Perfect Vision

I'm extremely bullish on Vaughn. Not only do I think he would be a solid DH, but I think he could be the best overall hitter in the Sox lineup this year. How's that for a bold prediction.

Yep. Regarding Vaughn, it's important to remember that he's a slow, short, right-handed, 1B-only player, and was still a consensus top 3 pick in the draft. Someone like that isn't a consensus top 3 pick if scouts and talent evaluators believe he needs a couple years in the minors to develop. It's really not hyperbole to say that Vaughn's bat was MLB-ready before he left college.

If the Sox signed Bauer to a multi year deal, I imagine they would no longer have any desire to pursue a Lynn extension (if they are even considering one now). As for Gio, rumors are that they tried to sign him to an extension this offseason and it obviously hasn't happened. The Sox shouldn't make a decision to pass on Bauer simply based on the hope that they are able to extend Gio.

It's incredibly frustrating that we're left debating whether the team should give up important, impact big league pieces -- Madrigal, Heuer, Crochet, Vaughn, Kopech -- to get a young starter, when there's an even better starter on the market that the Sox could sign and still have a payroll well below other major market teams.

Enough of this. Let's just sign La Stella, one of Richards or Wainwright, and roll!

The Brewers are in baseball purgatory, not dissimiliar to where the Sox were just before they began the rebuild. A weak farm system and an MLB roster of stars and scrubs, their stars being Woodruff, Burnes, Hader, Williams, Yelich, and maybe Hiura. They can conceivably compete in and maybe win a weak NL central, but no way are they contenders in the NL with the likes of the Dodgers, Padres, Braves, and Mets. And they don't seem to have any appetite to add to payroll in the current environment. So they can keep all those guys above and be a .500ish team with them for the next 4 years, or look to trade them at peak values to try to add elite talent to the farm. For those that don't think Madrigal would interest the Brewers, I disagree. Madrigal is exactly the type of profile the Brewers covet (good avg, good walk rate, low strikeouts). Stearns even said as much when they acquired Yelich (back when his career high in hrs was only about 18) and Cain. Hiura is no obstacle to any Madrigal interest. The universal DH is coming soon and that's where Hiura is going. If there's no DH in the NL this year, I'm sure the Brewers would be willing to move Hiura to 1B for the season. What I don't understand is why the Sox seem eager to part with Madrigal and Heuer, or why the Brewers would want current MLB players. A package of Milb players (Steiver, Kelley, +) makes more sense to me.

I like Burnes but I think you're overvaluing him if you think it would take Vaughn/Kopech + Madrigal + Heuer to land him. Burnes threw 59 innings last year which was a career high for him. And he got roughed up in 2019 and was nearly made a permanent reliever. Brewers may see him as a "sell high" type of guy. You only do the above-referenced package for a true cost-controlled ace (like Woodruff).

This is what I was waiting to find out and should put an end to the ideas that (1) this is a 4/54 deal, and (2) the Sox intend to pick up the option. This is a 3/39 deal and the Sox will almost certainly decline the option. Throwing Hendricks $1.5 mil every year beginning in 2024 is not going to have any impact on what the Sox can or want to do financially in those years.

The Sox plan right now seems to be to sign Hendricks (or Colome or Hand) and explore trades for a starting pitcher with years of control remaining. And just about every rumored trade package has Codi Heuer in it. Am I crazy to think that the Sox would be better off if they just made Heuer their closer and signed Bauer? I would imagine the combined annual salaries of one of Hendricks/Colome/Hand + Sonny Gray (for example) would be in the ballpark of Heuer (peanuts right now) + Bauer. If Heuer doesn't work out, there are always good closers available at the trade deadline.

In his first 29 career games last year Madrigal hit .340, and here we have a 6 page thread with people complaining about him. So bizarre.

UC Berkeley study. LOL. Everyone can always find some "study" that supports their position. Especially from the whitest most liberal place in the world. Point remains. This movement to change team names is not and has never been led by Native Americans.

