jacksonianmarch

Tanaka has also been slightly worse than average when comparing ERA-. JBJ has been far worse than average. It’s comparing apples and watermelons

Tanaka has a rough spot every year. He had his early. Gray has been dominant this month. Tanaka has a middling year last year and was lights out in the playoffs. Btw, I find it funny you use Wright’s ERA-. He’s thrown 3 starts

The Mets won’t move him unless they’re blown away. They’re relying on him to close long term. I don’t think Familia is long for Queens

It is fun. The play in game definitely changes the game a bit, especially if the top WC team has the 2nd best record in baseball. That being said, we both know on June 22 that the Sox and Yanks are making the playoffs which makes it somewhat anticlimactic.

I expect and all star catcher and an MVP to play like their track record suggests. JBJ doesn’t have nearly the offensive prowess of either

This is a circuitous argument that nobody seems to want to tackle. I point this out and you point to the Yankees. I’m not talking about the Yankees. Do I expect your catching position, your ramshackle 2b spot and JBJ to keep hitting like this? Maybe? Maybe they improve a little? Do I expect them to OPS .700+ the rest of the way? I don’t. Vasquez and Leon are at a prime defensive position. They’re not hitters. JBJ has looked terminally lost. Maybe he has a hot streak, but he’s looked as bad as I remember seeing any hitter. Holt is best when he doesn’t play every day. Nunez has been awful. You’ve got Devers in the 6 hole who may be coming out of it, but to this point has made your 6 spot a ghost as well. Your lineup lacks depth and when the big guys don’t hit, you don’t score.

I wonder if a guy like Asdrubal Cabrera would be a target for the sox. He won't cost much, will bring in some vet leadership and a steady albeit unspectacular bat from the 2b or 3b position. I would also wonder if Detroit would sell high on frequent DFA candidate Leonys Martin, who is playing very well in CF for them and is a FA at season's end. In terms of C, Nick Hundley is a FA at season's end and has been very solid behind the dish for SF. I anticipate the sox will get one or more of these guys to bolster the bottom of the order

And the inconsistency at the bottom of your order will kill your team, especially if you have to gain the division in order to avoid playing a series with the Yankees having home field. Look at these OPS's for a second Batting 7th- .603- 13th in the AL Batting 8th- .562- 14th in the AL Batting 9th- .617- 8th in the AL Do any of your guys remember Rey Ordonez? Mets SS who played insane defense but absolutely sucked with the bat? The aggregate OPS of your 7-9 is below Ordonez's career OPS. You are giving an inning away per turn of your lineup. And it isn't like you're killing it outside of your top 4. Batting 1st- 1.054- first by .203 Batting 2nd- .764- 11th in the AL Batting 3rd- .832- 5th in the AL Batting 4th- .953- 2nd in the AL Batting 5th- .760- 5th in the AL Batting 6th- .749- 4th in the AL Your lineup is being carried by 1, 3, 4, 5. Your 2 slot is hitting well enough, but not compared to peers. That being said, the guy occupying it with regularity now has an OPS over .900. No moves to be made. 1-5, you have guys in your lineup OPS'ing at least .849 or higher, with 4 of those guys above .900. The 6 spot at 4th in the AL is more an indictment on the rest of the AL. 7-9 is a ghost town.

After an epic comeback and a meltdown from two of their most reliable pitchers

I'm not talking about making the playoffs. The sox are going to play more than 162 games this year. So will the Yankees. The AL is so watered down that the records are going to be stupid. There is a clear top 4 in the league with NYY, BOS, HOU and SEA really overwhelming their competition. The Guardians look to be the team to beat in the central. That being said, the Mariners have a 6.5 game lead on the 2nd wild card spot and the sox have a 3.5 game lead on them. Nobody is worried that the sox or yanks will end up missing out on October baseball. That being said, when you are facing the best pitching teams in the division in crunch time, don't you think it would behoove you to have a lineup that is 7 or 8 guys deep rather than 5? Even if your rotation pitches out of its mind, you need to win 3 series and possibly one play-in game. You will need offense and right now, yours isn't cutting it

