oldtimer

I see it as one of those pie in the sky suggestions. It won't happen.

I's stay away from Miller. A kelly resign would be a better bet. The hope his WS performance will give him the confidence to be consistent in 2019.

It looks like we only have two catchings slots this year with both Nunez and Holt signed and a possibility og getting Pearce back. I suppose an alternative would be to use Swihart as the backup 1st baseman with Moreland but Swihart is not particularly good batting from the right. If he was used we could have three catchers again. I prefer us getting Pearce back and trading Swihart although keeping him and letting Leon go is an option. We know Leon is a fine receiver who doesn't hit well and probably has a low trade value.

You were right on.

My assumptions are a little different as Pedroia will be given a chance and of course no one knows how the knee will hold up. Wright had the same type of surgery and appears to be in the same category as Pedroia. My assumptions are: 1. Betts RF 2. Beni LF 3. Bogey SS 4. JDM DH 5. Devers 3B 6. Moreland 7. JBJ CF 8. Pedroia 2B 9/!0. Vaz/Leon C 11/13. Utility Holt, Nunez, Pearce SP. Sale, Price, Porcello, E-Rod, Eovaldi RP. Kelly, Barnes, Brasier, Hembree, Feltman, MaddoxTradeale, (Wright if healthy, or Johnson/Velazquez) Tradeable assets: Swihart, Travis, Scott, Smith, Thornburg Others: Don't think Hernandez is a long term solution at 2nd as he would have to come back from shoulder surgery Hate to lose Lin or Chavis as both are certainly either ML talents or close that we might need, especially with Pedroia still uncertain.

We will have him back and Holt is a no-brainer. If we also get Pearce, we will have a full team assuming we keep only two catchers. Swihart will then become a trade asset if the Sox decide to keep Vaz and Leon. Don't think Leon has as much trade value. It looks like the Sox will not need Kinsler again.

Pretty clearly we are the best team in baseball going forward. Other teams will be trying to get better and have both money and resources to make significant changes. They will want to close the gap on us and no doubt will try to sign some of our key resources to weaken us. Kimbrel, Kelly and Eovaldi are expected targets. We may have to throw in the towel on at least one of those but may be able to keep two, if we shed Pomeranz and perhaps Kimbrel as his value in the market may be more than his worth to the team. We need to look at our weak spots and try to bolster those for the 2019 season while trying to stay under the luxury tax penalty limit if at all possible. Moon has done and no doubt will continue to point out our options in that regard. In my opinion our most glaring needs will be finding a replacement closer, rounding out our starting pitching with a 5th capable starter, dealing with the uncertainty at second base and making decisions for our catching stategy going forward. We will go into the season with 13 members of our 25 man roster taking up the field positions and catching. Our outfield is set, our designated hitter is as well. I think Devers will be given a chance to improve at 3rd, Bogey at short and either Moreland or Pearce at 1st. Pedroia is the uncertainty at 2nd but assuming he starts we have 9 defined positions and can have 4 other players. Obviously we need at least one additional catcher so it leaves us open for 3 utility players. Holt is a no-brainer as he can fill many positions and we will need backup support for the infield and outfield. Pearce has limitations as far as flexibility being mainly a 1st baseman or DH candidate. Nunez is flexible enough to backup a number of positions and is a ML level hitter with so so defense. Lin is still out there as is Chaviz. A lot will key around how Cora wants to go with the catcher. it will be difficult to balance our needs, pay our players and stay under the luxury tax limit. DD has done a great job so far so I trust in him.

It appeared obvious to me and was actually said by Cora that he prefers BP arms to feature velocity. Those included Kimbrel, Kelly, Barnes, Brasier and Hembree. All we had beyond them was Workman and Pomeranz. Of course that was during the PO's. we would have taken another pitcher in the regular season in addition to our 5 starters. Possibly that would have been Wright if he was healthy. I don't see Cora changing his attitude so I see Brasier, Barnes and Hembree coming back. I also see us making a push to resign Kelly. He may have turned the corner and become a real candidate for the closer position going forward and might be resigned for significantly less that Kimbrel. I have heard that Feltman looks like he may make the jump to the majors in 2019 and he has legitimate velocity as well. Maybe we have 5 starters (none being Pomeranz and with he and Kimbrel gone we can get Eovaldi) and Kelly, Brasier, Barnes, Hembree, Feltman, Wright and one other. Smith has potential, Poyner would give us a lefty who was nearly on the PO team. Of course we waqnt to keep high potential arms in the minors for future call up.

