oldtimer

Looking at utility players in the outfield going forward, I would certainly move away from expensive older pros who haven't got the job done this year. We have a prospect in Cole Brannen who is a great young athlete, with speed , a good arm and is defensively rated highly. Another center fielder type. His hitting is okay at this point but he lacks power. Maybe some powe will come as he matures further. He is only 19 years old and it wouldn't be smart to bring him up soon in a utility role, since his PT on the main team would be limited. I would definitely not trade him away as he has years of control and could become one of our better players in the future. Maybe he could be in on the Sept 2018 callup if things continue to go well for him. Meanwhile, I would pick up an older defensive player on a one year basis. We don't need a $6 million dollar man for that.

Just one reason. Get to 300 strike outs.

One thing to note is that Devers home runs came front loaded in his first 20 or so games and no HR since. Don't know what that is, but cleaarly something has changed in the way he is seeing the pitch. He still is hitting, but not with the power.

Hanley says he is now using the resistance band for workout rather than using weights. Done right, resistance bands can enhance quick twitch muscles and are less likely to result in muscle injuries. Getting him healthy going into the post season would certainly be a plus. I expect we go into the post season carrying 11 pitchers, due to breaks between games. If that assumption is correct we can have 14 field players. The regular field players, 2 catchers and Hanley and Nunez make 11 so we can have 3 beyond them. You pick them from Davis, Young, Holt, Marrero, Lin, Travis and Swihart. My guess is Holt as JF loves him. Holt could play outfield if needed. I would eliminate Young and Lin from the list so 2 of Marrero, Davis, Travis and Swihart. (I am guessing that Swihart could play outfield in a pinch). Really, I believe Swihart is very unlikely, so its 2 of the other three.

I had mused that Hanley might not make the playoffs due to some inscrutable injury. Last night took that doubt away as he was in the lineup and hit the ball well. So for post season there is little doubt of who are starting field players are and two catchers. add Hanley and Nunez and you have 11. That leaves 3 players from our remaining group. Will Hanley fill in at 1st against left handed pitchers? Who will we take to cover the outfield utility and who in the infield? If the idea is to just use Hanley as DH, then Travis would make sense as a 1st base utility player. Nunez can play many infield utility positions but his defense is not the strongest. It appears that Marrero has eclipsed Lin as a utility infielder prospect. JF loves Holt, so do we take him as a versatile infield outfield player or do we go with a tru outfielder in Davis and have him available for pinch running? Lot to muse over.

Yes, but the Astros starting pitching has changed for the better when compared to season record.

It's a great 8.

This team can't spell earned run. Hanley's take of a fastball middle middle was hard to watch.

To me the better hitters show plate discipline (don't often swing at balls outside the zone). When they do swing they make often hard contact and they put the ball in play. More than that, they have the ability to go with the pitch. Judgment of who is the better hitter is relative as one will bat 320 while another 250. Also, one will hit more HR's than another. We all have opinions of who are good hitters our. My opinion is we don't have truly excellent and consistent hitters. Nunez this year has come the closest.

They were talking on BB tonight about how Devers puts three fingers on the ball when he throws it but the preferred way is two fingers. More accurate, like a pitcher throwing a fastball. I cannot comment on this as I don't have to make that throw, but these are former players who have a modicum of knowledge.

Hosmer makes some sense since he is of prime age and fits a position we need to fill. He has good numbers at the plate. Probably would be in competition with the Yankees for his services and it would require a expensive contract of around $15 for 5 years. If we did that, and signed Nunez, we would be in a fairly good spot next season although Devers defense needs to get much better.

True, but it is a crap shoot.

Fister hasn't shown repeatability and with our weak offense, we need a guy who can get out of the first inning without damage. Too bad because when his ball is moving, he is tough to hit.

it will be interesting. Moreland, who has looked good at times, is not good enough in my opinion. I don't see an obvious answer.

