oldtimer

Totally agree and since no choice other than long contracts at high dollars were allowed, I didn't vote. Perhaps it will take that much wrapped up into a very long term contract, but I too would rather let players go than participate in the insanity of 10 year contracts.

We don't know whether the competitive balance ceiling with penalties will continue in its present form or be replaced. Assuming something very like it stays, then the entire 40 man roster needs to be considered with a plan and budget that allows staying under the ceiling or at least being able to reset at regular intervals. One star doesn't make a team. Paying your star $35 Mil for a year or two is one thing, but stretching it out to 10 years or even 12 raises the risk of nonperformance for many years. In the Sox case, they will be paying the Ace and perhaps the second starter close to $30 mil with others getting progressively less while we have a big contract out for DH and SS. Other younger players will also get theirs. To have a competitive team, we need quality at every position. It will be interesting to see teams with these big long term contracts perform over the years. I guessing they won't work out in the long term interests of the team.

I thik the Sox are holding back to see if Roenicke is somehow tainted by the ongoing Sox sign stealing investigation. Personally, I think the Sox will be vindicated as JDM has said, no cheating was going on as far as real time sign stealing electronically and relaying to the batters.

we may then have to consider Meyers salary or any part thereof that the Padres won't cover. With this in mind, we might have to trade JBJ as well to make the Luxury Tax reset.

It appears the Betts trade will go through soon but no longer mentioned with Price. We would need to shed more to make the reset.

Hi tech sign stealing is available which would make the Astros trash can approach seem archaic. Improvements in cameras, artificial intelligence run on a Watson like computer capability, direct electronic real time relaying to the batter. A great deal is at stake in winning the WS so clearly the incentive is there. Harsh punishments can cause most to think twice about implementing such devices and approaches but perhaps the consciences of managers and players are such that any nefarious approaches will be found out eventually. The human element is probably the weakest in keeping things secret. Makes one wonder what other areas are subject to cheating. Certainly base stealing, hit and run, bunt and other signs might be decoded electronically as well as ball and strike calls were. We've seen steroids and HGH drugs over the recent past, bat corking was once practiced as was substances and marking of the baseball by the pitcher. In a way,Going way back to the Blacksox scandal, players were even paid to throw games. MLBB was cheating on the super live ball put into use. Never heard any admission of that by the commissioner even though it was obvious to the fans. Be good to rid the game of the cheating spectre.

I have been on the side of reset in 2020. Even keeping Mookie and essentially pat except for replacing Porcello, I don't think we can compete at the highest level due to our pitching staff. It makes sense to me that Bloom has been trying to trade pieces that will get us below $208 Million. Bloom is limited as to what other clubs want and will trade for so it appears that Mookie coupled with either Price or Eovaldi is one possibility and JBJ by himself is another and JDM by himself still another.. Once below $208 million I see no advantage in stripping off additional players as we can make those moves next year if required. Why try to go to the cellar this year unless you want to pursue an approach that looks for top draft choices? I like to believe that the Red Sox did not cheat as JDM has told us and that in the end Cora will be our only casualty and it will be related only to his time with the Astros. I know that is a big if but it could well be true.

Really the only meaningful contracts that can be shed are JBJ and Mookie/Price or Mookie/Eovaldi. Our asking price is too high for other clubs to bite but it doesn't make sense to let go of players and not get a sold return. Bloom is trying to do that with other teams knowing that the Sox would like to reset and that further erodes his bargaining position. I am not going to criticize Bloom for tryiing to put the Sox in the best position. There is still time to make moves.

We will soon know what he plans to do. In any case, most of us never expected that he would come back to the Sox as a player. He was a great player and had a nice career, but the knee injury is just too much to overcome.

So what are the specific legal uses of the replay room? Are they only to assess calls so they can be challenged or can the hitters look to see how the pitcher got them out or whether the umpire incorrectly called a pitch? How would a player looking over replays not see what signs were called?

