S5Dewey

One of my first impressions when I started to come to ST is that Spring Training is a money printing machine! Think about it. There are about 10.000 people at the park every day buying $35 shirts & caps, etc. with some things in the "Team Store" costing upwards of $100, $4.75 bottles of water, $9.50 beers, $4.75 pieces of pizza and $4.50 hot dogs, and the average seat is probably $40 - $50, and it's all for something the Red Sox have to do anyway... get the players ready for the regular season. Oh, and the team didn't have to pay to have the stadium built - the county did it for them! It's all almost humorous.. in a dark sort of way.

Again, as I've been saying, it makes me wonder just how much money there is floating around out there! I wouldn't say that all owners could pony up that kind of money but if the richest can it follows that even the poorest are making a bundle.

Thanks.

Tell me again.. what are the LT implications of that?

I don't see him opting out. He's getting well paid, and he had to go deep into the offseason to get the contract he got. In addition, he's now two years older. I can see the Sox offering him a 1B mitt and telling him to learn to use it. That'll make him a full-time defensive player - which he wants - without jeapordizing (sp???) his salary.

With the 6 year rumor being leaked it appears that they've agreed to come to an agreement. Now they're just quibbling over the money.

I'd like to know what's in DD's mind regarding the catching. I can make a case for keeping any of the three (and letting one of the other two go) just as I can make a case for trading each of them. It does seem to me that Leon and Vaz are redundant in that either of them will help the team defensively but don't bring much offense while Swihart brings more offense. Were I sitting in DD's chair I'd be looking to trade Leon because I think Vaz' offensive ceiling is higher than Leon's. However, the problem with that is that if we keep Swihart and he doesn't work out defensively we don't have a Dan Butler to bring up to fill the slot. That's why DD gets the big money, I guess!

Speaking of Durbin (and who else do you know named Durbin??) Feltman, I think he's only appeared twice. Since one of those was on the road I've only seen him once but I like his mix. He's got a FB that topped out in the mid/high 90's and he mixes in an 80 mph slider. I'd expect him to start in Portland (!!!) this year and progress quickly.

It not only could be, from what I've heard it probably will be. I keep hearing that Hernandez has impressed Cora and the rest of the FO. Of course he doesn't have to look very good to be the best looking pup in the ugly litter of relievers we've seen thus far. And while we're on the topic of pitching, it's looking to me like Mojica may be being tabbed to be the much dreaded closer. Re: Pedey now... His starting on the DL may be more cautionary than anything else. I've been watching him both during the innings and during the time when folks watching the games on TV are seeing commercials and I see no difference between the 2019 version of Pedroia and the pre-injury Pedey. His footwork looks good around the base, he's running the bases well, and his running off and on the field between innings looks like he's back to being the Pedroia we remember. I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on television or in an internet chat room but he looks normal to me.

My son's best friend (who went on to play college baseball) once observed that baseball is the perfect game for guys to get together at. There's enough action to keep your attention but at the same time there's enough 'dead time' to talk about the action and to carry on conversations. Iortiz & a700 are they kind of guys we all want to watch a game with, friendly, personable and extremely knowledgeable - although their collective memory far surpasses mine. :-). Over the years I've had the opportunity to meet up with several posters, both from TalkSox and from the old BDC forums. Meeting these folks is a chance to put a face with the words and learn their personalities and I've never been disappointed. It's an experience I highly recommend if you get the chance. Now I'm looking forward to ST next year!

If you're looking for a reason to have Mookie leading off, here's one. He had 32 HR'S out of the leadoff spot, staking the Sox to an early lead. Since pitchers like pitching with a lead...

I'm on board with the trepidation part, 100%. I remember when we first signed Sale that many of us were saying that his motion screams, "I'm going to need surgeryyyyyyy!" Now, if there were some kind of a "John Lackey" clause to protect the Sox I could be enter into that 5 year deal with a lot more comfort, but that's probably not realistic.

I thought the article was interesting in that it mentioned the "negotiations" with Jon Lester and how the Sox blew that one so now they're determined to not make the same mistake again. Once again what happened with Lester has Lucchino's fingerprints all over it.

Brace yourself, Kimmie. This is the rumor around the park today regarding Sale. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikedowling/2019/03/14/sale-red-sox-on-verge-of-contract-extension/#5dca604e3991

According to Bill James some years ago, a team is 140% more likely to score if the leadoff hitter gets on base than if he doesn't.

...and the fact that it's not meaningful to one person doesn't mean it's not meaningful to another.

I can't have any sympathy for a player who will probably make $20M+/year and is probably looking for more. I also can't have any sympathy for a team owner who can afford to pay that to one player. Since I have no sympathy for either of them I as fan just hope there is a way that can be worked out for him to stay because from this fan's POV it's a pleasure to watch him.

Yep. I believe they hurt Swi's development when they put him in the OF where he injured his leg. Do the kid a favor - play him or trade him.

I saw it differently. His first swing of the bat was HUGE - he was trying to "make a statement". That swing also missed the ball though. :-) After that I thought he was vintage Pedey offensively. He simply reached out and put the ball where he wanted to for a hit. The kind of stuff he does all the time. I thought he looked good running the bases, getting to 2B on a FC (IIRC) and then scoring from second. Defensively he made a nifty turn at 2B in the middle of a DP and fielded his position well. I can't comment on his range because I don't have a benchmark from 2017 to compare to but on the whole I liked what I saw. Even running off and on the field he looked like the Pedey of old with no sign of discomfort. He may or may not have been having the benefit of Aleve or the like... I have no way of knowing that. My biggest concern with Pedroia at the moment is his longevity - how long will that knee hold up? Only time will tell, but thanks, Manny. Thanks for going to the NL where you can put players on some other team on the DL for a while. You *******.

And actually his defense looks better to me this year than in the past.

That's all good solid logic but it ignores one thing - and I don't have an answer to this: With pennant races and playoff spots decided by only a couple of games, by the time the FO decides what the team needs they may have "waited" themselves out of a playoff spot.

Now that's just plain not fair! Some posters don't stop talking to you. Instead they mock the posts of the posters they don't like.

How did this thread turn into a bashing of Mookie Betts? Mookie has done exactly what most of us say we want the players to do, go out, play the game, look like they're having fun, and stay out of the media. Mookie hasn't gushed about being in Boston, neither has he shown any indication that he isn't happy here. He hasn't publicly groused about his pay in spite of being one of the best players in baseball. Even during his arbitration case (which he won) he was publicly silent and let the process work itself out. Now we're seeing posted assumptions that he doesn't like it here in Boston or he's "all about the money". No wonder Boston has a reputation that it's a hard place to play in.

...which only affirms my skepticism of WAR.

Unfortunately there's essentially no amateur baseball played in the Northeast during the weather that's best for baseball. There are two universities relatively close by me. One is a D3 school and their regular season is OVER by the first week in April, and in case you didn't notice the first week in April is very close to the last week in March which isn't baseball weather in Maine. The other is a D1 school and their season is usually over by the 2nd week in June.