moonslav59

It's not silly to see 5-6 GB is better than 16 GB, no matter what time of the season.

He has the look of a confident and calm leader.

My updated rankings with draftees and no Bennett might look like this... 1. Arias 2. Eyanson 3. Primera 4. Witherspoon 5. Gonzales 6. Azocar 7. Valera 8. Delzine 9. Godbout 10. Soto 11. Schaffner 12. Mataczynski 13. Phillips 14. Holobetz 15. Rivas 16. Winnay 17. Heyman 18. Shelar 19. Hull 20. Jo Garcia 21. Brannon 22. Silverio 23. Wehunt 24. Cespedes 25. Rivera

Maybe.

Seeing that as bad as we were, we were just 5-6 games behind was not silly. Had we been 14 GB, this win streak would have left us about 4-5 GB the WC slot, now. The fact that we were not far behind is why we are where we are now- not just the winning stretch.

Sounds about right, although players are not quick to speak ill of a teammate, even if they think it. I'm not so sure players whine about others to the media. He could very well be liked by most or all players- probably not if one was a gay player or cared about gay-bashing. I don't see "evidence" of being a good teammate, but I do see some instances that could have caused some friction or a feeling of "why'd you say/do that and bring that sort of unwanted scrutiny to the team?" events. I hope the guy can play like 2024 or even 2025. I hope he starts today. I cheer for him every time he comes up to bat. I don't think I'm holding a grudge to think he deserves to platoon in LF. His numbers indicate he should be benched or worse. You are the short sample master. Duran has been bad for a pretty large sample size and is getting worse the shorter you make the sample size. Are you saying he should play FT? If yes, why?

It's silly calling it silly. Yes, it is.

Well, apparently Cora refused to read those scripts outloud to certain divas...err...I mean players.

It's not one issue or event. The guy was all over the map for years. He changed his stance and hitting approach more times than there were seasons played. He sucked on D then got better then sucked again and now is okay. He's had multiple run-ins with fans- deserving of them or not. The TOR road trip was but one issue with me. He has had one great season and two partially good/great seasons. He can't be counted on for offense or defense. He can be the best baserunner in MLB history, but he is not even close to being that. His blunders are legendary. We need hitting, this year and he's having as bad a season as his first one. He's not getting any better. Are you saying he should play FT? I thought I was being generous saying he should be platooned? Benching him for Yoshida/Jones in LF could be a better idea with Romy at DH FT. Romy is better vs LHPs and his 2025 numbers vs RHPs are better than Duran's now.

He could pitch 60 or 70, including the playoffs. I'm not convinced he's good enough, yet. That's the primary issue to me. (With Sandoval too.) I think we need to add a pitcher to make sure we don't lose with Rivera or Sandoval pitching an elimination game.

I really think the Catcher position should be one we kick several tires on, but injury prone players don't excite me. We already have a dozen of them on the IL.

They'd probably play a day-nighter on WED.

What's the evidence that he is a "good teammate?" I bet his teammates loved hearing him call a heckling fan a "fa**ot."

Let's avoid politics and mistruths about "all gov't actions." Duran let the team down. There aren't many left from that team, so maybe it doesn't matter. Events with fans have not helped his personna either. If he was my teammate thos events would bother me.

Last year, we had about 13 SP'ers on our depth chart and ended up trading for Dustin May and needing pen games in September. I think we should plan on adding a pitcher.

Okay, I forgot the MLB IP for 2025, but I don't see time off for a 2026 injury as a reason to think thye +30 formula applies. He may also have some rehab IP before returning. He may not even be activated in time for 10 starts. Another question might be, if he does go 10 starts for 50-55 innings, how many can he gives us in the playoffs?

You seriously see no difference between a team that is 14 games udner .500 and being 5-6 games back than the same record being 18 GB? I'm okay with not thinking it's as important as I did, but to call it silly is wrong. In fact, it's silly to think it didn't matter. You poo-poo the WC3 slot even now, but this was where we hoped we might be a month ago. We thought it might not happen until September, but thinking of making the playoffs is the goal from day one. Part of the whole argument about this year was just how bad the AL looked from day one, and how the chances of making the playoffs could be rather high even for bad or moderate teams. We went through the whole Fred argument that we'd win 90 games and miss the WC3 slot, and almost everyone laughed till we peed ourselves. The AL sucked then and sucks now. Looking at the playoff outlook is not silly, and we can see why today. We are in the WC3 slot and barely over .500. Almost everyone wants us to buy, and why is that? Because making the playoffs is goal one and advancing int hem is goal 2. It's not silly.

There are so many examples of teams turning it around- for the good and bad, and certainly the Sox have enough examples for it to be fresh on our minds, but it still keeps happening. A team 14 games under .500 has to suck. Run differentials and other factors that hint that maybe the team is not that bad are shoved aside. I wasn't aware you were had such a keen history on Fred. Very enlightening.

I worry about his production level, though. He's never pitched 88 Innings and has been a RP'er for about half his games in pro ball. I have more faith in 50 more IP from Sandoval the Rivera.

I think Contreras has made a bigger contribution than just the numbers. I'm glad we got him over Alonso. We coulda got both, but with Anthony/Duran as LF/DH and Yoshida/Romy as back-up DHs, I can see why we did not go that way. Now, Durbin over Bregman looks better for the O and at least as good on D. The middle infield and catcher slots have been the positions that hurt and could have been expected.

Yup, but 29-2 and 29-3 could have occurred,

That was easy to see day one.

That 1988 season with Morgan Magic was amazing: 12 straight wins- a 9-8 loss then 7 more wins in a row. That was 19-1. We went from 3rd place to a tie for first. We lost 4 in a row and 7 of the next 9 to fall into 2nd, where we stayed until Sept 4th, when we went 11-3 to take over first and keep it, despite losing 6 of the last 7 games of the year. In 2004, we won 9 of 10 in April and then had a great stretch winning 6, losing one then winning 10 (16-1) They also won 4 in a row after one more loss for a 20-2 stretch. We won 7 of 8 near the end of the year. Those epic playoffs saw us win 3, lose 3 then win 8 straight (11-3.) They won 12 of 13 in 2005. We won 8 in a row later, lost 2 then won 6 in a row (14-2) In 2006, the Sox won 12 and 14 of 15. 2007 saw not great stretches. Like 2004, we won 4 straight in the playoffs, lost 3 then won 7 straight for the ring. (11-3) 2008 saw a 10-1 streak. 2009 had the 11 game April streak. 12 of 13 in 2011 and 14-2. Later they went 10-1 and 13-2. (17-3) That was the year we ended the year 7-20 in September. 2012 was even worse by going 7 and 26 to end the season. We started 2013 going 20-8 and had a 9-1 stretch later on. (We went 11-5 in the playoffs.) In 2018, after losing the opening day game 6-4, we went 17-1. Later, we won 10 straight and 13 of 14. Even later we went 15-2. (11-3 in the playoffs, including a 6 game streak)

It's hard to know what difference Tracy made or did not make. I will say, I'm not sure we win like this had Cora stayed.

Or being in the clubhouse for a rain delay.