This Wasn’t the Second Base Competition We Anticpated

The second base position has been a total mess for 2 years, and the previous 3-4 years were not all that good, either. As bad as the position has hit, we couldn't even use an all glove-no hit guy at 2nd, and the D sucked even worse than the O.

DHam and Romy played okay from June to August, and their fWARs were actually very nice, combined, but they look better as bench pieces or as a short term solution to handle an injury or two. I do think just DHam, Romy & Grissom offer more hope than we've seen in 2 years, but that's not enough. The hope was Campbell could win the job, at some point, this year. It still is.

I really hope we don't see a lot of Bregman at 2B, despite the fact that he'd be an instant fix to a long-going problem, but we'd still have the issues at 3B, and with the Devers' should squawking, it looks like Bregman will start the year at 3B.

We roll the dice again.

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I still wouldn't rule out Campbell and Bregman. I think Bregman and Campbell have both played elsewhere due to the health of Devers and Abreu. The strongest offensive lineup the Sox can put forward is with Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B and Masa at DH. It also makes the defensive lineup stronger up the middle, which is more important than moving Devers off 3b IMO. With Story back fulltime, his range to his right should offset some of Devers' issues. 

If Hamilton is part of the solution, it's only as a platoon bat. The dude just can't hit LHP. Is it worth it holding onto Grissom as a weak side platoon that can only play 2b? I'd rather him get AB's in AAA than sit on the bench after missing most of last season. 

Agree 100%. 2B is more important than 3B, and this makes for less moving parts.

I can't say I'm confident management will make the right decision this season -- and that's why I see '25 more likely as a bridge year instead of the Gold Dust Triplets leading the Sox to the World Series.

If Bregman is the third baseman, and we've seen zero reason he won't be so far, expect another mix of mediocrity at the keystone sack. That may be temporary, if a guy like Mayer obliterates Triple A -- but answer this: 

If Mayer arrives in May, where does he play every day?

2B, with a better arm than Story;

SS, with Story moving to 2B;

3B, with Bregman moving to 2B.

... only one choice doesn't involve an in-season change that shifts a veteran leader from his favorite position.

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

 The strongest offensive lineup the Sox can put forward is with Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B and Masa at DH.

Is Rafaela a better batter than Campbell or even a DHam-Romy platoon?

(2B Campbell or DHam, Romy, 3B Bregman, DH Devers, LF Yoshida/Ref, CF Duran)

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't want Rafaela in the IF anymore unless he's a super UTIL guy that is just playing backup to everyone. If he's the 2b, it's a waste. He should be CF or RF.

That's not the point I addressed. You listed the "strongest offensive line-up." Is it?

BTW, I had Campbell and maybe others at 2B, NOT Rafela.

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Is Rafaela a better batter than Campbell or even a DHam-Romy platoon?

(2B Campbell or DHam, Romy, 3B Bregman, DH Devers, LF Yoshida/Ref, CF Duran)

Campbell is not even on the team at this point, so if, and when he does, and if, and when he produces more than Raf Man then that would be a discussion to be had. Who knows RAF Man being in his 2nd full year, and hopefully playing just OF he may flourish this year.

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Rafaela looks good RIGHT NOW IN SPRING TRAINING and a lot of people are super excited about it (see: Lou Merloni). However, it's hard for me to extrapolate such a small sample against pitchers that are working on their stuff rather than trying to get guys out. He's also not always going against tippy top pitchers... I mean, I get that there are some good swing decisions that he's made so far, but I don't want to make too much out of it until we see it over a longer term during the regular season. It's good to be hopeful, but don't project him to cut his k rate in half and his bb rate to get to 10% or something silly. 

I get all that, and I’m not even talking about the RAF Man in ST. I’m just saying that with all the hype with KC he hasn’t even made the team yet, and that with the RAF Man entering his second full year, and hopefully just playing OF this year he may improve with the bat.

54 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I didn't understand your point because you didn't say where Rafaela was, you just said is Rafaela better than Campbell or Romy/Hamilton platoon. To me, I wondered if you meant Rafaela was in the mix at 2b. You didn't have him listed anywhere else in your post! Where else would I assume you had him? Sometimes you make people read a little too much in between the lines with your 90k posts. 🫠

You listed what you felt was our strongest line-up. I assumed you had Rafaela in CF. If you did not, then my reply was off base.

If you have Rafaela in CF, I do not think that would be the strongest offensive line-up.

We could have Yoshida and Ref in LF with Duran in CF. It would be essentially replacing Rafaela in CF with whoever we play at 2B --Campbell or a DHam-Romy platoon- both choices of which I expect would be better on O than Rafaela, but (Red)  it's just projections.

Even having Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B, Yoshida at DH and a Ref in LF FT and Duran in CF FT  would be better batting than Rafaela in CF FT, IMO.

37 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I get all that, and I’m not even talking about the RAF Man in ST. I’m just saying that with all the hype with KC he hasn’t even made the team yet, and that with the RAF Man entering his second full year, and hopefully just playing OF this year he may improve with the bat.

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

28 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

28 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We all know he hasn't made the team, yet. We can still have an opinion that he could hit better than .246 (Rafaela.)

If he doesn't, then we were wrong.

Based on ML experience, I also think  DHam-Romy platoon should be expected to hit better than Rafaela. That may not happen, either. I'd like nothing more than for Rafaela to hit over .750. I would not project that, right now. That's all this is. Speculation.

KC. The Man, The Myth, and the Legend before he even appears  in his first MLB game. You’ve also already penciled in the RAF Man as a 246. Opinion, speculation, prediction, or whatever that the RAF Man can’t do better? 🙈🤭🤫

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You listed what you felt was our strongest line-up. I assumed you had Rafaela in CF. If you did not, then my reply was off base.

If you have Rafaela in CF, I do not think that would be the strongest offensive line-up.

We could have Yoshida and Ref in LF with Duran in CF. It would be essentially replacing Rafaela in CF with whoever we play at 2B --Campbell or a DHam-Romy platoon- both choices of which I expect would be better on O than Rafaela, but (Red)  it's just projections.

Even having Bregman at 2B, Devers at 3B, Yoshida at DH and a Ref in LF FT and Duran in CF FT  would be better batting than Rafaela in CF FT, IMO.

Disagree 100%. Bregman 2B, Raffy 3B, GOshida DH. Ref would never be FT unless the whole OF was wiped out by injuries. Raffy could even suck as a DH.

18 minutes ago, Old Red said:

 

KC. The Man, The Myth, and the Legend before he even appears  in his first MLB game. You’ve also already penciled in the RAF Man as a 246. Opinion, speculation, prediction, or whatever that the RAF Man can’t do better? 🙈🤭🤫

Talking to the strawman, again, I see.

14 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Disagree 100%. Bregman 2B, Raffy 3B, GOshida DH. Ref would never be FT unless the whole OF was wiped out by injuries. Raffy could even suck as a DH.

Raffy is hurt. He will almost certainly start the season at DH.