W.S. Hangover Cures: The Devil is in the Details...

Pozo the Clown

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Sep 13, 2006
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I'm well aware that there are no metrics for "vibe" but last year, from Day 1 they seemed laser-focused on playing winning baseball.. They took the field expecting to win. This year they appear unfocused and ill prepared. I'll sum it up as follows:

2018 = Massive Swagger
2019 = Massive Stagger
 

dhappy42

Straw Man
Oct 27, 2013
15,725
Michigan
Red Sox actually trailed by as many as 2 games as late as June 20th:

NYY 49 22 .690 -- 377 272 .645
BOS 49 26 .653 2.0 374 273 .640


edit: They actually still trailed by 2 games on 6/21 as well since both teams won that day.

Cool. We’re only 2 games behind NY now. Same same.

Actually better. More games left to play in which to make up the deficit.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

critical thinker
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Dec 19, 2009
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I'm well aware that there are no metrics for "vibe" but last year, from Day 1 they seemed laser-focused on playing winning baseball.. They took the field expecting to win. This year they appear unfocused and ill prepared. I'll sum it up as follows:

2018 = Massive Swagger
2019 = Massive Stagger
BDE vs. NDE
 

soxhop411

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Dec 4, 2009
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We are getting pretty close to the “for sale” sign being put in the window.

We are digging ourselves a hole we won’t be able to get out of.
 

bosockboy

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Jul 15, 2005
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We are getting pretty close to the “for sale” sign being put in the window.

We are digging ourselves a hole we won’t be able to get out of.
They are playing awful but this is insane.

You don’t judge anything until June at minimum, and you can’t look at it through the lens of only winning the division. After the most abysmal start imaginable they are 4 games out of the 2nd wildcard behind the 8-6 Twins.
 

twibnotes

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Jul 16, 2005
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What bums me out (besides the obvious) is that if this is indeed a lost season, I’m not sure DD is the GM best equipped to do some selling and at least get the team younger and enhance the future.

Nothing would be worse than to be fully out of it in July and just stand pat roster-wise. I want a reason to tune in, and that won’t exist with a veteran line up of under producers.
 

Sampo Gida

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This is getting beyond hangover territory to full blown cirrhotic liver failure. Perhaps not yet end stage but unless they take care of business against Tampa Bay it will be close.

In all seriousness, the starting pitching is improving, so that's the good news. Unfortunately the offense is taking its turn at underperforming while the bullpen may be showing signs of becoming what we all feared- a win sucking beast.

My prediction is after this Easter weekend the teams past sins will be forgiven and Pope Cora will begin the crusade to defeat the Evil Empire and " Devil" Rays and recover the Holy Division Lead
 

moondog80

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Sep 20, 2005
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What bums me out (besides the obvious) is that if this is indeed a lost season, I’m not sure DD is the GM best equipped to do some selling and at least get the team younger and enhance the future.

Nothing would be worse than to be fully out of it in July and just stand pat roster-wise. I want a reason to tune in, and that won’t exist with a veteran line up of under producers.
So *if* they decided to sell, the candidates would be: Mookie, Porcello, Moreland, JBJ. Not sure they would go the Mookie route, and I'm also not sure the rest would being back anything notable -- maybe JBJ if he gets hot.
 

chawson

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So *if* they decided to sell, the candidates would be: Mookie, Porcello, Moreland, JBJ. Not sure they would go the Mookie route, and I'm also not sure the rest would being back anything notable -- maybe JBJ if he gets hot.
Trading Porcello should have been the first thing DD did this offseason, so yes, I agree. His value's lower now, but maybe the Cubs take him for Chatwood in the hopes that Bannister can tweak him back into a useful starter next year. Moreland won't fetch much but if the Sox are out of it by summer it'd be fun to see if Ockimey's three true outcomes shtick plays at the major league level. As a firm JBJ backer in the past, I'll admit he looks distressingly lost again. Since he always does come back around I'd wait until he finds his rhythm before considering moving him, but the problem is when he's on he's an incredibly good player. I'd also try like hell to trade Workman, who apparently needs to throw his curve 60% of the time to be effective.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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I just went through all the MLB teams depth charts on Rotoworld and not one other team in the MLB has a pen without a lefty in it. Johnson- who is on the IL- has a 12 ERA(admittedly good in his career against lefties). Brasier, the guy they seem to be counting on to get lefties out is allowing lefties to Slug .706.

