moonslav59

Can you list your 11, and put them into 2-3 categories? Must keep Should keep Bubble keep

Huh?

If the "sacrifice" was a true sacrifice, meaning it gained something later- like maybe 2-3 wins, it might not be so stupid. Every team packs in some games. This one seemed like a weird choice, but with the open over-taxed, I think the plan was drawn up before the game started with fingers crossed on Sale and Bear Claw. All the extra pitches Sale had to pitch to get 4 outs in a couple innings might have tipped the plan a little, but needing Bear Claw to do well is never a good plan.

About a week ago, the playoff bound Astros left in a pitcher for 11 hits, 2BB and 10. It happens. BTW, who was that against?

Like Workman and Hembree for Pivetta?

I don't disagree, but there should not be a rule 5 issue, this winter. We currently have 45 guys on the 40, counting the 5 guys on the 60 day IL (Kluber, Mondesi, Mills, Kelly and Ort.) Assuming we don't bring back Paxton, Kluber, Mondesi, Duvall and Turner, we are not down to 40. Obvious DFA candidates are Ort Weiss Barraclough Llovera Garza Jacques That's 6 slots for FA signings and Rule 5 protectees. We could possible non tender, not take the option or trade: "Bubble List" Joely Mills DHam Walter EValdez Murphy Mata Kelly But I doubt we lose more than 1-2 from here.... Let's work with 7-8 slots: FA1: SP FA2: SP FA3: MI/CF depth and 4-5 Rule 5's: Wikelman- for sure Perales- for sure S Scott- I'd protect him Gambrell- I'd protect Drohan? Allan Castro? Who gets picked off? Paulino? Bonaci? Fernandez? Lugo? B Gonzalez? Angel Bastardo? Luis de la Rosa? J Salazar? Song? If you think any of these guys are better than on the "bubble list," then swap 'em out or trade a couple bubble guys, assuming someone wants them.

They could package Bear Claw and Llover and get an ace!

Bello has pitched very well in 3 of his last 4 starts, and I'm not trying to bring him down, but over his last 7 starts, including those 3 good starts, he's at... 4.46 with a 5.13 FIP. Can't complain about the team going 5-2 in those 7 starts. When Crawford is your ace, you are in trouble. It's sad to think that despite Crawford's 3.71 ERA since joining the rotation in early June, the team is 7-8 in his starts, including losing 3 of his last 5 starts.

No doubt. He is Freakin' Chris Sale and no longer Chris Freakin' Sale. He teased us with a 12 game stretch of 3.75 pitching (3.23 FIP,) but that's all it was- a big tease. His last 3 starts: 14 IP 5.79 ERA 4.06 FIP He'll have to go 4-1 to end the season to bring back some respect . I don't see that happening.

The schedule being tough is a double edge sword. Yes, we have to beat some good team, but facing the teams ahead of us gives us the opportunity to insure they lose while we win. Doing that is another thing, of course. We failed, last night, and we only have 8 more games vs HOU and TOR combined. (O vs SEA) 3 v TEX 3 v TOR 2 v HOU

We need one more team to do us that favor, as well.

I'm sure the game had a bad effect on everyone, including me, but it was one game. It was actually a good one, until Bear Claw's meltdown. It's not the first time a team has offered up a sacrificial lamb to save the pen for the next few games. If we lose these next two games, it will all be for not, and the hatch jobs will multiply exponentially. I had higher hopes for this team than most, but I still did not project 90+ wins. I'm happier with this team than I expected, because the players who are returning (Jansen, Martin, Urias, Reyes...) and who were big question marks (Casas, Duran, Bello, Crawford, Wink, Wong...) played well or better than I had hoped for. I think our farm looks better, now than in March, despite several graduations. I think the team is on the right path, but it sucks having to watch too many games like last night, knowing we were just 1-2 solid pitchers away from making this season more competitive than it has been. I'm not happy, but I have really enjoyed watching this team. Despite losing Bogey, JD and Nate, this year was more fun. I hate thinking we will likely lose Turner, but with Yoshida and casas looking more and more like DH's, going forward, I think it has to happen. I'm still holding onto a sliver of hope for 2023, but it's not looking good, at all.

