Lillian

Hey, present company excluded. I'm old, but I'm not "whiny," nor bad-tempered. All of these very young multi-millionaires are prone to ill-advised behaviour. Awarding tens of millions of dollars to young men, in their early 20's, in our current social culture, what could possibly go wrong? Hopefully, Abreu will provide some positive role model suggestions, minus the tobacco chewing. At any rate, I'm glad that Puig was not added to this likeable group of players.

Is Colorado really looking for that much talent, in their attempts to trade Arenado? I would think that it would take less. That contract is not exactly a bargain. As has been pointed out, the acquiring team would only be getting two guaranteed years of his service, because of his opt out. Seems like a lot to give up for just two years.

Leury should be just fine, as a platoon partner for Mazara. He hits lefties well enough to cover those games, as his performance over the last 3 years indicates: AVG OBP SLG .302 .341 .349 .333 .349 .444 .311 .344 .443 Given his speed and versatility, he is probably as good as some of the other names, which have been suggested, in the limited role of Mazara's platoon partner, especially when considering the cost. I'm much more interested in additional pitching depth, than I am concerned about acquiring a guy to take 100 + at bats from Mazara. In fact, I'd kind of like to know if Mazara can learn to hit lefties better. If Nomar realizes his potential vs. RH pitching, it would be helpful to know if he would still need a platoon partner, going forward, should the Sox have an interest in extending him.

Here are the issues, as I see them: 1) Fairness - The victories in the Post Season were not fairly won. 2) Justice - How do you try to rectify the injustice done and achieve some restitution? The only action which really fits the offense is to have the title, which was not won fairly, taken away. Exactly how that can be achieved is something that can be debated. It would understandably be problematic, at the very least. Questions such as; who would be declared the champions, what about the individual statistics compiled during the post season, what happens to the W. S. rings and what about the additional earnings derived from winning the Championship? However those issues would be resolved, in any case, the Astros should not be entitled to claim the World Series Championship in 2017. 3) Deterrent - Measures must be taken to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of this behaviour. Perhaps strong penalties, as well as means of precluding any such future attempts, can all be part of that process. The use of electronic communication between the catcher and the pitcher would seem to be one viable strategy. In summary; suspending players doesn't seem to be feasible. How can one be certain which players participated, or which ones knew and did, or didn't object. The more appropriate measure would be to simply deprive them of their unfairly awarded title of Champions. It's a team sport and that punishment affects the entire team. Strip them and the team of their fraudulently awarded title and let them live with that disappointment and shame. That is my humble opinion, and I'm sure that many have their own take, which is quite different.

I'm not qualified to address the technological challenges, but I suspect that a secure means of communication could be achieved.

Not having read this entire thread, perhaps this has already been suggested, but why can't pitchers and catchers utilize a similar means of electronic communication, to eliminate future sign stealing? Putting down fingers seems like a pretty antiquated method of communication, in this modern digital age. That would be a completely appropriate use of the technology and eliminate the ability of teams to steal signs. As for the appropriateness of the punishments handed down by the Commissioner; As long as the perpetrators keep their World Series titles, it doesn't seem like justice has really been served here. Managers and GM's get fired all of the time, for doing nothing wrong, beyond failing to produce. That is not a harsh punishment and not sufficient to deter future violations. Beyond the deterrent issue, the fact is that the Astros, and perhaps the Red Sox, did not fairly earn their championships. That fact is not being addressed, by simply suspending a few people for one year. Well, I'm sure that has all been expressed by others, but that's my take.

That's true.

I see. So, you would be willing to just put Castellanos in RF and accept his poor defense. Well, that is one possibility, but I'm not sure how much sense that makes. At any rate, thanks for the clarification.

Do you really think that he would get any playing time in LF, with Eloy there? Why would he get any of the DH at bats, with E. E. there? They're all right handed hitters. I don't see the logic in that. Given his poor defense, the only place I see that he would fit, would be as a platoon partner with Mazara, taking the AB's versus LH pitching and I don't know why he would sign a one year contract, accepting such a limited role. Moreover, even if he would accept such a limited role, it would be hard to justify spending that much money to acquire him, under those circumstances.

