oldtimer

Looks like a revised lineup in tonight with JBJ in the 5th hole and Beni moved back in the 7th. Travis will start as well. I think Hanley is still hurting from the hit by pitch on the knee.

The message on Devers seems to be he is not good enough to be brought up and produce better results than Marerro, Pablo or Lin. What makes you think he is going to make the big improvement needed to be better than Marerro in a little over 2 months? Maybe we just accept Sox management opinions and get a decent replacement and leave Devers in the minors until next year. My personal opinion is that there is little to lose by bringing Devers up now and seeing what he can do. So in my opinion, Sox management is being overly cautious.

JH would have to be naive not to be aware that big money spent on Pablo, Hanley, Craig and Castillo haven't resulted in the expected benefit. He may be asking for more justification these days and by doing so avoiding the big mistakes made in the past. We got Moreland, Young and Leon for reasonable money and they have each been a benefit to the team. The rest are home grown. If I were JH I would be asking for full justification of any big expenditure and put responsibility for mistakes in terms of future employment.

I'm a believer in playing the guy who gives this team the best chance for winning on any given night, particularly when this team has a real shot of making the playoffs. The Sox FO must believe that Devers is not as good as Marerro or Lin or any other that the Sox may have waiting in the wings. Otherwise, Devers would be up. That being said, what magic elixer will occur in the next month or two to bring him along so that he is a better player? Will he come up in September and be really good? The Sox FO would have egg on their faces if that turned out to be the case. So, assuming Devers is not as good now as Marerro and Lin, and we know they are pretty weak players, what should the fo do? Let the team play on with a handicap at 3rd? Get a questionable experienced third baseman and trade away good prospects for him? Wait and try to pick up a really solid third baseman and pay through the nose for him after the AS break? The choices do not look that alluring. Others have suggested picking up a SS and moving Bogey over although that is pretty far fetched to me, that remains and alternative, I suppose. I'm from the old school, which means when you have an obvious problem, you make an attempt to solve it. Lets hope the red Sox FO is thinking along those lines.

And Marerro hits breaking balls well? Isn't it a question of is Devers a better option? Lots of players are brought up without a lot of development time because they are good. Trout was brought up at age 19. Woulld the Sox management argued to keep him in the minors to let mim develop more fully?

The idea of someone being ready for the ML means what exactly? I think the question is whether he would provide more than Marerro or Lin. I've given up on Pablo.

To attain a team batting average of about 270, we need to get 10 hits a game. We got 8 yesterday and two were home runs. Unfortunately, with Marerro hitting 156 he doesn't do his share and yesterday neither Betts or Bogaerts were able to hit. Batting averages are just that. Against strong pitching, we will clearly do less some days. The Angels issued no walks yesterday so it all had to come from hitting. I am not concerned about either Betts or Bogaerts, but Marerro has proven he cannot hit major league pitching. I would be happy with a 3rd baseman that could hit 270 with some power and field his position. In the long run I would expect it to give us a few more wins. The longer DD procrastinates, the less chance we make the playoffs. I think calling the guys out for playing poorly in a game or two is overstating the case.

You found a second in me. In my case, pot was not around when I grew up.

I agree and earlier pointed out that 20 year old players come into the ML's every year and some are doing quite well. Not much to lose by bringing him up.

Red Sox Management and FO personnel tell themselves that Devers is not ready. But when they say that, they should consider the question, "In comparison to who?" Any offensive help we can get at this point might just win a game or two. In September if we fall short by a game or two it will be too late to make a move. Either Devers or outside help is needed. I woulld prefer giving Devers a try rather than spending big on some has been.

Marrero is not a contact hitting and Vazquez doesn't run well so it was a highly questionable decision. I think playing Marrero at third is also a questionable decision given that he seems helpless at the plate. Time for either Lin or Devers to step in.

I did not advocate for a big bat and a big fairly long term contract. We are hobbled with too many of those now. Moreland has been a reasonable signing both for his field play and his bat. I had hoped we might sign Turner, but realistically we weren't going to sign him. That leaves us either signing Moustakis (sp) or using our own Minor league system. I am for trying the latter this year and bringing Devers up to go with Travis. Like it or not, we have to use Hanley this year and he might just produce. I wonder if his knee will swell on him and keep him out of the lineup for a day or two. One other thing I noticed in the game today is that Pedey's range didn't allow him to get to aany of the three balls off to his side. He made an effort and dove, but his range seems less than just a couple of years ago. Nothing can be done about that, but just something I noticed.

To me, Betts tends to hit a lot of ball to center where his general power doesn't allow him to hit many out. I expect he will heat up and in particular if he goes to other fields.

I agree, a key hit from the third baseman once in the game might have altered the outcome. Marrero is not producing offensively so why not go with Lin or perhaps bring up Devers. What can we lose?