Looking at our rotation, who is the "stopper?" Who can be? (When you figure we need about 4 stoppers, it looks bleak.)

30 games left and 5.5 out of a WC slot. Talk about backs up against the wall! Do we have one more push left in us? Maybe even one more "tease?" We've been this down, before, a few times and then flipped the script. It almost certainly has to start by taking the next 2 from HOU and sweep the Jays. I guess going 4-1 in those 5 games might work, if we mop up on the rest of our schedule, but hopes are dwindling for the last of us who have not given up, yet.

Well, I know there is at least one person who did not feel like you said we all felt, so maybe don't say "everyone."

We basically had 11-12 #3-5 slot pitchers. We did not need 2 more #5's, we needed a real ace or two solid #2 types, and by #2, I don't mean Cah-cah, which I know you were thinking.

Exactly. So what, if Sale, Whitlock and Houck were due back "soon." Two of them are better from the pen, anyway, and we saw last night how much we could have used a long man or two. We had tax line space. We had some prospects bottle-necked on the farm. There is no excuse.

I'm all for this idea. Maybe Robertson. (I like Guerrero but wonder why they have not promoted him to AAA.)

I think he might have reached 8th or 9th on SPs, but I never considered him a "top prospect." I was convinced Ben was going to pull the trigger on a big prospect deal or two, before he was replaced by DD, and I think Bloom will, at some point. The question is, when not if, to me. IMO, we just went through a 5 year rebuild, without anyone in management saying it. All the telltale signs are there. No top prospects dealt. Almost every deal that brought us a vet had a prospect attached to it. No long term deals for almost 3 years (until Story in March '22,) and that goes back to the spring 2019 extensions to Sale, Bogey and Nate. A ton of one year deals. It wasn't a full blown teardown rebuild, of course, but it seems obvious, to me, the number one priority has been to build up the farm. That begs the question, "For what?" I honestly think the plan has been to wait to splurge and go for it all, again, until they think the farm is set up where we already have some young players who recently graduated and also a pretty well set up expected pipeline of incoming prospects. Are we there yet? I do think we have the graduated core in place: Casas, Duran, Bello, Crawford, Houck, Winckowski & Whitlock, (Urias & Devers are younger than Whitlock), and to me, we have a pretty nicely set up stream of projected prospects being called up: Now to 2024: Rafaela, Abreu, Bernardino, Kelly, Murphy, Walter, EValdeez, DHam and maybe Mayer, Wikelman, Yorke, Mata, Drohan or Guerrero. We also have a very nice looking set of prospects due to join the club between 2025 and 2026 and another set is 2026 or beyond. I'd say, we have arrived, but I'm not sure JH, Bloom & Co. agree. I'd like to see us pull of one major prospect trade for a solid SP'er who is 27 or younger and has 3+ years of control. Then, sign Urias or YY from Japan. Add some OF and MI depth and we can be a solid contender in 2024.,

We went into the season with 8 starters- 9 if you thought Winckowski could start, as many did in March. Sale Paxton Kluber Whitlock Bello Pivetta Houck Crawford We thought maybe Mata might be ready to step up and had Walter and Murphy as long shot farm depth. Nobody is saying this was great depth, but I counted 11-12 possibles back in spring. If ever there is evidence to prove this old saying correct, it is the 2023 Red Sox: You can never have enough pitching! Funny how my big rotation criticism was that we chose quantity over quality. How wrong can one be? Last year, we felt we'd have had a better chance with a strong pen, so what do we do? We choose to play Whack-A-Mole!

Bloom’s decision to add only one starting pitcher to the roster in the offseason, 37-year-old Corey Kluber, has proven disastrous. Amazing, how not a single one of us saw this coming!

Don't encourage him. Call up 5 pitchers? We don't have 5 with options, and some that do are named Crawford and Wink, so what? DFA Paxton and____?

I think Aldo Ramirez was the top prospect he has traded in almost 4 years. (Schwarber)

Speaking for one and all, again.

Long time between this rat sighting.