he gone.

Amen. I don't really read this thread very much to keep my sanity ... but blindly following orders is wild to me. Free will of mind and spirit along with a free market. Rangers and Rangers fans can do what they want. So can every other team. (kind of - still controlled by government). Don't the rangers have socially distanced sections as well? So you're not forced to sit in an area where not comfortable -- that's a choice. Free market will win when given a chance... I was skeptical what the crowd would look like yesterday in Texas ... but from what I can tell, at least for a home opener people want to get back out. If by week 3 crowds are sparse? I'm sure the Rangers will reverse course. Overall though the mask thing has already been debunked (and don't worry - this is CONTROVERSIAL ... in the view that no matter what side you are on you've chosen to defend that side with no open mind) -- they're saying to wear one post vaccine because they want to make sure the people without the vaccine have to continue wear theirs. If they say people who have the vaccine don't have to wear a mask then those without the vaccine (or at least the % of those who don't want to comply) will not wear a mask. So they make up a narrative to keep the control. Their intentions are good, but at the same time it's a lie. (here's the shocker to those who wan to get mad at this post and take .... i agree with wearing the masks and lying to the public for another 30-60 days) Just like when they lied saying don't wear masks, that they're not effective at the outset. They knew they were lying, but they thought they were lying for a good cause - to be able to have front line workers able to have a mask. I'm in line with rabbit here... the number of cases are down, more importantly, the number of serious cases are way down. The people who are most hit by this thing are now okay. If you're a healthy, normal, 20-45 year old it's going to be anywhere from a mild to bad flu. Will always be outliers but not enough to keep this world down. At a certain point you have to make a decision ... and i think were at the point where the pendulum has shifted. Upside v. downside. you have to open at some point.

thanks for the reminder. maybe a terrible reason to stick with tmobile ... but this is the reason i do it. haha. love the free mlb package for all my fantasy and gambling needs

Heres my take ... Yermin or Collins just has to be good enough to warrant a spot behind the plate every 4th or 5th game. That's not a whole ton, and if they are THAT bad, then they don't deserve a roster spot on the Sox at all. We're talking about beating out an aged Lucroy. I feel like we get up in arms about small issues like this... the league is full of meh defensive catchers ... Danny Jansen, Gary Sanchez ... Francisco Mejia ... catcher is a wasteland to start with, now we're talking BACKUP catcher. As long as it's not you or I back there catching the game I think we're fine if they've made it this far in their career behind the plate through A, A+, AA, AAA, etc. and are still there? We'll be fine.

Truthfully I'd rather have Yermin over Lucroy. One has at least some sort of offensive upside. Collins can handle a backup role. I hope this is the way they go.

This is LaRussa. I mean Lamb was good under his time in AZ, he's still young, did better in Oakland? However .... a big however .... when ATL is choosing Panda over him? I can't imagine he's looked very good in Spring. Okay AAAA depth, but can't say I'd like to see him take AB's from anybody, nor do I think this is our response to Eloy. I'd think Lamb would've been signed regardless. Or at least I hope so.

I probably put too much time into this for no reason, but it's Friday and don't feel like working... Obviously all the options that have kind of discussed previously ... a) Vaughn to LF, Collins to DH, Leury fills in a bit more in the OF until Engel comes back. Not a great solution, but very viable in the short term. It gives Collins an extended look, Mendick can do the UTIL in the OF while Leury does more the OF. This puts a lot more pressure on the rest of the team & on guys like Collins and Vaughn not to stumble. It's anywhere between a band-aid and maybe an actual solution. b) Billy Hamilton/Nick Williams - don't like this option. It's okay for a 10 game stretch, but not for an extended period. Engel is the other option, but again, I don't think that's even close to a solution either. Eaton and Robert are going to be injury risks and Engel is perfect in that role of 4OF that can play some extended IL stints, but not an everyday for the whole season. c) FA route... in order of what I'd like: Nick Markakis - he recently retired, so not sure if he was keeping in shape. But he has always been a high OBP guy, can slot in around 6-8 in the lineup and just do a veterans job. He's perfect IMO, just don't know if there's interest. Cespedes - it's not a great sign that he put on his display and nobody signed him. Not sure if it was his expectations for a MLB contract or him not looking good. Kluber and many pitchers did the same type of workouts and signed days later. If his bat speed is down, then really you've got yourself nothing. Shit though, I'd sign him, get him on the field for a week of games and send him to the alternate site for 3 weeks. If it's working out then give him a cup of coffee to prove it, otherwise cut bait. Puig - don't really want him after reading that sexual allegation report ... not that im judging allegations ... but there are some allegations like "he grabbed my butt" and some like "he pinned me down and then jerked off" ... not trying to say there are ranges because victims are affected all the same, but god damn did that one sound super creepy and real and if true, that's like a weird way of deranged. there are things bigger than baseball - and don't feel like cheering for that guy even if he's fun to watch on the field. EE - I made the point earlier in the offseason that for the price he'd go at it may be worth exploring. this doesn't really fix much - it theoretically gives you a possible bounce back bat at DH at a low cost, but arguably you're just blocking Collins that likely can put up the same production and doesn't really fix LF - just puts Vaughn there permanently. Josh Reddick? Just a body really. d) Trade: I feel like we've been connected to Polanco for a while & has a good spring. just 29 years old still. could be worse, plus PIrates would love to get money off the books. Could be an easy fix. Cost is a bit much... $11mm, $12.5mm team option. arguably Pirates could pick up maybe ... $3mm and we send back a Yermin type and were all happy. 1yr, 8mm. David Peralta? 1 year left, then arb year then free agent. Probably costs a bit more but is a real solution rather than a band-aid. Colorado has Sam Hilliard, Tapia, Garret Hampson and Blackmon. I'd lean towards the former ... Blackmon is just way too costly and old and propped by Coors. he was a disaster second half of last year and statcast looks bad, bad. $21mm, $20mm and $10mm still due ...... that's yikes. Even at $10, $10, $5mm I'd pass without having to return anything. career .263 hitter on the road. Tauchman - like that idea, not sure Yankees want to make us better. Oscar Mercado - not sure Indians want to give us a shot to buy low at a former prospect. Avi Garcia - not sure Brewers would cut bait, but guessing they'd be open to cutting salary. Likewsie Cain .. but he's old and expensive. Grichuk ... Toronto outfield is a bit crowded, but don't see them trading their depth when trying to contend and to a contender. e) ST Cuts: this is open to interpretation for now ... but I'd have to guess guys like Marisnick or Maybin (Cubs guys) ... guys of that caliber are cut. Are they sexy? no. Are they basically another adam engel? yes. Joc Pederson woulda been nice in retrospect. Eddie Rosario too. sad face. Jay Bruce.

