moonslav59

Okay, but are his overall numbers that far away from Toro's AAA numbers? My post was made in jest, anyway. I've been posting how we have no room for all 14 deserving players, so adding Eaton makes zero sense. BTW, Eaton is 4-8 w 2 Hrs in a 2B in last 2 games, and since May 27: 13-37 (.351) w 3HRs & 8 XBHs (3BB & 2 HBP) That's pretty "hot."

Okay, thanks. I'm not sure I'm at that point with anyone, yet. I did ignore Red a few times on the previous format, more out of sparing others the grief of listening to us go at each other than out of personal insults against me, but maybe someday... LOL. I think this site has been pretty good for a long while. Of course, there have been some razzles and close calls, but you've done a good job keeping it relatively tame. Thanks.

DHam really heated up, last summer, so maybe he's a hot weather guy. Once Bregman returns, DHam will be in AAA, maybe sooner. Since Wong's return on May 2nd, he's played 9 complete games and started 11. 5 of those complete games were in teh first 11 days of his return. Since May 12th, he has been a clear back-up Catcher, playing aboiut what the normal back-up catcher plays: 1 out of every 4 or 5 games. He's played in 11 games from May 13 to today, and 4 of them are playing just the last 1-2 innings. He's started 7 out of the last 26 games. That is closer to 1 in 4 than 1 in 5. He didn't finish 2 of those 7, so he's played 5 complete games in the team's last 26, which included one doubleheader. Maybe Wong has played 1-2 too many games, IMO.

I didn't even realize that this site has an "ignore" function. How do you put someone on ignore?

I'm not for banning anyone, and I do find many of TYPM's posts hilariously funny and the unintentional aspect intriguing. What gets me is, that many of his posts attack others while he calls out others for attacking him. There is something about hypocrisy that activates an irritant. I know I've been accused as coming across as a "know-it-all," and I don't mean to be, but the way TYPM posts is to an extreme in this way, and when the points made are often so blatantly and factually wrong, it does become comical, but more in a tragic comedy sense than a "ha-ha" way.

Romy is like the new Refsnyder. Yes, others can try to play 1B, but will they hit .950 v LHPs, like Romy is now? (he hit .879 v L in 2024.) It can't be Toro, at least at this moment. I totally understand Anthony > Romy or Mayer>Romy and probably KC>Romy for the remainder of 2025, but even if we assume DHama and Romy go to AAA, we still have a hug playing time issue. It makes more sense to me, to keep Romy and Toro going at 1B and trading a vet to allow FT or near FT to everyone who deserves it and to keep the great platoons we have alive. I guess we can just say "Trade Story," but we still have an OF overload. Do we bench Duran v L and Rafaela vs R to give Anthony near FT action? (I'm not benching Abreu v R or Ref v L.) That sits our 2nd or 3rd best OPS guy (Rafaela for 70% of the games.) Do we force Anthony to 1B (DH, if Devers plays 1B?) I don't like these ideas, even for half a season. In the IF, if we trade Story, there is FT duty for Mayer & Campbell. Campbell to 1B allows us to keep Story, but is that worth it? (I say No.) It's like we have to trade Story AND one from Duran, Abreu or Rafaela. We keep hearing "Duran" or "Abreu," but not so much "Rafaela," who has built up his value to the Sox, but also his trade value. Including Rafaela the actual Story trade could greatly reduce the amount of money needed to include in the deal, but the return would almost certainly be a prospect- not a young pitcher we need.

