5GoldGlovesOF,75

... to Jon Lester!

I still like the trade that site approved last winter of Devers for the Braves' top three pitching prospects, plus (which I, as pseudo-owner, only approved after I signed Betts... for all my hundreds of dollars).

Thanks for reminding me of our three acquired Dodgers prospects: a good outfielder, a hit-first "infielder" with average arm and speed, and a future utility guy. What did I expect for 13 years of a Hall of Famer... pitching prospects? It's not like we have the worst pitching staff in history yet -- there's still a whole weekend before September.

The whole Swihart debacle -- a guy who could've been traded for Cole Hamels -- is what makes me wince at the early Connor Wong scouting reports: a promising minor league hitter who needs work as a catcher, but is versatile enough to move around the diamond... I guess it's not all bad. There have been success stories for guys who started out as catchers and switched positions: Dale Murphy won back-to-back MVPs, Craig Biggio made the Hall of Fame, Harper grew his hair really long.

This has always been my prediction, and why it seems inevitable he'll blow money on lesser "names" (and talent) than Mookie. Bottom line is the bottom line, after all, and Henry has tickets to sell... unless he has a team to sell.

For many years now, however, there has been far more baseball talk on NY sports radio than Boston sports radio. This was true even in the summer of 2018 -- the Red Sox were playing their best ball in a century, while most callers and "personalities" savored the drama of NFL training camp.

Good analytics should put him in the best situation to be successful. Based on your data, that would be when the team is way ahead or way behind... preferably in Pawtucket or just to save Peraza and Plawecki for more meaningful innings.

Clearly, Shaw is a better slugger, but Chavis gets on base more...

Thank you for adjusting my perspective: from now on, any deal where we add cash won't go to paying off salary, but for the cost of "acquiring" a good prospect. Now we're big market again -- everyone's for sale.

Are we that desperate to be a worse team (for at least another season), that we have to keep paying guys to play for someone else? I mean, it's not like any of them hate Boston, hate the media, publicly disrespect franchise Hall of Famers, can't beat the Yankees or play in Yankee Stadium or anywhere at night if it's too cold...

MLB.com just speculated on a Vaz to Tampa trade for pitching prospects. Intra-division deals may be rare, but it does make sense when seeking to maximize value because no opposing GM knows the Rays system like Bloom (plus, he'd be helping his old buds improve their shot at beating NY).

At this point, I'd take Julio Franco (you know he can still hit)... but not Wanda Sykes.

Plus, offensive splits shouldn't factor into the Sox plan on infield defense going forward, especially since outfield -- Boston's specialty on D in their first-place run -- will no longer be a strength (with Betts, and presumably JBJ and maybe Beni gone). Everyone rightly points to solid pitching as a key to turning things around, but the whole equation is pitching + defense = respectability. Chavis is not a longterm option at second; maybe someday it will be Arauz or Downs or Bogie if he stays... but right now it's musical mediocrity.

A main problem for rebuilding clubs going forward is whether minor league play resumes in 2021 (not to mention amateur levels for scouting/drafting). If not, positional shifts and grooming prospects can only be done on practice fields and not in actual games. Hopefully after the trade deadline, a guy like Dalbec will be up soon, so we can see if he's better at third than Devers or strikes out less than Chavis. Duran needs to get a look, too; it's doubtful he turns into Ellsbury (two rings), but would anyone settle on pre-Boston Grady Sizemore (what a strange career, though: four years in a row with MVP votes, then basically done as a regular at age 26). Second base needs a top glove man, as well. Teams with bad pitching can't afford not to turn DP opportunities. The Giants cut Yolmer Sanchez; he's the reigning AL Gold Glove second baseman.

