S5Dewey

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I agree. A team can (almost) NEVER get through a season without a catcher being injured. Having a #3 catcher who can also hit and play other positions is a huge plus. If Swi can be at least serviceable at 1st & 3rd it frees Holt up to be the #4/5 OF'er as well as the UIF. I like it.

I think it's that, and it's also this team's overall offensive success. In the past pitchers could throw a pitch fairly confident that they wouldn't 'pay the big price' for a mistake pitch. This year they know that every hitter can hit one out or find a hole if they make that mistake. That results in more nibbling which creates more pitches that are harder for the catcher to handle. Tying in with 'that guy knowing his s***', I remember OB & Jerry saying that the Sox are picking up on a pitcher's tendencies. They may have done research to determine what pitch a pitcher will throw in certain situations and base their decisions as to when to run on those tendencies. Or not. What do I know? :-)

Nothing solves problems like winning!!

Ugh. I hate to be reminded of that. At the time I was working with an extremely obnoxious Yankees fan (is that redundant?) and he made life a living Hell for us Sox fans for the rest of the season.

That's interesting. I didn't see the article but I'd loved to have been a fly on the wall listening to that. If you stumble onto it again please send the link along.

Of course in talking about that .672 of Albert's you're only talking about the offensive side of the ball. IMO Mookie is the defensive player Pujols wishes he was. As with JBJ, I'll take that .672 when it comes along with great outfield defense. IMO Mookie is of the body type that won't be as heavy as Pujols is, which will help Mookie's defense. Of course there are no guarantees with these contracts or even how salaries might escalate. Ten years is a long time in baseball years. Ten years ago it was 2008 and Boston was 4th in team payroll @ 133MM. In 2017 the Sox had an opening day 3rd highest payroll at ~$200MM. It increased buy ~50% over 9 years. It's not unreasonable to think that a $30M salary for Mookie when he's 37 may be in line with other salaries. (I found it interesting that the last place Rays had a team payroll of just under $22M. In 2018 there are 21 players with a salary >$22M!). I haven't seen much of an outcry for Pedey to retire and forfeit the rest of his salary except from one poster. (You know who you are, MVP! LOL) The suggestion I put forward earlier was that he retire, forfeit the rest of his contract AND be re-signed to a coaching contract for the same AAV as his original salary.

Kimbrel is the embodiment of the old saying that "You never want to be the man who follows the legend. You want to be the man who follows the man who follows the man who follows the legend". Timing aside, in this case the legend is Koji. I'm not sure that if Sidd Finch were the closer now he would be favorably compared to Koji. And for those of you who were born too late in life to have heard of Finch, ..... https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/10/15/curious-case-sidd-finch

I don't see any reason he wouldn't be productive at age 37. He may not be the best player in baseball at 37 but he'll still be someone we want out there.

Yeah. That's me all right!

Edit: Make me five.. or six. It's looking like we're getting a lot of converts here!!

Me three. Slash & I have been lobbying for JBJ even if he hits .200 every since JBJ's first year. And it looks like we now have a convert! Welcome, Danny!

OT.. .I thought of you last weekend. My old softball league had a reunion and I got to play again. And yep, I tried to accelerate between the bases - and got a slight hammy pull. LOL

...And all this time I thought it was the Red Sox pitching.

Not me. My memory is too long. As far as I'm concerned the Yankees are never dead until that wooden stake gets driven through their hearts.

Using today's standards that seems fair. Outrageously expensive, but fair. But that may change - up or down - after the upcoming FA season.

I believe "begging" is the word Cora used.

IIMO you're right about that. Given that most owners have been unwilling to pay big $$ for long years to FA's, 2018/2019 could be a barometer for the future. The question then is, How much is the best player in baseball" worth? - with apologies to Mike Trout.

The biggest gamble I see in signing Mookie to a long term contract at "whatever it costs" is that we don't know what salaries are going to be when Mookie turns 28. With the current escalation of salaries what he might sign for today could be a pittance of what he could sign for in three years. Or, if this escalation ends it could be an overpay. IMO he has the skills - the "tools", if you will - to be productive in 10 years barring injuries. If the decision were mine I'd take the chance. As I've said before, I'd hand him a blank signed contract and tell him to fill in the blanks. (Not quite literally do that, but I think you can see what I mean).

Cora said recently that Lin is "the best defensive infielder our system". Was Cora blowing smoke? Who knows, but Cora is developing a reputation for being candid and honest.

I've learned to never count those chickens. s*** has a way of happening even to the best teams. The really good news is that we could currently be swept in back-to-back 3-game series and STILL be in first place! (Not that I expect that to happen).

My guess is that moving Mookie to 2B may have been a "clubhouse move" to some degree. The team is playing well and having fun, and as Cora said in the postgame interview, Mookie has been "begging me" to let him play in the infield. I'm pleased that Mookie didn't get hurt at 2B although playing him there at 2B against the Yankees in particular may have been risky. Not as risky as playing him at 2B against the O's or the D's now, but a bit risky. All's well that ends well and this ended well. Mookie got a chance to do what he's been begging to do and the Sox won. Everyone is happy. Well, except the Yankees.

That and the fact that JBJ didn't allow himself to be caught in a rundown. When the ball was thrown behind him JBJ committed to heading for the plate for better or worse. Those rundown seldom work out well for the summer if the defense knows what theyre doing.

Is this the same Sonny Gray that some of us were lusting after earlier in the season? Just asking. Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make.

It does seem like some of us (Dewey & Kimmie to name just a couple) have been saying for some time that Swihart wasn't getting a chance to play enough to get his game together. I know it's a small sample size but as I keep saying, every sample size means something. Had he been hitting ~.100 this same small sample size would be enough for TalkSox to bring out the tar and feathers. I think Swihart is a ballplayer and I always have thought so. Now I'm hoping he can prove it.