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Bobby Doerr

Franklin "Home Run" Baker Steve Barber Ray Knight Adam Wainwright Harry Hooper

And that he was the all time MLB leader in THREE categories for a while (before Barry Bonds surpassed him in walks) shows what an insanely underrated offensive player he was..

Cooperstown needs to say the same thing. ..

That disqualifies Catfish Hunter but allows for Craig Swan and Jake Lamb. And we need a ruling on Jim Kaat...

No Rabbit Maranville? The Hall of Famers need more love on this thread...

Maybe it was a favor to his agent as thanks for avoiding arbitration with someone...

Not even as Larry's non-union Mexican equivalent? (This is a Simpson's reference for those who think it's some sort of racial or socio-political commentary. )

While I agree fans have negligible to no impact, the statement that Sox fans are essentially blindly supportive of newcomers strikes me as absurd. Heck you yourself have made nothing but detrimental comments and nicknames about Sandoval. But even if we ignore Pablo, what are the legacies of some past players? John Lackey is one player who was always sorely missed, despite his being flat out awful or just plain injured for the first 3 years of his deal. JD Drew on the other hand is barely remembered fondly for his seasons, which bear remarkable resemblance to Lackey in terms of performance and injury. In fact if you compare Drew over the first four years in Boston to the legendary Dwight Evans, their numbers at the plate are amazingly identical, probably more so than any other two players in MLB history playing the same position for the same team at the same ages. Yet Drew is remembered by many as a failure and a bad contract. ..

Still worth it...

Oh Kimmi. It's the Wildly Accurate Projection Machine, sometimes called the UAPM (Uncannily Accurate Projection Machine). Basically the algorithms I wrote one day to improve my struggling fantasy team that I then had fun using to predict short term turnarounds for Nava and Buchholz a few years back on BDC...

That's putting it mildly. On the last MLBTR chat, someone suggested to Jeff Todd that there should be a drinking game. Every time Dipoto makes a deal, you drink.

Well not everyone who does projections has a WAPM...

I will admit I was disappointed to see Steve Lyons over Hall of Famer Ted Lyons. Also can I get a ruling on Jose Cardenal?

True but not necessarily as much of one. If the prospects don't pan out as expected, the cost isn't nearly as much. And the majority don't. And even if they do, it still could be cheaper that carrying an ace, or worse, a former ace, for 5 years in excess of $150mill and hoping he can at least be above average as he enters his late 30's...

Jimmie Foxx is the most underrated player in MLB history and by a wide margin. Williams was the better overall hitter, but he certainly gets universal recognition as one of if not the best hitter of all time. Ortiz is the least of the three, which is certainly not an insult, but had the greatest flair for the dramatic any of us will ever see...

Yes and no. On the free agent market, Price alone cost in excess of $30mill. Its not very likely tje cost of one goes down much in the immediate future. But free agency is only one method of getting an ace. And really, not even the best one. If the Sox can keep the farm even semi-respectable, a trade for an ace could procure one for far less. And could do so without all the unnecessary baggage in terms of years and bloated salary it takes to get an ace....

At some point this thread needs to mention Tim Spooneybarger

RJ Swindle

I think the idea is that with Sale on board the Sox won't need to score as many runs. ..

On paper, Toronto is right there. Their quiet off-season and loss of key personnel shouldn't overshadow how good they were to begin with, and the potential for growth in some key players, notably Stroman and Sanchez...

But one way of looking at"change the culture of the clubhouse" is that it means "bring in new players. " Is it about culture or baseball ability? Getting rid of Beckett and company might have involved guys who didn't want to be in Boston, but the underlying truth is also that Beckett and especially Crawford sucked. It's not like the Sox even got much for them. The long view of that deal is the Sox got Carson Smith and his 2IP. But losing them also allowed for a really good down payment for Uehara, Victorino, Napoli, Drew, and Dempster. Better players? New culture? Which was more important? And Dempster's off field contributions get much more praise than his oft-ignored on-field performance. While not great, he was a step up over what was left of Beckett, and was probably one of the better back of the rotation starters in the AL. I doubt any team ever assembled had 25 guys who all liked each other. There are plenty of stories about the Oakland A's and their ubiquitous loathing of each other. It didn't stop them from winning three straight titles. I just doubt how much all of our perception of camaraderie matters, especially among teams with enough talent and few weaknesses. Health is a much bigger deal to me....

His "bad chemistry" remarkably coincided with his deteriorating ability to pitch. What a coincidence. The notorious "chicken and beer" scandal was promoted as proof of his sudden change in attitude and priority, and his impact on team chemistry. But, at least according to AJ Pierzynski, that type of behavior was practically universal in MLB...

I think the importance of both team chemistry and team identity are overblown in a 24 hour sports media desperate to find new topics of discussion. ...

Brandon Workman also pitched in the 2013 World Series. ..