Red Sox (Crochet) vs White Sox (Smith): 4/13/25, 2:10pm

[moonslav59]

Nice win. 14 Ks and 1 BB by the staff.

Story is now telling thrillers not bedtime stories.

Not a good game by the O, again, but enough for the win.

[Nick]

Great game. It only took our ace to pitch 1 hitter, use up our #2 reliever and pitch our closer for 4th time in 5 days.

This against 125 game losing team.

Great job boys.

This team is bailed out only by the Green Monster. This is not a good road team.

 

[notin]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. The good thing about Rafaela is that he is still a plus on WAR, due to great D in CF. If he keeps struggling, no team in MLB has a better OF prospect who is ML ready.

We may end up seeing:
LF Anthony

CF Duran

RF Abreu-Refsnyder

Rafaela can be the 4th OF'er, defensive replacement OF'er and back up middle IF'er. We can demote DHam for Anthony and have Rafaela take over his sub role.

Duran has a sub.600 OPS and his defense appears to have reverted to 2023 and before.  Why is he repeatedly handed the starting role?  Plenty of time left, but if anyone suspected 2024 was a fluke year for Duran, he’s done nothing to disprove them so far…

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

Duran has a sub.600 OPS and his defense appears to have reverted to 2023 and before.  Why is he repeatedly handed the starting role?  Plenty of time left, but if anyone suspected 2024 was a fluke year for Duran, he’s done nothing to disprove them so far…

I am very far from saying 2023 and 2024 were flukes.

[Nick]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

Duran has a sub.600 OPS and his defense appears to have reverted to 2023 and before.  Why is he repeatedly handed the starting role?  Plenty of time left, but if anyone suspected 2024 was a fluke year for Duran, he’s done nothing to disprove them so far…

This is why you think about trading THAT guy with what looks like a career best year. Especially when you have #2 prospect coming up. 

It's taking me 60 years but good starting pitchers win big games. Probably unfortunate that we didn't trade Casas.

Isn't Roman Anthony 6-3 or something? How hard can it be for him to play 1B and all 3 OF positions?

 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Great performances by both Crochet and Story.

On the negative side I believe the Devers' contract is gonna be a real albatross for the Sox.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

58 minutes ago, redsoxrules said:

I'm sorry but let crochet finish the 8th. No one was touching him today. 

Not when the Sox have a day care supervisor as a manager.

[Nick]

Great trade and the extension by Breslow on Crochet.

We'll be alright as long as our starting pitching holds up.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

Great trade and the extension by Breslow on Crochet.

I totally agree, and from day one thought the trade was sketchy, if there was no extension.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

On the negative side I believe the Devers' contract is gonna be a real albatross for the Sox.

I'm not worried about Devers.

I do see a risk of the contract becoming an issue is 4-6 years, maybe 7-8, but not for a while.

The guy was on pace for his career year, in 2024, but the injury stopped that. He's just entering peak prime years for most players.

[Nick]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not worried about Devers.

I do see a risk of the contract becoming an issue is 4-6 years, maybe 7-8, but not for a while.

The guy was on pace for his career year, in 2024, but the injury stopped that. He's just entering peak prime years for most players.

I think we need to live with Dever's contract. We are only asking him to do one thing he does well and not worry about something he struggles baseball wise.

I don't see why he couldn't have the success that David Ortiz had DH'ing for the Sox.

Ortiz started playing for the Sox at age 27. He played 14 years, only one year he played less than 100 games (90). Devers will be much younger when his contract runs out.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, notin said:

Duran has a sub.600 OPS and his defense appears to have reverted to 2023 and before.  Why is he repeatedly handed the starting role?  Plenty of time left, but if anyone suspected 2024 was a fluke year for Duran, he’s done nothing to disprove them so far…

Another possible scenario when Anthony and Mayer both get promoted and have to play everyday:

2B: Mayer

LF: Anthony

CF: Campbell

RF: Abreu

It looked spontaneous when AC suddenly played KC in CF... but maybe it wasn't entirely Cora's idea and a surprise to him, too. If Campbell was a viable option in center before, you'd think they would've given him a few reps there in ST.

[moonslav59]

34 minutes ago, Nick said:

I think we need to live with Dever's contract. We are only asking him to do one thing he does well and not worry about something he struggles baseball wise.

I don't see why he couldn't have the success that David Ortiz had DH'ing for the Sox.

