A Realistic View at 2021: Part III

[mvp 78]

So, are you saying that Cora was appropriately patient with Dalbec, Gonzalez and Cordero?

 

Well, he did think Dalbec was certain to get his OPS back to 730 this year or so.

[moonslav59]

So, are you saying that Cora was appropriately patient with Dalbec, Gonzalez and Cordero?

 

Yes, 100% on Dalbec and Cordero.

 

Marwin hitting under .570 is unacceptable, and being 9th in team PAs seems absurd, but Arroyo has been out, and Kike was needed in CF, so I can understand most of his playing choices.

 

Personally, I'd have limited Marwin's playing time more, but I don't see Arauz as being a better choice, so I'm okay with what Cora did.

 

I was for demoting Cordero about the same time he was- somewhat before, but not by much.

 

I was for finding a platoon partner for Dalbec earlier than Cora/Bloom, but not by so much more time for me to complain about the timing.

 

I don't believe 100-200 PAs is enough to determine who a player is. With Marwin, we knew we had about a .700 hitter who in this new era would adjust to .650, so .550 is not "way off."

 

Cordero & Dalbec ahs very limited ML sample sizes, so they both needed longer looks, IMO.

 

Again, I'd have gone shorter on all 3, but not by enough to say Cora/Bloom messed up.

 

I'm glad they did not give up on Renfroe.

[moonslav59]

Well, he did think Dalbec was certain to get his OPS back to 730 this year or so.

 

I said that?

[Bellhorn04]

Everyone seems to overlook the fact that Dalbec is a minimum wage player, which is important to a team trying to stay under the tax line.

[mvp 78]

Everyone seems to overlook the fact that Dalbec is a minimum wage player, which is important to a team trying to stay under the tax line.

 

JayCutlerDontCare.GIF

 

Why have your starting 1b be a minimum wage guy? Makes no damn sense if he can't perform.

[mvp 78]

I said that?

 

Yes sir.

[moonslav59]

Yes sir.

 

I don't remember saying he would. Maybe I said he might or possibly "expect" him to, way back when, but I rarely say a player will hit XXX.

 

Are you talking about my pre-season predictions?

[Bellhorn04]

JayCutlerDontCare.GIF

 

Why have your starting 1b be a minimum wage guy? Makes no damn sense if he can't perform.

 

They were expecting, or hoping for better. It's been known to happen.

[mvp 78]

I don't remember saying he would. Maybe I said he might or possibly "expect" him to, way back when, but I rarely say a player will hit XXX.

 

Are you talking about my pre-season predictions?

 

I'm wrong, I think I'm getting a couple of conversations from earlier in the season confused.

 

You stated that Dalbec should be able to get back to a 300 OBP. I said he needed to have a 330 OBP. Regardless, he's been worse than either you or I hoped for.

[mvp 78]

They were expecting, or hoping for better. It's been known to happen.

 

I think they were expecting to be competitive this year, but not in first place. They were indecisive at the deadline and dropped the ball IMO.

 

There's no guarantee that they'll be in first place at the deadline in any of the next 3 seasons. Need to take the opportunities when they arise.

[moonslav59]

Everyone seems to overlook the fact that Dalbec is a minimum wage player, which is important to a team trying to stay under the tax line.

 

The guy put up good numbers in the minors and had a nice ML start in 2020. It seemed like just when I seemed to think he should probably be demoted to work on his swing, he had a few nice games.

 

I was all for bringing up Santana, but that didn't work out. Casas is not ML ready. I even suggested Ockimey as a platoon for Dalbec and was laughed at by some.

 

Should we have started Marwin at 1B? (LOL)

 

Don't blame Cora: he had few choices- none obviously better than Dalbec.

 

Blame Bloom, if you must blame someone, but we had to find out if Dalbec was for real or not.

 

We can argue about when enough is enough, but I think everyone agreed.

 

Is 2, 3 or 4 weeks all you give?

 

Ideally, with a contending team, you have another option to play as you send the kid down to work things out in AAA. We had no better options. We tried the "throw everything against the wall" method, and Santana failed, Arroyo got hurt and Cordero is not hitting like he did in AAA before he was given his second look.

 

To me, 4 weeks is not enough. 6-8 weeks, maybe. 10 weeks, probably. 3 months, more often than not, enough.

 

(It wasn't for JBJ.)

 

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Oh my god, the Red Sox are considering making some roster changes. I'm in a state of shock--did you ever think we would see the day?

 

BOSTON -- After losing 10 of their last 13 games, the Red Sox might be ready to shake things up a bit.

 

Throughout the first 4 ½ months of the season, the Sox have largely stuck with the same core of players while shuffling only complementary pieces on the outskirts of their roster. But with just 48 games left -- and their deficit in the AL East growing by the day -- it wouldn’t come as a surprise if some major roster shuffling takes place soon. In fact, many possibilities are being discussed, major-league sources said this week.

 

Barring a surprise, starter Garrett Richards will be demoted to the bullpen, potentially as soon as early this week.

 

Dalbec down to AAA? Dalbec has gotten an incredibly long leash this season but has not produced, hitting .218 with a .264 on-base percentage and .655 OPS in 92 games. Even more striking is strikeout-to-walk ratio of 119-to-15, which looks like a typo.

 

Marwin out, Muñoz in? In 2019, the Red Sox cut bait with a well-liked utility man in the middle of the year, designating Eduardo Nuñez for assignment in mid-July. A similar fate might await Gonzalez, a Cora favorite who owns just a .566 OPS in 75 games (and a .510 OPS in 11 games since July 1). Gonzalez has started 65 games and has given the Sox a solid defensive option at multiple positions, but it’s possible the club is getting to a point where the offensive deficiency is too much to ignore. A potential replacement is Yairo Muñoz, who has a 30-game hitting streak for the WooSox and can also play multiple positions.

