5GoldGlovesOF,75

Bob Feller threw so hard his throw once beat a motorcycle cop to the finish line. On the video I couldn't tell if the officer dug his spurs in on the nag, but the narrator said their speed was "NINETY MILES AN HOUR!"

Don't expect Crochet or his agent to agree to any team-friendly deal. They both know what a guy of his caliber at his age is worth. Put it this way: the main reason Yamamoto got $300 million is because he was 25. And last year, in their first as MLB starting pitchers, Crochet was better. With LA and Chicago treating each gingerly, trying to protect their arms (and in Crochet's case, his value), Garrett had 4.1 WAR, while Yama had 1.7 WAR. The Red Sox know Crochet is worth market value. They didn't give up such a haul for just two years of an ace. But don't be surprised if they lowball him, and act like he should feel privileged to play for such a storied franchise. After all, even if Crochet is great and unextended the next two years, the smart Sox may think they'll get to pay him less total money when he's 27 with two more seasons of mileage on that arm when they get serious about locking him up longterm. And then he'll either be a Dodger, Met or Yankee. Or Phillie, if Dombro's still in charge.

No prob -- this may not be an issue now, but I guarantee whenever Devers does come back, reporters will be bothering him with questions about whether he stayed away because his feelings were hurt, and even if his translator assures everyone it was just physical, the very next questions will be if Raffy -- after missing all that gametime readiness on defense -- is now ready to accept DHing. For all we know, he may be working out away from reporters just so he doesn't have to deal with them. It would be good to get it over with before the games count though... (this is where we need management to step up and say they are so committed to taking care of Raffy that they insisted on keeping him away from the dugout stomach bug)

Who said anything about that? My post was just in dismay that nobody seems concerned that our best batter hasn't even had a single at bat in a game yet. The Sox have plenty of options in house already. But in a year their president said they're shooting for a championship, some don't think they'll put the best possible line-up on the field because of contract control for players who may not even be in the organization a half a decade from now.

TNT (middle name is Nikolas) can still run faster than Ref and Masa. If Abreu is still deemed unready, who is going to cover RF in Texas? Maybe another guy already on the 40 who's a good outfielder: The Password.

It would look like a batting order without the one guy on the roster who has averaged over 30 home runs and 100 RBIs per season for his career.

With Cole out for the year, it would seem to diminish Devers' production... ... that is, with Raffy actually playing this season in the majors. Opening Day is about two weeks away. If he doesn't see action soon, the answer to the thread question will either be: 1). in Florida, for extended prep; or 2). in Worcester, for live rehab ABs The lack of urgency about a supposed contender's missing top hitter all preseason is a mystery. No offseason surgery, no concern among teammates, no skepticism among reporters... is this just Raffy being Manny?

This is the reason the most deceiving ST stat isn't HRs or OPS -- it's ERA. Batters facing meatballs or hanging fruit still have to make adjustments and barrel. Successful hitters fighting for jobs or roster spots certainly feel better than others in a funk. If Abreu and Anthony are too weak from illness, I think most of us would rather see Kristian Campbell start somewhere in the outfield instead of Trace Thompson on Opening Day. By all industry evals, only one's a rising star, while the other's space debris circling the MLB orbit. I'd prefer KC at 2B, where it still seems like there's time for him to win the position, despite how the org seems to overrate Hammy (unlike irrationally-impatient erudite posters like myself).

The axe bat dated the pic, circa 2018.

Seby Zavala is another option. Yesterday, Braves stole on Wong/Fitts, but Zavala gunned down Alvarez with a perfect throw that Campbell slapped right to the ground next to the bag (which shows he also knows what he's doing). One pitch earlier, Zavala almost picked him off first, throwing behind the runner.

Interesting demos on MLB Channel with Seth Lugo showing pitching grips. His slider and curve grips were just slight adjustments on the seams, thrown with the same motion he said puts no twist or strain on his elbow. The one pitch he showed that he expressly said did require more twist and put more strain on his elbow was Breslow and Bailey's favorite: the sweeper. Maybe it was no coincidence that a career workhorse like Giolito hadn't blown out his elbow since he was a teenager until his first Spring Training with Boston. We'll never know if he already had some vulnerabilities in the ulna area, but something had to go wrong that caused him to serve so many gopher balls the year before...

Most likely, athletes are less intimidated about the actual procedure, but more worried about how much playing time they'll miss during recovery. If a player is just sore, he can always rest briefly, then play at less than full strength (which is what most guys do every year of their careers, anyway). But once surgery is done, there are specific shutdown periods which can't be ignored in the healing process...

To me, it's more likely he'll be a key contributor and leader to an improved Red Sox club that will fall short of his annual trip to the ALCS... but that he's such a diamond dog he'll be a favorite of both fans and teammates, and will want to return to finish business... ... plus, of course, get paid another guaranteed $40 million -- sometime in his life -- not to mention, he and his wife (attending grad school in Cambridge) will fall in love with Boston, and get involved in charities helping underprivileged children abandoned by oligarchs.

Shush... he's about to hit the ball... the one that's not moving... don't anyone dare say, "Hey golfer, hey golfer - swing!" Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.....................

I had a bad case of the Birmingham blues.

I just don't want to burdensome with my posts. I know, I know... even if they come from the top of Cumbersome Mountain #9.

I'm just hoping my mediocre, average, .500 grandchildren, will winsome, losesome, but not be loathsome

My opinion is Kelly thinks it's no excuse for not participating in PFPs.

Conserve! Preserve! DEFER!

Since Casas worships the sun, it would have to be a high priest of probably Aztec, Mayan or Incan origin. But that might mean the guy had to travel, since cannabis is illegal in Florida for recreational use.

Dewey said his biggest error is that he didn't play 58% of his career at DH.

On talkbaines.com, Evans' user name is 8GoldGlovesRF,76-85

The Bregman fam will celebrate mock parties every Bobby Bonilla Day through the '30s and '40s.

Not even Bregman can teach intestinal fortitude. This is a rite of passage for the younger guys... many passages.

Hall of Famer Harold Baines, the White Sox rightfielder with 38.8 career WAR? ... asked contemporary Dwight Evans, the Red Sox rightfielder with 67.2 career WAR.