southpaw777

Vaz is still getting his game back, and Leon hitting the laces off the ball while providing solid D behind the plate. Couple that with Hanny back from the DL and it probably became the plan when Leons bat kept producing. Its a smart move. Hardly knee-jerk Imho. Vaz still needs to fully get back to his elite D. Even though hes better than most at 80-90%, hes still not fully back yet. If Hanny comes back strong who knows, maybe he becomes a teade chip at the deadline for a team in need. Or even a good offer for Leon...Still about 4 weeks left. A lot can happen. Vaz will be back, and I really like a Vaz/Leon combo. Two young backstops with ++ D, and maybe even a little more offense than some expected. Eventually from both. This is the right move for right now. It benefits all parties involved.

At thisnpoint I really dont care what he does. I JUST WANT HIM GONE, LIKE i did last season.

A lot of moves by the sox were made out of necessity...betts up early, jbj, and bogey too...swihart was up way way too early and Vaz was rushed a bit because of Swiharts D...some work out good, some not as well... Swihart will be fine as will Vaz. I dont think leons offense will last, but it has obviously gotten better. Vaz got another hit last night. He just needs more reps. If they think AAA is the place for it, then send him down and let him play everyday so hes ready for a possible post season (fingers crossed). Moving forward I wouldnt mind a Leon/Vaz team behind the plate...sorry, I still believe they will trade Swihart before the 2017 season.

What I love about the red sox catchers is BOTH are defense first and both are solid behind the plate in all aspects...When we got Leon he was an all defense no bat catcher...like most catchers who concentrate on defense first, the offense was lagging behind. It looks like Leons bat has obviously gotten better....this is exactly what I see Vaz doing in the next year or two. Leon, like Vaz, seemed to have good pitch recognition and usually had good ABs, just not a lot of hits. This is why I see Vaz taking the same path offensively. Neither are power threats, but i see both as solid line drive gap to gap hitters. I love this catching tandum we have with Vaz and Leon...Great D and the offense will be there for both. Both in their 20s and under control

They will use Holt and/or Brentz first before Benni gets a call..its looking like Swi should be back by august as well. Benni has been raking the last dozen games or so in AA, batting over 300 with a few HR after a slow start. My guess is he gets a sept callup...anything before that would be directly due to more injuries.

WTF is everyone bunting all of a sudden for?!?! You want to just give them an out? Guys are bunting that shouldnt be bunting!!! All the fans who wanted the small ball BS, well there ya go! Hows that working out? Swing the damn bat!!!! I hope thats not Farrell calling for all these dumb ass bunts....or even some of them. UGH.... And can someone remind Butter than not everyone should be sent home everytime...Sending Papi on a shallow fly was one of thee dumbest calls Ive seen in a long time. I understand being aggressive. But theres a fine line between that and stupidity...

Maybe he was pissed he missed his location, or shook off his catcher when he shouldnt have....maybe he was just pissed at the situation, not a teammate? Guys know errors happen. Im sure he wasnt happy about it, but if he was indeed showing up his teammates then why do so many teammates and former ones talk so highly of him? You can tell when someone doesnt like someone and is faking it...players genuinly like him... I think hes standoffish with fans and the media which gives that impression of him....i doubt he treats his teammates like that.

Agreed.Im not arguing his slump hes been in....but he needs to be allowed to work out of it.

Hes always had good splits vs LHP...just because hes in a little slump this month doesn't mean anything.. Hes a career 280 BA with a 833OPs vs LHP He shouldnt be PH for Maybe he needs to make some adjustments like most young guys once MLB pitchers start to figure him out. Hes proved he can hit LHP so Phing for him, to me, is dumb. Let him make those adjustments. He cant do that from the bench..

went 2-3 vs Sale..a sidewinding LHP. He can hit LHP and theres no reason to hit for him... He was hitting them fine since the start of the season. But farrell started hitting for him to get young ABs...theres a reason everyone was upset when he would Ph for him...

Ok, thank you. I thought that was the case but wasnt sure.

I still think he mis uses his pitchers. Theres numerous examples...and for christ sakes stop hitting for Travis Shaw..He hits LHP very good!!!! Its like hes friggin OCD and HAS to hit a RHH against a LHP...jesus, not everyone sucks at hitting the same side pitcher. My vote, no matter the outcome of the season, is to let him go at the end of the year. Either put him in the FO or just say goodbye. IMHO, Hes NOT a good in game manager.

Scorthing, meaning hitting the ball hard but right at someone a lot of the times...i believe thats what i wrote. Id rather have elite D than someone like Swihart who cant block a ball to save his life...he will cost us more runs behind the plate... Vaz and Leon are a solid combo behind the plate...Defense first. Obviously the team knows he can and will hit plenty good to be a starter. He was off for a year. also, I wouldnt compare him to castillo...the two are nothing alike...castillo cant hit anything over 90MPH. Like I said, hes hit at every level after an adjustment period. He was starting to hit at the end of the year in 2014, but got hurt in ST 15...i will still stick by my opinion based on the info, facts, and own personal knowledge that Vaz will hit plenty good to be a FT starter. Swihart will be traded.