Between not having a lefty in the pen beyond BJ, likely letting Swihart go for nothing, the Spring Training plan, rostering Pedroia who is clearly damaged goods, and giving Nunez a player option, color me not impressed with Dombrowski's roster management and overall vision for 2019. Besides emptying the prospect tank and forking over big FA contracts I'm not sure what he's up to.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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So *if* they decided to sell, the candidates would be: Mookie, Porcello, Moreland, JBJ. Not sure they would go the Mookie route, and I'm also not sure the rest would being back anything notable -- maybe JBJ if he gets hot.
You could probably add Barnes, Brasier and EdRod to that list
 

Salem's Lot

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What bums me out (besides the obvious) is that if this is indeed a lost season, I’m not sure DD is the GM best equipped to do some selling and at least get the team younger and enhance the future.

Nothing would be worse than to be fully out of it in July and just stand pat roster-wise. I want a reason to tune in, and that won’t exist with a veteran line up of under producers.
Dombrowski knows how to evaluate talent. He’s built two championship clubs, pennant winners in three different organizations and is one of the most successful baseball executives of the past 25 years. He executes a mandate from ownership. If John Henry wants to sell pieces off of this club, and it is indeed a lost season, which even though they look horrible right now, we shouldn’t be giving up on them yet, his record shows that he is very capable of getting quality talent in return.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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I asked it in the game thread and I'll ask it here:

With no LHP in the bullpen right now, why is Bobby Poyner not getting a look? He pitched well down the stretch last season and would be the perfect LOOGY-type reliever. He didn't impress in spring, but nobody is impressing now and I'd give him a shot, Pawtucket parking lot homer by Vlad Jr. and all.

That's the move they should make if they're going to put anyone on the IL or send anyone down.

So *if* they decided to sell, the candidates would be: Mookie, Porcello, Moreland, JBJ. Not sure they would go the Mookie route, and I'm also not sure the rest would being back anything notable -- maybe JBJ if he gets hot.
You could probably add Barnes, Brasier and EdRod to that list
I agree with chawson that Porcello shouldn't even be here right now, but his career pattern is that he is crap one year, gold the next and so far this season is keeping with that pattern, so there may not be much value in him. If they are going to make a move, they should do it following his next good start (whenever that may be) and take the best deal they can get. The problem is who replaces him in the rotation (I'm still beating the Dallas Keuchel drum), a problem that is duplicated if they decide to deal Eduardo too (which I don't think they should, yet, though his next start may change my mind).

If Moreland continues to play well, he'll be a nice bench bat for a contending team. Sam Travis isn't great, but he'd be fine as a short-term fill-in for a team that's out of it. Mookie should not be traded under any circumstances; his value is lower right now than it should be and he's too good of a player to not return to form. I think he wants to stay here and will sign a long-term deal, so I'd like to keep him for the rest of the season and take a shot in free agency.

Barnes would be a nice arm to deal but who replaces him in the bullpen? Likewise Brasier?

This team should not be trading effective relievers unless they are pending free agents with no chance of re-signing. There has to be something left for the 2020 club to dispense when they take the field and I'm not sure how good the market for relievers, etc., is going to look in a few months when the season ends. Plus this team has had a hard time signing free agent relievers lately and has not had the best track record with the ones it has signed. To me, Devers is a guy who should go on the block. He's not good enough in the field to be an everyday third baseman yet and he hasn't shown the power he had last year, but he's still a strong prospect. He'd fetch a decent package, I would think, and they could bring up Chavis to man 3B or 2B with Lin at the other base.
 

MakeMineMoxie

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There's no reason this team should be playing so bad compared to last year. It's not like multiple guys had career years in 2018 or performed way over their expectations and they returned basically the same team. Maybe there is something to be said for mojo.
 

dhappy42

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Oct 27, 2013
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If the Red Sox decide to throw in the towel and dump salary in trades for prospects, it’s dumb to do it now. Wait until July when competing teams will overpay.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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I asked it in the game thread and I'll ask it here:

With no LHP in the bullpen right now, why is Bobby Poyner not getting a look? He pitched well down the stretch last season and would be the perfect LOOGY-type reliever. He didn't impress in spring, but nobody is impressing now and I'd give him a shot, Pawtucket parking lot homer by Vlad Jr. and all.

That's the move they should make if they're going to put anyone on the IL or send anyone down.




