How will this team finish the season?

[SoxnCycles]

I am sure that he is trying to fix it. The bad decision was putting reliance in Buch and Kelly to start the season. The problem should have been addressed in the off season.

 

It wasn't fixed. That ship has sailed.

 

If we agree that DD is trying to get some pitching and it's going to take some time to get it done, then it falls on the coaching staff and the players to get their acts together and play up to their abilities.

 

That includes the offense, they've been an issue this month.

That includes David Price, he's been an issue for a good portion of his starts.

[a700hitter]

5.12

Price career ERA in postseason. even worse than his ERA thus far this season.

so i'm not sure that helps your argument on who to give the ball to in a 1 game must win.

I would still hand him the ball.

[Slasher9]

I would still hand him the ball.

 

based on what?

[mvp 78]

I asked MVP this question and got nothing.

 

Is DD actively trying to fix the back end of the rotation, or is he just incompetent?

 

As I don't know the inner workings of the FO, I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes or even pretend to know. I do know what I see with the on field product.

[mvp 78]

ok....i will forget salaries for a moment...

4.74 / 5.90 / 2.18 / 3.90

which two are the "problem"?

which two are not the "problem"?

which one is the "Ace"?

 

We only have a 4 man rotation now?

 

Price is not good enough. The 4's and 5's haven't been good enough.

[SoxnCycles]

As I don't know the inner workings of the FO, I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes or even pretend to know. I do know what I see with the on field product.

 

Then the "Trade __, Fire__ DFA__" posts are the way to go.

[mvp 78]

Then the "Trade __, Fire__ DFA__" posts are the way to go.

 

They've worked for the past 8 years. Why stop now?

[a700hitter]

It wasn't fixed. That ship has sailed.

 

If we agree that DD is trying to get some pitching and it's going to take some time to get it done, then it falls on the coaching staff and the players to get their acts together and play up to their abilities.

 

That includes the offense, they've been an issue this month.

That includes David Price, he's been an issue for a good portion of his starts.

Sure the ship has sailed, but that doesn't mean that it is not the cause of this team's problems. I am not going to point fingers at the strong aspects of the team. That would not be fair. They are doing their job. The offense will ebb and flow over the course of a season, but this is a high performing offense.

 

The glaring weakness of the rotation is the problem. If DD can't fix it, he can't fix it, but it is still the problem. The offense is not going to score double digits every game. No offense can. Any success that this team has had has been due to the high octane offense. We have lost games where they have scored 8, 9 and 10 games much too often. No, the problem is the pitching just as it was last year. last year the problem was the entire staff. This year the problem is a couple of rotation spots. Fix those and this team is a strong contender imo.

[a700hitter]

based on what?

That he is our best pitcher who would give us the best chance of winning the game. I am not going to let 63 innings condemn him.

[SoxnCycles]

Sure the ship has sailed, but that doesn't mean that it is not the cause of this team's problems. I am not going to point fingers at the strong aspects of the team. That would not be fair. They are doing their job. The offense will ebb and flow over the course of a season, but this is a high performing offense.

 

The glaring weakness of the rotation is the problem. If DD can't fix it, he can't fix it, but it is still the problem. The offense is not going to score double digits every game. No offense can. Any success that this team has had has been due to the high octane offense. We have lost games where they have scored 8, 9 and 10 games much too often. No, the problem is the pitching just as it was last year. last year the problem was the entire staff. This year the problem is a couple of rotation spots. Fix those and this team is a strong contender imo.

 

 

So, if this team is 10-12 games out, when they pick up a servicable pitcher, everything is good to go?

 

Not likely.

[a700hitter]

So, if this team is 10-12 games out, when they pick up a servicable pitcher, everything is good to go?

 

Not likely.

I didn't say that. It isn't going to help the 2016 team if we pick up 2 pitchers this winter either. Obviously, he needs to fix the problem sooner than later. I already posted that if he can't get it done, they are toast. It will not matter what Price or the Offense does. You can't carry 2 black holes in the rotation for the duration of the season. But the problem is the back end of the rotation.

[a700hitter]

 

There is no obvious solution to this problem in our system. Waiting and hoping for Buch and Kelly probably will guarantee that we will be fighting the Yankees and the Rays for last place in September. What do you think about stretching out Hembree to see if he can give us some quality starts? He seems to have the stuff.

Any thoughts on this?

[SoxnCycles]

I didn't say that. It isn't going to help the 2016 team if we pick up 2 pitchers this winter either. Obviously, he needs to fix the problem sooner than later. I already posted that if he can't get it done, they are toast. It will not matter what Price or the Offense does. You can't carry 2 black holes in the rotation for the duration of the season. But the problem is the back end of the rotation.

 

Which is my point, it DOES matter what Price does right now.

You got on other posters for not showing patience with Price.

There isn't time for any patience. He has to improve, begining with his next start, not a start at the end of July.

[a700hitter]

Which is my point, it DOES matter what Price does right now.

You got on other posters for not showing patience with Price.

There isn't time for any patience. He has to improve, begining with his next start, not a start at the end of July.

Price will be fine, and it will not matter if he pitches to last year's numbers if the 4th and 5th slots are not fixed. That is my point and I stand by it -- just as I stood by my point last year that the problem was the pitching and not an offensive slump in May.

[Spudboy]

Any thoughts on this?

 

I thought of this about a few weeks ago. I don't know his background or if he has started in MLB. He looks to have the stuff to go 2 innings successfully. I think he may have gone 3 or more at least once this season but my old brain is not sure.

 

I think that Hembree is one of the better parts of our bull pen so I would like to keep him there if possible. At least we could count on him providing decent performance there.

 

Moving him to the rotation could mess that up.

