Rockies (Senzatela) vs Red Sox (Giolito): 7/9/25, 7:10pm

[moonslav59]

5 hours ago, Nick said:

Like the pen reinforcement with additions of Alcala and Hicks.

 We still have decent farm even with top tier players having graduated.

Bres is the man.

The weak link right now is Wong. Big black hole when he plays.

I agree, but a month or two or three ago, we were saying Story, Gio, our pen and others were "weak links." Maybe Wong comes around. He looks totally lost, now.

I'd still like to see us get a solid #2/3 SP'er, a solid pen arm, a 1Bman and a back up catcher, but I'm not for trading away very nice prospects for rentals.

We have a lot of players coming off the IL in the next few weeks, but we have to plan on others getting hurt, and we can't afford a major injury at catcher. That's for sure.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

I'm not getting fooled by a hot streak against terrible teams, Romy is having a career year but at some point he will revert to, well, Romy Gonzales.  I'm much more excited about Bello and to a lesser extent Gio and their recent performances.  And of course Anthony who continues to put the bat on the ball nearly every at bat.  Slapping singles all over the field like Wade Boggs with more power has me pretty amped.  

Romy made some key adjustments, last season. Being a platoon hitter vs LHPs, makes the sample size smaller and harder to judge as long-lasting, but this is two years in a row now, so maybe not the flash in the pan you allude to.

He hit .879 v LHPs in 2024 (110 PAs.)

TOP BATTERS in MLB vs LHPs with 200+ PAs since 2024:

1.300 Judge

1.032 Alvarez

1.031 J Ramirez

1.016 K Marte

1.004 ROMY at #5!

.988 H Ramos

.985 Schwarber

.976 Rooker

.973 Goldschmidt

.972 Teoscar

.955 Vladdy

.942 Refsnyder at #12.

The Sox seem to have the knack for finding great weakside platoon batters, and when you have batters like Abreu, who s truggle vs lefties, it works out very well.

I'm a solid Romy and Ref believer that this is not luck.

The Toro train is slowed to a crawl, and although he's a switch hitter, he's not good vs LHPs.

Toro:

.830 v R (.675 career)

.608 v L (.602 career)

I think it is safer to view him as a "flash" than Romy or Ref.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

3 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The Sox recent success is absolutely meaningful.  They have pulled into a tie for the last wild card spot.  

And sweeping the bad teams is not a gimme.  The Yankees and Rays both went 2-1 against the Rockies.

 

I never said these games were meaningless, they all count the same in the standings. I said I'm not fooled by the recent run totals. .

They are swinging hot bats against bad teams, they have also shown a pattern all year of having a few very high run total games which distorts the stats but far more gamea where they struggle to score. I expect them to revert to struggling to score runs.

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

I never said these games were meaningless, they all count the same in the standings. I said I'm not fooled by the recent run totals. .

They are swinging hot bats against bad teams, they have also shown a pattern all year of having a few very high run total games which distorts the stats but far more gamea where they struggle to score. I expect them to revert to struggling to score runs.

I certainly understand the skepticism.  I think there are few things to be encouraged about.  I think Anthony and Mayer bring some new energy.  I also read that the hitting instructors started doing one on one meetings with hitters instead of group meetings and Cora thinks this has had good results. 

Tampa Bay's pitching will certainly be a test for the offense.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

2 hours ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

I never said these games were meaningless, they all count the same in the standings. I said I'm not fooled by the recent run totals. .

They are swinging hot bats against bad teams, they have also shown a pattern all year of having a few very high run total games which distorts the stats but far more gamea where they struggle to score. I expect them to revert to struggling to score runs.

I'm home now and able to view this post on my laptop.  I f'ing hate posting from my phone, as this one was, and am surprised to only see 1 typo.  

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

I never said these games were meaningless, they all count the same in the standings. I said I'm not fooled by the recent run totals. .

They are swinging hot bats against bad teams, they have also shown a pattern all year of having a few very high run total games which distorts the stats but far more gamea where they struggle to score. I expect them to revert to struggling to score runs.

Certainly, we all know we are racking up runs vs some bad teams, but we've also done well vs some good pitching teams, too:

14 runs/3 gms at SFG (5th in team ERA- and 2nd in FIP)

18 runs/3 gams vs div leader TOR (19th in ERA-)

22 runs/3 gms vs Cincy (10th in ERA- in MLB, even after facing us. They might have been 8th before.)

I'm still worried about our inconsistent offense. I'd like to see an upgrade at 1B, unless Yoshida can do it without embarrassing himself and the team. (Campbell?)

Once Bregman returns, 2B should be fine.

I don't see another area on offense that needs fixing, except a 20% catcher.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

25 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Certainly, we all know we are racking up runs vs some bad teams, but we've also done well vs some good pitching teams, too:

14 runs/3 gms at SFG (5th in team ERA- and 2nd in FIP)

18 runs/3 gams vs div leader TOR (19th in ERA-)

22 runs/3 gms vs Cincy (10th in ERA- in MLB, even after facing us. They might have been 8th before.)

I'm still worried about our inconsistent offense. I'd like to see an upgrade at 1B, unless Yoshida can do it without embarrassing himself and the team. (Campbell?)

Once Bregman returns, 2B should be fine.

I don't see another area on offense that needs fixing, except a 20% catcher.

Thoughts on Casas?  I'm running out of patiences to be honest, which is unfair to such a young player. But to me if you are going to be that bad defensively you need to be a big bat and he is far too inconsistant.  I don't feel like waiting until June every season for him to warm up. And now he has a pretty significant injury history but that can always change of course.  

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

Thoughts on Casas?  I'm running out of patiences to be honest, which is unfair to such a young player. But to me if you are going to be that bad defensively you need to be a big bat and he is far too inconsistant.  I don't feel like waiting until June every season for him to warm up. And now he has a pretty significant injury history but that can always change of course.  

Honestly, I still have faith in Casas as a hitter, but not 1Bman. He should DH, but we have Yoshida.

I'd be fine going into 2026 with Casas, Campbell, Toro & Romy fighting for 1B playing time. (Maybe Duran could  try out at 1B, since I see Rafaela, Abreu, Anthony & Garcia as better OF defenders,) BUT ONLY IF we fill our other high need areas fully and with clear plus players. This includes:

Bregman returning.

A top notch #2 SP'er (We lose Buehler & likely Gio.)

A top notch Closer (We lose Chapman.)

Do all three, and I'm okay rolling the dice at 1B/DH.

I'd prefer a more dependable & known 1B, a replacement for Wilson and a decent back up catcher, but those are secondary needs. If we skimp on any of the 3 above, we'll need to fill these needs to make up for the loss.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

 

I'd be fine going into 2026 with Casas, Campbell, Toro & Romy fighting for 1B playing time. (Maybe Duran could  try out at 1B, since make up for the loss.

I'm not but unsure of the solution.  I prefer an actual first baseman who is productive offensively and defensively, consistant, and available.  None of these players fit that description.