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I don’t think I’m in the BC Fan Club so much. It’s more of my anti-Dombrowski stance from this year...

Yes if he can do his job and hit like JD. If JD played 1b or LF but was a terrible fielder, would that make him worth $22mill?

Oh cp. Pull up your pants and put away the ruler. I hope Sale bounces back, but I had trepidations about the deal at the time. Not unique to that deal; the same ones I have with any mega contract given to a player 30 or older. I just hoped Dombrowski did his due diligence. And he probably did, despite it not working out. You’re right. We shouldn’t compare Dombrowski to Cherington. Dombrowski isn’t even close, and today was a good lesson in how hypocritical the yardstick is. Cherington’s teams failed? That’s all on Ben. But when Dombrowski’s team fails, it’s on the players. Now what I saw happen was Cherington take over the Sox after a horrific collapse with a team that quit on everyone. Despite dominating the AL through August of 2011, they just quit. That same team largely came back and continued to suck. Same team, but underperforming. Sound familiar? When a good GM like Cherington has a team like that, he pulls of the boldest Trade in team history. He shakes things up. And, despite getting back basically nothing in that trade, still won a World Series 14 months later. Dombrowski? What does he do when the team doesn’t play as well as expected? Anything? Dombrowski inherited a lot of good players and a good farm. But he’s essentially that rich kid with a big allowance whose parents went away for the weekend. He spent everything he had to keep the party going, and when it stopped being fun, he quit on us all and is now ready to have someone else clean up the mess. He’d just assume the help get the vomit out of the chandelier and drain the beer from the fish tank...

That appears to have been Dombrowski’s exact stance...

While a player’s trade value is completely dependent on what another GM thinks he is worth and nothing else, http://www.baseballtradevalues.com values Chavis as being worth $12.0 million, which makes him tradable for maybe a Chris Bassitt. I wouldn’t bother if that was the case...

It’s not the guessing wrong that bothers me. It’s the absolute nothing that followed the bad guesses..,

I’m usually among the last to give up /as well. This year, it’s a two person race to see who gives up last. Kimmi vs Slasher. And right now that race is more interesting than the Sox postseason hunt...

Not really. They can all afford the lofty ticket prices...

He’ll probably be on the team next year, but I don’t think much should be expected, except for his annual long trip to the IL...

Well, he gave you half of that...

I think his $8.8mill salary for a Gold Glove fielder/part time hitter just isn't in the budget for a lot of teams. There are plenty of good glove CF's out there who make a lot less...

Well, my rant is about the condition and lack of depth for the SP. I think we all at least had questions about Sale and Price after 2018. Or should have. And expecting a full season from Eovaldi is simply not wise. Where was the depth?

I typoed that. On my keyboard, the "8" and "9" are right next to each other...

Ellsbury and Dempster. Ellsbury was still good, but he wasn't the difference between last place and first place...

In fact, just blaming the SP is not 100% accurate. Eovaldi - wit ha significant history of injury - has missed most of 2018. Dombrowski's lucrative extension made replacing him difficult. (So apparently he decided not to try beyond Ryan Weber.) Sale missed time in 2018, and was not the same in the postseason. He was also given a lucrative extension. Now that he is out, don't hold your breath for a replacement. Price has been having off-and-on issues since 2017. If he isn't 100%, why do you expect the same results from when he was? Porcello has been a flop. That's on him. But essentially, Dombrowski took a WSC team and the extent ofhis "improvements" was to replace Craig Kimbrel with Colten Brewer. Meanwhile, Houston and NY and Tampa and, well, everyone else, was trying to get better to catch the Sox. Juggernaut or not, he absolutely gave everyone the chance to close the gap. And some of them took it...

So who do you blame the 2014 Sox first to worst season on?

I am saying the Yankees bullpen pitchers are more talented and it has nothing to do with the way they are being utilized. They just have better pitchers in the bullpen. And I simply asked a hypothetical question. I don't expect the Yankees to change anything...

Well, he held over a successful team from last year and has done nothing to improve it. Cherington built a Wolrd Series Champion in 2013 and did nothing as well in 2014, and the team was not successful. Was that on the team or Cherington? Because Ben was stripped of some of his responsibilities the next season...

Reportedly, Dombrowski tried to move him last offseason. Not sure what the market was, but at the very least, we know it was less than Dombrowski wanted...

He was overpaid and screamed "decline." While he was worth 7.7 fWAR the 3 previous seasson, the late Luis Valbuena was worth 6.0 fWAR those same years while playing about 60 fewer games. Sandoval received a 5 year $85mill contract that the Sox are still paying despite releasing him 3 years ago. Valbuena signed a 2 year $10mill contract, played it out, and moved on. For the Sox, Sandoval was worth (-1.4) fWAR before being released. Valbuena provided Houston with 3.7 fWAR in that same timeframe. Sandoval looked like just chasing the bigger name and getting burned by it...

I don't think the Sox should trade him because he isn't any good. I think he is very good. The reason to trade him is because his value on the market relative to his value to the Red Sox (including his first year arb salary) and any future reset plans is among the highest on the Red Sox. He's their best trade candidate, with the possible exception of Mookie. But unlike Mookie, the suitors aren't as limited. (But in the right deal the Sox should move Mookie, reset the luxury tax, and then bring him back long term on a contract similar to Nolan Arenado's.) I also think the Sox should non-tender Bradley. Not because I don't think Bradley is a bad player, but because his fourth year arb salary is likely to become a financial issue....

The disparity in the Sox bullpen isn't in the way the pitchers are utilized; it's in the talent of the pitchers involved. If Boone used the Yankee relievers in a "play it by ear" fashion that had Chapman pitching the occasional 7th or 8th, and saves distributed among the 4 pitchers, would they suddenly be ineffective? If Cora used the regimented bullpen role philosophy and always used, say, Walden in the 6th, Hembree in the 7th, Barnes in the 8th and let Workman close all year - or whatever arrangement you think is better - would this bullpen suddenly be better? Would you suddenly take our bullpen over the play-it-by-ear Yankee version?

Depends what other teams think he might be worth...

And for the Red Sox, he has more Silver Slugger Awards than seasons played. I doubt he opts out this year, unless there is some serous writing on the wall about a full scale rebuild than he doesn't want to wait through. But I don't think that happens, and I think that JD stays for 2020, but might opt out for 2021 when his salary drops by about $4mill...

With Sale back, trading Betts becomes less urgent. But if the goal is to reset the taxes, I would try to trade Barnes (who still has value and no shortage of interested teams) and try to trade Bradley and Hembree. But if either of the latter two cannot be dealt, I would non-tender them. But the foundation of this lineup over the next 3 years is Bentendi, Bogaerts, and Devers...