I agree. The offense stops when we get to Marrero. We have Lin who was batting 305 in the minors. We have devers in the minors. the time has come to move forward on a different path. I'd like to see us take our best chance of winning and Marrero certaining isn't helping at all on offense.

Speaking of which, we still have Castillo and Craig. Realistically, Hanley is still our hope for a power hitter at this time and yes he remains in a slump, but we need to hope that he can come out of it and provide some much needed power for the club. Lets not go completely negative on the guy as we have a much more serious problem at 3rd base. We are not going to take Hanley out of the lineup this year other than for a rest at times. Still Devers sits in AA while we bring Lin up instead.

Where would we be without Kimbrell?

I was unaware that Rutledge was put on the DL with concussion symptoms and that we brought up Tzu-Wei Lin, another small guy as a fill-in infielder. He has been in the minors for a few years and had a 302 average in Portland. Must be a decent fielder but Devers is sitting there while this happens.

That was a good point but last night I don't think Kimbrel fully warmed up. He lobbed a couple and then sat back down. Good win last night by the way.

Lay off the Tacos, refried beans and conronas. Remeber all that weight you have lost.

We can't be literally throwing away winnable games. In late September we may need a game here or there to qualify. Our staff tends to nibble at the corners too often and rack up a lot of pitches. Last night wasn't an example of that but instead outright willdness and it cost us a game. Anyone can have an off day. Lets hope it was only that and we can return to the solid relief we had been getting.

Sending Pablo down and along with an extra pitcher while bringing up Travers and Marrero was a good move and one that might have been done even earlier. We know Marrero is not a major league hitter, but he has the good glove and is a temporary fill in, while Travis is a ML level hitter and can afford some rest to Moreland who is dealing with a broken big toe. We should have Pedey back soon, maybe tonight, so the club is getting better. Since Pablo is unlikely to be back until after the AS break, the question is how best to deal with 3rd base in the interim. To me, Devers appears to be ready and that move might also be the easiest for a lot of reasons. Age should not be the determining factor, although the Sox FO must have other input that makes them feel he is not ready. Of course our FO in the past has selected several busts in recent history so you have to wonder about their judgment.

I doon't buy the too young argument. There may be other viable arguments that management knows, but age should not be one of them. Just for interest, I looked up the youngest players to hit both leagues for the last 10 years. Francis Martes (HOU) 21 2016 (NL AL) Julio Urias (LAD) 19 Raul Mondesi (KCR) 20 2015 (NL AL) Miguel Castro (COL) 20 Roberto Osuna (TOR) 20 2014 (NL AL) Dilson Herrera (NYM) 20 Rougned Odor (TEX) 20 2013 (NL AL) Bryce Harper (WSN) 20 Jurickson Profar (TEX) 20 2012 (NL AL) Bryce Harper (WSN) 19 Jurickson Profar (TEX) 19 2011 (NL AL) Julio Teheran (ATL) 20 Mike Trout (LAA) 19 2010 (NL AL) Starlin Castro (CHC) 20 Chris Sale (CHW) 21 2009 (NL AL) Madison Bumgarner (SFG) 19 Rick Porcello (DET) 20 2008 (NL AL) Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 20 Travis Snider (TOR) 20 A lot of these kids have turned out to be extremely valuable. Talent, not age should be the determining factor.

It certainly looks like he is gone until the all star break. After that, a reevaluation has to take place. In the mean time, Rutledge is our utility infielder so the question becomes do we trade for a 3rd baseman or make the jump with Devers. Nothing new in those thoughts and that Marrero will be probably be sent down again. I would bring Devers up soon, keep Travis and Rutledge up and send Marrero back down. Assuming Devers can show plate discipline, hit with a little power and field his position enough so he is better than anyone we currently have, he would have a nice start to a ML career. What a nice lineup that could be: Pedey/Rutledge Bennintendi/Young Bogaerts Betts Moreland/Travis Rameriz/Young/Moreland JBJ Devers/Rutledge Leon/Vazquez I am hoping Handley gets hot. Watching his at bats shows me he has good plate discipline but is just missing the pitches (lot of fouls), so may not be seeing it well. That or possibly the shoulder is more of a problem than we know. It is worth waiting as he is a 235 pound vedry strong player and capable of much more.

Other new information to me is that Moreland has a broken toe and Travis was brought up to give him a rest. With Travis up and Pablo down for who knows how long (10 days minimum) and Farrell talking about him needing a rehab assignment, Its likely to be until after the all star break. By then, maybe Devers will be up and Marrero down. That might be our best chance at having a good hitting lineup all the way across the order and with even the subs. Of course Handley has to get over his long cold spell for that to happen. Hope the team comes through for Sale tonight as he deserves support.