We won't try to steal your thunder. Every Sox fan is happy to just celebrate. After you kick things off, there will likely be a lot of opinions of how to best go forward. Part of being a fan.

I agree. Plenty of time to discuss the future, which is bright. Now is the time to celebrate what this team has accomplished.

Nothing cheap at all in these wins. Some great moments in the final game as well. Price as starter when I really wondered if he should come back this early from a heavy workload. He settled in and had an excellent start. Kelly coming in after pitching 2 the night before and striking out the side. Sale who i also wondered about as to why he didn't start. He threw at 95 mph and one at 96. He also struck out the side and for a bonus, got Machado to end it. Machado looked pathetic. Two homers by Pearce. Betts came out of a funk and homered. JDM ditto. So many great moments and no doubt who the best team in baseball was this year. It was proven on the field. Got to give guys confidence and a sense of pride in their many achievements.

This has been one heck of a thrilling season which will be concluding very soon. No matter what happens, and it does look like we will win it all, we have to thank ownership, front office management, the manager and his coaches and of course the players for these great results. This has been an example of a team effort, with everyone pitching in. JH made the money available to put tgether a solid team despite some prior spending mistakes. DD has traded away assests, but also got Cora and his coaches on board and a number of key seasoned players who have come through when it counts. The coaches abilities have shown up with better hitting and pitching results. Results count. Cora has the group playing aggressively and they seem to have one goal, and that is to win it all. Lots of guys have shown improvement this year and Cora keeps encouraging guys and they seem to respond. What a group of players! A mix of young home grown talent, experienced FA's and role players. All seem to accept their roles and volunteer to do more. This has been a great year for the team and I appreciate what they did and are doing. My dad would have loved this team but never got to see any as good as he passed in 1978.

That is true, a bad night coming at an inopportune time. I don't think he will live in infamy over it. Reset, next play.

I still am not in favor of throwing at anyone's head as it is just using reprehensible behavior to solve a problem. MLBB should really go after a repeat offender with more than fines. I would see a suspension of multiple days and loss of salary as being fair. Saying that, I am not against hitting a guy from the butt down.

I assume Pedroia will come back but I doubt if he can handle a full season on that knee.. We need to prepare for that eventuality. I would prefer a younger and improving player coming up either from our organization or through a trade. Dozier might be too expensive for us and we will probably get Holt back to fill in.

When you have an aggressive manager, you have to accept some bad with all the good. I'll take being up 3 games to 1 at this point.

Having some seasoned pros on a team is a big plus for the Sox. Moreland and Pearce of course but Nunez and Holt have also come through. DD has been smart with hs acquisitions.

The one that was crushed came out of his hand the wrong way and stayed flat and over the middle in. Kimbrel's command was not good in general. With so many pitches last night, he is probably cooked for at least game 5. Kelly probably is also as he went two very good innings. Barnes and Brasier should be available and possibly Porcello. Not sure what Sale's issue is. Could he have a tired arm?

Looks like he would make a perfect Yankee.

These Sox. Don't ever give up on them. Funny how the offense came not from the top of our ordeer, but from guys like Pearce, Holt, Devers, Moreland. The team is relentless and never out of it. Lets hope our top of the order guys come out of their mini-slump and take it to Kershaw. Funny how Price will start on 3 days rest.

Top of the order has done nothing. Beni has a chance to change that.

Decision making by Vaz trying to make a play when it wasn't there may have cost us 4 runs. I know things happen in an instant, but that was a bigg error.

iT WAS A TOUGH CHOICE FOR CORA

E-Rod should also be available. Strong young kid with very few innings. Putting Sale up runs the risk of not having a good choice for game 5.

His choice of lineup in game 4 is the next decision point. If Rich Hill pitches, we will start a right handed lineup. Without looking at batting order for now I would assume that the following guys will play: 1st Pearce 2nd Holt or Betts SS Bogaerts or Holt 3rd Nunez LF Martinez or Beni CF JBJ RF Betts or Martinez C Leon P Sale or E-Rod Probably Vaz is tired out. Can't see going back to Kinsler. Devers was a sucker for pitches out of the zone high. Moreland wasn't looking good at the plate at all. Swihart hasn't had a lot of appearances but certainly is more rested.