BillyWilliams

You certainly did, but that was not the debate..........

Bottom line is it certainly wasn't an 'ace-like' season regardless of what he did in previous seasons......

Carrying a 3.99 ERA for the season does not make an ace ..........

He had a better ERA than many on the sox staff last year..........

I believe porcello was the ace of the 2016 staff..........

Do any of the Lombardi trophies have dents in them from fans throwing beer cans? Asking for a friend.........

But big papi's was awesome, right? Did the sox all drink milkshakes to honor him the last month of the season?

All teams have injuries, heck, the Yanks had starts by Cessa (who I hate), Mitchell and Caleb Smith (who?).

That has nothing to do with your original claim, that the sox won the division "handedly" and the Yanks didn't have a chance. But move the goalposts if you like.

Sad to hear of his passing. He certainly was a fun and witty poster. RIP Zac

Well to be fair many pitchers have lower velocity than normal when they first come out of ST so that's not really a strong baseline. We all certainly have no idea what state he is in until we see him pitch. He could be fully healthy or there could be something wrong. I would think that the sox would not have let him pitch at all if they had true concerns over long term damage, but we all know that the sox medical staff have shown to be a bunch of quacks at times.

It has nothing to do with sleeping at night. In 2017 the sox won the division by two games, and it wasn't decided until the last week. That certainly wasn't "handedly" winning the division and the Yanks certainly had a chance. Spin it however you like if it makes you feel better.

It's been obvious for a long time that you are not the brightest candle on the cake but your reply really reinforces it. It doesn't make any sense relative to my statement. You should probably pay heed to another quote commonly attributed to Lincoln ....... "it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"

So are you saying he wasn't injured?

I didn't realize that the Yanks were coming off a major injury and were limited to 262 games the past 3 seasons ........ Not to mention the Yanks finished 2 games behind the sox in 2017, so yeah, they certainly had a chance.

Well that was a few seasons and a major injury ago. Plus we can't forget moon's all important "age related decline"!!

I agree to some extent but there's really no denying that they are helpful.

The bottom line is statistics like most things have evolved. Just curious as to why you avoid the advanced metrics while you don't avoid the other technological advancements......

Understood, but my point remains the same. At this point it's hard to count on pedroia generating a WAR in that vicinity. Although since the AS game is a popularity contest it does give teams like the Yanks and the sox a distinct advantage.

Do you prefer snail mail, fax or email? Do you go to the store in a horse drawn buggy or an automobile? Do you send smoke signals or prefer a phone?

Lowrie has been 4+ WAR batting the past two seasons, Merrifield's 2017 produced 3.8 WAR batting. I highly doubt pedroia comes anywhere near those numbers. Heck, I'm not even sure he surpasses Torres' 2.9 WAR from last year.

That's either blind homerism or wishful thinking considering the talent at 2nd base in the AL.............

1B Tier 1 - Goldschmidt Tier 2 - Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo Tier 3 - Cody Bellinger, Matt Carpenter, Jose Abreu, Joey Votto Tier 4 - Matt Olson, Jesus Aguilar, Miguel Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, Carlos Santana, Max Muncy 2B Tier 1 - Jose Altuve, Javier Baez Tier 2 - Whit Merrifield, Ozzie Albies, Gleyber Torres Tier 3 - Rougned Odor, Dee Gordon, Scooter Gennett Tier 4 - Jonathan Villar, Daniel Murphy, Robinson Cano, Brian Dozier 3B Tier 1 - Jose Ramirez, Nolan Arenado Tier 2 - Alex Bregman, Kris Bryant Tier 3 - Anthony Rendon, Eugenio Suarez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Justin Turner Tier 4 - Miguel Andujar, Matt Chapman, Josh Donaldson, Travis Shaw, Mike Moustakas SS Tier 1 - Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, Trea Turner Tier 2 - Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, xander bogaerts, Corey Seager Tier 3 - Jean Segura, Adalberto Mondesi, Jose Peraza OF Tier 1 - Mike Trout, mookie betts, j.d. martinez Tier 2 - Christian Yelich, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna Jr., Giancarlo Stanton, Charlie Blackmon, Juan Soto Tier 3 - Starling Marte, andrew benintendi, George Springer, Rhys Hoskins, Khris Davis Tier 4 - Marcell Ozuna, Joey Gallo, Eddie Rosario, Lorenzo Cain, Justin Upton, Mitch Haniger, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen, Nicholas Castellanos, Yasiel Puig Tier 5 - Michael Conforto, Michael Brantley, Eloy Jimenez, A.J. Pollock, David Dahl, Victor Robles, Mallex Smith, Wil Myers, David Peralta, Aaron Hicks C Tier 1 - Gary Sanchez, J.T. Realmuto Tier 2 - Yasmani Grandal Tier 3 - Salvador Perez, Buster Posey, Willson Contreras, Wilson Ramos, Yadier Molina Tier 4 - Danny Jansen, Welington Castillo, Francisco Cervelli, Mike Zunino RP Tier 1 - Edwin Diaz, Kenley Jansen, craig kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman Tier 2 - Blake Treinen, Felipe Vazquez, Brad Hand, Roberto Osuna Tier 3 - Jose Leclerc, Kirby Yates, Raisel Iglesias, Josh Hader, Cody Allen, Sean Doolittle Tier 4 - Corey Knebel, Wade Davis, Andrew Miller, Archie Bradley, Ken Giles, David Robertson Tier 5 - Drew Steckenrider, Jose Alvarado, Brandon Morrow, Will Smith 2019 fantasy baseball first base rankings WWW.MLB.COM The top of the first-base rankings has probably remained as static as any position in recent years, but a crop of up-and-comers forcefully threw their hats into the ring last season. Paul Goldschmidt has a new uniform, but he still reigns atop his position in what could be a statement

I think you are talking about the 19-0 patriots t shirts that have clothed big papi's hometown..........

Well, in his defense, he's about as sharp as a marble ...........