Itll probably be Papi, but Id vote for Xander

I have a question. Not sure it was asked yet.... Like Allen Craig, Castillo has cleared waivers and can be taken off the 40 man roster. If he is in AAA a certain amount of days does his paycheck count on the MLB payroll? I was of the understanding that Craigs $$ is obviously paid to him but doesnt count on the MLB payroll... Does anyone know 100% for sure either way or even if there is a rule for this certain situation?

None of us really know how Gms value our prospects, so I really dont have anything but a somewhat educated guess from the info, rumors and facts all of us have access to. I think teams Gms value players higher than some of us fans do. I know it will cost a lot, but I think Swihart still has great value. Espinoza and even Kopech has value to some GMs. He looked solid in his first outing this year...I know some GMs will overlook some of his attitude and chalk it up to being young and dumb. They see 100MPH with good control and secondary stuff. Some may look at a prospect and think he will blossom in another city other than Bostons bright lights. Thus having more value to them than us. It also depends on another teams needs as well Right now some teams are still in it and some on the bubble...my guess is over the next 3-4 weeks more names will be available. What I do know is DD has, and will keep inquiring about top names. Available or not. Im not trying to overvalue or undervalue our kids. Im just trying to be realistic from both sides. My top names i want, available or not. Realistic or not. Only because i really dont know who will be available in another month... Noah Syndergaard Jose Fernandez Chris Sale Gerrit Cole

He may be PH for but he will not be a BU catcher...he will hit. He has hit at every level after an adjustment....hes been scortching the ball lately with a bunch of them right at someone. Hes got good plate discipline and pitch recognition. After a year off his main concern is defense and arm strength/throwing accuracy. The hitting is secondary, but will get better. An elite catcher like Vaz only has to be about 240 to be acceptable. I believe he will be better than that. Swihart will most likely be traded if I had to guess. This team has plenty of offense. Its not like we need a 280 bat behind the plate....but dont be surprised if he has a few years like that in the future.

I imagine every team will start there with a few names that are realistic as well....betts and Bogey are part of the future foundation and will be going nowhere...the team has plenty of talent behind those two and should have zero issues getting a top starter if there is one available... Gms know we have a stacked system, as well as a name or two on the main roster, not named Bogaerts or Betts, that could be had for the right price. For Fernandez id give them any prospects not named Moncada.

Vaz had a year off. I think giving him plenty of time to get everything back to normal is worth it with his elite defense. He will hit too. Bold prediction? Give him a couple years like Yadi and he will be plenty good on offense as well. Swihart is expendable in our system and should fetch a good starter as a possible headliner in a deal. I hold onto Moncada Espinoza and Benni if I can. If Fernandez becomes a possibility then Benni and Espinoza become available if need be.

Really moon? Your statement That Papi is only a DH, sits on the bench and doesnt do much. Then you compared it to your youth baseball and beer league softball...sorry man, but that statement WAS ignorant. you as a poster on this forum are not ignorant. In fact mostly just the opposite. But The statement was, so lets not get all sensitive about my comment. Just please dont downplay the work it takes for every baseball player to become and stay at a high enough level to play in MLB with the best of the best. And dont compare it to your baseball/softball "career"...thats all.

Butter is known for being very aggressive on the basepaths....some players have acted on their own in that regard as well. I like aggressive base running, but not dumb. Early in the year there were a few more dumb ones than not. Obviously some things have changed and it looks like they have reeled in the overly aggressive, or dumb, base running. As far as Farrells overall job? His working of the entire pitching staff ihas been questionable since he came here IMHO. Some things werent his fault and some things he caused from misuse of some guys. Take Taz for instance. farrell had hm warming up and he threw a bunch of pitches in the pen but never used him. Did the same the next day and his performance sucked. He does this a lot. There was one game this year where taz, koji, and kimbrel were all not available...how the f*** does that happen?? Oh yeah, because he kept using them and they were all worn out...For a former pitching coach i dont like the way he handles a pitching staff... Hey, but what the hell do i know. Right? Just one fans observations and opinions based of the info and facts i have

If were specifically talking about boston then the answer is easy...its pitching...if your the mets its hitting. It all depends on the team and their needs really. We need both or it will be a long winter again...

And this is exactly why i would refer to you on BDC with these matters. This whole arguement started by Moon stating A DH is not physically demanding and downplaying the MLB "grind". Also comparing it to youth sports and beer league softball...ugh... Well, I have a few friends that have played Milb as well as overseas...the reason I got a bit pissed is because ive seen and talked to my friends about the lifestyle, dedication, both physically and mentally, and the sacrifices these guys make. This conversation took a few turns after that and ended up as a "which sport is the most demanding" conversation. Some goalposts were moved, but bottom line is no matter what position you play in MLB, 162 regular season games, and maybe another 20 or so with playoffs and WS ( if applicable), ST, offseason workouts, media, family, charities, etc., is a friggin grind. To downplay that is pure ignorance.

I know a ton about the sox...unfortunately if its a quiz i will probably go blank...ill try it later.