Nick

I wasn't talking about you or your recent post. Perfect scenario is for us to win in both 2017 and 2018 with Price having great years, then opting out. We could use that money and use it to keep Xander, JBJ, Betts and Chris Freakin' Sale. I just want the Sox to win. Fans will be there if we're winning. Let's see where Sale is in two years. Who the freak knows, he may be declining by then.

Here's the team record by starting pitchers. Pitcher W-L Sale 13-4 Porcello 7-10 Pomeranz 9-6 E Rod 7-3 Price 4-3 Johnson 4-0 Wright 1-4 Fister 1-1 Vlazques 0-2 (his win came as a reliever, not a starter) Kendrick 0-2 Total 81 46 35 Sale accounts for +9 of +11 win margins for the Sox. Despite spring training woes, Pomeranz has been more durable than E Rod and Price. Johnson has negated crappy pitching out of Wright and Kendrick. We are 14-7 in games where the starter is not on the record as a winning/losing pitcher. Perhaps indication of good bullpen? I hope we retain Fister. He competes on the mound. Nice back up as #7 pitcher/long reliever. We are +14 from our BIG 5 starters. They just need to get healthy as a group. It's a quality starting unit.

Ok, I will have a conversation with myself. Take a quick look at Sox/Yankees comparison. According to Moon, Yanks have outscored us by 68 runs despite having played 2 less games. Yet we led by a full game before today's games. Here are the records of two teams by run differentials. Sox Evil Empire 1 11-8 9-15 2 16-15 13-18 (cumulative, +1 and +2 combined) 3 28-23 17-25 (cumulative +1, +2, +3 combined) 4 33-24 22-30 (cumulative, +1 through +4 combined) 5+ 12-11 21-5 Basically we won with pitching. We are 33-24 in games decided by 4 runs or less, Yankees are 22-30. Yankees have out hit their way to 21-5 record in games decided by 5 runs or more. Sox are only 12-11. This makes sense as to why the Yankees have outscored us by a ton yet trail the Sox in standings. Yankees need pitching. DD was right in trading for Sale and passing on Encarnacion during the off season. You can't fault him for trading for Thornburg either. Pitching still wins championships. Brilliant.

I'd like to see a stat by each team, how many different run differential games are won or lost. Losing a 7-8 game gives us very rosy run production picture but we lost. On the other hand, winning 1-0 shows us as being bad offensively. So anyone out there with tons of free time? Analyze games won by run differential of 1, 2, 3 etc. Then analyze games lost by run differential of 1, 2, 3 etc. Where do good teams fall? Bad teams. Is it simply that 'good' teams have more +1, +2 run differential games than 'bad' teams? I thought Kansas City had been outscored this year but has a winning record? I'm not sure gross runs scored means winning.

I just don't think we can evaluate his and Kimbrel's signings in a vaccum. New guy in charge with DD. Just coming off back to back last place finishes. The team has spoiled us with 3 World Championships in this century and we think we're entitle to more. We now hate losing and we don't accept it. DD wanted top of the line starting pitcher. Sure it's easy to second guess the amount and the length but we paid what we thought was market value to get Price. And we did get into the playoffs. Let's wait and see how he does. We're only 1 1/2 years into his contract. But this is why you draft a kid like Groome and develop him. I think having to spend $210M on a 30 year old pitcher says more about Sox's inability to develop pitchers than anything else. What was DD suppose to do? He delivered.

Moon, how long do we hang on to Blake Swihart? I'm getting more and more comfortable with the tandem we have now. Can he be the 4th OF or the 3rd catcher? What trade value does he have? If and when Devers moves up, I'm comfortable with middle of the road offensive catchers with superior defensive skills.

If we win the world series in 2017, 2018 or 2019, I can care less. He can't be any worse than Pablo tenure we've had to endure. $18M for NOTHING. 200+ quality innings for $31M. BTW, we don't win last year without him. I suppose you all want to go back to last place finishes.

Let me take a crack at this......watch a replay of hockey game?

QUOTABLE "I'll tell you what, being part of this team has one been a humbling experience and just a blessing. These guys here as a team have welcomed me with open arms, and it's something I enjoy coming to the ballpark. We've got a high expectation of winning here. For me, I thoroughly enjoy it. We've got a great club." -- Fister, who has made two solid starts since being claimed off waivers by the Red Sox He goes right at the hitters. I love his pace. I hope he sticks around. OH btw, I don't give a damn about what the media thinks of Price. As long as he's productive and is a good chemistry guy in the dougout, who cares?

correct

His 100 mph is not as effective as Kimbrel's 98 mph.....no movement is my guess.

