Fan_since_Boggs

While the strength of the Red Sox farm system lies in the lower levels, it is good to know they have some high upside talent--Dalbec and Chavis--at the upper levels as well. Dalbec is evidence that Dombrowski is the best GM in the game. Not only did he put together a 108 win team, but he did this while simultaneously rebuilding the farm system and drafting gems like Dalbec in the 4th round.

Machado would have allowed the Yankees to trade Andujar for a valuable starting pitcher while greatly upgrading their defense at 3b. Thus, signing Machado would have been a significant upgrade in terms of the Yankees overall talent-level and value--transferring Andujar's value to the starting staff. To be sure, the Yankees would be better with Machado than without. The upgrade in value would have cost a lot of money (300 million) but not any talent. In contrast, the Paxton deal cost the Yankees some serious talent in Sheffield. I don't mind those moves--the Yankees gain something but also lose something.

What would have happened if Kimbrel accepted the Red Sox qualifying offer--how would the Red Sox offseason been different? Maybe the Red Sox don't resign Eovaldi? Or maybe the Red Sox simply decide to go over the luxury tax thing again?

I was expecting the Yankees to walk away with one of the two--either Machado or Harper. Hal is definitely more fiscally conservative than his father. If George is still around, either Machado or Harper end up on the Yankees. If the 2019 season doesn't go well for the Yankees, or if they finish in second again, the fan base will bitch and moan about Cashman's failure to sign Machado or Harper. But I was even more surprised that the Yankees didn't sign P.Corbin. That decision was not only fiscally conservative, but stupid. In turn, the Yankees had to unload their pitching depth (Sheffield) for an often-injured starter in Paxton. Brutal decision making, but I'm loving it. Maybe the Yankees are saving their nickels and dimes for G.Cole, a free agent after 2019. Cashman has always liked Cole (he drafted him). On the other hand, if the Red Sox aren't sold on Sale's long term health, they might get involved in Cole and outbid the fiscally conservative Hal Steinbrenner.

Buck Showalter on Manny Machado:

After listening to Machado's press conference, I thought he came across as likeable, a guy who can be the face of a franchise. Admittedly, I've always liked the Padres due to Tony Gwynn, one of my favorite non-Red Sox players. Machado talked about wanting to be a mentor for the Padres elite prospects. The Padres are definitely building something special--they should be one of the best teams in baseball in a few years. And playing Machado at 3b really increases his value, not only is he a middle of the order bat, but he will save runs as a defender, a two way contributor, a great player. The left side of the Padres infield will be Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr, two guys the White Sox could have had if they (a) didn't trade Tatis in the James Shield trade and ( didn't lowball Machado in free agency. The thing that has become abundantly clear is that the White Sox are an awful organization. It has also become abundantly clear that the Yankees shouldn't have taken on Stanton's contract. If they pass on Stanton, they have the budget room for Machado. The Yankees need a 3b (Andujar can't play the position) more than a RF (Judge) and Machado gives you elite defense at 3b.

Dalbec has amazing power. https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1099025343988596736/video/1

Makes sense:

I would consider trading Swihart for a prospect, but I would want a really good prospect in return, a CF prospect would be ideal. I would also consider trading Swihart for a relief arm, but the relief arm would need to be cost-controlled and ready to contribute in 2019. If the Red Sox are unable to strike a deal, I wouldn't trade Swihart for below value. Instead, I would send S.Leon to AAA. Maybe someone picks him up, but they would have to take on his 2.5 million salary. Even if another team picks him up, the Red Sox could find a way to reacquire him if necessary. It goes without saying that Leon has a fringy bat, making him a somewhat marginal MLB player.

He is right in calling out the Yankees offseason. The biggest mistake the Yankees made was failing to sign P.Corbin. You sign Corbin and keep Sheffield, which provides more SP pitching depth than J.Paxton alone. In other words, Corbin & Sheffield > J.Paxton Corbin was expensive but pitchers like Corbin don't grow on trees and cost big money in free agency. And then they brought back numb nuts like Sabathia and Happ. That isn't how you build a championship caliber rotation. But Cashman has always struggled in that regard. His comments on Verlander were totally correct, I'm surprised more people didn't come out and tell Verlander to shut his dumb jock mouth. At the end of the day, Machado made 300 million and Harper turned down 300 million at least once. There is no problem with the flow of money in baseball. C.Kimbrel has had offers and very lucrative ones. The only reason he hasn't signed is because he is a greedy jackass.

I'm glad I don't root for the White Sox, what a train wreck of an organization. https://www.southsidesox.com/2019/2/19/18232329/manny-machado-chicago-white-sox-san-diego-padres-so-what-the-hell-just-happened https://www.southsidesox.com/2019/2/19/18232628/why-todays-comments-from-rick-hahn-and-kenny-williams-are-a-big-deal The White Sox didn't offer Machado an opt-out clause because "the organization doesn't believe in that philosophy." How are they ever going to sign a top free agent?

White Sox fans are devastated, entertaining reading: http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php The post, "Machado signs with Padres" is up to 859 pages: http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?/topic/106772-yeah-they-actually-screwed-this-up-machado-reportedly-signs-with-padres/&page=859 The White Sox are idiots. Basically, the White Sox offered Machado 8 years with two team options. Why would Machado accept that contract over the Padres guaranteed 10 year offer? I don't know. At some point, one of these 10 year contracts will work out for the team. This could be the one. The fact that Machado and Harper reached free agency at such a young age lessens the risk. The Manny Ramirez contract worked out pretty well for the Red Sox (two championshps), but his contract was for 8 years, not 10. Still, Manny produced at a high level for most of the contract and Machado and Harper could do the same over a 10 year period.

