S5Dewey

I sometimes wonder how good the Marlins (and many other teams) are reeling in their potential resources. One of these evenings I'm going to take a pad of paper and a pencil and keep track of how many ads and promos there are in a game, Each one of those sponsors pays heavily (I would think) to be known as "The _______ of the Boston Red Sox", or "This _____________ is brought to you by [_________________]".

So very true. Given the success our BP has had this year I'm now wondering how much better they would have been with Thornburg & Smith.

What they're asking for Stanton and what they'd get are two different things. As Moon has said repeatedly, for the Sox to sign Stanton would be a double-whammy. They'd not only have to give up prime talent they'd also be stuck with a player's salary that would seriously hamper future acquisitions. I'd be willing to part with Beni because that would open up a defensive spot for Stanton. I'd also be willing to lose Bogaerts because, frankly, I think he's overrated and replaceable AND you do 'have to give to get'. Toss in Swihart and a couple of ML relievers and we've got the start of a deal. Something like that would be manageable for the Sox because they'd be taking on salary without giving up pieces vital to the future and manageable for the M's because they'd be getting young, talented players to build around. The important thing to remember is that the Sox don't NEED Stanton to win their division. They're doing that without him. He's more of a "want" than a "need". If the two teams can't put together a trade that benefits both teams then we walk away.

Nice post, including the part that I snipped. We often like to say that making the playoffs is the important thing because after that "anything can happen". We say that because it's true. Teams often go hot or cold for no apparent reason. Last year the team went on a scorching hot streak just before the playoffs, then the law of baseball averages caught up with them during the playoffs and they went cold. s*** happens sometimes. The secret to winning the WS is the same as winning any tournament, and it's twofold. A team has to be talented and they have to be hot at the right time. Any team that makes the playoffs (and arguably some who don't) has the talent to win the WS. It's a matter of who can pull it together and play well. I believe this team has the talent to win it all. They just have to play well at the right time.

This is exactly where the sample size issue hits home with me. There is no doubt that three starts is a very small sample size but at the same time it may be where he is NOW. IMO what a player has done in the past month is a better indication of what he will do in his next outing than is what he did in April or his cumulative stats for a year when he may have had a weak spring.

I'd rather have Fister to start a playoff game than [a healthy] David Price.

I'd find it difficult to say "Bogey" and "premium SS defense" in the same sentence.

Interesting comment by OB tonight - Fister is the only pitcher currently in the RS rotation with a post-season victory.

Wait... never mind.

I'd give my right arm to be able to throw like that!!

Wow! Did you see that pea that Devers threw to 1B???

THIS! ^ As little as I like physical errors they're a part of the game (as long as they don't happen in excess!). Mental errors bother me more. With nobody out and a runner on first Beni decided to take a chance with the play right in front of him. The result was going to be one of two things. Either the Sox would have runners on 1st & 3rd with nobody out or a runner on 3B with one out. If the ball had gotten into the gap... or even if the RF had to make the throw with his momentum going away from 2B.. that's one thing, but taking the chance of running the team out of the inning was stupid. He's 23 years old, He's probably been playing baseball for 15 years. Did he learn nothing? I was talking with a college scout recently about experience. He told me that one of the things colleges look for in scholarship players is experience. They want to know that when a play happens on the field that the players have seen it happen before so they'll make smart decisions. Beni failed that test last night.

That's a very good question. We're not going to learn the answer to it until he plays.

I agree with you, the Sox should have made him chase bunted baseballs all evening, but that brings me back around to something that I've always wondered about. When Schilling was struggling with the bloody sock/ankle why didn't the Yankees bunt against him and make him leave the mound repeatedly until his ankle couldn't take it any more? I mean, if he'd made one bad turn on that ankle he'd have been done. The only reason I can think of - and I do hate to admit this - is that Joe Torre didn't want to win "that way".

I agree, which makes any trade impossible for the M's to make. They have a highly paid player whom they'd like to unload but can't. It's somewhat like the situation the Sox may be in with David Price, but the reasons for the player being untradeable are different. Stanton's being untradeable for any reasonable package because of his perceived value means that if the M's want to get rid of him they'll eventually have to lower their asking price, just as the Sox may have to eat a lot of Price's contract if they want to get rid of him. You can sell anything if the price is low enough.

But I completely agree with this part of the post except that I think it will kill us next month, which I think was a typo/brain cramp anyway!

I'd loved to have been there to hear the justification for Sanchez only getting four games. The argument that made it happen would be funnier than anything Chris Rock or George Carlin ever did. In a word... ridiculous.

If the LT implications weren't a concern here's what I'd start with: Benintendi, Bogaerts, and Swihart. They're young, cost controlled, & talented. And replaceable. I'd even throw in Kelly & any RP not named Kimbrel who's currently on our 25 man roster. And I'd be willing to talk after that. However, nothing offsets that huge LT implication unless we could toss David Price into the deal but Price's salary makes him not someone the M's would be interested in.

We certainly will disagree on some of this post. See my post directly above this one. I do agree that pitching is the most important aspect of the game but defense (the ability to prevent runs) is as valuable as hitting (the ability to score runs). I have no problem with aggressive baserunning as long as it's smart baserunning. There is NO EXCUSE for Beni getting thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double early in the game and with nobody out. Even Eck went ballistic over that play. As he said during the review, "Even if he's safe it was a stupid play." We sometimes forget that the largest factor in getting picked off the bases isn't the fact that the runner isn't there any more. It's that it shortened the inning by 1/3. The SOx got outpitched last night but they also shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with bad baserunning and weak defense.

One thing that got exposed last night is how much this team needs Pedey's and JBJ's defense. Three plays last night when JBJ may have made a difference; There was a ball hit to the RCF fence that Beni almost got to . I said at the time on the GT that JBJ would have made that play. Did anyone else notice that Beni backed off on the ball that got by Mookie to back Mookie up? JBJ would have had a better shot at that ball. Ball hit to RCF and Beni almost threw out the runner going 1B -> 3B. JBJ's arm is better than Beni's and could have made the throw. If he makes one - or even two - of those plays the game is entirely different. Our OF defense is vital to our winning. We need JBJ back out there, and the sooner the better.

JBJ catches that ball.

I'll drink to that!

Every popup is an adventure on that side of the IF. But he made the play!

Sweet God. I want Pedey & JBJ back out there,

I think Eck would like to talk with you about that.