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That might be taking the "get more love than you deserve" more literally than intended...

Until you replace Eovaldi...

There are a lot of them now, but I don't care. It's not some high end Red Lobster. And damn, that is some good clam chowder...

Do NOT denigrate the Legal Seafood clam chowder. Those words are borderline blasphemous. I've seen people crucified on a giant clam shucker for less...

"Overrated" doesn't mean "bad." It just means you get more love than you deserve...

If the Sox want good, young talent, Mike Yastrzemski is 30. He has been great the last two years, but it getting him going to make getting Longoria worth while? Evan Longoria is going to make $43 million over the next 2 seasons. The Sox could probably sign Michael Brantley for a lot less and watch him hit similarly if not better than Yastrzemski. Yastrzemski would be a good get for the Sox, but not for $43 million. So unless Longoria can actually contribute himself in some way, I wouldn't make that deal. Plus... pitching?

Or maybe he just went and popped into Legal Seafood for the clam chowder, which is the most wonderful and delicious liquid on the planet and certainly worthy of a 2 hour plane flight. And after a bowl (because cups of Legal Seafood clam chowder are for self-loathers) or two, he went home and fired off tweets to other teams. I could get behind a day like that...

Sunday doubleheaders used to be the norm for every team in MLB. Bringing them back will reduce the likelihood of WS games being snowed out. Keep baseball out of November!

So you're saying the Rays were satisfied with two prospects on their way down the ladder? Again, this shows their declining faith in the "jewel of baseball's pitching trade market". Hence, my point about Archer being overrated...

As opposed to spending $26 million for 2 years on an oft-injured glove-only CF?

BTV thinks the Sox get hosed in that trade. The Rays would need to add Shane McClanahan, Yonny Chirinos or Joe Ryan to even it out. Getting both Shane's feels very anti-Ray. With Chironos entering his final pre-arb year, he might be more available. But he is not exactly a SP, having topped 89 IP just one time. And his FIP numbers tell the world his ERA might not be as sustainable as one might like. He feels like a "sell high" candidate, but Bloom might like him and if the Sox are getting Baz, it might lessen the blow if Chirinos pumpkins out on us... .

Well, it is the only thing he can do. Other than fly drones that drag banners bearing his name over every city. I wonder if he only bought that airline ticket to Boston just so he could post the picture on Twitter. And then he never followed up by going on an actual flight...

When I talk dirty, I also get into double headers every Sunday...

And they believed that combination was better because Archer was overrated. At some point, you have to acknowledge that Pittsburgh believed there to be at least equal value in this trade, which means they had more faith on Archer than he deserved. Which is the very definition of the word "overrated."

Well, when the universal DH is adopted in 2022, this will no longer be the case...

I think in many cases, such pressure already exists...

I don't think so. The year-to-year strategy during his arbitration years was one thing, as the ony other option was to sign a multi-year deal that is often referred to as being "team friendly," and Bauer appears to be against anything that is "team friendly." I think someone throws a 7 year deal in excess of $230 million at him, and his agent runs a few numbers by him that shows this offer is about as far from "team friendly" as it gets...

Is he worried people will forget about him?

He has been trolling a few teams on Twitter, which is just him being silly. He's actually not allowed to even engage teams yet and when he does, it won't be him dong it via Twitter. His agent (Rachel Luba) will be handling the actual contact. He certainly has a price that will make any team palatable, including one that employs Cole. He has also publicly denounced the Astros as cheaters, but I am sure he has a price to pitch in Houston. So if he is willing to go to NY, it will come down to how willing they are to meet his demands and exceed everyone else's offers...

I don't think Bauer wants to go anywhere near Cole. I might be giving that conflict too much weight, but if there is one player in MLB who would openly admit such a thing really was a factor, it is definitely Trevor Bauer...

Exactly. The market for Bauer's talent is limited to only 30 teams right now. Which one meets his terms is very wide open...

If I am running the Yankees, I bring in Andrelton Simmons to play SS. No one can shore up their middle infield defense better. While trading Torres seems foolish, it would have to be tough to let LeMahieu go, as he has been their best player the last two years. I think an infield of LeMahieu at 1B, Torres at 2B and Urshela at 3B with Voit at DH makes the most sense. The first guy on that team I try to move for a pitcher would be Sanchez. If I found nothing I liked, I'd try to sell high on Voit or Urshela (with LeMahieu taking 3B). I only move Torres if the return really dazzles me. That said, BTV gives Torres a trade value surplus of $61.6 million. That's roughly equal to Miami's Sixto Sanchez ($63.6 million), Detroit's Casey Mize ($60.5 million) and Detroit's Matt Manning ($59.8 million). While Miami already has some dirt cheap middle infield talent in Jaz Chisholm and Isan Diaz, the Tigers are loaded with younger pitching and have nothing at 2B or SS, and do have a big, big need for hitting at pretty much any position. I could see a potential deal there. Torres for Mize. Yankee fans?

When the Rays traded Archer away, he was in his final 3 years of a deal that paid him $22 million. That's far less than they are currently paying Kevin Kiermaier. They dealt Archer away because they felt the value of what they would receive in return for him was greater than Archer's ability and future production. In short, someone in that organization (Bloom?) felt Archer was overrated...

Very possible. The bottom line is someone is going to sign Bauer for a lot of money. And Cohen or not, I have my doubts it will be Bloom. My only opinion is that it is extremely unlikely to be Cashman who signs him, because I think Bauer's biggest criterion for signing will be "not on any team that already has Gerrit Cole." Of course, i might be overthinking their personal feud, too, and maybe even Bauer has a price that makes factors like that inconsequential. If I had to predict where Bauer would sign, the Mets are certainly high on my list for checking all the boxes, which include 1) large market 2)a belief that they have their biggest need as starting pitching, and 3) a belief they are one SP away from potential contention. Of course, the Dodgers also check those boxes. As do the Cubs and Cardinals. Are the Red Sox one SP away? Depends on the physical condition of Sale and ERod. A lot of times these deals come from teams no one expects. Who saw the Angels going big for Rendon? Or the Mariners with Cano? Or the Tigers for Price Fielder? I could go on. If Bauer sticks to his one year deal mantra, one team that might break the bank for a single season might be the Padres, especially if they can unload Wil Myers and his two years / $45 million. Getting rid of that salary makes fitting Bauer in for a single year, or even two, much, much easier...

Both areas need help. Fix what you can with what you have before bringing in other puzzle pieces...