oldtimer

Our BP is made up of mainly fireballers that have maybe one other solid pitch. Probably not a lot different than many pens this year. I see that as a bit of a weakness and look to Wright and possibly Poyner to give us a little variation in what we can bring in. We still need to get a good look at our pen arms such as Wright and Poyner and possibly others before making the choice but being 6'4" or more and having a 100 mph fastball is not the only criteria for selecting relief pitchers.

Is Phillips a hopeless addition. i do think he is a superior fielder and may just be as good a hitter as either? Unless he can play in the post season, there is no reason for him to play oter than to rest one of our others.

I noticed this time we pinch hit for Vaz with Swihart and he came through. Must give Cora something to chew on as catcher and 3rd base are our two most unsettled positions going into the PO's.

Devers is still very young and really something needs to click for him to reach real ML status. Slim down, stop making throwing errors like he made again today, become a more consistent hitter. Maybe he moves to first base but we do have Moreland for another year. No guarantee that Devers game awareness plays well at 1st either. It maybe overly harsh to say that he just doesn't seem to understand what it takes to be a ML player. He very well may become a valuable player in the future, so we need to find a place where he can flourish. Possibly we keep Swihart and groom him for first. I would keep both Kinsler and Pedey for next year while I look for a younger replacement. Neither should play 162 games at their age anyway. Bogaerts is becoming very valuable and will need to be paid. Third base is a conundrum for next season. Do we keep Phillips for another year while we try to bring Devers along?

Another loss to a very good team. They made the plays and we less so. Their pitching was a little better than ours. My game thoughts: 1. E-Rod wasn't in command today. Watching him is like watching grass grow. So slow between pitchers. Not much rythmn. Good fastball but Houston made him come in and were able to hit his fastball. Maybe it was just a bad outing, I hope that is the case. 2. Our catchers are weak hitters. No question about it. We only got to see Swihart once as a pinch hitter and he delivered in a pressure situation. 3. Devers got to a ball and then threw it away. He didn't look good at the plate either. I know he has power and might run into one, but is he ready for the PO's? 4. Mookie, Bogaerts and Beni all looked like they can get it done. Not a good day for JDM but he will figure it out. 5. The BP didn't do badly and Poyner earned some PO consideration. Maybe he is the lefty we carry forward with. 6. We need a win tomorrow. It will be interesting to see who Cora lines up.

What we saw last night is Price with he93 mph max fast ball succeed with his cutter, change up, fast ball by using location and keeping Astros uncomfortable. Brings to mind that we have our BP consisting of mainly hard throwers, which seems to be all the rage these days. Kimbrell and Kelly both get close to or over 100 mph and have a knuckle curve as thier main alternate pitch. As we saw last night the Knuckle pitch becomes a risky pitch with a man in scoring position. Brasier has been excellent but got hit on his first pitch. He has excellent velocity and movement but was complacent on his first pitch and got burner. Barnes also is another big guy with excellent velocity and has a breaking ball and changeup. When right, he gets it done. Hembree, out of the same cookie cutter mold. Eovaldi, same again, although a more complete pitcher. The only member likely to make the BP who is different is Wright with the Knuckle ball.Not a great guy to bring in with men on base, but definitely a different look. Cuevas has some really good stuff, but has yet to prove he belongs in the relief pressure cooker. My point is where are the Uehara type pitchers these days, who don't throw hard but get people out with splitters and a high 80's fastball. Hard to deny he was one of the best we had, even into his late 30's.

Last night against the Astro's we got a preview of hoow we might play third base going into the playoffs. The FO played Nunez against a tough right handed starter and a predominately right hand BP. Devers was brought in to pinch hit in hopes of running into a pitch late in the game. No Phillips at all. Nunez is not the most mobile of 3rd basemen and on a couple of plays he couldn't make at third we suffered. Clearly Devers is not trusted defensively or he might have started. Small wonder as Devers has had a tough year with his throwing and would be better trimmed down to 217 instead of 237. I understand why he was pinch hitting, but his plate discipline was not so good earlier on but maybe has improved in the interim. Phillips didn't play and frankly we don't know how well he might hit given more AB's. He may well be superior to either Nunez or Devers in the field based on his long history of excellence in the past. Third base is among the few positions not yet settled for the PO's so these competitive games are important looks for the FO to make those decisions.

Funny how this is the first we heard about the July surgery. Maybe next year. Maybe we try to keep Kinsler and/or Phillips and let them share with Pedey. Doubt any of them can go 162 games.

Thoughts after watching the game. 1. One key juncture is when Bregman got the double down past Nunez. That was followed by a walk and Price was tired and tightly taken out. That led to a three run inning. The ball past Nunez was a tough chance, but Brooks Robinson we don't have at 3rd. One other ball for a hit might have been played by a more mobile 3rd baseman. 2. Brazier threw a first pitch FB to Quriel (sp) and he was looking for it. Little smarter pitch and we might have gotten out of it. The hit by Kemp was just excellent hitting. Tip your hat and move on. 3. Kelly was a bit unlucky and also made some bad mistakes. He really has his FB and Knuckle Curve. When he gets men on through infield hits, it takes away his knuckle curve. Can't just go at Houston with a FB. he tried the knucle curve anyway and gave up a run. Then a weak curve for another hit and run. 4. Beni hit the ball hard 4 times, trouble is they were all slicers to left field. Would love to see him try to pull just once in a while. 5. Great effort by Price. 6. Houston has an excellent BP 7. I understand why Devers pinch hit so he might run into once. I would have preferred Swihart there, but Cora made a reasonable decision.

