oldtimer

Funny! He was the bright spot and you know it. NOw Betts, pop-up city all over again. Whether he is looping his swing or swinging down on the ball, I can't tell. It should be correctable. We need him to make an adjustment to his swing.

I don't hear it that way at all. While some would recommend major changes, others look for replacement of those team elements that haven't stood the test this year and are on the lower side of the value for their positions. Bogaerts is one of those, Hanley is another but hard to change, Holt and Leon are also sub par and JBJ is fringe, mainly due to his stellar defense. Clearly our hitting coach should be considered a negative and possibly JF as well, particularly if the team swoons late. Most us us want Nunez back and want the team to go for a top hitting 1st baseman to replace Moreland. To sit tight with the same guys who are not getting it done while facing teams like the Guardians, Astros and even the Yankees doesn't make a lot of sense. All of those teams will continue to try to be even more competitive going forward and we need to as well.

Our most consistent hitter is Nunez and he is out for at least another 3 or 4 days. Pedey is our second most consistent and he is hobbled, which leads us to having to play JBJ, Bogey and in some case leon. So today we go with Bogey leading off and Holt and JBJ in the lineup. It spells trouble scoring runs. Hanley gets to sit as he has added nothing of late. We need more consistency from Betts. A couple of hard hit balls from him last night and we would have been in the game. Instead, it was pop-up city, as Vitale would say. Cross your fingers as another loss today would be hard to take.

That can only be judged by the results on the field. If you believe nearly the entire team being substantially lower in OPS is not connected to the hitting coach then you might bring him back. On the other hand it would seem that there must be a connection, so i would recommend a change. Can it be worse?

Lack of hitting with runners in scoring position. Not enough guys who in the end who put the bat on the ball and hit it hard. We had another example of that tonight. Nunez would help but that is all we have left to change the dynamic of this team. Betts back to popping out. Leon an easy mark. Lots of ground balls with men in scoring position. Taking good pitching and swinging at ones out of the zone. Lots of players do it for all teams, but our team just doesn't have enough to get the runs in. Pretty discouraging watching this team unable to get the hit they when they needed it. That is not to mention a subpar pitching performance from our starter and relief pitching was not particularly sharp.

I had problems with JF pulling the infield in with one out and a man of 3rd. That inning was shaky and a disaster. Even the way Mookie played a double into a triple. Not good as that resulted in pulling the infield in.

The first baseman could have come to home and with a return to first it would have been a double play anyway. It was made easy by the grounder right near the bag. Anyhow, the Red Sox tonight have been bad with runners in scoring position. That often is their mO. They miss Nunez's bat in the lineup and Mookie's big night last night is not being repeated in any way. Game is on rain delay and it may be over if the rain continues. To me, the team looked shaky tonight including manager decisions, the pitching and the hitting. Need to win these games when we go against a rookie at home.

He had a terrible AB. Swung at two outside the strike zone and took one right down the middle. JF sets the order.

Just an awful result. No blame on Pedroia, he just didn't have the speed. Bad at bat for Moreland though. He should have been trying to get the ball into the outfield. Stuff happens

So, why did JF pull the infield in with a runner on first and one out? That is one strategy and the other would to play for the out and allow the run to score on a ground ball. As it turned out, there would have been 2 outs and a man on 3rd. What happened after is on Fister.

I hope he can come back but if he needs TJ surgery, he will be out all of next year as well. Worst case we would be paying him $30 million a year for no value in 2017 and 2108. Add that to the $19mil/ for Sandoval through 2020, $13 mil for Craig in 2018, $10.2 Mil/yr for Castillo for 4 more years and of course the $22.7 Mil/year for 2018 and possibly 2019 for an underachieving Hanley. No wonder JH is given pause to pour a lot of money into the FA market. Our FO made some poor decisions along the way but at least DD has generally made better ones. Price is on DD and most of us didn't like the length of that contract at the time, but that has become the going rate for Ace pitchers. one has to wonder why a guy along in his career should get a long contract though.

