5GoldGlovesOF,75

Not bad. Fans like me are dupes. Gotta wonder if Mr. Brightsides was really organic or part of the conspiracy. A bipartisan committee should start subpoenaing texts and emails now. Or what I've suspected from the beginning of Bloom County -- that Henry is planning on selling, and Kennedy is the Red House Press Secretary.

... wait, was it the one that broke Sale's rib? At the bag JD tripped over?

They're reportedly interested in all the songs. "We'd be doing our fans a disservice if we didn't take the time to listen to all the genres," said Jack Clark's Uncle Dick. "Except rap -- those guys don't sing; they just yell."

Toronto is automatically better than Boston by planning to play its full team in every game; Sox still have players banned from Canada.

The part I can't figure out is letting all the good available players join other teams first, and then saying, the other teams have improved so much that we should wait until we're good before we spend big. How can the Red Sox become sustained contenders without good pitching? Are they waiting for Glavine, Smoltz and Avery to get promoted before they sign Maddux?

I'd say the price of a beer and a pretzel, but it's probably a Coke and a dog.

If we all can accept the market rate for good starting pitchers in their primes -- whatever that is, $20M or $25M -- then I would have no problem if Bloom had signed Ray, Gausman, Stroman or Rodon. I'm just not into old Scherzers at $40M+ though or one year for Thor because neither are investments that cover both now and the future. I also think most here would admit that Eovaldi at $17M per is at least a fair rate for an ace the past two years; that's the kind of guy any team should invest in to stabilize its rotation. I'd take another Eovaldi over a combined Richards and Perez any day.

I'm calling BS on the terms "desperation" and "splash." I just don't believe a team that brags about resetting, and "opportunities", "flexibility" and being "nimble" should stand pat or rely on cheap fill-ins -- especially for the pitching staff. A ballclub doesn't have to be all-in to spend on a good starting pitcher. Don't tell me the time isn't right to go for it, maybe next year. When a team sucks or is just mediocre, the first way to improve is to stabilize the rotation. I'd gladly invest in five years for Robbie Ray or Kevin Gausman at market rate than blow 10 one-year contracts on broken down past-their-prime pitchers; the latter, to me, is what smacks of desperation. A lot of posters hammered the Eovaldi signing at the ungodly $17 million per year. Where would we be without him now? Invest in what matters. Maybe Bloom and Co. truly believe Bello and Groome will become the next Gooden and Braden. In the meantime, legitimate big league arms like Manea and Montas are available -- and we all found ways on Trade Values to get them without giving up Casas and Yorke.

Houston: Framber, Luis the dancer, McCullers, Odorizzi, Verlander Toronto: Gausman, Berrios, Ryu, Manoah, Kikuchi ... which one of these guys isn't as good or better than Pivetta, Hill, Wacha and half a Paxton? At least we've got a guy who had a perfect game going against the team with the best hitter... until they yanked him after five.

I think too many people were counting too much on Sale returning to glory and leading the staff. It just feels like tracking down an old high school fling after all these years, and if the result isn't eee-gads, it's just underwhelming. But I also think the front office knew better, and just used the public promise of Sale to save from spending on any actually decent arms for the rotation. Now they're looking at 2020 again -- no Sale, no ERod -- just Eovaldi and a bunch of castoffs. The only longshot hope is that Houck and Whitlock transition into fulltime starters and pitch as well as they did last year.

My response is that the Jays have solidified their roster by targeting and investing in starting pitchers in their primes, like Gausman and Berrios. They have a good young core of regulars, and should be able to contend for years with their rotation. Barring injury, the Jays won't have to worry about scouring scrap-heaps to give them innings. No one can predict injuries, of course, but the young and strong are usually better bets than the old and brittle. This is why I'll never say We're just not good enough yet to spend, maybe next year... The Sale contract is officially a disaster today: damaged goods when he signed, but a guy about to turn 33 who breaks a rib throwing a pitch can never be relied upon again. At least his new IL will save the Sox the utter embarrassment of their unvaxxed $30 million dollar a year ace being banned from the Toronto series in April.

Reds are selling, and I'd say Marlins have to be open to offers (for the reason Jeter walked).

They're all in various stages of suckitude, or teams that are actually trying to improve -- and not just fill a roster -- will have already signed them. Why are we discussing ways to just get by? Good, young pitchers are available... for those willing to give up something to get something.

NOW there's no excuse. If they don't make a big freaking trade for legitimate starting pitchers who weren't cut by the Rays, then no fans should be buying Sox tickets.

Bloom is very protective of his hypotheticals. With Spring looming, he'll need them to help strip the plastic sheeting off the hoop houses on the farm... then Sam Kennedy can put good use to all that fertilizer spouting out of his mouth this week.

Red Sox were reportedly only off by one digit: they offered $7 million instead of $70 million...

Don't worry, Bloom will be making plenty of moves. He's stopping by a consignment shop today, and there's a Goodwill along the way. This weekend there's a big flea market down by the beach, where at night he can scan the dunes with his metal detector.

A lot of people forget that a big source of electricity production is cole, so when leaving a room turn the lights-out... or when leaving a mound because your spin rate drops without sticky stuff.

Seabold is already 26 years old?! And rated 20 spots higher than Winckowski?! Maybe the most interesting jump is the Sox' top pitching prospect is now Wilkelman G., age 19, at 4th... ahead of Bello, 23, at 8th. Question: do these rankings reflect an order of "best" prospects or just who is most likely to get called up first? (ex: Seabold's #7 ranking)

Gammons trying to recruit Bloom for Hot Stove Cool Music when he sang these lyrics in a ST interview: There's nothing happening here, what it is is exactly clear...

But only single-digit taters. Surely, losing Sanchez' longball bat will affect the Yanks' status in the next MLB Power Rankings... And we'll see how much power they really have when they ask city hall to please let Judge play home games this year.

Hill and Wacha are concerns just for the fact that both were ditched last year by the Tampa Rays, the mad scientists of pitching alchemy. Hill, at least, led all 41-year-olds with 31 games started... but a first-place team traded him from its rotation midseason. Wacha, on the righty hand, supposedly figured something out at the end of the season -- according to his new team that crushed him for six runs on nine hits in 2.2 IP in his last appearance for a club that liked him so much they started three straight rookies ahead of him.

I heard it's to accommodate those who oblige the trend in American fast food super-size meals and drinks.

And somewhere on the internet it is rumored that Chaim Bloom is reportedly interested in watching as the M's get one.

I like this tweet. Plus, I just read an article where Devers says he wants to stay in Boston but hasn't ever been approached about his future. It's one thing to be frugal, Front Office, but you can't even show your best hitter enough respect to just sit with him a minute and tell him you like him?