drewski6

Also, are you sure its an "Atom" ball? I always thought they were "Atem" balls ,as in you hit it hard but unfortunately right at 'em (or at them) Kind of like "Up and atem" (which for the longest time I thought was up and adam and i was like biblical adam?)

Hes not The Oz , hes The Wizard The Oz is Ozzie Osbourne

Yoshida was our cleanup hitter in last years playoffs, and while I think we were bit by the injury bug in an above-average way, I dont think it was crazy. People love to talk about how we used 9 pitchers last year, and therefore we need 9 starters (we have 12), but people dont consider as much the injuries to the other side. Yoshida turned from near after-thought mid-season to clean up hitter in the playoffs It can happen again. Two of Story, Duran, Abreu, Contreras get hurt, and we're prob looking for offense wherever we can find it. Im not interested in moving Yoshida just to svae a couple mil or to make it cleaner regarding who will play where (e.g. opening up DH spot for Duran). Im more interested in parking him on the bench (but he has to learn first base), giving him some at-bats when hes not in the everyday lineup to keep him fresh, and Im sure injuries will eventually give him a role. Get rid of him , and you can wind up with David Hamilton as your DH. Im not implying that I think hes a must keep or going to have a massive bounceback. Im more so thinking that we dont have a ton of hitting as is, and if we lose a couple bats to injury, I can very much see Yoshida becoming a significant part of our offense.

This last deadlne, someone (maybe Merloni) said that most baseball people tend to focus on what they received vs what they gave. Im like this personally. A good example for me was the Robert Williams (and more) trade for Jrue. A lot of my friends were like "nooooo. not my rwill. I wubbbb him". BUt I was so jazzed for Jrue. I think generally, they dont start with circling guys they can deal but rather start by identifying guys they want. But there are exceptions. A frequent exception would prob be a deadline seller making calls to get value for thier upcoming free agents. That would be a frequent and notable exception. But a team like us in the offseason. I doubt they were ever really looking to deal an OF. I think they would have and still would if a team aggressively went after one and they liked the deal. But I dont think that having 4 OFers we need to trade one was a priority.

I really dont think they earmark and pencil in as much as fans do in general. Even prospects. I think "x of the future" is more a fan thing. Hes our second baseman of the future! Sure they have guys who they expect to contribute down the line and even some they are excited about. But I think they mostly consider everyone an option. When they are dealing a blocked prospect or like from a depth area (like if we had 3 good catching prospects to deal 1) - I think they are usually more focused on what they are getting vs we need to trade one of these outfielders/catchers. I dont think redundancy really drives the moves.

Its obviously a good team, but to me, missing 1 or even 2 star position players. None of these are elite. Obvs Crochet is a star/elite. You are right that our offensive attack is going to have to be from a deep and balanced lineup rather than a 2/3/4 carrying the rest of the lineup. Ive seen both work, but with a deep/balanced approach (vs a powerhouse top 4), you really cant allow slumpers to slump for too long. So people like Cedanne and Mayer or going to have to hit.

Other than the optics of it, getting someone to waive their NTC to come here then immediately flipping them...Im also not 100% the union wouldnt make a stink But on the other hand, Gray was compensated to remove the NTC (he had additional money guaranteed), so maybe that kind of gives us the freedom to treat him like currency because he was paid extra for an allowance to move around. Im not sure exactly on this kind of stuff - but if theyll take it and the union will allow it and its all on the up and up, sure. NOt sure if like when we traded for Gray if the NTC was removed completely, or if this was a one time exception to it, or if he was given other assurances to not be flipped again. But gun to my head, I prob make the Bello for Paredes swap straight up regardless of what BTV says and I do think its wrong on Paredes trade value. I think its higher than what they show.

Ill take my L's when deserved but Im not rolling over on this one. This one was a funny coincidence that one brother was #30 in wRC+ when sort to 2024+2025 and the other brother was #30 in wRC+ in projected 2026. I really had been talking about projected and that is what I had open on my screen, and I missed the switch from talking projected 2026 to historical 24/25. I will accept an L for accusing Moon of making a mistake, but its an easy mistake to do to see william contreras and read willson contreras Regardless Im glad we have willson and I would gladly take william, but I honestly wouldnt consider either a top 30 hitter in 2026 (I dont think) That being said, might have been another thread but you said the projection of like 2 and a little change WAR from 1b felt light to you and I would agree with that. So Im not making the case that willson contreras is bad or didnt significantly help the offense. He did. I wish they had alonso, but contreras is a fine short term pivot.

You need leaders to lead by example in the weight room, I agree though. A team culture of strength , conditioning, and health is so important and sometimes lacking in baseball. Casas was often out of shape, and really guys like sale and mayer shy away from the weight room too much (mayer has said he will embrace a strength building program). Even Story. If you are scrawny and getting hurt, try adding some muscle. When I hurt my neck, I learned about how working out and adding muscle can protect vulnerable points of your body. Devers kind of fell into a leadership role due to his contract and "last man standing" from previous core that he was ill suited for. Really dont want your leaders refusing requests to help the team or showing up chubby. We'll see who emerges as the leader now that Bregman is gone, my money is on Duran. And he works out and is passionate and wants to win and Im glad hes still here.

