oldtimer

Who would have thought 2 weeks ago that Beni would have a higher batting average than Hanley?

He is no longer a kid but an experienced player. He just doesn't hit like one. I wonder what Cora is thinking?

Beni did his job by drawing a walk and stealing to give us a runner in scoring position with 1 out and the 3 and 4 hitters coming up. Unfortunately Hanley has been cold, Martinez drew a walk but Bogaerts sung at a ball slightly out of the zone high. The only good thing is we racked up around 30 pitches on Bundy in the first inning so maybe good things will happen. No MOreland again tonight. Woner if he is hurt?

If we only had 9 JBJ's in the lineup and a very high quality pitching staff we will win a lot more?

I agree that much of the frustration of losing comes from a rotation and BP that has some significant flaws. Cora is trying to deal with that but it is tough to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. I am definitely not berating Cora for the lineup issues but would like him to take a more activist approach and recognize when players are struggling and replace them early in their struggles, if a good alternatives exist. One could argue that Hanley's decline has existed for long enough to warrant a move in the lineup or a rest period. Last night's 0-5 when he is sitting behind table setters who were on base 5 for the 10 times they were up really hurt the club. JBJ's case is so obvious that Cora pinch hit for him during the game, which was a strong message. I am looking for Cora to recognize situations as they are arising and having the convictions and toughness to make the moves to improve the team. Situations are always changing on a ball club and the manager is in the best position to understand and deal with them. Perhaps he has been and I just don't know the full story.

For some time now I have been puzzled about how the Red Sox lineup is being handled by Cora. I would hope when our solid players have good nights that we would be rewarded with a Red Sox win. Sure that isn't going to happen if our starting and/or pitching is weak but I am hopeful that Cora will make lineup moves when they seem to be needed and an alternative is available. One of these might be to recognize that Hanley is sliding into a slump and yet he has been kept in the key #3 slot in the batting order. It can be a rally killer to have a slumping hitter following our table setters. Either move him back in the order and slide others forward or rest him. Moreland seems to be a very adequate replacement if Hanley needs rest. JBJ's hitting has become pathetic. Two strikeouts where he fans on fastballs down the middle. Finally tonight Cora had seen enough and he put Holt in. I think JBJ 's performance may have finally made Cora decide that enough is enough. We can't do much about the catchers as they are the best we have and perhaps they can break out of their slumps and contirube. Vaz did tonight. Cora is dealing with the real world of the team and knows who is got physical problems and cannot play, but lately it seems like more of his choice from among playable personnel. Lets apply our best to the job.

That is classic Hanley. Shorten your swing and hit it to the outfield. No, doble play.

Maybe it is a frame of mind with him. He is not capable of painting the corners without giving up walks and running his own pitch count up. Would he be better off going for another couple inches of the plate and let the defense help him?

I tend to agree with this. We haven't got much from Nunez as yet, but he is certainly capable of hitting better and Pedey will be back soon. Our lineup should get a boost from that. Hard to keep going all year, what with injuries and slumps to some that may be key now. Better to attempt to improve where we have nearly black holes. The optimist in me thinks Devers can and will do better and Vaz can come out of the terrible slump and at least be close to an average hitter for a catcher. JBJ just hasn't got the job done and at his experience level, it is hard to see him having much of a contribution to the offense. The mantra that I subscribe to is continuous improvement is the goal.

There he goes again! What a weapon.

The Orioles have been scoring a lot of runs through the HR of late. Lets hope that we can get enough with our lineup. We are strong 1-6 and weak after that. No actions have been take to alleviate the back end of the lineup but maybe Holt will play tonight instead of Nunez and Devers will have his hitting shoes on.

We're on the same page. He and others sometimes lose focus. Maybe the terrible mistake the other night will shock him into staying in the game, so to speak. My view of Beni is if his timing got just a little more toward pulling he would have better results. Fenway is tough on leftys with limited power, but he could be a killler in Yankee stadium.

Yet he made a nice cutdown throw just a couple of days ago. His arm is average for the position not terrible.

I expect more from Nunez/Pedey slot in the lineup. JBJ just may not get the PA's going forward, but it begs the question, "Why have him on the roster if he doesn't get PA's? Our catching situation is pretty bleak but finding another solid catcher who can also hit is probably not happening.

