5GoldGlovesOF,75

Boston's 2018 postseason went right in spite of Kimbrel, not because we had him. The Sox defense saved him as much as the winds of fate: Nunez-Pearce on Torres' roller, Betts' perfect throw to nail Kemp, Beni's dive... and fly balls that barely stayed in the park by Sanchez, Bregman and McCann. This past year was a miracle for the Yankees, when everybody went right. Does any fan, even Yankee fans, think they would've done better with a defense of Stanton instead of Tauchman, Andujar instead of Urshela, and Sanchez instead of Romine? I don't think the average fan appreciates how special New York's 2019 was, when their replacement players won 103 games. It's a stretch to expect the exact same mix to repeat such success (see Boston, 2018-19), but it's also unlikely an entirely different crew will win as many the very next year. They may upgrade on the mound and some positions and win it all, but 103 in the regular season is hard for any powerhouse to duplicate. The Yankees have never won 103 two years in a row.

Here's what Bloom is up against: such a deal may be "fair" as in equitable, if you're a new MLB GM... but to Sox fans, that type of return may only be "fair" in the context of collectibles -- like the comic book grading system, where "fair" is at best "unattractive" (and behind more preferred grades like mint, near mint, very fine, fine, very good and good). We're all speculating about Betts' fate -- and maybe Bloom is already fielding offers -- but it's just as likely he is working harder on trades for JBJ, and either Chavis or Dalbec (in order to move Price). Such a plan may have already been outlined before his hire, like when Kennedy suggested, "There is a way to keep both JD and Mookie, but it won't be easy." Maybe Bloom was hired, in part, as the man to accomplish that specific task. We hope.

Let Atlanta keep Enderman and give us the two elite OF prospects, plus the pitching prospects -- that's the only kind of haul that would maybe make it worth happening... to me, a Red Sox fan. Anyone remember the Von Hayes trade? Back in the early-80s, the Phillies bit on a 5-for-1, sending four prospects (plus veteran Manny Trillo, on the downside of his career) to Cleveland for Hayes, a young outfielder coming off a decent rookie year. None of the players Philly gave up amounted to much -- except Julio Franco, who played until he was 48 and won five Silver Slugger Awards, a batting title, and earned 43.5 bWAR -- but for eight different clubs. Hayes had a few good seasons in a 12-year career in which he contributed 29.1 WAR. He was never a superstar... or even Julio Franco. The deal was a stunner at the time, but maybe an example of a trade that was ultimately mediocre, that no one really won. Each team involved eventually lost more games than it won through the end of that decade. Obviously, nothing is a sure thing. These cliches of generalities are coming to you live from another poster who's on board with paying Betts 30-plus million a year for the next decade... a contract that likely breaks down in actual value to about 43.3 mil per for the next six, and only 10 mil per for the last four. And I think he will earn it.

If there is any chance at all to up the chance of Betts signing in Boston, then it will be if he's kept in a Red Sox uniform until he's a free agent. Say he has another great year and leads the Sox to another great year... it's not hard imagine a crescendo of reporters in articles and talk-shows extolling his virtues and how imperative it will be to back up the Brink's truck -- with a six-state Nation in hysterics, imploring their beloved Mookie to change his mind and stay, stay, stay in a six-month campaign of star-struck pleading... showering him with love... posters, placards, poems, petitions... standing O's, standing offers, sit-ins, hunger strikes. Ah, maybe not.