I agree with chawson that Porcello shouldn't even be here right now, but his career pattern is that he is crap one year, gold the next and so far this season is keeping with that pattern, so there may not be much value in him. If they are going to make a move, they should do it following his next good start (whenever that may be) and take the best deal they can get. The problem is who replaces him in the rotation (I'm still beating the Dallas Keuchel drum), a problem that is duplicated if they decide to deal Eduardo too (which I don't think they should, yet, though his next start may change my mind).

If Moreland continues to play well, he'll be a nice bench bat for a contending team. Sam Travis isn't great, but he'd be fine as a short-term fill-in for a team that's out of it. Mookie should not be traded under any circumstances; his value is lower right now than it should be and he's too good of a player to not return to form. I think he wants to stay here and will sign a long-term deal, so I'd like to keep him for the rest of the season and take a shot in free agency.

Barnes would be a nice arm to deal but who replaces him in the bullpen? Likewise Brasier?

This team should not be trading effective relievers unless they are pending free agents with no chance of re-signing. There has to be something left for the 2020 club to dispense when they take the field and I'm not sure how good the market for relievers, etc., is going to look in a few months when the season ends. Plus this team has had a hard time signing free agent relievers lately and has not had the best track record with the ones it has signed. To me, Devers is a guy who should go on the block. He's not good enough in the field to be an everyday third baseman yet and he hasn't shown the power he had last year, but he's still a strong prospect. He'd fetch a decent package, I would think, and they could bring up Chavis to man 3B or 2B with Lin at the other base.

Anyone could be on the block if the return is good enough. There are obviously some players that are more expendable than others but wouldn't bring back the same amount. Mookie... while sure his value isn't awesome right now... would be the guy to bring the most back. But I don't (and don't think the Sox) think that'd be a good idea for long term success. Barnes is also cost controlled and quite good... so while yeah, it'd be nice to keep him, he'd also probably bring back the most because of that. X's new contract would provide a team looking for both a short term boost (the Yankees would kill for him, IMO) and long term stability at a good value. I also think he's a keeper and would hold him.
Of course, all said... this is all silly to even really think about until at least mid-June. Even 12 games out of a Wild Card slot in mid July would be borderline to start dealing. We know this team can click- they just need to get into the playoffs any possible way.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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I think dealing X right after he signed the extension wouldn't be a good look, lost season or not. Everyone remembers when Bronson Arroyo signed his team-friendly deal and was promptly trade for Wily Mo and I don't think it went over well with a lot of people. Mookie would most likely want an NTC or some kind of trade protection, but it might make other players leery to sign deals to stay. That's why I nominate Devers to go over X, especially with Chavis waiting for his time.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Betts has an expiring contract? That's news to me.
I think the implication is that this is his last year without having to worry about next year. Next year he'll be playing out the final year of his deal, so he would fetch far more in a trade to be dealt with a year and change left on his deal (like Jason Bay, if I remember correctly, when the Sox picked him up) as opposed to waiting to see what happens next year.
 

canderson

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CoffeeNerdness

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Mookie's value isn't lessened because he's had a rough three weeks .That's insanity. "Sure he's the reigning MVP, Dave, but he hasn't done anything over the last 60 ABs. Best we can offer if a B level prospect." *click*

If Mookie were ever made available - and he won't be- teams will be falling all over themselves to offer anything in their farm system to get him.
 

tims4wins

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Mookie's value isn't lessened because he's had a rough three weeks .That's insanity. "Sure he's the reigning MVP, Dave, but he hasn't done anything over the last 60 ABs. Best we can offer if a B level prospect." *click*

If Mookie were ever made available - and he won't be- teams will be falling all over themselves to offer anything in their farm system to get him.
It decreases, ever so slightly, by the day IMO, because his MVP season looks more and more like an outlier. His 2018 was other-worldly; his 2016 was very good; his 2015 and 2017 were pretty good; his 2019 has been lousy so far. He hasn't been close to the consistently great player Trout is. I love the guy but I wouldn't pay him Trout money.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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It decreases, ever so slightly, by the day IMO, because his MVP season looks more and more like an outlier. His 2018 was other-worldly; his 2016 was very good; his 2015 and 2017 were pretty good; his 2019 has been lousy so far. He hasn't been close to the consistently great player Trout is. I love the guy but I wouldn't pay him Trout money.
This. Mookie got MVP consideration one year before a down year and then a bounce back to win it outright last year. If he's going to have a Porcello-like yo-yo in terms of production and value, that will definitely drive down his worth and make it harder to get the package that he should, theoretically, be worth.