Your rotation has been very good. I'd say it's more on the strength of your back end rather than an overwhelming front end, which makes things dicier come playoffs. Your 2-5 is more like 4 3's. That being said, not being worried about your offense baffles me. Your offense was awesome when Betts was hitting like Bonds circa 2012, JDM was in the running for the batting title and Mitch Moreland forgot he was Mitch Moreland and was OPS'ing over 1.000, ie your offense was unsustainably killing it with a hot top 5. Since Betts started hitting like a human being and Moreland came crashing down to earth, your offense has been pedestrian. Your offense carried an .800+OPS through June 1. Since your lineup became mortal, your team is 21st in runs scored and 19th in OPS. In the AL, your team is only ahead of KC, CWS, TB, and Baltimore in runs and only ahead of those same teams plus Detroit in OPS. In June, your team's OPS is .080 behind the Yankees, and they are slumping in June and nearly 200 points behind Houston, who is killing it. And while your starting pitching has been very good, it isn't the best in the AL (not by a long shot) and is only marginally better than your closest rivals in terms of ERA and your pen is noticeably behind your chief rival. If your pitching was like the O's circa 1971, then I'd say don't worry about it. But your pitching isn't head and shoulders above the rest and your offense has shown its colors once your top 5 stopped hitting at unsustainably ridiculous levels. Your lineup requires lengthening. If you don't lengthen it, then the chances of your team winning it all are small

We started 5-6. We have gone 45-16 since, also known as a 120 win pace. Sevy wasn’t good today, but he held in there. The pen was lights out again. Sweep of the hot M’s.

Mookie isn’t back to 100% or he’s not back to space alien in Space Jam after stealing all star power yet? Mookie’s start was unsustainable.

Hanley may have been a negative WAR guy, but he was the least negative WAR guy on your bench. The DFA was warranted, but I’m not sure why Cora hasn’t been given something offensively. Getting shut down by Berrios is expected as that kid is good. Getting shut down by Lynn when he walks 5 is inexcusable

Stanton with his Yankee moment. Sanchez breaking out with a clutch bomb. The kid got roughed up a bit, but the team picked him up! Great win!

The Guardians got worse. We got better

Loaisiga gives us two infield dribbler singles to the speedy Gordon and Segura and gets out of it. I really like this kid

Beni is having a hell of a season. So is Gennett. Barnhart would immediately be your unquestioned starter at catcher. It would make sense for the Sox if this was the final year of the window. It doesn’t make sense for a team needing a guy like Beni on a prearb deal to fit all the pieces under the cap in 2019

I get that their odds are long, but they’ve got the same club that ran roughshod over the MLB in the second half last yr

Barnhart and Gennett for Beni. That’d be enticing for the Sox, but with money getting dicey, cost controlled Beni is more valuable

The Sox have about $4 mil in lux cap room before hitting that final hurdle. Bringing up Castillo puts his contract going forward into the lux tax books. He’s making $10.4 mil this year. JBJ is making $6 mil. Prorating that, if the Sox do as you ask and deal him off for minor leaguers only, this freeing his salary, the Sox can bring up Rusney and will have no further room for upgrades. So unless you think he’s the missing link for your club, I’d assume that won’t be an option

Dozier isn’t getting moved. The Twins are only 5.5 our in the central with their ace returning. They were the best team in the second half last year. There’s no incentive to deal him off

What makes me more confident is knowing that our offense has come nowhere near what it is capable of. And I know the bottom of your order hasn't exactly killed it, but I am talking about all star level offensive contributors who aren't hitting yet who are capable of carrying a team for a month. They will get going. When they do, we will not have to rely on our pitching to win games, like it is now

He is hitting .326 in his last 13 games with 4 doubles and 3HR. He also has 1 walk and 12K's in that time. He's hitting better and you kinda have to ride it, but he isn't working the count and can be handled. He walked much more in the minors and didn't strike out nearly as much as he is at this juncture. His approach needs work. Maybe he could do it in the majors? If he can, then adding Beltre only helps you. It allows you to have a 3b for half the time who is elite defensively. It also allows Devers to come across the diamond and help out at 1b. It lengthens your lineup when you really need offense by moving JDM into the OF and moving JBJ to 4th OF role

max, I disagree. If Cora was willing to go to his setup man in the 8th, doing so at the beginning of the inning is prudent. He tried to sneak the lefty in to lengthen his pen in case they went to extras and he got burned