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Why? Steroids help with the biosynthesis of complex proteins, which is biologist-speak for promoting the healing process. Haven't you ever had a doctor prescribe steroids for you?

Who would you classify as the stars of the 2013 team?

Thank. And kudos to you for avoiding answering by pointing out the avoidance of answering…

That’s actually supports him NOT being on steroids, when you realize what the actual function of steroids is…

Why are we relying on my definition? What is the definition of a successful season?

At least all three of them know what a glove is for…

Good. Sox don’t need any more players who can’t field…

I think you’re overromanticizing some of these years. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that any team really started “rebuilding” because until Kirby Puckett signed that $3mill / year deal with the Twins and a slew of “wait I can top that” contracts followed, teams never had any direction but one. The Sox absolutely had bad seasons in that stretch. If you watched any local sports broadcast, you are consistently reminded of this. Im not sure if the Boston media back then was the most pessimistic bunch of writers ever, or if they thought only being negative made them look smarter. I actually think many of them got into sports journalism solely to write about how passionately they hated sports. I’m positive this was the case with Bob Ryan. I have no idea what Bob Lobel’s deal was, but he was certainly not about spreading cheer about the Red Sox. He was easily the worst sports journalist ever and his repeated schtick of saying “why can’t we get players like that?” every time a former Sox player got a key hit didn’t mask how much he ripped that same player when he wore a Boston uniform. So we certainly didn’t get this annual optimism from the media. What I got from those years is that stars don’t make teams winners. The Sox trotted out Hall of Famers in left field for over half a century and got zero rings for it. Didn’t it seem of that when it comes to Sox left fielders, Jonny Gomes has more rings than Yaz, Rice and Williams combined? (Oh wait. Does that count as a stat?)

No! It HAS TO BE steroids!! MLB is willing to accept photographs that include muscles as proof of PED usage!!

But they also only made the post season 5 times in that stretch, and NOBODY looked at the bulk of those teams and was satisfied with 3rd and 4th place finishes on the outside looking in while someone else - usually the Yankees - continued in October. The 1984 and 1985 teams finished 18 and 18.5 games back - but they weren’t under .500. Who thought those teams were sustaining success? The 2015 Sox were 78-84 but only 15 games out. Were they really that much worse than some of those “not under .500” non-postseason teams from 1968 to 1991?

Back then, when there were very few trades for prospects and no one ever used the phrase “small market,” the main reason so few complained is the Sox didn’t get scorched in all those deals. For the players listed, the Sox did receive a future Hall of Fame starting pitcher, a two time All Star starting pitcher, and a struggling All Star 1b who apparently still had some All Star left in him. And in those deals, Bernie Carbo was a bit of a wash, since he came in one and left in another. Granted, dealing 24yo Ben Oglivie for an aging Dick McAuliffe is a deal that looks bad at first glance. And second glance. And third…

He should have been more glorified with a 2011 MVP award…

They didn’t have to call him up…

Minor league deal. There is no such thing as a bad minor league deal…

Lesson here: don’t make bets with Steve Cohen…

I bet Cohen turned him in…

No. Where he’s going is only populated by Yankee fans…

There’s money in it? And he thinks he can take it with him?

Hey, Eppler ran the Angels for a while. Who cares about injured Mets?

They want to be the Cubs. For 108 years, that team was able to put together a roster that was all but eliminated in May, but still sold out every home game from June through October. Heck if they tried to sell tickets on nights there was no game, they could have sold out some of them as well…

So do this mean Trout and Rendon have been healthy all along?

I agree also all fans care more about their team this season. However MLB executives who act that way don’t last long. But a King/Duran trade isn’t selling out the Padres’ future. Duran is in MLB already. Montgomery potentially doing Jordan’s Furniture spots actually is a better selling point than any joke suggests…

Not exactly the LH ex-Yankee we wanted…

True for bWAR, but less fWAR than Kutter Crawford. The bottom line is in that trade that got 6 years of Thorpe, 5 years of Brito, 6 years of Vásquez and 2 years of King. All for one year of Soto. If they actually did deal 2 years of King for 5 years of Duran, that’s actually a good trade for the Padres. And it actually makes the Soto deal look better…

Do you suppose that trading him for two years of Michael King is something they find satisfying? You might be overvaluing King just a tad here. Especially since you think he was the best piece in that deal…