That said, I agree with Coffee that he won't be dangled any time this year. Maybe next if they see some bad years on the horizon and don't think they can re-sign him, but not before.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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It decreases, ever so slightly, by the day IMO, because his MVP season looks more and more like an outlier. His 2018 was other-worldly; his 2016 was very good; his 2015 and 2017 were pretty good; his 2019 has been lousy so far. He hasn't been close to the consistently great player Trout is. I love the guy but I wouldn't pay him Trout money.
Betts has always been tremendous.

Age 21: 213 PA, .291/.368/.444/.812, 126 ops+, 2.3 bWAR
Age 22: 654 PA, .291/.341/.479/.820, 117 ops+, 5.9 bWAR, MVP-19
Age 23: 672 PA, .318/.363/.534/.897, 133 ops+, 9.7 bWAR, MVP-2, GG, SS
Age 24: 712 PA, .264/.344/.459/.803, 108 ops+, 6.4 bWAR, MVP-6, GG
Age 25: 614 PA, .346/.438/.640/1.078, 188 ops+, 10.9 bWAR, MVP-1, GG, SS

His age 21 season was outstanding in limited time. Already at that point he was worth north of $12 million per year. His age 22 season was terrific as well. Top 20 player in the league, 5.9 WAR, pretty awesome for a 22-year old. His age 23 season was out of this world. 9.7 WAR, 2nd in the MVP, prodigious numbers. Age 24 he dropped off but that was mostly bad luck. His LD rate compared to age 23 and age 25 seasons:

- Age 23: 25%
- Age 24: 25%
- Age 25: 26%

His GB/FB ratio, those three seasons:

- Age 23: .72
- Age 24: .69
- Age 25: .52

So he was putting the ball in the air just about as much as his age 23 season, and more than his MVP age 25 season. He was hitting line drives at the same rate. His strikeout percentage was the same as at age 23 (11.0% age 23, 11.1% age 24, 14.8% age 25!). What was killing him was his BABIP.

- Age 23: .322
- Age 24: .268
- Age 25: .368

Obviously his age 25 number is extreme. But his career BABIP is .312, and so in 2017 (age 24), he hit the ball just as much, put the ball in play just as much, hit as high a percentage of line drives, put more balls in the air, and yet his numbers suffered (yet were still solid). All because he hit a TON of balls right at people, so the BABIP was down. His average exit velocities those three seasons:

- Age 23: 89.7
- Age 24: 88.4
- Age 25: 92.2

His "hard hit %" during these three seasons:

- Age 23: 39.6%
- Age 24: 37.9%
- Age 25: 50.2%

Again, age 25 season was exceptional. Nobody is saying he will repeat THAT year, but more and more, when you look into the numbers, it's his age 24 season (2017) that is clearly the outlier, and mainly because of bad luck, since these other numbers are pretty consistent with his excellent 2016 (age 23) season, and even not far off in some ways from his MVP 2018 season.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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That's some great information.

So is 2019 looking like another outlier or is it a case of the league catching up to the player AND the player not being 100% focused on his game due to real life factors (the newborn baby) and/or the pressure of living up to the previous year?
 

tims4wins

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lots of good info and stats
He has always been very good, but if he wants to be paid like Trout, he needs to be consistently great like Trout. Mookie has one season with an OPS+ above 133. Trout's career OPS+ is 176.

Mookie has one season with an OBP over .370. Trout has never had a season with an OBP under .377, and his second worst was .399; his career is .418. Trout has never slugged under .550; Mookie has only slugged above .500 in 2 of his 4 years. Trout has 50 OBP points and 62 SLG points over Mookie for his career.

I get that I am comparing Mookie to what could potentially be the GOAT. But if Mookie is looking for $35M annually - which is what Trout got - then he needs to be consistently better than he has been. At least in my opinion.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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That's some great information.

So is 2019 looking like another outlier or is it a case of the league catching up to the player AND the player not being 100% focused on his game due to real life factors (the newborn baby) and/or the pressure of living up to the previous year?
Well right now it could just be SSS. One 7-day hot streak and his numbers could look like 2018. Who knows why he's been slumping to start the year. Could be any number of a thousand factors.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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He has always been very good, but if he wants to be paid like Trout, he needs to be consistently great like Trout. Mookie has one season with an OPS+ above 133. Trout's career OPS+ is 176.