Ortiz started playing for the Sox at age 27. He played 14 years, only one year he played less than 100 games (90). Devers will be much younger when his contract runs out.

Devers can hit. I see no reason to think that will stop or decline quickly.

Not everyone is a Pablito.

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Another possible scenario when Anthony and Mayer both get promoted and have to play everyday:

2B: Mayer

LF: Anthony

CF: Campbell

RF: Abreu

It looked spontaneous when AC suddenly played KC in CF... but maybe it wasn't entirely Cora's idea and a surprise to him, too. If Campbell was a viable option in center before, you'd think they would've given him a few reps there in ST.

Wow, benching our WAR leader in 2024.

[Maxbialystock]

3 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Not when the Sox have a day care supervisor as a manager.

Crochet is currently ranked 3d in MLB in pitches thrown.  I've read numerous articles, as have you, that the third time through the batting order normally gives the advantage to the hitters. 

I thought Crochet looked terrific today, which is pretty much the way he has been all season.  I honestly don't worry much when he faces a batting order for the 3d time.

But I was fine with Whitlock coming in to finish the 8th, which would have been scoreless for the White Sox if the ump hadn't called a third strike, clearly in the zone, a ball.  I would have left Crochet in to finish the 8th if the Sox were up by just 1 run.  

 

 

[Old Red]

A lost weekend 1-2 at the tail end of a lost week 2-5. The Red Sox big bats crushed the ball for a grand total of 6 runs for the weekend. It’s still early in the season, but the W, and L count just as much now in the standings as they will in Sept.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Wow, benching our WAR leader in 2024.

Nope, trading him. The Red Sox have to make room in the starting line-up for two good players: Anthony and Mayer. Anyone who watched Spring Training knows the Sox were a better team when both were on the field.

Right now, Boston is not a good team. The errors and the strikeouts are less signs of early slumps and more exposure of who the current regulars really are.

Meidroth taking measured swings to make contact against Crochet reveals the exact type of hitter the Red Sox are missing in the batting order. Boston's organization has no plans for a guy who can't reach the seats, even with an On Base Percentage of .600, but he certainly helped the White Sox win two out of three this weekend.

[Hitch]

There are clearly a few issues that are concerning the longer they carry on (if they do) but I swear more and more fans somehow completely forget what baseball can be like at the start of every ST and the panic is setting in earlier and earlier. 

Trading Duran (for who? for what?) to fit in two untested kids is right up there. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Nope, trading him. The Red Sox have to make room in the starting line-up for two good players: Anthony and Mayer. Anyone who watched Spring Training knows the Sox were a better team when both were on the field.

Right now, Boston is not a good team. The errors and the strikeouts are less signs of early slumps and more exposure of who the current regulars really are.

Meidroth taking measured swings to make contact against Crochet reveals the exact type of hitter the Red Sox are missing in the batting order. Boston's organization has no plans for a guy who can't reach the seats, even with an On Base Percentage of .600, but he certainly helped the White Sox win two out of three this weekend.

Here is a wild idea.....

C: Wong & Narvaez

1B: Casas v R/ Bregman v L

2B: Mayer v R/ Campbell v L

SS: Story

3B: Bregman v R/ Mayer v L

LF: Duran v R/ Anthony vL

CF: Campbell v R/ Duran v L

RF: Abreu v R/ Anthony v L

DH: Devers

Bench: Wong/Narvaez, Rafaela, Refsnyder, Romy

 

[mvp 78]

Mayer has a 567 OPS in AAA. He needs a little more time before y'all promote him. 

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Mayer has a 567 OPS in AAA. He needs a little more time before y'all promote him. 

I'm not sure that matters.

Campbell won a slot after a pretty poor ST'ing.

We called up Dobbins after a bad start  or two w WOO.

We promoted Wink after a 4.50 WOO start.

That being said, I think Anthony's call-up is way more likely and helpful. I'm not sure where Mayer plays, unless Campbell moves to FT CF, but then why not just call up Anthony for the OF and put Duran in CF?

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not sure that matters.

Wrong, especially when it impacts future years of control when you can just hold him down until July. He has less than 50 PAs in AAA. It makes no sense to rush him up if he's not busting down the door. 

[Bellhorn04]

21 hours ago, Nick said:

Finally, Cora flips Abreu and Casas in batting order.

He's not always smart as many think.