I think 3 short years ago, I would have embraced a degenerate being at the casino at 9am, but with the influx of athletes themselves betting, and an ugly underbelly of greed getting exposed (across sports in general) - I see it as a red flag right now.

that ones fine

im gonna keep calling him wilson (unintentionally)

nah, in my case its an adhd thing , always been a problem

He'd be training his ass off to play 1b if I was in charge. Because more positions helps him stay on the 26 man , and if hes on the 26 man, Id give him a chance to get hot. I agree. Masa's main problem (outside of his control) is that we dont have any real elite hitters and those guys can really carry you. They give you the freedom to build your infield (or the rest of your infield if the masher himself is an infielder) with a defense first mentality. They let you roll the dice on a DH with a wide range of outcomes or gamble on a youngster. If you have a great 1-4 in your lineup you can kinda do what you wanna do. But without it , you have to be very efficient. And that might push an outfielder over to DH. Now that weve chosen the route of super pitching, hitting neglect - we'll need Durans drive with his legs, hungry approach, and extra base hits. And we'll need Masa too, so somebody is going to have to sit while we wait for an injury to fix it (and fix it it will, behind enemy lines great efficient post). But I suspect (honestly) that who that somebody is who sits (while we wait for an injury) is not going to be the same person every night. And you'll have a different lineup for a while. Yoshida I suspect will be given a chance to heat up and eventually some players will and that plus the inevitable injury bug will sort it out. I do really think learning first base helps). For example if Narvaez is hurt, I might put Contreras behind the plate and Yoshi at 1b. Hes also prob my backup 1b should contreras gets hurt. Im still rooting for him. He looks cool. He seems cool. I think hell get a chance to heat up.

I think youre being serious. The lineup you present without Cedanne will surely be a lineup that I would use in a situation (assuming Masa makes the 26 man, but he prob does for me if Casas is on 60 day IL) I would use it if Im down and need runs, if Cedanne was ice cold at the plate, if Masa was hot at the plate, if Cedanne was healthy enough to play but not 100% , if duran hasnt played in the filed all week and i want to keep him sharp and cedanne hasnt had a day off in a while, same thing as i just said for duran but sub in roman. Im sure there are others. There are multiple different reasons why you would use thislineup. I wouldnt use it everyday or even everyday against righties, even if everyone was 100% healthy. A reason why I may not use it: If Im going against an ace, i might start cedanne cuz im only winning if its 2-1 and so i wanna chess match in my run prevention team cuz im expecting a low scoring battle. Who I play and where is situational based on that game and its truly a nightly decision, and i think you are seeing the shift towards situational approach to problem solving and matchup exploitation > set of rigid rules (e.g. player x is my second baseman) Hard rigid rules and management via cliches/folklore are crutches for those who cant assess on the fly. Any business consultant worth their weight will tell you that.

Are you being serious? I lean yes, but want to make sure.

Exactly.

Gross

I think if we face a righty on opening night, it will be Roman at DH.

Yes and Duran2 at lf does not mean anthony is hurt. It may simply they wanna keep duran sharp in the field in case theres an injury. I understand guys have primary/desired positions. Its just more fluid and not as locked in/rigid is it use to be. Versatility is big right now. And I embrace it.

For a #2 pitcher? Probs

I trust you over Breslow, Moon

Maybe when Cora does things you wouldnt do, its not because hes blinded by loyalty, or stubborn or whatever Maybe he knows something you dont? Not a knock on you, I trust your opinion/projections/accumen on all things red sox more than I do 99.99% of folks But Cora is in that .001%

I see people talking roman as the dh just as often as i see people talking about duran as the dh i dont think its settled, and my best guess is that theyll both dh sometimes and more people will dh also (whether thats romy or someone with a minor injury or someone needing a rest) im not talking crazy here. Do you play fantasy baseball? like 10 yrs ago, everyone except for like 10 players in the league had one position next to their name. Now so many guys are eligible at so many positions. Because guys are moving around a lot more these days. Because its one of the ways the game has modernized. Boomers like Joe may hate it, but Im not sure where you are coming from. Yes its old school to think of everyone as a lock to play their position , yes its old school to think that platooning is bad (seabeachfred hates platoons). Catchers are getting moved to center field and excelling (Varsho). Tatis/Betts. Its not just the slouchers moving around. This is why Devers annoyed me. Nobody asked him to do anything that isnt happening across the league. Devers thinks like a stubborn boomer. IF you have 2 good thirdbaseman and your second baseman gets hurt, you play one of your third baseman there. Rather than a worse overall player because "3rd baseman at 2b? Thats too out of the box for me" You sound like my buddy who told me you cant put breaded chicken in a poast dish, because "thats not what people do" I reject that. My dad taught me to zig when they zag. Common wisdom is for the common man.