oldtimer

Mandating a hitter to take the first pitch or two is equally stupid. Too many fastballs are being thrown over the plate on the first pitch without penalty. A hitter facing an 0-2 count is at a terrible disadvantage or even a 2 and 2 count. Give the hitters the instuctions to be aggressive once in a while to make the pitcher be careful. These hitters face 90mph heat nearly every time at bat. Last night Kimbrel threw a first pitch fastball down the middle and it was hit out.

I would hope we can leave Lin up as our Utility guy and send Marerro down, but with Holt being called up it might not work with 2 left handed utility players up. Holt is written in at 3rd for the 2nd game unless something happens in the first game.

It wouldn't be considered so if he continues in a slump. He needs to wake up and I hope it is soon.

You might say the Sox hand may be forced with hitting a major issue of late.

Not worth the cost.

I see Austin Maddox has just been brought up but know nothing about him other than he is a 26 Year old right hander and is 6' 2" and weighs 220. He was invited to ST for a look.

I think we are pretty much in agreement and also with what Kimmi said elsewhere. We pretty much need to go with the players we have with the possible exception of adding another relief arm. There is Devers waiting in the wings who may help us soon. There are also batting order changes that might help in two ways. !) string together more locked in hitters, 2) shake some guys up a little and get them to realize that they need to do better. Key guys for us who are underperforming at Betts, Bogey and Moreland. Hope we can get enough guys to play well today to win at least one of the double header.

I look at guys hitting as being a combination of Plate Approach, Swing Mechanics, Hand-Eye Coordination, Bat Speed and Raw Power. Not all of those are mutually excllusive but are convenient buckets to evaluated players. Right now I see Mookie as having a PA that has him taking way too many good pitches and his SM has gotten him looping the bat and popping up. I think he has good H-E coordination, has excellent BS but has limited RP which doesn't work out well for him when he hits to center field. He needs to work on the first 2 categories. Bogey"s PA also has him taking too many pitches and his SM doesn't allow him to generate power. his H-E and BS are okay and his RP may be better than his SM allow. Moreland's PA and SM seem okay but his H-E and BS aren't so good. Many fouls go toward the left side. He has some power but doesn't show it often since his solid contact is limited. Hanley's PA is also bad in that he takes good and swings at bad. He also swings for the fences. His SM seem okay. His H-E is just so soand he has decent BS and he has the RP aspect Pedey's PA varies, and he knows his strike zone. He will go to right when down in the count. He has excellent swing mechanics, although he swings extremely hard. His H-E is very good and he still has BS but his RP is minimal. I love Beni's approarch and also think Lin is excellent with JBJ better since he has flattend his swing. The rest are not so good. I play ball 3 days a week and watch guys at all levels and like to evaluate hitting in general.

Workman will be brought up today as our BP in depleted and probably we need another. Anyone has a guess on who the second one will be?

I totally agree. What needs to be remembered from this is to avoid long term expensive contracts with field players the likes of Sandoval, Craig, Castillo and to some extent Rameriz. If you take a chance on a guy, it shouldn't be for big bucks and long term contracts.If a guy performs for the Sox, then you can reward him. That we have had success with guys like Ortiz indicates you still can find a gem, but have to do it with care.

Devers went 4 for 4 at Pawtucket yesterday including a HR and a double. Castillo didn't get a hit, Holt was 1 for 5 and Brentz was 1 for 5 to give some context. Just one solid hit in Fenway last night might have won it.

I was thinking an even more drastic change is in order until some guys show signs of coming out of their slumps. 1) Lin 2) Pedey 3) Beni 4) JBJ 5) Hanley 6) Betts 7) Bogey 8) Moreland/Travis 9) Leon/Vazquez Right now neither Marerro or Young are enough of a threat at the plate to consider starting them. We have Holt, Devers and Brentz in the minors or DL. Could any give us a spark?

Last night we had 48PAas got 8 singles, 4 BBs and 12 SO's. The Yankee SP was very good but hard to believe the RP was that good. The guys we expect to hit and rely on are not hitting and even the ones we get on are not running the bases that well. Is there an answer? Those that profess the idea that batting order doesn't matter should consider what has been happening. The guys who have put up somewhat threatening ABs are Pedey, Hanley, Beni, JBJ and Lin. Somehow we need to string those guys together and move those in slumps around so they don't kill every rally. Plate approach is also questionable and may be the cause of some of the slumping. The Sox coontinued to take multiple good pitches, only to put themselves into pitchers counts and swing at balls off the plate. I doubt we can find enough solid hitters either in the minors or through trade to make a significant difference, so we need to try to get more from the roster. Anyone with any other suggestions?

Mookie is struggling right now and isn't providing much in the way of offense and neither is Bogey.

It would be easier to take had Pablo had been our only big miss in the period.

