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Somewhere in there you answered your own question...

But how long do you have Betts for? Don’t forget - the Sox had no pitching and Betts last year and won 85 games...

Oh ok. I was wondering if you meant Barnes. Here’s the problem. The Sox have no pitching, and subtracting Price, Eovaldi and evening Perez doesn’t solve that problem. It doesn’t even help it break even. Now they do have a ton of offense. Top 3 in runs scored in MLB each of the last two seasons. Pitching? Not so impressive. Does keeping Betts at the expense of the pitching staff help? Of course that’s not why Betts was dealt. He was dealt for payroll and free agency reasons. Betts has a good but not great 2016 and turned down $200 mill. He turned down higher offers since. He wants free agency and as much money as possible. He never said a thing about wanting to stay in Boston until after he was dealt. He wasn’t going to sign any contract that wasn’t so absurd it hamstrung the team going forward. Betts was positioning himself to be the next Ernie Banks - Hall of Fame player on bad teams. Betts was going to hit free agency and no amount of re-writing the past changes this. So are the Sox better off dealing one year of Betts for something and maybe trying to re-sign him? Or keeping him for one year, trying to resign him, and likely getting only a draft pick? It’s a two way street. Betts has to want to re-sign for it to happen. And saying “all he wanted was $420 million” isn’t painting a picture that the Red Sox were the unreasonable ones...

He’s mega talented but insane. He could provide moments of excitement not seen since in Fenway since Carl Everett. I’d take him mega talent Puig over mega dbag Addison Russell. But right now, hoping the Sox add Brian Dozier. And arms!

I railed against the Price and Eovaldi signings when they happened and for this exact reason. I’m still railing about Eovaldi. But without Price, not sure the Sox win it all in 2018. And who is M Bradley?

He is the best free agent left. But I think we all know why he’s still left...

12 games. He’s had exposure, AA is really the most important level IMO. Let him have a full season there...

Be a little fair here. Betts and the Red Sox were not $11mill apart...

I don't think the Giants signed Hunter Pence to be a full time starter at age 37 one year after playing all of 55 innings in the OF. Hamilton is on a minor league deal. You are showing have more faith in him than the Giants are...

We already know he was Plan B. I think the plan all along when they decided against Graterol was to get another pitcher (where LA balked?) or get the best prospect they can to flip for one. Downs might be a stud. But so far, he has only played A ball. I just cannot get too excited about players in A ball to the point where I say they will be better than actual Major Leaguers. After all, there is a better chance he never gets past Pawtucket, statistically speaking. The Sox 2B depth chart in the minors might suck, but how exactly does their pitching look in the majors?

Be fair here. The bumps by Altuve and Springer are actually fairly small. Calling out a 0.031 increase in OPS is like calling Altuve out for getting 6 more singles as proof of cheating. (If Altuve had 6 fewer singles in 2017, his OPS would have been .926.) So is this proof of cheating resting on 1 extra single per month? With Springer, it isn't much more than that. Not even two hits per month. Now Marisnick's numbers jump out at me...

A. Jeter Downs. Come on! We CANNOT keep a guy named Jeter. B. Jeter Downs for Jakob Junis. Jeter Downs for Jeffrey Means. Jeter Downs to Miami (and the original Jeter) for Caleb Smith. Jeter Downs for Jameson Taillon (and a very long physical)

I think that is the idea here. Pillar in CF vs LHP and backing up Verdugo or Benintendi in case of injuries, etc...

With who? Have you seen their OF depth chart? Which of the following 3 start over JBJ? Mike Yastrzemski (OK, he's one.) Alex Dickerson Steve Duggar Hunter Pence Billy Hamilton Chris Shaw Jaylin Davis Austin Slater

Better than a Benintendi, too. But not Verdugo. Pillar’s a platoon with JBJ. But really all he does is bring maybe slightly improved offense while maintaining elite defense...

But.... arms!!!

To make room for Puig. Just some board fodder. In reality, I knew it was about as likely as the Sox signing me to be the closer...

Yes because Kevin Pillar and his robust .766 OPS against LHP will keep those southpaws honest...

Puello is Gorkys 2.0. He’s on an MiLB contract...

No argument. But the rapist label might be a bit premature...

Even then, you might need to drop an “allegedly” or two in there. What that story says “Person A says Verdugo filmed it, but Verdugo claims to have been passed out.”...

Or platooned...

That’s an oversimplification of winning. Since the Dodgers last title, the Marlins have two. But which club has its fan base to more wasted seasons that were over by July?

Except that the Braves rarely spend...

The article assumes Pillar will be in a backup role...