5GoldGlovesOF,75

Fellow posters: I am not a doctor nor a scientist, just a lowly educator. But if I can give any advice, it would be to prepare to stay home -- not just for two weeks, like some "authorities" warned earlier this week, but for two months. I tutor several students online in China, where they have been basically under house arrest for eight weeks already. Their public schools have gone entirely online, with some kids taking courses on devices from 8 am to 5 pm (10 min breaks, plus lunch). Most of them live in high rise apartments -- 28th floor, 34th floor, etc. -- where the only time they've been outside in months is to get some fresh air on a small balcony. This is not media hype or fake news, but reality.

I agree; it's ideally fast guys who don't have to pace themselves and can air it out. Braiser's best pitch is his fastball, though the Sox are also considering Brewer -- known for curveball, but who is suddenly throwing harder now -- according to RR... R-squared? ...2 R R2 D2... R2 Declawed... R2 Detoothed... R2 Me, too

Maybe Sale's docs can re-evaluate Alex after another 10 to 14 meals compared to six months ago. That transition from Pacific halibut to Atlantic flounder can be traumatic -- though I'm sure some poster will generalize all flatfish as mere "bottom-feeders". My grampa used to call them fluke.

Not bad, but we just have no idea yet how Verdugo -- and his back -- are going to respond to Boston and the AL East... because according to that media maven David Price, the opposite coasts contain such opposite atmospheres (laid-back LA vs. uptight, unlaid-front? Beantown). Ideally, Verdugo becomes both physically and mentally able to embrace the challenge and use Fenway to develop his potential into a gap-to-gap star hitter. No one can ever totally replace Mookie or make fans forget him, but I'd love it if Alex could make me forget to regret trading Mookie Betts. As for the batting order, I know there are stats that supposedly show the myths of hitting in specific spots, but if I'm the manager, I want to make sure my best hitter who can do the most damage always gets an at bat in the first inning... thus, I vote for Devers to hit second or third.

Sale may be looking at the Pedroia case where even Dustin has second-guessed the decision to have an op that basically ended his career. TJ may be over 40 years old, but it's still radical, and every surgery entails risks. Who knows, maybe docs are telling Sale that his elongated ligaments and tendons aren't ideal for the procedure. We can be sure that the Red Sox are considering all options to see if he'll be able to contribute, whether as an opener, closer or in-betweener... though, one label that seems unlikely is "workhorse".

Right-- gone are the days when starters go 7, and you can win with just a good set-up man and closer (like Okie and Paps). Ironically, Francona was the guy who basically started the new trend using his best reliever whenever -- in Cleveland, with another ex-BoSox in Miller. The Sox tried Barnes at both last year; he couldn't do 1., but was good at 2. until he burned out by summer. Then we also learned he was ineffective on back-to-back days... hey, how about Barnes for Opener every five days? He could still be used for late-inning fires once or twice in between...

14 is even worse -- because according to medical experts, we're all supposed to stockpile enough provisions for 14 days of self-quarantine. Doctors won't need to re-evaluate me, because if I run out of beer in two weeks, then I'll really have a drinking problem.

No argument from me, though there is certainly value in someone who can be trusted to finish the deal (a role that takes more than talent and isn't for everyone) and shortening games. I think from a WAR standpoint, average starting pitchers can be more valuable than even the best relievers because they get more outs. Thus, big salaries for pitchers are justified by total innings instead of specific innings. Sox fans just gotta hope a couple hundred frames are forthcoming from a few guys who haven't even arrived yet.

I tend to view Weber in your second-man-in scenario, but I'm sure the club's plans for openers will ultimately fluctuate based on match-ups. The "traditional" opener or trend (in a concept two whole years old), I think, is to preferably start someone with an unhittable fastball and let him air it out against a lineup's top of the order, then bring in a "bulk" guy to hopefully flummox the bottom a couple times through (but only once against the top -- those are the guys you want to keep showing different looks to). Ideally, this keeps your team in the game and gets you to the back end of the bullpen... With expanded staffs and three-batter minimums, I can envision two sets of openers/bulks that take turns in rotations just like starters. For example -- and these are examples, not my suggestions -- Taylor opens, followed by Weber on Day 4, then Darwinzon opens, followed by Johnson on Day 5. If pairs are effective, they get regular rest and do it again in five days. Best case, this strategy works maybe half the time, and we'll be treated to a cavalcade of call-ups... ... until someone shows he can be stretched out into a real starter who give us actual quality starts!

Good idea; then he could earn more of his salary by going back to the dugout and yelling at the "f***ing pussies to start hitting" like he did in Dodger Stadium.

Alex Where'dUgo?

