5GoldGlovesOF,75

Ok, here's one that's sure to be excoriated: if Bloom is really as creative as advertised, I'm thinking if a Betts trade happens -- since it is assumed no one will trade the farm for an expensive one-year rental -- it will be a three-way deal that will bring back a star player in return. It may be the only way to assure the Red Sox of receiving compensation for a superstar intent on leaving, while at the same time saving face with fans and staying in contention. Something like... Betts and Kluber to LA, Lux, Pederson and Dalbec to Cleveland, and Verdugo and FRANCISCO LINDOR to Boston. Now, I know there are some guys who can't help running for their calculators -- but this isn't a trade equated entirely on dollar values. Read me out: this type of swap would only work if a team like the Dodgers decides to go all out to win now. Acquiring perennial MVP and Cy Young candidates in the same offseason would do just that. Lux and Dalbec gives the Guardians, who are sure to lose Lindor soon, a new left side of the infield for the next half decade. Pederson gives them a much-needed power-hitting outfielder. Kluber, the AL leader in WAR, ERA and Wins the five previous seasons before suffering a broken arm last year, is expendable as the mid-market Tribe's highest paid player but also because their rotation is so solid. For the Sox, Verdugo gives them an outfield prospect, and Lindor retools the entire club culture. Yes, Bogaerts would have to move to second base since Lindor is the best in the business. But that also fills the void at second. More than anything, Lindor replaces Betts with another top-five MLB player, and becomes the new face of the franchise. Of course, all of this is contingent upon the Sox being able to extend Lindor... but just maybe he'd be thrilled with the kind of offers that Betts keeps turning down. If Bloom is really outside-the-box, then something like this may be conceivable. Ironically, in baseball, if a batter steps outside the box while making contact, he's out. Have at it...

If that went down, Sox fans would hate those ex-Dodgers even more than the LA Dodgers. And no subsequent signings from the payroll savings could ever save those three in Boston, who would forever be marked as the players we traded "for Betts and Bradley?"

If Dalbec is the Sox' best trade bait candidate, it is because he's a high-ranked prospect (albeit on Boston's list), a redundant piece with the younger Devers already established at third, and that he has yet to play in the bigs. That's last point jibes with not rushing him, but also not exposing him -- and not only to his arb clock. It's the maybe what-if that makes him more valuable sight-unseen: will he be a Rizzo or Lars Anderson? a Bagwell or Middlebrooks? a Vazquez or Swihart? On the flipside, if he makes the 26-man and is crushing it on May 1st, does that take him off the table?

I get that, but a few bounce-backs at age 27 are more desirable than more Jhoulys Chacins in their 30s. It may be a more realistic alternative to rushing guys up to the majors. MLB-ready starters who look like legitimate rotation guys like Dustin May are obviously coveted by every GM, and either untouchable or cost-prohibitive.

I like Yolmer Sanchez, who isn't a terrible bat for a second baseman; two season ago he led the AL with 10 triples and had 52 extra-base hits, about what Pedroia averaged in the four years before Manny was being Machado. Problem is Yolmer will make around 5 mil...

Just another reason to get him gone asap, even if it means taking on someone else's bad contract -- I'm not concerned with the return for Price, as long as it decreases the Sox payroll. There will be other arms with questionable status at a lot less monetary risk. Wonder if the Sox will kick the tires on Tijuan Walker? Here's the latest quote on him from MLBtraderumors: "seemed to be a prime bounceback candidate, albeit also a clear injury risk at a $5.025MM projected price tag." If he can pitch, even at 5 mil, that's probably less than half of what Porcello will get...

And for Joe's call on the fan closing Mookie's glove on the Altuve shot in the greatest game in Red Sox history... in all of 2018.

I still can't believe the Yankees didn't bunt on Schilling. Or didn't score when Wakefield knucklers were bouncing past Varitek. Or that they didn't pitch around Altuve -- wait a minute...

The only way to move Price is to include a decent prospect like Chavis or Dalbec (maybe that's the difficult part to which Kennedy was referring). I don't think including other MLB veterans -- even guys like Mookie or JBJ -- in a Price deal will work, because too many costly salaries will be too much for another team to absorb.

The scoop on Hoop: 4 rings for the Red Sox for this Hall of Famer; that's 4 times more than Beni and the Betts, and 4 more than zero rings combined for Yaz and Ted. Hooper, along with fellow Cooperstowner Tris Speaker, and Duffy Lewis (who could ascend, but not dive off a cliff) comprise the legendary greatest outfield in Red Sox history. I can't compare players I didn't see, but I'm confident that the current (for now) trio of Mookie-Beni-JBJ is the Red Sox best defensive unit since, at least in 50 years, and maybe an entire century. And this is coming from a guy whose talksox name pays tribute to maybe the greatest defensive outfield core (except I'm finally realizing the level of disrespect associated with the words "Gold Glove" to some discerning fans)...

There is a way we can keep both... "but obviously it will be difficult," said Sam. So maybe they went out and hired Bloom as the best man to make it happen and overcome those difficulties. Devers and Bogaerts were better all-around bats last year, but Betts and JD are the two most important men in the batting order -- it was just two seasons ago they were the top two hitters in the AL. If I were building or rebuilding a team, I'd make every effort to keep both, along with Bogie and Rafie, and make every other player in the organization available. But if I had to guess -- based entirely on my subjective reality as a lifelong member in good sitting of Red Sox Nation, plus the history of how Tampa views the DH as an interchangeable slot in the lineup -- I'd say JD would get dealt. Mookie is the face of the franchise, while DH for Bloom and his past company is a flexible position of options (seven Rays DHed 13 or more games in 2019, with Meadows, their All-Star outfielder, getting the most starts at only 44).

