oldtimer

What's with farrell not wanting to talk about how he is going to use Nunez. I'm guessing here, but I suppose Farrell was a part of the decision to trade for him and also a part of the decision to bring up Devers. It would make sense that he advocated a use for Nunez or otherwise why trade for him and why so tight lipped about the matter. JF hurts himself by taking this approach.

One All players who make the MLs have gone through a long and difficult selection process, which culls out the best baseball players from the many feeder programs. They are usually very athletic and have the prerequisite mentality to succeed in the game. Along the way, they get all kind of coaching in the fundamentals from peoplle with a lot of expertise. Once in the mls. they have the best coaching, nutritionist, health care, psychological help, equipment, technical analysis helps of all kind. Of course, so do their opponents who can study their weaknesses. The grind of playing, family life and other distractions can lead to psychological issue and just plain weariness and injuries. The bottom line is some of the guys don't handle the pressure of the long season too well and it shows in their performances. When a player goes dead cold for a significant period why not face facts and give that player rest and recuperation rather than keep playing them and hurting the team. In Bogaerts case, he has fallen below the Maginot line and is hurting the team. He shows no signs of coming out of it any time soon. Keep playing him with the hope he will somehow miraculously get back to where he was is a high risk, when there is another player who will likely do a better job. It seems to me to risk the season for the team. I don't worry about hurting someones feelings in this. The problem of course is how does a player then get back in the lineup?

I think JF is losing it a bit. We have Devers up and he clearly should be allowed to hit against right hand pitching and we should see how he handles that. We have Nunez who is a 300 hitter and has speed. We need to stop worrying about hurt feelings and so what is best for the team. I suggest an immediate change to the lineup as follows: RHP: 1. Nunez (SS) 2 Beni (LF) 3. Pedroia (2nd) 4. Bradley (CF) 5. Rameriz (DH) 6. Betts (RF) 7. Devers (3rd) 8. Leon © 9. Moreland (1st) LHP: 1. Nunez (SS) 2. Pedroia (2nd) 3. Betts (RF) 4. Bradley (CF) 5. Rameriz (1st) 6. Young (LF) 7. Devers (3rd) 8. Vazquez © 9. Bogaerts (DH) I know this is a drastic suggestion but drastic measures are needed. These would be interim lineups until Betts starts to hit. Bogey has been so far off, I don't know how long we can stay with his 0 fors. without giving him an extended rest. I would like to see Travis brought back up to give us more flexibility while Marerro and holt be sent down.

You're right. a hit at the right time, smarter base running, avoidance of Fister would have meant a win or two. It has been frustrating to see Devers held back, to see Fister pitching in key situations, to have Moreland in the cleanup spot, to see Bogey totally tank and Betts close to the same. After waiting to near the trade deadline, we finally are made a move. With our limited financial capability (assumping the salary cap) Nunez was at least a positive move. Adding a 300 hitter is the first positive trade move and now someone in the BP and 1st base would help, but don't hold your breath.

Lets hope we put in our strongest lineup in support of him.

I too feel the frustration but think the hapless fool suggestion to typify is a little far out. He will be leading the show for the rest of this year and I hope his decision making and inspirational leadership improves. It certainly looks like that has been lacking on this team this year and the end of last.

With Devers up for a look and Nunez in the fold you have to wonder how look at the players on our 40 man roster. We have Rutledge (DL), Holt, Marerro and Lin. Nunez is probably only in for a couple of months and Devers is totally unproven so it would be risky to dump our backups but equally foolish to hang on to 4. Maybe we can offer one or more of these guys as part of a trade for BP help. I personally would keep Lin of that group and we do have Hernandez on the extended DL who is probably not tradeable at this point. Hernandez may be someone to make the grade next year.

Pretty desperate when we went to Fister late. We need to get back or trade for another BP arm before the deadline. Neshek would be good but might cost too much.

