Hitch

But alternatively, all teams (and players) have runs where they're flying and runs where they're stuttering. Just because a team/player stutters in April, doesn't mean they should be written off.

All this despite there being a FULL BLOWN CRISIS going on! 😜 Hopefully we can close out this series against the Mariners and win (at least) one of the last two and build some belief and confidence in the fan base as we head into a very tough series against the Guardians. Nothing has changed for me - I am very excited about this team. I also think Breslow would swing a big trade if need be at the deadline to push us into genuine contenders territory. And we still have a bitching farm. Good times.

What do you think we get for Grissom? Because I would bet very little at the moment. And we can't really bring him up to replace Hamilton, as he's a poorer defender at almost every spot. His best bet is getting reps and impressing at 1B.

Agreed. I don't see an issue with his contract all.

Yeah, I don't see much chance they deal him. I think Anthony forcing himself up and Rafaela into a utility spot looks most likely. Though I love Raf's defence.

Yeah, but it wasn't even that part of it really. The extra draft pick and bonus pool money that comes with it was the real get I think. I'm really surprised they got that much.

He did come off as a unique individual. I think he's possibly uncomfortable in his own skin. He talks a lot in the affirmative "I'm a big guy - you couldn't take me", "I love to walk home. I'm a big guy, nobody will bother me", but it never felt natural. I mentioned this the other day - it's a dangerous game to read too much of anything into these series (or any documentary). This is what I do for a living and things get left on the cutting floor that would change your perception quite strongly on things. And yet it's hard to shake the feeling with Casas as his whole demeanour seems similar every time he's interviewed, any time he speaks, and it matches up with the series somewhat. It's almost like he's constantly living an act, while trying very hard to act like it isn't. Of course, I could be way off. I have never really like the kid. After watching the show, I found myself feeling sorry for him. He seems lonely.

I really am quite shocked how many people actively want to trade Duran.

I'm usually very much for keeping as much pitching around as possible, but the value they got out of that deal was crazy.

What do you mean no one is arguing Mayer needs to come up. You've literally been calling for him to come up to energise the teams offence. This post I'm replying to is saying he deserves to be in the big leagues. How did he earn his spot? Spring Training? Have you always been of the mindset that ST stats matter? Or is this a new thing because you want to back up this point? Genuine question as you'd be very much in the minority in thinking ST stats matter for hitters much at all. The fact Campbell was given the job over him shows (quite rightly so far) that he was the guy to give the job to based off far more than meaningless baseball against pitchers trying to throw 5 curve balls in a row to get their feel. Mayer didn't face a pitch in AAA after promotion and has lost substantial development time to injuries. He may well have got a place at a roster as terrible as the White Sox's, but that's another point against him isn't it? He's not at the White Sox, he's with us and has not proven he's better than Story, has not proven he's better than Bregman, and has not proven he's better than Campbell. He could replace Hamilton I guess, but then I think they see him as a full timer and don't want to burn a year on him being a utility guy. Plus as evidenced below - he's just not done enough either way. Story - BA: 318 OBP: 348, OPS: 866 Bregman - BA: 297, OBP: 375, OPS: 880 Campbell - BA: 316, OBP: 418, OPS: 918 Mayer - BA: 223, OBP: 273, OPS: 684 Honestly, I'm not entirely sure you know what you're arguing for here. In consecutive posts you've said firstly that Mayer and Story have had similar seasons so far, and secondly that he's not in the Bigs because he's blocked at his position by Boston's current leader in batting average and slugging percentage. I mean, come on. In time Mayer will get here and prove to be very good I've no doubt, and there's certainly a case for Anthony to come up soon, even if the amount of weight behind him being some sort of saviour is concerning to me. But Mayer just isn't there right now. And he's got to work very hard to disprove this, or wait for injuries, which in fairness will inevitabley come.

That's all fine, I have no problem with any of that. And I get the cathartic point, though the general feeling around the situation at the moment feels much odder than that. But it's also a discussion forum so I don't think it's asking much for people to understand they'll have their opinions questioned.

In what world is anyone taking his contract on right now? Come on man. 3 from 4 is what we needed to be doing. Onwards and upwards.

