A Realistic View of the 2025 Red Sox: Part I

[Old Red]

7 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

If games to date are an indication of things, it would appear to be that Campbell is competing for an outfield spot and not the 2nd baseman spot.  Kind of weird, but it does make some sense. 

It does appear that way on the 2B situation. I think KC is just getting AB like everyone else, and not really in any competition for an OF job, and will head back to Woo with Anthony, and Mayer, and then go from there.

[Bellhorn04]

49 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Im not even sure theres such a thing as a second baseman anymore.

There's "middle infielder" now.

[Larry Cook]

6 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Because he needs more improvement there, maybe?

There is no way we have Campbell on the Opening Day roster unless he plays near FT, so maybe Cora's plan is to get him 150 games at 2B AND LF.

Who knows?

Campbell looks like an outfielder to me. He did not look smooth, athletic or confident in the infield  to me 

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Campbell looks like an outfielder to me. He did not look smooth, athletic or confident in the infield  to me 

From SP:

Field: Versatile defender who has played second base, third base, shortstop and center field. Looks most comfortable at second base, where he played in college. At short and third, shows solid athleticism and range, but is a little unorthodox with his movements. In the outfield, he Is still learning the nuances of the position, especially with his reads and routes, but has the raw athleticism and speed you look for out there and to cover up for most errors. Potential average defensive profile with the versatility to adequately play at least three positions.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Im not even sure theres such a thing as a second baseman anymore.

On Opening Day, you'll tell us that you knew that the Sox had decided on the 2b back in early March. Then they'll play hot potato with the position for 162 games. 

[drewski6]

44 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Can't believe my wife snuck on here and stole the identity of drewski6

what you making/ordering us for dinner tonight?

[mvp 78]

Just now, drewski6 said:

what you making/ordering us for dinner tonight?

Ain't no way 5G cooks for the fam. 

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Ain't no way 5G cooks for the fam. 

well, maybe he needs to trade one of those gloves for an oven mitt and whip us up some stroganoff

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

well, maybe he needs to trade one of those gloves for an oven mitt and whip us up some stroganoff

Cursed meal. 

5G, get in the kitchen and make some crabcake sandwiches with homemade chips STAT. 

[drewski6]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

Cursed meal. 

5G, get in the kitchen and make some crabcake sandwiches with homemade chips STAT. 

Id eat a crabcake right now

[moonslav59]

54 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Campbell looks like an outfielder to me. He did not look smooth, athletic or confident in the infield  to me 

I have not seen enough to have an opinion.

sosprospects.com has this...

Looks most comfortable at second base, where he played in college. At short and third, shows solid athleticism and range, but is a little unorthodox with his movements Potential average defensive profile with the versatility to adequately play at least three positions.

Arm: Average arm. Passable on the left side of the infield, but best suited for second base.

[Larry Cook]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I have not seen enough to have an opinion.

sosprospects.com has this...

Looks most comfortable at second base, where he played in college. At short and third, shows solid athleticism and range, but is a little unorthodox with his movements Potential average defensive profile with the versatility to adequately play at least three positions.

Arm: Average arm. Passable on the left side of the infield, but best suited for second base.

I still think he has the highest ceiling with the bat of the big three. I am confident we can find a suitable spot in the field for him when the time comes 

[moonslav59]

47 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

I still think he has the highest ceiling with the bat of the big three. I am confident we can find a suitable spot in the field for him when the time comes 

If he hits real well, just near average defense will be good enough. Even slightly below average defense at 2B would be an improvement over our 5 year defense at 2B.

27th in OAA at -20 (30th '23-'24 at -23)

22nd UZR/150 at -1.1 (23rd '23-'24)

13th DRS at +5 (24th from '23-'23 at -11)

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Cursed meal. 

5G, get in the kitchen and make some crabcake sandwiches with homemade chips STAT. 

No stroganoff in my kitchen, nor skeletons in my closet. 

The crabcakes are in Baltimore. I think I ate them at four joints last time I was there to watch the Sox.

