oldtimer

If I was sending someone down it would be Rutledge upon the return of Pedey. If we lose him so be it.

I think the kid will eventually hit 280 or better this year and hit at least 15 HR. This slump won't last much longer.

If performance is rewarded, Vaz shoulld remain the #1 catcher but Leon is still a valuable guy to come in and give Vaz a rest, especially against some tough right handers.

Just watched the Yankees pound the Blue Jays 7 to 0. They hit 4 home runs in one inning off of Grilli. Lots of action in their dugout. These guys are having fun and have a lot of guys who can hit with power. The alternative is our guys who seem to get up, make a quiet out and go back to the dugout with their tails between their legs. Farrell seems to lack emotion as well. Comeon guys, play with some fire and spirit.

Last night we faced a pitcher who was clobbered last time out by Houston, while we didn't hit him well at all. Well, Moreland goes for high fastballs and doesn't get them. He saw those last night. Leon doesn't do well on outside fastballs and he got those. Marrero is a light hitter, Rutledge is a light hitter at best, Rameriz is off, perhaps due to a sore shoulder and Beni is slumping badly, taking good pitches and missing too often for him. That puts great pressure on Bogaerts, Betts and Bradley. Sandoval hit a homerun, but he is a free swinger and is not likely to get on base that often. With Pedey out temporarily, we need to put guys in that are hot. Travis sat last night when one big hit might have helped. Young never got in either. I know there is no magic elixer but please use the tools we do have to give us more of a chance. There is a real quandry now with both 2nd and 3rd in the hands of light hitters. We can't get relief from d'Arnaud (why did we pick him up in the first place?). I'm for making a move, whether it is Devers up and Rutledge down, or a pickup from outside. Maybe it's all the unfortunate high salaries the Sox are carrying, but the FO seems unable to make moves to improve the team.

Pablo did hit a home run tonight and made a fielding play. To me he looks like he has gained back a little weight, which is also something to watch with him. I feel the same way about Moreland. He is no long term solution and maybe Travis will be.

Another loss to Baltimore against a pitcher who got torched by Houston. It's the hitting or lack there of that is the problem. Too many are just holes in the lineup right now, and it is hard to win with only a couple of guys hiitting. I guess it was hard to use Young and Travis but at least they might make contact. The time to act is here.

The way hanley has been hitting, Pablo could platoon as DH with him. His first game back in that role was encouraging. Hard to swallow we would tie up $40 mil a year for the DH/pinch hitting role. If we find ourselves in the middle of the pack at the all star break, I would think the club would bring up our best young players and let them play. Devers and Travis along with our other youth. That way we could get a feel for what we may need next year.

Yes, he twisted a knee while getting ready last night. It may explain why he got hit as hard as he did.

Yes, and we had hopes for Beni, which haven't materialized in the past month but may still come back shortly. Farrell has to put players where they can succeed defensively and then has to find a way to work his hotter bats into the lineup.

We just haven't had the club hitting well together. It has been and either/or thing. Beni and Hanley have both been missing of late. Travis has been hot and should be kept in the lineup, giving are colder hitters time to sit. Maybe sitting Hanley for a game or two to get his shoulder time to get better would help in the long run.

Yes third base has been a position where we have chronnically underachieved. Marrero has been solid defensively, something we couldn't claim for any of the other 5. The team problems appear to go deeper. Hanley appears to be injured to some degree and in a slump. Beni, who we expected to be a consistent on base guy appears to have lost his mojo temporarily. So where will the runs come from? Tonight Miley seems to have befuddled everyone other than Travis. Its coming back to the Sox need some reliable bats. Something needs to stir up this group of players. Miley isn't that good.

Well said. The manager should also impart a positive attitude instead of just being impassive in the dugout.

We are winning with the happy circumstance that our rotation is coming along and seems somewhat set for the time being. Yes, we still need to strengthen the relief, especially in the bridge to Kimbrel but we are holding our own on the road. A problem area is developing with Beni, who I had expected to hit close to 300 is in a slump along with Handley. Pablo had a good night DHing so is it possible we could have a $40 million DH this season? The good news is jbJ has been getting some important hits and Bogaerts looks like an all star. NO worry about Betts either.

Bradley is struggling but he is a great defensive outfielder and we could not get a replacement as good. I agree, concentrate on fixing our main weaknesses.

When things seem to be going better, it is smart to stay with the status quo.

One answer is that so many people are not smart.

Having Hanley in the lineup and hitting with some authority would go a long way toward solving our current lack of power. Problem is he remains injured and I wonder about how motivated he is as well. Without him producing, our next most likely power bat currently in the lineup is Bradley in my opinion. Maybe his season is about to turn more positive. If we do go after a big bat, we have to be careful not to make another high cost mistake. Just looking at the Rangers, who also have a high payroll, they have Odur, Napoli and Gallo all hitting in the 200 range or below. I think Frazier also falls into that range. Do we really want a 190 hitter who gets 25 home runs for the year? Whoever we get should be able to be plugged into 3rd base as that is our weakest current position. Marrero has solved the fielding issue but will never be a solid hitter. Devers is close and a low cost possibility. The FO doesn't think he is ready yet so who does that leave? Going back to the preseason, some of our astute posters thought Holt should be traded as his value to other teams was greater than to us. We hesitated to make that move and lost as Holt is just another injured player with a questionable future. Looking at what we have as trade bait, and it isn't much and we also need relief pitching and possibly a 5th starter (4th if Price doesn't make it back).

With the top four in the lineup seemingly producing now and little power in the lineup, I would keep Moreland, who is doing fairly well for the money, and try to find a 3rd base solutiion separately. Either try Devers now, which I advocate, or get a decent solution. Trouble is, anyone decent is probably big bucks and perhaps a further impact on our minors. We also are not where we should be at center and have a glaring lack of depth in the pen. Henbree has been awful of late and Scott not a lot better. With Thornburg and Smith both out long term, what can Farrell do?

At least the Sox are making a move. I suppose he can be platooned and also offer some PH when not in the game.

There is a school of thought that suggests the Red Sox haven't played to their potential. The incidents with both Pedroia and Pomeranz seemingly in disagreement with Farrell are cauusing speculation that a change is needed. Its not clear tht there is an alternative out there that would be an improvement. Trading away valuable and now scarce resources for an expensive and underperforming power hitting doesn't sound reasonable to me. Changing management during the season, especially when no clear choice is available also doesn't sound reasonable.

Now they are talking about Todd Frazier in a trade. He is an average fielder and is off to a miserable start at the plate. Why make that kind of trade instead of just bringing Devers up and giving him a try?

I assume, and maybe not fairly, that JF had lots of input into the formulation of this years team. If so, then if it is hard for him, then it is a least partially his own doing.

Well, we got beaten again by a club with a poor record because we didn't hit or at least score runs. Is this team heading for a poor finish? It sure looks that way. We really have 3 starting pitchers and a short bullpen. Price remains a question mark in my mind. None of this is encouraging. We do have some talent but we need more power in the lineup. Probably too soon to rely on Devers to provide that. Maybe we will have to have a lot of patience this year and reform the team next season with a new manager and a lineup with major revisions.