Maxbialystock

Meh. He's not as good as last year but has had several decent starts this year. 11 days ago 7 IP and 1 ER, for example.

Why should he play 1b this season? Since when is having the best DH in the AL a bad idea? Neither Ortiz or JDM was ever asked to play a field position full time. Because he was a DH, Ortiz was still a terrific hitter at age 40, his final season (2016)--151 games and an OPS of 1.061. And why is everyone insisting that we need a great hitting firstbaseman when the injured Casas was having a horrible season? Gonzalez is the answer for 1B. It's that simple. And let's not forget that some combination of Cora and Breslow lied to Devers in spring training. To me the amazing right now, Mon, May12, is that playing Bregman at 3b and Devers at DH is working like gangbusters. Bregman has been fantastic and now so is Devers. Why oh why mess with success? I'll tell you why. Bregman wants Yoshida to DH because otherwise he is unplayable and getting paid a lot of money. What pisses me off is that management won't admit that and instead has done all it can to make Devers the bad guy.

Breslow is happy to overpay for a firstbaseman. He demonstrated that by going public that he wants Devers to play 1b. That was after Cora told Devers his glove days were over and to focus on hitting. While I disagree with Breslow in this matter, I recognize this Sox team has a lot of potential this season thanks to the players he has brought in. Bregman and Crochet have both been huge. Narvaez hitting and catching are already better than Wong's. Right now Giolito, last season's complete bust (and about whom I repeatedly reminded everyone that Breslow was an idiot), looks like a viable starter. Chapman. Fitts, who Breslow got from the Yankees for Verdugo (whose departure opened up RF for Abreu). Romy Gonzalez, whom the Sox picked up on waivers after Breslow replaced Bloom.

Meh. I agree he can't hit (so far), but I also don't care that he can't. Casas wasn't hitting much either. The Sox won both games Toro started at 1b--against a hot KC team. Plus Cora has at least two other options with the current crew. When Gonzalez gets off the IL, he will be better for the Sox than Casas was. Also, Wong played some first base last year.

Sox took 2/3 at KC while giving up exactly 1 ER in 3 games. So the pitching looks pretty good. KC has the 2d best team ERA in MLB and the Sox scored 14 runs off them in 3 games. Three games are miniscule in a 162 game season, but nevertheless I find those 3 games to be encouraging. Chapman is a relief pitcher, period. Not closing happens when you can't get guys out. But you can still contribute as the setup guy or whatever and work your way back to closing. Almost every closer faces that reality. Devers played 3b for 8 seasons and in 3 of them went to the ASG, so of course he was out of sorts when Bregman was hired and basically given 3b. However, it was a good move, as we all agree. Bregman is hitting great and playing a good third base (DWAR +0.3). Cora declared to Devers he would be DH forever, I think mostly to get him to focus on hitting and nothing else. As it turns out, DH is perfect for Devers, just as it was for Ortiz and JDM. He's the only Sox player in all 42 games this season. This could even increase his long term viability as a hitter. Ortiz was 40 all of his last season, played in 151 games, and had an OPS of 1.061. To me moving Devers to DH was smart and moving him to 1b is just stupid. It will distract from his hitting, make him more vulnerable to injury, and possibly subject him to ridicule if he doesn't pan out. On top of that, there is absolutely no urgent need to replace a lousy hitter (Casas this season), with one of your top three hitters on the Sox. When the Sox came to KC last Friday, the Royals were one of the hottest teams in MLB. The Sox won 2 of 3 and in the 2 wins hitless Sogard played 1b. I think Gonzalez will be just fine at 1b when he comes off the IL.

He does cost too much because he has said he still deserves "millions" to play. His last contract was $32M for 2 years.

1. He stinks. 2. He's expensive and said so to reporters. He will not play for less than "millions."

Oakland has no one remotely as valuable as Abreu. Plus losing Casas is no big deal. His WAR was -0.8.

Love to see Anthony in LF, but right now I'm fine with Duran in LF and Rafaela in CF. I may change my mind by the All-Star break or later. More to the point, I see absolutely no reason to make a deal to replace Casas. When he was hurt his WAR was -0.8. Losing him didn't hurt one bit. Sabol has played 2 games at 1b and the Sox won both of them. And Gonzalez's WAR is +0.4. Alternatively, Anthony or Mayer could be asked if they want to take a shot at 1b for Worcester in hopes of getting to Boston. Both are lefty bats and both are 6'3".