When the O's start to suck again for not signing top talent (circa Boston in then first half of the 2020s), we should all take a roadtrip.

[drewski6]

13 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

No stroganoff in my kitchen, nor skeletons in my closet. 

The crabcakes are in Baltimore. I think I ate them at four joints last time I was there to watch the Sox.

When the O's start to suck again for not signing top talent (circa Boston in then first half of the 2020s), we should all take a roadtrip.

I had a delicious crabcake in Alexandria a few months ago

[drewski6]

I didnt realize stroganoff was as unpopular as joba chamberlain on this forum

[mvp 78]

32 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I didnt realize stroganoff was as unpopular as joba chamberlain on this forum

This is a very high brown forum! 🧐

[moonslav59]

soxprospects.com projects the starting rotation to be: Crochet, Buehler, Houck, Giolito & Fitts (Crawford & Bello on the IL)

The pen: Hendriks, Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock, Wilson, Guerrero, Wink and A Adams or Ottavino (as they have 14 pitchers listed)

C: Wong

1B: Casas

2B: DHam

SS: Story

3B: Bregman

LF: Duran

CF: Rafaela

RF: Abreu

DH: Devers

Bench: Narvaez, Yoshida, Refsnyder, Romy and a 14th player in Sogard (Grissom at DH in AAA.)

No top 3 prospect on the 26 or 40.

[Larry Cook]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

soxprospects.com projects the starting rotation to be: Crochet, Buehler, Houck, Giolito & Fitts (Crawford & Bello on the IL)

The pen: Hendriks, Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock, Wilson, Guerrero, Wink and A Adams or Ottavino (as they have 14 pitchers listed)

C: Wong

1B: Casas

2B: DHam

SS: Story

3B: Bregman

LF: Duran

CF: Rafaela

RF: Abreu

DH: Devers

Bench: Narvaez, Yoshida, Refsnyder, Romy and a 14th player in Sogard (Grissom at DH in AAA.)

No top 3 prospect on the 26 or 40.

With Anthony and Mayer missing quality at bat chances due to the stomach bug, I think they should start in Worcester. 
Campbell has simply played his way to Worcester. 
 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Larry Cook said:

With Anthony and Mayer missing quality at bat chances due to the stomach bug, I think they should start in Worcester. 
Campbell has simply played his way to Worcester. 
 

I think we've played 12 and have 17 games to go. I'm not sure all the decisions have been made, already, and some injury could change everything, but yes, so far, Campbell has not impressed.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I think we've played 12 and have 17 games to go. I'm not sure all the decisions have been made, already, and some injury could change everything, but yes, so far, Campbell has not impressed.

It was likely Campbell's remade, "unorthodox" attack in the minor league batter's box would get exploited soon by big league pitchers. If anyone caught some ST games on TV, some of his early Ks showed him not just pulling his head, but almost swiveling his whole body off the ball. 

But the last few games it appears he's already made adjustments. His swing has calmed down and he's barreling more pitches.

After the past half decade, we all want the Red Sox to be good again asap, but obviously need to be patient with the youth. The starting pitching could be very good this season, but the best team might still be a few years away...

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

It was likely Campbell's remade, "unorthodox" attack in the minor league batter's box would get exploited soon by big league pitchers. If anyone caught some ST games on TV, some of his early Ks showed him not just pulling his head, but almost swiveling his whole body off the ball. 

But the last few games it appears he's already made adjustments. His swing has calmed down and he's barreling more pitches.

After the past half decade, we all want the Red Sox to be good again asap, but obviously need to be patient with the youth. The starting pitching could be very good this season, but the best team might still be a few years away...

The best team being a few years away is fine, but 3 years, and counting to not making the postseason, and being a winning team is not.

[Hitch]

11 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

With Anthony and Mayer missing quality at bat chances due to the stomach bug, I think they should start in Worcester. 
Campbell has simply played his way to Worcester. 
 

