oldtimer

I wonder how Cash would have been thought of if Morton's reliever had blown it and the Rays had lost the game? At the time of the move, with Morton pitching so well, I thought Cash is making a move that could lose the game. Lucky for him it didn't but the relievers were not that solid, especially finding the strike zone.

I don't get a the kick out of proposing trades that you seem to. I expect Bloom has many possibilities in front of him and ultimately, he will make the decision. His guidelines have been stated and they are to make the team consistently competitive at a high level. Since we are going from non-competitive in 2020, I am willing to give him time to achieve his vision for the team. What the Rays have achieved gives some insight into his approach, although with the Sox, he should have additional resources. My hope is that he will be willing to get rid of poor performers no matter that they might be fan favorites. He did it with Betts, who was a great performer for us but his salary demands and length of contract did not fit the long term vision The Betts deal indicates to me that Bloom will make moves that are necessary. We will see the first round with FAs after the WS is completed.

NESEN took a shot at next years starting roster. https://nesn.com/2020/10/red-sox-offseason-preview-way-too-early-opening-day-roster-projection/ I doubt if Chavis makes the infield and I also doubt if Beni makes the outfield. JDM is no more than an emergency outfielder so I see the outfield as Verdugo, Duran and a replacement with Munoz, who Nesen left off as the ultility outfielder. Realmuto at catcher for Vaz is questionable. Do we really need to go big at catcher? Three new names at pitcher. All seem to be reasonable.

What I see with the Dodgers is a lot of guys with long looping swings and only a couple who try to hit the opposite way and move the runner. That approach might work against average pitching, but both Atlanta and the Rays have much better than average pitching and like the Yankees with hitters with similar approaches, the Dodgers are finding the going hard. When we go after players I hope that they look for guys who make hard contact, have speed and have low strikeout rates Home runs are nice, but are not the whole story.

[QU OTE=Bellhorn04;1356558]One of the craziest splits ever: only 63 PA's, but Mookie hit only .185/..302/.204 against lefties this year. Last night he went 0 for 4, all against lefties. The Dodgers better be careful The Braves are similar to the Rays. Good pitching, excellent defense and better hitting than the Rays. The injury to Darneau hurt last but the Dodgers may be going home this round anyway. Mookie may not be enough to make the Dodgers a wnner.

You watch the playoffs this year. Teams with great pitching usually have guys who induce ground balls. Just one error can lose a game. Maybe in 2018 we were just that much better that it didn't mean much but knowingly putting a poor fielder at the hot corner is high risk. He needs to show improvement or be moved to a position where he can succeed.

Our outfield is fertile ground for change. I prefer we resign JBJ at center, but if that can't be worked out Kevin Pillar would be a suitable and low cost reacquisition. I would like to see us trade Beni and Chavis, which probably means another change via trade or free agency. I know you don't consider Duran as a viable outfield option for the Sox, but I fully expect him getting play in Spring training and making the team. If I am correct, we would carry Verdugo, JBJ/Pillar, Trade/FA/Duran on the 26 man with Munoz as a capable backup. I wouldn't use JDM in that role at all.

I agree that Devers is a core player for the Sox, but watching the Rays play leads one to appreciate exceptional defense. Can't have a 3rd baseman making 35 errors a season and expect to advance in the playoffs. Devers has either got to greatly improve his defensive numbers or move to first base. We have a better defensive man on the team now so it could be done.

The Rays won another with very good pitching and good clean defense. The bombers are not winning against them, at least not as yet. I'm expecting Bloom to reflect the Rays success in the moves he makes this offseason. Get rid of the weak sisters on the club. (lot of those) Enhance the BP and starting pitching through trades and FA Start to use capable young players from the prospect list. One doesn't have to be 25 to make the team. Look hard for solutions with players who are error prone. One error last night would have sunk the Rays Draft well and make only moves which make the team better on a consistent and long term basis.

If the Sox outright release him then he also is not on the 40 man. That's another way to at least preserve a slot even if nothing can be done about the DBT hit.

Is there any way that Pedroia could be removed from the 40 man? I doubt if anyone believes he can play a single game so having him on the roster hurts the team. I believe they will try to keep JBJ and if successful may avoid another FA outfielder. I also believe Beni will be gone and Duran brought up.

I read the article today regarding the extensive changes expected to our 40 man roster during the offseason and I tried my hand at predicting who will go by spring training. The team should change and it looks certain to be very different. Here is my attempt. 40-man roster: PITCHERS (22): Yoan Aybar, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Austin Brice, Dylan Covey, Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Hall, Darwinzon Hernandez, Tanner Houck, Mike Kickham, Robinson Leyer, Chris Mazza, Martin Perez, Nick Pivetta, Jeffrey Springs, Robert Stock, Domingo Tapia, Josh Taylor, Andrew Triggs, Phillips Valdez, Marcus Walden, Ryan Weber. 60 day IL returnees E-Rod, Chris Sale, Brewer, Godley, Hart Rule 5 Draft Protectees: Groome, Mata, Seabold, CATCHERS (3): Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki, Deivy Grullón. INFIELDERS (10): Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Bobby Dalbec, Michael Chavis, Jonathan Arauz, Christian Arroyo, Yairo Muñoz Tzu-Wei Lin, José Peraza, C.J. Chatham. 60 day IL returnees Pedroia Rule 5 Draft Protectees: Potts, Rosario, Wong OUTFIELDERS (5): Jackie Bradley Jr., Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, César Puello, Marcus Wilson. I 60 day IL returnees Benintendi In addition, there are a couple of minor league FA candidates we may want to keep and no doubt Bloom will be actively seeking additions to make the team more competitive. So there are 40 now with 2 FA we may want to keep and 12 additions, If we keep both which 12 get cut? How many will Bloom add? Say it’s 6. Who are the additional players leaving? Is there some way to drop Pedroia from the 40 man?

