oldtimer

I agree, the sox need to try to improve and he occupies one of the few spots where we can do that.

I am not for trading Beni, Devers or Bogey. All are young players who still are likely to make significant improvements. With Bogey, I think he need more help from the hitting coach.

Looking at things from a different angle, our most glaring weaknesses this season and then dealing with them by trade and acquisition is an approach I take when considering changes. Glaring weaknesses (Not involved with Pitching): 1. Widespread fall in the offensive output of our lineup To me the general malaise of our offense is at least partially on the coaching. We lacked aggressiveness at the plate and it often looked like policy. 2. Lack of power up and down the lineup Clearly we need to bring in at least one power hitting player and look for a second if we trade away any of our current younger players 3. Poor hitting by JBJ for sustained periods JBJ has been in the organization for long enough to establish himself. He remains erratic offensively and unless something sparks in him, he is likely to remain erratic 4. Poor hitting by Bogey for sustained periods Seems like he should do more and may with continued sound coaching. Would like to see a remake of his PAs and swing. More aggressiveness and power 5. Injuries to Pedroia and or aging process that reduced his contribution at the end of the season Pedroia was no help to us in the playoffs. Maybe when he heals he will contribute again at a high level, but I doubt he can go more than90 games a year based on recent history. 6. Poor quality defense by Devers His throwing is poor and management commented that he is likely to gain weight as he matures. He may well fit at 1st better than at 3rd. We need his bat so it is important to find his best spot 7. Poor throwing defensively by Beni Beni has a decent arm and adequate for Fenway left field. His issue is accuracy and having a preconception of where to thrown under various circumstances. It is coachable and needs to be done. 8. Lack of capable hitting utility players once Nunez was injured the other Our utility players in general were weak other than Nunez. Do we resign him and risk his knee injury may recur next season? I am for jettisoning Holt, Young and Davis. 9. Baserunning issues Coaching or management issues seem to be involved. Do we make the change where we can at the management/coaching level?

Well, one of the corners should be open and perhaps an outfield position.

Maybe he is a future HOF first baseman. Who is to say?

Well, the season is officially over and the team acquitted itself well in Boston. A win and a very close loss. A couple of opportunities that we couldn't capitalize on (bases loaded no out and a double and two singles in an inning) for a run. Maybe an ill choice of pitch by Sale to Bregman and Kimbrell not sharp today. Lots of good memories and nothing to be humiliated by. Neither Pedey nor JBJ could get anything done offensively. Some good young players going forward. The returning pitching is good. Adding a couple of solid power hitters and we may well return to the division series again next year.

He doesn't seem to have any confidence and keeps throwing high fast ball. Just a matter of time until he is hit for a home run. I don't now what is in his mind.

Something Bogey seems to forget too often.

We need one or more power bats. One of those can be Devers but we should be flexible if there is a better option at 3rd.

I have been thinking along that line for some time now as the kid is having severe problems with defense, especially throwing, and may be better suited to 1st.

By the way Hanley has reacted, with the show of emotion and the slash across his throat gesture directed toward the bench, one can assume that he was very upset by being left out of a starting position during the first game. Nunez got hurt, but Hanley has been aggressively hitting since then. Could it be that it wasn't just his shoulders which were hurting but his attitude as well. With he and Moreland both hitting, the team looks different. One point made was that all 14 runs scored by the Sox in the first 3 games were driven in by players #5 in the order and beyong. Otherwise Bogey, pedroia, Beni and Betts have yet to drive anyone in. Maybe they can get going and make the team more threatening going forward.

Totally agree with you on that one. Thats why I have been recommending going a different way with the hitting coach. Results matter and ours were visibly poor for most of the year. Taking two piches on the plate and swinging one off the plate is not a successful strategy.

I don't see JBJ as on an upslope. I see him as continuing at the level he was at this year. Excellent defender but erratic hitter who disappears for long stretches of the season. Unless a different hitting coach could turn him around, I see not much beyond a less than stellar performance. This year he batted 9th, that ought to tell you something.

To be fair to DD, I believe he was under financial constriants this year and had to forego any attempt at a high priced big bat this year. That definitely impacted the team as none of our hitters looked that threatening this year.

I one of those that really loves what Pedey has done for the club. It was an unfortunate year for him and frankly I don't expect more than 90 games from him in 2018, but he still can be a quality 2nd baseman. We would have to have a quality backup like Nunez. I'm with you on Nunez, as he might just have a knee issue that will restrict him going forward.

How about Andrew Mcutchen. He is 30 and a good outfielder who can run and has some pop. Twenty Eight home runs this year and an OPS far in excess of what JBJ has produced.

