Nick

JF is going no where......DD just recently said he did a great job managing this year. Sometimes fans look for something that's not there. I'm not a big fan of JF but I don't believe he's the difference maker, good or bad. It's the players' game.

1) Betts (2020-I might try to lock him up soon...........KEEPER....EXTEND HIM 2) Benintendi (2022- He's got several more years of team control than Bogey & Bradley)...KEEPER...CHEAP, UNDER TEAM CONTROL 3) Bradley (2020- Hope for more consistency)....KEEPER...GREAT CF...WILL ALWAYS HIT WITH SOME POWER... 4) Bogey (2019- just 3 yrs left- Dubon in the wings)....#1 TRADE CANDIDATE....EASILY REPLACEABLE DEFENSIVELY... 5) ERod (2021 or 2022- still has enormous upside)...KEEPER, CAN'T GIVE UP ON YOUNG LEFTY WITH UPSIDE, CHEAP, UNDER TEAM CONTROL 6) Moncada (??- still has top value)....KEEPER, YOU DON'T THROW AWAY $60M INVESTMENT, ATHLETE, CAN PLAY MULTIPLE POSITIONS 7) Porcello (2019- high priced but indispensable)....3 YEARS WITH REASONABLE COST, I DON'T SEE BETTER OPTIONS 8) Pedey (2021- still a force but will decline)...UNDER CONTRACT, WON'T GET ANY VALUE IN RETURN, MOST VALUABLE TO RED SOX 9) Groome (??- far away but with a lot of promise)...NO WAY WE TRADE HIM 10) Kopech (??- may be ready by mid 2017)...NO WAY WE TRADE HIM, BEST CLOSER TYPE GUY IN THE FARM 11) Swihart (??- I feel many GM want this kid.)...PERHAPS THE HIGHEST TRADE VALUE GUY 12) Devers (?? May be blocked.)...REDUNDANT WITH MONCADA..TRADE BAIT 13) Wright (2020- 4 years is nice)...KEEPER, INNING EATER AS LONG AS HE DOESN'T TRIP OVER 2B, CHEAP 14) Vazquez (2020- hope his offense pick up)...KEEPER, TRADE OTHER CATCHERS 15) Pomeranz (2018 at a low cost)...KEEPER, NO POINT IN TRADING THE GUY, WON'T GET MUCH VALUE IN RETURN, 16) Ramirez (2018 or 2019 w vesting option)...KEEPER, NOT SURE WE GET MUCH IN RETURN, WE NEED TO SEE SAM TRAVIS AND HIS UPSIDE 17) Leon (2019- less years than Swi & Vaz)...ADEQUATE DEFENSIVE CATCHER 18) C Smith (2020)...KEEPER, SOX NEEDS QUALITY RP WITH LOW COST 19) Kimbrel (2017 or 2018)...AGAIN NOT MUCH VALUE IN RETURN 20) Price (2018 or 2022 -opt out)....HE'D CLEAR THE WAIVERS Based on my response, can we get Sales from Sox for Xander, Swihart and Devers?

Well, I like this plan and I think that's what DD is thinking....

Moon is correct in assessing this team. We have a young core of good position players, but that may not be enough. Great pitching still trumps great hitting team. That is why you don't ignore the possibility of trading for a top of the line starter. Sure it's still a gamble. But Price has been ineffective during post season games. Porcello is new to the arena. E Rod may get there someday, just not now. It's probably easier to rebuild position spots than developing an ace. Sox had Lester and that's all that I can remember. Schilling pitched in big games successfully with Arizona before coming to Red Sox. Beckett did the same with Miami before being traded to Red Sox. That is also why Clay Buchholtz maybe our best starter in the playoffs. He has the best stuff on our team if he can put it together.

Most of experts here claim there's no home field advantage. Thus every game is 50/50 proposition. (Vegas bookies may disagree, but they are not handicapping based on who is better, but what they perceived as how the bets will be laid). Cleveland winning the first two games had 25% chance but they did just that. Now we have to win 3 straight. Not impossible but odds are 12.5%.

Xander looks more and more like a medicore hitting below average fielding shortstop. He looks completely lost at the plate.

