oldtimer

I know we don't talk clutch on this site, but what Beni did was come through when we needed it. Lots of aggressive base running tonight, using our speed to advaqntage. Too bad Betts couldn't hit a ball to the outfield nor could Bogey come through. Extra runs are always a help.

The book on Hanley must be that he can't hit a fastball as all four pitches were 4 seam fastballs. He showed the Jays the book is wrong. We desperately needed that run as Sale may only go another inning. I thought we might put Moreland in for Young but with 2 outs and no one on, JF decided to stand pat.

Bigger question, why did Beni steal second with 2 men out, a man on third and Betts up? I suppose if Betts hits a single we score two but if Beni gets thrown out we waste an opportunity. No matter, Betts took two on the plate and then hit a ground ball. Need more from him. Maybe Moreland will come in for Young with a right handed pitcher.

That was quick. Dribbler by Bogaerts and two line drives. We need to get to this guy and will if they leave him in.

Davis Nunez Beni Betts Bogaerts Devers Hanley Young Leon I understand Leon with Sale on the mound and I understand trying to load up with righties, but tonight that leaves us without the hot hitting Vaz and also Moreland who has been hot. I realize Moreland has not been hot against lefties but maybe being hot in general would produce more than our cold hitting righties. We shall see.

Yes, playing Holt, Young or Davis hasn't worked out but Pedey does create a problem in that we still need Nunez's bat.

We need JBJ and Pedey back to help us do that. It sounds like both will be back during this week so things are looking up.

The return of JBJ and Pedey sounds like it is only days away. When that happens, JF will have to make some hard decisions like how do we keep a hot hitting Nunez in the lineup, while playing Pedey. If JBJ returns our utility outfield problems are greatly reduced. The return of both buys improves team defense so it is no smalll thing. The other decisions to make is who could we call up on Sept 1st. Certainlly our pitching staff has looked tired of late and we could use fresher arms. Smith appears ready. I have no idea whether Price will make a reappearance this year but if ready, he could take some pressure off the starters and give them a rest. Also, Barnes went on the DL. Will he return this fall? I have mixed feelings about Barnes as he had good games and very bad games. I have hoped for the return of Lin to give Bogey a blow at times. He is our best defensive SS alternative at this point although Marrero could fill that role. Perhaps if Swihart is ready, he could act as an insurance policy to allow Vaz to get more ABs during games either by catching more games or PHing.

Facts like the OPS seasonal numbers are interesting but I still like to go by observation of how the guys are doing of late. Are they hot or at least making solid contact. We won't know about JBJ when he returns nor Pedey, as they have been away from live pitching for a while (in Pedeys case sing July 28th). I like the idea of front loading the team with solid contact hitters and moving Hanley to the back end at least temporarily. Vaz night indicates that he should get more PAs and more time in the lineup. If we have to bring up a 3rd catcher to make that a possibility, then do it. Our entire utility outfield core is not solid at the plate at this point whether it be Holt, Davis or Young. Fortunately, we are 3 days away from the Sept callup so just maybe the Sox will help themselves or we will get our players back off the DL.

Cross your fingers and hope that the storm continues to move to the east and away from your already flooded area. If the water starts to recede, you will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. We are wishing for the best outcome for you and the many in the area who have gone through so much.

Kimbrel in the 9th almost gave it away. I wondered if the baseball gods had something against us winning.

Theeeeeeee Yankees lose

He would do well to read Talksox if only to get opinions that are not within the organization. Stringing together the hard contact hitters can't hurt. Moving Hanley might wake him out of his bad performance. I don't know how many recommended Vaz as a spark to the lineup but he certainly has been tonight and has done well in the month of August. I often wondered why he didn't get to pinch hit more, but JF has to be prepared for an injury to Leon when he is in.

He has given a big spark to the team. We need him in the lineup more often. Now we need to solve the utility player problem. Maybe sept 1 will do that.

Holt takes his 186 average in and grounds into a double play to screw up another inning.

Still think Nunez hitting 3rd would be better with Betts up first

Interesting to see Farrell has shaken the lineup pretty much along the lines I and others had talked about by trying to group our hard contact hitters together. He kept Nunez 1st and Betts 3rd but has Moreland 4th and Hanley 7th. Maybe just that change will reawaken some of the hitters and we will get enough to win. We shall see. Hanley doubled his first trip and now Nunez has homered. Keep it up guys.

Young has been good defensively but his hitting has not been consistent of late. Brentz as a replacement hasn't been that good defensively but his minor league power numbers might translate into some much needed hitting help in the lineup.

It is safe to say we all are hoping that things will dry out a little for you and the worst has past. This really is an epic storm for you and yours. Florida in the Venice area where I live in the winter is also flooding, but to a lesser degree. Water levels are eerily close to intruding into homes. Very flat in Florida as well.

I have seen the same thing. He is still a young guy and nearly a rookie in experience. Lets hope that he will continue to improve as he learns from his mistakes.

The Sox brass should look at results and the performance of players and coaches. The hitting has not been good so look to replace the hitting coach or coaches. Certain players haven't so replace the ones that we can and try to bolster what is left with new talent. The question is out on overall leadership with JF.

Devers is a raw rookie with not enough AB's to conclude that he belongs in the bottom of the lineup. No evidence to date is overwhelming about where he should bat. He batted down in the order when he first came and killed it. Pitchers are learning how to get him out and he is trying to make adjustments. This situation happened when he was lowered in the order so may be just an artifact of being a rookie in the league. He is one of our few power hitters so I think we need to give him more time in a power slot.

We currently have Holt, Young and Davis available to fill in for injured players. Young and Davis were used today while Moreland and Holt sat out until later in the game. Young killed every rally he was involved in and Davis also wasn't much of an asset. We have a major handicap at this time with JBJ and Pedey out. My opinion lis that we should put a lineup in of our hotest hitters in positions to support one another in scoring runs. It appears the Sox are unwilling to bring up any minor league players to help us before Sept 1st, so we have to use what we currently have. Other than injured players it only appears that Brentz might help us plate a few more runs, but that is only conjecture. While we have little in the way of standout hitters, other than Moreland who has gotten hot of late, we do have guys who make hard contact and do get on base. In my view, those guys are Nunez, Beni and Devers. Betts and Bogey have talent, but their weaknesses have been exposed to the extend that they are somewhat less threatening than the others. I would configure the lineup for the next 4 days at least with the following batting order: 1. Betts (leadoff he can get on base but not as likely a rally killer) 2. Beni 3. Nunez 4. Moreland (Currently our hottest hitter) 5. Devers 6. Bogey 7. Hanley 8. Catcher 9. Holt or Davis Maybe getting pushed back in the order wakes Hanley up or maybe he just has slipped but lets get him out of the middle of the order. I don't see JF making hard decisions like I propose, rather being more comfortable with the status quo, even when it isn't working.

Farrell said we needed a good pitching performance and we got one. Two runs, 6 hits and 2 walks is good. With our 8 hits and 8 walks we couldn't come up with more than 1. Hard to hang this one on Hanley as he had a 1 for 3 day with 2 walks. Be interesting to hear from JF after this one. Devers even had two doubles in this one. Time to rethink who plays and possibly time to shake things up. I don't see a lot we could get by bringing up mnor leaguers with the possible exxception of Brentz. By the Sox do need to do something to change the trajectory.

Now 16 base runners in 8 innings and one run. Thats an average of two on base per inning. At least the last two balls were hard hit, but nothing to show again.