Below are the top ZiPS comps for the starting position players, presented in lineup form, without listing who they're comparable to:

Willie Randolph
Craig Biggio
Ellis Burks
Elbie Fletcher
Todd Zeile
Marcus Giles
Dan Wilson
Will Venable
Kevin Barker

That is not an inspirational lineup.

Don't get me wrong; this is a decent team and a decent lineup. There's enough quality here, including a Hall-of-Famer and a couple of guys who were on that trajectory for a while. But it seems to lack quantity of quality. ZiPS for JD Martinez hasn't been posted yet for 2018, but in 2017 his top comp was Richie Zisk, who also doesn't inspire me.

Interestingly, the player with the Biggio comp is not Pedroia. Nor is it Betts.

ZiPS for JD Martinez hasn't been posted yet for 2018

FWIW, his Steamer projection at fangraphs is: .277/.350/.545 for a .371 wOBA.

Eduardo Nunez

Speaking of...is his knee healed? Is he projected to start the season on the DL for some team, or is he ready to go?

This is from RotoWorld;

Nunez excelled in a utility role with the Giants and Red Sox in 2017, slashing .313/.341/.460 with 12 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 114 games. He battled a knee injury down the stretch, but the versatile 30-year-old is expected to be 100 percent by the start of spring training in February.

Watching the winter weekend stuff.

- Hanley says he is ready to play first base

- David price is healthy and expected to be ready to go right from the start of spring training

- Carson Smith is 100%

- Tyler Thornburg has clearance to throw and may or may not be ready to start the season.

And Wright?

v.i., is #1 their overall comps, or those through age X?

Dombrowski talked about having six MLB starters so presumably he’s operating under an expectation of availability. I assume at this point no one knows anything about Wright’s status and for legal reasons no one wants to comment on him.

Apparently the Sox are extending the netting. It will now reach Field Box 9 on the RF line and Field Box 79 on the left field line. Both of these are well past the dugouts. Ugh.

As far as the post itself I get vi’s concerns about the offense, I share them. But the Sox are almost certain to be better offensively next year and they won 93 games last year. I think the pitching has a very good chance to be better too though that’s far from certain. I suspect the pitching will be about on par. I really want Martinez but this is a very good team.

- Hanley says he is ready to play first base

Probably should have mentioned that before they signed Moreland.

Apparently the Sox are extending the netting. It will now reach left field line. Both of these are well past the dugouts. Ugh.

The other day I watched Field Of Dreams again, and other than noticing for the first time that Ray and Terence were sitting in the 3rd base grandstand, not the 1B side as they said (the concessions behind them are the ones that were behind section 30 BITD) I was struck by the look of the park back before the monster seats and the advertisements and the extended scoreboard. I know that it was like that, and I know I saw it that way for most of my life. But it seems so foreign to me now.

v.i., is #1 their overall comps, or those through age X?

No idea. It's whatever Szym/ZiPS gives for a comp.

So this JD Martinez thing is pretty much just like the JD Drew thing, right? They don't make a move, and he doesn't make a move, but he's the best option for them, and they're the best option for him... and then it all just happens. That's where this is going, isn't it?

I suppose the exception here is that JD Drew was actually worth the contract he signed, and it's unlikely that Martinez will be, if the numbers I've seen are accurate.

So this JD Martinez thing is pretty much just like the JD Drew thing, right? They don't make a move, and he doesn't make a move, but he's the best option for them, and they're the best option for him... and then it all just happens. That's where this is going, isn't it?

That's my thinking. There is no real downside right now if you are Martinez. Wait it out and if someone gets hurt your market opens up. My guess is next week is when something breaks.

As an aside Drew was delayed in part because Theo got married.

I've been on hiatus lately, so I haven't been keeping up with my therapy appointments. Who sits if Martinez joins the team?

I've been on hiatus lately, so I haven't been keeping up with my therapy appointments. Who sits if Martinez joins the team?

mostly Hanley. Occasionally Benintendi, JBJ, or Moreland.

Moreland and Hanley likely platoon, c. 50:50 PA split.

Just hope JD can handle DH. [in a meager sample of 151 AB's, he hasn't, with a 9:49 BB:K split]

Stupid conspiracy theory. The Sox and JDM have a deal but the Sox are waiting for the Pats to be eliminated to announce it to hold the news cycle. This is stupid but I think there have been two situations in semi recent history where it’s happened. One was Theo in 2005 where it backfired. They had an agreement but didn’t want to announce on a Saturday so they waited for Monday but then Shaugnessy wrote his column and Theo changed his mind and gorilla suited out. The other I only have vague memory of but there was some move that they waited for a Pats super bowl run to end before announcing.

Like I said, stupid conspiracy theory,

Stupid conspiracy theory. The Sox and JDM have a deal but the Sox are waiting for the Pats to be eliminated to announce it to hold the news cycle.

We'll find out soon I guess.

Stupid conspiracy theory. The Sox and JDM have a deal but the Sox are waiting for the Pats to be eliminated to announce it to hold the news cycle. This is stupid but I think there have been two situations in semi recent history where it’s happened. One was Theo in 2005 where it backfired. They had an agreement but didn’t want to announce on a Saturday so they waited for Monday but then Shaugnessy wrote his column and Theo changed his mind and gorilla suited out. The other I only have vague memory of but there was some move that they waited for a Pats super bowl run to end before announcing.

I don't recall anything about the Red Sox, but the Globe sat on a story about drug use by some of the Patriots' players until the day after Super Bowl XX. They first heard about the issue in December, but didn't report it until the very end of January.