FredLynn

We both know that signing ANY of those guys would not have changed a thing. None of the would have made up for six games in the lost column.

I agree that he should have tried to add a RP, though budget constraints probably prevented him from getting one of any quality. I would assign maybe 10% of the current problems to DD; I would assign 20% to Cora for not having his team ready to play on opening day and for making so many mistakes this year-but the vast bulk of the blame has to go on the underperforming players, especially our SP.

Yup. Guys have bad years. This year Cora failed to have his SPs ready to start the season by severely limiting the number of pitches thrown in ST, a strategy which was predictably faulty. Then you have the kind of brain dead baseball the Sox have exhibited all year, for example, Bogaerts getting thrown out at 3B last night. Just not thinking....they frequently do not have their heads in the game. Thats mental; its mailing it in.

The 2019 team in on course to lose 23 more games than the 2018 team. The 2014 team lost 26 games more than the previous year. Neither team lost a significant number of players, though the loss of Ellsbury, an everyday player, was probably more important that losing Kimbrel. The 2018 team was a LOT more talented than the 2013 team. Thats the issue I have. With the level of talent the 2018 team had they should at least have been in contention for a playoff spot. They just mailed it in this year. When a team has no talent you really can't complain that they suck. These guys have the talent but didn't do their jobs. Thats in no way the fault of the GM.

Next year. We still have one more year of relevancy left as long as Sale remembers how to pitch. After that its time to rebuild and DD is not the right guy for that job.

Yup. Its been that way all year. Brain dead baseball. Beside the SP its the major reason we aren't making the playoffs this year. Lack of focus, lack of concentration.

The pen has definitely done their job.....

I assume thats sarcasm......but since this is the game thread I am not going to make political comments here. Such things belong elsewhere.

The Rays are doing their part...down 7-4

Moreland needed to get Vasquez to third, at least. That is a problem the Sox have had all year: poor situational hitting.

The Big BJ is going to get hammered....he isn't ever going to get better, not this year, not next year...ever. He is a #7 SP at best.

Extremely worried.....hopefully he will pitch his arm off today so we never have to see him again.

Johnson absolutely sucks. Good thing this game doesn't matter.

Getting Ottavino wouldn't change a thing. The SPs still sucked.

Generally its on the players...but in fairness, the 2013 team was not as complete a team as the 2018 team. Last years team won 11 more games and had a better run differential than the 13 team. Last years team also scored more runs and had a better ERA than the 2013 team. And essentially the team we put on the field this year was nearly identical to the 2018 juggernaut, except for the closer. I can't blame DD for the players not doing their jobs this year. I do not recall who left the 2013 team after they won; maybe some of the guys who left caused the first to worst.

The team won 108 games in 2018 and was a juggernaut by any standard. They lost Kimbrel and Kelly out of the pen and while Kelly sucked for much of the year, the loss of Kimbrel hurt. Still....if our SPs performed we would still be a playoff team. They didn't. Thats on THEM, not DD.

I don't see how DD can be blamed for our SPers sucking this year. Yes, he should probably have obtained another RP, but if our SP did their job we would still be in the playoffs. DD assembled a competitive team....which didn't do their job.

He isn't available. He is too busy. I recently bought a Chevy from him at the local dealership.

I haven't seen it called a "sprain" anywhere...only that its inflammation, which could be a myriad of things. There may or may not be a tear. We are not entitled to know (if it IS known) what the cause of the inflammation is. Here are some of the things it COULD be. Obviously some are irrelevant, but this points out the fact that inflammation can be caused not JUST by an UCL tear: Differential Diagnosis of Elbow Pain Based on Anatomic Location Anterior Anterior capsule strain Biceps tendinopathy Gout Intra-articular loose body Osteoarthritis Pronator syndrome Rheumatoid arthritis Lateral Lateral epicondylitis Osteochondral defect Plica Posterolateral rotatory instability Radial tunnel syndrome/posterior interosseous nerve syndrome Medial Cubital tunnel syndrome Medial epicondylitis Ulnar collateral ligament injury Valgus extension overload syndrome Posterior Olecranon bursitis Olecranon stress fracture Osteoarthritis Posterior impingement Triceps tendinopathy The actual diagnosis is less important than how well he will perform once healed. Thats really the bottom line. Will he still have 95+? Will he be able to adapt successfully if he only has 93? Only time will tell.......

So much speculation about how diminished Sale will be when he returns.....while its fun to speculate, Sale is not Tanaka. He may well have a completely different injury, one that responds better to treatment (or worse). I am just going to wait and see what Andrews says in October and then see what his velocity and command look like on opening day, assuming he doesn't need surgery. Its absurd to guess what kind of pitcher he will become at this point.

If he needs surgery based on the evaluation in October he misses next year, same as if he needed surgery after today's evaluation. He still might needs surgery, but delaying it until October won't result in him missing more time than if he had it next week.

No one said he would come back completely healthy next year to the best of my knowledge. I read that he would be re-evaluated in six weeks.

Different players, different situation most likely. We haven't been given the actual diagnosis, nor are we likely to get it. As you know, inflammation is just a symptom, not a diagnosis. Without a diagnosis its impossible to postulate what Sale will look like in the future.

I agree with this assessment. And I do not think that DD is the right guy to rebuild our farm system. I don't think he has ever successfully done that. He is a GM who tends to destroy farm systems in order to win now. Nothing wrong with that, but he is the wrong guy for the job at hand.

If Sale needs TJS its a fire sale this winter to reset. Trade Mookie; he is gone anyway after next year. Get whatever we can for the deadwood. Lose Leon. It will be a long summer but 2021 will be better.