I think twice about locking up light hitting shortstop whose agent thinks he's God's gift to baseball.

Wright not available to pinch run tonite?

You are making my point. Why bother to vote for MVP? WAR stats are out there.

Why not declare MVP the guy with the highest WAR? If we are going to look at simply the 'made' up parameters, why even bother to rely on bunch of stupid sports writers and other media types?

Bucky Dent didn't think much of HFA....

Bingo.....I hate all these Monday morning quarterbacks....you play to win the big one. Farm System exists for the Parent Team to use it as they see fit.

But again, you are being a Monday morning quaterback.....Pom was an All Star with team control. He is not a rental. He gave us 13 starts. DD did what he thought was best for the organization at the time. Now if you want to blame anyone, it has to be Buchholtz who pitched like s*** before the trade deadline. Maybe we also blame JF and Wright for getting hurt by the second base bag that just happened to be in his way. It was a good trade and I do it again.

Now you are just being a smart ass..... We have a young core group going foward. I don't want to trade Moncada, Beni nor Swihart, unless it's for someone like Sales. We needed a starting pitcher. I trust DD more than anyone on this board. You may disagree but he did what he needed to do. Many here thought DD was going to trade the entire farm system last winter and this year. It did not happen. He has shown restraint, maturity and efficiency. WE ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS CONTENDING FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. You of course would rather have kept Espy and not participate in this year's playoffs. I got it. Hey, maybe you will be proven right. This may rival the Babe Ruth giveaway.

I COMPLETELY DISAGREE. We live in present. Tell me how YOU can go into the Sox club house and face 25 men and tell them "sorry, I'm not going to give up a kid that may or may not be good until 2019. If we lose this year, so be it. f*** you guys and all your best seasons. Nope, I'm protecting my top 3 prospect. Go with what we got' If I'm one of the players, I would deck you in a heartbeat.

We actually have 3 CF's

The significance is that they can play in a 6' and under basketball league without any controversy.

At this point, I think it's often a mistake to simply look at the season averages... I'm more interested in team to team matchups, pitchers vs hitters. PGA professionals are usually tied to the golf courses. Successful golfers at Augusta usually will play well there regardless of how they may have played the month before. Cleveland hitters with previous success against Porcello, Price, etc will pose problems in the playoffs, and vice versa.

We play Cleveland in best of five. In reality, what has transpired becomes meaningless. We've all seen players step up big time and fail likewise in the past. The canvas is clean. It just remains to be seen which players and which teams will paint the masterpiece beginning Thursday.

We get 3 days off, no?

Nothing like sending out Owens and have Pedey, Betts, Sandy and Hanley sit out a game at the same time telling the media we're trying to garner home field advantage. Sure, John, whatever you say. Chicago Cubs don't appear tired.

Ziegler is going back to Arizona. His family is more important than few more dollars, which is refreshing. I agree with you on Uehara and Tazawa, but I have sneaky suspicion that JF will want them both back. He's just that kinda of a guy and I don't like that quality about him. He lives in comfort zone. Hanley takes care of either 1B or DH role but that leaves open 2 spots to address. Now that Sandy has returned to 'norm', we can't afford to have 3 line up spots take regressive steps, DH, 3B and C. (well it can't get much worse at 3B) I would expect Xander to have a better year next year. He's been mediocre for better part of three months, and that's being generous. Full year of Beni in LF will be improvement over Holt and Bryce experiment. I'm concerned about Pedey being able to go another year without an injury. I think DD will take care of bullpen via trades. I go back and forth but I'm okay with getting Sales as long as it doesn't involve Moncada and Beni. Obviously current major leaguers are off limits and as you've pointed out, White Sox would want someone that will be major league ready in couple of more years. There's no point of acquiring say Bradley and have to deal with Boras in couple of years. I wonder if more teams will wait to sign free agents after the new CBA is finalized.

He's headed to Arizona....

I agree....he had lost his mojo.

Jesus, will ever quit whining about Kimbrel trade? He has pitched pretty well this season. We did win the Division with Kimbrel as the closer. Or maybe I should say we did win the Division DESPITE Kimbrel as the closer.