5GoldGlovesOF,75

In the defense of Sox drafters, they didn't know Trey from Adam back then.

Such a critic -- Ball was an actual #7 overall draft pick! What he wasn't was #8 Hunter Dozier, #9 Austin Meadows, #11 Dom Smith, #17 Tim Anderson, #32 Aaron Judge, #34 Sean Manaea, #36 Michael Lorenzen, #39 Corey Knebel, #54 Devin Williams, #124 Cody Bellinger, #240 Brad Keller, #249 Trey Mancini, #260 Mitch Garver, #268 Adam Cimber, #297 Emilio Pagan, #321 Adam Plutko, #365 Jeff McNeil, #429 Mike Yastrzemski, #475 Danny Jansen, #573 Adam Engel, #602 Ryan Yarbrough, #665 Luke Voit, #871 Cavan Biggio, #895 Rowdy Tellez, #1,056 AJ Puk...

Let's face it, at least qualitatively, anyone is a significant dropoff from Betts, who Showalter said is the best he's ever seen in right. But Verdugo hustles, he's fast enough and has a really strong arm -- all qualities needed to be a good rightfielder, especially in probably the toughest corner in the AL for half his games. I would think the plan is to hang in there with moving parts and platoons until guys like Downs and Duran/Jimenez are ready to take over full-time. With most of the budget tied up the past two seasons, it makes sense not to spend large longterm in center and at second base when you have guys a year or two away from promotions at minimal cost.

Right now it's still below average and here's why: a last-place team with below-average D opted to rebuild by recruiting versatile players who can play many infield or outfield positions (or both). Personally, if I'm seeking a path back to stability, I'd look to fill slots with steady players at each position. That may not be possible all at once because of availability and cost, plus a regular needs to show he can hit enough to start full-time, unless he's a Bradley who makes a good team better with just his glove (and they can live with his long slumps at bat). But now that JBJ is gone, and if Verdugo -- our second-best defensive player from '20 -- has to play center, the team is not yet improved on D. Cora loves EHern at second, and maybe he'll lend better leather at that black hole from last year... except the plan is to move him around every game. Hopefully, at least the left side gets back in its groove under Cora's guidance.

Sorry, I didn't state my math -- I was figuring on half a game (half of 2.1), since that's all the average starter is expected to work these days. So 1.05 walks per start...

Porcello is still out there. So he doesn't miss many bats -- at least he doesn't miss the strike zone, much, either. One thing you can count on with Rick -- whether he's good or bad -- he'll only walk about one batter per start. Lifetime BB/9 over 12 years: 2.1.

I mean -- it's baseball, right? A game they've all been playing since they were kids.. and sure, there are people so good that they can play well at many positions. But if it's your job, I dunno -- there's also something to be said for consistently showing up and doing the same one thing well everyday (as Kimmi alluded to)... like Pedroia at second, Beltre at third, Belanger at short, etc. etc.

Are "these guys" the posters here, the coaching staff, the front office, Pecota, Fangraphs, EHern/Marwin/Renfroe, or Chavis, Downs, Arauz, Arroyo, Dalbec and Munoz?

It's just like dividing fractions: invert and multiply the reciprocal. Simple math. The analytics department does this all day.

You mean cleanly fielding caroms off the wall? They should have a lot of opportunities to prevent doubles from stretching into triples or inside-the-parkers.

Before anyone starts screaming in uppercase exclamatory sentences, it is early, even for the Grapefruit League. However... we haven't even seen Bogie on the field yet, but what we have seen on D is inconsistency. It may take longer for all these versatile, multi-positional players to hone their skills in so many areas, at the same time trying to accustom themselves with so many new teammates' proclivities. Meanwhile at the plate, despite the early bashing stats, there have been lots of swings and misses from guys we're counting on heavily to be good, like JD and Rafie, still flailing away at pitches nowhere near the strike zone. Maybe just some pitchers are ahead of just some hitters so far. Question for anyone who has watched the Braves vs. the Sox so far on TV: does Atlanta look like an 82-win Pecota team, just two projected Ws better than Boston?

