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True. I should have guessed once they decided to name the team after George Jetson’s dog...

I was actually hoping to see the ERod thing...

I think it’s the first time you only had two teams involved....

And have ERod pitch 3 games of every 5?

Does Bloom have a suggestion box? This needs to go in it...

And keep the man from ripping that uniform off his back, as they say...

If playing the field was that important to him, he could have opted out. I’m not so sure he minds the limited DH role...

Did that article suggest trading JBJ for Jake Marisnick? And Houston does that why?

how about extra thin, delicate crystal ballerina zombies?

If JD is frail, then Judge and Stanton are corpses. Maybe they are the Zombie Apocalypse?

And maybe he did try to deal him on his way out...

Some of this is a little too specific to deny any parallel. Nomar was on a fast track to the Hall of Fame and one of the best shortstops in team history before injuries derailed him, but he was a better player than Cabrera. He was worth 5.8 fWAR in 2003 a year prior to the trade. And while he was only worth 1.5 fWAR in 2004, as the injuries piled up, he was still worth more than Cabrera that year. Whether or not Cabrera and Mientikiwicz were prospects is immaterial. It's not like the Sox have swapped Betts for prospects yet. They did swap Edgar Renteria for BA #2 Andy Marte, but then flipped Marte for Coco Crisp and others. No rule against doing that again. As for dealing for a star for prospects, the AGon trade leaps to mind. But even if you don't like that example, just because the Sox have never done it before is no reason to not do it now. After all, when was the last time the Sox were trying to pare salary to get under the luxury tax limits? The situation itself is novel, and therefore the solution might need to be, too. No one wants to white flag 2020, but this team will still have Devers, Bogaerts, Benntendi and Martinez near the top of the order. While Mookie does make it even better, let's not pretend this lineup is built around Cody Ross without him. With or without Betts, the Sox will score. The season largely rests on the health of Price, Sale, and Eovaldi. And if they all go down, it won't matter whether or not the Sox have Betts...

Trading Betts is not necessarily punting the 2020 season. Was trading Nomar punting?

Not unreasonable. The best comp I can think of is Zack Cozart, who got 3 years at age 31 after accruing 8.2 fWAR the 3 previous seasons. Didi is entering his age 30 season after accruing 9.7 fWAR the 3 previous seasons. So I would expect on the basis of being younger and better, he should top Cozart's deal by a good amount. The only factor that might alter this is if his elbow is a problem...

A fairly grim reason to not think about 2021 and beyond. "Don't worry about the Sox farm system. Why build for the future when the Zombie Apocalypse might negate it anyway?"

The Sox only hope is the fact that last year, Bogaerts was in the same position. Except Xander was represented by an agent notorious for eschewing extensions prior to free agency, and especially the year before free agency...

Although if I could flip Price for Wil Myers, I make that move. Myers might be awful, but the $18mill savings in AAV makes it worthwhile by itself...

I can't think of any instances offhand. But that's also not an applicable scenario to Gregorius, who was not offered a QO to begin with...

Bear in m,ind if the Sox trade Mookie for prospects, it doesn't mean they have to keep those prospects. But Mookie's market will be limited to a few teams, ones that think they are just that one player away from wiunning it all. If the sox get good prosects for him - MLB-ready or not- those prospects can be marketable to any team to get potentially multiple MLB players. Like when the Sox dealt Edgar Renteria for the late Andy Marte, and then flipped Marte for Coco Crisp...

No problem. All the Sox need is to find teams looking to spend $60mill on a DH and $96mill on a SP with questionable health issues. Maybe a couple Google searches...

There was definitely some luck involved. Just like how you pointed out the 2018 Red Sox had too many players having career years, so did the 2019 Yankees. Do you expect repeat performances from Urshela, LaMahieu, Tauchman, and Gardner (who will be back in NY)?

Even if you also assume his replacement(s) won 0 games

I knew who you meant. I was also prepared with Robby Ray and Anthony Bass...

If the only other 1B are guys named Chavis and, say, Matt Adams, sure. Why not? If Devers or a slightly lesser player is at 1B, I'm willing to let him play the outfield for the 6-7 games the Sox play in NL parks...

So are you saying you would trade Xander Bogaerts for AJ Pollock?