harmony

The Red Sox postseason chances have dropped below one percent at FanGraphs, FiveThirtyEight and Baseball Prospectus: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2022-mlb-predictions/ https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2022.shtml ... down from 61.3 percent preseason at FanGraphs: https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds?date=2022-04-06&dateDelta= The unexpected surfaces each MLB season.

If the season ended today the postseason would include two teams with bottom five Opening Day payrolls at less than $67 million (and another club in the bottom nine). Should those franchises be required to spend more?

Unfortunately Scott Boras and other agents need to deal with front offices looking for team-friendly deals. Negotiations cut both ways.

Thinking outside the box (to borrow a cliche): How could the Red Sox entice the Seattle Mariners to take on Trevor Story's contract, which Baseball Trade Values assigns a negative trade value of $40.3 million? https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/players/9499/ Last offseason the Mariners pursued Story, who reportedly wanted to play instead for a perennial winner: https://clutchpoints.com/mariners-rumors-the-reason-why-seattle-failed-to-sign-trevor-story-revealed/ Seattle second baseman Adam Frazier will be a free agent at the season's end while Abraham Toro, Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty might not be frontline players.

For sure but the Mariners aren't giving up three years of Ty France and five years of Cal Raleigh for one year of team control over Rafael Devers.

Indeed Aaron Judge homered Tuesday to draw even with Eugenio Suarez in home runs since the start of the 2018 season. At the hot corner, Rafael Devers, who has a negative 3.4 UZR/150 and a negative 2 DRS in 942 innings at third base this year, is not replacing Suarez, who has a positive 2.9 UZR/150 and a positive 5 DRS in 983 innings at third base. Devers at best would be relegated to DH duties.

The Seattle Mariners go nowhere near that trade. FWIW this year Rafael Devers has posted 3.9 bWAR while Seattle third baseman Eugenio Suarez has posted 3.7 bWAR. Devers remains under team control for one year working off his 2022 salary of $11.2 million while Suarez is under contract for two more seasons at $11 million annually with a $15 million team option, or $2 million buyout, for 2025. Cal Raleigh, a 25-year-old who leads all American League catchers in home runs, is best known for his handling of the formidable Seattle pitching staff. Trivia: Who, despite his flaws, leads Major League Baseball in home runs since the start of the 2018 season?

Boston Globe beat reporter Alex Speier asks: What does the Julio Rodriguez extension mean for the future of the Red Sox? https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/26/sports/red-sox-start-considering-long-term-deals-with-younger-players/ ... noting that the Red Sox failed to lock up Mookie Betts and Rafael Devers early in their careers. As as side note under the new CBA, because Rodriguez made the Opening Day roster the Mariners will receive an additional draft pick if Rodriguez finishes in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting.

The comparative minor league stats of Evan White, the 17th pick of the 2017 draft out of college, and Triston Casas, the 26th pick of the 2018 draft out of high school: EW 256 G, 1106 PA, .289/.357/.472/.829 TC 279 G, 1188 PA, .267/.373/.482/.854 Of course, the first basemen played in different minor league environments. White posted a wRC+, is adjusted for environment, of 132 in 400 plate appearances as a 23-year-old at Double A while Casas posted a wRC+ of 142 in 329 plate appearances as a 21-year-old at Double A. Skipping Triple A, White made his MLB debut at 24 years, 89 days, while Casas is now at 22 years, 225 days. Casas should be able to exceed the wRC+ of 52 that White has posted in 306 MLB plate appearances but fans should be prepared for a wide range of outcomes.

Seattle's comp for Miguel Bleis is outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez, who is two months older than Bleis but who has already advanced to Single A: Mariners Top Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball Red Sox Top Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gonzal009gab https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bleis-000mig https://www.fangraphs.com/players/gabriel-gonzalez/sa3015723/stats?position=OF https://www.fangraphs.com/players/miguel-bleis/sa3016834/stats?position=OF

Next Sunday I hope to see the Philadelphia Phillies and three days later the Atlanta Braves, NL East clubs that are among the hottest in MLB. Scouting potential World Series opponents for the Seattle Mariners. Lighten up.

Many franchises have a young prospect such as Miguel Bleis whose stock has risen this year. Projections remain difficult for distant 18-year-olds.

https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/doobie-brothers

It's the same with a hall of fame in any field.

At least the Seattle Mariners thank the Red Sox for this weekend's wins over the Tampa Bay Rays: 2024 MLB Standings and Records: Wild Card | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The official standings for Major League Baseball including division and league standings for regular season, wild card, and playoffs.

Among Portland's finest, Paul Revere and the Raiders recorded "Louie Louie" a week after the Kingsmen did ... at the same studio in Portland, Oregon:

Does anyone know of a baseball forum with meaningful discussion free of personal attacks?

That was my early career path.

On a positive note: so far the Red Sox have outperformed their Pythagorean record by two wins: https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2022.shtml

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lopezpe01.shtml More likely 26-year-old righthander Pablo Lopez, whom the Seattle Mariners traded to the Marlins with three others in 2017 for reliever David Phelps. Yikes.

The Seattle Mariners needed the Red Sox to take one or two of three games from the Blue Jays. ;-(

At the trade deadline, the Cubs, Phillies and Mariners reportedly discussed a three-way trade that would have sent Marco Gonzales to the Phillies, Ian Happ to the Mariners and prospects to the Cubs.

Some folks have a long history of pulling for the underdog ... in sports and outside sports.

That's a description of 25-year-old switch-hitting Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, who is the same age Jason Varitek was when the Mariners traded the switch-hitting catcher to the Red Sox.

Top 2022 Complex League prospects each organization WWW.MLB.COM The lowest levels of the Minor Leagues began play this week, with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex, Florida Complex and Dominican Summer leagues all kicking off Monday. While many of the players are teenagers who are at least four or five years away from being ready for the Majors, several of