Ya, there's going to be a few guys without options that get cut. There will be options out there. They won't be Eloy, but there will be options.

Talked to my buddy who's a surgeon - kinda confirmed what I was guessing - Eloy will be basically nothing this year. He can recover in 5 months, but a power hitter having to regain strength is going to take a while. Said it will be a full year before a full, full recovery. Which makes sense - the man isn't going to be able to touch weights, going to have to rebuild strength, conditioning, go through PT, build up, etc. Can't really see that happening too quickly. Maybe being young time will be on his side and he can contribute something, but I think if we get him back he'll be Eloy Lite for the year.

I understand we're in the early stages of grievance here.. this reminds me of the LaRussa DUI thread a bit. I understand also this is a whole season ... but guys, this isn't the end of the world. It hurts, but we'll be able to find a serviceable replacement that can slot in low in the lineup and play 0.2 WAR baseball. There's always the trade deadline. We can tread water via internal and smaller external options until that point and then reassess. No reason to go sell the farm for a replacement or to freak out. There will be viable options that present themselves by Memorial Day & by that point we'll have a better understanding of budget and the rest of the team needs.

Well then tell that to the front office. haha. It's just me saying out loud what you know is true. Welcome to the board tho! Kopech, Crochet, Cease, Heuer, Madrigal, Vaughn, hell, even Robert ... these guys haven't played 162, let alone 200+ games. This is why going out and getting another pitcher like a Bauer or someone was important. If you compare our depth at pitching to that of the Padres of Dodgers you'll see the problem. Also, I said, they may win the AL Pennant. If winning the Pennant isn't enough then what really is? I don't get why people would freak out about that or say I'm giving a free pass. Me: The Sox can win 95 games and win the AL and go to the series .... Response: YOU NEED TO RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS, MANAGEMENT HAS GOT AWAY WITH THIS FOR TOO LONG!! I'm just saying that although we have good pitching there's clearly an issue that a lot of these arms are going to struggle to be as sharp come September or October. Just the truth.

Huh??? They had to chip in for Arenado .... they'd have to pay like 70% of the salary of Blackmon for us to take it on and we'd give back NOTHING.

Didn't know this about Puig .... that's about all i need to know to take a pass ... https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31044776/sexual-assault-allegations-cloud-yasiel-puig-future-mlb Always did seem weird to me he couldn't land a job these past few years. Abreu seemed to not like him & i think it's pretty fair to say he was right. That report is gross. Screw him. Doesn't need a job. Especially with the Sox.

Bring up Yermin! But for real if Vaughn is in LF it kinda opens a spot. Either way, between Vaughn and Leury and eventually Engel? Not terrible. DH can be Collins. Not great, not awful. See what happens and assess again in May to see if you need to go outside the orginization.

You don't win the Postseason with 3 pitchers. It's going to take a lot more & at this point we can't go blow for blow with the top, top tier teams. Maybe we can win the AL Pennant, but this wasn't the WS year anyways. I know we'd like to think so, but it's not. You've got a buncha rookies who havne't played whole seasons let alone 200+ games including ST, regular season and postseason.

