f*** Arenado. He doesn’t make sense unless the Sox can unload Yoshida. And still not much even then, as his low -.700s OPS could probably also be replaced by Grissom. Bregman makes more sense except that Cora sees him as a 2b solution for some reason.
I still think Abreu gets moved before April. Hopefully a good defensive catcher is part of the return. Pitt certainly could use Abreu and has catchers to spare, but unless they renew their lust for Henry Davis, I don’t see them sending Boston help behind the dish. Joey Bart doesn’t float anyone’s boat.
1. It does feel premature to call it a 21st century record with 76 years still remaining this century. In 1919, the Sox had a 20th century “record” of 5 titles. Did it last? Do we ever even think of them as holding that “record?”
2. Of the 4 WS titles this century, one (2013) was built on shorter deals given to mid-tier and above players while avoiding long term deals for superstars. It’s not “going cheap” but it’s also not the alternative anyone wants, either…
3. Not every record can still be topped. For example, the Yankees hold the record for most WS titles in the 20th century. I think that’s going to stand…
I think the reason is simply because it’s harder to get six reliable starters than five.
This is a slight modification of the rationale Earl Weaver used for employing 4 man rotations…
Personally I think the Sox rotation is likely set, with Crochet, Houck, Giolito, Crawford, Buehler and Bello. Not to mention Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, Fulmer, and Criswell…
Trades can have even bigger side effects. Right now, now matter how good Crochet is, Teel is gone and the Sox only have one catcher inside their top 25 prospects - 20yo Johanfran Garcia, who is slated to start 2025 in Greenville. So while the Sox fill the Grand Canyon-sizes hole at catcher, Teel could be a star in Chicago long after Crochet is gone.
Of course we as fans look at prospects as treasures and prefer deals with “just money.” Pretty sure ownership prefers deals that are “just prospects” for multiple reasons. Many prospects dont pan out and it’s like getting the player for free. And you get to draft new prospects every year and can only hold on to so many minor leaguers anyway.
This is why, with rare exceptions such as Soto, I rarely want these players. And why I railed against Dombrowski for signing Price when it made more sense to extend Betts (which I found later DD was trying to do at the time)..,
But even when said free agent is still producing, he often hinders the team from signing other players.
I also think winning a world series “because of” some free agent is easily confused with winning a World Series while still having some free agent. And I get why, as not all contributions are direct and plus we have our own personal failures to access parallel universes with alternate Sox rosters…
The 40 man slot occupied by Sandoval may already be filled. Once he’s eligible to move to h to he 60 day IL, someone like Morán, Fulmer or Adam’s probably gets added in his place…
That is another way to look at it. But Lackey’s minimum wage year was also his best year (5.8 bWAR). On a different team in a different ballpark with a different pitching coach, and a different defense behind him. Does he have that same year in Boston?
Lackey’s contract was also the biggest ever for Sox pitcher at the time, but dealt with numbers that look miniscule compared to today’s deals. And he barely justified it, largely with another team. But if you want to say it was, then giving a big deal to a free agent starting pitcher did work once for Boston (and St. Louis) nearly two decades ago…
I don’t prefer one over the other. But as Fangraphs mobile page can take forever to load, and B-R generally doesn’t, I tend to go their first.
I also like bWAR because it gets broken down by team when a player switches mid-season.
But if I want to see how a player (or team) ranked at an individual position, fWAR is the one that does that. Really, any sort of sorting and comparing or historical data is much easier on Fangraphs.
So my choice of one WAR over the other is more based on access and application. It’s not like I have any clue which one is more accurate…
If Fangraphs wants me to use fWAR, they can make their page more mobile friendly. Also, B-R, unlike Fangraphs, splits up WAR for a player who played on multiple teams in one season, like Lackey did.
And what he did for St. Louis is irrelevant. I only counted performances for Boston for any of those pitchers.