moonslav59

His OPS Against is 0.243, so maybe he is back.

Sox Minors OPS Leaders (14+ PAs) 1.391 Arias A- 1.297 Encarnacion A- 1.083 Anderson A- .940 T Miller AA .927 Eaton AAA .890 Brannon A+ .875 Anthony AAA .835 Romero AA .779 Mayer AAA OPS Against (5+ IP) 0.067 Aita A- 0.118 Guerrero AAA 0.243 Drohan AAA 0.380 Stock AAA (DFA'd) 0.433 Fulmer AAA 0.440 Vogatsky A- 0.498 Rogers A+ 0.619 Sandlin AA

I think so, too. Last spring, the rotation carried us. I think they come around, soon, especially when we get Bello back.

The first 6 have been the same vs RH'd SP'ers just about every game. 1. All games Duran 2. All games Devers 3. All games Bregman 4. All games vs RH'ers Casas, except 1 dbl header gm (Ref & Abreu vs LH'd SP) 5. All games Story, except game 4, when he was rested The "norm" seems clear, to me, so far...

The skill of deceiving an ump is not something I value all that much.

There was no Casas platoon, when he was healthy in '23 and '24, and I have not heard Cora say it was going to happen in 2024, but he has sat the two games vs lefties. Refsnyder has to play vs lefties, but it need not always be for Abreu. We could try this, too: LF Refsnyder CF Duran RF Abreu (4th OF: Rafaela)

Campbell in CF, tonight and batting 7th. DHam at 2B batting 8th. Narvaez at C batting 9th. The first 6 are as the norm.

I agree. Maybe over time he can be average or average plus at 2B and CF, but it makes sense to just keep him at 2B. Our OF is loaded before Anthony part of it. Maybe may be crowding the MI situation, eventually, but as of now, I don't see the need to play DHam or Romy at 2B, unless KC needs a rest. I'd rather see Abreu bat vs LHPs or Refsnyder vs RHPs than jerk Campbell to CF, or just play Rafaela every game in CF.

Found this from 5 days ago on MSN Sports: Yoshida’s road to recovery is progressing, but patience is the name of the game. According to Cora, the 31-year-old is currently throwing from 110 feet—a positive step, but not enough to greenlight a rehab assignment. “It’s not just standing there; you have to make throws,” Cora emphasized, hinting at defensive drills as the next hurdle. “It’s not just standing there; you have to make throws,” Cora emphasized, hinting at defensive drills as the next hurdle.

I think this will change. Currently, we are tied for 22nd in DRS, 27th in OAA and are ranked 21st on fangraphs defensive index. Surprisingly, these are our worst DRS players, so far: -2 Duran LF (The Fenway curse) -1, Story, Romy, DHam 2B, Refsnyder and 3 pitchers. The good: +3 Rafaela, +2 Abreu, +1 Duran CF, +1 DHam SS

I agree. I don't see us calling up Anthony (or Mayer) just for the sake of excitement and buzz creation. There has to be an injury, a player in a prolonged slump or a clear belief that the player being replaced is worse than the one we call up. While Rafaela is off to a slow start on O, the sample size is small, and he has done so much with the glove, I doubt the Sox brass is squirming over him dragging the team down. Maybe, someday that becomes the case. I don't see Abreu or Refsnyder losing their platoon roles. I don't see Duran losing his job. That leaves very little room for Anthony, and I mentioned Rafaela, only because he seems like the most likely to be or need replacing. Same with Bregman, Story and Campbell in the IF. We are in no hurry to call Mayer up. I do think a trade may be the final solution, assuming no major injuries or clear benching situations, and that may not happen until next winter. If Refsnyder retires, that may open up a slot for Anthony, as some sort of Rafaela-Abreu platoon/shuffle could go down, but if he has another good year, he may come back. The Yoshida question also need attention, at some point.

All I said about Romy-DHam was that they were okay on offense as a platoon, and that DHam helped stabilize the 2B defense in 2024, after the disaster at the start of the year with EValdez, Reyes and DHam's first tour of duty. I was more than happy with Campbell winning the FT job. I just want the best players out there. If a platoon is all we got, and it's better than a single player option than why be for the "set line-up," if it makes us worse? I get how it looks good on paper to have a set 9 guys who are all good to great hitters and defend well. They have no glaring weaknesses that need to be "handled" via a platoon or late inning defensive replacement moves. If Campbell was not promoted, our best choices were Mayer or a DHam-Romy platoon. These two are so bad vs wrong-handed pitchers, neither deserved a "set line up" slot. If Abreu starts hitting LHPs, and Rafaela keeps struggling vs both-handed pitchers, some sort of shuffle might be called for, but I do not think we are there, yet, and we may never get there. (An Anthony promotion would cause some serious choices to be made, and IMO, one would not be to bench Refsnyder vs lefties.)

Finally.

If we want Abreu to try hitting LH'd starters, I suggested a way. It may not happen. It may not need to happen. Rafaela brings a lot of pluses to the team, too. I know you dislike platoons and shuffling, but Ref playing vs LHPs is the right thing to do. Ideally, we'd have 8 all around players and never need shuffling or platoons, but if shuffling or platoons make the team better, I'm not sure why "less is better." Platoons and shuffling help all players stay active and part of the team.

I hope this doesnt turn into some massive home vs away split over the whole seawson.

Another reason for robo umps.

I'd like to see him get a chance to bat vs LH'd SP'ers, but not at Refsnyder's expense. We could shuffle some guys around and sit Rafaela vs some lefties, but his defense has been a major boost to this team.

That seems so true, for the Sox, anyway.

Not much good to talk about in this game. Get 'em, tonight!

WOO's game was postponed.

Duran's parents issues this statement: “As parents, there’s nothing harder than knowing your child was in pain. We only recently learned the full extent of what Jarren went through, and it was heartbreaking to hear. We are beyond grateful that he is still here, that he has found the courage to keep going, and that he is using his voice to help others. If his story can help even one person, then it was worth sharing. We are incredibly proud of the man he is today and love him more than words can say. We will always be in his corner.”

As much as I am always for upgrading the pitching staff (from the top- not the bottom,) I think adding to our catcher position is a pretty high priority. We seem to have duplicate values at middle infield and outfield, so maybe something happens, this summer or next winter. That being said, I've been pretty high on Narvaez since the trade. I worries about how his OBP would translate to the bigs, but so far, so good, in a tiny sample size. His D has been praised for a while.

Stock DFA'd. Winckowski was added. He is the 16th pitcher to make the 26, this season. Sabol replaces Wong. He is the 14th everyday player making the 26.

Looks like Narvaez will be getting a longer look than planned. Maybe he wins the 60% role.

Okay. I was just responding to a poster who said Slaten has "not looked good early on." I guess that's different from "struggling." 🤪