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Well how much middle infield had he played at the time? Not counting the minor leagues, which were years in his past...

Right. Do you even know what those analytics say?

Like in The Princess Bride?

Oh. Well that it’s been done in another 7 game series makes the LCS factor a bit circumstantial...

1986 Mets?

Those have been my points all along, that I would let Sale and Kimbrel walk to keep the Killer B’s, or as many of them as possible. I’m pretty convinced (with no evidence whatsoever) Dombrowski and I disagree on both Kimbrel and Sale...

The Sox did take 2 out of 3 in Houston in June, losing the game started by Cole but winning the starts by Verlander and Morton...

You understate his career with the Dodgers, where he finished first or second in the NL 6 times in 9 seasons, and only finish below third once. His first year in Brooklyn saw the Dodgers win 104 games, only to finish 2 games out of first. (Granted, they won 100 games the year before he got there. He did inherit some quality, but he also kept it going.) He was there for some good Dodger teams...

I actually would not be surprised if DD did re-sign Sale, hoping for 4 or 5 good years before the fallout. If he gets that, Price will be off the books and that money becomes the replacement for Sale. Teams clearly do expect those long term deals to falter at the back end, which is why it's a common practice to backload them. To me, the idea appears to be to pay less for the player during his best years, so you have the financial ability to surround him with a better team and ncrease the chances for a title. And when his talent goes south, the team was looking at potentially struggling anyway. The downside is it does make it impossible to trade the player, but then even the "cheaper" salaries in a lot of those back-loaded deals were effectively no trade clauses...

I can go all facts and figures, but really, if you've been watching baseball you know them already. Sale isn't done. I never said he was. I just don't think giving him a 6 or 7 year deal after next season is a wise idea, and his aent will absolutely be asking for a 6 or 7 year deal The Sox will have had him for most of the best seasons of his career and they did that part right, but like in any relationship, you have to know when to say goodbye. And as Branch Rickey said "it's better to get rid of a player a year too early instead of a year too late." Sale will be tough to replace in 2020. That goes without saying. But at some point, Sale himself won't be a good replacement. So if the Sox bring him back for 7 years, and he gives them 3 good years before he turns into another in a long, long, long list of free agent contract non-performers, will the last 4 justify the first 3? If so, and we establish prior performance can justify a very poor finish, why was everyone so down on Hanley and Sandoval? And why are people still down on Price?

That was directed at me. But it does seem odd that he would defend the durability of a guy who went on the DL twice this year and hasn't been the same pitcher since...

Exactly. I live in Chicago where I know Cubs' fans who think Maddon needs to be fired because Terrance Gore struck out in the WC game. Huh?

Or visiting a sick child for Make One Wish...

That some fans think any of these players suck is beyond silly. Of the nearly 7 billion people in the world, only 750 get to play Major League Baseball. I don't know about you, but I'm not one of the best 750 people in the world at anything. In fact, it seems tough to grasp for some, but even the worst player in MLB - let's call him Bob Befsnyder - well, it's EXTREMLY LIKELY Ol' Bob is better at baseball than any of us are at anything. That doesn't mean we can't criticize Bob or Body Basche or Bhris Beck any of the other MLB bottom feeders. But let's have a little perspective here. Especially since our criticisms are for a players part of a 3-time defending division champs in the midst of a historic season...

Kimbrel has been getting hit as hard or harder than Price this post-season. If Price needs to be taken out of the rotation, should we also think about moving Barnes to the closer role?

"Worth" is the most misunderstood and misused concept in the English language. I admit I don't really get it. I mean, if I have THE Honus Wagner baseball card, I can find experts telling me it is "worth" $2.1 million dollars. But what if I can never find anyone willing to pay me that much for it? And if I can only find get, say $1 mill for it, does that mean it has a new value or I was ripped off or what? Note: I do not have that card. But I do have a 1973 John Ellis Topps All Star rookie card which has equally questionable worth...

First of all, I agree. I mean, this really isn't the best Soxteam I have ever seen, but it certainy is the most successful one in the regular season. But these are two thinghs certainly can be mutually exclusive. The whininess is kind of silly and why I largely avoid game threads. But I also think it's fair to recognize that a certain portion of the game thread whininess is a cathartic expression of frustration or disappointment at a particular game situation, and might be a better outlet for some people than, say, beating their poodle or downing multiple tequila shots. Of course, another portion is whiny entitled Sox fans who cannot comprehend that MLB is a very balanced game, losing does happen, and sometimes today's loss is run a certain way so as not to jeopardize tomorrow. And players don't get cut nor managers get fired over one game. Not even Grady Little...

Rank the following three pitchers by career postseason ERA from worst to best. 1. David Price 2. Chris Sale 3. Luis Severino

Would Workman even be on the postseason roster if Wright was healthy. I think Workman needs to be the new poster boy for why postseason stats don’t matter...

Sure many pitchers want to throw a strike on the first pitch. In fact, safe bet they all do. But that doesn’t mean they are going to succeed and it doesn’t mean they are never going to throw a better pitch for the rest of the at-bat. The “first pitch is the best pitch” is a very common myth told by Little League coaches to their players so they don’t all go up looking for walks, taking every pitch, and making a 6 inning little league game last for 5 hours. In the majors, sometimes the best pitch is the first pitch, but quite often it isn’t. It all depends on the pitch call, the pitcher, and the hitter. I mean, there was a point when no one was throwing first pitch strikes to Mike Greenwell, since everyone knew he’d chase anything....

But how long until the robot umps turn on you? You do realize both The Terminator and The Matrix both started their legends with robot umpires, right?

BTW, are people still enamored with Brandon Workman's postseason performance from 5 years ago?

Pure Baseball Myth. The only reason people say this is the first pitch is the only pitch you are guaranteed to get...

Maybe if he declines that slowly. But if the Sox lose Betts, it might not matter...

Time to move on and get over it. Kimbrell is going to have bad games. Sometimes it costs the Sox a win, sometimes it doesn’t. The funny thing is, the same thing can be said about his good games. Let it go. I can promise you Kimbrell already has....