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The forty point difference in OBP shows the advantage that one extra ball can give. Not sure if the slugging advantage is a product of the aggressive hitting or a statement about the types of hitters who swing at the first pitch....

A fluke Cy Young winner still get s the award. Why are you holding his best season against him?

The move from third to first is hardly a huge leap. It's not like taking a catcher and making him play left field. Every team has players who change position, and I'm not talking about moving right fielders to left field, either. What's ridiculous is limiting your options at 1B to the "meh" available options out there because you don't want some kid who has never played first to play there before. If Bogaerts can be switched from short to third for the post-season, why is Devers so entrenched at third base?

These last two years of Bruce are probably better than anything he has left. Lefty power hitters used to be a necessity in any lineup to counter the overabundance of RHP. But with the insane overdeployment of the shift, it's getting to the point where, if you are not an elite LHH or capable of putting the ball all over the field, it can be a detriment. Bruce doesn't fit either category. I think his career will head south faster than he likes.

Hmm... If the Sox could trade Bradley, ERod, and another nondescript minor leaguer for Ozuna. Sign Darvish Re-sign Nunez. How does that team look Nunez 3B Pedroia 2B Betts CF Ozuna RF Ramirez DH Devers 1B Bogaerts SS Benintendi LF Vazquez C (There may be better batting orders. Not the point.) SP - Sale, Darvish, Price, Pomeranz, Porcello. (How many teams have a Cy Young winner as the fifth starter?) Pen - Kimbrel, Thornburg, Smith, Kelly, Barnes, Maddox, Scott, Ross, Hembree ( Too many pitchers, but some will be hurt. Bank on it.) Bench: Leon, Holt, and two others. Impossible to predict right now. Internal candidates include Lin, Marrero, Castillo (Dombrowski once called him a fourth OF. Well, that's the role here. But yes, he is unikely.), Rutledge, Travis, Selsky, Swihart. I expect a free agent or two or maybe some under-the-radar trade for a bench player.

I always forget about former notin-favorite Justin Upton. His up and down career has been pretty tough to get a grasp on. But reportedly the Angels are trying to extend him or keep him around in some fashion. Pass on Bruce. He has managed two straight bounceback years after two horrific years, but he won't age well, can't play defense anymore at any position, and is has gone from "player you build around" to "complimentary piece you build around WITH" rather rapidly.

So if Price had done that to Shaughnessy or Massarotti, you'd feel the same? You should. It doesn't change his actions. But the question is, what should fans actually think about the incident?

1. Ohtani is the real deal? Based on what? His press clippings? Daisuke was supposed to be the real deal, too. Ohtani is a very expensive lottery ticket that may or may not pay off. We've all seen the Japanese superstarsr flop before. (And thrive, too. It's not like they all become mediocre to below.) If the Sox get a RHSP, I could see Darvish or Cobb, allowing them to trade Rodriguez (plus) and escape a weak power hitter market. 2. Devers could be left at 3B, but I don't think moving him to first is a horrible idea. If the Sox brought back Nunez to play 3rd full time, would that be such a bad move? Would you prefer Moreland/Morrison/Dude over Nunez? By limiting Devers' position, the Sox limit their options. And moving him to first is NOT a repeat of the Blake Swihart position change. 3. Or a 3B. Moustakas is in play, although he might be pricy. If the Sox want Nunez back, he isn't as likely to take a supersub role as he is a full time role. The best 1B/3B options are (not in order) Santana, Morrison, Duda, Moreland, Moustakas and Nunez. Which should the Sox go for? 4. The bullpen is fine. While I'm no Robby Scott fan, he is still here. And Robbie Ross returns as well. And Brian Johnson might find himself in the bullpen mix. If anything, I see the Sox moving a reliever (Hembree? Barnes?) as opposed to acquiring one.

