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I think he’ll trade JBJ. Not sure who becomes the other outfielder or DH if it’s Martinez. Not like DD is a Castillo fan. Although he clearly is a Swihart fan, so that might be on the table, believe it or not. A Beni- Betts-Swihart outfield? Hmm...

While I wouldn’t re-sign Kimbrel, I think Dombrowski will. For whatever it takes. Pedroia is the 2B next year. Nunez is back as well. So is Holt. I doubt the Sox add anyone unless they think Pedroia isn’t going to make it. 3B is Devers. No one is or should be giving up on him yet. DD probably deals away Chavis or Dalbec or both in order to bolster this team someplace, possibly the rotation. The Sox are more likely to subtract at catcher than add. But if they do add, Yasmani Grandal might be their sole venture into free agency. A defensively talented catcher who is among the game’s best sluggers at the position...

The new villain in the latest Star Wars movies is named Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver...

Because you can’t win a game with a tie score?

Well a big part of his "score more runs" strategy certainly relied on his starting pitching keeping the "more runs" from being too big of a number...

I do hope Sox minor league outfielder Kyle Wren is called by his obvious nickname by Star Wars fans...

I like Castillo, but it might be cheaper and better to simply keep Bradley. But if Bradley can be traded for a very useful piece, the advantages to Castillo become very situational depending on the other trade piece...

I don't either. But I do think 2016 and 2017 post-season results are a better barometer than 2013 post-season results, for what that's worth...

I don't have much faith in either, but I trust Kelly more with the game on the line. He defintely has more experience in that department in the regular season and the post-season, and he has had his successes. His cold streaks tha turn everyone off to him are typicaly a small number of IPs. That's no guarantee he can turn it on and get hot this month. But we all do know that if he does, he is the guy the Sox need out there. The sox biggest weakness is the bullpen, At this point, all the pitchers in the Sox bullpen not named Craig are gambles. I think I go with the gamble that has the highest payout...

The only reason he keeps re-surfacing is, if the Sox do need an outfielder from the farm system he is the only viable candidate. The complete dearth of MLB-ready outfielders in the Sox system is certainly a reason to keep the present outfield intact. We'll see how this plays out after the post-season..

He might simply be the mop up guy. Bring him in if you're down big early. If he holds the opposing hitters long enough for the Sox to get back in the game, great. And if the Sox never make a game of it, at least the other relievers don't get burned out chasing an unwinnable game...

Workman had a terrific post-season 5 years ago (0.00 ERA 1.14 WHIP in 8.2 IP), but Kelly also has a good post-season resume (3.03 ERA 1.21 WHIP in 35.2 IP, including 4 starts). Kelly's worst postseason was done in 2013 (the same year as Workman's only postseason) when he made those 4 starts, a role Boston will not be using him in. He has given the Red Sox 6.1 shutout IP in the past 2 seasons. Let's not focus on Workman's postseason success while ignoring Kelly's more recent post-season success...

Understandable, but who do you have more confidence in in that situation - Kelly, Hembree or Workman?

They could bring him up, and maybe another GM would. but not Dombrowski, who was not impressed with Castillo 4 years ago, and probably isn't going to re-think his position now that Castillo is almost 31...

Pretty much what I said in the last line of the post. I see the merit in the idea, but I wouldn't recommend it...

The A's knew they weer notorious underdogs and it gave Melvin free reign to be creative, which, if it worked, immediately labeled him a managerial genius. But in doing so, he forgot what got him 97 wins in the first place. While his decision was essentially going with his team's strength up front, he still essentially over-thought the entire situation...

At first, I thought this plan was stupid. Wirght for 2 innings and then Sale? You only throw a few hitters off balance for 1 plate appearance, and then its' business as usual. But the more I thought about it, there is some merit, since it would ideally be the first 6 (and presumably the best 6) Yankee hitters. and if Wright can get through the top 2 as close to cleanly as possible, it might have enough of an effect to throw them off for their second PA as well. While no real plan can ruin some of these top tier MLB hitters for an entire game, taking them down and messing them up for 2 PAs can be significant. Of course, if Wright gets hammered in the first two innings, it doesn't matter much...

Cora has probably known who they are for two weeks. What he has to do now is tell the press...

And while a plan I'm on board with, the question is - is Dombrowski on board? He has turned down requests for JBJ in the past, as we know Encarnacion and Puig were both offered for him. But on the other hand, he is rapidly running out of tradable commodities, and that we know of at least two (and there were probably more) offers for JBJ does certainly show other teams also want him. The Sandoval and Hanley money is a good start to being able to keep Bradley, but even then, myself and several others have openly stated we would not re-sign Kimbrel, but let's get real here. DD is going to make a significant and likely successful effort to bring back Kimbrel. I just don't see DD letting his first significant acquisition in turning this last lace team into a 3-time AL East champion walk away for a mere $100mill. So, if DD does re-sign Kimbrel and spend most if not all of his allowance to do so, any other improvements will have to be made via trade. With two years left, JBJ does become his best trading chip without doing anything stupid (like trading Betts). And as we have all seen, this is a man not afraid to make trades...

And that’s ok. It’s easier to get two defensive CF types than to find another Dwight Evans. But, while I’m not on the “trade JBJ” bandwagon, it certainly is a realistic possibility, and that does likely mean someone else who is not a CF would take over RF. Fortunately, while your thought has an advantage, we have at least seen it isn’t a necessity. Because if Martinez moves back to the outfield, there might be a noticeable drop off in defense...

Scioscia is about as robotic as it gets for a manager...

The Sox did re-acquire Miller as part of the Burleson trade - the only trade that management made that wasn’t completely horrific. I’m surprised they didn’t trade Jim Rice for a backup catcher, now that I think about it...

2 pounds of cole slaw. The good stuff. No pineapple...

True, although Cater apparently did not work out, but at least he was a full time player and a respectable hitter. The deals that broke up those 1970's teams were simply atrocious. I know Don Zimmer wanted a few players gone like Lee and Jim Willoughby and a couple others, but honestly, was the best deal the Sox could get for Lee a utility infielder? We've all seen teams deal malcontent players before and get much better returns. The Cubs had one of the biggest headcases on the planet making premium money at the time in Milton Bradley, and even they got more than a utility infielder in return. Those late 1970's Red Sox teams unloaded Fisk, Lynn, Burleson, Willoughby, Reggie Cleveland, Butch Hobson, George Scott, and Bernie Carbo and in return the only starter they got back was Carney Lansford (although Mark Clear and Rick Miller were useful players, but were also acquired in the same deal as Lansford). And really given the number of players he had trouble controlling, why didn't anyone decide maybe Zimmer was the problem?

So where will he be working next April?