Whether Cleveland can maintain their momentum and resign their key pieces is an unknown. They went out this year and added two power hitters to a strong lineup, something that the luxury cap got in the way of for the Sox. Like it or not, they become the new target of excellence to shoot at and our changes should be made with them in mind. Definitely we need a big bat, probably at 1st base. Otherwise, we should be open minded should opportunities arise to improve in areas where the hitting is weak. Nunez, currently at 4.2 million will deserve a healthy raise and it will be a competitive battle to keep him. Reed also would be a good keep ar $7.75 Mil. Moreland will probably not return so we can go for a 1st baseman with a big bat. Young and Davis will probably not be resigned and also Kendrick will not return. The savings on those four will be amount to $19 Mil on avoided cost. Lots of other considerations in the pitching area, with who will be cut loose and who will remain. Question marks for Smith although he looks like a keeper, and Thornburgh who is still in the remains to be seen category. To me it apears that our pitching will remain competitve with the best staffs in 2018 but to really compete at the highest levels we need to consider multiple ways to become a stronger team.

I wonder if there is a statistic which considers our hitting vs the era of the pitcher we face. Complicated to do since we face so many pitchers in the course of a game. Tonight the guy has higher than a 5 rpg era. We should hit him better. You would think up against Kluber we would hit much worse. Baseball is a crazy game and it doesn't work that way so much on a game by game basis, but it should be on an average basis over time. Thats unless Apple Watches come into play.

Thats the question. Does the FO think we improve the team by making the trade? Clearly there is a risk, like with Shaw, what they think will happen not be correct. If we don't think we can improve the team, then don't make the trade..

I think the only sure field players for the Sox in 2018 are: Beni Betts Vaz Devers Pedey Rameriz (wish this wasn't true but who will take him with the $22.7 Mil salary) The only clear FA pickup field player at this point would be Nunez. He was making 4,200,000 but will command a lot more now) The players that might be used in trades would be JBJ, Bogaerts and Leon. JBJ's defense would be hard to replace. So in my view, we might see a need for a 1st baseman, a SS and a backup catcher. Less likely, a need for a CF replacement. We have Lin, Hernandez and Travis as possible utility players in 2018, with Holt, Moreland and Young likely gone from the roster.

Right now Austin Maddox looks like a better bet going into the playoffs. Barnes is not reliable, even with a big lead.

Good pitching can make any team look weak. Our problem is that even the higher ERA average guys have often made us look weak. We have had way too many guys in protracted slumps. If Mookie is really coming out of his that is a nice step forward for us. We still have a lot of guys that need a drink of Red Bull or something. Think of: JBJ Leon Bogey Moreland Hanley Holt Young While some are not regular players and their use can be avoided, others are lineup regulars and hurt us with their ineptitude. Maybe Betts explosion last night will stimulate others going forward.

We can't expect to prevail in any playoff series without him as a main contributor, so it certainly was good news tonight to see him hit well and with power.

I don't think its wise to call players unflattering names. It is however perfectly acceptable to point out deficiencies and Holt for whatever reason is not the player he was in recent years. I agree that he should be low on the list of players entering the game and would advise against including him in the plans for next year. We should be able to do better and I believe we have better options available on the team in Lin and Hernandez for next year, unless the team wants to look further.

Yes and we had Pedey in and also Bogey had a surprising night for him. Hanley not anything. Kimmi has said, and i agree, we go nowhere without our young talent, like Betts and Bogey hitting. She included Hanley, and that would be nice, but we could work around him if the others are productive.

Big day for the Sox and down to 15 for the magic number.

This is a critical period going forward. We need to keep winning as the Yankees seem to be winning a high percentage. Nunez has been our best hitter so his loss will be felt. No Beni tonight either. Lets hope the lineup is so weakened that we can't score a few runs. At least Pedey is in the lineup.

Nunez

The Sox had better take care of business as the Yankees are creeping up on them. No more anemic lineups. If Pedey and Nunez are able, they are needed in the game. They are the two best hitters at this point. Hanley also is needed and he has to produce.

My b rother and his wife rode the storm out by sleeping in the hallway while the windows rattled in the 100+ mph wind but came through it all with only minor property damage. Thanks for the kind words.