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Say hello to your new left fielder Ryan Braun .

More to your point he may sacrifice other parts of his game to be a good framer. He has lead the league in passed balls 3 times. If he cut down on passed balls maybe that framing stat gets worse ? Defensive stats especially for catchers are not as trusted as defensive stats for other positions.

I'm not as firm a believer in Fangraphs defensive stats as you.

If Grandal can be a catcher so can Yermin.

I think he'll go beyond that. He's a strong guy, good plate discipline which to me means he also knows the right pitches to swing at. I 'd say he'll top 30 at least a few times but I'll gladly take an Anthony Rendon type hitter.

I love Eloy. I really do. He has the chance to be a very special bat for many years and cheap for a long time. But to be honest in a post a few months back I said if I had to trade anyone from the core it would be him. It's why I also wanted David Dahl or Mike Yazstremski before we signed Eaton. Eloy has not learned his limitations. He tries so hard and wants to be a better fielder so badly . I don't think he is even used to his grown up body yet. He probably weighs 25 or more lbs than he used to when he played RF. Remember that spectacular catch he made in the Futures game 2016. Foul ball, basically an exhibition game . Moncada won the MvP of those games but Eloy was the talk of the games with that catch and some Stat Cast rockets despite being in low A at the time.

Ever ?

I don't know ptatc his curve is looking good . Keeps the hitters off his fB. If he can throw the curve and change up for strikes consistently he'll be very good.

He got to learn to vary the speed of his FB like Lynn does or hide the ball better on his windup. But he also has to have command. Once you can hit the outside corner on a regular basis he won't get hit like that.

He did last spring too though.

I finally figured out why the Sox picked up Billy Hamilton. Without Ian Hamilton we had to get another Hamilton so we could have another Hamilton and Burr .

I don't think some of the regulars will have permanent lineup spots. Eaton will be 2 against righties perhaps while Moncada might be 4th against righties.

Lol stop foaming at the mouth ! How could he have any idea about such things ? Nothing is finalized and only a handful of people could know final details .

He bad mouth's Keuchel every chance he gets because Keuchel couldn't back up his leadership blatherings by pitching well enough to win a playoff game. You see that hate in many of his posts . Grandal is a close 2nd.

Gotta love the fact that Cease and Rodon both came out and threw strikes. Neither walked anyone. If they can do that consistently, the stuff plays and in Cease's case maybe he can then work on hiding the ball a little better . A fraction of a second not seeing the ball can lead to a lot more swing and miss.

Care to explain how you assess that ? Did he cost Rodon strikes ? Rodon didn't walk anyone and I did see a low breaking pitch Mercedes pulled up for a strike call and a K.

Or no LuCroy, Kopech, Crochet, Vaughn, Collins and there's still Fry to consider once he is good to go. Depends on what the Sox do as far as service time goes to start the season.

Good job. Appreciated !

I don't think anyone's defense at catcher has looked bad. Short sample size and not the most discerning eye though ?I have seen Mercedes throw out a couple of attempted base stealers but also throw one away on a 1st base pickoff attempt.

If you have a smart TV( most people do now) then just add the MLB app. It's good for Sox highlights and interviews when u pick the Sox as your favorite team. Not sure if you will be able to see the game . I can, because the app includes my subscription to MLB TV. But many ST games are televised. Once the game starts just click on Scores and you will see all the scheduled games listed, then click on the game and pick the TV icon or the speaker icon for radio broadcast if they are allowing free watching or listening still. You might have to subscribe to MLB.com 1st but it's free and easy.

He could always hit the hanging curve. He demolishes them.

But that's only for ST , once the season starts they do.

Every year we have to say that !

I think you are belaboring it. I told you before I don't think it will happen and if you think it will, fantastic. You could be right or I could be right. But you continued to press me on it because you said it "feels like you don't want it to happen". I also already said there's injury risk to consider, the lack of minor league playing time, lack of playing a premium position. The Sox extended Robert's contract after he tore up the minors across 3 levels in 2019. They extended Moncada in his 3rd season with them and his big year in 2019. They extended Jimenez before he ever had a MLB AB and that was a rare thing to do. Scott Kingery and Jon Singleton were the only 2 to do it before Eloy .Singleton was a bust and so far Kingery hasn't done much. But Eloy also had torn up the higher levels in the minors. Covid of course has played a role in evaluating Vaughn through minor league playing time. I have no feelings on wanting it to happen. I think given all the things i just laid out that I don't think it's likely. It would be a precedent setting contract and as financially prudent as the Sox were this winter and given the possibility Vaughn may not play as well as some expect I think they will wait. There's a chance waiting will backfire but also a chance that's it's a good move not to extend him now. How it all plays out is anyone's guess. I'm just playing the odds thinking he won't be extended this year based on all the information at hand with the key factor being unknown since no one knows what is going on behind closed doors.

I laid out a number of reasons why I thought it was unlikely to happen. I'm not going to post it was a bad idea if it does happen . Don't see why you're belaboring the point. I've agreed with just about everyone who suggested it could happen. I didn't say anyone was crazy for wanting it . I'm just interested in how much different an extension would look giving it this year or next year if he had the kind of season I said.