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C- 2nd MLB; 1st AL; 1st ALC (before McGuire trade). 1B- 13th MLB; 7th AL; 2nd ALC. 2B- 27th MLB; 14th AL; 5th ALC. 3B- 8th MLB; 6th AL; 2nd ALC. SS- 9th MLB; 6th AL; 2nd ALC. LF- 7th MLB; 4th AL; 1st ALC (before Meadows trade to DET. TB is 5th MLB and DET is 16th). CF- 4th MLB; 3rd AL; 2nd ALC. RF- 23rd MLB; 13th AL; 5th ALC (before Pollack trade). DH- 11th MLB; 7th AL; 2nd ALC. SP- 7th MLB; 2nd AL; 1st ALC (as of April 5; don’t shoot the messenger!). RP- 3rd MLB; 2nd AL; 1st ALC (as of April 4). Overall: 5th MLB; 4th AL; 1st ALC (as of today; position rankings adjusted for late trades/acquisitions. The next best ALC team is MIN at 14th).

I know it wouldn’t be worth it.

Of course Sox fans wanted Rodon back. That wasn’t the issue.

I get the impression that the only reason some want Romy is because he is not Mendick.

…and while doing so acting as if they know more than the manager.

Thank you, sir, for your quality internetting.

Fair enough. Just saying there was some method to the madness.

As noted above, CIN, OAK, LAA, CLE are not the dregs of MLB. Even if they were, Lopez was awful against everyone the last two years, so his recent performances represent improvement. The salient question isn’t whether he is pitching better lately (he is, of course), it is whether or not he can sustain it well enough to be relied upon going forward.

All of which means hitters are having a more difficulty recognizing his pitches, which of course is a sign that he has tweaked his release for the better.

The Sox did not “blow off” games, they just simply prioritized getting and staying healthy over HFA.

I think this sums it up rather well.

Still need to determine who plays where.

Grading with hindsight is cheating.

I’m guessing that the FO agrees with that.

How do you know?

In 1983, I was 22 and it was the first Sox playoff season of my life. The ALCS loss was very deflating, as I didn’t expect it at all. In 1994, was 33 and it was the best Sox team of my life (still is, IMO). Still kind of pissed at JR for helping to end the season without a postseason. In 2005, was 44 and the ALDS was the first Sox postseason series victory of my lifetime. I was almost as thrilled about that victory as I was about the World Series victory. Today, I am 60 and this is the first team since 1994 that looks capable of several years of consecutive playoff appearances.

Seems that the point is that whether the lead was lost in the 6th inning as opposed to the 8th inning does not diminish the comeback later in the game.

Past seasons are irrelevant to this discussion.

You really think that the Braves are more likely to win the WS than the Sox?

This.

I don’t think it has been unnecessary. Injuries have forced TLR’s hand.

I sincerely hope MLB doesn’t get any ideas from this. The available talent is already stretched too thin over the current 30 teams.

Good to see another T&F fan here. Both 400mh races were sublime. By the way, I think Michael Johnson would have made a great strong safety. Back to topic. Answering the thread title question, Robert is the most impressive 5-tool talent I’ve ever seen with the Sox. Of course, Bo was past his prime when he got here, but prime Bo was the best overall athlete I’ve ever seen in football or baseball.

Soto doesn’t have the defensive chops.

I agree that JR would not have paid FTjr $300M, mainly because he would not have had to do so to have FTjr on the roster during this contention window. I am actually surprised SD gave him that contract this early in his career. He has yet to prove he can remain healthy enough to make it worthwhile.