vegasbob

Kluber distinguishes himself with a bad outing.

Tapia and Ort both logical choices to head in their respective directions. Tapia brings a good ST and MLB experience to the roster where OF play may be an adventure until Yoshida learns the wall and CF is reduced in size,by, oh say an acre. Ort is a 31 year old spot reliever without any real upside. The active will look different by end of April, end of May, end of June and at the trade deadline. Recovering injuries especially to Mondesi and eventually Story , plus the possibilities of Bello, Paxton, Whitlock and Joely Rodriguez. On the other hand there may be the odd injury that jumps up and bites all its favorite IL candidates further messing with the mix. Are Duran and Dalbec simply untradable ? They are cheap, relatively young, have seen MLB and vice versa . At least there is now some depth of sorts at Worcester , some real young, some wondering about their future. Still two more players who did not "graduate" into MLB regulars from the Red Sox MiLB system.

look at it this way; In a 15 team league finishing 5th in 1/3rd of that league is an achievement according to SoxNotes.

ST results don't factor in playoff positioning but may be revealing some trending towards improvement or the reality that the 2023 Sox are a weak roster , especially through the position players/hitters . From a 9-0 W-L start they fell to 5-14 with some troubles among the designated starters including Houck. When you look at this roster for non-pitchers you need to consider: 1. Devers having a long term deal may free him up from having to think about his future but it doesn't make him a better player per se. He is the only real proven plus talent on this team. 2. Arroyo and Kike at 2B and SS are average talents who have never made it through a full season with no significant down time. 3. Casas is a big swing rookie with a taste of MLB . He could develop and get much better, but has to do it now. 4. Turner, no , not Trea Turner, is an end of career veteran realizing the progressive decline , but perhaps with a potential plus season. 5. McGuire and Wong, adequate/average , low ceilings behind the plate. 6. Yoshida is the one breath of hope for a surprise breakout season in USA MLB. Showed hitting ability in the WBC . He needs to show up big in this lineup. One hope is that he doesn't crash into the wall or get his foot stuck in the foul area garage door. 7. The rest of the outfielders, once an annual strength for decades in Boston , are really shots in the dark, and they may wind up in the dark recesses of nowhere land. The pitchers will have Duvall, Refsnyder and Verdugo to chase long flies. Dugo is an experienced player of some talent which shows up from time to time. If he has a break out year, along with Yoshida, there may be hope in Beantown. 8. Yu Chang ? No you change the roster, Chaim. 9. They guy most missing , a common theme so far, is Trevor Story. He could help immensely in the late second half, and like Chris Sale, needs to begin earning out his contract when physically ready. In addition to Story, a sub .500 first half could lead to some of the WooSox roster coming up sooner than later. Maybe Mondesi can make a difference at some point by getting Kike back in CF This assemblage of 4th year Bloom talent really doesn't get much enthusiasm.

Sale aside, who is the most likely expected regular ( SP/RP/PP) to go down with some limiting injury during ST, that although cleared up by end of April, affects their entire season in a nagging way ? I'm going with any of the World Baseball Classic competitors, with Kike leading the list, followed by Verdugo.

perhaps the better move with Barnes would have been to use him in the first half of season when he tended to perform better and then trade him at or before the deadline for anything possibly useful. Brasier and Ort among others may or may not survive ST or the actual season, but unless Bloom has a deal cooking now , he's dumping MLB experience and paying the salary anyway. Cannot be the best outcome. Plus I cannot rag on my favorite bullpen flame thrower all season.

Moon's potential lineup has a distinct Army on the march look, left-right-left-right with Mondesi as the wild card switching. Is this the group we are ready to go to battle with ? Why do I think ST will present all sorts of twists and variations. There are only 3 truly established position players in that group, maybe 4 if you count Turner at DH.

Of the names on the voting list the 3 that really need to get in a full season (550+ PAs; 28+ starts) are Sale, Whitlock and Kike . Sale and Whitlock could contribute many innings QS's and W's. Kike needs to use his position flexibility to cover the inevitable other injuries and Cora days off.

The Green Monster used to be covered with advertising back in the 40's/50's, maybe later too.

Rendon is another big contract guy who cannot stay on the field. He has played in 105 of the Angels last 324 games. This says nothing directly about Devers but it does show how difficult making a 10 year commitment to any player actually is. If you were an actuary evaluating Devers physically for a 10 year plus War number you would need to think twice. Bogaerts might be a better bet at a 6 year $$28-$30 million deal than Devers at 10 for $30+ million.

Rays and Jays failed to show up in the WC . the hell with both teams, and glad they are done

So the winter starts and the roster swirls trying to get back in contention

Verdugo is a good and necessary piece on a strong team where he doesn't need to carry 5 other guys for a month.

Is Bloom's DFA list as long as Michael Corleone's?

Have to respect Casas up with the bases full to not just chase bad pitches and take the walk/rbi . Some guys could learn from the rookie.

So who closes out the 9th of the last game of the season? Do we have a closer ? Maybe next Spring

Pivetta with 70 pitches through one out in the 3rd , gives up a 2 run shot to Choi. Fat LH hitters are often Boston's nemeses. In most parks it was a flyball to left

JDM whacks a 3 run HR above the bullpen. JD must prefer cool weather to the hot summer as his FA audition gets a boost.

Looks like AC is going all in today to sweep the Rays . How is the weather today ?

He may well be next year , but needs to stay a little more even keel, at a high performing level over the 6 month season.

If somehow the Sox do work out a better deal for Bogaerts, my only question will be if Trevor Story can keep up with X over the next several years.

2nd/3rd, nobody out once again . Pham K's for the 3rd straight time ; Devers works a walk to set up Bogaerts; Xander sets the ball on fire with a GSlam. Best player on this particular team.

Like to see Nate get out with a win, as the Sox continue to poke Rays in the nose with jabs. Knockout punches were lost in July/August. In seriousness, the difference between the Rays win total , and inclusion in playoffs, and the Sox wins are 10, pending these final 2. Can you think of 10 games this year that were late losses?

Red Sox poking the Rays in the eye late. Barnes makes it stand up , with his usual risky business. As Moon says, he may be productive once again . For sure he will be out there with his final contract year, so look for him in a yearbook on sale.

Rafael Devers swinging the bat well and delivering the sac fly on his 4th AB. JDM gets a hard ground ball single to blunt his 3K's