 

Quietly, the Sox’ bullpen picture is a bit of a mess right now with Darwinzon Hernandez (right oblique strain) out for a while and Hirokazu Sawamura (right elbow tightness) potentially joining him on the injured list. Robles and Davis, the two trade deadline additions, haven’t cut it, meaning Richards and Pérez might actually be able to earn important roles if they pitch well.

 

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2021/08/boston-red-sox-could-be-on-the-verge-of-roster-shakeup-garrett-richards-to-bullpen-bobby-dalbec-to-woosox-among-possibilities.html

 

Bloom and Cora have mismanaged this team. The Red Sox have finally concluded that they need to make changes (hallelujah and congratulations!), but the trade deadline came and went, the train has left the station, and so the Red Sox are limited in what they can do.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Yahoo Sports is covering this too:

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb-rumors-red-sox-discussing-190039239.html

 

Good point:

Red Sox fans may have wanted to see the team make more impactful moves ahead of the MLB trade deadline instead of having to piece together internal solutions to their roster flaws.

[Bellhorn04]

Oh my god, the Red Sox are considering making some roster changes. I'm in a state of shock--did you ever think we would see the day?

 

 

 

Bloom and Cora have mismanaged this team. The Red Sox have finally concluded that they need to make changes (hallelujah and congratulations!), but the trade deadline came and went, the train has left the station, and so the Red Sox are limited in what they can do.

 

And they were limited in what they could do at the deadline, too.

[mvp 78]

And they were limited in what they could do at the deadline, too.

 

No, they didn't have to reset. They could have done anything they wanted to do. They chose to limit themselves.

[notin]

No, they didn't have to reset. They could have done anything they wanted to do. They chose to limit themselves.

 

They couldn’t “reset” since they did so last year; they needed to set something first so they could reset it…

[Bellhorn04]

No, they didn't have to reset. They could have done anything they wanted to do. They chose to limit themselves.

 

Sure, they could have traded every prospect.

[mvp 78]

They couldn’t “reset” since they did so last year; they needed to set something first so they could reset it…

 

I literally said they didn't have to reset (i.e. they already reset).

[mvp 78]

Sure, they could have traded every prospect.

 

They could have done anything more than trade for a 1B on the IL.

[notin]

Sure, they could have traded every prospect.

 

If only MLB didn’t have that new extremist deadline rule where teams have to either stay under the limit or trade away every prospect and take on as much salary as possible. Curse you, Rob Manfred!! Allow for a “middle off the road” approach where teams just go over a little.

 

Also, bring back 9 inning double headers …

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Neither article referenced him, but if C.Seabold has another excellent start in AAA, I would promote him and use him to piggyback off of Houck. Kind of like Houck goes 4, and then Seabold pitches the next 4. They can easily make room for Seabold: demote Davis or Rios, release Robles, or put Sawamura on the DL.

 

I guess there is a possibility that Richards could be deactivated (rather than sent to the bullpen).

[notin]

I literally said they didn't have to reset (i.e. they already reset).

 

 

I think their approach this year was to “rereset”…

[mvp 78]

If only MLB didn’t have that new extremist deadline rule where teams have to either stay under the limit or trade away every prospect and take on as much salary as possible. Curse you, Rob Manfred!! Allow for a “middle off the road” approach where teams just go over a little.

 

Also, bring back 9 inning double headers …

 

I'll take the middle road in lieu of the 18 inning days.

[mvp 78]

I think their approach this year was to “rereset”…

 

Continuously pushing reset and wiggling the NES cartridge to make it work. They needed to pull it out and blow on it.

[mvp 78]

Neither article referenced him, but if C.Seabold has another excellent start in AAA, I would promote him and use him to piggyback off of Houck. Kind of like Houck goes 4, and then Seabold pitches the next 4. They can easily make room for Seabold: demote Davis or Rios, release Robles, or put Sawamura on the DL.

 

I guess there is a possibility that Richards could be deactivated (rather than sent to the bullpen).

 

Seabold as a starter and Houck to the pen makes sense.

[notin]

I'll take the middle road in lieu of the 18 inning days.

 

You’re not legally required to watch all 18. Just don’t step on the toes of us who do want it…

[notin]

Seabold as a starter and Houck to the pen makes sense.

 

Sounds good to me. Where do I vote for it?

[mvp 78]

You’re not legally required to watch all 18. Just don’t step on the toes of us who do want it…

 

Ok.

[notin]

According to someone named Darren Hartwell in an article on Yahoo, the Sox might be making the following changes.

 

1. Sale and Houck to the rotation; Richards joins Perez in the bullpen

2. Demoting Dalbec when Schwarber is activated.

3. Yairo Munoz to Boston; Marwin Gonzalez to free agency.

 

Not sure why they demoted Dalbec when activating Schwarber negates the need for Cordero

 

Anyway….

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mlb-rumors-red-sox-discussing-190039239.html

[moonslav59]

According to someone named Darren Hartwell in an article on Yahoo, the Sox might be making the following changes.

 

1. Sale and Houck to the rotation; Richards joins Perez in the bullpen

2. Demoting Dalbec when Schwarber is activated.

3. Yairo Munoz to Boston; Marwin Gonzalez to free agency.

 

Not sure why they demoted Dalbec when activating Schwarber negates the need for Cordero

 

Anyway….

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mlb-rumors-red-sox-discussing-190039239.html

 

I don't see Marwin being DFA'd for Munoz.

 

We'd send down Arauz.

 

When Arroyo is activated, then I'd do it, but I doubt Cora signs off on that.