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5GoldGlovesOF,75

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Everything posted by 5GoldGlovesOF,75

  1. You mean, other than Sale, Price, Lackey, Dice K, Matt Clement, Matt Young, Frank Viola and Mike Torrez? Holy Red Sucks. David Wells I can't remember, but couldn't stand him.
  2. Yup, it would probably be a trade, and you have to give up something to get something. I just wouldn't deal Bello, who could evolve into Dwight Gooden by mid-summer for all we know -- and that would defeat the whole purpose. But we do know Bloom's not digging up and shipping out any of his best crops. He'll spend instead; just be prepared for Kluber, Heaney and half a Hill. ps. we're shooting for a wild card, anyway, and Baltimore is no lock to keep improving -- not when they just signed Franchy
  3. The Sox really need a good starter, a #1, someone at the top of the rotation, and it should be someone new going into a new season trying to climb out of the cellar. This, to me, is the priority -- even over replacing SS, RF and C. It all starts with who starts. Fans, writers, and even the incumbent players need more than status woe.
  4. ... but maybe not free agents, whose costs are sure to rise, including Eovaldi's. What may be more likely is a plan that promotes a guy like Mata to the rotation by summer. Also, any blockbuster trade may focus more on a cost-controlled catcher and/or outfielder. All depends on if they have to go to Plan B because Bogaerts leaves... unless, of course, Bogey bolting means they get their intended Plan A, after all.
  5. No more cigarette billboards, but someday Dunkin or Budweiser will seem outdated when new cost-cutting demon ingredients are discovered. Watching Twilight Zone reruns with all the people smoking is like being in the Twilight Zone. My grampa used to tell me night games at Yankee Stadium were hard to watch back when everyone smoked and a glowing cloud of fog covered the diamond.
  6. He did ask the Sox to match it, but Bloom told him to take it to Tampa.
  7. I honestly think this has been an actual plan for some franchises. Which commodity is always at a premium at the trade deadline? Since bullpens rule the modern game, it makes sense that good relief pitchers -- because the very definition changes with faces and names yearly -- is always in demand... for contenders. Watch how Tampa uses Eflin, who was more effective as a reliever last year. Starter, opener, set-up man... I just hope Boston crushes him every time they face him until the Rays dump his contract on a desperate Seattle-type team in an upcoming July.
  8. This is reason for optimism, a legitimate reliever -- seven years in the Show and zero starts -- acquired when he was actually good... 0.527 WHIP in 26 games for LA down the stretch. Here's why it's not exciting: fans won't yell and scream when Martin enters the game because he doesn't walk batters. Career high BB in a season is 6. Red Sox just got more watchable. And all this for Barnes money... Now Bloom just needs an ace starter for Martin to relieve before the closer comes in.
  9. Not seeing defeatism, but instead there's understandable skepticism that comes with being fans of a last place team. Most really just want something to be optimistic about. Last place sucks, whether it's the great AL East or Vitellius' Feast (if gluttony and gambling are your hobby). Meanwhile, we await the upcoming Winter Meetings and imminent moves teased by the Red Sox PR department. So far this week, two players Boston had reported interest in reportedly weren't interested in Boston enough.
  10. The ballplayers' perception of how the organization actually treats them -- beyond paychecks -- might matter after all. Fans who don't play much team sports after Little League may think it's overrated, but these pro athletes are and always will be competitors -- and most want to win... no matter how set for life their families are up until the Sun implodes. It's why there was a fuss in the clubhouse when Vazquez was traded and the Sox were still in it (he wasn't just their buddy) -- and such reaction wasn't invented by Boston media. Research back to the deadline days of 2021, and the uproar in Seattle when the Mariners traded then-lights out closer Kendall Graveman. Ballplayers may not all be deep thinkers, but they're social beings, and word gets around the league about front offices and organizations... just like about companies in other industries.
  11. Eflin's the biggest free agent signing in Rays' history. If Tampa thinks that highly of him, he may be the sleeper acquisition of the winter. And if the pitching market is exploding, and if the Red Sox can't land a guy like that, they're not about to overpay $45 million or so for a deGrom. Wonder if someone will give Eovaldi at least a similar contract. Eflin had injury concerns, as well, but Nate is better when healthy...
  12. That price was apparently worth it to two like-minded markets. Nightengale reports the Sox offered the exact same deal... except Eflin would have had to work in New England instead of his homestate of FLA. Maybe it's just coincidence, but that's now two targets this week who also signed with contenders instead of Boston.