He's just more patient than us, and that's usually a good thing.

[mvp 78]

Just now, Bellhorn04 said:

He's just more patient than us, and that's usually a good thing.

Why can't he just be a fan and yell at the players after every ball and strike? He should get tossed in the first inning of every game like I would! He doesn't NEED to have a relationship with the players, he's their BOSS!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

There are clearly a few issues that are concerning the longer they carry on (if they do) but I swear more and more fans somehow completely forget what baseball can be like at the start of every ST and the panic is setting in earlier and earlier. 

Trading Duran (for who? for what?) to fit in two untested kids is right up there. 

Who's panicking? All the teams in MLB history that promoted top prospects to inject energy into lethargic big league line-ups?

The fact is Roman Anthony is baseball's #1 position player prospect, and that he plays outfield. If the Sox want to make him a first baseman, such an experiment probably won't happen until next offseason.

When he is promoted to the big leagues soon, he has to play every day, which means someone else gets replaced. Fans and posters have been speculating different possible outfield alignments since Spring Training.

The obvious guy to get benched is Rafaela. If not, the corner outfielders are too good to sit, which may necessitate trading someone of value. It certainly won't be Anthony, because he has more potential than Duran, Ceddanne, Abreu, Refsnyder and Yoshida to solve one of Boston's biggest deficits: consistent power.

[mvp 78]

27 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Who's panicking? All the teams in MLB history that promoted top prospects to inject energy into lethargic big league line-ups?

The fact is Roman Anthony is baseball's #1 position player prospect, and that he plays outfield. If the Sox want to make him a first baseman, such an experiment probably won't happen until next offseason.

When he is promoted to the big leagues soon, he has to play every day, which means someone else gets replaced. Fans and posters have been speculating different possible outfield alignments since Spring Training.

The obvious guy to get benched is Rafaela. If not, the corner outfielders are too good to sit, which may necessitate trading someone of value. It certainly won't be Anthony, because he has more potential than Duran, Ceddanne, Abreu, Refsnyder and Yoshida to solve one of Boston's biggest deficits: consistent power.

Rafaela is the 9th hitter and really isn't lighting it up. I think you just move Roman to LF and Duran to CF. You can even platoon Rafaela and Duran if you really feel like it. 

I wouldn't move Anthony to 1B. I'd just have Devers get a 1B mitt this offseason and be ready to go next year. Having an open spot at DH gives the team much more flexibility, especially when you are trying to squeeze position players in. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Rafaela is the 9th hitter and really isn't lighting it up. I think you just move Roman to LF and Duran to CF. You can even platoon Rafaela and Duran if you really feel like it. 

Makes sense. That way no one has to be traded, until they demand it or Brez feels he has to maximize value to fill areas of need.

I'm just suspicious about Cora's recent quote that suddenly made Campbell a centerfielder. It's not like AC not to audition guys at various positions first...

[FredLynn]

19 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. The good thing about Rafaela is that he is still a plus on WAR, due to great D in CF. If he keeps struggling, no team in MLB has a better OF prospect who is ML ready.

We may end up seeing:
LF Anthony

CF Duran

RF Abreu-Refsnyder

Rafaela can be the 4th OF'er, defensive replacement OF'er and back up middle IF'er. We can demote DHam for Anthony and have Rafaela take over his sub role.

I wouldn't be giving Rafaela much more time....maybe a month max. He is basically JBJ light. He proved last year that he has no plate discipline. At the end of the day you still have to be able to hit the baseball, no matter how good your D is.

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

I wouldn't be giving Rafaela much more time....maybe a month max. He is basically JBJ light. He proved last year that he has no plate discipline. At the end of the day you still have to be able to hit the baseball, no matter how good your D is.

I realize offense matters, and some do not value WAR, but Rafaela is 5th on the team in WAR at +0.3. He's on pace for over 3.5.

[Old Red]

23 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

I wouldn't be giving Rafaela much more time....maybe a month max. He is basically JBJ light. He proved last year that he has no plate discipline. At the end of the day you still have to be able to hit the baseball, no matter how good your D is.

I know everyone rags on RAF Man, because he doesn’t walk enough, strikes out to much, or doesn’t hit enough, but the Red Sox season isn’t going to come down to what the RAF Man does, or doesn’t do with the bat. RAF Man is way down the list of importance IMO.  Would it be great if he hit more? No doubt.