Eddy Ballgame

I'm guessing you didn't see much of the '86 Playoffs. See the video below. That's gagging?! It might've gone out anyway. By the way, you said that his homer was "one clutch hit." His homer only tied it against Donnie Moore. His sacrifice fly won it in the 11th.

Sorry about that. I think we were posting at same time. Didn't see yours until after. Same point, though.

Dave Henderson definitely seemed to enjoy the lime light. I believe that some guys do more than others. There's no question that if you poll players & coaches, they will tell you that there are certain guys they'd rather have in a big spot more than others, and it's not based on their regular season stats.

Dave Henderson hit 3 homeruns for the Sox that post season, with an .OPS of 1.067 in 41 at bats. His homer in the top of the 10th put the Sox up 4-3 in game 6 against the Mets and could've been the game winner. I remember it well. The place I was at erupted. It was crazy. He has 7 total post season home runs in his career. Whether he was "clutch" is debatable, but it certainly wasn't just one hit. He was "Ortiz-esque" that 1986 post season.

You can't forget the guy they call "Mr. October."

I agree. The scout who said that was very likely the same scout who begged the Sox to draft the kid. At least we'll know if he does fail, it won't be for lack of effort.

I've always liked Travis because of his reputation of being the "anti-Middlebrooks." He's just wants to get better and better all the time. The guy should thrive in a place like Boston. Jon Heyman tweeted that one Boston scout said he is "the next Paul Goldschmidt," (see link), https://www.google.com/amp/nesn.com/2016/03/scout-calls-red-sox-prospect-sam-travis-the-next-paul-goldschmidt/amp/?client=safari While that's obviously a stretch, the organization definitely has high hopes for him and he is probably the biggest reason why they didn't pursue any 1st base options for longer than a year. Either way, he's an easy guy to root for.

Well, the Tigers have certainly made it clear that Iglesias is available, so maybe the Sox can make a trade to get him back and stick their current young all star shortstop at a position where he isn't comfortable playing again. Iglesias probably wouldn't cost much at all, either. By the way, although I'm not a big fan of defensive metrics to begin with, I certainly wouldn't "worry" about Bogaerts. Several factors could've played a role in his "stats declining."

That response was to Doji. See above.

You're missing the point. .700 hitter made it seem like it was "impossible" to fill 3 needs with 30 million. Would anyone be "surprised" if Groome develops into an ace? Would anyone be "surprised" if the Sox develop a closer from within?

If Groome develops into an ace and we have another young kid emerge as a closer, they'll have about 28 million left over for the "other need." Not sure why this is so impossible.

We won't necessarily need to spend big money on a closer when and if Kimbrel leaves. They could develop one from the farm, one could emerge from the current staff at the time, they could trade for a young inexpensive reliever who isn't a closer yet. There are so many different possibilities, which is why it's not something that can be "projected." Every year old closers fade and new ones develop. It's just impossible to predict.

Most relief pitchers are unpredictable from one year to the next, so trying to predict who will be part of the bullpen 2 or 3 years from now is an exercise in futility. I don't think anyone would be surprised if the bullpen in September looks very different than the one that breaks camp to open this season.

It doesn't say in that particular article that the Sox were intent on trading Gonzalez, but when the Dodgers asked initially, they were told he was unavailable. As the season wore on with the cellphone incident in New York, the whining about Sunday night games and the rumors that he was pretty miserable here, they decided to make him available. They were supposedly going to do everything they could to move him that off season if the Dodger trade didn't present itself. I think the real misconception was that the Sox didn't want to trade Gonzalez, but were forced to do so in order to get rid of the Beckett/Crawford deals.

http://www.espn.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/8323305/boston-red-sox-los-angeles-dodgers-blockbuster-trade-anatomy Great read on how it supposedly all unfolded over time.

I completely agree. I guess the Dodgers figured that their TV contract was going to allow them to print money, so they probably thought that they were getting 3 all-star caliber players who wanted a change of scenery for not much talent in return. I was in shock when I first heard about it. Then again, I wasn't aware of the actual TV contract numbers. It's definitely one of the most pivotal trades in Sox history in my opinion.

It's no secret that Gonzalez & Beckett were going to be gone that off season if that Dodger trade didn't pop up, They were going to make every effort to move Crawford as well. Yes, the money was a huge factor, but don't underestimate the importance of getting rid of 3 high profile guys who didn't want to be there.

