moonslav59

Had we asked what two positions would have the highest OPS, this year, we might have mostly agreed on 3B and 1B. The nest best might have had more debate, but probably SS, DH and LF might have been discussed. Here are the leading OPS by Position: LF: 1.086 (mostly Duran, but O'Neill has raked there, too) RF: .938 (carried by O'Neill) C: .851 (thanks mostly to McGuire, but Wong has been okay.) McGuire is also 1-3 as a PH'er w a 2B. The expected best/better positions: .644 3B .706 1B .669 SS .553 DH

In batting practice, maybe.

lol.

LOL. Back then, it was Casas, Mayer, Duran and Yorke.

Too bad Martin had a rough time, last night. One could try to blame the lack of ST'ing work or say he's just getting old, but for us to have a real chance at the playoffs, we almost certainly need him to turn it around. Overall, our pen has been a plus. They have just a .631 OPS against. There have just been a handful of bad outings by RP'ers, this season, most notably by Joely, Wink and Martin and Campbell, last night. Of course, every pen looks much better after taking out 4-5 of their worst efforts every 12 games. Slaten has looked like a steal. 0.00 ERA .111 OPSA 6 Ks in 18 PAs with 0 BBs and just 1 hit. Jansen missed much of ST'ing, too and has struggled with BBs (5 in 17 PAs,) but has gotten the job done. 0.00 ERA .294 OPSA Weissert has faced 18 batters and done fine. 0.00 ERA .465 OPSA (3 Hits, 2BB and 5 Ks) Bernardino has not pitched much (7 PAs) 0.00 ERA .572 OPSA (1 Hit, 0BB, 3 K in 2 IP) That's 16.1 IP by 4 RP'ers with no earned runs allowed. Anderson has surprised this poster. In 24 PAs: 3.00 ERA .598 OPSA (5 Hits, 1 BB, 4 Ks) Wink has done well, except for that one game. Martin was okay, before last night. Joely & Campbell have been rocked, at least once.

McGuire will be traded (this summer or next). It's his last year of control in 2025. Wong has 3 arb years after 2025.

So, yesterday we faced a lefty, but Devers is given the day off vs a righty, today.

Rafaela makes up for his errors by making plays very few other CF'er make or even come close to making. Valdez won't. Devers makes some nice plays, but makes way too many throwing errors, and a few too many booted easy outs. Casas has not looked better than '23. Duran looks better than the pre-2023 Duran, still. O'Neill has looked good, except for the booted ball and maybe another shaky play or two.

Agreed. I have faith he can get close to a 90 wRC+, maybe even better, at some point, but of course, it could just be wishful thinking.

By the end of 2025, we could see this 13 everyday roster at no added cost: C: Teel & Wong 1B: Devers/Casas 2B: Grissom & Reyes SS: Story/Mayer 3B: Mayer/Devers LF: Duran/Abreu CF: Rafaela/Anthony RF: Anthony/Abreu DH: Casas/Yoshida/Devers

I think Anthony would be RF and O'Neill LF. Our catchers are doing very well, so far.

Yup, or kept 2 and not extended Sale.

You mean, after his years of control?

He's not getting $20M to add 1-2 years to the Sox team control. What will he get, without extending, for one more pre-arb year plus 3 arbs? It won't be $80M/4.

I agree, totally. I will add that Betts signed during the uncertainty of COVID, and Devers signed after several years of rather high inflation, so it's not really apples to apples, despite both being around $310M.

Of course going 7-3 on a road trip that oftens kills us changes the mood towards brightness. We all knew once we lost 3 in a row or 5 out of 7 or something, the mood would shift on a dime. Just look at the game threads for minute by minute massive mood shifts. Losing 2 in a row sucks, especially how we lost, last night, but I'm still finding things to watch that brings me enjoyment, even when we lose. I loved watching Crawford's reaction, when he got the last out of the 5th. You can tell, it matters to him. I hope Romy can surprise me, some more. Some bonehead plays on D irked me, but I'm staying optimistic as long as I can.

To some, it's all part of the "eye test."

I'm not saying extend Houck at ace money or for 8 years.

Who is giving "unconditional love" to Grissom?

On the farm early results (15+ PAs) OPS 1.196 Romy G 1.117 Kavadas 1.059 Rosario .952 Hickey .937 Joh. Garcia .868 Jho. Garcia Notables: .885 Anthony (13 PAs) .839 Mayer (12 PAs) .743 Bleis .708 Teel (9 PAs) .554 Meidroth .538 Yorke OPS Against(5+ IP) .000 Brand .229 Bastardo .246 Benitez .261 Z Kelly .335 Alexander .367 Fogell .599 Criswell .653 Hagenman .767 Gambrell .776 Uwasawa Notables with 3.0 to 4.2 IP: .091 Guerrero .167 Dean .220 Early .282 Adams .498 Booser .511 Rogers .652 I Coffey .714 Fitts

If we wait until Crawford and Houck have great seasons, the extension cost will rise sharply. I'd like to see us extend Pivetta, but the injury might make that too iffy.

Oh, OK. I thought the talk was about Rafaela improving on his start to 2024. I guess his 74 wRC+ in 2023 needed improvement, as well, so I get your point, now. I think we all expect the rotation to come back down to earth, but we have differing opinions on it being better or worse than 2023's. It certainly has upside potential.

You think the rotation can improve?

Grissom and Rafaela have not done much.

A while ago, I mentioned how our farm has really missed the boat on finding and or developing fine pitchers, especially starters, but that the few we have graduated, recently have been better than the previous 6-7 years, combined. Maybe go back to 2010 and include Workman + Barnes (2010-2016) While the 2024 sample size is still very small, things do look brighter. Crawford Bello IFA '17) Houck (drafted in '17) Whitlock Winckowski Possibles: Slaten Sandlin Fitts Gambrell Some RP'ers like Guerrero The list of pitchers doing well in MLB from the Sox system, after Lester, Buch, Barnes ('11), Masterson, Workman ('10) & Papelbon is not as good as this list: Aro '11 Bautista & DHern '13 Espinoza, Beeks & Kopech '14 Lakins & Poyner '15 Shawaryn '16 Am I missing anyone good from 2010-2016? Can I go back more than 7 years and still find this last 7 year crop still better?