I do think the year of control aspect played a role in the timing of the call-ups, but to me the main idea was to not call anyone up, unless there was a way to play them FT or very close to FT, otherwise, we'd be hampering their development not enhancing it. Quite simply put Drewski is right (and I have said this for year) we are NOT benching Refsnyder vs LHPs. (We could probably say the same about Romy.) We are not benching Duran and Abreu vs RHPs. Do we really want to bench our 2nd best bWAR & 3rd best fWAR guy, Rafaela? All of this pretty much blocked Anthony, unless you are on the play Anthony at 1B boat or force Devers to play 1B and start the rookie out at DH boat. The Mayer path was opened with the Bregman injury, but before that, it was going to be a Mayer vs Story or Mayer vs Campbell choice, unless you were piloting the Campbell at 1B boat. Sure, looking back at Story's bad start on O and D, it's easy to say "Trade or DFA Story," or we should have before, but that is not an easy choice. We handed Campbell the 2B job our of ST'ing, and it looked like a great idea, before he started slumping badly, but now he's looking okay. The kids will get their shots, but they should not be on the 26, unless they play in 90% of the games. Do the math. If we are not going to bench a vet or some platoon players that are doing awesome in their roles, it can't be done. Trading Story with a huge chunk of cash, is a solution for Mayer, but the Anthony case is more complicated and involves benching or trading someone doing a very nice job in their current role. When Abreu comes back, we will have to make a very difficult choice. The Story choice is not all that easy, either, especially when you figure we are already paying Yoshida $18M a year to just sit around. Money matters to JH & Brez. I doubt they want to give up on Story, now or when Bregman returns (deadlinish?) Rafaela to 2B takes away his big plus on CF D and crowds out Campbell or Mayer, unless we go back to the Campbell at 1B boat or wagon. It does allow for Anthony to play FT wihtout trading Duran or Abreu.

One more pitcher added the the list over two dozen names long that have some level of decent promise- even as just a good RP'er.

Even with DHam in AAA, we'll still have 14 players, assuming all healthy. Two are Toro and Romy, but as of now, they are doing a really good job at 1B, combined. I guess we could just demote one of them, but then we run into issues with finding near FT playing for the 3 kids and all the vets, but someone will probably be on the IL, slumping so badly that a benching/demotion could occur or be traded (Story? Abreu or Duran?) I can't see trading Refsnyder, as long as Abreu is our RF'er vs RHPs. I can't see us trading a top 3 prospect. I doubt we trade Rafaela and his tremendous CF defense and ability to play so many positions, well enough. Devers is here forevers. Bregman is not being traded. Trading Wong does not open a slot for Romy/Toro of give more playing time to others on the list of 14. Toro sucks vs LHPs and Romy kinda sucks vs RHPs, so we need both or find a 1Bman that bats .800 vs L & R.

Toro .883 in AAA, this year. Eaton .855 and hot as hell. Thompson at .796 was tongue in cheek.

Too funny!

We have to take one game at a time, but when you look ahead to the trade deadline (July 31st) you can see we have a real tough stretch sandwiched around that date: Starting July 18: 3 @ CHC 3 @ PHI 3 LAD 3 @ MN (Deadline OFF) 3 HOU 3 KCR 3 @ SDP 3 @ HOU No real breather in that stretch of 8 straight series. For a team under .500, it's hard to call any stretch easy, but when you look at our games on the schedule before the All Star Break and that brutal 8 series stretch, I have to think we better be over .500 by the time we get to July 18th, and maybe a few games over. Here are the series between now and July 18th: 9 series Off Thursday 3 NYY 3 @ SEA Day Off 3 @ SFG 3 @ LAA (This is no easy 4 series stretch, from any viewpoint- maybe hop for 6 and 6?) Day Off 3 TOR 3 CIN Off 3 @ WSH 3 COL 4 TBR All Star Break (4 days off) These 16 games may make or break us. We may need to go 10-6 or better to expect to be possible buyers at the deadline.

The options for various roster constructions are near limitless, due to the flexibility of so many players. Top 14 w DHam to AAA: CF, 2B, SS, RF Rafaela LF, CF Duran LF, RF Anthony & Refsnyder RF, LF Abreu (CF) 2B, CF Campbell SS, 2B Story SS, 3B Mayer 3B, 2B Bregman 1B, SS, 2B Romy (AAA: DHam 2B) 1B, 3B Toro C Narvaez & Wong (1B) DH Devers (1B? & emergency 3B) With 14, Toro or Romy goes to AAA, or we trade a vet/demote a kid.

10 teams better than us, by record, in the AL, yet we are just 3 down in the WC race. Weird season! We have the 6th best run differential in the AL at +18. That's 68 better than LAA, who is ahead of us. 38 better than KCR and 32 better than CLE and SEA. Very weird season!

