S5Dewey

Me too. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now.

Just like some pitchers have good success against some hitters and some hitters "own" certain pitchers. It's in the mind. When you believe you're going to be successful then being successful is more likely to happen. And the same with being unsuccessful.

WAR is a debate-ender when we want it to be, and when we don't want it to be it's "just another tool".

I'd like to keep both MB & JBJ but if that's not something we can do the ball is in Mookie's court. If he extends for a reasonable price we move JBJ (Ughhhhh). If MB won't extend with the Sox we keep JBJ and land someone to play RF.

Very few things in statistics is proof of anything that might happen. That's why I give stats, common sense, and the eye test equal value.

One thing is for sure - he can't be much worse than what we've done. So why not??

Protection in the lineup is a myth. Anything that says differently is no more than anecdotal evidence and is therefore worthless. /s/

IMHO the "problem" with WAR is in the serious fans. We were all clamoring for something that would compare the value of players so when WAR was introduced (by more than one group, who report different WAR values) we were going to be all over it regardless of its accuracy. Saying it's the best single comparative number we've got may not be a resounding endorsement. Remember, the Yugo was the best car imported from Yugoslavia too.

That may be the easiest fix but the only way that works for me is if we sign Mookie. We're going to want one/(Both) of Mookie/JBJ in that outfield. If we don't sign Mookie we've got to be looking for another player with CF skills to manage RF for the Sox. One thing we should have learned by now is that we can't put an "ordinary" RF'er out there and expect him to do the job. It's too big and too angular.

With the left side of our IF set now since Bogaerts is wrapped up and we've got Devers under team control for the near future we can concentrate on the right side. I'm not sure if you were asking my thoughts on the right side but here they are anyway. 1B: I'm assuming Chavis learns how to hit that high hard one so I'm penciling him in at 1B. I've always said that I'll sacrifice a little defense at the corners if necessary to get power there. If I were to make a decision based on defense I'd go with Travis. I thought Travis was the 1B of the future before his injury but he hasn't recovered. 2B: I don't have a strong preference at 2B. I've been preaching "solid up the middle" for years and if I were to go with "D" I'd want Lin there. I'm torn between Lin's defense and Marco's bat. I'd have them both on the '25' and let them one of them play himself into starting. Utility/Bench: There's no way I'd part with Brock Holt unless he prices himself out of Boston. Injuries happen to players and Brock can play respectable defense at any position as well as being a (do I dare to say this?) clutch hitter. If we consider JDM to be an outfielder and have Marco/Lin on the bench along with Dalbec & Leon (or his replacement) we're set defensively. Ockimey, Travis, Dalbec, and Chatham go to Pawtucket. A bit of a crunch is at 1B in Pawtucket since the only position Ockimey and Travis can play is 1B so one of them is trade bait. I'd hold onto Dalbec in case of an injury and because personally I like those big, rangy guys with big shoulders who can generate a lot of bat speed with their leverage. And he's not Dick Stewart with the glove. :-) I'd also be giving Chatham a serious look in ST as our #2 option at 2B. This doesn't address the issue of pitching but if we carry 13 pitchers we're set. I'm just looking at our position players.

I'm in.

This has sort of been my thinking ever since I heard about the "new" baseball but to me it pertained more to pitchers who aren't trying to reinvent themselves but instead were pitchers who never were "throwers" but relied on their stuff... like Rick Porcillo. (I think I got the right "P" this time. LOL)

Hah! Yes. Thank you. Those damn P words confuse me sometimes. And I think your second paragraph is about what I said a couple of days ago, only you said it better and in fewer words. :-)

^This. God, yes, this.^ What's all this talk about a fire sale? This team is good enough offensively and defensively to be WSC contenders. A Fire Sale is tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath water. I certainly don't like what's happening in 2019 but I wouldn't be having any "fire sales" prior to 2020. And as our "cerebral friend" intimated, I CERTAINLY wouldn't be attempting to trade Devers and/or Bogarts. It's right up there with Stupid Idea #1.

The question is how much better would we be with Kimbrel and Kelly. Most of that falls to Kelly since this team is usually behind going into the 9th so Kimbrel wouldn't be getting save opp's. Kelly seems to have turned the corner some out in LA now but I question whether his presence so far would have made a big difference. The problem children are Price and Porcillo. If they were performing as expected it's possible that Kimbrel would be getting more save opp's as our pen wouldn't be as overtaxed and maybe not as bad.

"El Toro" is just cool enough that it might stick.

I'm just glad it worked today. At this point I'll take the W's where I can find them.

Ok, we can breathe again.

Just the guy at the plate now....

Vlad is NOT a guy I want to see up in this situation.

6-4-3 now?

Well, this is taking an ugly turn.

The big question now is whether ERod can get a win when the team only gets him 5 runs.

Ugh. Walked the leadoff man.

Just a deep fly ball gets one more run