Richards struggled again, but Winchowski looked decent. He has pitched with more confidence since he changed his name from Babipchowski.

I'm on record on many posts on this forum about how overblown the whole "scandal" of sign-stealing was/is/will ever be. I really could care less about something that's been part of the game since its inception and will always be (no matter how many "puritan" journalists and PR departments try to pretend it's not). You being a former ballplayer know exactly what I'm talking about. You being a fan of a team that employed Carlos Beltran as its special coach to "pay careful attention to details" also know exactly what I'm talking about. We're both part of the same hypocrisy.

At least nobody on the Yankees will try to steal signs ever again. The MLB would make a rule outlawing signs altogether, since players, coaches and managers don't need to give them anymore... but Manfred's too busy hiding the report on the Yankees that he won't release to the public.

Don't dismiss Santana's "Evil Ways"!

Hopefully, they'll get to work out with Pedro.

Steals and speed in general were more valued in that era, especially through the mid-80s, because of Astroturf stadiums -- most of which were in the National League. The Royals had turf, and were the closest thing to an NL team in the AL. From '76-85, our slugging Sox had a winning record against Kansas City once in 10 years.

The Sox really need Sale back to being Sale, which isn't guaranteed... and which is why they also need another frontline starting pitcher, at least -- called up/developed, signed, and/or traded for -- before we can make a serious run at more bling.

I'm with you on most of this post, except every one of those 2018 rounds had some serious drama. That club will always be remembered for the totality of the season, but a few plays in NY or Houston, or manager moves in LA, could've changed everything.

Or he just wanted to sign in a place with palm trees all along...

I can't pro-rate or compare dollars, but in context, Fisk, Lynn and Burleson were allowed to go because the Red Sox refused to meet their new free agent market values. Fisk's free agency was supposedly a timing error, but we all knew Boston didn't want to triple his salary. Lynn's either; they traded him during his arbitration hearing. It may also be fair going forward to see how much the Red Sox wind up paying Verdugo, Downs and Wong, and how much WAR the trio earns, compared to Betts and Price in LA.

We know some Sox fans will talk about Mookie forever, but I'd double his loss as nothing like it "in a Sox narrative over the last 40 years" (since the Fisk-Lynn-Burleson debacle). The Red Sox always keep their stars in their primes. Trading a guy just entering his prime and a year after he was the best player in the game was nothing like dealing Nomar or losing Pedro, who were no longer even the best player or pitcher on the team (Manny Shermaned his way out of town, enhanced LA for few months, then got caught about 17 times). Boggs and Clemens (pre-PEDs) best days were behind them. This may even be sacrilege, but it is arguable based on WAR value: at the time of transaction, trading Betts was worse than selling Ruth. The Babe's six years in Boston were worth 19.1 WAR. Mookie's six-year WAR in Boston was 41.6. Remember, the Babe was still doing the Ohtani-thing his last year in Boston. Unlike Betts, who led the majors in WAR in '18, Ruth didn't lead the AL or MLB in WAR in 1919, finishing second to Walter Johnson. Of course, Babe was only 24, but had unhealthy lifestyles (gone at age 53). Mookie might have a ways to go, though, before he beats George Herman's career WAR of 182.5...

Thanks for the research. Love me some Rooster. He's still one of my favorite shortstops, right up there with X and '04 Cabrera. My query is exclusive to '78: if Lynn and his .380 OBP batted leadoff all year instead of Burleson and his .295 OBP -- in front of the the majors' top slugger, Jim Ed Rice -- would/could that have resulted in one more stinking victory on the entire season... thus, eliminating the initials BFD from the history of Boston fandom forevermore???

We could also develop it, and a blend of both is what most posters are advocating for longterm contention. I also think almost all would like to retain homegrown talent. Regarding spending -- and those who are confident that Henry and Bloom will soon or eventually invest in new stars -- unless someone knows these two gents personally, it's all speculation until it happens again. So those who are sure have to also appreciate those who are dubious.

Good point. It's also worth noting they couldn't win the pennant again until '67, when they had Scott at first, Foy at third, Smith in center, Howard at catcher, Santiago in the rotation, and Wyatt in the bullpen.