oldtimer

Maybe Devers for Trout.

Ever the optimist. Our catchers should hit better than the awful .450 start. Still not good though JBJ is going to hit .700+ . Think you are smoking something on that one. Bogey is better this year and if they can keep him in a good spot in the lineup the hope is he won't fade in the second half again this year. Beni does look for real. Moreland will get his extra base hits but I don't expect him to keep up at his current level. Nunez is a pro and will be a solid contributor but Pedey is an unknown. Will he play in a significant number of games. Devers looks like he will struggle this year. He needs to make adjustments at the plate and to date he has been slow to do so. He may need a threat of being sent down to realize he needs to change. Holt is a pro but is always going to be a fill in. Swihart shows little sign of contributing.

be nice to have him back in the lineup as our main threat is now just JDM. Would have been a sorry thing to waste another strong starting pitching performance.

What will our lineup be? Hard to win when relying on the majority of our lineup when missing two major stars.

We need healthy players and we need more of an everyday outfielder since JBJ doesn't look like he can regain acceptable form. I don't like playing JDM in the outfield daily as we can't afford him to get banged up. His sore back is a sign of things to be avoided. Nunez and Holt as outfield replacements doesn't strike me as reasonable. I would use Holt and Nunez strictly as fill ins for 3rd, short and second. With Devers not performing as well with the bat as expected and Pedey iffy, we can use them there. I don't see much trade value in Swihart, Beeks or JBJ and we don't have a lot of payroll flexability so getting the players you suggest, while they would help us, doesn't appear practical.

I think from last night we can see that Beni, Xander and Moreland will have trouble picking up the slack, particularly when they were broken up with Holt interspersed. If you have a hot hitter among them, they can be pitched around since there is virtually no protection. The bottom of the order remains weak but there is little DD can do with his constraints.

He's not awe inspiring I will grant you that, and he is also not a good trade candidate since he can't seem to hit well enough to stay in the lineup. With our current injury issues we can ill afford to have weak hitters as everyday players but that is just what we have. Currently the few good hitters we have left have no protection in the order so can be pitched to very carefully. I don't see an alternative outfielder in the minors to take JBJs spot and if we move Beni, we still don't have the outfield covered. I am assuming that JDM is not an everyday outfielder as we can't afford him to be injured. I don't know what DD can do to improve the situation as he has little money to spend and few trade chips.

While it is a truism it doesn't excuse stupidity. Yes, some decisions get derailed by injuries or the like and one can excuse that type of bad signing. I am bothered by the ones where the baseball executives haven't thought through the process fully. They haven't identfied the goals for making moves and identify any pitfalls associated with them. You can see that from the messes they have gotten into. Many decisions look like they were generated by a committee and not by a clear thinking baseball man. Many Lucchino was on the committee. I think DD has done well so far with the exception of the Price contract, which I find absurd.

It's totally believable with the lineup we have in the game. How many games would this lineup win? Got to score to win and we are now down to three good hitters in the lineup and maybe one of them is hot right now. I wonder about the Cora philosophy at times. Yes we have won a lot of games but lets try not to lose games that we should win.

I had a severe one this morning and could bearly walk without pain. Breaking the rules, I took a heavy dose of Aleve, went to the softball field, stretched, warmed up and wound up pitching two games and going 4 for 5. Now in a lot less pain than this morning, but not zero pain. I am heading toward 78 years old. If I can do it why can't a professional medical staff find a way to get a player ready to play? We sure could use his bat tonight.

The contract for Castillo was poorly thought out. Some foresight here would have anticipated the situation where he didn't work out as well as they apparently expected. With the luxury tax limits it has would up costing the Sox his salary while burying him in the minor leagues for the whole of his useful baseball life. Bad for the Sox and bad for him. Blame goes to the people who set up that contract. Panda has one more year of salary on the books plus another $5 million the following year which doesn't apply against the luxury tax limit and Rameriz is gone after this year. When you look at the value we got versus the cost to the team, they rank up there with the worst I can imagine.

I don't want to be an alarmist here but Mookie still looks to be in some pain and for two nights running we have see JDM taken out of the games early with signs of back spasms. Our core group is those two,Beni, Moreland and Bogey. The rest of our order scares no one. Lets hope that both Mookie and JDM can play regularly soon and together in the lineup.

When you watched the feed of him hitting off the tee and how he grimaced after each swing you have to believe he is still hurting. I played a lot of football and once tore a rib cartilege and it was a very painful injury and took a long time to heal. I wonder if Mookie has a different injury than the one we have been advised about.

I followed Williams career from the 40's on. Yes, they did shift against him and he still pulled the ball. So few hitters have Williams talent to hit the ball consistently hard. Guys like Molitar could hit the ball where he wanted and it was an advantage for him. The shifts are so lopsided the field on one side is nearly wide open. The stat guys only work based on past performances. Adjusting swings to hit the other way would curtail the use of such accentuated shifts. Even buts laid down properly would be easy base hits.

I don't see where you get the basis for saying he will be a great hitter. Right now he swings for the fences on every cut. He doesn't seem to know the strike zone and if anything is regressing. Tonight after he fouled off a few he took a fastball well into the strike zone. Maybe he will be a decent hitter some day but also he may not.

Lets not start as many triple A players in the lineup. It would be nice to have Mookie back, but did you see him grimacing after taking swings in batting practice? Looked like he has not recovered as yet. Bill

or the Blue Jays

The option to limiting shifts would be to take contracts with guys who hit to all fields. You SOBs want to shift on me? I'll go the other way!

This discussion goes on and on but there are always good points raised. I am older and a traditionalist, in that I would like to keep our best players and resign them to long term contracts. Not getting in to the pitching side, I would say our high priority resigns when they come due are 1) Betts, 2) Beni, 3) Bogaerts, and I hope that JDM doesn't opt out of his contract as he looks like the best DH in baseball. Maybe Vaz to keep at least one catcher. I don't see making a major effort to keep JBJ, Devers, or even Moreland when his contract runs out, but if he is still producing and our young studs are a year away I wouldn't be against it. Nunez is replaceable but not that expensive and maybe we will find some new catching prospects. Pedey may be around but I wouldn't count on him due to his knee issues. Holt may last a few more years and is not that expensive. I would be looking for a third baseman, a centerfielder, a catcher and a second baseman. So we have little in the minor leagues that can help us. Chavis might make the grade at 3rd,Brannen is a great athlete and very young but has been tarnished by his lack of hitting and the new draft are probably not able to make the jump until 2021. So it the trade market or FA's, but what money will be available?

Yet, that is exactly what could happen. You get a hot pitcher who shuts the lineup down while a Yankee or Red Sox pitchers struggles and poof, a hundred plus win team is gone. It won't change this year but if something like your concern happens then they will get busy and find a solutiion. Top teams should not face a one game elimination possibility.

I think it is the best choice as we really don't have solid options. I don't consider either Holt or Nunez as everyday players there. If Devers doesn't respond by the AS break, then maybe he could be sent down to get his hitting back, but maybe it will come for him before that is necessary.

Nice to have a contribution from the bottom of the order. Maybe he will gain confidence from this great game.

This time it was Vaz in the lower part of the order who hit into a rally killing DP. It sure would help to get more contribution from are 6 through 9 players. We are lucky with Nunez starting to hit like he did last year. We don't feel the loss of Pedey nearly as much when Nunez hits. When Betts gets back Soon?), we can put 7 solid bats into the lineup and Holt is at least a professional hitter. I haven't been on the site for a while but have monitered it and it seems like it has been cleaned up. Moderator actions were needed and must have been applied. Thanks for the effort.

May be a need for a long term 2nd baseman.