harmony

How much courage does it take to plunk a batter in the back with a 97.7 mph fastball? Granted, it takes some arm strength.

Detroit's Jose Iglesias and Tampa Bay's Adeiny Hechavarria are each in their final year of team control on clubs that are not expected to contend. The shortstops may be available for that reason, but for the same reason may be too expensive with 2018 salaries of $6.28 million for Iglesias and $5.9 million for Hechavarria. Veteran shortstop Cliff Pennington is being paid $1.5 million this year to be the backup shortstop for a Cincinnati team that probably is going nowhere. This season in their final years of team control, Pittsburgh shortstops Jordy Mercer and Sean Rodriguez will earn $6.75 million and $5.75 million, respectively. With two years of team control backup Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores will earn $3.4 million this year while starter Asdrubal Cabrera will earn $8.25 million in his final year of team control. I suspect the Marlins would gladly dump the salary of Starlin Castro, who has two years and $22 million remaining on his contract. Veteran shortstop Erick Aybar apparently remains unsigned after opting out of his contract with the Minnesota Twins. Deven Marrero at the league minimum looks attractive.

The Red Sox are now 5-0 in one-run games

The Seattle Times forum's game thread title for today's game in Minnesota: http://forums.seattletimes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=239228 The game has been snowed out. The 27-degree temperature at the first pitch of Saturday's game was the coldest game in Seattle Mariner history and the coldest game in the history of Target Field. The Mariners won 11-4 to move to 4-3 on the season.

And vice versa with a blowout loss. Any conclusion is limited by the small sample.

I am no great fan of Michael Chavis (and no fan of steroids), but this matter may point up the difficulty of monitoring every substance that enters the body. From medical prescriptions to over-the-counter supplements to protein shakes, a player places great trust that the provider is not dispensing a banned substance. On one hand, Chavis may have knowingly consumed a banned substance in hopes of enhancing his performance. On the other hand, as Chavis contends, the top prospect may have no idea how the banned substance turned up in his urine.

That assumes a trade partner would be willing to pick up much of the roughly $55 million remaining on contract of Dustin Pedroia, who is coming off a concerning injury as the veteran approaches his 35th birthday in August.

Edwin Encarnacion's AAV of $20 million would have serious luxury tax implications for the Red Sox as Jackie Bradley has a 2018 salary of only $6.1 million. Despite a slow start, the Guardians remain the clear favorite to win the American League Central after posting 102 wins last year. Three years of Jackie Bradley is not enough an upgrade over six years of 25-year-old center fielder Bradley Zimmer to justify the loss of Encarnacion.

A fan so filled with hate is sad.

I suspect the Red Sox don't miss former hitting coach Chili Davis, who was quoted in this ESPN piece about the Cubs striking out an NL record 58 times in their first five games this year: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23006550/chicago-cubs-set-dubious-nl-record-58-strikeouts-first-five-games

Of course I am.

I agree that some responses are far too personal. As a general rule I avoid writing the word "you" on this forum unless I use the word in a positive context. I'd like to think that I respond to ideas, not to people. Reminds me of the quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." I hope that's not condescending.

I am surprised how bent of shape some posters are about opinions that differ from their own. If I question an opinion I typically respond with statistics that readers can incorporate or ignore in forming their own opinions. More often than not, I offer no opinion, leaving that to the province of the reader. My forum contributions are almost always limited to statistics because I watch so little MLB baseball (this old-timer prefers the radio). Statistics and observations should complement each other.

The Red Sox have a Pythagorean record of 2-2: https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2018.shtml

The Red Sox have the third-lowest ERA in the American League behind the Twins and ... the Rays: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/2018-standard-pitching.shtml

Blake Snell was in my active lineup in my fantasy league that counts quality starts. The left-hander came up one out shy of a quality start.

I suspect the Red Sox would receive a return phone call from the Royals on that offer. All four Sox players have six years of team control but somewhat limited trade value. The proposal might not work from the Red Sox end because of luxury tax implications.

As a 29-year-old left-handed starter, Danny Duffy has trade value but a 34-year-old second baseman on the disabled list might be the last player the Kansas City Royals would target.

For what it's worth, Jonathan Aro is only a year younger than Carson Smith (who is three years younger than Wade Miley).

I too abhor domestic violence but my goal would be to protect the victim, the family and the general public. A lifetime ban might increase the chances of recidivism by adding stress to the offender's life. In rare instances, the public shame is enough to change the behavior of a domestic abuser. More often, therapy is needed to address the issue. I am encouraged by the report that the "retirement" of the criminal charges requires that Steven Wright enter counseling with his wife. More serious punishments should be considered if the counseling does not change the behavior of the domestic abuser.

A PED suspension typically is handed down after a failed drug test, not on the basis of rumors. A player could contest the validity of the drug test, or whether he knowingly consumed a banned substance, but the drug test represents more than a rumor. Unlike a domestic violence suspension, the PED suspension is rarely accompanied by a criminal investigation and possible prosecution. The PED suspension may be the only consequence the player suffers (other than loss of endorsements, etc.). I suspect the Red Sox are off the hook for Wright's roughly $100,000 prorated salary for the 15-game suspension. Perhaps the Sox should donate that $100,000 to a program that provides services to victims of domestic violence.

FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox bullpen seventh in projected WAR: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-bullpen-1-15/

Without knowing all the information it's hard to say. Major League Baseball handed down a punishment that may have been mitigated by the report that Steven Wright agreed to counseling and other conditions of the "retirement" of his criminal charges.

The Aroldis Chapman matter was filled with he-said, she-said as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/sports/baseball/aroldis-chapman-says-hes-happy-and-anxious-about-helping-the-team.html I wonder where Steven Wright's two children were when Wright and his wife had their incident. I have no idea how old the children are, but they may have information about their parents' relationship. Regardless of physical contact, discord in the home can impact children. Last month I missed this Boston Globe piece that gave Wright's side of the story: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/14/red-sox-pitcher-steven-wright-tells-his-side-domestic-incident/SGFhGYN5m51oVgMyoRIXFM/story.html Of course, that's one side of the story.

After his trade with Jose Ramirez to Seattle for Dustin Ackley at the 2015 deadline, Ramon Flores posted a .423/.524/.654/1.178 line in 63 plate appearances at Triple A Tacoma before his career-threatening knee injury: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=flores002ram That November the Mariners traded Flores to Milwaukee for shortstop Luis Sardinas.