Gotta say, it was great seeing two bombs by Mayer. With Campbell starting to shake off the slump, maybe- just maybe- the kids can give us a big enough shot in the arm to bump us over the hump. What we do when Abreu returns will be interesting. With everyone healthy and Gregman back, I gotta think we make a trade at the deadline: maybe one as a "seller" (Abreu or Duran) and perhaps 1-3 deals as "buyers," if we are near the playoffs as July comes to an end. Ideally, Story goes on a tear, and we can find a taker for him, without paying 60-70% of his contract. Maybe linking Story with Abreu could cut down the money going out, while brining us a nice young pitcher. Then trade for a vet pitcher. 1. L Duran/R Rafaela CF 2. R Bregman 3B 3. L Anthony LF 4. L Devers DH 5. L Mayer SS 6 R Narvaez C 7. L Abreu/R Refsnyder RF 8. R Campbell 2B 9. S Toro, R Romy 1B Wow, 3 platoons, Red should love this one! Crochet, __Vet pitcher__, Buehler, Bello, Dobbins>Sandoval (Houck/Crawford?) Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Wilson, __trade__, Weissert, Bernardino, (converted SP)

...and you don't need an injury to call up Mayer or Anthony. You have an opening at DH. Better roster construction with Anthony in LF and Duran at DH. Then, you could play KC in CF and bring up Mayer without benching or trading Duran or Abreu. Okay, it's a narrative some of us like, but that doesn't mean it's meritless. Sure, keeping Devers at 1B had and has merit. Once they told him he'd play 1B & only 1B, I was and still am against playing him at 1B in 2025, but I cans till see the pluses of trying to get him there sooner, rather than later (if ever.)

Max is a cool guy, but he can't get over an understandable trade that happened to backfire in every way possible: Sale wins CYA, Grissom sucks and the money saved was used on GIO. Those 3 aspects of those 2 events outshadow all the good Brez has done, according to Max. Brez was fleeced, because everyone knew Sale was poised to win the CYA, except him.

JhG is for real! If Toro is this good, maybe eaton and Thompson can do the same? LOL

Very nice win. Good pitching and big HRs.

True dat. I don't mind Duran in CF and Anthony in LF. Abreu-Ref in RF is one of the best platoons in MLB. Rafaela as the back-up OF'er makes for the best 5 deep OF in MLB, IMO. If we end up trading Abreu, we could see a Rafaela-Ref platoon in RF, but maybe we keep Rafaela in CF and use Anthony in RF v RHPs and LF v LHPs. Maybe that's too much musical chairs. We could have a logjam in the IF, once Bregman comes back. Unless KC (not Bregamn) plays 1B, we'll have... 3B Bregman FT SS Mayer or Story 2B Story or KC 1B Toro/Romy platoon Another option would be to trade Duran and... LF: Anthony (Refsnyder) CF: Campbell (Rafaela) RF: Abreu-Refsnyder (Anthony) 3B Bregman (Mayer) SS Mayer (Story) 2B Story (Campbell) 1B Toro-Romy

Story?

I'm feeling better about his chances at settling in at a more reasonable offensive production level, than we saw before this June and during much of his sporadic playing time since the signing. The guy was a decent hitter, before the injury, and even if you look at just his road splits with COL, he was not bad. (.752 Away '16-'21) I know, that seems so long ago, but the league average OPS was between .713 and .749, those seasons. The guy was 4th in OPS for a SS over those 6 years! (Top 30 overall) Nobody expects anywhere near that, now, but he's still just 32, and certainly not overworked the last few years. I'd be okay with .700 to .725 the rest of the way, with improved defense (maybe at 2B.) I'll not be surprised, if he can bat .750 the rest of the way, but I would not bet on that. He sharp drop on D is most worrisome, to me. Mayer at SS and Story at 2B makes more sense, but with KC and Anthony on the 26, where would KC play?

Yes, and poor pitcher D makes it hard to feel sorry for them, when they need to get more outs due to their own fielding mistake(s.) Of course Offense and pitching are more important, as the variance between teams who make the most makeable plays and those who make the least is not as stark as the best vs worst hitting and pitching teams. The amount of plays that show a difference are way less on defense. I just cringe when I see a dumb play on D, or a botched easy play- more so than when a batter chases a ball way out of the K zone, of a pitcher walking the weakest batter.

There are quite a few examples of guys like Toro & Romy, who are just plain late bloomers. Refsnyder is one such example. I'm not saying I have complete faith in a Toro-Romy 1B platoon, but I think we maye see a.775 to .800+ combined OPS from them by the end of '25. That's not far from what we expected Casas to give us, this year.

It makes it easier with better D, but not impossible.