Nick

Today's lineup works for me for next year.

Schwarber is better hitter than JD

We all want consistency.....that's all. We all know going in who gets the benefit of doubt. It can be a pitcher or it can be a hitter. Also just because a pitcher misses the glove doesn't make it a ball.

thank you....it means something. Now we may go against the trend but it does not look good for us. Longer the game goes, our chances weaken against the Yankees. Their offense stacks up better against our pitching than vice versa.

There are signs pointing against the Sox’ chances, too, such as the fact they are 8-21 against winning teams since the July 30 trade deadline and that they lost their final six matchups (and 3 of the last 12) against the Yankees. Not all is good here.

When you're the starter, you know what your team is doing. It's not about pitching a quality start. That does no good if you see zeros going up on your side of scoreboard. He had a one run lead and gave up two. That's what mediocre pitchers do. He probably goes to bed pleased with himself if we lose 3-1.

Lets bring him back at $7M right Moon?

He's a wuss along the lines of Barnes.....And we're going to offer $18M?

Here we go......death of E Rod....he'll blow up this inning....better take him out before they score multiple runs...

Oh, they hate them without the gold gloves....

He can play LF at Fenway. He's better hitter than Verdugo facing a lefty.

Schwarber>Verdugo>Arroyo

Schwarber is the better hitter...he should be in the lineup

can we hit good pitching? or do we just feast on bad pitchers?

We'll know soon enough if we pick up the option on Vaz. We have Devers contract coming up. Aren't we doing something wrong if we're always butting up against the luxury tax limit? Future C Hernandez 1B Casas 2B Yorke SS Mayer 3B Blaze Jordan OF Jimenez OF Duran OF Decker SP Bello SP Seabold SP Groome SP Mata SP Winckowski SP Ward Devers, Dalbec, Arroyo, Verdugo can join above group along with Houck, Whitlock, Taylor, Darwinzon, Davis et al.

Aren't you the one always trumpeting "they should play everyday" in the minors gaining experiencing and not the sit the bench in majors? Wong would have spent most of his time on his ass had he replaced Plawecki.

I'd love to have Schwarber back. It's not about that. It's about DH not being even close to our highest need area. The fact that he can play LF or maybe 1B, where we have two good players, already doesn't change the fact that he is a DH. I don't view Schwarber as DH only. I think he's better LF than JD. Who is to say Dalbec won't slump again in 2022? Then what? Schwarber and JD will only overlap for one year.

I'm pretty sure every major leaguer had "3 starts" at one point in their career.

Wong....

That's where I disagree with most of Sox fans. His $7M, Richards $10M, Perez's $6M will get you closer to acquiring a stud ace. Catching is a defensive position. Surely there are good defensive catchers that can be had for couple of million. I also disagree vehemently with Moon on potential Schwarber signing. His bat will add tremendous depth in 2022. Move Kike to 2B. Are you telling me now that Verdugo is the worst defensive center fielder? I thought he was the next stud when we got him in Betts deal. Schwarber can play some 1B, LF, and DH. Moon, aren't you the resident expert on replacing 'dead' bats with quality at bats? Surely you already have a plan to get Renfroe, Verdugo, Kike, Schwarber, Dalbec, Arroyo and JD plenty of bats in 2022 for 6 hitting spots. RIP to Marwin and Santana. Neither can play a lick. 600AB x 6 = 3600 AB 3600AB / 7 = 515 AB per 7 players. Cora gives them days off anyway, whether needed or not.

Back to 2022 Red Sox Ottavino, Richards, E Rod, Vaz, Perez, Dustin and Beni will provide $55M worth of relief. That give us about $60M to spend. We lose only Vaz on positional side. Maybe Wong can be a replacement. It's not as though Vaz had a stellar offensive year. His $7M is too steep in my mind. Would the Rays sign Vaz for $7M? Absolutely not. Why should we? To me it's worth $15M to sign Schwarber knowing JT is in his last year of $22M contract. We can then focus on pitching 1 Sale 2 Eovaldi 3 Pivetta 4 Seabold ??? 5 FA??? Pen 1 Houck (5 yrs of team control) 2 Whitlock (5 yrs of team control) 3 Barnes (2 yrs of team control) 4 Sawamura (2 yrs of team control) 5 Taylor (4 yrs of team control) 6 Darwinzon (4 yrs of team control) 7 Davis (4 yrs of team control) 8 Robles (FA) 9 Brasier (2 yrs of team control) On paper, our bullpen is set with several players under control for multiple years. We could plug in Whitlock and Seabold to completer the starting rotation. In theory, we could not spend a dime and put a team out there that might be competitive. I want Bloom to spend the money wisely. Keeping Vaz at $7M is unwise.

I still like our chances to make the playoffs. Anything can happen in a one game series. We were never good enough to win the Division. We'll see what the off season brings.

Boston is not for everyone. I can't ever fault a player leaving for more money and to the beautiful climate of LA. That's part of baseball lore, play outdoors under beautiful, warm skies inside a picture perfect stadium. But I don't have to like it.

Dominoes will fall next couple of years. Q1 Will JD opt out? A1 I don't see this as an issue. If he opts out, Sox can find a DH replacement for less than $22M. Schwarber probably will be available. JD will be gone after 2022 at the latest. Q2 Will Xander opt out after 2022. A2 Short answer is let's see what he does in 2022. There's no point in bidding against ourselves right now. Q3 Will we extend Devers? When? A3 Not sure. If Casas becomes our full time 1B in 2023 (Devers last arb year), what happens to Dalbec? 2023 will be Dalbec's final year before arbitration. I like him. He's cheap. Any chance we'll move Dalbec to 3B and trade Devers? Q4 At what point do we go away from Vaz? A4 Do the Sox view Connor Wong as good enough defensive catcher to replace Vaz? Will robo ump become a reality and a guy like Hernandez become a starter? Q5 Do we give Kike a long term deal if he continues his offensive surge into 2022? A5 Yes, Sox loves that he can lead off and play CF and IF. Q6 Will we sign Schwarber even if JD does not opt out? A6 Yes, 2022 likely will be JD's last year. Schwarber can find enough at bats at DH, LF and 1B. He'll be cheaper than JD. Q7 Will Mayer (18) and Yorke (19) become our long term double play combo? A7 Long way off but yes. Yorke shed 20 pounds last winter to become quicker and he knows how to hit. Mayer was projected to be the #1 pick by many in this year's draft.

We could be swept by the Yankees and I would still like our chances.... After the sweep Yankees 67 losses Red Sox 68 losses Yankees play Jays and Rays at best Yanks go 3-3. Sox will play Orioles and Nationals. at worst we go 4-2. Sox will be 10-9 vs Yankees and win the tie breaker for the second spot (Blue Jays will vault and host the WC game) To me, this is the worst case scenario.