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I have zero issues about Mookie, it's not just spring training....it's the first week of March. If he's slumping 30 days into the season moving into May I'll start to wonder if he's hiding an injury but I'm not worried about Mookie performing.

I agree, I actually think JDMs value can be maximized in such a way. I'm also hoping his presence in the lineup helps these guys as well.

The good old days, when you could sign a 1.000 OPS, 40+ HR 130+RBI guy for 4 years and $52 million dollars.

I think the bullpen depth will go a long way if Smith comes back healthy and compliments Kimbrel at the back of the bullpen. Looks like Johnson, and Valesquez might get some starts early this season. Beeks might be an option at some point too, some potential in his arm but he's not ever going to be a TOTR guy (doesn't need to be). Things would feel a lot better if the Sox added another depth option or two.

I'm hoping David Price has a bounce back year, I think he's a strong candidate to do so. Sale + Price at the top of the rotation is going to be a pretty lethal 1 2 punch.

Yeah I guess it sounds pretty dumb when you put it like that. I blame myself for conveying my point rather poorly. JDM value is highly tied up in his bat, which holds a lot of value. Pretty obvious point so I guess you can call me captain obvious.

I suppose this is a highly subjective question that everyone might interpret differently. I took it as imagining the MLB equivalent of an NBA player, you're taking on a physical tools level, which immediately probably better serves the original question better than I did. From that perspective, you bring up a good point that many NBA players might struggle, BUT a lot of MLB players got height too. Stanton is 6'6" JDM and Machado are 6'3" Miguel Cabrera is 6'4" and Aaron Judge is 6'7" and that was just 2 minutes of research. I'm sure I could find a few more sluggers past and present who are tall. Russel Westbrook and Kyrie Irving are only 6'3" You don't have to be 6'10" to be elite in the NBA....unless perhaps you're a C C/F.

This is a thought exercise, I probably should have stated that with THAT particular point I'm assuming Ortiz could play LF. If he could play left field he'd probably have the body to play LF, and if he had the body to play LF he'd probably be less injury prone out there. In which case, Manny money would be an excellent comp as they played around the same time. I think the main take away from this is if David Ortiz put up the same offensive numbers and was athletically gifted enough to sustain a job in the field even on an average level he could easily command the highest pay day in his day.

I'd give Buchh a minor league deal. Whats the worse thing that can happen? he gets injured and costs you almost nothing? best case scenario someone goes down and you get a 1/2 a year out of him.

Jordan, on the other hand, had relative success in professional baseball. He didn't reach the majors but he did play in AA and hit 3 HRs. He might not of had the sexiest stat line but when you consider he had not played the sport in over a decade at 31 and jumped over rookie ball, low A and high A it was actually pretty impressive. It makes you wonder what could have been if he pursued a baseball career and got some prime development during his younger years. It's hard to argue he didn't make the right choice however.

From a statistical perspective, you could say Lebron James. He has a slightly higher FG% and FG3%, slightly lower PPG, more rebounds and assists. This is obviously an insanely objective thought experiment so I'm kinda playing two different angles here. Assuming how a players skill sets would look as a baseball player opposed to an NBA player, and I'm also looking at this from the perspective that baseball is much less dependent on one player opposed to basketball. Arguably a pitcher can have the same impact on a game as one NBA player (perhaps even more) but a starter will only go every 5 days for you. I'd take the team player who all across the board looks like a 5 tool, sefless player. But if we really want to dive deep into this, you could argue Jordan would be the better player for your team in the playoffs. He'd be like......David Ortiz 2013.

Admittedly, I have very little clue how often a guy is able to make over his swing and be successful. But I know some have done it, and others were not. I guess a little optimism can't hurt, it's spring training after all.

If we're talking about an NBA player being equally good at baseball I'd choose Lebron James in a heartbeat, over and over again. The irony is I would never want him on my NBA team but I think his selfless, all around, star powered personality would be a better fit for baseball believe it or not. Lebron James might be that guy who passes the ball in the 4th quarter and is a little less reluctant to take over a game like other elite players but the baseball manifestation of James to me is a guy who does it all. A guy who can hit .300, hit 30 HR's, steal 30 bases, and play elite defense. And his primadona attitude is the kinda attitude baseball might need right now and believe me.....I'm the biggest James hater out there. On the other hand, he might be demanding 40 million a year.

