moonslav59

Robo umps is not a computer game. Having 100% consistent calls on balls and strikes would legitimize the game and create a level playing field whereby players don't have to guess and study who the ump is each night and adjust their approach accordingly.

Why wait for the AS break?

Keep the mojo risin'

I felt like this was going to be a bridge season, where we'd be afforded the opportunity to find out a lot or even enough on several players, so we could decide who stays and who goes and maybe a couple players who still need more deciding on going into next season. Dalbec- the obvious one. We all know 2020's sample size was too small to get all gah-gah over, but enough to think he deserved a very long look-see. The Sox being in the heat of a playoff run have run into a problem giving Dalbec a long enough look to really know, if he's a keeper. He's had a pretty long look, but the leash is short. It's my feeling next year should be even tougher to give him a long look, if he is still struggling. I'd like to know- one way or the other- this year, but I realize we may not be in a position to keep playing him as much as we have been. Chavis- I felt this would surely be the season we HAD TO FIND OUT, if he was a keeper or not. With he and Dalbec being a bit redundant, I certainly felt this year was the year to decide which one goes (or moves to a new position, if they both did well). Arroyo, Arauz, Munoz- We had to find out, if we had an in-system solution to a position we have had trouble filling since Pedey. Arroyo's 2 IL stints have hampered his playing time, but he seems like a keeper. He may not be great enough to block Downs, but I think we can afford to wait it out on Downs without going for a bridge player. Devers- Can he stick at 3B. Cordero- Can he stay healthy? If so, can he bring production to all the promise and 5 toll skill set? He did get a pretty long look, but not really enough to decide anything. Now, the issue is, if we keep playing well, can we afford to give him another long(er) look, this year or next. Renfroe- Question answered. Verdugo- Question answered.

We don't need 5 second basemen. Arroyo and Kike can play SS, too. Marwin is not all that great on defense, but he has looked good, this year on D.

He since relented and only disallowed chocolate ice cream.

3.75 ERod's ERA over the last 2 starts!!! 1.04 Perez last 2 starts 1.93 Eovaldi last 3 starts. (2.55 last 6) 2.31 Pivetta last 2 starts.

Updated OPS The big for may now be the big 3. .948 Bogey- What a solid bat he has been. .926 Devers forevers- lock him up, long-term .902 JD- hoping he can heat it up and stay over .900. On the way up/on the way down. .777 Verdugo- Lots of clutch hits but sliding downwards (.726 since 4/28) .774 Renfroe- On the way up- 1.011 since May 26th. .756 Arroyo- Was on he way up before the injury. In need of improvement .690 Kike- Not too far from his career and recent "norm." .684 Vaz- Would be nice to see him get back to near .800. .668 Plawecki- On the IL .664 Dalbec- Was over .700, then this... .661 Chavis- This could be his last look-see, Scary bad .559 Marwin- 9th on the team in PAs (almost as much as Dalbec). .501 Cordero- Still on the farm. .485 Santana- And that's after a 2 for 4 day.

All it takes is two losses in a row, and half this board goes bananas.

This must be killing you. My condolences.

Toronto & Seattle just passed the Yanks by a half game. The Yanks are 9th in the AL. How much lower can they go?

Just think how great our pen might be with Richards added!

Every now and then, someone does something different from their last game or start or multi game trend.

It seems like many times the pitching match-ups show a huge advantage to one team, the other team wins. At least with the Sox.

+16. WOW! What a great season this has been.

One area of defenders Vaz gets good grades in is pitch-framing. I don’t think he’s bad at blocking wild throws. He’s good at throwing out base stealers. My biggest beef is handling the pitchers. Always has been.

Only if I thought it was best for the team, and I’d sit down and explain that to him first. I’m not sure hitting him first is best, and my biggest wish is for Bogey up second and JD or Renfroe 3rd, so that leaves Devers (best up 4 or 5) and Verdugo or Renfroe up first, since JD first seems real bad to me.

That never concerns me.

Maybe moving a little but making it look like the ball forced the glove to move slightly.

Not many have suggested we move him into the top 5. 1. Verdugo 2. Renfroe 3. JD 4. Bogey 5. Devers I know line-up changes mean little to you, but still...

Plus, he's not even a quarter through the 2 year contract. He's 10 points below his 2020 OPS. He's 37 points below his 2019-2020 OPS. He's 54 points below his last 5 year OPS. 60 points below his career .730 OPS. That's 1-2 big games away from any "norm."

Nor the team (.718 June OPS) Our pitchers are 2 for 6 with a dbl! (.833 OPS) June OPS .955 Bogey (3rd in June PAs) .842 Arroyo (9th due to injury) .828 Devers (2nd) .822 Renfroe (4th) .722 Verdugo (1st) .703 Dalbec (8th) .689 JD (5th) .680 Vaz (7th) .624 Kike (6th) .564 Plawecki (12th) .560 Marwin(10th, at least he's not 6th or 7th, like he was before) .397 Chavis (13PAs in June) .295 Santana (11th)

I have not gone to look, but it seems like anytime our 1 slot hitter gets on base with no outs during a game- not just inning one, we score- and usually a crooked number.

I'm with you on the "short leash" position. Hell, I wanted him demoted to work on his swing a few weeks ago. Being in a tight playoff race changes the dynamic, but not really the idea that he may need time to get into a groove. (Maybe there is no groove to get into, and Dalbec is no better than Middy was.) Some of us have mentioned a platoon, but since Dalbec is on the short end of the platoon, he really would not get an opportunity to work through his issues by playing nearly everyday. While this might be the best solution to the team's needs (use Marwin, Kike or trade for a Moreland type at 1B), it just prolongs and cloudies the decision on Dalbec's future. Do we really want to start all over with him, next year? Can we afford to watch him struggle for 200+ PAs, next year, too- only to end up realizing he's not a keeper? I'm not advocating tanking the 2021 season just to find out what Dalbec (and others, by the way) can or cannot do at the ML level, and in some ways, winning so much has made that aspect of the season very problematic for Bloom and Cora. In theory, we may call up Duran, soon, and let Kike or Marwin play 1B vs most RHPs. That may ultimately be the best choice, for now. I do NOT see Casas as a 2021 solution. It's either Dalbec-Kike-Marwin or a low key, rental trade for someone like Moreland. Dalbec's poor defense has not helped his case, either.

One could argue that any player who starts his career looking average over his first 81 games could be a keeper or even end up being great. Certainly, his career numbers point towards giving a longer look- his 2021 numbers not so much.