Nick

Moreland signed a 1 year deal so his $5.5M will come off. I suspect Travis will be a September call up, unless its sooner. It would be great to pick up the option and deal Kimbrel after the season but that assumes Kelly, Carson Smith, Barnes and Thornburg all pitch exceptionally. Probably not happening.

Kyle Kendricks....4 scoreless innings. 0 walk, 4 K's. Lowers ERA to 1.59. I think we have our 1st starter off the bench. Sam Travis 2-3 with a homer. The kid can hit. He's way ahead of Devers due to his college experience.

Hey why not (rhetorical)? I'd go after one the those pitchers...Johnny Cueto? Now that we have a collection of decent starters, it's time to put the foot down and keep it going. Reset the penalty in 2017 and then break the bank until it hurts and build a dynasty.

Craig is owed $11M this year. I just don't see him beinv a viable option.

good to see Cubbies having to spend money to sign Arrieta. And they are already paying close to $16M for his last arb year.

It would be huge just to get Wright to where he was last year before the All Star break. You're right. Pitchers are delicate creatures.

Looks like Wright made it through ok today without getting hurt. Looking forward to Pom pitching.

No the biggest complaint is giving out $95M, 5 year deal to a 3rd baseman who has not produced the first two years. Typical, we pissed away $38M so far. 2nd biggest complaint is having a player off the 40 man roster making $72.5M over 7 years. 3rd biggest compaint is acquiring a player who is owed $11M this year and off the 40 man roster. He also received $5.5M and $9M the last two years. We also glorify GM's that have pissed away Henry's money like a drunken sailor. Based on our track record, I applaude Moreland signing for $5.5M.

Per Kimbrel on Boston Herald That walk gnawed at him. “Get 0-2 and tried to mess around with some pitches and not really put him away, and then all of a sudden it’s a full count there,” said Kimbrel. “You don’t ever want to do that. Kind of led to the rest of the inning and I threw a lot of pitches.” Hey Craig, we ALL felt your pain.

Leon has more trade value than Vazquez right now. Unless Leon stops hitting.

1) You make an investment on a player and you don't have a face to face to go over winter conditioning requirements? What a f***ing incompetent morons. 2) Clay, I watched it on TV when you pitched a no hitter vs Baltimore and I go so excited. That's what I want to remember. Plus the good work you did on In Living Color. Outstanding.

Question for Moon Swihart has 1 year 133 days of service.....will a September call up keep him below 2 years service and give the Sox 5 more years beginning 2018? Also for a catcher, will Swihart get better defensively playing all the time in the minors or can he get better with major league ball club with limited number of games behind the plate. My question is can he get better on his off days at the major league level practicing? Is catching minor league pitchers just as beneficial as major league pitchers? Can he get more instructions in a major league setting?

Same old Kimbrel. Walks the first hitter after getting ahead 0-2. That in a nutshell is essence of Kimbrel. Oh by the way he surrendered 3 runs without the benefit of a home run. I hope someone else comes through this year so we don't have to pick up his option for $12.5M in 2018. I will root for him but its frustrating. Closer should be able to locate.

He has to be an average defensive catcher for sure. But there's no reason not to think he will get there. He essentially lost a whole year's development last year with position switch (injury occurred because of the position change.)

Solid outing for E Rod...... Lets look back. All of us had our panties in a wad when we heard he 'tweaked' his knee in winter ball. He did tell us not to worry. He simply looks comfortable out there. I am glad that he's focusing on the season. This is HIS comparable year to Lester's break out year. I predict Price will be fine. Just need to see Wright and Pom get on the mound next week. Sandoval with couple hits including a homer to dead center today. I've trashed him as much as anyone else but I'm glad he's healthy and playing well. Swihart with his second hit. I'm sorry but offensively, I'd take Swihart over the other two. He needs to stay behind the plate. We'll have a catcher with speed that can hit .300. Not too many of those out there.

Love watching our future starting catching run around the bases for a triple...Swihart is simply an athlete. Dad was his coach in high school, pitched a little. He has a strong arm. Loves to hit. Anyone else intrigued by Junior Lake? He looks like a player

It's tough to pitch in the majors if you can't throw strikes and every hitter in the league knows it.

I enjoy watching Kendrick pitch because he just goes after the hitters. No nibbling on the corners. He pitches to contact. He looks to be a gamer. I hate whimps.

Glad to see Sale on the mound for four strong innings (1H, 0R, 1BB, 4K, 41-55 strikes). I'd be worried about our rotation at this point if not for him and even with Buch on board. Just a great pickup. Pablo is close to locking down 3B. Made three good plays at third so far.

I'm an old school guy with no analytics.... I was always told you put your best hitter in 3 spot. At the high school level, that was usually your shortstop or a pitcher, your best all around athlete. Probably the quarterback on the football team that's dating the head cheerleader (how am I doing Kimmi?). Hits for high average and has power. Basically .333 guy with 30 home runs. Your best power guy batted clean up. In high school, maybe your catcher or the corner infield guy. Not as athletic as the #3 hitter. Hits .300 with 40 homers. Usually dates a pretty girl with no athletic background. Basically your faithful girl that comes to all the games. A church goer. You put your best speed guy, probably playing center field, leading off. Great contact hitter. In high school, he's probably hitting well over .400 with 30 steals in 30 games. His girl friend is little bit on the wild side. She's an athlete. Your second hitter is patient at the plate, always playing the game the right way. He maybe a lefty but if a righty, he hits to opposite field often. He sacrifices his batting average a little for the good of the team, bunting and moving runners over. He dates a sweet girl that volunteers quite a bit for local charities. Your #5 hitter hits for power but does not make contact as often as the clean up hitter. He maybe a DH or RF on a high school team. Hits .280 and 35 home runs. He dates a smart girl who will make a good wife. That's my top 5 slots and I'm sticking to it no matter what Kimmi says.

I agree on randomness. With advances in medical field, teams ought to be able to monitor stress/strength/weakness level on pitcher's elbow. And if it was that easy to pick out surgery candidates medically, then guys with elbow issues would never be drafted or traded for. It has to be random.

I see that Dustin walked and was pulled (just looking at box score)...did he get hurt or just getting pulled after making an appearance.

I would guess his AVV...say in Castillo's case, I doubt if $72M gets split into 3 years (if he is placed on 40 man roster in couple of years). Charging Sox $24M per year seems illogical. If that's the case no way in hell he'll ever get 'reactivated'.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/03/silverman_which_is_best_drafting_or_trading_for_pitching_it_s_a_homegrown Silverman: Which is best, drafting or trading for pitching? It’s a homegrown dilemma Interesting debate.... I'm bored....and I often have stupid ideas. If major league rules allow it, can an organization completely do away with farm system? Say that saves altogether $50M in annual expenses and you use it for major league payroll. Can a team compete strictly with free agent signings having a budget of $250M? (ignore luxury tax)

If Craig comes up over the summer, does the Sox eat the full year's AVV or partial? Is it prorated from the time he's placed on 40 man roster?