  13. For me, 2020 would have been better watching Mookie in a Red Sox uniform. He wouldn't have won the World Series for Boston, though he maybe would've made the difference in three or four more Ws (if WAR actually translates to Wins Above Redsoxrecord). But being a fan of any team that Betts plays for is definitely more fun than not. Overall, if fans are given a choice to think before responding, it's ultimately about winning -- if not, why even keep score? Flashback to the offseason after 2004: no one wanted to see Pedro go, but logically most knew his days of dominance were numbered. I remember rationalizing that keeping Derek Lowe would be a better investment longterm. But can any Sox fan on the planet truthfully say s/he predicted the actual accurate contributions of the '04 champs' 5-man rotation going forward? Post-04 WAR 8.8 Martinez 9.9 Schilling 11.1 Wakefield 14.4 Lowe 21.2 ARROYO
  14. Fans just want to watch and cheer their team and favorite players trying to win... and for their team to keep their favorite players so they can keep watching and cheering for them. If they don't, considerably less people will cry than the ones who will turn off their TVs. Average fans not posting daily on forums don't care about salary and budgets. They all know that pro athletes make kajillions and owners of sports teams are kajillionaires. But there are very few Red Sox fans who could give a crap whether their favorite player makes $25 million instead of $30 million.
  15. Great, he could also replace the missing lefty power that Franchy, Shaw, Bradley and Duran didn't supply last year.
  16. Haniger produced 39 home runs as recent as 2021, then injuries and mushballs affected him like everyone else not 6 foot 7.
  17. XBH since 2018: 1. Ramirez 2. Betts 3. Arenado 4. Freeman 5. Devers... tied with JD ... everyone in the top 25 is 28 or older except Raffy.
  18. He made the Top 40 -- Mookie is 1st, Judge 2nd, Trout 3rd... I can't seem to duplicate the chart I found, but the only younger players than Devers with more WAR are Soto and Acuna. (bb-ref, since 2018)
  19. Reynolds is a good hitter, but not a great outfielder. Hard to see how BTV makes him tougher to get than Murphy, a Gold Glove catcher (with pop) who can impact an entire pitching staff.
  20. I'm in on Haniger, and a deal for Reynolds, to replace the missing righty power (at least from last year) of JD and Bogey.
  21. Disagree. Devers had more extra base hits at age 22 than anyone in MLB history except Joe DiMaggio. He needs to be signed this winter or he's gone. I heard on MLB radio that in the past dozen years, only one free agent "star" has re-signed with his own team: Cespides in 2016. The last guy before that was Matt Holliday in '09 (Stanton's mega was an extension).
  22. This is fair, but Mookie has always been one of baseball's most valuable players; he got MVP votes in 5 straight years in Boston, 4 in the Top 10, with a 2nd place a few seasons before he won. In the NL so far, he finished 2nd in 2020 and 5th last year. Gotta wonder how much Jose Ramirez could have gotten if he didn't choose to take a team-friendly to stay in Cleveland. He's also had 5 Top 6 MVP years in the past six seasons: 3-3-0-2-6-4
  23. You're right, I shouldn't have called it an "issue." That's my own subjective reality, since everyone I've ever known who was told to lose a few pounds eventually had it turn into an issue when they put them back on. But Raffy's a young man and pro athlete, so should have proper guidance, including trainers and nutritionists, to keep him fit at least through the next decade of a rich contract. The injuries that happen to all these guys are typical, but how they adapt is what separates them as they mature. For example, if you rely on speed, pick your spots as a baserunner, because every slide is another body-slam into the earth. Or if you have a sore elbow or hammy, don't try to freaking crush every pitch...
  24. Is the title of this thread An Unrealistic View?
  25. Sox fans still have to have some doubt about the next decade of Raffy. He's already had weight issues and nagging injuries, and his defense -- while improved -- is still below a replacement player's. When he becomes a multi-kajillionaire set for nine lives, will he get complacent or more intense, to prove his worth? We just don't know. Personally, I never had any of these doubts for Mookie -- the best hitter, best runner, and best fielder -- who always appeared a fine, upstanding individual from good stock, and a five-tool athlete in the best condition because of healthy lifestyles. His height or weight is not why he's suffered a few aches and pain; it's that breakneck style of play. Devers won't be Beltre 93.5 WAR! or Miggy, but closer to a lefty Ramirez would be ok (statistically) -- hopefully more Manny 69.3 than Hanley 38.
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