One of the worst decisions was to retain Farrell and let Lovullo go. I can understand why it was done, but Lovullo was the up and comer for the organization and it might be difficult to find someone better if we do decide to let JF go at the end of this season/

If I was to choose one to trade, it would be JBJ. He is of prime age and is an excellent defender so would have some trade value. I'm thinking we could get another solid CF type that would have a more consistent bat. I think what we see with JBJ is what we get and I think he is just an erratic and weak hitter. I do think a new hitting coach might wake up some of the others. Under no circumstances would I trade Betts. Bogey is still viable and might be helped by a different hitting coach and Beni is young, has a pretty swing and I think can perform much better, again with good coaching. Leon I might trade if we could get a decent replacement. I don't expect improvement from him going forward. At 235 pounds on a 5'11" frame, when might he start to break down? Devers I would consider moving hm to 1st to open space for a 3rd base FA. Devers needs hitting coaching as well. That is a popular refrain from me for this team. Teams like Houston and Cleveland have stars but they also seem to get more out of their second line players.

With the exception of Devers, the younger players on our team are in the second round of playoffs and are not doing well offensively. Certainly not well enough to beat the top contenders in the American League. One can dispute that, but we are seeing this by the results of our playoff series. I have asked why before and I still think it is a key question, since it will have a bearing on what should be done for next season. Is it that our players not only don't have power but also are just not that good when compared to the playoff teams rosters? Is it that the players are not getting the best coaching or that they don't really listen? Or is that the tone set in the clubhouse isn't positive enough to stimulate these guys to do better? Devers is a special case since he is raw and has power but seems to have reverted and is currently lacking plate discipline. It probably is a combination of all of those things plus the financial limitations this year prevented the kind of action that would have moved us closer to parity. Personally, I think DD will be attempting to add a power bat or two to the lineup, but I also think he will consider trading some of our underperforming players, look for a managerial replacement and change hitting coaches.

This discussion reminds me off the old 3 envelope joke adapted just for the Sox. It goes like this. When JH hired DD he gave him 3 sealed envelopes and told him to consult them in order to get tips each time he encountered a serious problem with the Sox. Well, last season the swoon at seasons end was just such a problem and DD remembered the envelopes so he decided to open envelope #1 to see if there was anyting helpful. The message contained was Blame Cherington. He did this in a sly way and the sportwriters seemed to soften up on the criticisms for a time and the Sox performed well enough to get a second pennant. The problems came back along with the criticisms, when the Soxs looked pathetic in the ALDS and were swept for a second year in a row. By now, DD was aware of how the envelope #1 have eased the way for him so he decided to open envelope #2. And the message was Reorgaqnize. So he went out and fired his managers and coaches and brought in new talent to run the Sox. Of course if this doesn't work out and the Sox don't seem closer to winning it all again the pressure and criticism will ultimately grow. At which time he will decide to open the envelope #3. And the message contained therein. Prepare Three Envelopes I think DD is all right for now but his action at the end of this season may be to Reorganize.

The Houston series is making it abundantly clear that the Sox are not competitive with the best teams. Our offense looks very weak and our pitching, one of our expected strengths, is not performing in general. Getting swept two years in a row is humiliating and begs the question are we willing to do the things needed to upgrade the club. By that, I mean management and coaching changes and cutting loose underperforming players? Those discussions will likely start soon.

It is too bad to see him in this diminished capability. Age and injury have taken a toll and he is not the same guy of just a couple of years ago. Maybe with recovery from his injury, he will be a top notch second baseman again but if that occurs, it will be next year.

Honestly, the top three candidates for the Cy Young award this year all bombed in their starts in the playoffs. In addition, Pomeranz bombed as well. Sale definitely has been off but the playoff territory also has shown that other top pitchers just don't do well. Our best performance this year to date has come from Price. Sale got us to where we are. The problem is with him swooning, we don't have a lot of other options. Weak offense and less than stellar defense and relief pitching. We are a good team but not a great one. After the season is over, further discussion about how to improve will ensue.

Pretty clear from the game tonight that arguably our best hitter, Nunez, is gone for the playoffs. That is a tough blow for a relatively weak hitting team to absorb. Tonight, our guys tended to follow the same pattern of taking one or two strikes , mostly fast balls and then being put into a pitcher friendly count. I had hoped they might game plan for a different approach but didn't see that. Two runs won't get it done against the Astros. If Altuve at 5'6" and 165 # can hit it out 3 times, then we should be able to hit one once in a while.

Not if our guys take two strikes on the plate before getting permission to swing. We scored two off a starting pitcher that wasn't that good like Sale.