SpringfieldFan

Please don't give me one of those weekend games where we give up a crooked number early and then bear an afternoon of two hoppers to shortstop style corpseball.

This season and its championship will be the mother of all asterisks. Its not a bad thing. Everyone will remember 2020 because it was *so* unique, and whomever wins it will be etched in American conciousness for generations. I'll take it.

I don't know what to think about all this. It's so very different. I hear assertions like a vaccine being at least 18mo. away, that the summer heat may not affect this virus, that it will come back worse in the fall, and even another saying there might be 30 mutations of it already. To be honest I now look at old video of crowds at sports events and concerts and it already looks in a strange way "unnatural", like from a long lost age. There may be an experiment of the likes mentioned but think it will quickly prove unviable. I honestly don't know when baseball comes back.

For all that Italy has had about 800 deaths out of 60 million people. That's horrible and as such needs preventative measures and mitigation, but it still amazes me that the response to that is to flat shut down society. Also, and I hate to go here, but the writer claims training only in political and moral philosophy, and with a byline as an advisor of "Protect Democracy". I just wonder about the objectivity. Again, the manifold response means there IS something to all this IMO. It just doesn't feel like I am aware of whatever gravity is out there.

This is so surreal. This virus has killed but 37 people in the US and 4700 out of 8 billion worldwide, most of those in a country where new cases have leveled off. Because of that society is literally going on haitus before our eyes. The 9-11 aftermath wasn't even like this. I am not saying the panic is or isn't warranted, because its very real. Yet at the same time doesn't make sense. Its like there is something we aren't being told.

Good article. It discusses his commitment to excellence and also how he he is no longer afraid to be himself and let his passion break traditional "rules" of baseball etiquette, which in turn makes the sport more relevant and attractive to the new generation. The NYT also devoted a few paragraphs to race considerations in MLB since TA is the only African American on the team. The handling of that part was complimentary, but seemed shoehorned in just a bit since that's not really a "thing" with TA so much as what he can do for the local community and the youth.

Yes, I can already see/sense something special about this team's personality. They have incredible young talent complimented by a confident streetwise grittiness binding them together and already giving the team its own unique identity. There is no other team I can compare them too. If their talent pans out this team is going to be an absolute dream for fans and marketers.

I'm thinking maybe just keep the wallet closed this spring and wait for the streetwear...

I think this is a consequence of giving someone control to design on behalf of the league as a whole. Had each team been left responsible for their own look and cap this wouldn't have happened. What instead happened was a league-wide umbrella project and whomever came up with the design template saw (or thought) it was cool at least for some of the teams. When it got down to doing the Sox, they were so married to the idea and couldn't see past it to notice that as applied to the Sox - it sux.

I'm ready to just enjoy what we have. There is too much for us to be excited about to waste our attention looking at other teams. I will leave that to the front office.

LaRussa also said he would be willing to deliberately forfeit games during the 1981 split season if it would help another team win both halves but put the Sox in the playoff as the wildcard. It wasn't cheating per se but showed he was willing to game the system, even if not in the spirit of authentic competion. SFF

I'm hoping for Rodon to be the welcome surprise. Before his injury he was starting to look kind of "acey" if I recall. Once the diagnosis came in, some (me included) were thinking we would never even see him pitch in a Sox uniform again. Well, he will be suiting up so let's see how he does and if he can stay healthy.

I dream of them to have a team that because of its success, will be identified by the faces of its players by a generation of fans everywhere. Think of Garvey, Lopes, Baker, and Cey; or Nettles, Jackson, Guidry and PInellla; or Stargell, Madlock, Parker and Tekulve. Those legends defined the teams they played and made them timeless. Could this young core the Sox will have locked up become like one of those? SFF

Don Kessinger

...especially when you still have that Machado/Harper money

So, right now the Sox have TWO catchers from the last all star game on their roster at the same time. When has *that* ever happened?

The Sox will overtake the Cubs in popularity right after the Mets overtake the Yankees and the Clippers overtake the Lakers. In other words, probably best to just look at what's going on on-field for any bragging rights.

And if Kopech returns and is back at 100%, mercy...

As things are going, he has a legitimate shot at winning the batting title. He is in the dialed in right now and if he can stay reasonably hot he has the inside track since with his lower plate appearances, every hit it is going to have a greater affect on his average than for those who have more AB's. I am also going to get ahead of myself just to say I called it first if it were to happen, but I will make him my darkhorse to be MVP next year. If the team comes together and contends, and if he puts up numbers as good or better next year on top of being the catalyst he already is, its possible IMO.

The guy's way to expensive for what he is providing. Frankly, you could replace him with a much cheaper option, lose no production, and put the money saved towards free hot dog nights to boost ticket sales. I am only half joking there b/c Yolmer sure isn't boosting anything. SFF

When I was a boy the ASG was *the* big game of the year for me, most likely because the possiblity of the Sox in a pennant race was simply not part of the calculus back then. SFF

So tell me - who's the only ten game winner in baseball?

What’s the lowdown on TA out, again? All I could see was that his wrist was still “sore” and that he *hadn’t* gotten x-rays. Just precautionary I assume? I’m sure its just me but I can’t help but have an unsettled feeling....

Seems like elite pitchers these days are far more likely to have serious injuries requiring surgery than the previous generation, and yet the pitchers of old used to throw well over a hundred pitches a night, and sometimes with four man rotations. I wonder what’s up with that.

This may be the worst team in a generation or maybe just ran into a hot TB team, I don't know. The one thing I know for sure is that when you are going good you are not as good as you think and when you are going bad you are not as bad as you think...