caulfield12

In RF? Well, we will just have to wait and see how Pollock does with his six career games there and about a week to adjust. Sort of like Andrew Vaughn last year. Of course, playing a new position and having a history of hamstring problems...

We'll try a baseball GM argument then. No Kimbrel option, QO to Rodon, sign Joc and platoon him in RF with Engel (where they are both comfortable/experienced), sign Eduardo Escobar and invest the savings into a starting pitcher such as Manaea and backup catcher better than Ciuffo with those aforementioned savings. That leaves Leury as the primary backup everywhere, but not starting where he shouldn't. And no Harrison. The fWAR for that particular combination will work out at least 3-5 points higher than what we're actually applauding. And a comp pick back from the Giants to boot. And more left-handedness in the normal 70% of the time lineup as well. You can really win a World Series with that team.

This goes back to the initial argument of no Kimbrel option, sign Joc and platoon him in RF with Engel (where they are both comfortable/experienced), sign Eduardo Escobar and invest the $10 savings into a starting pitcher. The fWAR for that particular combination will work out 3-4 points higher.

Just wanted to see how Archer did...not well. Twins seem most concerned about who they will rotate at 3B and LF. Larnach sent down. I do find it amusing I know more about the Twins despite being 13 times zones removed compared to what the professionals paid to announce games know about one of their top rivals merely a state away.

Thought so...so it's not like there isn't going to be a learning curve here for someone. They're not dumb enough to suddenly switch Eloy to RF one would hope. I'm assuming Friedman discussed this issue with Pollock before the trade went down.

Except we need the Scorpion King.

First thing the Twins' radio guys said was Pollock in LF, Eloy at DH and Engel to RF. Of course, they also have TA7 as a free agent after this year, ignoring all the options in his contract. Btw, how many games in the last five years does Pollock have in RF?

Calling out everyone because we finally traded Kimbrel is almost something I would expect here in China...where expressing contrary opinions publicly gets you disappeared. Did you also have a go at Balta, Ray Ray and Two Gun Pete, by the way? You can't buy trust, you have to earn it through actions and things like eventually winning a freakin' playoff series first.

Please send me his contract extension details as soon as they become available...

Ewwww. TMI.

That would be worse than the Crochet pitching plan. Let's try not to mess up every single first round draft pick this decade (well, other than Anderson).

But there was a three year age difference, and Suzuki is not a prototypical slappy looking hitter (neither was Fukudome, for that matter). Totally different style of player. But it always come down to the ability of Japanese players to adjust to 95-102 MPH pitching...when the average over there is upper 80s and low 90s. And it did take Ohtani some time for everything to click. We don't have those two years to wait around.

Supply and demand. Last finishing piece on the market, starting pitching-wise, for a number of months.

If you trust in your intl. scouting, no Kimbrel option and Suzuki was the answer. Of course, if they are right on either Colas or Cespedes, it's absolutely perfect timing with Pollock...and they arguably trust Cubans over Pacific Rim talent. But get it wrong and you could be starting all over again in a barren FA market next offseason.

So, let me get this straight. Just because we finally dumped Kimbrel on someone, we now should be elated with the front office potentially rupturing the relationship with one of our most important young players and a team leader to boot? Makes perfect sense.

Just thinking the odds of Pollock and Harrison repeating 2021 at their age don't usually break in favor of the Sox. Then you have Abreu at 35 as well. This year has to be the year to break through. But for that money, just a 2ish fWAR out of the third OF position would be fine. Same with 2B. Just can't be a total black hole.

Even TLR noted that though...see the very bottom of his quotes yesterday. The major question is how prohibitive the cost for current pitching, versus how it will eventually impact 2024-2026. Opportunity cost.

C+/C The one unassailable point is that we keep getting older and more Injury-prone with every passing day. If 2B is now a platoon with Leury and Harrison, it would have been better to just spend the money on Escobar. One can argue Leury can cover all the infield positions, especially SS...but TLR loves his veterans. And still not seeing anything resembling a long-term vision for after 2023/24. That said, let's just win a damn playoff series first. As everyone says, final grade depends on if Manaea or Montas goes to an AL Central opponent because of our system's lack of depth and the fear of giving up Vaughn, Sheets and Burger. Also the LHR solution.

"While changes to that department have occurred, they’re tough to quantify currently. Former director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler is now a special assistant to Hahn, working on the professional scouting side of the operation. Dan Fabian is a fixture in the front offices at 35th and Shields as well, in addition to rising star Emily Blady, among others. Ben Hansen was employed as a biomechanical engineer and while his influence was positive in multiple departments, his position is yet to be replaced since his departure for another opportunity, outside of baseball." Southsidesox.com https://nishmat.net/alum2019/emily-blady/

Sox save a lot of money on relocation allowance...just walk from one side of Camelback Ranch to the other.

So we should also criticize JR for dividing his attention with the Bulls? I mean...I guess soccer or futbol is a foreign sport, even if it's the #1 sport worldwide and has massive growth potential in Asia and the Middle East. That's just being a good businessperson and diversifying your revenue streams and target audiences. Surely it will be connected back to world financial markets...finding so called synergies.

Twins starting rookie RHer Joe Ryan on Opening Day…whispers about Sonny Gray not being 100% ready yet.

Well, this thread is pretty much even less controversial than if Gandhi, MLK Jr. and Mother Teresa played C, SS and CF. Well, the Grandal comp might be pushing it, lol. The Three Outcome Saint.

We spent tens of millions and still somehow managed to lower our projected fWAR or at best marginally improve it from the #14 payroll at the beginning of last season…right around league average. Ricketts was never going to be able to keep that team together. They had three NLCS in a row and five playoff appearances. Any Sox fan would love to have only three more playoffs out of this window if three were to the ALCS and one to WS. That would be a huge success unmatched with any period in franchise history were they to somehow pull that off. Signing/extending Contreras, Baez, Rizzo and especially Bryant would have led to a couple more playoff appearances but eventually a complete teardown. Now they can try to compete without totally bottoming out for 4-5 years and see how it goes.

But what about 3B, lol? Watching his spring at-bats…well, he looks more like 2017/18 Moncada. Still have another week to pick it up.