moonslav59

Good to see Houck get off to a nice start upon his return. I think a relief role will fit hi very well.

Good one. Hey, they guy can hit his weight!

But, but, but...he's up to .220!!!

Actually, I said this after his last HR. Yes, it's a bit premature, but this guy looks like a grinder. He actually reminds me of Pedey. (Not saying he will be that great, but his approach is similar.)

Christian is on a crusade!

That's exactly how I see it. He was a very good set-up man from 2017-2020 combined. I'm glad we extended him.

Can we all agree, Arroyo has won the 2B job full time?

This year, Dalbec is .599 v RHPs and .799 vs LHPs. That .799 number is top 9 on the team, so yes, he should play vs LHPs. Why bench a .799 hitter so one of these guys play instead? 2021 OPS vs LHPs .506 Verdugo (Why is nobody talking Verdugo platoon? He's .687 career.) .521 Vaz (cant't platoon with anyone buy Plawecki/Wong) .616 Santana .683 Devers (do not platoon Devers) .700 Chavis .752 Plawecki .784 Kike (.816 career) .788 Marwin (.728 career) .798 Dalbec (.859 career) .858 Arroyo (career splits are nearly identical but in the 680's)

Dalbec can play vs every LHP. That may be only 3-4 times out of 10 games. Arroyo or Kike play 1B vs RHPs. The other plays 2B. vs LHPs, Arroyo plays 2B and Kike plays the OF as Verdugo or Duran sit.

Brice officially DFA'd to make room for Duran.

I already admitted that was hyperbole, but keep drilling it home, if you enjoy that. I still say it was a steal.

New thread for this?

Not yet

Well said. When I lived in Maine, there was always someone to talk Sox with, but when I moved to Mexico after the 2004 ring, I needed my Sox fix. These sites work well for that.

I hope my streak continues- no first game post losses this year. I may have no second game post losses, either.

I’d bet Duran does very well. He may have. Few blips here and there, and starting off well helps with the fans and media.

Lol!

I read a study once that showed WS winners almost always had plus defence at 1B.

If Duran does very well, we may just stick with Kike at 1B vs RHPs, Dalbec vs LHPs, and Kike plays rover vs LHPs, mostly spelling Verdugo, Duran and Arroyo.

So far...

Yes. He'll also play some 2B, when Arroyo gets a rest. Verdugo may start sitting a little more (vs L) than before. Maybe we give Renfroe a few breathers v R than he has gotten, so far. Arroyo could also give Bogey a breather while Kike plays 2B. Kike is the rover, but he should play 9 out of 10 games, along with Renfroe and maybe Verdugo & Arroyo. Duran may play 7-8 out of 10. Dalbec loses the most playing time, IMO.

I think Kike.

Is Barnes being overworked? 2017 to 2021 Appearances 69 62 70 24 (60 gm season) 38 (91 gms, so far) on pace for 68 IP 70 62 64 23 (2020) 38 (on pace for 68) Batters Faced 287 265 285 102 (2020) 143 (on pace for 254) Pitches Thrown Per PA- and total pitches thrown. 4.18 - 1203 pitches thrown 4.18 - 1109 4.60 - 1311 4.46 - 455 (2020 projected to 1229 over 162) 4.18 - 681 (projected to 1212 over 162) Nothing to worry about?

Gaetti, hands down. I'm not one to value RP'ers all that highly, but I do think fangraphs undervalues them. The Gaetti-Mo comp goes against that belief.

The thing is, every AL playoff bound team has a black hole. Some have 2-4. Also, with Duran up, we need to find ways for Kike and Arroyo to play nearly everyday. Kike can play 1B. I think we found our 1B platoon or coverage guy in Kike. Out of their top 9 hitters by PAs, the Rays have 4 guys at under .707 (2 under .641). Their next 3 guys are under .700, so 7 of their top 12 guys are under .707. Can they keep winning with just one guy under .700? The CWS have 2 of their top 9 under .700. Can they win? The A's have two, including one at .599. 6 of their top 13 hitters are below .700. They have one hitter over .826. The Astros have 2, including one at .548! Having 7 of their top 10 over .800 kinda makes up for that. Our top 3 guys by PAs are over .925, our next 3 are over .745. The next 3 are under .700 but Arroyo, our 10th man in PAs is now playing more than Marwin and Dalbec. 7. .659 Vaz 8. .673 Dalbec 9. .583 Marwin 10. .762 Arroyo We have 3 "black hole," but Dalbec seems to be squeezed out of playing time by the addition of Duran, and Marwin should not remain 9th in PAs, unless Arroyo gets hurt, again. Maybe Duran ends up in the top 9 or 10 in PAs, but that remains to be seen, and who knows what he will hit?