sk7326

Right now it seems like he is just too passive at the plate - not sure anybody planned on that.

Eyanson throwing harder than he did in college and apparently the slider is top notch. Given he was an accomplished college starter - he is REALLY close to getting to Portland.

undoubtedly the Globe will leak it if true

More importantly, I'd have wanted the team to be comfortable playing him against lefties when he got promoted.

Yeah - that is my worry. I mean, Bloom came from Tampa of course, but Tampa certainly did not skimp on that stuff. It's why they have been so able to punch above their $$ weight.

Considering how much baseball he has not played due to injuries? Yes. And remember - Mayer was selected out of high school ... a slightly slower ETA is no big deal. He's still only 23!

The big thing with the Celtics was that the infrastructure was there and that did not change. Stevens took over, but the rest of the brain trust stayed too, until Austin Ainge left to work in Utah. I don't think Stevens was necessarily Danny Ainge's hand picked successor - but it became pretty clear to ownership that Stevens could do whatever he wanted in basketball and they weren't going to let him do it for another team. Stevens has made changes under the hood as you'd expect - but he was not starting from scratch. Cora is also one of those dudes who could do any of these jobs in baseball - and he was a good manager. But that sort of alignment was clearly not there in this case.

The alarming thing is the downward spending pressure throughout. Like, I think of the increased reliance on Driveline and the downsizing of the scouting department. This was cost cutting, but also represents a false choice. Like, Boston should be shooting MORE money at the farm - after all, there's no cap on how much you can spend on the infrastructure. The model a big market team like Boston should be following is essentially the Dodgers model - even if your big league payroll does not get THAT high. The top of the farm system gets the time to develop and be ready fro big league spots. At the same time, you have enough depth to trade and pay for the big league club. Put another way, you want a farm system healthy enough that you can make Garret Crochet trades whenever a restaurant quality veteran pops up. The team seems to be wanting to show the appearance of their prospects leading the way - without really asking whether the prospects are ready to do it.

Obviously, ownership wants to make money - let's get that out of the way. But the Red Sox at this point are a mint, so let's set that aside. Management has - especially in the last decade, though it's always been there - never been able to articulate what it wants the club to be. The vision to be a draft, develop and pay is sensible - but it's hard not to think that a lot of the fruits of the farm system have been rushed up and extended (see Kristian Campbell) so ownership can be like "SEE?? Look at all the prospects we have!". But if that doesn't click in the maximalist way - it tacks the direct opposite way. Finish in last? Sign Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to show fans you are trying. Marcelo Mayer is a classic example. He gets promoted super aggresively because he appears on top prospects list, and so let's see what top prospect we have! But then he struggles - or shows the cake is not fully baked and now he is a platoon player. The answer is you either have to let him take his lumps in the show (see Pedroia 2006-7), or you send him down and let him mash at Worcester. But we get this sort of purgatory instead. I almost fear that Franklin Arias will be promoted if he does well to take Story's job - not because he is ready, but because management wants to show a shiny object to the Nation.

Obviously "don't worry" is not a real answer - but we're still very much in small sample size theater, so that is worth noting. But yeah the offense has been the problem - and that Cora suddenly became the problem is pretty silly. Him getting fired is not a surprise - management is definitely quick to panic. The left side of the infield being an absolute zero offensively was certainly a plausible reality entering the season, and it is. Roman Anthony becoming a three true outcomes hitter without the 3rd outcome is less plausible.

As it turns out, the early returns on the bullish case for Arias are pretty darn good.

1. Cora being fired is whatever. He is a good manager - but it's not surprising that Breslow/ownership decided a head had to roll with this start. But I'm also pretty sure Cora didn't tell these players not to hit. 2. That said, it is fair to ask exactly why Roman Anthony is not pulling the ball or really attacking it. 27 games is 27 games, but this is not the same hitter that showed up for Team USA. I doubt that's the hitting coach specifically - these are usually larger decisions, but still yuck. 3. If Mayer is going to just be a platoon player, then he might as well have stayed in Worcester to hit against lefty pitching. Nobody is helped here. And he should be playing 3rd. Durbin is probably a better player than he has shown so far, but he was going to be a power vacuum at that position anyway. 4. Small sample sizes abound, but was it really more likely that Story would build on last season or that was the best it was going to get. He has been bad - but it's not all that surprising. The biggest crime of this ownership - and yes, it's the best ownership the franchise has ever had, sigh - is that they listen to talk radio too much and seem prone to these pretty rash pivots. Here is another one.

I think Mayer being made of glass probably scares Cora a little. But I do think it is the best defensive alignment - and maybe everybody figures that out as the season wears on.

89-73. I wish the ball went over the fence more. But this is a good team - and might be even better if Story moved over to 2B.

Sox Prospects does a great job. The national guys I think are useful for putting them into a league perspective. They get limited looks, but might look at the Statcast results a little more, and check with team contacts and stuff to cross check. Ultimately, all the views end up helping.