In the case of Cora and probably Beltran too, the teams asked them what was done in Houston and they answered that they were part of the cheating there. That was enough of an admission for the clubs to have grounds for parting company.

I'm still playing slow pitch softball and will be 79 very shortly. cheating goes on with teams bending the rules by loading up teams with ringers. Its done in many ways but the result is the team that does it is very hard to beat. Fastballs are no issue with slow pitch and it is more the arc and placement that get batters to mishit. I pitch at times and am no master as placement and avoid walking guys. I don't know of a lot of other cheating going on although some guys may be tempted to use shaved bats. Internal shaving can add distanced to the hit but can result in being banned from SSUSA.

The Astros were accused of mounting a camera to look in on the catcher and steal signs real time and then relay the information to the hitter real time. I am not certain of the accusation against the Red Sox since nothing specific has been recounted. The basic information is one or several players would go to the replay room to see what pitches were being called and to learn what the signs were. Was it when a htter got to second that they could use the information to relay to the batter during an at bat? If so, how much different is that than hitters on second stealing signs while there (which is legal)? I would imagine most teams would study replay footage to learn about signs but also pitcher tendencies. To me to counter the stealing, the teams need to switch signs regularly to defeat this kind of sign stealing. I'm saying, the devil is in the details.

One less guy to compete for 1st base. Dalbec and Chavis?

Roenicke seems like the plausible manager, however, if he is implicated in the cheating scandal we would have to look outside the organization. Possibly the safeswt thing to do is to look outside.

The way it was quoted is they mutually agreed to part company. They didn't fire him but gave him the opportunity to part company.

In the Sox case, they were 57-24 at home and 51-30 away. Doesn't sound like the cheating had a llot to do with the outcome assuming it only occurred at home.

Ron Roenicke is the likely new interim manager based on an article today. Not a bad choice.

Don't the players commonly look at replay technology to see what they and theiir opponents are doing? I suppose the only difference is immediancy. If you look at yesterdays game playbacks and learn of the signs being used, presumably that is okay and then the man that gets to second can signal to the batter legally. It appears to me the only difference is when the signs are being stolen real time and then somehow being passed to the batter, such as banging on trash cans. Sign stealing in general has been practiced as long as signs have been used. In the game today, all sorts of efforts are being made to switch signs such that sign stealing will be less effective or totally ineffective.

I don't see why you say that. Perhaps Cora will be fired and some sanction will be applied. I'll bet other organizations did similar things.

Plus he could fill in at short if required, possibly third and the OF. He miht be a nice utility guy to have on the team. Not great, but versatile.

Marco was moved to make room for Brice.

Unless there is a substantial change in the competitive balance tax I think that teams that get involved in very expensive long term contracts (especially for pitchers) will ultimately rue the day they took them on. We are in that boat now. The Yankees got themselves into that position with Cole. I hope Bloom is one of the smarter executives and Friedman of the Dodgers is also smart and looking for an equitable trade. I think it is in both teams interests to move ahead, with the Dodgers main drive being to win the WS now while the Sox main drive is to reset, get rid of Price's contract and be in a position to try and resign Betts for 2021 and beyond. I'm assuming it will take Betts along with Price to cut a deal and the Dodgers will part with a couple of very good prospects and take the majority of Price's salary.

I would think the chance is slim of winning it all with Betts and Price, primarily due to the stability of our starting pitching staff. Maybe Price can function as a 3rd or 4th starter in an organization next season, but his age and mileage rules against him continuing in the following years. The move to package Betts and Price makes some sense if there is a slim chance of winning in 2020 since it would free up resources to go after him for the 2021 season. Like it or not, DD's moves put the organization in a tough position for the 2020 season and Bloom is here to engineer a way back to competitiveness at the highest level. Finding one or two solid young starting pitchers would be my point of emphasis.

Price and Betts for Gonsolin and Pederson. $38 Mil savings. Serviceable outfielder and young pitcher. full reset with room to spend. Best sounding to me.