moonslav59

I actually think we need 2 major rotation additions to be a top contender. It would push a current starter to the pen and keep those we think might be our #5 as AAA depth. I know it WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

Flaherty, Chafin & Sewald

Coaches Poll has ND 14th and Louisville 17th. AP has Louisville #15 and ND #16. Whoever wins might jump to near #12. Michigan is now #12 with one loss.

When you consider that fact about Bello's slot and then losing Gio (maybe our 2/3 slot SP'er,) our rotation did pretty well. Many felt Houck was the #6 and Criswell the #7 or 8. We also lost Whitlock after 4 starts, and he started off very well. Our rotation depth ended up carrying us, but it was only 2 deep (Houck & Criswell,) and that turned out to be not enough. Pivetta did okay. Crawford pitched more innings and GS than expected and probably did about as expected. Bello did worse then expected (or hoped for.) Houck did great, despite the near .500 team record in his starts. Criswell kept us in the race.

I get this, totally. I have serious doubts we add a solid SP'er to the mix, but I see it this way: even if Gio takes Pivetta's job and does it well, AND they decide to put and keep Whitlock in the pen, are we really oaky with just running back the same rotation, next year? Aren't we just begging for the same results? Another near-miss. Houck, Gio, Crawford, Bello still leaves the 5th slot open, as Criswell was never intended to be a 28 start pitcher. Sure, they might think between Criswell, Fitts, Priester, Dobbins and (gasp) Whitlock, we don't need one, but do. I am certain of this. I see our chances being very slim at doing anything great, next season with a status quo rotation, and I feel the same about the pen. I don't see adding Hendriks, Whitlock & Fulmer as being an upgrade over Jansen and Martin. I'm not predicting major additions: I am suggesting (and begging for) them.

Yes, unless you have 5 guys with even better numbers. Quick question, let's say we have 4 SP'ers better than Bello & Crawford. Who stays in the rotation as the #5,

Soxprospects.com wrote this... http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/09/minor-notes-minor-league-season-ends.html Baseball America names Campbell Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year After an incredible season, Baseball America has named Kristian Campbell

I've changed my mind on moving him to the pen. I'm not sure anyone else supported my earlier position. Ideally, I would still like to have 5 better SP'ers, but that would take 2-3 major rotation additions, and that is NOT happening.

Best "Sox" player in the minors.

I think the trade route is our best option for adding a higher quality pitcher or two.

I understands this. It is also one reason I do not view W-L records of pitchers as being all that useful in determining how good or bad they are.

I included Houck, because we should have had a much better record with both of these guys. We won way more with Bello & Criswell.

Story loves Rafaela to CF and Duran to LF, which improves 3 positions. He also keeps DHam and others at 2B not SS- another plus.

100%

I do think winning the ring is the ultimate goal, and I am not giving up on our chances of #5 under JH & Co., but we can't be thinking no major deals are needed to get there in 2025. No way, can anyone expect these guys to keep the status quo, let alone improve on the 2024 team: Pivetta> Giolito Jansen> Hendriks Martin> Whitlock Sims/Garcia/Paxton> Fulmer RHB O'Neill> RHB Story (Rafaela to CF) This is NOT an improvement. I'm not trading Anthony and DHam for a decent RPer and adding Anthony & Campbell/Mayer can be close to enough, either.

Perhaps the biggest ball-buster about 2024, besides the Sale trade and zero IP from Gio was this... 62 Games Started by our top 2 SP'ers (Houck and Crawford) and this record: 26-36

One of my biggest hopes of this season was that the other teams had bigger holes than we did. We've seen they do have gaping holes, but we had too many and too big ones of our own. We can pretty easily run off a few legitimate and singular "what ifs and we'd be in the playoffs."

KCR won on a 10th inning error by the SS. Det won 2-1. Close calls in both games, but that fat lady keeps singing, loudly.

Yes. I think they felt we already have added enough pitching prospects and needed to try and balance the everyday player glut with the lack of ML ready pitchers. I'd rather DFA Shugart than Priester, come November.

Crazy game, this is.

I totally get the whole OBP gripe, and I agree that a continued .275 OBP would not be acceptable, even with GG defense and 20 HRs with 25 SBs. OBP is more important than slugging, and his great D would not offset that. I keep coming back to this being his rookie year, and being asked to play multiple positions. He did offer some hope in AAA (.370 OBP) and was okay in AA (.328.) His career minor league OBP is an acceptable .331, but I fully realize OBP is often not carried over to the bigs. He's never going to walk much, if he keeps swinging at bad pitches. I still think within the context of his age, first MLB year and being forced to play 2 very difficult positions almost 50-50, his overall performance was okay or borderline okay. It's hard to read the last few weeks as a trend, a slump or a sign of things to come. For all we know, maybe his few decent streaks was a "real" sign. No matter what we both think, we have too many OF'ers on the 26, 40 and down the pipeline, that he will not be our starting CF'er, if he continues with a .275 OBP. We probably agree on that. A quick question: is there anything you are really happy about with this team?

Baseball America names Campbell Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year After an incredible season, Baseball America has named Kristian Campbell (pictured) their Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year. Campbell skyrocketed through the system this year, playing at a high level with three different teams. He started at Greenville, where he hit .306/.418/.558 in 40 games, then moved to Portland and hit .362/.463/.582 in 56 games, then finished off in Worcester hitting .286/.412/.486 in 19 games. For the season, he had a .997 OPS with 32 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs, and 24 stolen bases. -soxprospects.com

A look at the April 4th Prospects Rankings and where they are now... Graduated: 4. Rafaela, 7. Abreu, 20. Slaten, 30. DHam_______ About the same or moved up by attrition: 1. Anthony, 2. Mayer, 3. Teel, 6. Perales, 18. Jo Garcia, 21. Monegro Big Gains: 22>3 Campbell, 25>7 Arias, 27>14 Romero, 35>19 Penrod Big Falls: 8> 20 Wikelman, 13>30 Zanetello, 17>48 Hickey

So, even more of a miracle: BOS 4-1, KCR & MIN 1-5 and SEA 2-3.