Thanks for the menu... assuming impending payroll cuts free up some funds, I chose four guys at 6 mil apiece: Hill, Hudson, Kendrick and Calhoun. Just to make sure I'd be getting what I paid for, I looked up their individual WAR from last season: 1.4 + 2 + 2.6 + 2.3 = 8.3 cumulative WAR (I know, pitching WAR slightly differs in value, but these are ballpark numbers, since WAR is all about approximations). Then I thought about Mookie and what he's liable to accomplish on his own in his salary-drive walk year... He's averaged 7 WAR for six seasons and already has two years at around 10 WAR. Would it surprise anyone if -- at the prime age of 27 -- he earns another 8.3 in 2020? Unless Bloom can find some team that will overpay with multiple MLB-ready prospects for Betts for one year (like I suggested when I first began posting), then I'd just as soon keep Mookie in Boston. Ride his multi-talented contributions to contention and give him all the love, attention and respect he craves and deserves in one final all-out effort to re-sign him. I know not getting below the magic reset number will cost taxes and draft picks, but those penalties shouldn't be part of the Mookie Betts situation. No amount of money and draft picks combined can guarantee the Red Sox of ever finding another generational talent as good as the one they already have right now.

I like Calhoun, but only at half JBJ's salary and to play RF, with Mookie moving to CF.

This may make sense to us fans -- and a lot of posters here and elsewhere agree -- but I think there are other factors to consider. Trading a valued member of an organization is literally uprooting and relocating the employee for six months or a year, with risks beyond just inconvenience... like bruised egos and the chance of him liking his change of scenery even better. There is also some speculation that team, player and agent have an agreement in place beforehand, ala Chapman and NY. But it's also hard to see a player agreeing to such a deal in the best interests of the club; "Hey, Mook, do us a solid and move 3,000 miles away in exchange for a prospect that we can use to replace your minor league roommate and buddy, then come back to work for us next year." Unless, of course, it's only about the money.

I think this is a bigger factor in what happens than most posters and lurkers realize. The Red Sox are in the entertainment business -- and yes, winning sells -- but "fan identification" drives sports marketing. If Betts is indeed traded I will never believe it was because the Boston Red Sox were unable or unwilling to outbid the competition for his services. This is a club that signed David Freakin Price and Chris Sale -- starting pitchers who play once every five days when healthy -- to long contracts worth $30+ million a year. Fans can try to put numbers on Mookie's value, but does anyone honestly believe that the Sox aren't prepared to invest in their best homegrown regular in decades, the Face of the Franchise and future Hall of Famer who plays every game? If Betts is traded, it will be because he no longer wanted to work in New England.

I hope JD learns to spit on the two-strike slider in the dirt, has a great year, and leads Boston back to the postseason. If that's the cause, expect the effects a year from now to be he either opts out then (when his salary dips 4.4 mil) or the Sox renegotiate JD's contract to keep him as a line-up linchpin. Put it this way: if a year from now JD Martinez doesn't opt out, then 2020 will have been a bummer of a summer.

Someone on MLB.com handicapping the odds of who'll sign Strasburg listed Boston as third most likely, behind Washington and the Yankees. What, did Bloom do some spelunking inside the Green Monster and uncover the purse of the Bambino?

Odor and Mazara are both all-or-nothing type batters (Odor just led the AL in Ks) and negative dWAR fielders. At least age is on their side, at 25 and 24, respectively. Maybe Bloom could flip one or both in a three-way for an A-ball arm from someone looking for some proven pop... seriously, that's the kind of return we should expect and be happy with in order to reset.

Devers footwork improved as he gained the confidence to become a solid MLB third sacker in his age-22 season. He sometimes made amazing plays, and is already better than Nunez, his platoon partner on the world champs, plus every other Red Sox regular hot corner man -- Shaw, Panda, Middlebrooks, etc., since Youk and Adrian Beltre (who also averaged 20 errors per year through age 22 and became a Gold Glover en route to Cooperstown). All Dalbec has so far is potential, which translate to trade value, but that also means he's the kind of low-cost guy Bloom may want to keep around. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear; I wasn't advocating him as the full-time DH, but as maybe part of a rotation to use at the DH slot to get/showcase ABs (and/or for a regular's occasional day off from the field). I wouldn't mess with Devers, either. He just turned 23 and is already a .311 hitter who led the MLB with 90 extra-base hits. Dalbec's rep includes a good glove, power bat and a lot of strikeouts... in the minors. Right now, he's a good bet to turn 25 in June. His best value to Boston just may turn out to be as a pot sweetner to get another team to take Price.