If it truly is a year ending injury I'd still stay the course. Leury, Engel, etc. aren't terrible replacements, especially with how Engel has loooked of late. That said, Eaton is also the type of guy to get hurt. I'd go with a band-aid in Cespedes & then make some calls to guys like Nick Markakis and see if he'd want to come out of retirement. You don't need a ton from that position seeing the rest of our lineup. Guys like Kevin Pillar come available at the deadline for super cheap usually and probably even more so this year. You could easily scoop a guy like Avi Garcia up in a pinch. All in all, we should be fine. This is the freakout phase, but don't worry. If it's like 4 months? 5 months? Gives enough time for him to be back for the postseason, otherwise it's a lost year. Our young pitching was never going to hold up to the rigors of a full season and postseason to hang with a Padres or Dodgers. Let's just have a productive year, win some games and get some experience.

i don't think the A's had anything to do with this.. it has to do that Eloy is a butcher in the outfield.

This. Also Yoenis makes too much sense now not to give a shot. Or dare I say .... Puig. Reddick? Leury should be able to hold it down too - just opens spot for Mendick in the IF. Also Billy isn't ideal but okay. But really Yoenis or a Puig isn't likely to happen, too late in camp to get up to speed I'd think. By the time they were ready to roll at a Major League level I'd think it'd be 3-4 weeks down the line and Eloy would be coming back. My personal opinion is Cespedes ... why not. I'd roll the dice and see what happens. Can't be that awful.

Hope Lopez can figure it out somewhere in his career. Not a great sign he couldn't do it under Katz either. Maybe he'll find it in AAA. But would assume his chances are going to quickly disappear on the Sox.

I was just looking at that! If you look at the past decade or so of winners most are hitters ... add in that Vaughn is a power hitter? I feel like the home run is favored by voters. A top 4 team in the AL, a great offense ... maybe a full season with the team? It all lines up very well. Kelenic might be June before he actually gets the call so he's playing from behind. Arozarena is tough .... he's definitely got the leg up. Kopech even has nice odds if you look at Devin Williams winning last year. Probably tougher over 162, but at the same time Kopech was one of the top favorites going into last year, so his current odds are nice. On the NL side i really like Dylan Carlson at +900

He's even admitted his liquidity isn't that high. Said he rents his NY apartment. That said it doesn't really much matter ... banks will line up to give him loans collateralized by his stock ownership in PENN. 4 more years in he'll be able to cash out some of his PENN stock. Seeing as the deal went down at like $20 and its at $120 now? He's likely got $100mm+ in stock. Should be easy to find via SEC filings. Regardless to any of that - the stock buying thing is really a marketing tool just like all the other stuff he does - he's trying to mold himself and his brand as a mix between Jimmy Buffett/Margaritaville and Howard Stern of the internet. He's selling a lifestyle brand mixed with a reality TV/shock jock/podcast mold. You might even throw in a ESPN type look. These young players all grew up on barstool and would rather jump on there. Like or hate Barstool its really only going to go up. more and more states have no revenues and need them badly which will lead to legalizing sports gambling which means more $$ for Penn. The media/podcast thing will continue to grow. The reality show angle will continue to grow. The lifestyle brand too. Plus if GME tanks 10% it's 100k, not the end of the day, espeically with the capital he has put in & the money he's likely made over the last year.

Everybody hates taxes and loathes the process, so they make it worse haha. I haven't researched this, but I'd guess most people would rather just take a flat tax and be done with it. No filling. No deductions, no mess. Just a flat tax and be done. Some would get screwed a bit, some would win a bit, but in the end it would eliminate something we hate more than anything.

Totally. You don't keep a job in MLB for more than like 3 years .... you just don't. Look how much managers and coaches turnover. Look how much players turnover. To do what coop did was a testament to his good work. coaches are just tools to unlock potential. coops approach was to keep it simple from what i've heard over the years, get it and throw it. The grip and rip it approach in a way. pitching to me seems a lot like golf - you can get lost in the weeds with a lot of overthinking and slight tweaks. the top players can fall from grace quick and never get it back. for a lot of these guys they're in the majors because of their "stuff" and for a lot of guys the get it and throw it approach is what they need. To me it would've been nice to have a few pitching coaches on the squad.. a coop guy for the guys who need that approach and a katz for the guys who want the deep dive approach.

You have a seller in me then! who knows where my seats will be in a socially distanced world - but I should be nearish the 1st base batters circle, about 5 rows up. I’ll sell all day if the market is high & can cut out stubhub fees.

But was that directly through Indiana Pacers.com or whatever? stubhub and directly from the source would seem to be different. like are oyou saying hte sox would move their outfield seats from $30 to $100 like it's playoff pricing?

We signed Mat Latos for like $4mm right? And Ervin Santana got a few million from us. That's this - but with better upside. Though that said I would've liked him in camp two weeks ago if we were doing the signing. Every day that goes by I like it less and less.