notin

Releasing him does nothing....

I don't pretend to understand any aspect of playing in MLB...

Over half the pitchers in baseball saw severely elevated home run rates...

It was the only aspect of his career you mentioned. So why do you suspect PEDs so strongly?

And it's easy for us as fans to enforce that code from the safety of our seats and living rooms knowing full well no pitchers will be retaliating at us. Like I said, I don't have all the details. But if Pedroia (or Farrell or anyone) called for no retaliation, Barnes was out of line. He went rogue, and did so at the risk of his teammates and not himself...

It was actually a good thing Barnes was ejected before actually hitting Machado. Someone else would have been drilled. Possible fights. That's just part of baseball as a fan I don't enjoy...

So the only reason you suspect he used PEDs was his longevity? By that logic, isn't Tom Brady also juicing? Also Cy Young?

Do we allow literary references?

MLBTR has an article about how the Padres [plan to package a few prospects for an upgrade to the MLB roster. And they really do have to do it, since they risk losing some during the Rule 5 draft. This is a trade scenario that screams "Betts to San Diego!!!" loud enough to be hard at both poles simultaneously....

While Machado's slide was a complete cheap shot, he did try to help Pedroia up afterwards. I don't know what if anything he said to Pedroia personally, but Pedroia himself seemed satisfied and even spoke well of Machado aterwards. This is where it's all incomplete for me. Maybe he spoke well of Machado because of an apology and because he didn't think it was intentional. Or maybe because it was the professional thing to do. No idea here, just open to all possibilities. The whole "It's not me" issue is overblown. While fans seem to like and justify retaliatory HBPs (including me on occasion; I'm only human), they really are more of a childish imposition and have no place in the game. And, standing up for teammates or not, they are illegal. But the real problem is these delayed ones from another game, because then one thing we do know is there will be another retaliation, in this case at a Red Sox player. It never ends there unless the umpire steps in. (And sometimes not even then.) I can see a possibility that Pedroia didn't want the whole thing to escalate any further, something that really should happen. For all I know, Pedroia even called for it to not happen in a team meeting. I know fans think that headhunting Machado by Barnes was "standing up for his teammate." But it wasn't. It was putting his hitters in the line of fire...

Well, Rickey did steal 535 bases after age 30. That total alone would be ranked 31st on the All Time list. But more important, after age 30, Henderson still had a career OBP of .403 and an OPS of .811...

Not to mention, one with a story we don't all really know here. Really, Barnes retaliatory attempt at an HBP was a bigger deal...

Eh. No big deal there. Worst case scenario is the Sox leave Sam Travis exposed.

No. LSD joke. You know. His no-hitter...

What do you mean “no counting on” the 60 day DL? It’s just the long term injured list for MLB that allows teams to remove players from the 40 man roster. There are no qualifications or minimum requirements for being placed on it, and the 60 days refers to the minimum stay, not the maximum one. Prince Fielder has been on the 60 day DL for years. Ever since he unofficially retired, really...

Done with Pedroia? Look at him. He makes Rudy look like Andre the Giant. He showed up in 2006 with a body that looked like Cartman and a batting average normally associated with a pitcher. He’s NEVER looked like a guy who belonged in MLB, and his size, strength and speed just underscored that fact. And yet, a ROY, an MVP, multiple Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers later along with 3 World Series rings, and maybe he proved a few wrong. Did you know only two players in MLB history won a Rookie of the a Year Award, an MVP trophy, a Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger in their first two seasons in MLB? And, yes, Pedroia is one of them. (Ichiro is the other.) I wouldn’t count out Pedroia...

Basically this means the Sox are unlikely to pursue a 2b player like Scooter Gennett, and very likely to give lots of 2b time to Chavis and Marco Hernandez...

Or “Pabloated”...

No. I believe Mrs. Mazeroski was also a member at one point. Maybe you can still join the Dock Ellis Fan Club. They’re always looking for members. Also, they’re always looking for 3-headed garden gnomes carrying vats of custard...

Moving the bad deals is the more popular solution, but sometimes it’s next to impossible. If that’s the case, moving the good deals (like Bogaerts) might be the necessary option...

It’s not about everything being unloaded. It’s a question of which ones. I do suspect they are not so dissatisfied wit Price’s contract that they would unload Devers just to be rid of him. But Bogaerts is an easier trade by a long shot and would reduce the payroll towards the luxury tax by $20mill AAV...

Fairly safe bet the Bill Mazeroski Fan Club lacks the ability to renew your membership at this point

So what we have gathered so far is that no one is safe. Which makes me wonder - who are the most likely players to return? It seems like Devers and Bogaerts should be safe, but are they?

1. Plenty of time if you watch replays of games. Fast forwarding through the pitches to the batted balls - which is all one needs here - and a baseball game can be watched in 15 minutes. DVR one and try it sometime. 2. Bear in mind, there is a difference between a bias - which is an unfair prejudice - and a cognitive bias, which is an inherent flaw in human thought processes with regards to processing data. But as many of these plays are monitored using software now anyway, cognitive biases are not an issue...

Slight understatement. It will have a major impact. It’s arguably the most important outside factor remaining...