moonslav59

Sox have fallen to just 5 games over .500, and once again the naysayers have returned to the roost to sing the "Sox Nation Song," only they know how to sing it. 57-52 '23 54-55 '22 (lost the next 4 games) 64-45 '21 (went 4-8 afterwards 59-50 '19 (lost the next 5 games) Let's hope we can reverse the August trend!

Rafaela homered in 4 straight games. Maybe we have our starting CF'er for 2024: C Wong, McGuire (Scott) 1B Casas, (Dalbec) 2B Urias, Reyes (EValdez/Yorke) SS Story, Chang (DHam/Mayer) 3B Devers (Dalbec) LF Duran, Reysnyder (Yoshida) CF Rafaela (Duran) RF Verdugo, Abreu DH Yoshida (Dalbec) Focus on improving the pitching staff.

1. Duran CF 2. Yoshida LF 3. Turner DH 4. Devers 3B 5. Duvall RF 6. Casas 1B 7. Urias 2B 8. Wong C 9. Chang SS

Like Casas is your "boy." LMAO

You are my witness. Although an easily impeachable one.

Total crock.

I'm not sure anything more can be added. It's all rehash, now.

Word from MLBTR says the Marlins were in "extensive" talks with the Sox on Justin Turner. Maybe a sell-off was very close to coming to fruition.

Some 26 and 40 man roster decisions will need to be made, soon. Story comes off the 60 day IL: DFA: Garza and demote Urias or DFA Reyes Sale comes off the 60 day IL: DFA: Kluber Demote: Jacques Houck comes off the IL: Demote Llovera Whitlock comes off the IL: DFA Bleier or demote Bernardino or Murphy Joely comes off the IL: (see Whitlock choices)

I doubt it would cause the same uproar, again. We will not protect him, again. IMO, he won't be selected.

They may just demote Urias, if they like Reyes that much.

He's admitted he no longer watches baseball, but his "eye test" opinions keep flowing.

You assume the pulse of Sox Nation is right. You assume you know what that pulse is. I know Cora wanted help at the deadline, as did a few players if not most players. All I can say is that I am glad the players and fans don't make the decisions. Yes, Cora, the guy you have continually bashed, knows way more than I do, but so do Bloom and the Sox upper brass who made some choices against the wishes of "the pulse" and Cora and some vocal players. My guess is the Sox upper brass knows more than "some of those guys have forgotten," too. I, for one, happen to have agreed with Cora, and I hoped we had made more moves at the deadline, but I don't know what other teams wanted for rentals and others, so I won't bash the management of the team I love based on hearsay and worse. I'm not sure why you keep feeling the need to repeat, over and over, that you hear different things than what you hear on this site. It is meaningless to everyone, but apparently, you. Your assumption that you are the worldly one why some of us are locked in a tiny corner of talksax is absurd and reveals everything anyone needs to know about your pettiness and doubletalk. It's more than the second time I have suggested you go be another team's fan, because you obviously only care about clinging to the few times you were right about a Sox player or employee sucking. Your obsession with Kike says it all. For some reason, it really ugged the s*** out of you than some of us got overly hung up on his second half or 2021 and hoped and cheered like real fans do, that he might repeat the second half of 2021 in 2022 and 2023. That's what real fans do, and you chose to gloat about being right that he was nothing more than a "utility player." Hurray for you! You being right was more important than Kike doing well, again. We get it. Please move on to another team's fanbase. They will love having fans like you aboard.

He won't be claimed off Rule 5, this winter, so we have the rest of this year and 2024 to see more from him, and then we'll see about DEC 2024.

I think your spell check is acting up, again.

You were not alone.

Our pen has had a few hiccups along the way, but by and large, they have been the most consistent plus area of the team, next to maybe the OF. Our overall pitching is ranked 17th in fWAR at 12.2 (0.3 from 16th NYM and 0.9 from 15th MIN.) We are ranked 13th in ERA- at 95. (1 from 12th and 2 from 9th) Who would have thought this, knowing about how injured and or poorly Whitlock, Houck and Kluber have been, all year. The pen places... T3rd in ERA-- at 84 T5th in fWAR at 4.0 6th in IP

Put him in the minors and see what happens. He does not have to be on our 40 man. He will be Rule 5, again, this winter. I doubt anyone takes him.

No coincidence, you come back when the team is struggling and all but disappeared when Bloom was looking pretty good. If you are so embarrassed by watching the Sox, go be an Astros fan. This team has been exciting to watch- the most exciting since 2018, except for the second half of 2021. You can keep choosing doom and gloom, so you can gloat that you disliked Bloom from day one and were right for thinking he'd suck as a GM. You are a fan only of yourself.

You may be right, but I'm thinking JH & Co. are going to take "the plunge," at some point. It may not be in the form of spending big on pitching (very risky,) but rather by finally pulling the trigger on a trade for a solid and controlled pitcher with strong potential to be an ace, or one who already is. We will part with some top everyday player prospects to boost the pitching. They spent big on Devers, and his prime years are now, so they may see the window as starting in 2024. Off season trades do not demand the same returns as deadline deals often fueled by desperate GMs jacking up the returns.

It seems obvious Sox management has placed winning "now," as in from mid 2019 to 2023, as a much lower priority than 2024 or 2025 and beyond. I'm not so sure this was a choice made at the GM level.

Indeed, his numbers from 2021 to 2022 were pretty impressive: Very good D. A decent .340 OBP. A better than average 2B OPS of .766. 24 HRs and 50 xbhs per 650 PAs is pretty damn good. Bloom made a trade that should help us, now and through 2 more arb years. He gave up a decent pitching prospect from the lower levels of the farm. It may work: it may not. I'm thinking it looks pretty good.

I did expect and hope we added a SP'er at the deadline- even two. I think we could have afforded to part with a decent but not top prospect or two to get a rental or even splurge and get someone like Civale. It's obvious the team management has placed the extended future plan as the top priority, and I'm not so sure that was a mistake, despite my differing opinion. I think they viewed the imminent return of 2-3 pitchers and the recent return of Schreiber as being "enough" of a boost for the staff and the return of Reyes and then Story, plus the swap of Urias for Arroyo on the 40, as enough of a boost to the offense and defense. I said this should be Bloom's "make or break" season, and I'm going to let it play out, before I jump all over him. (It looks like he will be back, next year, regardless of this season's results, so he will likely get another "make or break" season or teo.)

Other teams have guys like Lugo and Paulino in their systems that do not need to be protected for Rule 5, this winter. I doubt anyone would have traded for them, let alone given us anything of real value. I doubt we protect Fernandez. I'm not sure about Bastardo and Gambrell. Probably the only realistic trades that could have been made would have been to trade Perales or Wikelman- maybe Drohan, if we wanted a decent return, and maybe that's why Bloom made no major trades. Shortened Rule 5 List: Lock: Wikelman Gonzalez & Luis Perales Likely: Shane Drohan Possible: Angel Bastardo, Grant Gambrell Maybe: Ryan Fernandez, Eddinson Paulino, Stephen Scott

Very big game. We need the pen to carry us, once again.