Price seems to be getting a lot of bad PR, largely due to the whole Eckerslecy incident. (And because his injury kept him from contributing on the field, which seems to forgive a lot with many fans.) However we all feel about Price in that incident, what was always omitted by the media was that Eckersley had clearly rubbed a lot of players on the Sox the wrong way. The entire team applauded him for it. But because Eck was a former Sox great and Hall of Famer, Price becomes the object of scorn among fans. Had Price lashed out against someone like Massarotti or Shaughnessy in that same fashion, would anyone feel the same about him?

In 2016, other teams would dedicate time strategizing how not to let Ortiz beat them. While they likely planned how to handle Betts as well, the big difference in 2017 was Betts certainly became the focal point of those strategies. (If not, who else?) This doesn't change if Ortiz is in the dugout.

So the Red Sox should change an offensive strategy that has been working for over a dozen years based on one season in which they lacked a legitimate cleanup hitter for the first time?

The media proposed deal for Marcell Ozuna (Bradley and ERod) might be more realistic. First base is an area with weak options. Moreland or Morrison do seem like possibilities. But not exciting ones. Dombrowski does have a long history of making big splashes via trade or free agency. He doesn't have as much prospect depth to make a deal. But he does have a reset luxury tax. I've thrown around Alex Cobb as an idea, but if DD is thinking bigger, might he pursue Yu Darvish?

No.. That's depressing if we were coming off a 72-90 season. It's not like there is tons of room to improve already.

Dombrowski was hired to replace Larry, not Cherington.

I doubt AGon returns to Boston, although LA will be desperate to move him. Cabrera's contract is awful, but the guy running the show here did write it and might feel differently. Albert Pujols is basically Hanley at this point in his career, but with a much longer and pricier contract. I wouldn't take that on unless they threw in Trout...

Done.

The WS isn't even here yet, and this is how I see it all playing out. 1. If JD Martinez isn't a legend in AZ,he should be. The man his 29 HRs there in slightly over 1/3 of a season, including 4 in one game. I would not be surprised at all if he stays there. 2. Despite the complete lack of rumors, my prediction is Giancarlo Stantonwinds up on the Dodgers. Clearly they don't care what they spend. He's from LA and has a full no-trade clause (I would think a $325mill contract is a pretty good NTC, but he has one anyway). Also they have the prospects and even the dirt cheap major league talent to send back. And Miami might be the only team willing to take multi-talented headache Yasiel Puig, where he could go from being clubhouse detriment to marketing icon. The stars are aligning here. 3. The Sox really shouldn't sign Eric Hosmer. 4. Nunez, the only Sox free agent worth re-signing, is probably only likely to return if he has a starting job. Simply put, if Boston doesn't offer him one, someone else will. While I haven't spoken to Nunez or read anything about his preferences, money and playing time are almost always the big factors in free agent's decision making. Playing for a championship, not so much. Unless there is a lot of money and playing time also involved. Sure, we might want him for a super sub, but I don't think that's what he wants. There really isn't much left after that. Moustakas is certainly an option, albeit not a very enticing one. He did hit 35HRs last year, but his prevous career high was 22. Is he in the midst of a career changing breakout? Or is he Morgan Ensberg 2.0? How much does it cost to find out? The Marlins firesale looks imminent this year. While Stanton is likely to head elsewhere, maybe Ozuna can be had. Maybe Bour can be had. The real problem for the Sox is trade bait. The minor leagues have very little above A-ball. If they deal off the MLB roster, who should go? With so little wiggle room for offense already, it dies make it unlikely the team can do anything to prevent Hanley's option from vesting. But if they can add a couple decent bats and drop him down a bit...

Depends on the contract of the hitter...

Maybe the best idea is to avoid free agency when looking for a cleanup hitter. Sign Alex Cobb and deal Edwardo Rodriguez (plus? Chavis?) for one....

Moustakas is younger than JD Martinez. .

Just like Severino in 2016?

The same ones who don't endlessly dump on Pedroia?

True. H'ed probably outhit Travis, bur both lackl the very commodity the Sox could really use.

Exactly. How much better would Hosmer be over Sam Travis?

Will everyone like Martinez when he is getting paid over $120mill through age 37? I bet he gets close to that. The biggest issue with Stanton is if you think about, he's very, very likely to wind up on the Dodgers...