S5Dewey

IMHO this discussion comes down into two camps: the "The numbers are everything" camp a/k/a The Writers, and the " I like the guy and I like what I see" camp, or the fans. I see the reason Duran is still around is because hes an expensive luxury. He's insurance against injuries in either the OF or the IF (and who gets to have that luxury)? [aside, that was rhetorical.] Me? I'm on the fence. I think its crazy to hold onto him for "insurance" but at the same time I think he brings "intangibles" that are very important to the chemistry of the team. But thats just MO.

IMO Soto to the Mets is great news. While it would have been "nice" to see him in a Sox uni at the same time the Sox biggest need is not a power hitting OF'er, it's pitching. Signing Soto for HALF of that money would have crippled any chance the Sox had to sign the pitching necessary to make them a true contender, (OK, that may be a bit of a stretch, but you see what I mean). My question now is, while Otani's salary was seen as an outlier, does Soto's salary make this the norm for elite players? If so, any team without very deep pockets may as well fold their tents and slip quietly away,

Not me. Now we get into the balancing act of offense/defense/pitching and Duran brings a whole new offensive dimension to the Sox. For me to be willing to consider trading Duran I'd have to be looking at a trade no partnering team would make.

Crochet was only an example, my point was that we should be prepared to give good players to get good pitching. Nothing come cheap and the situation in Chicago made me think that the CWS might match up well with the Sox. I never thought I'd be saying this because I've been on the Mayer bandwagon ever since Day 1, but his ability to stay on the field concerns me. I won't be heartbroken whether he stays or goes but whichever it is, it's a gamble. He could become the guy we're looking for or he could be another Tyler O'Neill whom we love when he's in the lineup but can't seem to stay there.

I believe Moon is right ^here^ and this should be "make or break" year for JH. JH is in a position right now where he can afford to pay some big money for some big pitchers. If he doesn't do this it's going to be apparent that he truly values his pocketbook over the Red Sox. OTOH, there is the belief (and I confess to being one of those believers) that because this team has so many young, impact, non-pitchers that they were going to take 2024 and see what they've got - who can play at the ML level and who can't- and use the 2024-25 winter to 1) decide who to keep, who to trade, and who to cut loose, and 2) start to assemble a pitching staff that will lead them to being more than "competitive". If my second paragraphs is what's happening we're going to see some controversial trades in the off season, seeing some fan-favorite young players get traded. As an example, I can see two or even three of our young position players traded to the CWS for Garrett Crochet. Crochet is good, young, and cheap, and the CWS aren't going anywhere even with him in 2025 so he's a good match for a team with young talent to spare, That's the Sox, But we have to be prepared to give up a Roman Anthony ++ to get him. As usual, JMO!

Seriously? You're smarter than that. "Irritating the opposing pitcher" is good strategy at every level of baseball. The more a pitcher is distracted the less he's focusing on his next pitch, and at the MLB level every small distraction is a plus for the offense. Of course that's JMO because you will NEVER hear a pitcher admit, "Ya, I hung a curve ball because I was concerned about that runner on 1st getting that huge frikkin' lead", but if you've watched or played any baseball you know it's true. One of the best things a team can do to improve their chances is to distract the opposing pitcher. The method of scoring runs doesn't have to be an either/or thing. It can also be a "both" thing.

I agree completely. To trade a top-10 prospect for a rental would be 'sending good money after bad". IMHO this team is on the cusp of being contenders and parting with a top-10 prospect in the (realistic) hope that the Sox might advance one level higher in the playoffs in '24 would be counter productive to the goal of having a genuine WS contender in'25 or '26.

...and one thing we can be certain about is that Breslow is smart.

I don't see them trading prospects for rentals. IMHO the Club is doing exactly what they should be doing. For 2024 they're looking at the players under moderate-to-long years of control, the young players currently with the team, and the promising players in the minors. When the season is over they'll make decisions as to where the weaknesses are and try to fill them through free agency if necessary. In short, building a team the smart way. See: Craig Breslow. If the Sox are .500-ish and the FO does nothing the fans will scream bloody murder but given our young talent it would be the smarter thing to do.

Here's Greg Maddux take on power pitchers: In a recent phone interview, Maddux, whose expertise on the mound is revered, shared his insights into the high-stakes environment that pitchers face today. “Velocity matters,” Maddux explained, “teams want guys who throw hard. As a coach, I’d rather have someone who can throw 95 mph rather than 90. Faster is better, but it’s not the solution to your problems”. My interpretation of what GM said is that location is more important than speed. When that's combined with the added stress of the additional 5 MPH a pitcher throwing has hard as he can is a lose/lose situation. JMO!

As much as we like Raffy's upside there's a definite downside to him too. IMO Raffy got off easy last night with the error that was charged to Valdez. While I'll agree that Valdez shouuld have handled that throw, at the same time the throw shouldn't have been in a place that made Valdez stretch like a 1B. As a second downside, as 5GG mentioned, he looks like he's trying to hit a 500 foot-er on every swing when he demonstrated in ST that he can go to LF. And downside #3...Is anyone other than me tired of watching him jog to first base on anything that he assumes is going to be an automatic out? IMHO at the minimum he should at least be making it look like he's TRYING. Like most everone, I like his offense but the downsides make me want to tear my hair out - what's left of it.

I'll take the blame for that. I was watching the women's basketball game and switched over just as the bottom of the 5th was starting. My bad. Sorry.

That may be dependent on who the pitcher is. In yesterday's game Crawford started the game with mostly FB's (in the high 80's) and the first three batters teed off on him. Then he went to his breaking stuff and pitched a good solid 14 outs. (he got pulled in the 5th with 2 outs). Adding 4-5 mph to his FB may work in helping to set up his breaking stuff but only if he has some movement on it.

That's what Cora has been doing at every game at JBP thus far this spring. IMO that's probably a good indication of how he'll start the season. I certainly hope that's what happens. Duran brings something to the Sox that I haven't seen in quite a bit - speed - and Duran's speed seems to get in the heads of not only the pitchers and catchers but also in the heads of outfielders. When they know they have to make perfect throws to 2B to get him their throws become less than perfect. Or maybe those throws would be less than perfect anyway and Duran is just taking advantage of them. Whichever.... it's working.