Why? Can't you be passionate and also somewhat logical? Does everything have to be hyperbole? I'm not pointing fingers at you by the way, I mean in general. I don't disagree on point one. Let's see where we are on point two in a month shall we? How do we know what we have right now? It's far too early.

An interesting view point for sure. Except there aren't pitchers trying new things and not caring about numbers in season. This smacks of trying to shoehorn a point in to fit a narrative. Sure, except the numbers are clearly on the side of players that do not make it (and players that struggle in the transition up). This isn't even up for debate. It's one of those rare moments when the numbers are very much on one side of the debate. For just a modern take on the subject - Why top hitting prospects are having a harder transition to the majors than in the past - The Athletic So why argue he needs to come up? If he's doing no better than those above him when he's up against sub-standard pitching? And his OPS and batting average showed struggles. I notice there was no argument back about the mental side of the pressure these players are being put under in this environment.

Yes, thank you for mentioning some of the most obvious stat based websites we have as fans. Websites like these are how I came to the conclusion that suggesting we need to bring Mayer up from AAA to give our offence the boost it's missing when he was hitting just over .200 with a 500+ OPS might not be the best thought out idea we've ever had on here. I can't quite decide whether you're willfully or accidentally missing my point, though I know which one I'm leaning towards. As I haven't been asleep since 2013, you can safely assume I'm aware of how successful Xander, Mookie and Devers have been. The rather obvious point I was making (several times) is that the atmosphere around the club right now is not great and there's very much a lack of patience on display - evidenced among many other things by the fact that both Devers and Story (and Cora) were ready for the glue factory just two weeks ago if you read this board/social media. And maybe in that atmosphere we shouldn't be putting all the pressure on Mayer (who was performing poorly in AAA) and Anthony (who like it or not has a good chance of being kept down until they can buy another year/we pick up injuries) to turn everything around for the club. Add to this that most prospects have a hard time at some point after promotion, and stacking all the pressure on them before they even get here might not be the best thing in the world for them, especially if the fans start questioning their value after a slow start. But hey, maybe we shouldn't learn anything from the Duran situation and the toll the negativity took on him. After all, why worry about what's best for their development. Another prospect will be along shortly that has a lot more chance of failing than succeeding - no biggie huh? But yeah, Mookie. 🙄 They will have to come up and prove themselves at some point. And I look forward to it. Hopefully it'll be at a point when the fanbase has gathered its composure back a little. I hold up little hope at the moment.

Crochet was on 96 pitches yesterday. Sitting him was the sensible thing to do.

I don't believe that there was a concerted effort by management to lower expectations and I don't believe there's evidence of it. I do think they wanted to win cheap and show how smart they are. Watching teams like the Rays and Brewers be successful only fuelled that I imagine. But expectations naturally come down when there is a sustained period of crap performance

If you have an issue with any of my posts, maybe have the courtesy to respond to them directly rather than making continued sarcastic posts about them. Or you know, just ignore them.

Wink feels the obvious choice at the moment.

This feels spot on.

I think we need another dozen games before we pay much attention to runs scored as its heavily skewed by the Cardinals game. On a side note, I really like Dobbins. I hope he does well.

It's a fair point, this board isn't an exact model for the Sox fan base in general, but I also don't think it's a mile off either. It's a new world where attention spans are a thing of the past and you're disappointed that a thing you ordered on Friday night took until 5pm on Saturday to arrive. Take Nick's comment in the game thread that we need to put distance between us and the chasing play off pack. In mid-April. Everything has to be perfect. And now. No playing into form, no settling in time. Be great or be s***. Telling how little engagement game threads have when we win in comparison to when we lose. I'm just glad we didn't get Soto now. With the start he's had, Boston would be on fire.

It's April, for goodness sake.

Through sheer existence, sports fans are impatient, but the start of this season has been something else. I've said it all summer - if Devers is DH, Yoshi has no place on this team outside of expensive depth. Trade ain't happening, they will almost certainly not DFA him, doesn't leave much else.

Indeed. And yet we had posters just a few days ago demanding he was brought up to inject youth and energy and some nonsense about Bogaerts and Betts... People need a good, long, deep breath. I feel like collective madness is around every corner at the moment. To your point about Grissom - I really hope they give him more at bats at 1st. We really are scraping the barrel if Casas goes down/bombs. Grissom's offence has always threatened to be worth something. We might need to find out soon.