5GoldGlovesOF,75

Sox could be that bad, but how can the Yankees possibly be that good? Just last week, someone apparently hacked your user name and posted: "we cannot go into 2024 (a true all in year) with this rotation minus Cole"

Rafaela's going to make the club, so needs a lower uniform number. Maybe he can swap his current jersey with Yoshida (who else has ever looked as well-suited for...43?)

John Henry had head-on collusion with a mirror.

Pivetta? Isn't he the kind of average starter the Sox will be looking to sign or trade for next winter, just to eat innings and field a team so they can sell tickets and play the games? Like I said, adding Hendricks for the future makes it more likely Jansen and Martin will at least be gone by the deadline -- when they've had enough time to show contenders they're healthy enough to contribute. Brez can't sell low now, even if he wants to. The Sox may not be holding a preseason firesale, but that doesn't mean it's a tankless operation, either.

Unfortunately, the reality of tanking might mean no prospects get brought up this year. It's different if a club is goin for it, and an injury requires a replacement on the fasttrack like Carter on the Rangers last Fall. Fans of doormats might clamor for promotions and "What have we got to lose!" -- but posters here know the answer the front office won't say publicly: "One more year of control." In the olden days, teams always gave top prospects a taste of the bigs every September. Nowadays, they save big bucks by serving those cups of coffee at the Prospects Camp in the offseason.

I've been on board with Keel making the majors this year since last summer. But if you want to compare #1 picks, you can do better than the Yorke comp... ... Division I for three years and top-rated college catcher in the nation vs. high school kid who DHed for a few weeks before Covid shut down his senior year -- and who nobody but the Bloom Administration had as a first-rounder... and who some raters didn't even have as a top 100 prospect (but raters gotta rate).

OMG! Kid's only had 114 plate appearances in the pros! We don't want to wreck him! ... if a ballplayer plays ball good enough, then he's good enough. And as an old fan, I could care less if my favorite team gets one extra year of control -- in the next six years. I just want to watch the best possible Red Sox team in the next six months.

... a pitcher in his 30s, acquired to anchor the back end of the bullpen and keep the club competitive while it improves next year -- a key piece of the pitching staff the front office wouldn't add to the starting rotation (unless you want to count Giolito, whose contract basically guaranteed he was gone after this season, if he got good again). The Hendricks signing may reveal they plan on dealing Jansen and Martin, but also that relief is still more of a priority than starting... especially if openers are a cheaper option, which correlates with stockpiling big arms with stuff.

It's actually purple to dogs -- I have been told... but never by a dog.

If it's blue, then it's also melancholy -- but one syllable is so much easier than four... plus, if someone shows you a blue melon, it's probably photoshopped. (I have no umpirical data to prove any of this, so check the check with the first base blue who's eyes are 90 feet away, in case he's bored and wants to punch air... and pretend he has x-ray vision)

It was just reported he felt tightness in his forearm from waving at so many guys warming up in the bullpen. MRI and consultation soon with renowned Dr. Pull Aparty.

It is curious that the Eastern League 2023 defensive second baseman of the year is being asked to play outfield... Can't blame Bloom on this one -- any St. Louis fans seeing regulars being played out of position all over the field this spring?

Yes, the Yanks improved their offense, getting Soto and Verdugo. But they lost five starting pitchers from the rotation: Cole, German, Severino, King, Brito... and replaced them with Marcus Stroman? Yankee fans know better than to count on full seasons of health from Rodon and Cortes, and nobody can reasonably expect Cole to return to Cy Young status after merely resting a bum elbow... I must be missing something with the annual World Series favorites that never play in the World Series.

Of course: Eovaldi-Gray-Heaney all won World Series games; Montgomery had a World Series loss -- who needs him.

I am. Definitely looking forward to a new season: watching young outfielders progress, seeing if corner infielders can become studs, hoping for Bailey to help Bello and at least one of the other starters become solid all year, intrigued by the potential of new relievers, even anticipating that some prospect makes a splash in the second half... and the debut of Mondesi -- I mean Grissom. I think the AL East is vulnerable; the Yankees are vastly overrated, and the highlight of their season may be calling up Spencer Jones when Judge and Stanton get hurt again. The O's and Rays won't be as good as last year, and I just picked the Jays because they're due. But if all goes right for the Sox, they could make some noise. Realistically, though, with a totally unproven starting rotation?