Clearly Sale, Pomeranz and Porcello will be our 3 and as it looks now E-Rod is a more reliable 4th. Having Price in the BP (provided he continues to look good) does give us a backup to our starters who might not be able to go beyond 5. The BP has Kimbrel, Reed, Kelly, Maddox, Barnes and Scott. I don't see the need for another lefty with both Price and Scott. I could argue for either Smith or Workman over Maddox or Barnes, but can't really see that either is really better. In the case of our field players, I assume Pedey will be healthy enough to play and that Nunez is also. So our regular starting lineup and two catchers with the exception of Hanley, who may not be well enough to add anything (I assume he is not able to play). Nunez and Pedey could switch at 2nd/DH. That leaves 4 utility positions available. I like Davis over Young who is mired in a terrible slump. Davis at least has speed. I can see Travis as a back up 1st baseman or even a starter against lefties. I know Holt will get a postion so the question is who else should make it. My assumption of Hanley not being physically able leaves that position open. It would have to be Lin or Marrero. Both have superior gloves and could even spell any position around the infield. good insurance.

Don't get your advocacy here? Did you mean the FA first baseman in the 4th slot? If we do sign Nunez, who would you prefer as DH, Nunez or Hanley? Unless Hanley improves which is really questionable, I would play Nunez when he wasn't filling in for Pedey. I think the question remains on Devers best position with now 13 errors in 46 games. A lot on throwing across the diamond.

Getting closer due to genrally great pitching and good defense except for Devers. The kid needs to get his head together and get over the error/game mode.

Devers 5 errors in the last 5 games. Could have been a killer

Just did the numbers. BA through 10 innings .138. Pretty miserable performance and against a pitcher that hasn't been that good.

Can't blame JF for that. It looked like his best move, yet the hitters didn't come through for the second inning in a row. Two double plays.

Tough with Beni in scoring position and one out. Betts tried with a fly to left but Moreland didn't get a pitch below his letters but continued to swing at them. Wish he had shown a veteran presence and forced pitches in the zone.

Totally agee and to that add that we need to revamp our utility field players. Young, Holt and Davis are not the Red Sox future. We can do as well and more cheaply from the Travis, Hernandez, Lin and Marrero group or possibly someone who will emerge from the minors in the next few months.

Holt was unable to execute a bunt on two fastballs down the middle and then takes a call third. Get someone in that can! The result, is rather than a fast guy on second with one out, Bradley is put in the position of potentially hitting into a double play and he obliged. I don't think the bunt strategy was flawed, but the guy we asked to execute it was unable.

Two hits by the Sox. While they are tired, they look impotent. Got to get going as it is too much to expect our BP to keep Baltimore completely off the board ad infinitum.

One thing that almost all of the Sox hitters have in common, other than Hanley and perhaps Moreland, is that they are relatively small. They don't hit the ball as far as Judge or Sanchez, simply because they are not as massive and cannot generate the bat speed of big powerful guys like Stanton. Guys like Mookie are 180 pounds soaking wet. Now, when they get a ball on the inside half, and have good timing, they are more able to pull the ball to a shorter part of the park for a home run. Same with Beni. Pitchers have consistently stayed away from Betts so he has to hit mistake pitches for HRs. No way that outside pitches can be pulled and our smaller guys tend to hit those to center or opposite field for long outs. There is a knack and timing for getting hits opposite field, but fly balls won't get it done, they have to hit liners. After a while of pitches on the outer half of the plate, hitters timing gets into their muscle memory. I can only imagine what it is to get timing down when the ball is coming at 95 mph plus. Guys like Moreland now almost exclusively go opposite field and it shows in too many fly ball outs. Digging in usually meant digging the foot away from the pitcher into the batters box so that a player has a strong platform to stride into the ball and transfer his energy. They try to meet the ball slightly out front of the body. Our guys are professional hitters and most have that concept down. Mookie has a really quick bat and Beni has nearly a perfect swing. The others have something in between. The hitting coach needs to work with the guys when they notice players getting in ruts. Mookie now seems to be coming out of his rut and there are signs of even Bogaerts coming along. Beni hasn't hit a HR in quite a while and neither has Devers. Lets hope that they can look for good pitches to hit and pull on those good pitches. see the ball, hit the ball.