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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....

Perfectly stated...

And DD’s decisions today do impact his decisions tomorrow...

Yes I have a very big fear that the Mets will pass me by because of my posting activity here. No other reason makes sense.., 😀

My initial thoughts are Dombrowski will agree with you and not me...

Yes. I'm praising you for at least not going there. I see expensive players as potential resource drains on a limited budget, but too many times when I say that, the only return accusation is that I'm trying to save Henry's money. My only concern with Henry's money is that I know its finite. I'm not trying/hoping to save Henry'd money. I'm trying/hoping to keep the Killer B's intact...

And winning with the bullpen notin has been screaming for for years. No definitive heavily-overpaid closer but instead an entire crew of effective pitchers with lockdown potential. While I like this bullpen structure, I get it isn't easy to build so I don't blame Dombrowski for not building it...

I would have roasted Cora myself and the only reason I'm not angry at Counsell is my lack of emotional investment in Milwaukee. But bear in mind, I rarely roast Sox managers for their moves since I know we are coming from places of very different information. But if Cora did that, I would absolutely blast him. (Unless Gio Gonzalez was hurt and had to be removed, but I haven't heard anything about that yet.)

I've been watching baseball since March of this year, and enjoying the hell out of it all year long. Failing to win the World Series will only make it unenjoyable for one week in October. Win or lose, it's been a fun year to watch this team and that losing the ALCS or the WS can't take away the fun I've already had.. And as a far, that is all I can ask for...

ABsolutely. Although I am hesitant to hold free agency against him since most GMs don't do very well there. There aren't many players who continue to be as productive after 30 and I think most free agent contracts don't work out. But absolutely, the Mets should hire him. Although I did officially declare my candidacy for that position on MLBTR...

Lester has been declining for years. Greinke is declining as well, although less steadily and quickly than Lester. Verlander is the weird exception - he is dominating in his late 30s, but he actually was nowhere near as good in his early 30s...

It's not about how rish Henry is or how he spends his money. At least you didn't go straight for the most ignorant defense of all "why are you trying to save Henry's money?" I care how much Sale or any Sox player gets paid because it effects how much they cna pay other players. And with no farm giving the Sox minim wage players to offset big salalries, it might come down to an either or with Sale or Bogaerts or Sale or Betts in the near future. You might be OK letting Bogearts walk to keep Sale, and you probably aren't alone. But what about Betts?

While Sale and Price are certainly different people, it's not a "flawed assumption" that Sale wlll decline in the near future. It's an extremely likely reality with the only question being "when". The evidence is in nearly ever pitcher ever. Really, with Sale, if you want him back after 2019, you have to be prepared that he will start to decline in 2020. It's not the type of contract DD should enter under complete denial that Sale will last for 7 years, which I doubt any GM has ever had that denial in a long term deal. If they did, the deals would be structured differently. 4-5 good years? Define good. He isn't not going to be a 6 fWAR pitcher at age 35. And at some point in his next deal, he is gong to be a heavily paid mediocrity. really, what it comes down to is, will the good years be enough to justify the bad ones?..

When it comes to measuring managers by decisions or results, Craig Counsell has a serious Midas Touch going on today. So he pulls his own pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who allowed 1 hit in 2 IP, with the opposing pitcher due up and Gonzalez himself set to lead off the bottom of the inning. I would think the "book" move there would be to let Gonzalez face Kershaw and if he gets him out, let him take on the top of the order and THEN pinch hit for him. But no, Counsell starts the inning with Brandon Woodruff, who not only sets down the Dodgers, but when it comes time to bat the next inning, Counsell lets Woodruff hit. And of course, Woodruff, a left-handed hitting pitcher, homers off Clayton Kershaw. (The number of left-handed hitting pitchers to homer off Kershaw is very small. I think it's now just Woodruff and Madison Bumgarner.) And then, the next time Woodruff is due up to face Kershaw with men on base, Counsell pinch hits for the only player to homer off Kershaw today, and gets a 2-run line shot single to left from Domingo Santana. This guy has a leprechaun up his ass...

When Sale does reach free agency, he will be roughly the same age Price was and probably looking for a similar deal. That leaves very strong potential for two Price’s on the roster. Sale is a little better, being worth 19.1 fWAR the past three seasons. But Price was worth 17 fWAR at those same ages. But Price has been worth 8.7 fWAR in the three seasons since, 4.3 total in the last two...

Like I said,this is the part of Sale’s career you want him on your team. I wouldn’t say he has no injury history. He was just injured. And he had an elbow issue in Chicago that caused a quick shift to closer. I think he will get paid heavily after next year, and I don’t think he’ll be very good for very long...

What about my "JD Martinez is motivated to crush the team that released him" theory?

ftfy

Joyce is definitely not one who should have a piranha stuffed down his pants...

I think baseball did a good enough job speeding up pace of play by watching him retire...

Mike Hargrove is turning over in his grave at the mere thought. Which is made even more significant by the fact that he is't even dead yet. In retrospect, that might explain a lot of that movement in the grave...

And Chin-Lung Hu as well...

Also, I need a ruling on Jim Palmer and Jim Botttomley? And Pete LaCo.. nah forget that last one....