moonslav59

The Sox team is ranked 3rd in 2B UZR/150 at +5.4. (+4 DRS T for 4th) 4th in RF +17.6 (1st in DRA +7) 4th in LF +15.3 (+3 DRS) 18th at 3B +1.2 (0 DRS- 18th) 21st at SS -3.7 (-5 DRS -27th) 23rd at 1B -3.4 (-4 DRS) 27th in CF -12.4 (-1 DRS) Overall: 5th at +7.3 13th in DRA +10 Surprised?

Those pesky Rays never go away. I think the lack of dependable pitching will eventaully doom the Jays. The Sox pitching could all be one long mirage, but with each good start by Richards, Pivetta and Perez- the 3 guys we thought were the least likely to be successful, one has to think maybe this is all for real. The Sox offense was expected to be top 6-8, so being number 1 is not a shock. It will come down to the pen, the defense and what they can get from Sale, Brasier, Duran and others already in the system. The yanks should end up near the top, but yes, it looks like they are just not as good a projected.

That was really something! https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/27501/time-john-fogerty-was-sued-ripping-john-fogerty

Let's see our staff vs this mighty offensive line-up.

Yes, two is not many instances, and Zambrano was still used as a starter all the way to the end of his career.

Broken blind squirrel.

Let's talk lefty-righty splits, platoons and call-ups... Players like JD, Devrs, Bogey, Verdugo and Vaz/Plawecki will never be platooned. They may be strategically given their day of rest vs an off-handed pitcher, but they are everyday players. Players like Arroyo, Marwin, Santana and Duran seem to hit both sides nearly the same. Arroyo actually has a revers career split. Career (2021) v RHP/ v LHP .676 (.668)/ .629 (773) Arroyo .726 (.595)/ .723 (.697) Marwin .727 (n/a) /.694 (n/a) Santana These players have significant career splits: vs RHP/ vs LHP .650/1.034 Dalbec (.459/1.016 in 2021) .702/.553 Cordero (.451/.432 in 2021) .707/.903 Renfroe (.590/.788 in 2021) .677/.815 Kike (.731/.706 in 2021) Minors: .898/.534 Ockimey in 2019 .968/.586 Ockimey in 2018 The Cordero-Renfroe platoon has been talked about a lot, but Cordero may be sent down, soon. That leaves Kike or Marwin as "platoon" choices for Renfroe, unless we call up Santana or Duran and add them to the mix. The first base position offers another platoon choice: Marwin vs RHPs or call up Ockimey or Santana to play 1B vs most RHPs. Or, we just give Dalbec a longer look vs righties. Kike's .677 career OPS vs RHPs is not really bad enough to need a platoon, but Arroyo at 2B and Marwin, Duran or Santana in the OF might offer a better choice vs righties. Basically, Renfroe should not start vs a RHP. Cordero should not start vs a LHP. Dalbec needs to be watched closely vs RHPs. Dalbec, Renfroe & Kike need to play everyday vs LHPs

Yanks now in sole possession of 4th place.

But our pen did not allow a runner or run scored. And, we gained on the Yanks.

We need someone to step up, real soon. Maybe Valdez and Taylor are in the process of doing just that, right now.

I can't think of many instances where a top starter- paid a lot or not, did not come back as a starter.

I think the plan for this summer is to add Brasier, Sale and Duran and whatever we can get with the few million we have below the lux tax line.

I had 4/19.

Sounds about right, but he did only have the one good season in 2019, so to me, the jury is still out. I'm happy to see him doing well. I was wrong to be so harsh on him in April.

Here are some notable SP'er ERA-'s for 2021: (below 100 is above average) 246 Matt Moore 216 Logan Allen 208 J Quintana 155 Strasburg 152 Corbin 134 A Cobb 131 Taillon 128 JA Happ 126 K Maeda 115 J Montgomery 108 B Snell 107 R Hill 105 Greinke 104 Eovaldi 103 Bumgarner 96 ERod 94 S Gray 93 J Lester 90 Richards 90 W Miley 89 R Ray 88 D German 84 C Kluber 79 M Perez 74 J Musgrove 73 Pivetta 71 Wheeler 71 V Velazquez 67 M Pineda 59 Glasnow 58 M Boyd 55 M Kopech 54 T Walker 49 G Cole 48 Gausman 47 Y Darvish 46 D Duffy 45 Alex Wood 32 L Lynn 29 J Means 18 J deGrom RP'ers 214 C Mazza 178 W Davis 166 S Romo 161 Brice 143 J Wilson 137 J Taylor 134 D Bard 132 J McGee 124 T Richards 118 A Colome 114 S Cishek 106 T Lakins 102 G Holland 101 D Hern 89 Ottavino 77 J Springs 75 Famila 68 P Valdez 68 L Hendricks 66 B Hand 62 M Barnes 52 E Santana 45 J Payamps (Why can't Bloom find guys like him?) 42 B Shaw 41 Whitlock 14 Chatwood 0 Chapman, Graveman, Holloway

I haven't really seen the plus defense in CF by Kike, despite his UZR/150 numbers showing he was pretty good out there. (Saw a nice catch by JBJ in LF, the other night, on some highlights.)

So, Kike at 2B and Marwin in the OF or vice versa?.

Me, too, but maybe not as an 8 inning set up man. That position is still open. Applications being accepted.

It’s pretty amazing we’ve basically gone with the 14 pitchers we started the season with. Not having an active AAA for April may have played a role, but if we didn’t keep Bazardo up, we likely wanted the 14. Houck got a couple starts and relief outings in, but he’s injured, now. I’m sure we’ll see other pitchers before season’s end, and hopefully we see a healthy and productive Chris freakin’ Sale, but so far we’ve done pretty good avoiding pitcher injuries or clear needs for replacements, except for maybe Brice.

The perfect example of a gamble gone wrong (for the Phillies.) Last year, Bloom traded Workman, Hembree and Osich along with Moreland and Pillar.

Agreed, and maybe we can get a good one who is also a salary dump that does not put us over the tax line. We may also need a very good RPer or two, so we may have to go over to greatly improve our 2021 chances. Getting RPers is almost always a dice roll.

I’d say somewhere between 32 and 53 seems about right.

Yes. Cordero is struggling of late. I'd rather not have him "work through it" at the expense of the big club. Chavis may or may not struggle going forward, and one could say the same about Cordero, but I think Cordero needs to take a step back, right now.

Exactly, and at least Chavis is hitting over .600 and has a dinger. I wouldn't be against seeing Cordero again, later- once he shows he's hitting well in AAA.

I'd like to give him another shot. It's not like he's hitting .448- like Cordero. Yes, he needs to lay off the high fastballs, and you'd think he's had long enough to do that, and he's not likely to learn it in the next few weeks, but as of now, he's not hurting the team like Cordero is, so I give the nod to him. I also have this position of trying not to keep guys like Chavis on the 40 man roster for years while never really giving them a long look to find out once and for all, if they are ML material. I know when you are a winning team, it's not always easy to find time to do that, but with our current situation, it seems like the perfect time to give Chavis a long look- perhaps his last one. That's not to say he can't go on to show he belongs with another team, if we end up cutting him loose, but I'd like to see him get a long enough look to say, "We tried." Yes, he K's a lot, but he had some decent numbers in the minors and his first month in MLB, so I'd like to see him get at least one more extended chance. Cordero may get another look, later, but let him show he can do it at AAA, before he gets a second loo with us. maybe by then, Chavis will have shown it's time to say bye-bye. Maybe not.