[Spudboy]

They really need to give O'Sullivan another shot, and that Wilkerson kid his first.

 

This.

 

Hardly ideal to hope that either of them could "stabilize" the back end of the rotation. But one or both could give 5th starter performance that exceed what we have now.

[SoxnCycles]

Price will be fine, and it will not matter if he pitches to last year's numbers if the 4th and 5th slots are not fixed. That is my point and I stand by it -- just as I stood by my point last year that the problem was the pitching and not an offensive slump in May.

 

Great, so when Buchh is back in the bullpen and the #4 pitcher can hold his own, Price is finally winning games in August, but the Sox are 12 games out, everything will be just peachy.

[a700hitter]

Great, so when Buchh is back in the bullpen and the #4 pitcher can hold his own, Price is finally winning games in August, but the Sox are 12 games out, everything will be just peachy.

And your solution is?

[Slasher9]

I thought of this about a few weeks ago. I don't know his background or if he has started in MLB. He looks to have the stuff to go 2 innings successfully. I think he may have gone 3 or more at least once this season but my old brain is not sure.

 

I think that Hembree is one of the better parts of our bull pen so I would like to keep him there if possible. At least we could count on him providing decent performance there.

 

Moving him to the rotation could mess that up.

 

he's never started a game at the MLB level. In his career he has only faced 24 batters 2nd PA in a game. Never has faced someone 3PA.

He's a FB/slider guy but has started to use a curve this season.

i'm not sure how long it would take to stretch him out.

[SoxnCycles]

And your solution is?

 

Price needs to start earning his million per game now, not sometime in the future.

[a700hitter]

Price needs to start earning his million per game now, not sometime in the future.

Oh, okay. Tweet him about that.

[a700hitter]

Price needs to start earning his million per game now, not sometime in the future.

And that is going to fix the #4 and 5 spots? I have already stated that even if Price pitches to his 2015 numbers, this team is doomed if the 4th and 5th spots do not get fixed. No playoffs, maybe not even .500 ball. So I disagree with your solution.

[Kimmi]

You didn't blame the offense last year for the team not being in first place? You didn't blame the offense today for our June swoon? You don't defend Buch ad nauseum? You didn't jump all over Price for 6 1/3 innings with 4 runs and 10 k's yesterday? You could have fooled me.

 

You take my comments out of context and apply hyperbole to them.

 

When I mention that Papi was part of the offensive woes last May, and he was, I was in no way making him my 'victim'. I was simply stating a fact. The offense stunk last May, and that was a large part of why the team fell out of contention. Not the only part, but a large part.

 

When I said that Price is not pitching like an ace and that he needs to pitch better, I am not 'jumping all over him'. Again, I was simply stating a fact. Within the same argument, I said that he was not the problem, I said that he gets more time to become acclimated, I said that I am confident that he will return to ace level soon, and I praised him for owning up to his pitching rather than making excuses. You just choose to ignore these things.

 

And I'd like to know how I can be a homer when I'm supposedly making players victims with my undue criticism and jumping all over them? These are tactics you use to try to undermine my credibility whenever my opinion does not gel with yours.

 

Try debating what I'm actually saying, which in this argument was that Price is not pitching like the ace that we thought we were getting. Can you debate that statement?

[Kimmi]

We are not going to win every one of his starts. Three of the 8 losses in Price games were by scores of 2-1, 3-2 and 3-2, and Price got the loss in only 2 of those games.

 

Ah, so the offense was to blame in those losses?

[Spudboy]

lol

[Kimmi]

I don't think this team has as many holes as it seems. The talent is there. We need the offense to get back to being a powerhouse. I don't expect them to match the production from earlier in the year, but they are certainly better than what we've seen in the last month or so. We need Price to be an ace, and we need Buchholz to keep the team in games.

 

Pick up a solid #3/4 starter, a solid reliever, and maybe an upgrade offensively at LF, Catcher, or the bench, and we should be good to go. It comes down to the current players staying healthy and performing to their ability.

[SoxnCycles]

And that is going to fix the #4 and 5 spots? I have already stated that even if Price pitches to his 2015 numbers, this team is doomed if the 4th and 5th spots do not get fixed. No playoffs, maybe not even .500 ball. So I disagree with your solution.

 

No, it doesn't fix the rotation.

What it does do is give DD some time to make a deal, before the team completely falls out of contention.

 

and I'll tweet Price about his pitching as soon as you tweet DD about "fixing the rotation".

They'll be equally effective...

[mvp 78]

If it was Schill you pals tweeted at, we could actually get an appearance!

[iortiz]

I don't think this team has as many holes as it seems. The talent is there. We need the offense to get back to being a powerhouse. I don't expect them to match the production from earlier in the year, but they are certainly better than what we've seen in the last month or so. We need Price to be an ace, and we need Buchholz to keep the team in games.

 

Pick up a solid #3/4 starter, a solid reliever, and maybe an upgrade offensively at LF, Catcher, or the bench, and we should be good to go. It comes down to the current players staying healthy and performing to their ability.

Buchh is done Kim. He is not SP anymore.

 

IMO and considering how the market seems right now, it's going to be tough to grab an arm.

 

As I've been saying the last two years, get the goddamn pitching in the offseason.

Edited June 30, 2016 by iortiz

[Slasher9]

And that is going to fix the #4 and 5 spots? I have already stated that even if Price pitches to his 2015 numbers, this team is doomed if the 4th and 5th spots do not get fixed. No playoffs, maybe not even .500 ball. So I disagree with your solution.

 

Price is pitching like a #4/#5. that means we need to fix the TOTR. show me a world series team where the "Ace" had a 4.74 ERA for the season. but i can find a ton of WS teams that had terrible 4 & 5 starters during the season....