5GoldGlovesOF,75

"Maybe this is why Crane's press conference was able to so intransigent. In his mind, he didn't think he had to admit any particular guilt--at least none for himself (the big boss). And why he was ready to just move on." This is why nobody really seems sorry for what they did: because secret codes and breaking codes have always been part of the game -- and video, which the MLB hypocritically/hysterically provided both access to and forbidden usage of -- created new and better ways. Every analytics department breaks down video, looking for any and every advantage possible. The Astros won with blatant tactics, which makes them obvious targets of scorn and scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal article cites Houston's front office for creating its systems before Cora even worked there. As smart as he is, Cora wasn't any mastermind, but an employee who may have simply agreed to implement the company's system, while Hinch -- who reportedly didn't approve of it -- was just another employee, powerless to fight the system. Banging and whistling was about as advanced as ballplayers could get... remember, this is a culture constantly seeking an edge, whether it's chewing or dipping carcinogens, ingesting amphetamines, injecting steroids, or downing 5-Hour Energy.

Jeter Downs a Double IPA What is Wong with this GM? Wherever Verdugo... me neither

Once in a Bloomooning us

Agreed; I've never read so many bitter Red Sox fans -- with each other -- than in this offseason of suckitude. In an attempt to bring us back together, how about a friendly thread title competition? Here's my entry: Tanking in '20

Just Babe Ruth's statue, all by his lonesome... the Birds' major league Hall of Fame statues wouldn't let him pose with them on the other side of the fence.

Unless you're a Red Sox fan; we got comfortable seats 20 rows behind home plate at a Sox-O's game and stayed overnight at a nice hotel within walking distance for less than it costs for ancient, obstructed view seats and parking at Fenway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbBpinyqE-0

Just paraphrasing the words of Rob Dibble from ESPN radio -- calling out the Yankees, and reporting that 10 teams are now being investigated... ... except for the Jack Nicholson bit. Here, let me revise that: "Who on the Twins is going to win in the Stadium, ever? You, Lt. DOBNAK?"

Wait a sec -- I mean 10 -- the MLB has made a rule change that should fix everything... As reported yesterday on MLB.com: MLB rule changes for 2020 season WWW.MLB.COM Major League Baseball made its rule changes for the 2020 season official on Wednesday. There are four categories of rules going into effect: the three-batter minimum for pitchers, roster limits, adjustments to the injured list and option periods for pitchers and two-way players, and a reduction in the time managers "CHALLENGE TIME: Managers now only have 20 seconds to decide to challenge a play instead of 30." Problem solved. Ugh.

I like former Astros pitcher Joe Musgrove's quote better: "If MLB did an investigation as thorough as they did on the Astros with every team in baseball, they're going to find a lot more than they want to find." I'm already tired of the guys who have apologized to any poor pitchers they might've got a hit off... because 1). they've not sorry one bit, and 2). no pitcher has ever apologized to any baserunner he picked off or any batter he prevented from bunting or hit-and-running with a high, hard one because his defense stole their signs. Does anyone really think analytics departments only analyze video to decode catcher's signs? We're all part of the same hypocrisy, Senator.

Eeegad! Take a pitch, much? Ever? (not a guy you want leading off in front of you, if you want to see a pitcher's repertoire).

I hope most wish he retires so he won't end up crippled, and then because he can no longer help the club... As for the contract -- which totaled a lot less than his contemporary Cano got at the time -- like you said, at least his demise was honorable. It shouldn't be viewed like the Sox flushing money down the drain to pay Price to hit the road or Panda or anyone else they needed to railroad.

Thanks, notin -- I certainly agree with "short-sighted" to describe my post, because that was basically my point about what I should've said was the average fan. Again, that's not us, or very many who post on forums or even reactions to online articles. I mean, where else do we hear fans wishing Pedroia would retire, just so his AAV won't count towards the lux tax? Sox fans I talk to, including youngsters, don't rue Pedey's contract -- they feel sorry his knee is shot and hate Machado, and like all of us still respect the Dirtdog for always playing hard and looking like he cared almost as much as we do. One young guy even told me he thinks the MLB made a secret Pedroia-rule with the players, telling them all to yell, "Let's Go!" whenever they get excited now, instead of "f*** ya!"

Good stats. I've thought about the doubles. It didn't seem like Mookie hit many Fenway Wall-scraper pop-ups that he legged out for two-baggers compared to rising liners. His xbh totals may be ok if he finds more gaps in the more spacious NL West parks.

Is it stupid to call someone's opinion stupid, especially if you're one of the fans who's already admitted he prefers to watch contenders every year... or to look beyond the fanatics who post here every day and just consider the average baseball fan who is not worried about 2027 or even 2021? Teams that want to win need and want great players, and fans naturally want to watch both, because they are connected. It's not hoop, where it's easier for one superstar to dominate the court, but World Series winners are usually led to the postseason by great performers, MVP and Cy Young types. I'm sure you can find examples of groups of pretty good guys who won, like the '15 Royals, but it doesn't take much research or even memory banks to list more playoff winners who were led by stars.