Lackey was not a good teammate. Price is a bad PR guy but I've never heard him getting into it with his teammates. I don't have to defend his signing. We were coming off back to back last place finishes, three out of four in fact. Did you really expect our new guy (DD) to stand pat? We did get into the playoffs. I doubt we get there without Price. Come up with an alternative. What is f***ING UP THIS TEAM IS SIGNING OF PABLO SANDOVAL. $95M pissed away. Why not wait little longer to criticize Price signing? I don't give a damn about him being nice to the press. Unless he's a cancer among his teammates, then who gives a damn?

We would all love to have a better 3B but not at the expense of giving up our top young talent. It's one thing to give up a lot for Sale but not for a three month rental. It's about the value gained versus value lost. Both Moncada and Kopech was expendible to some degree because of emergence of Devers and having just signed Groome. And look what we got in return. We would not be talking about the playoffs this year without Sale. Tons of ifs and I agree that 3B is our biggest problem. But what if E Rod returns fully healthy? What if Porcello comes up with a fix as he did back in 2015? What if Price continues to improve? What if Pom becomes more efficient on the mound and get us into 7th inning? What if Carson Smith returns at some point? What if Betts goes on a hot streak in second half? What if Beni hits over .300 second half of season? What if Hanley comes out of his funk? If we are going to give up Devers, Travis, Groome or Chavis we better be getting more than a 3 month rental. I applaude the approach Sox took with Moreland. I was okay with Price deal because of the jam we were in. DD came in and told us we needed 1) starting pitcher 2) a closer 3) and fourth OF. We were coming off back to back last place finishes. He did what he had to do to right the ship. We have internal options in Devers and Travis. That's 12+ years of team control. We need to think twice before getting rid of them.

https://youtu.be/SJUCNMjRIfU Breaking News?

Remember the blockbuster Herschel Walker trade? How about Machado for entire Portland Sea Dogs roster?

walk, get thrown out at second in front of Pedroia walk bases loaded, nobody out, couldn't deliver 1st pitch swing on a high pitch, pop up. I'd take JBJ over Beni everytime.

Good D at 3B does not overcome WORST OPS in minors last year. It's still hard for me to believe Devers can do worse than Marrero.

I'm with Kimmi....ultimately she's the most rational poster here

Is this typical? Unavailable J. Rutledge 7-day DL B. Johnson 10-day DL E. Rodriguez 10-day DL R. Ross Jr. 10-day DL P. Sandoval 10-day DL R. Elias 60-day DL M. Hernandez 60-day DL B. Holt 60-day DL C. Smith 60-day DL T. Thornburg 60-day DL S. Wright 60-day DL Notes *T. Thornburg: Thoracic outlet surgery 6/16. Out for year *C. Smith: 6/16: Dealing with shoulder inflammation. *R. Ross Jr.: On DL (retro to 5/19) with left elbow inflammation *R. Elias: On 60-day DL with right oblique strain *B. Holt: Rehab assignment stopped due to vertigo symptoms. *P. Sandoval: On 10-day DL (6/20) with left inner ear infection. *J. Rutledge: On 7-day concussion DL (6/24) *M. Hernandez: 5/26: Season-ending surgery on left shoulder *E. Rodriguez: On DL with right knee injury (6/2) *S. Wright: Had season-ending left knee surgery May 8. *B. Johnson: On DL with left shoulder impingement (6/15

Plus Betts offensively has not maxed out this year. He'll get hot and carry us for few weeks. And not sure what to make of Hanley. I'm guessing he's 'hurt' more than we know. Just my guess. He has incentive to play to secure 2019 contract. Something is off.

If the team has no intention of utilizing Devers this year then we need a 3B. It's not fair for others to play along side a black hole. How much of an upgrade is Gray over Sale/Price/Porcello/E Rod/Pom? Who sits if everyone is healthy? Did we not pick up depth when we added Fister?

Good stuff Moon. Arbitration raises are getting to be a big component for us. I guess it's a price you pay for having young talent. But it's still better than paying 'full' price.

You can't just lump all of them together. Beni is under team control for 3 years after Xander becomes free agent. 2019 Pom, Kimbrel (assuming we pick up his option for 18) 2020 Porcello, Sale and Xander 2021 JBJ, Betts 2022 E Rod 2023 Benintendi I'm not going to worry about Beni just yet (Jesus we have five years of control after this year) I would let Porcello go. I might even trade him before 2020. I would sign Pom. My guess is DD will too. I would sign bothe Sale and E Rod. You must have starting pitching.

Suppose Devers come out of ST to be our full time 3B. He struggles early. He gets demoted. Is he finished? Is his career over? Is Moncada's career over? No. So what's the difference between now, September or April 2018 call up? Do you honestly believe another 200 bats will be a big difference maker? He can't do any better than Marrero? The guy with WORST OPS in the minors last year? I just don't understand the logic.

Devers may surprise the management. It baffles me that they will look under every rock for a starting pitcher but they settle for a guy with the WORST minor league OPS at 3B. Unless DD intends to trade Devers and does not want him 'exposed' to other teams at the major league level there's NO downside in trying him at 3B.