We're nowhere near making those decisions yet. We're just over a 3rd of the way through ST, 🤯

[Hitch]

34 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

 

After the past half decade, we all want the Red Sox to be good again asap, but obviously need to be patient with the youth. The starting pitching could be very good this season, but the best team might still be a few years away...

I think this undeniable. 

[moonslav59]

45 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

It was likely Campbell's remade, "unorthodox" attack in the minor league batter's box would get exploited soon by big league pitchers. If anyone caught some ST games on TV, some of his early Ks showed him not just pulling his head, but almost swiveling his whole body off the ball. 

But the last few games it appears he's already made adjustments. His swing has calmed down and he's barreling more pitches.

After the past half decade, we all want the Red Sox to be good again asap, but obviously need to be patient with the youth. The starting pitching could be very good this season, but the best team might still be a few years away...

I agree, and I trust Brez & Co to know  when to call up these guys. Unless there is a major injury, or someone is stinking up the place, I don't see a major urgency. Of course, some could argue, why wait for DHam to stink up the place and just give the more promising Campbell (or Mayer) the shot on day one, and they have a point. I can see both sides of the debate, and am not sure there is a clear answer.

To me, the added year of team control, for a cheap owner like ours, might end up tipping the balance to waiting on the kids. It's not a terribly long wait, and it's not like DHam/Romy, Duran-Rafaela-Abreu/Ref and others have not shown enough skills and promise to also deserve a slot on the 26 and playing time. (I did not list Grissom, on purpose. He needs to prove himself, first. IMO, he does not have a case against the kids or the others listed.

These kids will get their chance, when they are ready and the need is great enough.

[moonslav59]

17 minutes ago, Hitch said:

We're nowhere near making those decisions yet. We're just over a 3rd of the way through ST, 🤯

...and sometimes a full ST'ing isn't a big enough sample size to decide on one guy over another.

[mvp 78]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I think we've played 12 and have 17 games to go. I'm not sure all the decisions have been made, already, and some injury could change everything, but yes, so far, Campbell has not impressed.

Yup, stick a fork in him after the first 5 games of Spring Training!!! 

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yup, stick a fork in him after the first 5 games of Spring Training!!! 

Yes, but what if KC was 10-21 instead of 2-21?  The ranting, and raving would be full blown.

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes, but what if KC was 10-21 instead of 2-21?  The ranting, and raving would be full blown.

Is anyone on here ranting and raving about Nate Eaton? Spring Training stats don't matter. How a player looks matter. Campbell had a rough first few games. So do many other players. Since then, he's cut down his k's and looks more comfortable. Lou Merloni mentioned that he thought he had put too much pressure on himself (he was the only guy of the new big 3 that people were slotting in for the Opening Day roster), but is now playing looser and is more patient at the plate. If Lou is happy with where he's at, who am I to complain? 

People talk about stuff all the time that I find to be annoying. I just don't participate in those conversations! It's not that hard. 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Is anyone on here ranting and raving about Nate Eaton? Spring Training stats don't matter. How a player looks matter. Campbell had a rough first few games. So do many other players. Since then, he's cut down his k's and looks more comfortable. Lou Merloni mentioned that he thought he had put too much pressure on himself (he was the only guy of the new big 3 that people were slotting in for the Opening Day roster), but is now playing looser and is more patient at the plate. If Lou is happy with where he's at, who am I to complain? 

People talk about stuff all the time that I find to be annoying. I just don't participate in those conversations! It's not that hard. 

Is Nate Eaton a top prospect? NO! How about Trace?  Who were the people slotting KC in on the opening day roster? Cora? Brez? I get what you are saying, but I still believe people would be ranting, and raving if KC was 10-21. I don’t get into ST stats either, and all I care about is coming out of Sat healthy, but lots of fans get into every AB, or every pitch. I just think whomever should play it both ways, and be consistent depending on how someone does good, or bad. I have never counted on any of the top suspects making the opening day roster anyway, but some did.