Mookie has one season with an OBP over .370. Trout has never had a season with an OBP under .377, and his second worst was .399; his career is .418. Trout has never slugged under .550; Mookie has only slugged above .500 in 2 of his 4 years. Trout has 50 OBP points and 62 SLG points over Mookie for his career.

I get that I am comparing Mookie to what could potentially be the GOAT. But if Mookie is looking for $35M annually - which is what Trout got - then he needs to be consistently better than he has been. At least in my opinion.
No disagreement there. I don't think he should be paid like Trout.* Clearly at his very best, Mookie is pretty Trout-like. But he hasn't proven Trout's consistency. Of course, so far, Trout has been one of the very best players ever to play the sport, so falling a little short of that is no shame. Lots of legitimately all-time greats fall into the "not quite as good as Mike Trout" category. Mookie is gonna get PAID. He's much better than Harper or Machado, who both got big bucks.

*Note: Trout signed an extension, without reaching free agency. Mookie as a free agent probably could (and maybe should) get paid more than Trout. Not because he's better, but because he will have lots of teams bidding on his services, something Trout decided to forego.
 

tims4wins

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No disagreement there. I don't think he should be paid like Trout.* Clearly at his very best, Mookie is pretty Trout-like. But he hasn't proven Trout's consistency. Of course, so far, Trout has been one of the very best players ever to play the sport, so falling a little short of that is no shame. Lots of legitimately all-time greats fall into the "not quite as good as Mike Trout" category. Mookie is gonna get PAID. He's much better than Harper or Machado, who both got big bucks.

*Note: Trout signed an extension, without reaching free agency. Mookie as a free agent probably could (and maybe should) get paid more than Trout. Not because he's better, but because he will have lots of teams bidding on his services, something Trout decided to forego.
No disagreement that Mookie is better than Machado and Harper and deserves more. Better on both offense and defense.
 

Max Power

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Mookie's value isn't lessened because he's had a rough three weeks .That's insanity. "Sure he's the reigning MVP, Dave, but he hasn't done anything over the last 60 ABs. Best we can offer if a B level prospect." *click*

If Mookie were ever made available - and he won't be- teams will be falling all over themselves to offer anything in their farm system to get him.
Mookie is great, but he's also going into his last two years of arbitration, so he's going to paid like he's great. He's making $20 million this year and will probably be in the $25 to $30 million range next year. Teams would love to have him, but probably wouldn't give up the farm for a year or two of a guy making close to market rates.
 

jon abbey

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He has always been very good, but if he wants to be paid like Trout, he needs to be consistently great like Trout. Mookie has one season with an OPS+ above 133. Trout's career OPS+ is 176.

Mookie has one season with an OBP over .370. Trout has never had a season with an OBP under .377, and his second worst was .399; his career is .418. Trout has never slugged under .550; Mookie has only slugged above .500 in 2 of his 4 years. Trout has 50 OBP points and 62 SLG points over Mookie for his career.

I get that I am comparing Mookie to what could potentially be the GOAT. But if Mookie is looking for $35M annually - which is what Trout got - then he needs to be consistently better than he has been. At least in my opinion.
Mookie is one of the few best defensive players in baseball as you guys all know very well, better than Trout.

I highly doubt BOS is going to be sellers, but if they are, the guy I think is most likely to go is JDM, who could then opt out and rejoin BOS next season, somewhat similar to Chapman and NY.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Mookie is one of the few best defensive players in baseball as you guys all know very well, better than Trout.

I highly doubt BOS is going to be sellers, but if they are, the guy I think is most likely to go is JDM, who could then opt out and rejoin BOS next season, somewhat similar to Chapman and NY.
That would be amazing if that were to happen. Trade Martinez after agreeing in principle that they'd really want to bring him back after he opts out, even possibly verbally "wink wink" agreeing on terms of the contract.
 

tims4wins

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That would be amazing if that were to happen. Trade Martinez after agreeing in principle that they'd really want to bring him back after he opts out, even possibly verbally "wink wink" agreeing on terms of the contract.
Would have been better with Andrew Miller and Lester. Alas.
 

moondog80

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That would be amazing if that were to happen. Trade Martinez after agreeing in principle that they'd really want to bring him back after he opts out, even possibly verbally "wink wink" agreeing on terms of the contract.
JDM wound net a pretty nice return, but the Sox would have to pay most/all of his 2019 salary. Which, if they were already in seller mode, would be the correct move.
 

chawson

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Mookie is one of the few best defensive players in baseball as you guys all know very well, better than Trout.