Or imagine if he played LF? he'd be getting Giancarlo Stanton money. Or perhaps...Manny Ramirez money.

You have to think JDM can stay healthy as a full-time DH. I almost want to give him a 1B glove if he's ever going to play in the field during interleague games. I don't know how good I feel about benching Betts, JBJ, or Benintendi in favor of JDM lumbering around and pulling something out there.

Two thoughts. It seems to me that more often than not when a guy starts tinkering with his swing it ends up disastrous. I remember Garrin Cecchini doing that years ago because the knock was his swing was level and he didn't have the power to justify being a MLB player. Sometimes it's hard to change the mechanics that got you to where you are and have the same level of success on the worlds biggest stage. I'm sure it can be done, and if Travis has it in him he could be a monster.

Baseball Inflation (player salary wise) is about 3-4 X that of the broader U.S. economy, and it's been that way for a while. One has to think that's a trend that can't last forever. A guy who you can put in the middle of your lineup and can lead the league in SLG % is worth 25 million a year. And to be fair, Ortiz was probably underpaid many years. Imagine if Ortiz was all about the money, wasn't a late bloomer and hit the market at age 29-30 if he was born 10 years later? I'm not in the mood for making up numbers but I think inherently we can all agree he'd be making much fatter paychecks than he did otherwise.

Hello to all! I think it's been a long time since I've posted. I've been very busy with life! I lost a 400K account at work due to outsourcing, got married, and now have a baby on the way, and all pretty much happened one month after another so I've been very busy to say the least. But now that spring training is underway I feel compelled to find a little time here and there to get on my soapbox and talk sports. I love the JDM deal, I wasn't crazy about him at the end of 2017 but as time went on I really sold myself on him. From 2015-2017 the active leader in SLG % is Mike Trout, can you guess who is tied with Giancarlo Stanton next on that list? J.D. Martinez!!! They've actually been a very good comp for each other over the last few years. The plater who technically still qualifies who I ommited from this list is no other than David Ortiz at #1. Now I'm not going to try and say J.D. Martinez is a better player than Giancarlo Stanton, and I'd be willing to bet in ten years from now Stanton will be the one with the overall better career. I do believe that J.D. Martinez makes this offense better than Stanton makes the offense of the Yankees better. This aquasition was Yuuuuuuge.

Also lets see how things look after the offseason has been completed. There is easily room for improvement in this line up as is. A lot of guys were playing through injuries and underperformed. I expect DD to get a big bat, and I think it also wouldn't hurt to look at a relief pitcher who can shut down righties.

Sometimes things look nice on paper but the ultimate test will be the 162 game season. It's definitely intimidating to see a team like the Yankees go out and get a guy like Stanton. However, I thought the Sox would be unbeatable after they went out and got Crawford and Gonzelez and that team performed much worse than anyone would have guessed looking at that roster on paper before game 1 of the season.

Yup, It's maybe kinda a side ways move at the MLB level because you take a hit defensively in the outfield but you make up for it and probably at least marginally get better through improved offense. But overall the system is better, and that could come into play as you have suggested.

I guess it depends on your definition of "save" is. They can sign a big bat and still stay under the harder cap.

I see 2018 as a make or break year for Swihart. I have high hopes for the kid, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a great season bouncing back. It could be a real uplifter for this team if he plays himself back into the fold.

I'd suggested earlier back a few months ago that the Sox could trade JBJ for prospects and then go after Stanton. I suppose they could trade JBJ still to replenish the farm and then slide Benintendi or Betts over the CF and stick J.D. Martinez in a corner outfield spot. Preferably LF at Fenway. With Health, I consider a strong bounce back with this lineups power as is. Adding a big bat could really help the offense make a big turn around next year. The questoin is, do we go all out and trade for a 1B/DH type? or do we try to save our pennies and go after a big bat next year? I've often contemplating signing Machado if he wanted to move back to SS and trade Bogaerts off next year. There is no way we can sign all of Sale/Betts/Bogaerts after next year and I'm sure some teams would be willing to pay high for 1 year of service if they don't have the money to get involved in next years monster sweepstakes.

I wonder how much Bogarets injury hampered him in 2017? If healthy, could he give this lineup a big boost?