S5Dewey

I agree on all points. Cutting bait with Swi would be the best thing for all involved, including Swihart. I'd like to see a team pick him up who can give him a real chance and that's not going to happen in Boston.

Of course it's cherry picking! Cherry picking is going back as far as you have to in order to make your case - which you did. Had you gone back 4 years you'd have had to say that he's 30-31 over the past four seasons which wouldn't have fit your purpose. If you're going to cherry pick at least don't deny you're doing it! Just for fun I'll cherry pick a little. Over the past season, since his surgery in 2017 he's 7-2 with an ERA of 2.01 and a WHIP of 1.037. Great numbers. Sign him now, right?

That's cherry picking at its finest. To break that down over the two years you mention, in 2017 he went 0-1 in 2 starts before being diagnosed with a tear in the forearm of his pitching hand. After missing the rest of the 2017 season he was 7-2 in 16 starts in 2018 before an injury to his right elbow in August. According to MLB Trade Rumors, "the true severity of the injury isn’t really clear. It’s certainly possible that Buchholz will be able to get back up to full strength with some offseason rest and rehab."

So who's more valuable to a team, an injury-prone pitcher who goes 7-7 in 18 starts over a partial year or a dependable pitcher who goes 5-15 over an entire season? Because that 5-15 is what you're likely going to get when you're signing someone to a minor league contract and then calling him up to pitch in the majors. We're not talking about some kid off the street here. We're talking about a pitcher with elite stuff. Money being what it is today I'd even take a chance and sign him to a $4m - $5M major league contract, but that's just me.

I fail to see why you consider Clay to be undependable. I see him as being very dependable. We can depend on him to go down with an injury sometime during the season. It's also not unreasonable to think he's going to put up 5-10 wins, have an EA of ~4.00 and be ~.500 when he's pitching. Where else do you find someone like that for Minor League money???

...and he's still an egotistical punk.

IMO it'll be a while before Machado signs with anyone. He's an egotistical punk who's overrated his own ability while ignoring his downside. Some team will sign him to a lucrative contract but they'll pay a price for it and it won't be in money.

I still don't understand the hate. If it were anyone else who's averaged over 100 IP over the past 7 seasons and has a career ERA As I opined a couple of months ago, if he'd change his name even his critics would love to have him.

You're a lot softer on him than I am. I see him as being so full of himself that he doesn't realize that he's a caricature of a self-absorbed, blowhard, pathological lying cheater.

That gets the award for the lowest bar of the year!

Since this "cliff" seems to be inevitable I'd rather see them go all in for Eovaldi and make a solid run in 2019 than start a slide in 2019 that slides over the cliff in 2020.

The question is, will signing Mookie to a 10 year contract make the dreaded cliff more ... or less... likely to happen? Edit: Oops, Nick. I didn't mean to usurp your "The question is". We were typing at the same time!

I'm still struggling with Eovaldi. I notice that nobody has suggested that the buy a vowel.

YES! I'm glad somebody said this. ^^^ I'm aware that I may come from a different generation than some who post here but IMO if a player is going to avoid the second-guessing and fan abuse he should show character and humility. Cano could take some lessons from Mookie Betts (or Mike Lowell) as to how to conduct himself.

IMO we can't compare players of different generations. The longer they've been gone the bigger they get.

If we sign Evoaldi to that 4/$60 that Bell speculated on that will be the make/break deal of the 2019 for the Sox. If it works out we've got 3 outstanding pitchers going into 2019. That should make the Sox the team to beat at the beginning of the season. If it doesn't work out we've got two outstanding pitchers which may be enough to get the job done as long as the both stay healthy, but it leaves us with no money to sign another pitcher.

I like the idea of signing Evoaldi too, but I'm just wondering if I'm the only person who has it in the back of his mind that you NEVER sign a player based on what they did in one World Series. Am I the only one seeing a decided risk in this?

I absolutely agree with Mike Lowell. He was a guy who went out every day and very quietly got the job done. He's up there with Dewey Evans in my book for people who played the game the right way and did it with class.

Not unless he were to shed about 45 lbs. Have you seen him lately?? LOL

The last I heard 'Tek was offered a full time job with the Sox which he declined for "family reasons". Instead he's got some kind of a part time job with the team. I don't know what his official role is but he's seen a lot around the bullpen in Ft. Myers.

The dirt is cool! How'd you 'score' that???

Ok.. this is almost embarrassing... I have one of the "Hawaian style" shirts with different Red Sox logos on it Too many t-shirts to count, but IIRC only three of them with names - Lowell, Evans & Smoltz - & many of them with the year of Spring Training on it. A huge collage of pictures if the 2004 WSC. (having a nice g/f will do that for you! :-) ) A Jim Rice autographed baseball The obligatory print of the picture of 'Tek with his mitt in ARod's face. My ticket from the 1999 All-Star game A picture taken with a fisheye lense at that AS game (and I'm in it!) A t-shirt and cap from that AS game. The cap still fits me. The shirt doesn't. :-( A Johnny Gomes autographed picture of him laying the 617 jersey on the WSC trophy during the 2013 parade A Red Sox mouse pad A Red Sox "pint" glass More caps than I can count. I buy at least one and usually two each year and wear one all the time until it gets so sweat-stained that I have to stop wearing it. 2 Red Sox hooded sweatshirts, one red & one green A couple of Red Sox golf shirts A puzzle of Fenway park Numerous books about Sox players and the stadium. Autographed pictures (B&W) of Trot Nixon, JBJ, and Brandon Workman. That's all I can think of offhand. Can you say "compulsive"? LOL

Assuming this is a serious question, as far as I can find out he's still alive although he did reportedly try to take his own life because of the guilt and media (and fan) pressure after the '86 World Series.

Buch yes. Hanley no.

As you say, we've never heard of examples like that. It could be because by admitting it he becomes admittedly unethical. It comes down to whether you think Boras is ethical or not. IMO there's too much opportunity to be unethical for him to be scrupulously honest. If it's unquestionable proof you're looking for I don't have it. What I do have is knowledge of what money will do to a person's ethics. (There's an old saying that you never really know someone until you split an inheritance with them).