"As much as I want our farm to be built up, trading Dalbec might make the most sense but only for an equally young, cost-controlled player who plays a position we have a great need." Agreed, but his status may just depend on what happens with JD and Mookie. Dalbec as a cost-controlled DH could appeal to Bloom and save 15-20 mil that would be spent on someone like the parrot as a JD replacement. Dalbec as a high-powered, low-contact bat is also redundant with Chavis... so maybe one of those two gets dealt, while the other plays second base. Or, as a way to both give players a day off from defense and get the right match-ups with opposing pitchers, they could alternate through the field with others (Devers included), at 1st, 2nd, 3rd and DH -- like Tampa's guys. One change that has been unexpected in this age of less ground balls, more balls in the air, and defensive shifts is that second base has become less important as a position. Batters grounded into double plays in 2019 at a rate of 7% less than 2013, when Pedroia's defense keyed a title, and 15% less than 2007, when Pedroia was ROY on another title team. Now, anyone can stand in short right, handle one-hop liners and shot put 20-foot throws to first. The Brewers made the last two postseasons platooning guys like Moustakas and Travis Shaw at second.

Ah, let overflow crowds onto the field - just rope them off. And defenders can just leave their gloves on the ground at their positions after an inning.

I'm leaning toward the idea of JD staying and Mookie being traded to an NL team before the 2020 season. I hope I'm wrong, except for the NL part, because I can't stomach the idea of watching Mookie play in Fenway against the Sox.

Just judging by JD's words at the end of the season -- "I kinda like moving around" -- it sounds like he'll be leaving... unless he was just posturing for a raise in Boston. But then again, his contract calls for more money this year, making an opt out next offseason more likely... unless he's got a team courting him on the sly for a better deal. JD also said, "Everyone already knows who's going to make the playoffs" last spring, and "Everyone knows they can't afford Mookie"... which is opposite from the camp that implies Betts may just want to work elsewhere. The fate of the two stars may not be connected after all; Merloni, a media member who would seem to be more informed than most as an ex-teammate of Sox employees like Varitek and Pedro, complained at the lack of trade deadline action that this was "Mookie's last year" and later gave odds he'd be traded as "90%". Ominous words when juxtaposed with Sam Kennedy's: "We need to know if Mookie wants to stay in Boston by this offseason." Or else?

DD communicated ok, but mostly only to his right-hand men like Wren and LaRussa in the end (according to Shaughnessey). Can't blame the owners for wanting more transparency and organization-wide collaboration so that all voices are valued going forward. Personally, I liked DD's candor with the media, and so to the fans; he would go public with target areas of need and then go fill them. It could have been a way of advertising to other clubs that the Sox were Open For Business, but it was definitely more refreshing than past GMs who always kept intentions secretive while saying a lot that never meant much. I do think DD's words at the past trade deadline seemed forced, though, when he was maybe no longer allowed to swap prospects for bullpen help... I wonder what exactly his plan was for 2020 that Henry and co. couldn't and wouldn't let happen? Anyone here have thoughts? For example, what would DD be more apt to do with Betts -- lock him up with 350 million or trade him for a haul of MLB ready prospects; remember last winter, when discussing potential Sox free agents, it was DD who first said, "We can't keep all of them."

