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Know what does make games last longer? Kenley Jansen. Cue those who remind us he’s a Hall of Fame closer and was really good in 2014…

That’s why the guy Don Zimmer would have batted third should now bat second…

I’d rather watch Hamilton play full time than Dalbec play part time.

They had the lead in the ninth inning…

Even the highest OBP guys don't get on base 50% of the time. Unless you have Barry Bonds...

At least they called up Andy Pages today to get Taylor out of that lineup. But I still think Roberts is being stupid for playing Betts out of position...

In fact, this article agrees with me. Number 2 spot in lineup now the best in baseball WWW.MLB.COM If Babe Ruth were starring for the Yankees today, he might not be wearing his legendary No. 3, famously issued to him when the team first put uniform numbers on their backs in 1929 simply because that’s where he had primarily batted in the lineup: third. Instead, imagine a world Note this quote "The new thinking goes that No. 3 is a place for a good-not-great hitter, because it’s the most likely position to come up with two outs and no runners on base."

Not really. If you play 150 games and get 600 PA, one quarter of your plate appearances are in the first inning. And if you are hitting behind two hitters with a .380 OBP and a .350 OBP, you would come up in 40% of those PA with 2 outs and no one on base, which gives you 60 PA on the spot with two outs and no one on base. That's just using straight OBP, and what it doesn't account for is for most hitters, OBP goes up with multiple plate appearances against a pitcher. This is obviously in everyone's first plate appearance of the game. In fact, the old school logic for using a high BA hitter in the #3 hole was that he was supposed to reach base in front of the cleanup hitter if the first two hitters didn't. This is also sort of along the lines of the opener strategy. That idea was to use a better/best RP against the better hitters in a lineup rather than saving him for later innings when who knows who is coming up. Put those better hitters against a good releiver, and then against a starter/bulk inning reliever when they have another "first PA against"...

Just put an electric dog fence around 3B and put the sensor in his glove so if he stray too far and becomes a danger to others, he receives a warning shock...

I'll ask him when he busses my table

THe data points get skewed towards the first inning, the only inning with a known part of the order cming up even before the game starts. And even the best hitters make outs over 55% of the time, the chances of the #3 hitter coming up with no one on and two outs stands as being a minimum 30% in the first inning alone. (And that's if the top two hitters both have OBPs of .450. It gets higher with worse hitters. After the first inning, the hitters due up are not completely random, but they do trend that way as the game goes along. Granted, the hitters in front of the #3 hitter are typically better at OBP than those in front of the #1 hitter. But because he has that chance right away, it skews the data towards #3. But you never have a guaranteed opportunity for the #1 hitter to bat third in any inning. It's also one of the reason leadoff hitters rarely get RBI - they leadoff more innings. And in a season of 600 plate appearances, we know right away they will have 162 plate appearances leading off an inning before any games get played...

Obviously there is a limit, but if you think this guy can stay close to healthy, extend him before he prices himself out of Henry's comfort zone. I'm thinking 3 year $48mill as a starting point. He's making about $5.75mill now, but has only put up 7.5 bWAR over the past 3 seasons, largely carried by his 6.1 bWAR in 2021. Teoscar Hernandez is a good comp with 8 bWAR in the past 3 seasons, and he got $23.5mill for one year. O'Neill's injury history should affect his AAV, but Hernandez is definitely be his ceiling. If O'Neill prefers years over money, he might go for a multiyear deal now rather than risk being derailed again and taking less than the much more durable Hernandez. But maybe I am not being realistic. mvp comes up with some extension ideas that are probably more realistic, leaving the debate on them only on the minutiae of the offers.

It's still a stupid idea for LA, who has other options but for some reason likes Teoscar Hernandez in RF and former SS Chris Taylor in LF. Of course, for their best defense, they could simply plug Miguel Rojas back in at SS, put Betts back in RF, and move Teoscar to the other corner. But apparently they like exposing Betts' knees oncoming runners. And you gotta get Chris Taylor's .184 OPS in that lineup.

And back on that list is Matt Chapman. He's off to an awful start with the bat, but already has 4 DRS (tied for 4th in MLB). But unlike every name on that list except Bellinger and Snell, Chapman is ineligible for a Qualifying Offer. He would create a logjam at 1B/DH with Casas, Devers and Yoshida. But that can be worked out in a couple different ways...

I'm willing to bet a full season of Hamilton won't get you anywhere near -16 DRS...

Do minor league infields get the same level of care and maintenance as MLB infields? That can make a big difference. I don't know if it is done anymore, but MLB grounds crews used to tailor their infields to meet the capabilities of the infielders. I remember when Detroit had Whitaker and Trammell up the middle, and neither was a bastion of solid range, so there were numerous stories about how the grass on the infield was grown more densely and thickly so as to slow down ground balls. And the infield dirt was not as packed down. I have no idea if any team bothers to pay this level of attention any more. Or if this was all just some legend spread around the league...

Story may not be a prototypical number 3 hitter even with the new philosophy on batting order, but "that's how it's always been done" is almost always a poor counterargument. The argument for a hitter like him in the spot is he does represent RHH power, and the #3 hitter is the hitter who comes up the most often with no one on base and two outs. The argument against is, that hitter will be third on the team in plate appearances. Story has not done much since coming to Boston, mostly due to being severely limited with playing time, but he was a career .272 hitter with Colorado. For this Sox team, I'm not sure who is a better option, especially after LHH Devers. Yoshida is one guy who might be able to take that role despite hitting left-handed, but he would have to return to being the hitter he was last year between April 23 and July 25 when his OPS was around .940. That's a good prolonged stretch of offensive success. Of course can he do it again and for longer? TBD. He's not off to a great start. Of course, on last April 18, his OPS cratered to .560. So hopefully he is due for another good stretch. Beyond him, not sure who else...

I think their best lineup and defensive arrangement is probably Rafaela at SS and O’Neill-Duran-Abreu in the outfield. They probably need Refsnyder back so they have a 4th outfielder…

I think it’s a Cora thing. I think he values offense more than defense…

How about … Pelvis Mandrus? I don’t want to have to keep saying his name…

I said that yesterday and was told I don’t believe in practice…

They should could that. But will they? I have several doubts…

Ok. Certainly possible

Reportedly they were trying to unload Story, so I don't think that was any part of the plan...

When Grissom arrives, it would not surprise me if he played SS. But the that means more of Enmanuel Valdez, who is to defense what ptomaine is to dinner time...