oldtimer

Here we are on January 17th and the three questions that were important before the winter meetings remain unresolved. 1. Who will DD get for a closer this year or will he just go with the pen as it is currently configured and bring up one or two minor leaguers to fill it out? 2. Will Pedey's knee be in good enough shape to allow him to play a significant amount of the season at 2nd base? If not, then will DD make a move? 3. How will the catching situation be resolved? Pretty much it is assumed we will only keep 2 on the roster, but how will that be decided? Seems unlikely, but another question that might come up is whether any of our minor league position players will make the roster. Chavis, Dalbec, Lin?

The scouting report indicates Dalbec is an average fielder with a strong arm. Chavis came up from being a shortstop. Neither of them is particularly quick and both need to get more consistent in the batters box. Dalbec has a lot of raw power but also whiffs a lot. Chavis also has good power and may be closer to being competitive against major league pitching. Devers will probably make a step forward but I stand behind saying that 6' and 237#s is too heavy for him. The good news is the Sox have recognized this and are working with him to get better control. I am 6'1" and weigh 233# so have some acquaintance with being too heavy. I've continued to play ball for many years and know first hand that the weight is not a plus other than on a scale. It's like carrying a bowling ball around with you all the time.

When owners have laid out big contracts only to get very little value in return, I think the reaction of being more cautious is expected. Long contracts at high AAVs may become rare.

Xander is 210 and is taller. Devers was listed at 235 but its not clear where he is now. Guess we will hear during spring training. I hope he gets down to 220 or less as it might give him additional agaility at 3rd base and reduce the wear on his joints.

A young guy who is about 6' tall and weighs 235# is too heavy. The Sox said he was getting help from a nutritionist. Hope so if he is to have a long career.

Actually, I certainly hope Devers will show lome losses, in his all to hefty weight. Right now we don't really know the makeup of either our second base squad and depth chart nor do we know who will be catching until something is done to clarify that. Still awaiting news from the Sox front office.

I am interested in watching our non-roster invitees in spring training. I am particularly interested in Chatam who at 6'4" and 185 pounds might fill a need for us should we lose either Pedey or heaven forbid Bogey. He is 24 years old and is a good defender with decent hit discipline but lacks power. Kind of skinny. He's an alternative to trading for a guy like Kinsler.

What nif Pedey's health doesn't allow him to play or make the roster. Does that free up his $13 million?

Pay your agent another $3 million.

The same 3 questions remain from before the winter meetingss. 1. Who will we get for a closer, if anyone? 2. Which catcher will we choose to trade away? 3. Will Pedey actually recover sufficiently to be our starting second baseman? The closer is the most pressing need although the catcher question might get involved in the closer question. The Pedey question is not as pressing although if the results of Pedey's return to running exercises proves problematic, that may change its urgency. I am not in a position to give solid advice to DD so will await his moves and comment then.

Your analogy of furnace or food begs the question. Do you need tenderloin or will strip steak do? Any damn fool with the thickest wallet can win if they spend without limit. It takes a GM and owner who can make smart decisions to both win and stay within the limit. We still are outspending other clubs. Still, the impacts of Panda's contract and now maybe Pedroia's are handing over our head.

Like I sense you are, I too am an older guy who has watched and rooted for the Sox for many years while watching the good and great players come and go during their careers. I can imagine the difficulties a GM faces doing business with the players and agents whiile living within the constraints applied on him by MLBB and the owners. I appreciate what DD and the others were able to do and really don't expect another WS in my lifetime, but will be pleased if it does happen. The expectations of players are much greater than in the past and I don't blame them for asking for all that they can get. The GM living with his reality will make an offer that is in the best interest of the club. In Kimbrel's case, that will take into his age at 30 (still pretty young) and his arm which has remained good as evidenced by his good velocity. I think most folks on this site would like him back but would suggest doing it with a contract offer that includes no more than 3 years to reduce the risk, and at a total dollar amount that keeps us under the second tier of the penalty threshhold. That probably needs to include a little room for unforseen issues like with Pedroia's health. I trust DD to manage the club payroll and will support his conclusions as he is in a much better position to know the situatioon holistically than I.

I think DD is facing the reality of trying to come in under the second tier luxury tax threshold and also looking forward to the following years. He may not want to trade JBJ but on the other hand he needs to look at where he might cut salaries while having the least impact on the team. Hence the JBJ talk and the Kimbrel and Kelly talk and situation. It sounds like the JBJ avenue is closed for now and the Kimbrel situation is fluid. Having limits financially is the reality and how to navigaqte those is what all the talk is about. DD is in the middle and won't please everyone but hopefully will do an intelligent job of keeping the pieces togther to be very competitive.

Maybe for scraps?

You sure do have your problems. Get well and be ready for spring training.

Sounded tempting. We don't know the constraints and options DD is considering, but that did sound reasonable. Maybe Kimbrel is still in play?

Lets not give up our better minor league players. Casas has an upside at a position that may well be vacant in two years. Just right. Mata may also have a lot going for him.

If we didn't have Hanley, Pablo and Pedey we would have had $54 million of wiggle room and none of those contributed to our success.

To do list for January 2019? This based upon staying below the second tier of the luxury tax penalty tier. 1. Look for and add a closer and perhaps another reliever. Make staff adjustments accordingly. 2. Evaluate Pedey and his physical progress. Develop a plan based on the findings 3. Trade a catcher, possibly for prospects or a reliever. 4. Initiate negotiation of contracts for Bogey, Betts and Sale if that is not already in progress.

My wife taught math in college and specialized in statistics. That was years ago and now we are comfortably retired. She gets pretty certain on her definitions. She would argue that Notin's usage is the more correct one. "Typically “addition by subtraction” refers to getting better by letting a player go. Hence the “subtraction” part..."

It's easy to spend money, especially other peoples, but difficult to spend money wisely. Our prospects values could be monetized along with the payroll and other expenses. DD has spent freely in both cash and prospects to achieve the WS win we all hoped for. Getting close to the time to pay the piper. We probably will get Robertson or Ottavino and likely nothing more for 2019. It may be enough, we shall see.

Not adding is standing still. When you stand still, you are much more likely to be caught. I prefer change with the expectation of improvement. Of course a perceived improvement can go bad but a track record where a high percentage of changes lead to improvements is something to strive for. I have no reason to believe that DD will make poor decisions on the team's behalf. Clearly he has been given guidelines and limits so he or anyone else needs to consider how to get the optimum bang for the buck; Like you, I don't believe in long term contracts for older players. Something like a sliding scale of years for age. At 30 a 5 year max for a top player sliding to 2 or even 1 for a 35 year old. Hope DD considers that as his approach. My concern with DD is his depletion of the prospect pool in order to win the WS. It was a tradeoff and it worked, but on a longer term basis it may result in a significant downside. He did initiate the Price contract which I was against on principle. He also was involved in Pedey's contract, which was sentimental, not logical. So DD is not perfect eitther. We are days from 2019. Looking forward to a move or moves being announced.

My comment was a tease but you took it seriously.

Thirty is not really a ripe old age as he would not be considered long in the tooth or over the hill as yet.

Are you thinking of trading Moreland for a low cost prospect that might be available in 2020 and beyond and then applying the money saved to a closer? Whether Moreland or Nunez, those are the only two who would return enough salary cap money to make it worthwhile, although both were an integral part of the team during the WS run. It's certain a tradeoff possibility. If we get a solid prospect for 2nd base out of it, I can see added advantages.