Injuries obviously cast doubt on Sale and Price going forward, but let’s compare and contrast their Boston contributions so far. Sale: 3 years, 35-23, 84 starts plus 4 postseason (1 bad, 1 good), 519 IP, 3.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 15.1 WAR for 39.5 million dollars. Two Top-4 Cy Young finishes. Price: 4 years, 46-24, 98 starts plus 6 postseason (3 bad, 3 great), 588 IP, 3.84 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 10.8 WAR for 91 million dollars. Zero Cy Young votes. Price is owed three more years on his $30+ mil per contract. Sale’s new deal at $30+ mil per is just about to begin. The latter may seem more onerous, but age has to be a factor when considering a possible rebound – Sale’s five-year contract will run through his age 35 season… Price will be 35 next August. A final aspect is public perception. While both have reps as good teammates, fans cannot confirm what they don’t see or hear. We can see and hear that Sale at least appears to like being a Red Sox, and is accountable and respectful to the media (the conduit to the Nation). Price is the opposite, talking about holding all the cards minutes after his team won a ring or calling a press conference to smear a Hall of Fame alumni. Maybe he is shooting his mouth off to shoot his way out of town (he wouldn’t be the first Boston athlete to do so) – he suggested that he and others might be traded during last spring’s lackluster start. Or maybe he is just petulant. Either way, it’s a bad look for a franchise in a sports industry, especially one determined to revamp its product. One grabs the ball and challenges hitters, the other takes ages to throw pitches that nibble at the corners. If you owned or ran the team, who would you try to trade first?

Eovaldi threw 100 mph with a 95 cutter and showed Cy Young potential in the 2018 postseason. He had the same velos at the end of 2019 without the same results. A new pitching coach and management approach should make him a priority, and at 17 mil per year, a better value going forward than the other two injured studs at 30+ mil apiece. But if I was a Yankee fan -- and how effective Eovaldi is at Yankee Stadium and vs. the Yankee righty batters -- he'd be the one guy I'd hope Boston trades... along with Betts, of course.

So, basically, Theo didn't need to return to the Red Sox since he already runs them in the NL...

I probably wouldn't be here if we didn't. I hyperventilated so badly when he was on the mound in the '18 postseason that my wife threatened to forbid me to watch. I calmed down, but only after the Sanchez, McCann and Bregman fly balls barely stayed in the park... not to mention plays of the season -- Nunez/Pearce, Betts' throw and Beni's dive -- that saved his "saves".

Makes sense... he could also be waiting until the last required moment to declare, while seeing how his market develops. For instance, the Yanks cut loose the parrot, and now JD would have to compete for a job and dollars with another good-slug, bad-glove DH... and a cheaper version (albeit an older version who averages a hundred less OPS).

Sale was paid below market value for seven straight years of finishing in the top six in Cy Young voting. Granted, he was on a contract he signed with Chicago, but it seemed like he was on the verge of finally getting a deserved payday. So when he quickly agreed to terms last winter (as rich as they were) -- before the final year of his old contract, before a Chris Sale salary-drive season, at less than David folding-all-the-cards Price -- I have to admit I was slightly worried about damaged goods. Sox management had to be, too. As for Martinez, I'm starting to wonder: since he has acknowledged the difficulty of keeping both Betts and himself in Boston -- and knowing how beloved Mookie is with fandom -- doesn't JD ultimately have to opt out? Imagine the pressure on JD if everyone blames his decision to stay as the reason the Red Sox trade Betts? Every media scribe is saying one depends upon the other... Imagine how ugly 2020 could be for Martinez if he decides to stay in Boston, and the Sox struggle again... without Mookie?

The Astros' offense was historically anemic in the ALCS (stats from MLB.com). Batting average with runners in scoring position: Hou .109, NY .171. Batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs: Hou .048, NY .190. Batting average in the seventh or later: Hou .149, NY .176. The difference is the last three games was three-run homers. Houston had two three-run homers to win Game Four and New York had a three-run homer to win Game Five. In the finale, each side had two HRs apiece, and both jacked two-run bombs in the epic 9th... but an early three-run blast for the Astros, as opposed to a NY solo shot, was the margin of victory.

I agree with most of Jax' assessments of JD's impact on pitchers as a presence and teammates as a batting mentor. Every team uses ipads for everything now, but JD seems like the first player we really heard about with video analysis on every swing, in games and daily BP. I have to wonder if new management -- always looking for the next edge -- is ready for a slight shift in hitting philosophy... the '19 Sox had an ugly record of eight batters with over 100 strikeouts! I know it's modern MLB, and there's no going back to 1975 -- when Rice was the only Boston 100-K man. But even the '13 Red Sox only had three...