I don't think clubhouse chemistry/culture Is all about "getting along" or "liking each other." There are all sorts of different factors involved. You cite those A's teams from 45 years ago that won without necessarily getting along, although the off the field stuff was a hell of a lot different back then. You didn't have 20 guys on every team who were pretty much set for life financially. They were playing for their next contract. That 2012 team didn't respect the manager, there were big name players that didn't want to be there, Beckett was "supposedly" setting a bad example for young pitchers, among other things. They were a dysfunctional mess. When Ben said that he needed to change the culture of the clubhouse and "One name that kept coming up in different conversations over and over again was Ryan Dempster" probably had little to do with Dempster's pitching ability. Do you think they take a shot on Justin Masterson at 10 million if he was an *******? Nope, he was one of the most respected, well-liked players in the game. The 2013 Sox rallied around a tragedy. Jonny Gomes & "Boston Strong" became their "identity." In '04 it was "the Idiots" and Kevin Millar. Getting rid of a sulking Nomar definitely seemed to help that team as well. I'm not saying that every team needs something like that, but there's a reason why people always say that "all-star teams don't win Championships." I had friends who dismissed the 2012 off-season as acquiring a bunch of mediocre players. I remember thinking that they already had a solid nucleus and these are the types of guys that they need. It's all certainly debatable and I can definitely see both sides of the argument.

Agreed. Look at Manny Ramirez. He became unbearable. Tito Francona called him a "despicable human being" in his book. 23 out of 24 teammates voted that he should be traded before they shipped him to LA.

Beckett has always been a bit of an arrogant dick, something that is usually tolerated by teams when a guy is performing at a top level. I think Beckett actually fed off of it during his career. If it weren't for the Dodgers trade, they were supposedly going to eat his contract if they couldn't trade him after 2012. They clearly had enough, especially after the "FU" game when he went out and threw batting practice against Texas when he didn't want to pitch. The importance of team chemistry or whatever you want to call it in baseball can be debated all day long, but you can't completely dismiss it when Cherington said after the 2012 season that the first thing he knew he needed to do was "Change the culture of the clubhouse." The Dodger trade was a great start being able to get rid of 3 guys who didn't want to be here, and it's obvious that he brought in a bunch of gamers and well respected, well-liked guys that off-season.

If a pitcher is just looking for an opportunity, they are going to look at teams where the 4/5 spots seem to be up for grabs first. Boston already has 6 guys who would make most rotations in baseball right now. It's certainly not an ideal spot for a guy hoping to re-establish his value. They should be able to bring in some depth at some point, but a Tyson Ross or Brett Anderson higher ceiling type isn't going to sign with the Sox.

Yup. Anyone who is looking for the opportunity to crack a rotation isn't looking at Boston. Dombrowski said last week that they were having a hard time convincing those types of guys to come here.

And then some...Forget Lynn, Fisk & to a lesser extent Burleson, they got rid of all of the self proclaimed "Buffalo heads" (Jenkins, Lee, Willoughby, Carbo & Wise) for nothing in return, because they were "anti-establishment types." Those guys all had some success after Boston and the Sox had no more depth at the Major League level.

Definitely not arguing! I agree with everything here. I was at basketball practice on a Friday night when I heard Lynn was traded. I was devastated. Haywood Sullivan was convinced Lynn was going to leave as a free agent even though Lynn stated several times that he didn't want to go anywhere. He even said, "Why would I ever want to leave a ballpark that I hit .350 at?!" He has said himself that his career would've been entirely different if he had stayed here. That management group was a disaster with some serious cash flow issues at the end of the 70s. They traded or let a ton of guys walk for all the wrong reasons.

Fair enough. I'm not a Gibbons fan, either, but it's quite the compliment. I will say this. If you think Benintendi's ceiling is "very good," then your probably greatly underestimating this kid's talent. Not everyone in the Sox organization was sold on Moncada, as some said he was more of an "athlete" than a "baseball player." There were also supposedly concerns with his durability. Have you seen the recent video of Benintendi? He did the "Rock" workout this off-season. He's added a ton of muscle. I've mentioned this several times, but Benintendi has the best pure left handed swing I've seen in a young Sox player since Fred Lynn and he has a terrific makeup. Just my opinion, but I think the only thing that will stop this kid from being a star in this league will be freak injury.