Last night Betts 0-6 and Bogey 0-5. These were two of our killer bees who have to contribute to the team and both haave been slumping. All these long extra inning games, the long road trip to the west coast and faacing good to very good pitching has added up to a general malaise but some came out of it last night but Betts is a key and he has been off of late. They can always rest Bogey for a while and should, especially now Nunez is with the team.

dProbably starts at 3rd against lefties and plays short against righties, while Bogey takes some time t o get over whatever ails him.

I hope to succeeds but did notice in his picture on the Sox web site he appears to have a big chaw of tobacco in his check. My advice is break the habit now and avoid mouth cancer in the future.

Maybe we can place the pitchers in the batting order and they can contribute to our run production! (Tongue in cheek). Clearly we need hitting, not pitching. On the other hand, maybe the management is failing to excite the players to meaningful action. Last year I compared JF to the sitting Buddha, who impassively and blythely contemplates his navel while the games go merrily along. The Red Sox have the worst record in the league for base running outs and must rank very low in situational hitting. It seems that little to no changes have been effected during the long running saga of poor play. If the slide continues, JF will not be back for another year.

I wonder what constraints have been placed on DD in regards to trades and finances. It seems strange to me that he has taken no action to date when circumstances have clearly called for action. We as fans may not understand the limitations place on DD so it may be unfair to criticize him. I'm not claiming or inferring that you did, but that thought came to mind as a means to understand why nothing has happened.

How about Verlander for Price?

He hasn't been watching the rest of the order.

Looking at splits are also illustrative. I mentioned before that Bogey typically has a good first half and then declines in the second half. His july performance has been way below the norm and might be attributed to the injury he sustained, although he was already slumping at that time.

One pundit at least thinks Devers will bulk up as he fully matures, leaving 1st as a better long term solution. It won't happen this year but sounds like a possibility going forward. His battng profile fits either ist or 3rd.

By then, we may be out of the race and turning into a seller. It's 6 days to go to the deadline, either because we don't have the finances or tradeable pieces or that anyone we may want is not available. Be interesting to hear DD's take on this if no action is taken.

Sorry my computer jumped before I fully replied: Betts is a valuable player but has some serious holes in his pitch selection and plate coverage. He is worth keeping and should be coached through some apparent weaknesses. Xander typically has a hot ist half and tails off afterwards. His defense is average. The question is whether we could find better for the money he will command. Beni is young. He a nice swing and a good plate approach but has not made progress at this point. His defense is slightly above average. He is a keeper and worth watching and waiting on Moreland seems to have drifted into a less than average hitter. Maybe the club attitude has infected him. We shouldn't stay with an older player who doesn't show consistency. Travis is worth a look Both Leon and vaz are defensive catchers. I would be looking for replacing one of these going forward. Holt, Marerro are not answers, just look at the numbers. Devers may be or may need to be moved in position to 1st. I still think Lin should have been our utility player. He at least seems to exude energy.

i am not as likely to us year long statistics to evaluate our strength of hitting in the later parts of the season, but they do at least indicate value generally. JBJ's hitting and defense make him worth a lot Dustin has been and is currently a valuable hitter and defensive player. Maybe our best overall. Hanley is providing some punch but one may argue he is overpaid as a DH

Another interesting aside is that the Diamondbacks actually have a better won loss record than the Sox.

Bogaerts has been hurting so has an excuse but his JUly avg is .164 with a 230 ops

In July he is batting .163 and in the last 7 dys .063. That mirrors the team Malaise.

Maybe we can find a SS at the trade deadline and move Bogaerts to third at least part time.

The team lacks hitting even against average pitching. When we face stellar pitching, if its possible, we look worse. We can hope for improvement but are likely to see our first place slip away because we do lack balance as a team. Too much to exect from Devers that he can lift the team significantly. Perhaps the management needs to look at itself to understand some of the reasons for underperforming expectations. Remember, at the end of the last season we fell into a funk as well, going from the best offensive team in the league to a pasty. Changes seem to be needed, but it unlikely that a lot can be done with players, since we have financial and tradeable asset limitations. Management can be changed more easily, however it is inadvisable to do that during the season. Like a lot of the older long term fans, we have seen things like this before and just hope for the collective wisdom in the organization to move things in a positive direction.