The Red Sox finished 12 games under .500 in the woeful 2020 summer -- that's 75-87 over an entire season... though Boston's .400 winning percentage equates more to 65 wins. A range between 65 and 75 victories seems reasonable. Predicting playoffs is unreasonable -- and even CBO Breslow admits that. Remember, no member of the projected starting rotation has ever had one entire good season as a starting pitcher. But the AL East will not be the mighty division many expect it to be. There will not be three playoff teams in the East, maybe only one. Baltimore won't win 100, especially with Kimbrel trying to close. Not every young talent is an instant star, and all are subject to growing pains. Toronto has the best rotation. New York's veteran starters are all injury-prone now, and will regret trading pitching prospects the past year. Tampa is depleted and due for a season of mediocre openers. Jays 95-67 O's 92-70 Rays 81-81 Spanks 79-83 Sox 74-88

Signing a top free agent is definitely a positive part of PR because it generates additional excitement and hope during a time of year when fans can't actually see their favorites in action. It also makes sense that some of that renewed enthusiasm would generate ticket sales (recalls past reports of increased season-ticket sales when a team has signed a big-time big-money guy to promise the promised land...)

Optimizing the new rules favoring speed on the bases, the best line-up and most exciting for fans will have both Duran and Ceddanne as regulars. A L-R platoon of Abreu-O'Neill in RF is also reasonable, and it's likely the former gets more reps than the latter, who already has multiple strains and sprains flaring up... though TO could also share some ABs in R-L DH platoon with Yoshi, if Masa gets into another 4-3 slump.

I didn't even mention the impact investing in established pitching can have on how much the fanbase invests in watching its favorite team. Some might call it ownership's obligation to fans -- but even the most cold-hearted owners can see how it may affect longterm profits... as interest and relevance dwindles. (this spoken from an American Legion coach who knows his roster has about a 30-second attention span for instruction -- and these are boys who love the sport).

There are so many reasons -- besides trying to win the World Series this year -- to upgrade any starting rotation with established MLB winners, ERAers, WHIPers and FIPers: 1. Inning eaters who take a regular turn give the rest of the staff a break; bullpens are less taxed, and better able to relieve the starts of other rotation members, free to be themselves and pitch with impunity, knowing fresh arms are ready in reserve behind them. 2. Not only can reason #1 prevent physical and mental injuries on the roster this year, such health can carry over into subsequent seasons... and thus expedite the "timing" for contention. 3. Reason #1 can also take the pressure off an ace's defense and offense, and lead to Reason #2... 4. ... because virtually every retired player who is now manager, coach or media voice continually extols the value of having veteran leadership in the clubhouse, dugout and bullpen -- someone who can not only teach younger teammates, but also show how it's done on the field (something Cora, Breslow and Bailey can no longer do). 5. Prices for quality starting pitchers are always going to increase -- and you've got to start somewhere.

Kudos to posters for calling it like it is about the Red Sox not spending to actually upgrade and improve the club this year (the only one any of us are guaranteed to be fans of... at least right now) Bellhorn calls out the Red Sox for the con of waiting until being '"ready" to take a run at a championship"... Notin calls out the excuse of timing and rebuilding (currently on Year freakin 5): "all it is right now a euphemism for being cheap" Both may have cited Boston's budget in the past half decade when it was still a Top 5 spender in the industry... of course, in Beantown there's always a wasteful chunk paying off dead contracts of injured or jettisoned players not to wear the Sox uniform. Meanwhile, top talent keeps signing with competitors every offseason (and a lot of that top talent tops the performances of Story and Yoshida the past few seasons). It may be rare for clubs -- after recruiting top talent -- to actually win the World Series that year. But we also know it's even harder to win it all with only bottom talent.

Ha- right, he said you'd better win those... he didn't mention the Sox, but did say Miami fans should be worried that the Marlins are only 1-8 at home.

We all know Spring Training won-loss records don't mean much to many. But here's an interesting take from MLB Sirius' Eduardo Perez (paraphrased): "Home records are what I look at, because clubs mostly send minor leaguers on bus trips to road games. Veteran big leaguers usually stay around home camps, to get their reps preparing for the season in home games." Makes sense. But does this: Most ST home wins -- Red Sox 9, tied with LA Dodgers (each have 2 Ls).

Agreed -- let Brez word it so that not even extreme court jesters can overrule it; basically, the opposite of Giolito's contract. The Oppolito Clause: if he reaches incentives, he gets to stay in the rotation... it he reaches outcentives, he's frigging o-u-t out.

I don't mean to be a downer, but nobody in the Red Sox projected rotation has ever even had one entire good season of starting. At least Cleveland has Bieber, former Cy Young and still only 28 -- and if you're anticipating a bounceback year, his ERA was only 3.80 in '23 (not pushing 5, like Giolito the past two years). Arguably, Detroit also has a brighter outlook with Skubal, predicted by some Sox media as a possible Cy contender... maybe Tigers media is predicting big things from Bello? But looking at the AL East, what's more likely: Boston has a few guys emerge as actual solid starters or New York vets like Rodon, Cortes and Cole are never on the IL (after/if Cole returns in a month... or two...or three)?