notin

They grabbed his arm and his glove and it looked like they tried to defend their actions since he came into their area across the wall, despite replays clearly showing they leaned over. Im glad they got banned after shelling out a couple grand to watch one inning of a World Series game…

When fans get involved in the NBA, you get the Malice in the Palace…

It’s hard to score him fairly for 2020. Eovaldi’s main flaw is durability. You can’t penalize him for 9 starts and 48 IP in a 60 game season. But you can’t really credit him for his durability in it either. He had a bad 2019. An outstanding 2021. And a moderate/questionable 2022….

Higashioka over Grandal…

Hopefully the Sox realize using bullpen games in the postseason isn’t the same as counting on them in the regular season. Hopefully they learned their downfall this past season was a complete lack of SP depth…

His deal with MLBN is much sweeter. What’s his biggest pressure? Picking a questionable necktie?

Half the players in the league recommend players to their CBO. Many of them are not GMs for a reason…

They might still lose. But they certainly don’t win in that inning.

I classify Whitlock in the same category as Sale, Eovaldi and Wacha - their issues are not related to talent…

I like that analysis. A game isn’t just one play. The true worst part of game six was it was such a letdown after coming so close that when Carter was up, the broadcast cut to the CF scoreboard saying “Congratulations Boston Red Sox. 1986 World Series Champions”, it still made all of game seven feel like a loss. Even up three runs in the sixth, the whole game was impending doom…

It looks like they just sort of quit after Giolito went down. They still had 5 SPs lined up, but one of them was the notoriously fragile Whitlock…

Sale was Atlanta’s reclamation project, just like Kluber was in Boston. They had no idea he was healthy, and in fact missed two months with a shoulder injury during those two attempts to acquire him. This shouldn’t be a surprise; lots of teams gamble on pitchers this way. They quite often don’t work out, and rarely do as well as Sale did. But they didn’t “know” he was healthy and very likely didn’t declare him so after 40 IP, especially if they tried to acquire him the year before.

It cost more to get rid of it. So why was that the plan? Its starting to look like Sox fans cannot handle when things don’t work out and every time a move fails, fingers must be pointed towards heads that need to roll…

A guy who deserves a chance?

It’s not my conspiracy theory; I’m not the one saying Atlanta “knew something.” And I have my doubts Atlanta or any MLB team pronounces a player healthy based on small samples, especially with millions of dollars at stake. At best, they saw enough to take a chance. That’s not “knowing something.” Why is it Sox fans refuse to believe other teams do reclaimation projects with pitchers? It’s a strategy that’s been around for so long, Lou Gorman was doing it. Yet for some reason, other teams don’t take these gambles apparently. Even in a deal where Atlanta does every obvious move to protect themselves, somehow they “knew something” Boston didn’t. And not that they were simply more willing to gamble on Sale..

So they were tampering? Atlanta should have had no access to Sale’s medicals, and judging from the extension they gave him, weren’t entirely confident. They gambled. They won. And it’s fine to admit that in hindsight. It didn’t work out. But to not understand why the Sox weren’t confident in Sale at bat point is another thing. And 40 IP stretch with a 3.92 FIP didn’t change their mind, possibly because the season before they signed another aging pitcher winding down a great career who gave his old team a 3.88 FIP over 60 IP and then completely washed out in Boston. I can’t blame the Sox for moving on, even if it didn’t work out…

We’ve both ancknowledged. the other’s points numerous times, or at least made the appearance of doing so. Like how your entire argument is repeating over and over that he appeared healthy at the end of 2023. As if that clinches everything and ignores 1. He still didn’t pitch injury-free in 2023 2. He hadn’t pitched a full season since 2019 3. He was not himself even in 2019 4. He was now 35 years old And something about 150 innings, blah blah. Ive acknowledged you thought he proved he was healthy. I didn’t think it was enough proof. And the notion that injury histories are meaningless I don’t agree with at all. And the only conclusion I’ve been trying to point out it is was UNDERSTANDABLE to trade him necessary. Yes, they needed pitching. Sale was a reason they needed it over a four year stretch, not the solution to count on again. I’m also not changing that part on hindsight. Hindsight does tell me it was a horrible trade, but at the time it was understandable…

Agreed. Either keep Yoshida or trade him for someone else’s unwanted contract. I still think Yoshida plus $13-14 mill for Garver is a realistic deal, although it’s probably only 75% likely to happen.* *Probability percentages are not binding or final.

Henry knows what spending can do. This WS isn’t the boon to promote spending you think it is. These two teams have one combined WS title in the past 14 years - and that one in a shortened season - all while spending what? Probably well over $3 billion combined in that timeframe. I don’t see Henry magically changing his mind that his path back to the WS is clear. Not from this series..

I’m never optimistic on spending. Probably why I generally focus on players who won’t require it…

I’ve explained in multiple times. Just because you refuse to believe it first makes sense. But what should I expect from someone who tells me the Sox spent $17mill to give Sale away plus $18mill to replace him, all so they could save $10mill? Why not pay less to unload Sale (that offer existed and was refused, so you have no counter for it) and NOT sign Giolito and just not replace Sale at all? They did have five starting pitchers lined up at the time. But I’ll try again. Sale had no durability and couldn’t be relied on to pitch. Even if he dazzled with his Steve Matz impression in 2023, HE WAS TURNING 35!! Not an age one expects a comeback. And he looked good at the end of 2021 as well; how’d that pan out in 2022? Normally, Giolito is of varying degrees of effective but he’s always had one skill prior to 2024 - he eats innings. With an inexperienced staff including Bello, Whitlock and either Crawford or Houck, this was an invaluable skill. You keep repeating the Sox needed pitching; have you ever considered maybe they didn’t agree with you? At least on what types of pitchers and how many? Replacing Sale makes no sense if you expect him to pitch. But he hadn’t pitched in a while, despite your pretense that 40 consecutive injury-free innings meant he was cured. Sale had become a reason for depth and a hindrance in acquiring it. He was 35 and had pitched 150 innings in 4 years.

And Nick Martinez…

Cole would have to opt out of 4 years $144 mill. But even if he does, the Yankees still have the option of keeping him for one more year at $36mill…

Those same doctors passed Giolito. And not because they’re incompetent. It turns out medical science is actual very tricky sometimes…

The budget makes ZERO sense. The actual most likely scenario is they wanted to replace Sale and his horrible attendance record with a pitcher who shows up for work more often. If you think the budget was the primary factor, why spend more money on Giolito than you paid for Sale?? And why ask for MLB-ready Grissom in return when taking a lesser minor leaguer would have reduced the $17mill payment to Atlanta?