My hopes for him this year were for a 280 average and maybe 20 HR based on his increased strength. So far, he is not showing an exit velocity that will give him that many homers but at least his average is moving in the right direction. Good swing, if often just a shade late and good plate discipline.

The bottom half of the order is struggling. Moreland put up a battle but Nunez and Devers no so much. Scoring shouldn't be all up to the first 5 or 6 guys in the order.

I agree, Holt over Nunez and perhaps I would have pushed Hanley back behind Moreland in the order.

There are trends that are impacted by away games, quality of opponents, etc. There are also slumps that are harder to understand, both in the short term and in the longer term for players like JBJ and Vaz. Short term examples are Hanley hitting in the 220's for the last 7 games while Beni is hitting 366. Having pitching that is inconsistent also can result in ups and downs and our starters have been inconsistent, except for Sale. All of these will result in high and low periods. The trick is to recognize when weak spots are driving the record in the wrong direction and be willing to make the hard decisions to improve. DD knows Swihart wants to be traded, knows our catcher offense is weak, knows JBJ is unlikely to contribute offensively and knows our BP is shaky. It's DD's responsibility to try to take corrective action and we need to do it this year as in my opinion, this is our best chance for a late October run in the next several years.

The Sox haven't looked all that strong of late and the pitching is something to be concerned about, also the bad base running. We know that Cora has spoken to some of our guys about running into silly outs, and last night he had one major case of stupidity to deal with. Some things to think about. Hanley has dropped from around 320 to 282 in the past short period. He may need a rest. Moreland is still hot so be sure to keep him in the lineup. Nunez is also not doing the thing we have him for (producing offense), so Holt is no slugger, but a better option. Devers can't be replaced, but he sure can work on his plate discipline. Catching is a black hole offensively and we can't afford to play JBJ unless more of the lineup is hitting. The pluses offensively are Mookie, Beni is pulling himself up somewhat now, JDM is great, Moreland and Bogie. The rest not so much. We still have punch compared to other lineups and one hopes that Pedey can bring something like his prior solid hitting. Something to be said about the Yankees is they don't seem to have the personalities that we do. No Hanley spending his time working on his dreadlocks, no group of outfielders acting like kids at a chucky cheese with their silly dance, for which they will be embarrassed later when they look back at it. Get serious guys, play ball and stay focused on the game.

I am usually a defender of Beni, but this play was just dumb and cost the Sox at least 2 runs since Moreland doubled right afterward. I can see no reason why he did what he did. The games on him at this point.

Sounds like Smith's injury is serious in that there is no discussion about his return. Relief pitchers in general have a reputation of not being well grounded. These is a case of a grown men doing a stupid thing.

Any of our guys can go into slumps at times. Some of them seem to be in permanent slumps. Right now Bogie has cooled off, but he is too good a hitter to have it last. I like your basic lineup but might switch JDM into third and possibly move Hanley to 5th. Not a big change and it seems to be working fairly well. If it aint broke don't fix it? Vaz was hitting fairly well for a time last year but seems to have lost his way at the plate. JBJ is back mired in his all to typical slump. He gets extra chances based on his defense and his rare but impressive hot streaks. I'll keep my eye on Pedey. Hope he tears up the minors during his assignment.

I agree. Even your s***** hitters are s***** hitters.

The Sox have three guys who work the pitcher, get on base and have the speed to be a threat to steal. Those three are Betts, Beni and Bogaerts. How you apportion those guys assuming you want the power in the three and four slots is the question and there are no wrong answers in my opinion. What Cora like is Betts, Beni, power, Bogaerts and so on. It has worked with the exception that the bottom of the lineup has been a black hole and Betts isn't getting a lot of chances to drive in runs. When Pedey gets he will probably be batting down in the lineup, at least for a while. Assuming Devers is going to be a hitting threat, that leaves the catcher and Bradley, when he plays. One alternate lineup would be to put Beni ist, Bogaerts 2nd and Betts third with JDM following and move Hanley down to Bogaerts current spot. I do think Hanley moving down makes some sense, even if the table setters move down. Bogaerts at 3rd in the lineup is a good idea.

Just an aside, but having a hitter like JDM on the club has got to be an example for the other players and in particular the younger ones. The level of his preparation and the way he settles himself after every pitch. The Sox front office was very right in signing him and are not only getting production but a form of leadership by example.