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No one is saying the Sox won this trade. As ridiculous as that notion always is. Just that it was understandable to move Chris Sale given what he has done the last 5 seasons. If the Sox kept Sale and he was already out for the year, would you be happy they kept him? Even if you heard they had a chance to deal him?

Plus they tried to extend Casas, but couldn’t come to an agreement. Yet…

Nobody was knocking on the doors of Snell and Montgomery at that time either. The Sox tried to be aggressive for once and sign a guy before he was the best option left. It didn’t work out this time, but that’s probably not a behavior they should be called out for…

Nobody expected Sale to jump out of the gate like he was back in 2027 form. If Sale winds up with a 4.40 ERA, like he had in 2019 across 147 innings, does this trade still look so bad and deserve this much attention? Yes it was about cutting salary, but that salary had done almost nothing since 2018. That year, know who Sale finished behind in Cy Young balloting?? COREY KLUBER!! And we are know what the next 5 years did to him. And Sox fans frequently cite Kluber as a huge waste at $10mill, but you think Sale at $27mill was worth the risk?

That was. You asked about bottom 5 teams winning rings, but set the bar for the Yankees and Dodgers at merely making the postseason. But the Rays have been spending nothing and gone to the last 5 postseasons, which is more than the Yankees in that stretch.

And maybe he OPSs .450 and the only 1b option left is Dalbec. I’d give Smith and Cooper a bit longer. Cooper had an OPS well over .700 with the Cubs earlier this month. Do people think he forgot how to hit since then? Or is it maybe that these sample sizes are just very small? Would Kavadas get more than 50-60 PA to prove himself?

There are bottom 5 teams that make the postseason nearly every year…

If you’re going to argue no one is a sure thing, at least acknowledge that Soto offers much, much, much (insert several more “much” repetitions here) less uncertainty than Jones and Dominguez…

I don’t think I’ve ever seen three kids come up that were more exciting and more excited to play than Soto, JRod and Harper…

“What a long, strange trip it’s been…”

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40231476/mlb-umpire-angel-hernandez-retiring First right call he’s ever made…

Kavadas was an option when they brought in Cooper and Smith. Usually you do the internal ones first, since they’re easier to undo of they don’t work out. But with Cooper (DFA) and Smith (opt out) becoming available when they did, they got first shot. The problem is Kavadas and Dalbec could absolutely be worse, despite biased rationale to the contrary. Heck Dalbec is already worse. But to make room for Kavadas, you have to DFA one of the current first baseman. Meaning if Kavadas is worse, then what?

Smith and Cooper are far from an envious duo, but Dalbec and Kavadas would be change for the sake of change. Breslow had the chance to promote Kavadas and passed for Smith. I’d say Cooper and Smith have a low ceiling (especially Smith) but there is a greater chance both of them improve than of Dalbec rediscovering 2020-2021, and of Kavadas making any sort of immediate impact. These players have a combined 120PA and you’re already giving up on them. How long would Kavadas/Dalbec get? And does that include Dalbec’s horrific start this year? I mean, Cooper still has only 52 PAs in Boston. Why is that enough? We knew he was hitting major league pitching as recently as earlier this month…

Dalbec has been in decline 3 straight years and has struck out in over 50% of his plate appearances since 2023. And HE is the guy who deserves a second chance? The only way I agree with that is if people concede Smith and Cooper haven’t had their first one yet. Also, it is very possible a Dalbec/Kavadas solution is worse…

Smith’s K was a huge gift to Baltimore. I don’t blame him for taking that pitch. Easily 6 inches off the plate…

Yeah maybe at best you buy out his arb years and delay free agency by 1-2 years. But even that seems unlikely unless he collapses…

Rob Dibble, John Wetteland, Randy Myers all just through the ol’ number one. I think it was Dibble who once said “I change speeds by throwing harder.”

I like the idea extending Houck and Crawford back in February. But their prices are going up as with the success. Crawford is slowing down, possibly related to workload. Houck will eventually as well. But this is inevitable, and not a reason to not extend them…

Well, sad. It was a good and accurate name. I want wild about the extension when it was signed, but it couldn’t have gone any worse…

Mason Miller is the favorite for AL ROY right now. Going by fWAR, Abreu ranks third with 1.5, trailing Cowser and Miller, both of whom are tied at 1.6…

When he moved to Atlanta, I assume he didn’t pack the bicycle…

From the guy who spent the last 3 years decrying that contract. And even coined the nickname “Chris Frail” ( which I will admit was clever)…

It is a legitimate concern. It would be one thing of the Sox we’re holding out to spend on some Juan Soto superstar replacement. But it’s not going to happen. And here’s the punchline - the whole “we’ll spend when the time is right” is complete ********. If the Sox minor leaguers start coming up and contributing, that’s even less of a reason to spend…

Prior to 2022, MLB adopted the “Shohei Ohtani Rule” for two-players, saying any player in the game as a pitcher and a DH can be removed from one role without being removed from the other. Clearly done t keep one of the most exciting talents in the game for fans, but did they think this through? Most of the time, the player will be removed as a pitcher. In this case, he can continue as a DH and everything works out. But what happens if someone wants to pinch hit for the DH? While this rule was written with Ohtani in mind, it applies to every two way player. So while trying to think of any non-injury-related reason to pinch hit for Ohtani is a waste of time, it’s still a possibility with any other two way player. Hypothetical example - Bobby Dalbec was a very good pitcher in college and decides his best chance to stay in MLB is to add pitching to his repertoire. So say he is starting and because the opposing pitcher is left-handed, Cora also starts Dalbec at DH, batting him 6th in front of 1b Garrett Cooper. Come to, say, the sixth inning in a 0-0 game. Dalbec is coming up with men on base. It’s late enough that this could be an important at-bat, but not so late that Dalbec’s pitch count takes him off the mound anyway. With Dalbec due up, the opposing manager brings in a RHP. Cora counters by pinch-hitting for Dalbec with LHH Dominic Smith. So now Dalbec is out of the game as the DH. Smith and Cooper both bat and finish out the inning, with Smith driving in a run with a sac fly. Come next inning, per the Shohei Ohtani Rule, Dalbec can still come out and pitch. Now with a 1-0 lead, Cora wants to put Smith in at 1b for better defense. But as Smith entered the game as a DH, putting him in the field means the Sox pitcher has to bat The Sox pitcher is Dalbec. Cooper winds up bring the player removed, vacating the seventh spot in the order. But who replaces him? Smith entered the game batting sixth. Dalbec has been batting sixth all game. Obviously one of these guys has to bat 7th. It seems like an unlikely overall scenario, but with 30 teams playing 162 times each year, if we see enough two way players, it could easily become a reality with different names involved. But do the rules cover how to handle this? Or is it an oversight on a rule that was pushed through to accommodate one popular player? Hopefully the answer isn’t “if the player gets removed as DH, he also comes out as the pitcher.” That would clear up the mess, but it would be shameful if MLB allowed a manager to force a pitching change by attacking the matchup against the rival DH…

It’s all fungible. The Sox pay the money to Atlanta. If Atlanta were to turn around and trade Sale, they can still keep the money from Boston if they (and the other team involved) so choose…