Agreed. I had to turn the game off after 11 as just too frustrating to watch. Our top of the order guys with the exception of Pedroia just aren't hitting. The plate approach seems to be an unvarying willingness to take a couple of strikes and then swing at balls off the plate. Mookie, Bogey, Moreland and Hanley just weren't much of a threat although Moreland did drive in the only run we could manage in 16 innings. I was surprised that we threw away a chance to go from 1st to 3rd on a hit to right field. We would have won the game had that one play been executed by Beni. Kimbrel definitely made a mistake giving up the gopher ball but he is human and is entitled to an error. The Yankee bullpen isn't that good. We have too find a way to score to support a great starting pitching and to a large extent relief pitching outing. I think it is time to consider some lineup changes to help Pedey, Beni, JBJ and Lin have at least looked like threats while the others have not. We definitely need help.

I just quit watching the game at the end of the 11th. The Sox had many chances to score but haven't been able. I can't take any more tonight. Last inning Pedie got to 2nd with no one out. Our top of the order and 3,4,5 hitters look helpless. Beni has hit well but should have made it to third on JBJ's hit but didn't make the try and would have scored on a fly ball. I hope for the best.

Typical GM speak. The Red Sox do have needs but don't want to do anything stupid in acquiring them. We can use another bullpen arm and another hitter who can play 3rd base. We do have financial limitations and clearly don't want to trade away A prospects. I expect that DD already has talked to many clubs and has identified potential deals with only two weeks left until the trade deadline.

I forgot to mention the double steal last night which was also important to the win. Chapman, like a lot of closers, doesn't seem to hold guys well.

Just finished watching the game and was pleased with the win, although the Yankees gave it to us. We squandered several chances early on, including a bases loaded no out situation with the top of the order up. Smart hitting would have got us more than one run, but other than Pedroia we didn't look smart at the plate. Pomeranz made a mistake to Sanchez. Don't know why he threw a fastball down the center of the plate when he had him set up for his effective curve ball. Otherwise, Pomeranz had a good performance. The notable performances for me were #1 Hanley who hit a two run shot, a hard hit single and worried the Yankees enough to draw a pass in the 9th. Good to see him have a that game. #2 Pedroia is a smart player and hitter and tonight was important with his crafty hitting. #3 Lin came in and made a nice catch and put up a good at bat, even though he finally struck out. #4 Beni came in an put in a charge on a ball for an out but then also drew the final walk. I really think had he not been walked he would have hit a ball to the outfield and won it anyway. I came away still thinking the Sox need some help in the hitting department and that DD must see that and knows he has to do something. The Yankees put up an all star from triple A tonight and he was overmatched at the plate. Maybe Devers would also have a lot of trouble makeing the adjustment. I am hoping for a trade that will give us one more good bat, although Lin impresses me.

Jhonny Peralta was brought through the organization and released yesterday. What were they hoping for there? Now Sandoval is released. Finally they moved Devers closer to ML callup and you have to wonder about the status of Rutledge and Holt. DD says he wants to make any trades by the 31st which is now just about 2 weeks away. If I were JH, I would warn my decision makers on personnel that bad choices would be reason for dismissal.

Makes you wonder how the Sox FO could be that stupid.

My understanding of Chavis is that while he appears to have a chance of hitting ML pitching, the Sox are not happy with his progress defensively. I am not sure where he would fit in the organization, with Pedey and Devers in the positions he would most likely qualify for. If he is a second choice asset, wouldn't it be better to trade him for someone who could help us now?

Well reasoned and expresses the possibilities of dealing with the third base performance issues in the clearest light. Personally, I have given up on Pablo, even though he has tried to resserect his career. It just hasn't happened and looks like one of our worst personnel moves in our recent history. It's difficult to understand the Red Sox FO position on Devers. It appears that they are not sold on his ability to improve our performance at 3rd base this year. They do need to make a decision soon as the alternatives are to stand pat or to try to pick up help before the trade deadline. Standing pat to me means keeping Lin in the fold as at least a flexible utility infielder with at least some offensive capability. The second part is to decide on whether Marrero or Rutledge is a better option to stand pat with. i am leery of Holt coming back this year as his injury history is a red flag to me. Others may see the stand pat option differently as Lin is certainly not a proven commodity at this early exposure but there is hope for him. Hard to see a renta 3rd base option that can improve the team for a reasonble cost in tradeable assets. I would look elsewhere myself for a renta relief pitcher to bolster our bull pen for the second half and get team improvement in that way.

I agree with you about Young and would even go so far as to resign him for next year. Good defender and as good a hitter as a utility player is likely to be. I would not expect Holt to return to form as his injuries have been increasing in severity. Brentz is not a good defensive player but may be adequate as an emergency fill in and pinch hitter.