Actual Native Americans have never had a problem with any of these team names. In fact, many have indicated that they feel honored by them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-poll-finds-9-in-10-native-americans-arent-offended-by-redskins-name/2016/05/18/3ea11cfa-161a-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html This has nothing to do with appeasing Native Americans and everything to do with appeasing silly white liberals.

I think Philly would jump at the chance to offload Harper's contract. They spent a bunch of money and made a number of win-now moves at the expense of their future (i.e. trading Sixto for Realmuto, who's now a free agent) and things are trending in the wrong direction for them. You typically don't force out your GM without a strong desire to go in a different direction. Now whether the Sox (or anyone else) is interested in taking on Harper's contract is a different question.

I'm surprised the decision to pull Dunning has turned into such a focal point for fans. IMO it was the right decision. Crochet came in and got out of the jam. The Sox loss has much more to do with Crochet's injury, Heuer giving up a bomb, Foster not being able to throw strikes, and many missed opportunities with RISP than it has to do with the Dunning decision.

If I remember correctly, Kopech had no idea he tore his UCL. Didn't he say he was surprised by the diagnosis? It seems that sometimes the pitcher knows immediately he injured himself, and sometimes they don't know.

No. No one will be more motivated to have a good game today than Madrigal.

If Giolito looks good tomorrow, I wouldn't hesitate to let him throw 120 pitches. Few pitchers keep their stuff deep into games as well as he does, and keeping Crochet and Heuer fresh for games 2 and 3 would be huge.

The Sox scored 306 runs this year. That was the 5th most in baseball. And that was with Mazara and EE getting the bulk of the starts at their positions. While it might be frustrating to not get upgrades at RF and DH, it's hard to call those positions needs when compared to starting pitching. Lopez, Cease, and Rodon are as unreliable as starters can get, Kopech hasn't pitched in 2+ years, and Dunning is still very inexperienced and will certainly be on an innings limit next year. IMO a quality starter is priority 1. After that, see what your budget looks like.

This could really come down to what happens in games 1 and 2. If both Giolito and Keuchel can go deep in their games (with perhaps Marshall and Colome the only pen arms used), then a bullpen game in game 3 makes a lot of sense. Foster and Heuer can both go multiple innings, and Crochet probably as well. Then you have Bummer and see where you are. If the bullpen gets somewhat taxed in the first couple games, though, you pretty much have to go with Dunning in game 3 and hope he can give you at least 5 quality innings.

It's 100% the A's. Benefited from a weak division. Not particularly intimidating lineup (especislly without Chapman), and top starters are lefties. On paper, they are clearly the best match up. But I'm not sure the Sox could beat anyone in a 3 game series right now.

I haven't read the entire thread, but here are my thoughts: Ricky should be fired. I don't say that with anger or emotion. Just a matter-of-fact statement. He's an objectively poor manager who consistently makes objectively poor decisions. His best attribute (unironically) has always been "he speaks Spanish." Well, can anyone really say that's benefitted Robert or Moncada or Lopez this year?? Would they have performed worse with a non-Spanish speaking manager? Unlikely. With all of that said, the Sox front office still needs to do this the right way. They need to wait until after the season to let Ricky go, and say all the right things when they do. As satisfying as it would be to see him fired today, that sends a terrible signal to future would-be managers. No manager wants to take a job where they know a previous manager has been fired mid-season for a bad decision the prior game.

Trent Grisham was drafted in the 1st round (15th overall) out of high school. He only hit 19hrs in his first 354 minor league games. He was considered a total non-prospect by Brewer fans entering last year. Sound familiar? Sometimes it happens late.

His write up on MLB.com says he has shown flashes of a "well above average" changeup.

This is where I'm at as well. There's really no justification for Mazara getting another start this year, or even being on the roster.

That's your Game 1 lineup.