harmony

I had not cast an All Star vote in decades and now regret casting multiple votes for Jean Segura, who could probably stand a rest instead of flying across the country for the chance of one at-bat.

I was only somewhat bothered by the Biogenesis scandal but this Seattle fan was adamantly opposed to the Mariners' rumored interest in Nelson Cruz following his 2013 season with the Rangers. I mistakenly thought Safeco Field would kill his right-handed power bat. After Cruz posted impressive numbers with the Orioles in 2014, I warmed up to the idea of the Mariners acquiring Cruz, who signed with Seattle in December 2014. Beyond his abundant offensive output with the Mariners (OPS+ 151 and 148 HR in 540 games), Cruz has provided needed leadership in the Seattle clubhouse. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/nelson-cruz-gathers-mariners-teammates-for-workouts-in-miami/

From Fancred columnist Ian Crimmins: "Red Sox continue to wipe floor with the rest of baseball. Are they really this good?" https://fancredsports.com/articles/red-sox-continue-to-wipe-floor-with-the-rest-of

You may be right but an interesting comp is provided by Jalen Beeks and Tacoma righthander Rob Whalen, a pair of former 12th-round draft picks. Beeks has been impressive in his cherry-picked 82.2 innings at Triple A this year. As notin noted, Beeks has not pitched in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League where Seattle's Triple A Tacoma Rainiers play. In the larger and more meaningful samples of their minor league careers, Beeks and Whalen have posted these numbers: JB 511 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 158 BB, 484 K RW 490 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 165 BB, 431 K And their minuscule MLB lines this year: JB 6.1 IP, 12.49 ERA, 2.37 WHIP, 4 BB, 5 K RW 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 1 BB, 0 K Whalen's four scoreless innings came in the Mariners' 7-6 win against the high-flying Red Sox: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA201806150.shtml Whalen's career MLB line: RW 36 IP, 5.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 15 BB, 27 K Whalen is six months younger than Beeks. I'm not suggesting that one pitcher is better than the other, but they provide interesting comps.

I fully expect Xander Bogarts' agent, Scott Boras, to work hard in developing daunting demands on behalf of his client.

Given the luxury tax implications, a Xander Bogaerts extension would limit the Red Sox ability to enter the free agent markets and/or extend Mookie Betts. The Red Sox will get out from under the salaries of Hanley Ramirez, Craig Kimbrel, Drew Pomeranz, Joe Kelly and Steve Pearce but may need replacements on top of arbitration raises.

Xander Bogaerts, who becomes a free agent after the 2019 season, should hold little appeal for Baltimore unless the Orioles plan to compete in 2019.

Henry Owens, who is only one year older than Jalen Beeks, had a more impressive MLB debut in his 2015 rookie season: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=owenshe02&t=p&year=2015 Owens had been a Top 50 prospect for two years before his call-up while Beeks has never appeared in the major prospect rankings. In the SoxProspects organizational rankings, Owens peaked at No. 2 in a loaded system while Beeks currently ranks sixth in a lightly regarded system: http://www.soxprospects.com/history.htm

To be precise, in that statistically insignificant sample, the Rays are 8-3 and the Blue Jays 6-11 against the Athletics, Angels and Rangers. 14-14 overall. In far larger samples, the Rays and Blue Jays are a combined five games under .500 while the Athletics and Angels are a combined 12 games above .500.

Let's not forget: https://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/2018 https://www.statista.com/statistics/207458/per-game-attendance-of-major-us-sports-leagues/

Regular posters to this forum know that I place great weight on metrics that show the Mariners to be a significant tier below the Astros, Red Sox and Yankees. The Mariners face a daunting task in a division with perhaps baseball's best team and three clubs that entered today's games at a combined even .500.

A Red Sox season of 110 wins falls within the realm of possibility as does a season of 98 wins. Systematic projections have the Red Sox falling somewhere in between: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-mlb-predictions/ https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings

Depends on the division. Entering Monday's games, the AL East had a cumulative record of 230-215 (.517), the AL Central 183-263 (.410) and the AL West 254-201 (.558).

LOL ... who's cherry-picking? Seattle is 2-1 against Toronto, 4-0 against Baltimore and 2-1 against Toronto ... and 6-1 against Tampa Bay. The Mariners are 12-2 (.857) overall against those clubs while the Red Sox are 25-7 (.781). Houston is 2-1 against Toronto, 3-0 against Baltimore and 2-1 against Toronto ... and 3-4 against Tampa Bay. The Astros are 8-5 (.615) overall against those clubs. To avoid cherry-picking, the AL West to date has an overall 58-55 record against the AL East (including the Big Bad Red Sox and Yankees), but have played only 16 of those 113 games against the woeful Orioles (who are 1-15 in those contests). AL West clubs look forward to feasting on the Orioles in 17 of the roughly 52 remaining games against the AL East. Critics have legitimately used run differential to question Seattle's success so far this season. Indeed the Mariners' Pythagorean record of 47-44 trails the 66-26 of the Astros by 18.5 games. But by the Pythagorean measure, the Red Sox at 60-31 trail the Astros by 5.5 games, solidifying the favorite status of the defending World Series champions. Other sources endorse Houston's favorite role: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-mlb-predictions/ https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings The Red Sox and Yankees have fine teams this year and AL East may well represent the American League in the World Series for the second time in nine seasons. However, their regular-season win totals may be inflated by playing in a less competitive division.

Wouldn't the Astros be playing for the home-field advantage through the postseason? Or do you anticipate fades by the Red Sox and Yankees?

Stated differently, the unbalanced schedule favors the Red Sox and Yankees, who get about 18 games this year against the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles, who today are a combined 47 games below .500. The unbalanced schedule disfavors the Astros and Mariners, who get about 18 games this year against the Athletics, Angels and Rangers, who today are a combined even .500. That stark disparity impacts the difference in the win totals of the Red Sox and Yankees, who are a combined 62 games above .500, and the win totals of the Astros and Mariners, who are a combined 53 games above .500. All I wrote on this thread on Friday was: "The win disparity can be explained in part by the Red Sox and Yankees playing in a less competitive division than the Mariners and Astros."

I merely answered a direct question with my opinion. Some Seattle fans have a similar issue with Mariner catcher Mike Zunino because those fans can’t look beyond the stats found on the back of a baseball card.

Many people don’t know how to properly value a player such as Jackie Bradley. MLB front offices and Bradley’s agent have a better idea.

As a fan who visits many baseball forums, I must say Red Sox fans rank right up there.

Some Yankee fans bemoan the Red Sox acquisition of Steve Pearce: http://www.nyyfansforum.com/showthread.php/138070-2018-Trade-Deadline-Thread/page102 Scroll down.

Which would happen if the Astros capture the No. 1 seed, as projected: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds

How would a Yankee fan feel if the Mariners beat the Red Sox in the Wild Card game?

A distressed baseball franchise attracts fewer less knowledgeable bandwagon fans.😁

A Seattle Mariner fan is no stranger to disappointment. Nevertheless, the disappointment would reach new depths if the Mariners collapse after reaching an 88 percent chance of advancing to the postseason. Anything can happen.🙄

Last year the NL West sent three teams to the postseason.