An accurate description of the current Red Sox farm system:

Good stuff on top prospect Dalbec: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2019/02/16/red-sox-power-hitting-prospect-bobby-dalbec-looks-impress-spring-training/w64do8Y6o3LRGNreEpfpKI/story.html The Burrell comp is an interesting one--he was a top MLB slugger for a few years. Of course, Burrell was a CO and thus played a less valuable position than Dalbec. Hopefully, Dalbec can develop into a slightly more consistent Pat Burrell with the bat.

I'm not sure why the Red Sox would have to blow things up after the 2019 season. At that time, they will need to make two major signings: Bogaerts and an ace SP. The SP could be Sale but if there are long term health concerns with Sale, the Red Sox could sign a guy like G.Cole. The Red Sox will save a lot of money by replacing Porcello with a cost controlled SP. They free up over 15 million with the contracts of Pearce, Moreland, and Nunez. I don't expect the Red Sox to spend big on the bullpen--Feltman is the Red Sox future closer. Sandoval's contract is finally off the books in 2020. 2020 starting staff: Cole Price Eovaldi Rodriguez Shawaryn/Hernandez/Houck compete for Porcello's spot. Same outfield. I'm not sure about the situation at 2b, but the CI will be some combination of Devers (who could be an MVP caliber player soon), Chavis, and Dalbec. Bogaerts at SS.

Machado is waiting until the new year before making a final decision. Translation: the Phillies offered him 350 million and he is giving the Yankees a few days to increase their offer. If the Yankees don't increase it, Machado signs with the Phillies. If the Yankees gave Machado the largest offer, I doubt Machado waits until the new year to sign--he takes it right away. Thus, I would think the largest offer came from the Phillies and Machado is waiting a few days to see if the Yankees go higher.

I'm not sure why so many players want to rush off to play for the Yankees. No matter how great you are, you will always be behind Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, and Mantle. As a hired gun, you will never be more loved than farm products Jeter, Rivera, or Judge. The Yankees have had so many legendary players over the years, I would rather sign with a team that has fewer legends. I'm trying to think of the Phillies legendary players. Schmidt and Carlton come to mind. To be sure, the list isn't as loaded as the Yankees list.

I didn't even realize Buchholz is a free agent. The Angels will sign him--he fits their profile.

Boggs was one of the most patient hitters in baseball and that was so valuable in the 1990s, before the days of multiple relievers throwing 95-100 MPH. At that time, it made sense to get the SP to throw as many pitches as possible to get into the underbelly of the bullpen. The Yankees worked this strategy to perfection and it paid off for them. Due to his patience at the plate, Boggs was an incredibly valuable offensive player and if the Red Sox couldn't recognize that, I sort of figured they would accomplish nothing. I obviously changed my mind when Bill James was hired a decade or so later.

to be determined.

It's a great rotation especially when we compare it to the crappy Yankees rotation. CC Sabathia and JJ Happ. Yeah, the Yankees are really going to win a championship with those two numb nuts in the rotation. And then Cashman trades for Paxton, a guy who always gets hurt. Tanaka's stuff declines every year. They needed Corbin, but Cashman strikes out on him probably because the team with the most HR in history is going to give Machado 300 million. Brilliant. Meanwhile, Dombrowski does everything right. Says goodbye to the expensive closer and resigns Eovaldi who turned into a #2 starter when he developed that cutter. Porcello will probably have a big year this season. E-Rod could break out--what a special performance in the World Series. Funny, the guy I'm most concerned about is Chris Sale due to his health. But I was worried about Price's health going into the 2018 season and look what he did.

I think so. Halladay was pretty special and spent part of his career pitching through the steroids era. Pedro was remarkable for what he did in an era of hyped offense (PEDs) and I would think a similar argument applies to Halladay. I would like to see the comparative data on this, however: Halladay v. pitchers who pitched in an era of lower offensive output.

Good point. The problem started before Baines. Phil Rizzuto doesn't belong in the HOF. And Jim Rice doesn't belong in the HOF. I don't know how someone can defend Jim Rice being in the HOF but not Dale Murphy or Don Mattingly. And then we have the interesting case of Dwight Evans.....

The saddest organizational loss: Boggs. I came to the conclusion that the Red Sox were headed in the wrong direction, and that the Yankees were headed in the right direction. From that point forward, I kept baseball and the Red Sox at a distance--I couldn't endure the pain anymore. I didn't return until the day I read that the Red Sox hired Bill James. At that point, I stuck with them even through the Boone HR (the most painful post-John Henry ownership moment). I was too young for the Fisk departure, but that would have bothered me. Yeah, Lester is a good choice. Lester should have been a lifelong Red Sox. I never liked Nomar. I loved it when Epstein traded him. Nomar was an idiot for turning down the Red Sox's contract--I think it was around 60 million dollars?

You don't want this to happen every year, but if it happens occasionally, no big deal at all. This is basically Ben Cherington's mess. John Henry decided that he wasn't going to handicap the team due to Cherington's mismanagement. John Henry is the greatest owner in baseballl--no one else has won 4 championships in the 21st Century.