I was also on board with this, especially after the last inning of the Series. But some dissenters said closer wasn't that important -- which doesn't make sense when the modern game is all about back ends of bullpens (particularly if you were a Sox fan who survived Kimbrel's postseason). Eck became a Hall of Famer as a closer and no one said his talents were wasted there.

There are a lot of reasons why it's not funny, besides Betts will rock and Fenway will be a hard place. Diehards like us will always be caught in between, because anyone who takes the time to post about the Sox is surely going to take the time to keep watching them. I'd love to see Boston contend, just to disappoint all the beat (as in defeated) writers who say the season is lost before it even begins.

Here's a really bad one: Red Sox trade their best homegrown player in a generation to restock the farm, and none of the prospects they get in return are pitchers. Sorry. Some day we'll look back on this, and it still won't be funny.

It's not a weak link; it's a giant gap in the chain-link fence... the hole is getting big enough for sheep, cows, and even fans who don't do the wave or sing "sogood, sogood" to escape -- look, there's a path to the beach, there's another to the pool (just don't take the one to the left, to the kids' soccer game)!

But don't all muscle "strains", "sprains" or "pulls" involve partial tearing, even if they're micro tissue fibers? I'm just going on experience from years of injuries (mostly my own) and hearing the interchangeable nomenclature. A lot of problems with athletes or even active peeps involve the build-up of internal scarring from strains/sprains/pulls that impinge full range of motion, and thus performance... so a lot of "procedures" that aren't reconstructive are just lasers zapping crap and making space in the joints again. Of course, every operation -- even the one-inch incisions for the arthroscope and camera -- will then cause more scar tissue when those holes heal. Ugh, I typed all this standing up, and not sitting in an armchair.

No potions or magic beans could've helped that staff, up on cripple creek without a paddle. But I do recall a lot of mocking here when Boston brought back Leon (and when the Sox gave up on Swihart, a below average MLB catcher). However, I think the connection and comfort level of a battery -- at any level -- is underrated by spectators. Sandy Leon made important contributions to three straight first place teams, including a title in '18 when his batting average was .177 (a bat is really the last thing anyone on a ballclub cares about for a backstop, which is why I always scoff whenever sportswriters automatically call Gary Sanchez the top AL catcher; ask Yankee fans who know baseball what they really think of him).

Something a lot of us have been arguing about all winter. I still would've like to have seen the squad kept intact, with Mookie in a salary drive for one last go at it, especially now that the Yankees look as banged up as anybody again. At least then, things would've at least looked hopeful (even if they were actually doomed). But we're all accepting our fate, now, with Sale down -- none of us are professional sports doctors (or even spin doctors) but can anybody anywhere anticipate a miracle comeback and any contribution from Sale's elbow this season, after already resting it for over half a year? How can another week or two possibly make any difference?

He should be just fine in a couple weeks (yuk yuk) -- a giant human swinging a club into a missile thrown 100 mph doesn't need his core to feel pain-free. Ya, not too much... those inside fastballs should be such a joy. And Paxton will be throwing championship caliber pitches with a bad back in May to big league hitters... and one of them will be Verdugo, swinging for the Downs with a bad back of his own. Watch out for the Blue Jays this year; they have a lot of young, supple muscle tissue.

Talksox reports they'll be playing setback with Stanton and Sale the next two weeks... but Boston fans worried about three Yankees in a card game (not that anyone from NY would ever cheat) anticipate Eovaldi joining them soon, so Chris can have a partner he can trust.

Sorry, for a minute there I was taking my presence here too seriously.

Not yet... even though my wife the doctor (of edification) continually recommends it, I've decided to trust other expert opinions of like-minded and dislike-minded posters here. Thus, I've opted for the PRP and will give my aching pessimism another week off before reassessing. Now if I can just figure out what PRP stands for, in 2020 Red Sox ticket-selling parlance: Please Reprise Positivism... Pitiful Rigmarole Propaganda... Phony RedSoxian Ploy... Price&betts Returnno Pitchers... Phuc R Predictions... Pedro's Really Past.

This one's easy to explain; those dudes obviously lost their legs (but it was worth it)... meanwhile, older guys have to hitch a ride on the Blue Bus just for one trip, trying to catch up.

Right now, Bob, you're a bigger asset because your avatar is a billboard on the web every time you post. Mine, though, may be more appropriate this season: faceless. At least you're an asset; I'm just an asshat.

Boston has been very strategic with young Weber. Some here might not know this, but at Winter Weekend the players are often paired together for the fan photo ops. For example, a year ago my son got to pose between two catchers, Leon and Swihart. But this winter, who was Weber's partner? Not Osich or Maza, not even Brewer... but our favorite Fu Mancigarchewing El Tiante! For what it's worth... there's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly beer.