong a word here) Jedd Gyroko to free agency after this season. Sure, they could rework their infield with Luis Urias at 3B and Orlando Arcia at SS. But they shouldn't. Hader is going to get very expensive in arbitration And Burnes has some upside but not the corresponding success in MLB yet. Turang is a high value piece who probably immediately becomes a top 3 prospect in the Sox system, and allows them to deal for more pitching or deal Bogaerts if need be. (Need shouldn't be.)

Like most teams, tolerance for nonsense with the Guardians varies with ability. If you're Clevinger or Plesac, you can get away with a lot more than, say, Adam Plutko. Clevinger is going nowhere. At least not until he commands real money. I thought maybe Bogaerts to Cleveland for Northeastern alum Aaron Civale and RHRP James Karinchak, but I took the post down when I realized Lindor is a free agent after 2021, not 2020. I have my doubts they deal Lindor, who is their big draw. There are certainly reasons they should move him, I just don't think they will. And I think it hurts them that most teams that are losing All Star shortstops to free agency lose them at the same time as Lindor reaches the market. So why would the Dodgers or Astros trade for Lindor when they can play their own internal All Star for one more season and then try to sign him?

Agreed. Unless they take back a questionable contract. Like Cueto or Arrieta. If the Sox want some sort of blockbuster, the trading pieces might well be Bogaerts or Devers. Bogaerts has some appeal since many teams face potentially losing their All Star shortstop after 2021, including the Guardians, Dodgers, Rockies and Astros. (The Rockies do have internal replacements up the wazoo.) Or sooner, like the Angels. Devers is the better trade piece, but is also much,much more difficult for Boston to replace. Dalbec has some pluses, but he is also more likely to be Russ Branyan 2.0 than Joey Gallo 2.0. And, the team most in need of an upgrade at 3B given the name on this year's free agent list is the Dodgers (where Turner can but probably won't walk.) One thing we know about the Dodgers is they have absolutely no desire to trade their young arms. Even in the Betts trade, the Dodgers brought in a third team to get the young arm (Brusdar Graterol) for Boston. And even after Graterol failed his physical, the Dodgers reworks the deal so they could acquire Graterol. So while they should give up Dustin May plus for Devers, I have my doubts they would pull the trigger...

I know it’s just an example, but why would Cincinnati even think about trading Castillo for Bogaerts? Any team acquiring an expensive MLB asset like Bogaerts isn’t going to give up MLB pitching to get him, unless that pitching is expensive or not controlled for much longer. Or has other, more serious issues. If the Sox try a blockbuster like that, I could see Cleveland and their abundance of pitching as a more interesting target. But you still won’t get Bieber or Clevinger. But Civale and/or Plesac might be on play...

I think the 2021 rotation probably contains Eovaldi, Erod (hopefully), Perez, Hernandez and a free agent. Godley might be able to hang on as a depth starter or ERod insurance, but it's a bit early to tell. So if they add, say, Bauer to that mix, it looks a lot more resepctable. Especially when Sale comes back. Now the bullpen is anybody's guess. Walden, Taylor, and Brice probably all return, if for no other reason than there is no one else left. And maybe Godley if he is not in the rotation. So hopefully they get something good when they trade Workman, Barnes and possibly Hembree and either Dalbec or Chavis...

But the bottom line - they had something to offer. I'm sure you heard the story about how upset George Steinbrenner was when the Red Sox acquired Pedro. Someone on his staff had to tell him "We could have had him if we had still had Tony Armas." Right now, not sure what the Sox can offer or will offer. They do desperately need pitching. But I doubt they go all in for threee starters. Possibly just one big name, like Trevor Bauer. In the lineup, a lot depends on what happens with JDM. But this team, as awful as it is, did win 118 games two years ago and should at some point get back Sale and hopefully Rodriguez. Those are both immense losses right now...

Well, the Sox also had a farm system with players other teams wanted, too. That's a bigger factor than whether or not they were contending. The Red Sox were not really all that great before they got Pedro, actually...

In the right deal, I imagine anyone would be on the block. Even Devers. I just can't envision what that "right deal" would be...

The Red Sox hold a team option for $6.25 mill with a $500 K buyout. He might be back as sort of a default option. Bringing him back just makes one less hole to fill and does so easily and relatively cheaply...

Downs has played 12 games above A ball. Casas has played 0 games above A ball. Neither should be on the radar for 2021. Also Casas bats left-handed and is therefore not a good platoon partner with Moreland...

I figure the Sox to defintely move Workman, and most likely Barnes and possibly Hembree as well. On the prospect front, the most likely trade bait figures to be Dalbec. But what should they be trading for? Starting pitchers are an obvious need, but also the most difficult to acquire. Based on today's roster and system, they are also to need a CF, assuming they are satisfied that Peraza can play 2B well enough to not prioritize the position. The rest of the lineup should be under control for one more year minimum, since the chances of them picking up Moreland's option are looking really, really obvious. The rotation should return Eovaldi . I wouldn't call Perez a lockto return, but i would call his option likely, simply because right now the Sox have one returning starter. Sale and ERod are question marks. I like Godley so far, but I wouldn't call him a lock to return. The bullpen without Barnes and Workman looks flat out pathetic. This is another major area of need...

I'd trade Dalbec for Turnbull yesterday. And given the Tigers surplus of pitching prospects and dearth of hitting prospects, they might consider it as well...