I'm not offended by your subjective opinion, but I'm not objective at all about my reasons. I took my son to his first Fenway game in early ‘17 and he started collecting baseball cards. In ’18 he got to skip school and watch Mookie Betts hit three home runs (he’s 5-2 in Bosox games attended so far). In 2018-19 he insisted on wearing Red Sox shirts to school every day of the year. Now he uses an axe bat in Little League and has also trick-or-treated as Mookie the last three Halloweens. The Red Sox may never win a title again in his lifetime, but he'll always have the memories of this decade.

I Googled "Harry Hooper catch video" -- didn't find it, but there's a sketchy vid of Hooper throwing out Zach Wheat in the '16 Series. I think he went gluten free after that. Another Google hit is titled: "Heineken beer truck catches fire"

Sorry, bad use of adjective on my part. 1. Benintendi made the greatest catch in Red Sox history; it saved a playoff game and very well could have saved the pennant in a season when Boston won a World Series. It was the catch the Associated Press voted Play of the Year across all sports for 2018. Is there another catch in any other Red Sox game that comes even close to meaning so much? Evans' catch in Gm 6 of '75 saved the game; Sox lost the World Series. Brunansky's catch in '90 saved the division; Sox lost the ALCS. Nixon made a pretty important one in the '04 LCS, but it wasn't as difficult. My memory is fuzzy, though, so please remind me of any other catch in Red Sox history that was a combination of more spectacular and more impactful. 2. Rawlings nominated the finalists for their awards.

Tough crowd here. Beni is 25 and center field is his natural position, where he was College Player of the Year, two years after Rawlings -- the Gold Glove company -- named him National High School Player of the Year. Isn't such a player, especially coming off a down-year after posting a 4 WAR two seasons ago, the type of guy Bloom covets? And he's already on our team. As far as defensive metrics, experts on MLB constantly dismiss or berate analytics when it comes to D. Here's a quote about JBJ from a Sox beat reporter, just today: "(One note on defense: the advanced metrics suggest Bradley regressed last year, but because publicly available defensive stats are considered flawed and unreliable, I wouldn't fixate on the fact that his defensive runs saved, for instance, dropped into negative territory.)"

Agreed. And the three guys you mentioned that the Sox won rings with all had better arms than their centerfielders (Elllsbury, Damon, even Coco).

1. Benintendi made the best catch in Red Sox history. 2. Benintendi was nominated as a Gold Glove finalist the past two regular seasons.

Right. Jax suggested moving Mookie to center. I'd be shocked if the Sox move the best rightfielder in baseball the past four seasons -- maybe ever in Boston -- unless it's out of town (then I'd be glum). We all know right is just as important as center in Fenway.

Sox aren't acquiring a below-average defensive outfielder to play right field in Fenway if they plan on contending. Putting someone new in left and moving Benintendi to center makes way more sense.

That's f***ing funny -- whoops, sorry if I defended notin

Those '80s Sox, with three division crowns in five years, were loaded with young homegrown regulars, stars and borderliners; the '88 Morgan Magic squad started an all-homegrown nine in the playoffs. Nothing like rooting for and watching your own progenies as they develop into winners. Back to the title of the thread: by my count, it's currently 8-1 for the 2000s. That's about the ratio I expected, as nostalgia will never end for the monumental greatest choke of all-time by the '04 Yankees. I'm still curious if there are any other talksox posters or lurkers who give a slight edge to this current decade? There may be someone with a more personal connection or a younger poster who could better appreciate fandom in the Teens, or maybe even an old-schooler who favors four first place clubs over one first and five Wild Cards...

Well, Marte wound up playing seven years in the bigs and hit .218. That fact doesn't detract from his status while he was #9, but maybe it should give perspective to fans who think there's just no possible way that any club under no circumstances would dare part with -- oh, say, the #32 and #33 prospects for an MLB All-Star.

Again, I wasn't clear, but I was focused on trading established position players -- since Betts' and now Devers' names are getting mentioned here. I'm not totally against a blockbuster, as long as the return is close to equal value, which this winter means prospects with legitimate star potential. Something like Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. All were starting regulars, but Alomar was only 22 at the time and on the verge of exploding into a Hall of Famer.

I was trying to think of regular position players dealt for potential, but thanks for mentioning the most lopsided trade for prospects in Sox history that turned out in Boston's favor... Marte was the best they could get for Renteria, who needed to get gone asap. Though Marte never suited up for Boston, he was flipped in a multi-player that landed Coco Crisp, who never broke out into a star but helped win a ring.

Not just the fans -- I can't think of any trades of note where the Red Sox ever dealt a vet for decent prospects. Best I can come up with was Tony C. for a package that netted second baseman Doug Griffin, who couldn't hit but won a Gold Glove. Nearly all Boston trades are prospects or pre-prime players for vets... Schilling and Brady Anderson for Mike Boddicker helped win two AL East crowns; Cecil Cooper for George Scott was never a good idea (for younger fans, Cooper wasn't quite Bagwell, and Scott wasn't quite Panda, but from '77-87 Coop was third in the AL in total bases, while Boomer 2.0 played two-and-half years in Boston and was done).