I highly doubt BOS is going to be sellers, but if they are, the guy I think is most likely to go is JDM, who could then opt out and rejoin BOS next season, somewhat similar to Chapman and NY.
If Tampa or Cleveland are so hungry for a title they wanna trade us a Gleyber Torres-caliber prospect (Wander Franco, Brent Honeywell, Nolan Jones) for a few months of JDM, I'd be up for it. But if it's like the package of org boys the Tigers got from the Diamondbacks for him in 2017, I wouldn't say it's worth the risk of complicating negotiations.
 

jon abbey

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If Tampa or Cleveland are so hungry for a title they wanna trade us a Gleyber Torres-caliber prospect (Wander Franco, Brent Honeywell, Nolan Jones) for a few months of JDM, I'd be up for it. But if it's like the package of org boys the Tigers got from the Diamondbacks for him in 2017, I wouldn't say it's worth the risk of complicating negotiations.
There’s a lot of room in between those two extremes.
 

Salem's Lot

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why is Price publicly wondering about selling already? that's a horrible look
I took it as a sign of leadership. He’s telling all his teammates that they better get their shit together before they break up the team. These guys genuinely like each other it seems.
 

patoaflac

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If Tampa or Cleveland are so hungry for a title they wanna trade us a Gleyber Torres-caliber prospect (Wander Franco, Brent Honeywell, Nolan Jones) for a few months of JDM, I'd be up for it. But if it's like the package of org boys the Tigers got from the Diamondbacks for him in 2017, I wouldn't say it's worth the risk of complicating negotiations.
OMG April has 12 days left.
 

Green (Tongued) Monster

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why is Price publicly wondering about selling already? that's a horrible look
This is the bigger issue IMO. It's not his place to speculate what the front office's next move is, especially straight to the media. This is a terrible look and to me translates directly to clubhouse discord. Is it wishful thinking? Planting seeds?

His only comments should be about the team owning this shitty start and doing everything to focus and right this sinking ship.
 

Salem's Lot

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This is the bigger issue IMO. It's not his place to speculate what the front office's next move is, especially straight to the media. This is a terrible look and to me translates directly to clubhouse discord. Is it wishful thinking? Planting seeds?

His only comments should be about the team owning this shitty start and doing everything to focus and right this sinking ship.
You don’t think his comments were “owning the shitty start?” He was saying they better focus and start winning or say goodbye to your buddies. If anything that shows a clubhouse where everyone likes each other.
 

Green (Tongued) Monster

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You don’t think his comments were “owning the shitty start?” He was saying they better focus and start winning or say goodbye to your buddies. If anything that shows a clubhouse where everyone likes each other.
Not at all. Suggesting that the teams superstars may get traded midway through April are not what team leaders do. It risks panic and discord and will make the players press more. Stupid quote at the wrong time.
 

Al Zarilla

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A lot of Mookie’s WAR comes from his defense, which is marvelous, but I’m not sure other team’s owners and GMs are as sold on the value of it compared with offense. They can go along with Trout’s salary because of his stellar batting average, home runs, OBP and OPS every year. Mookie hit .264 in 2017, we know what he’s hitting so far this year, and these stick out like a sore thumb (I know Harper has also had a couple of off hitting years too). Anyway, Mookie is beginning to be an enigma, at least to me. I would hate to see him get double what Xander gets, for example.
 

JohntheBaptist

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A lot of Mookie’s WAR comes from his defense, which is marvelous, but I’m not sure other team’s owners and GMs are as sold on the value of it compared with offense. They can go along with Trout’s salary because of his stellar batting average, home runs, OBP and OPS every year. Mookie hit .264 in 2017, we know what he’s hitting so far this year, and these stick out like a sore thumb (I know Harper has also had a couple of off hitting years too). Anyway, Mookie is beginning to be an enigma, at least to me. I would hate to see him get double what Xander gets, for example.
GMs don't value best-in-the-league defense? Batting average? Holy moly man.

Mike Trout is off to the best start of a career of anyone in the history of the sport, what on earth does he have to do with Mookie Betts? As for this year's performance it is April 18th!

Imagine not being able to enjoy having Mookie Betts on your favorite team.
 

twibnotes

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Jul 16, 2005
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Imagine not being able to enjoy having Mookie Betts on your favorite team.
I can’t imagine there is a single Red Sox fan who doesn’t enjoy having Mookie Betts on the team.

Concerns over Betts are based on the reality that signing him could be a big risk in today’s market.