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Good thing we have a starting CF that can play everywhere else…

Trade Story (plus cash) to Atlanta for Sean Murphy. Orlando Arcia is the Connor Wong of shortstops and the Braves have nothing above A ball at the position. They do have a top prospect catcher in AAA named Drake Baldwin who’s ready to step in. Story is owed some $69mill over 3 years, slightly more than the $60mill Murphy is owed over the next four. Deal makes a ton of sense for both sides once an agreement can be reached on the money…

Is a .736 team OPS really “putrid”? League average was .711…

The whole problem with the “we didn’t replace Tyler O’Neill” argument made above is that while O’Neill crushed LHP, he was actually fairly ineffective vs RHP. If the Sox need a RHH, they should consider a platoon for the still-untraded and likely opening day RF Wilyer Abreu. Players like Randal Grichuk and Ramon Laureano make sense here, as both can hit LHP and actually play RF. Refsnyder is a terrible defensive OF whose primary role should be limited to weak side platoon DH with the also still untraded and likely opening day starter Masataka Yoshida…

Clearly the writers did value Colon’s win total. But Santana was the far better pitcher. The only thing Colon had going for him is the ALCS runner up Angels were better than a Twins team that didn’t make the post season at all. But Colon wasn’t the difference. The Angels were 73-56 in games Colon didn’t even appear in; the Twins were 59-70 when Santana didn’t pitch. The problem with MVP comparisons is the interpretation of that award. What does “valuable” mean? To many, it means biggest contributor to his team’s success. And that means the team has to have some success to contribute to. If so, players like Andre Dawson and Alex Rodriguez, who both won the award for last place teams, make no sense. What did either contribute to? In both cases, their teams could have finished last without them. But Cy Young has no such ambiguity; it just goes to the best pitcher of the year. So team success should be irrelevant. And if team success is irrelevant, team stats like “wins” shouldn’t matter. Pitchers like Santana and Félix Hernandez were big factors in changing this perception with BBWAA as they de-emphasized the win stat when determining awards. Of course, this doesn’t mean they collectively replaced it with WAR. Some probably did. But some writers are like you and very hesitant with these fad stats that often get replaced quickly. To me, the only argument for the wins stat is it’s been there all along and everyone can relate to it. It has its uses, but it used to be relied on much more. In the das before ERA, that made a lot of sense. But I still think it need not be emphasized…

Hockey awards wins and losses to goalies…

I believe in giving Grissom a chance, and figure between him, Hamilton and Campbell, the Sox have their solution at 2b…

Not with the security of a $334 million per year TV deal…

Fulmer is another possibility. Reportedly they want him as a starter as well, but he’s another TJ Two Timer and therefore a significant risk if needed for too many IP…

I think the rotation stands for a while as well. They have 11 starting pitchers on the 40 man roster, including Sandoval, who will go to the 60 day IL before the season starts. The bullpen could use an arm or two. I still think even without Burnes, you might be selling Baltimore short. The Sox haven’t fully closed the 10 game gap between the teams from last season..

Kyle Finnegan’s agent can be reached at (443) 615-7710…

Especially since it’s probably lots of clickbait…

First of all, if the concern was the Sox are not listening, what does it matter how many are talking? Second, if you think the Sox defense has been ignored as a subject, Henry isn’t the only one not listening. The Sox defense has been a subject of conversation for much longer than the Sale trade. Also the Sox are clearly trying to fix the defense. Rafaela was not extended for his offensive skill set. The Sox have also reportedly discussed moving Devers off third, something I didn’t think would reach even that phase. But most important - f*** off on telling people what they can and can’t talk about. Especially since you clearly don’t follow your own rules. If the topic is related to the Red Sox and baseball, it’s fair game and doesn’t matter whether or not the Sox will make the move or follow through with it or whatever. And Atlanta wasn’t listening to you. That doesn’t even make sense…

They weren’t listening when you droned on and on about Sale last year. Did that stop you?

That settles it. Clearly that was because of Fenway…

And his average fastball velocity ranged from 97.2 to 97.3 over that span

Because the Mariners dont like hitters? Ever think their aversion to capable hitters might be part of their problem?

98 plate appearances spread across 8 seasons. It’s more coincidence at that point. He beat the tar out of the Sox in Boston last year. But was it because of Fenway? Or because he was hitting against Brad Keller and Brennan Bernardino? (Names not chosen randomly; Bregman homered off both of them.)

Bregman won’t lead the Sox in OPS. He’d be an overpriced Connor Wong with the bat…

Bregman is morphing into an above average hitter with topflight defensive skills. Adding him to get his bat in the lineup and hoping defense works out is misguided. Randal Grichuk drew ire on this forum, but his .875 OPS was better than Bergman’s, and also was carried by his season against LHP. Bregman is a good overall player. But he’s not the elite hitter he used to be, and he’s very unlikely to be that hitter again…

Is the upgrade to Bergman’s .768 worth $200mill?

Devers is an All Star, but solely because of his bat. He is among the worst defensive 3b in MLB using multiple metrics. Bregman is a gifted defensive 3b who probably is NOT a 4 fWAR second baseman. If the Sox sign him, move him to 3b, Devers to 1b, Casas (who fares similar to Devers on many defensive metrics) to DH, and Yoshida to Polar Park…

He did acquire Danny Jansen, but then let him walk away. Jansen was perfect for this team. (Unless he was an incorrigible a-hole or something, and Breslow decided to cut bait.)

First of all, the idea of moving the reigning AL Gold Glove winner at 3b to a new position to accommodate the worst defensive 3b in MLB seems flawed to me. And as big RHBs go, not sure what to make of Bregman. His OPS+ of 118 ranks him just ahead of Wilyer (114) on the Sox roster, and his oWAR of 3.5 ranks him just ahead of Connor Wong (2.7). And neither of these guys are big game-changing bats. In fact, both are guys many Sox fans want to replace. Couple that with Bregman struggling more against LHP the last two years, and I am not sure what he brings. I’d only want him as a defensive upgrade at 3b, and that scenario is unlikely…

Between Story, Mayer, Hamilton, Grissom, and Campbell, I think we have a decent middle infield. Standing by catcher as the biggest need…