The Rays took down the mighty Yankees. We match up position by position with the Rays with the exception of left field, second base and designated hitter. Our key difference is of course pitching. So, concentrate on pitching, both starting and the BP. We may already have the minor league position players to patch up our holes and also look their first for pitching help. Look to FA contracts for one or two starters, a closer and BP improvements and we go into 2021 a much more competitive team. I expect the first major moves immediately after the WS and another round before the winter meetings. the 40 man roster will include major changes before the winter meetings.

I have watched a lot of playoff baseball and hate to bring back a sore subject but there have been a lot of questionable to downright wrong ball and strke calls, some of which have a definite impact on the games. Some of the pitchers seem to have the idea to never throw a pitch in the strike zone and batters often get themselves out swinging at these. Are they concerned that pitches 2 inches off the plate will be called strikes? I am still for technology assisted ball and strike calling butt through the umpire behind the plate. Maybe this will be brought up during the next player/owner agreement.

We wouldn't have made the playoffs with Mookie and we probably couldn't have resigned him. We got Verdugo, Downs and Wong and lost have of Price's overhanging contract which cost us or the Dodgers anything this year. The Dodgers got Mookie for 60 games, the playoffs and were able to sign him although for a costly and risky contract. Both the Sox and the Dodgers have reasons to be happy and that is what a good trade should engender.

Moving on to a different subject, I notice the sox prospects heavily favor the infield and especially 2nd, short and third base. Since we have Devers and Bogaerts blocking the way, it is hard for me to see where these guys will all fit in. On the other hand, we could use additional front line outfield prospects and we can also always use additional pitching prospects. Might we thin down (trade) some of our infield prospects for positions where we are thin?

He should look at the options. Regardless of the obvious performance of Cora, he also was tainted by the cheating scandal. Bloom has to decide if Cora should come back with that baggage.

You get my point. There was an article in the Red Sox News section which infers the Sox may have ruined Beni by trying to turn him into a power hitter. My opinion is that he needs a fresh start and that could be with another team. Replacing Eovaldi and Beni with a starter and a closer should be possible and backfilling Beni's position from within is also possible. These are the kind of moves a creative Bloom may try to make.

We could trade Beni at full value and maybe Eovaldi as well, freeing up $22 mil to get a decent starter and closer. We probably can fill at least one outfield slot internally. I like Eovaldi when he is healthy, but that is the big question with him, dependability.

Don't underestimate Bloom's willingness to trade away some of our guaranteed list to obtain money for better fits for the team. Could we get a closer and a decent starter in trade or through the FA route for $22 mil?

There was an anthropologist that my father knew at Harvard University who wrote a book, Up From the Apes His last name was Hooten. He sired two children. The son they named Newton and the daughter Ima. My father was born in 1896 and was one of the knot hole gang and had lots of quirky stories. I used to think it something when my dad could throw a baseball well at 75. Now I'm very close to 80 and have a brother 85 and we both still play competitive softball and have good arms. Must run in the family. Enough nostalgia, but not much will get going until after the WS.

Pitchers tend to be fragile. Contracting aces seems to take high dollars over long periods. It's a high risk game, and one I think Bloom is hoping to avoid. He is looking for consistent competitiveness and I am satisfied to wait and see what he comes up with. I doubt it involves Bauer.

That's based on who he assumes will be kept with the team. Bloom could trade a couple of guys and free up additional money. I don't expect a whole lot of action until the winter meetings but I supposed some information may be released just after completion of the WS.

I would use the weighted average approach to player evaluation. By that I mean the most recent year performance adjusted for the number of games played should be valued at 1.5 times the prior years adjusted performance and valued at 2.5 times the adjusted performance 2 years past. That approach would more realistically reflect trends, whether positive or negative. In the case of JDM or Beni, the trends have a negative slope. Any players whose performance comes in below league average holistically should be replaced as quickly as possible even if it has be be done with 1 or 2 year place holders, while we look for longer term solutions, then so be it. In addition, any player who doesn't figure to make the team better in 2023 should be made available for trade, provided Bloom can be satisfied it makes the team more competitive.

To have a team that can sustain competitiveness, we have to have a conduit from the minors that brings up 3 to 5 players a year, probably closer to 5. That means maintaining a quality list of prospects and doing a good job of developing them. The ability to develop pitching has yet to be shown, but there is hope. A second aspect of sustained competitiveness is to avoid the FA albatross contracts that has tied the hands of the club. Even resignings to big and unwarranted contracts for sentimental and other reasons has hurt the team and should be avoided. (Sale, Pedroia, Eovaldi are recent examples) Competitive teams need at least average players at every position with enough stars thrown in to be a threat. in the work place today, you have to be an A or B level contributor to survive. People who don't cut it are replaced. How much rope do you give a guy? Also, to be competitive, the team needs at least three quality starters, a closer, good setup men and a BP that doesn't implode under pressure. I believe Bloom is a smart guy and has his own list of key points needed to make and keep the team competitive. Barring bad luck, I think we will see improvements in 2021 and a fully competitive team by 2023. We need to be patient with Bloom and lets see where he takes us.