I agree. Moreover, he isn't going to sign a one year deal, to be platooned. He wouldn't have much of an opportunity to improve his stock, batting exclusively against left handed pitching.

He actually hit pretty well in 2018, while playing third base. Last year, he moved back to his natural position, where the same offensive numbers, combined with his Gold Glove defense, at the keystone position would have been fine. However, for some reason his XBH production just vanished, which is odd considering the juiced ball. I suspect that some team will take a chance on him, in hopes that he can rediscover his ability to at least be a gap hitter. In any case, his contract will likely not earn him what he was due to receive in arbitration.

Being a pitcher, do you think that Keuchel will be immune to any culpability in this ongoing story?

It would be interesting to see some you compare the various respective parts of the 2 pitching staffs. I would think that the Sox have the distinct advantage, in terms of quality, depth and potential.

Exactly, apparently their front office does not embrace the old adage that says "pitching wins championships".

Your point is well taken. Nevertheless, for those who haven't watched a given team, or player, on a daily basis, this kind of data can be very useful. Our eyes tell us that Bummer was terrific, last season and we don't really need to examine all of the stats to recognise that fact. However, not having had the benefit of seeing Cishek pitch, very much, these stats are helpful in at least determining whether, or not, we should be pleased about his acquisition.

Thank you. That is very interesting and useful statistical data. I've never seen that.

Yes, of course the percentage of inherited runners, who scored is also very important. Last year, he allowed 33% of the 27 inherited runners to score. In that category, Bummer was better, allowing just 19% of the 36 inherited runners, to score. Cishek was better, in 2018, when he allowed 29% of the 59 inherited runners to score. I think we agree that he was overworked, the last couple of years, by Maddon. Inherited runners are not much of a concern for closers, as they are usually brought in, to start the last inning. Thanks for suggesting that I cite those stats, as well.

Won't Ryan Burr be a part of the pen's equation, once he is finished with his rehab, for TJS? The Sox re-signed him, last month.

I thought that the other procedure was arthroscopic surgery to "clean up his shoulder," from which he seemed to have completely recovered. Here is a quote, from MLB.com, at the time: "Significant bursitis was found in the White Sox southpaw's shoulder and a debridement of the area was done. Both the rotator cuff and labrum were viewed as normal, and Rodon is expected to make a full recovery."

Is there some specific reason that we should be especially concerned about Rodon's ability to completely recover from Tommy John Surgery?

Even more revealing than the splits, if you examine his "game logs" for last year, you will find that he rarely gave up any runs. There were just a few occasions where he was not effective, but the vast majority of the time, he was lights out. April was his worst month. He made 13 appearances and gave up no runs in 11 of them. However, on 2 occasions, he gave up 3 runs, in each. In total, he made 70 appearances and was unscored upon in all but 13 of them. Aaron Bummer was also scored upon 13 times, in 12 fewer appearances, and he had a terrific season. From my perspective, if a reliever can come in and not give up anything, 82% of the time, I'll take that. In Cishek's 5 previous seasons, his WHIP was right around 1.000. Last year it ballooned up to 1.203. Hopefully, he won't be overused in our pen, as he was the last 2 years.

They now have 4 excellent candidates for the 8TH inning; Bummer, Herrera, Colome and Cichek. A lights out closer could still be worth while. However, it would have to be via a trade, as there aren't any available, in free agency. The other possibility is to try Bummer as the closer, in which case they probably need another lefty, as Fry is the only other southpaw bullpen arm and I have lost confidence in him, after last season.

I could not agree more. This has been my contention, from the beginning, providing that he is willing to contribute in that limited capacity.

I'm not sure that I understand the rule, regarding the signing of a Minor League free agent. Could you please clarify exactly what the Sox would need to do, in order to keep Fernandez in the organization?

This acquisition of Fernandez could simply be about organizational depth. McCann will likely be gone by 2021, at the latest. Having a solid defensive catcher in the system, makes sense. It's premature to read much more into this move. We'll see. Has this move even been officially reported? I can't seem to find anything, to confirm it.