I don't agree with picking such a long span of time for your figures. I think looking from the AS break on gives a better picture of what players arre doing now and I would stick JBJ on your list as his numbers dramatically improved over the span I suggest. To me its wait and see on Devers. What I saw is a young guy who lacks plate discipline and frequently swings at balls outside the zone. He does have 3 weeks to show improvement and we do need another lefthanded power bat, so I'm open to him earning a spot, but he won't do it with his defense.

The pennant now seems highly probable for us, but not yet a certainty. Too many big games ahead before we clinch. It does seem more cogent to talk about the playoff roster in detail with just a few weeks left. Moon has done his usual detailed and fact backed attempt at a list and I mostly agree with him. I do think our experienced guys who DD brought in this year have helped us a great deal to get where we are. They tend to be former excellent defensive and offensive players who haven't lost that much even though they are in their 30's, some late 30's. Their experience shows in good at bats, base running and awareness in the game. The FO should make decisions dispassionately, based on who gives us the best chance of winning going forward. It may be hard for them to avoid the favorite son syndrome or worrying about pissing off a guy you definitely want back next year. They need to do their job and I think they will. I now there are arguments for 11 or 12 pitchers and that impacts what field players we can keep on the roster. I subscribe to the idea of 11 pitchers. My approach is to look at the roster from the depth point of view as i list below: Outfield: No mystery there but no Holt) Betts (Right), JDM, Swihart JBJ ©, Beni (Fenway), Betts (away) Beni (Left), JDM (Fenway), Swihart Infield: Some questions Moreland (1st) right handed pitching, Pearse left handed pitching, Swihart, Holt Kinsler (2nd), Phillips (if available), Holt (Pedroia is just not prepared enough to make it in my opinion) Bogaerts (SS), Phillips (if available), Holt Phillips (3rd) if available, Nunez (close second), Devers (maybe for left handed bat) Catcher: Hard discussion here in my view Leon, excellent defense, familiarity with pitchers, ability to handle knuckle ball, but very weak hitter Vaz, solid catcher, weak hitter but better than Leon Swihart, decent catcher, lacks familiarity with staff, better hitter than the other two. DH: JDM, best in league, Pearse, Swihart, Holt You might have noticed I have listed 15 field players but only 14 can make it. Who falls out? A catcher, a third baseman, or do we sustain an injury in the last few weeks? Pitchers: (Starters) Sale Price E-Rod Porcello Pitchers: (Relief role) Kimbrel Brasier Barnes Kelly Wright (Long Relief) Eovaldi (Long Relief) Who is #11? Need a lefty (Pom, Johnson or Poyner), Include Hembee and forget about a lefty. Tough choice. There are others righties, such as Workman who might be chosen in front of Hembree. Personally, neither Pom or Johnson seem reliable so is it Poyner? I certaintly don't have all the answers but looking at the choices with depth in mind clarifies what is at stake.

I watched Atlanta TV including the after the game show. The manager, announcers and players all were saying it was their worst loss of the year but that have to regroup and move on. They are now in a tight pennant race with the Phillies and have to bounce back.

Many times they have been completely out of the money> Is there something nefarious going on or is there so much chaos involved that past performance (stats) aren't all that reliable.

It makes sense to raise the subject. Phillips has multiple gold gloves I believe. Having Kinsler and Phillips would improve the defense. Phillips is a professional hitter as is Nunez. Clearly Phillips is better defensively than Devers and is a smart player who runs the bases well. I think the FO will need to watch the performance of these three, especially if there is a possibility of including Phillips on the PO roster.

My god! Brandon Philips is a real pro. He did many things to help us today. Plays multiplle positions, can hit, still has good speed. If there is any way, he should also be in consideration for a playoff roster spot. I like the fact that the Sox have so many good experienced players that can come in and make a difference. Kinsler, Nunez, Moreland, Pearse and now Philips. What finds these guys have been.

If there is any way, he should be considered for the playoff roster. He did many things well today.

I'm not sure why Cora stayed with Pom when it was obvious that he didn't have command. He doesn't have the stuff to get people out if he loses command of his fastball. Now the team is behind the 8 ball.

This is how Cora operates. Maybe his method is to fire the team up for the Astros series and getting at look at Dever for the post season. Who knows what will happen. Does anyone know what the term UHP mean for the Atlanta pitcher? Does it mean under hand pitcher?

At this point in time I would have Swihart over Devers, however, Devers has time to show some hitting prowess. I like Workman, not for his velocity but he does throw a sinking pitch that can draw ground balls. Thornburg has been iffy of late and no appearance in the last couple. What does that say?

Leon did have a batting line of 0-5, 2 so and 7 LOB. Pretty bad but his defense was good. Our pitching looked good last night as well with Vaz in the lineup. Its not all about the catcher's defense and pitch calling.

Bradley looked bad again taking a 2nd strike fastball on the plate and then striking out on a changeup. What was he looking for on the 2nd pitch? Leon just doesn't hit well.

Good move for Cora putting a left hand bat in for Porcello, who was through anyway. Cora could have used Devers, Holt, Benintendi or Moreland. Pearse is having a good night. Three hits and 3 RBI.

Porcello can't stand prosperity.

That was a tough AB. Need to at least put the ball in play and see what happens.

At least he hit the ball. JBJ took a called third and Nunez popped out. Bad display by the Sox and may haunt them in the game. How much better could the opportunity have been?