My argument since I've joined this forum is that there is absolutely no reason to think Mookie Betts won't continue to star and repeat past performances through his prime. Whichever team gets Betts for ages 27-32 should have a bargain at $35 to $40 mil per year. People can worry all they want about the second-half of the contract, but do any fans really think or care about seven years from now while their team is better and a contender with a Hall of Famer for the next half dozen seasons? I saw some Aaron wrists in Betts' swing from his rookie year, and I do think comparisons are fair thus far in their careers, as the bb-ref all-time rankings show: Greatest Career WAR Ages 21-26 RF (min. 500 games): 1. Mookie Betts 42.0 2. Hank Aaron 37.4 One factor that will determine Betts' power numbers obviously is his new home ballpark. Aaron became more of a pull hitter to take advantage of the Braves moving to "the Launching Pad" in Atlanta, while Mays had no choice but to adjust to an opposite-field swing because winds blowing off the bay at crappy Candlestick Park robbed his longballing. Detractors can predict that Mookie won't hit as many homers without Fenway and Camden Yards to aim at, but balls carry farther in places like Colorado and Arizona. We shall see; the youngest batter to have five 3-HR games in MLB history isn't done yet.

Thanks for pointing this out; I think I've seen a projected '20 Betts' extension quoted as high as $79 mil with the lux. tax. So if Mookie actually said what Rice said he said, then that may be the first public Dirty Water quote in this whole drama... and open one ray of light through the blinds. I will say this, if Mookie's words were part of a Boston set-up -- a secret pact to transfer him out West for a year, in exchange for prospects and spending room, only to bring him back for eternity -- then I will be even more shocked than if Manfred investigates the Yankees for sign swiping.

On guys like Soto and Acuna? Half a decade from now? Maybe you're right, because first they'd have to produce six seasons of 42 WAR like Mookie just did... which may be difficult, according to this list: Greatest Career WAR Ages 21-26 RF (min. 500 games): 1. Mookie Betts 42.0 2. Hank Aaron 37.4 3. Reggie Jackson 28.2 4. Bobby Bonds 26.0 Edit: that's Greatest ever -- so, describing Betts as a "generational talent" may be limited, since the baseball-ref range is 1871 to 2019

Moon, all your number breakdowns in values per age look reasonable today, but what some dissenters also need to realize is that four or five years from now, guys like Soto and Acuna may be signing their own longterm contracts for $40 or $50 mil per year. With market adjustments, Mookie's salary at say -- $35 mil at age 35 -- may only be the going rate for average 3.5 to 4 WAR position players.

I think Downs will be in Boston by mid-summer. They just gave him a locker between Moreland and JD in Fort Myers. Descriptions in scouting reports and his projections offensively and defensively remind me a little of Starlin Castro. Not Robbie Alomar, but a four-time All-Star and .280 bat wouldn't be so bad for one year of Mookie.

Unless the MLB commits Harry Caray and has another strike work stoppage, I would bet in the next decade the Red Sox will pay $35 million a year to some other player who's not as good as Mookie. I also guarantee that in another decade someone on some forum will post that "Nobody is worth half a billion dollars to play baseball" and then "Nobody is worth $600 million" then "$800 million" then "A billion!!!!" And that's because the market rates will keep rising. But I can't bet you $35 million, because I'm only a hundredaire, not a billionaire, like all the owners of all the MLB franchises who all could pay players like Betts... if they really wanted to...

I keep telling you guys: the Yankees are safe. Manfred and the MLB have worked hard emasculating Houston and Boston, clearing the path to a pinstriped postseason. Who's going to challenge New York? Minnesota? The Yankees look at the Twins like Jack Nicholson looked at the lawyers in A Few Good Men: "Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?" Maybe Manfred's prolonging the Red Sox report so he can interrogate the latest ex-Sox players (though standup guys like Betts and Price are probably persona non ratta). Imagine the mess if the Yankees got investigated? Not only would Cashman and Boone be suspects, but they'd also have to look at Girardi -- it was on his watch that Beltran, McCann, Chris Young and others that Logan Morrison knows about were involved. If Girardi is implicated, that also affects the Phillies' season... Nope, Manfred wants this to go away, especially before it burns down the Bronx. I'd even say most owners would agree, and maybe some would secretly admit that it's too important for the Yankees to win this year -- to help baseball "heal" and ultimately put more money in their own pockets.

I don't have stats in front of me, but I never saw a lefty pop one off the wall like Boggs with two strikes. I always thought it intentional and he looked like he could do it whenever he wanted to. Boggs wasn't a punch hitter, but a precision line-drive hitter by design who could've hit with more loft (like they said he did in BP), but chose 50 more hits per year than 20 more HRs. I'll bet he had more doubles per year than Vaughn, though.

Verdugo was the best possible acquisition that Bloom could've gotten for one year of Betts: a promising player whose best-case may even out-double Betts once he learns how to hit the Monster (when Mookie no longer has the wall as a target)... I just hope the media gives him a fair shot at thriving here, because no one can truly replace Betts. Verdugo's best approach should just be to hustle -- after every fly ball, gapper or base-hit, and especially to first on every grounder, pop-up or longball...

I have no proof of this, but I'm of the opinion that moving Price was a mandate, and not just because he had the worst contract on the club. The Red Sox are an image-conscious franchise in an entertainment business, and Price's personality was bad for business. If I'm running a company that was ready to make changes, he'd be the first one to go... especially since his athletic contributions were so tenuous going forward. Remember, Boston even tolerated Bill Lee as long as he was still good (in their eyes).