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Yes but not all teams had injuries to $31mill Cy Young winners who were the ace of the division champion team one year previous...

Can I spin it by saying “The 2017 Red Sox won the division over the Yankees by two full games despite scrap heap reclamation project Doug Fister starting more games than former Cy Young winner David Price”?

Are you back on the Pedroia Bandwagon now?

As Spring Training moves on, MLBTR still lists over 60 free agents without homes. Some of them will likely retire, probably 15-20 or so. But some of these guys still have some baseball left on them. (And how is Jose Iglesias still available? It’s not like some team is waiting on him as a fallback in case they don’t sign Machado, is it?) There’s still a few guys I think could help Boston, even on minor league deals. Bullpen arms. I’m actually surprised Dombrowski passed on Jake Diekman, but Ryan Madson and Nick Vincent would both represent upgrades for the Sox pen. I’ve never been a huge fan of Tyler Clippard, but he does have a good track record. And while I’m opposed to LOOGY strategies, it is a job Aaron Loup has done well. At this stage, one might think any of these guys fit the budget. Logan Forsythe on a minor league deal also makes a lot of sense. Even with Chavis trying 2b, the idea is to replace the depth that was traded away in Esteban Quiroz. Forsythe is also a very good defender at 3b (unlike Chavis), and Cora has expressed interest in having a defensive replacement at 3b. Craig Gentry is another guy I’d like to see the Sox sign to a minor league deal. The Sox outfield depth in the minors is abysmal. At this stage, getting an OF who can hit might not be so likely, but one who can at least field could be helpful. And Gentry is among the best defensive outfielders in the game. He is also an excellent base runner should the need for a pinchrunner arise at some point. But if I had to guess, I think all that’s left on Dombrowski’s To Do list is to trade a catcher for rotation depth, which is a hard move to figure, since Swihart won’t get much, especially if the pitcher having an option is a requirement. The best the Sox might get for Swihart is another prospect who failed to live up to the hype, like Cincinnati’s Robert Stephenson or Lucas Sims. Or maybe a career minor leaguer with some MLB-caliber skills equaled by his flaws, like Cleveland’s 26yo Jake Paulson. Now if they trade Vazquez, that might be a different story. But it’s still tough to figure who they could get for him...

My original thought was straight up Darth Vader.

The pink color was the only gumlike quality about that stuff. It used to actually hurt as it cut up my tongue and cheeks when I crunched (Crunched!?!? Gum that crunched!?!?) into it. I just threw those things out. Safe bet not one stick has biodegraded yet...

Thomas Haden Church?

Was that really gum? It was the most brittle, sharp-edged slab of something. Like a bubblegum-scented slab of pressboard that tasted like, well, pressboard. And it broke when you chewed it!! What kind of gum breaks when you chew it???!?

I remember Zac. Very sad.

With Jeffrey’s and Knebel, he doesn’t get the save chances....

Rogen is probably cheaper anyway. What other parts need to be cast so this complete lack of story can be told? Do we need a Ken Rosenthal to deliver no news everyday? I think Josh Malina is perfect for his part. He can just stare in awkward silence at Buster Olney, as portrayed by Andy Milonakis...

Do the Yankees only have Florial at 106?

Maybe for some scenes 10 years down the road where Kimbrel has just let himself go. (Rogen as an athlete? Really?) I say Jason Momoa, but he needs to cut his hair...

And the only reason you can keep pace at all is Severino. But if he isn’t Severino and is instead Julio Teheran 2.0 or Mat Latos 2.0 or Jair Jurrjens.... you get the idea. It’s easy to think “no way that will happen,” but I didn’t choose these names by accident or at random; they’re from his “Similar Pitchers By Age” list on B-R.com. FYI: Teheran is number 1...

Also, Bryce Harper will be played by Chris Pratt , and since the role requires him to do nothing for 6 months, it shouldn’t tax his acting ability. Manny Machado will be played by Luis Guzman, who is a little old for the part but... hey, the guy is in every movie. He has to fit in here somewhere...

It’s just a different method of analyzing the same game. You’re old enough to remember thermometers filled with mercury (and the horrible places people had to put them), but nowadays we have these magical electronic gizmos you swipe across your forehead or pop in your ear for one second. They all work, but at the end of the day, it’s all still looking at temperature...

In his last full season, he was worth 4.9 fWAR, so it’s not as outrageous as you imply. Really the biggest factor will be how much time he spends on the field...

A phone? Is that one of those old-timey things with a dial that people used to talk into? I think I saw one in a museum once...

If you want a more physical resemblance than Buscemi or Carrell, I nominate former Boston comedian Jon Benjamin, the voice of the titular characters in Archer and Bob’s Burgers, which are two hilarious shows...

It’s a safe bet Lowrie won’t make 2b over Pedroia for the AL All Star team regardless, as he is now in the NL and switching to 3b...

Yes if you prefer ERA as a measure. For a long time the philosophy was “best pitchers start, worse pitchers to the bullpen.” Then it evolved to “ worse pitchers to the bullpen plus one really good reliever who closes.” But now, teams seem to be gravitating towards putting better pitchers in the bullpen and relying on starters less, probably driven by economics, as middle relievers tend to be the cheapest pitchers...

Even then, I can name numerous other relievers who are reliable the majority of the time. Some teams just build bullpens using primarily cheaper high upside/no consistency pitchers. But do you think the Yankee bullpen with Chapman, Britton, Ottavino, Green, and Betances has a lot of volatile pitchers? Or the Brewers bullpen with Hader, Jeffress, Knebel, Barnes, etc? Or when the Royals had Holland, Davis, Crow and Collins? Some teams just use good pitchers in their bullpen. dgalehouse summed it up. Some relievers are crapshoots, but so are some starters...

Recurring SNL character a few years ago. I thought Moynihan was hilarious...

Oh galehouse, you’re about one step away from Bobby Moynihan’s “Drunk Uncle” character with this rant

Nobody wants to see James Woods anymore. Bryan Cranston should play Dombrowski and Scott Boras will be portrayed by a 3 foot tall CGI devil voiced by Andy Cerkis using his Gollum voice...