oldtimer

I think you meant 1st base

Maybe not against Snell? We still only got 6 hits yesterday. We need JDM back real soon.

Interesting, but do you draw any conclusions?

Bases loaded and 1 out. Beni unable to put the ball in play and Bogey makes an out. Story of lost opportunities.

Lets hope he doesn't slump badly over the next 10 days as we will face better pitching.

The team did look shaky in the first game. Lets face it, our use of long BP guys doesn't work well since we really don't have the quality of guys to handle that assignment. Shawaryn was the e xception and may be given that role the next time around. I am assuming Eovladi is still a week away. The lineup was really weakened too with JDM out, Beni resting against the lefty and Moreland back on the IL. Tough to win against a good team with what we put on the field. The second game will be a different story, with better pitching, Beni back and maybe some of the guys will hit a little better.

Moreland has given this team a lift. He is a real pro, good fielder and makes a difference with his bat. I was at the point of suggesting we keep him in the fold going forward as a part time 1st baseman and DH. His suceptability to injury is givinng me pause as maybe we need to replace both Pearce and Moreland going forward.

If you look at our top 5 everyday players there is not a lot of separation between them in on base %. Betts 38.7%, Bogaerts 38.0%, Devers 37.8% , Martinez 37.1%, Beni 36.1% Given that lack of spread, other factors also need to be considered, like speed on the base path, righty/lefty alternating in the lineup, power to drive people in. I'm satisfied with our current lineup and that manaagement considers a range of conditions before setting the lineup.

I tend to agree with this assessment. He has bat speed and power but does need to work this problem out and preferably not at the expense of the Sox. When Moreland gets back we will have enough options to allow the luxury of having Chavis back in the minors for a while.

I'd think twice about Weber.

Don't think Pearce has trade value so it's likely a DFA if you go that way. Chavis is probably the best choice to run back to Pawtucket for a short stint to let him work out adjustments. He is a guy that I want on the team for his energy and power. We all knew Chavis was likely to go through a slump as the pitchers caught up but he may well come around given a chance to experiment in the minors.

Me too, but with JDM having a strained back again we are short of talented replacements. With no Moreland yet, we will be short going into the second game today. Nunez at least seems to be regaining his hitting form so maybe nunez playes 2nd and Holt to first? Travis is not impressive either.

Excellent points. His great improvement has come when Cora, a new hitting coach and JDM showed up. Do you suppose one of those ( or all) got through to Xander so that he now realizes what a difference swinging at balls in the right part of the zone can do for apparent better contact.

Funny, the lefties are killing it while only Chavis has gotten a hit out of our righties. Baseball is a crazy game.

Absolutely a key hit with the bases loaded and two outs.Love to see him have positive AB's. Now with a 6-0 lead and Sale on the mound we should be good.

It is interesting and indicates what we can see about Chavis having troubles, mainly hitting high heat but his confidence may also be shaken. We get Moreland back and Chavis can get a rest. By the way, I noticed Kimbrel got a multiyear contract offer from the Cubs provided he meets the physical.

Or was it the lower part of the order he faced.

All the players experience slumps during the year for various reasons, whether it be caused by nagging injuries, lack of confidence or having to adjust to different pitching patterns. Beni has been off for a while and really so has Betts. Chavis has issues that have been discovered and he too needs to make adjustments. The bottom of our order had a terrible start this year and showed some signs of life but went 0 fr 12 ast night with 4 strikeouts so they may not be that solid yet. Cora was with the Astros and saw the impact that George Springer had and is still having, hitting first. Betts was successful in a similar role last year but has yet to get it going this year and the experiment with Beni as leadoff wasn't working so here we are. Bat your fast, high on base percentage guys up front where they will get more opportunities. This year Beni hasn't fit that mold as well but I still like to give him more time to show what he can do. My preferred likeup is: 1. Betts 2. Beni 3. Bogie 3. Matinez 5. Devers 6. Moreland 7. Vazquez 8.Chavis 9. JBJ When Moreland sits, I would move Chavis to first and Nunez to 2nd (neither Chavis of Nunez are long term 2nd basemen). I would then bat Nunez in the 6th slot. The back end of our lineup is weak and they puts a lot of pressure on our top 6 to produce.

I don't see us acquiring a second baseman this season, so Chavis will play 2nd, 1st and DH. When Moreland comes back, he can share time with him until Pearce comes back and maybe longer. I would think we have a valuable hitting coach in JDM and maybe he can guide Chavis with respect to hitting the high heat. That big swing makes it hard for him to handle 95 up in the zone.

The kid got a couple of tough called strikes on one definitiely off the plate and the other marginal. Give him a break. Cora's move worked out and with a 4 run leave and 6 outs to get we look good for making a game up on both the NYY and TB. Good night for Cora and the Sox.

ba;b As good as the AB's were in the previous inning were, last inning they were mostly bad. Vaz swung out of the and compounded it by taking a called third strike, JBJ rolled over the first pitch for a weak groundout, Betts did well to get walked but then Beni struck out on 3 sub 90 mph fastballs that a major leaguer need to be able to get solid contact on. Not good.

Red Sox put together some really good at bats. The triple by JDM, Devers drawing a walk rather than swing outside the zone, Xanders flying to right was a textbook way to bring a run in. Holt then doubled. Even Chavis lineout was a good attempt. Love to see the Sox put together a string of good AB's like those.

What makes me think the lackluster performance could continue is the first two months performance. To dismiss it out of hand in my opinion is overly optimistic. Our BP is shaky and our hitters are more average this year. Could they perform better? Certainly they could but also they could continue as they have for the last couple of months which would mean trouble.

No place that I see to comment on the draft, but in some ways it might facilitate making alterations to the team, perhaps in 2020 but more likely further along. Watching the draft is like watching grass grow. Very boring and in the Red Sox case I see the rules as particularly harmful. First ick at 43 aand 2nd at 69. No shot at top talent unless one thinks other teams are foolishly passing on such talent. Competitive balance still isn't being achieved, with a lot of clubs essentially packing it in by the AS break.

We'll see if your optimistic thinking is justified. At what point would you believe the Sox are out of it in 2019, should we continue to play lackluster ball? Ten games back in the loss column with 3 teams ahead in the wild card race? I am not saying it will happen just would be interested in how long your optimism would hold up?