Not really. I agree he could get injured running the bases or swinging the bat, but a possible injury while fielding is additive, not separate. If you look at the Sox individual batting stats, you will see Devers is the only Sox player who has been in all 42 games. That's the value added of a good DH bat--he never gets tired. In addition, staying as the DH could extend his value to the team. David Ortiz turned 40 before his last season--in which he played 151 games with 626 plate appearances and a little ol' OPS of 1.021.

One more time even though no one is listening. The Sox don't need a great first baseman to replace Casas. In fact, a lousy one will do. Sogard has played two games at 1b and the Sox won both of them. How many times do I have to remind you people that Casas was a liability this season? He had a WAR of -0.8. Replacing him is the easiest thing in the world. So why look further than Romy Gonzalez (now on the IL)? His WAR is +0.4, a huge improvement over Casas. So is his OPS, .785 to Casas' .580. Heck, Connor Wong played 1b a few times last season. If the Sox could find a pretty good firstbaseman at a reasonable price, I'd be for it. But they can't. Heck, I'd even move Story to 1b and move Mayer up to Boston. Right now Devers is hitting well, and I think part of that is being a full-time DH.

Agree! In fact, all 3 starters were terrific this series, as was the bullpen. I believe I'm correct in saying that the Royals scored 1 earned run in 3 games. Sogard was fine at 1b because he's a warm body, almost decent on defense, and we don't need his hitting. We don't miss/need Casas, at least, not the one we had this year. In that vein moving Devers to 1b would be just stupid. He's a terrific DH so far and that's all we need from him. Breslow can go pound sand. Still just 2 games over .500, but this was a very encouraging 3 games @ KC. Back to Breslow. Right now it looks like he's made a lot of good moves to put the Sox in a position to win a bunch of games.

Completely agree. Acquiring Bregman pushed Devers into the DH slot, which I think is ideal for him. I was wrong to claim Yoshida can't hit because he can--but not as well as Devers. Chaim Bloom brought in Yoshida and Story, both of whom were/are overpriced. However, it also looks like he put some pretty good talent in the Sox minor league system.

See the Mayes article today, Sunday. The numbers say Wong has improved a lot from last year in key catching stats. This does not mean I think Narvaez isn't a great addition because he is. I'm not sure the catcher calls the pitches these days.

On the other hand, they dominate the NBA and probably have a high percentage in the NFL. My theory is that players normally get to the NBA or NFL a lot quicker than to MLB. I have no idea how salaries compare.

Indeed. I like to complain about Breslow, but this year he's brought in some pretty good players.

I don't care. We weren't getting much from Casas either. His overall WAR, -0.8, was the worst on the team.

Amazing. At 84 I'm in constant fear of dementia.

Sure would be nice if Crochet could pitch the 6th and 7th.

Without looking/checking, in order--3b, DH, RF, 2B, C, SS, LF, CF, 1b

Devers has 4 total bases so far. All 6 righty bats have 3 total bases, two of them by Rafaela. Lefty bats, Duran and Devers, have 5 of the Sox 7 hits.

Move him to 1b and keep Devers as DH. Mayer to SS.

He could well be one of the worst defenders, but the Sox kept him at 3b for 8 straight seasons, plus he made the all-star team 3 out of the last 4 years. I like the addition of Bregman, but I also like moving Devers to DH, which to me is a win-win. He can hit while avoiding both errors and injuries. He is no doubt overpaid as a DH, but his lifetime OPS is .854 and could well improve at the DH position. To remind: nobody griped when Ortiz and then JDM were full time DH's. Hitting is vastly more important than defense.

I've got to say this one more time for emphasis. Moving Devers has very little to do with replacing Casas, whose WAR at 1b this season was/is -0.8. Almost anyone except Dalbec could do better. And it has everything to do with opening up the DH position for Yoshida, who is still on the IL and who is nowhere near the hitter Devers is.

I agree that Devers' wording is unfortunate, but I agree with his position, that over the past 3 months Breslow has been jacking him around. The right way to do this would be to give Devers a full spring training to become a firstbaseman. I also agree with Devers that becoming a full-time DH takes some adjusting. Plus, given his rep on defense, I think DH is the perfect slot for him. And let's not kid ourselves. The reason for moving Devers to 1b is not to replace the injured Casas, but to make room for Yoshida as the DH.