sk7326

This is fair - I think it is better to think of him in the context of the Moreland platoon ... given how poor 1B is AL-wide, the Red Sox have one of the most effective solutions there in the league. I think Pearce might be a bit better than a pure lefty masher - but even if it is only marginally so, for this team that is plenty.

I always noted last year was peculiar in that the team won 93 games without anybody actually playing well. I mean - there were no dumpster fire seasons, but there were no "leaps", no crazy outlier seasons (except for Moreland to a certain degree). Between their health problems and "non-outstandingness", the 93 games felt at times like really the worst this team could have done. A LOT of their improvement was going to come from just their own guys playing better. So whaddya know? Martinez has been a crucial signing for lengthening the lineup - he has been everything anyone could have asked for. But instead we get major leaps by Betts, Benintendi, Bogaerts at the same time. Moreland/Pierce have been a super effective 1B combination, and they have been more than good enough to compensate for real struggles at the bottom of the lineup. Even Devers - while struggling - has not been that bad, certainly nothing holding much back with significant potential to turn some stuff around. It is tempting to give Cora credit for this - but probably a little unfair. That said, the seasons these guys are having is why having great young talent is awesome. It is silly not to expect some regression - but these are premium talents, and a good chunk of this is really who they are.

they focus on run prevention with ballparks that enhance it

OB is excellent - and I wish they did not rotate analysts.

fwiw, I'll see them Tuesday - not often the chance appears for me ...

As far as Red Sox broadcasts go (and I go back to 1986): The Sean and Jerry team was the best by a solid distance. Jerry worked a lot harder then, and Sean was much more cynical than other hometown announcers (frankly reflective of actual Red Sox fans). Don and Jerry were good, a kinder, gentler version of Sean and Jerry. I liked Ned Martin but I am sure I did not get his best days. The current NESN broadcast is fine but there is that lack of continuity - and really only Eck and Remy (when available) are any good. I don't mind the wandering mind at time during games - it's not always exciting. As long as the announcers lock in when the game dicates it, things are cool.

Bad by UZR, worse by DRS ... eye test does not reflect anything special. He is not Hanley in LF bad - but nobody is. He's a decent OF for a DH.

JD is a bad outfielder. Is it worth it giving him some turns there for larger roster purposes? (keeping him happy, rotating bats at DH) Who knows. But he is a 1-way player ... but he has more than delivered on that 1-dimension. While he is a one-dimensional player, he is great at it ... and it is the one thing the team needed more than any other. That he might have a 5 win season while offering no defensive value is a real achievement.

Benintendi has been terrific. Especially with his actual slow start - there is reason to expect things will be better in general the rest of the year. He is a stud.

Decent pitching, outstanding defense, and a ballpark where fly balls go to die ... only two ballparks are worse for homeruns and one (Oakland) does it with comically absurd amounts of foul territory.

Well the Trop has always been a pitcher's park. That has been Tampa's MO to punch above their weight, no? A ballpark where fly balls go to die, and build the team around guys who can pick it. (28th out of 30 in Homerun park factor) It is a sound way to create value out of a team which does not have a ton of money.

Costas is the worst. It is the wild pretentiousness, and open mockery of analytics (and I am not saying that you should sing hymns of praise, but if a business reporter did not understand how analysts rated stocks today, they would be fired) and their tacit assertion that the old days were better which makes it hard to watch. Of the national guys, they hit on something good with Joe Buck and Smoltz. The Sunday Night broadcast is fun too - Vasgergian is a pro, the TV version of A-Rod is terrific (essentially a gigantic dork about baseball) and Jessica is a good glue-guy/gal.

You spelled Adam Dunn wrong

Well Napoli is a different world - he has as much raw power as any hitter working

Relief pitchers are like diapers for newborns - you will always need them

What is interesting about him is that he is essentially a poor man's Mike Napoli offensively - a bit of a three true outcomes hitter, with less power and plate discipline. He doesn't hit it often, but he can catch fire - and it usually is hit hard.

He is striking out too much ... but the contact he has made has been good, better than a year ago. The expected results are better than actual - so the forward-looking expectation is that if this keeps up, the improvement will continue. So much of baseball is governed by dumb luck, it is silly to pretend otherwise.

Hitting the ball hard is the best indicator of getting hits in generally. There is luck involved anyway

the batted ball stats back it up. He's actually made the same changes Bogaerts has. Playing for power more, getting more lift. The results have only started to come around, but his batted ball profile is significantly healthier than it was last year.

it is good Bradley's results have started to catch up to how he has been hitting it. He has hit the ball harder and in the air more this year but the results have only recently started to come on.

Another platoon bat - along with Brandon Phillips. Now, there is evidence that the Red Sox issues vs lefties is more dumb luck and small sample size than anything ... but either way, some small moves to try to provide some backup is a good idea.

The Red Sox are on a 108 win pace. They have been .500 against the very best of the AL ... in other words, about what you'd expect. They could use another guy - although the guys they have now really are capable of playing a bit better.

Devers would be the youngest position player in SALEM. He is younger than a significant chunk of the 2018 draft class. And he has played a bit better lately. It would be a huge overpay for half a season of even someone Machado's skill level.

It's the latter. I think they have no problem giving Kimbrel more 8th inning work - but definitely are ramping him up there. I would be surprised if they did not take the training wheels off more in July and August.

Or scored more than 1 run in 2 days