It's easy to forget now, because of his ill-advised extension and TJ, but Chris Sale put Boston over the top. Sale was the best pitcher in the AL and absolutely dominated in '17 and '18 like no Red Sox pitcher since Pedro. The All-Star Game starter both years, Sale was the perfect ace addition to an already first-place team and good veteran starting core with Cy Young winners Porcello and Price. It can't be emphasized enough -- the lift a great pitching acquisition gives to a contender: the confidence he gives to the defense every night he toes the rubber, the heat he takes off the offense that knows it can relax and swing at the right pitches to produce enough runs, the rest he provides the bullpen arms, the inspiration he supplies to fellow starters. Think how much better Boston was when Schilling joined Martinez, Lowe and Wakefield. In the actual '18 postseason, Sale wasn't as good as Eovaldi or Price or Kelly, but his presence can never be overrated... whether it was his profanity-laced rant that rallied the dugout in WS Gm 4 or the standing ovation the staff gave him as he left the pen to close out Gm 5.

Agreed; it's all about velo these days. It's why the Rays are so successful, bringing in arm after arm with 96+ heat (and why a team like the 2020 Sox, with guys like Weber and Hart, who have to be perfect with every pitch, aren't). I'd say the MLB's increased average gas is actually what's led to the constant -- and obnoxious -- check-the-check flinch strike calls from fist-pumping baseline umpires; no one check-swings at a fastball, even out of the zone, but any fastballer with a sharp breaking pitch causes batters with the best hand-eye coordination in the world to basically guess. Imagine going to work at a job and -- for the one aspect you do best, the one that pays you the most -- you have to guess every day? Pro batters are stockbrokers.

Blame spans from Little League to lacrosse to Dennis Eckersly. For those who cite old-timey hardball -- when kids played every day all summer (and not in uniform, especially not ruled by adults), pitcher really was an actual position; not a subgroup of the roster. One guy on the neighborhood team played shortstop, another was catcher, and one guy was always the pitcher. Imagine the stamina of those hurlers who made it to the pros... Nowadays with so many other interests vying for kids' time (including lacrosse as a direct conflict in the spring), young arms are throwing less than ever. That includes Little League, where there are now strict weekly limitations (either number of batters or innings), purportedly to protect shoulders and elbows -- but also, so cut-throat coaches don't use a stud to dominate competition. In the leagues my son has played the past few years, managers rotate every child on their rosters around the diamond, including the mound (which is great for spectators who love walkathons, and for outfielders who collect dandelions). MLB changed big time with the success of Eck, the first automatic one-inning closer. Just about every other club has been seeking to replicate the virtual improbable ever since (except for the Rivera Yankees); like today's shifts, openers and other copy cat trends. Before the 9th inning man, relief aces were workhorses, regularly throwing over 100 frames, with lots of two, three or more inning stints... like when ex-Red Sox Sparky Lyle led the Yankees in IP in winning the last two games of the 1976 ALCS.

It really is ironic; since no one disputes that modern players are bigger/stronger/faster, why don't starters have the stamina to throw more than six innings? Some modern analysts may present scientific data that shows a correlation of increased velo with more trauma to shoulders and elbows, while others will undoubtedly argue against high pitch counts and innings pitched when protecting their investment in elite starters. It's funny how modern leaders in IP are happy to break 200 -- remember, that was ERod's goal to reach for the first time in 2019 -- when aces half a century ago regularly broke 300. Nearly all those guys were smaller/weaker/slower...

You're right, but a pro player making a hundred million should be able to pay attention -- if he left a step after Pillar broke, even JD could've jogged into second. Third basemen barely ever come up firing to second, lest they throw away a free run. I know it's hard to constantly focus playing for a loser; that's why it's easy to cheer for guys like Pillar and Verdugo.

Pillar: hitting, running, throwing, catching... fetching... a Top 1,000 prospect?

I disagree. The throw to third to try to nail the stealer concedes second to the trailing runner. It's a lot better shot than trotting home on a grounder to second.

Say it Jerry: if lazy JD had taken second on the Pillar steal, it'd be a tie game.

Oriole reliever no-hitting Dead Sox. Bloom should trade for him now to show the bullpen how to throw atom balls.

Seriously, some of the Orioles' improvement has to be a commitment to playing all types of baseball. Sure, like the Red Sox, they can still swing and miss from the ass (and smash bats in half)... but two days in a row they bunted for hits in key rallies; is that even allowed in Boston?

Orioles are just lucky our pitchers either throw one behind their backs or right down the middle.