GreenSox

"Premium Talent"

Right. And the first trade, as I remember, was for a Rule 5 slap-hitter Tilson.

Only players whose contracts expire at the end of the year. No way have Hahn & Co. done the necessary groundwork for a real selloff. That still leaves him Giolito to trade, and maybe Hahn can avoid effing that up.

It's Twitter's fault!

Looks like another first round draft choice is officially toast.

Romy's something else. SLG > Eloy, Vaughn, Moncada et al. Taking some walks would help him broaden out.

I hope that this FO is assiduously studying the farms of the Orioles, Mariners, and about 10 other teams. But I think that the price of, say, Giolito will something like be Grandal's contract + a mediocre prospect. I hope I'm wrong.

Yea, it reminds me of the saber notion that there is no such thing as "clutch." And their logic made sense to me and I basically agree that clutch doesn't really exist. But then I would ask whether there is such thing as the opposite of clutch - aka "choke" - and I never got a straight answer.

They're still at naught-era analytics: Ks don't matter for hitters; Ks are all that matter for pitchers (while modern front offices are looking for weak contact).

Not signing Harper or Machado, while unfortunate, isn't why this derailed. This derailed because the team lacked depth from the start, and then never evolved beyond the initial core. Teams need a steady infusion of young players to create depth and to keep everyone sharp. It's just one of many nuances that this FO can't grasp, can't accomplish or both.

Neto is a nice looking SS for the Angels. Quick riser, too.

He’ll probably be DFAd to make room for Elvis Andrus. Elvis’ veteran leadership is the missing piece.

They could have given him a day or 2 to get his feet wet, get comfortable again. And if his velocity isn't where it was, he should be in Arizona or Charlotte, taking his time.

This is exactly it, beautifully written. And I think the reason is that he's never learned to evaluate talent, never learned analytics, and has refused to surround himself with people who do understand these things.

I'm sure that Rick will remind us of this tomorrow. But in the chance that he doesn't, let's all remember that no one feels worse about this situation than Rick Hahn.

I see that Lambert is the sacrificial lamb in the bullpen this year.

It's a big ask, but I'd like to see more nuance from the FO beyond "going for it" or "tearing it all down."

Yes, what he thinks that they will do v. what he thinks that they should do.

Dispatching relievers in July for Rule 5/AAAA players and otherwise napping in July (except for a couple of high end players) didn't help; you won't get a ton for the relievers, but if you maximize opportunities, eventually you'll strike gold.

Yes they do. And non-smart teams - ahem, ahem - don't have a clue.

It's important to keep Hanser Alonso in the lineup at 2nd, so I can see Burger in the OF. ....on second thought, it's nuts!

Bump This had reached the 2nd page.

A couple of relievers isn't much of a return. On the other hand Heathcliff Slocumb yielded Lowe and Veritek. But Schueler wouldn't trade with the AL.

Not if you do it right. And the big problem with White Flag was its poor execution.

Cleveland may be in trouble, as they've played the weakest schedule (or so it looks to me). But the other teams have played tough schedules. And despite the record, I don't see the Royals as the absolute patsies they've been for the last few years (patsies, that is, to every team but the Sox). Even if they Sox are in it in July, they've got to use July productively to bring young talent into thos org. And that includes trading at least Giolito. Now they have to do this right to pull it off. That's a big ask from Hahnber.