oldtimer

I also think consideration of catcher as an issue is a realistic assessment. We do have Swihart so maybe we can improve things from within.

So in your opinion, managers don't have any responsibility for the way the team plays? All that happens comes down to random chance?

I wonder about the sports writers bringing up Ian Desmond as a possibility for the Sox. He has been a shortstop but probably would be considered for a short term contract for 3rd base. Be interesting to see how many options are considered and will any of them bear fruit.

I think it was Albert Einstein that said Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is a definition of insanity. Let us hope we can make the necessary improvements so we can get better results in 2017. We only have this core group of strong young players for the next few years. The time to move forward is now.

Several of us including Moon have been hoping for more of a role for Marco. Maybe 2017 he can graduate into at least a solid utility player for us and get more opportunities.

I am a big supporter of JBJ as right up there with the best CF's defensively and I see a lot of hope with his offense as well. What he needs to do is to try a more compact swing. No doubt the coaches are working with him on that aspect. I would be very pleased to see JBJ return as our CF next year.

To my eyes, JBJ has looked great defensively. He gets a great jump, has the speed to reach most balls and has a very strong and accurate arm. Maybe what hurts some of his ratings is his tendency to try to make a great throw when no chance exits.

Maybe leon should give up switch hitting?

I have very little hope that Sandoval can successfully return to 3rd base with mainly his defense suspect and with a year of rust it can only be hoped that he can back to hitting at an acceptable level. I agree that Shaw is a much better fielder but we would have to accept his less than stellar hitting at least until Moncada comes up. Of course Moncada is still unproven. As a #1 prospect, we should have reason to believe he can morph into an acceptable hitter in the ML but in his first attempt he didn't show much. I do hope he can make it up by the all star break. I definitely would use Young as a DH against LHP and Swihart against RHP provided he is not already catching. My choice of catchers would be Swihart and Velazquez.

Remember that Price has a long history of starting playoff games and has performed poorly in all his opportunities. I judged Porcello as to just have had an off day and worthy of starting a playoff again. If you can support what Buchholz will do for us as a playoff starter, then I question your judgment. E-Rod holds promise. You, seem to read a lot into my words that I didn't express.

JF was running the team and we lost 9 straight and for a variety of reasons. Proving that he didn't provide the enthusiasm or emphasis on winning and getting home field advantage is difficult but the result is and was clear. The team had gone on a winning streak prior to that and he gets partial credit for that as he gets partial credit for the near collapse. My understanding of your position is that the manager should not be accountable for team issues and failures. If that is true, what role is he playing?

To suggest that Farrell had no responsibility for losing the last 9 games we played means the manager doesn't matter in the scheme of things. The manager sets the tone and makes decisions that impact the games played. He was at least in part responsible for the outcome. Yes, Cleveland is a good team this year but we were swept by the Yankees and Blue Jays just before Cleveland. We weren't playing good ball at the end. I wouldn't mind going in a different direction although that has its risks as well.

If we are fortunate enough to return to the playoffs, we need to think of who are starters could be. Porcello had a bad start but has the talent for the playoffs. I see E-Rod as a second likely starter in the playoffs but Price hasn't shown that ability nor really has Buchholz. Probably not Pomeranz and starting a knuckle baller in the playoffs would be unique. What speaks to me is that we need to get that ace starter and we know the price would be high in prospects and maybe even 25 man roster personnel. In the end, if we can't improve our starting pitching we probably can't advance in the playoffs.

There is a very real chance that either Holt, Shaw, Swihart or Hernandez could be lost in trade deals for more pitching or even to get a DH. I wouldn't trade Moncada as I believe he will become a regular position player sometime in 2017 (probably to fill our need at 3rd). We probably can't trade Pablo, so may use him at DH or 1st, to fill a need. I wouldn't expect Swihart to play 3rd at all during the season but we may try to keep him based on his versatility (catcher, outfield, possibly 1st). My own guess at PT at 3rd: Opening day: Holt 50% Shaw 40% Moncada 10% Most 3rd base innings by years end" Moncada 60% Holt 30 % Shaw 10% All that could easily change if we trade away players like Holt or Shaw

I am a big proponent of speed and defense from the lineup players. Since the regular season is such a grind, I also like durable players (usually meaning in their 20's). In Bogaerts we have an infielder who has decent range and is solid at defense, not GG level but good. He has been durable and hits well. Iglesias has not been durable. Third is the issue. If Moncada comes along, a big if, then we have a young 5 tool player at third are are set at all positions except maybe catcher. It may be the smartest move to nurture Moncada and keep Shaw or Hernandez until he comes along. We do have 4 candidates at catcher to choose from. Leon has lost some of the attractiveness so I would keep an open mind on promoting any of our 4 to the starting role. JBJ is coming into his own as a GG level defender, with speed and durability. Everyone would be done a big favor if he worked on his swing mechanics to develop a compact swing where he could emphasize contact over power. During the regular season, a player may get weak pitching often enough to put up impressive power numbers, but in the playoffs, we are seeing again this year that there are few weak pitchers and the big swingers are being held down.

Price has value to the team as a guy who will win a lot of games and eat a lot of innings, being very durable. What he doesn't seem to be is a playoff pitcher. Porcello should have been but his last two starts were lamentable. Hard to know why. Very possibly, if we get to the playoffs next season, Porcello will be our game 1 playoff starter and E-Rod our game 2 starter unless DD finds a value trade for top starting talent.

Well, Ben has been hired by others. Lets see how well he does in his new position. I like him where he is now so he can't make the acquisitions he got for the Sox. I do give him credit for holding on to his young stars in the making though.

I thought Petrocelli played 3rd base for the Sox. A friend of mine played on the same team with him in the minors and he remembers him as a 3rd baseman.

That power hitting BJ lineup has managed only 3 runs in 3 games. Run production in the playoffs is a different animal. Guys like EE may help get you there but are just another weak bat in the playoffs.

But there are plenty of rosters out there that will guarantee you don't win a championship. I don't want the Sox to have one of those.

We are busy considering pitching moves we might make for the coming year. The area of starting pitching is one where we have elements of a decent staff. When considering changes, I would assume we are planning on keeping the format of 5 starters and 7 relievers. With half the games played at Fenway, I would think that would favor a right hand pitching bias due to park dimensions. We have Porcello, Price, Wright, E-Rod and Pomeranz with Buchholz as a possible as well. Since it is very unlikely that we can go through and entire season without some injuries to starters, we do need starting depth, whether it be expressed as a long reliever or from AAA or both. I think we also understand that the regular season and playoffs, if we are so fortunate to make it in 2017 require somewhat different talents so we need to consider that when we look for acquisitions through trades or FA's. Since the FA market is not strong this year, the trade market is probably our best bet. During the regular season, it is important to have inning eaters, starters who can often go 7 or more innings and by doing so reduce the wear and tear on the BP. Based on 2016 we may have 3 of those. Porcello was excellent in that regard, Price is a workhorse and Wright (if he can return to form) is also capable of going deep into games. E-Rod showed signs of really coming on but still is more of a 6 inning guy and Pomeranz may do well starting the season fresh and rested. Buchholz didn't really show the capability to stay in games. So, in my view, we have 5 likely starters, although 3 of those are left handed, (not optimum at Fenway). Buchholz or Pomeranz might be looked at as long relievers with a likelihood of picking up as starters should anyone get hurt. In the playoffs, our starters didn't fare so well. Porcello went away from his two seamer and may yet show his ability to win in the playoffs. Price has had a lot of chances and was unable to win a game in many tries. We didn't get a chance to try wright and E-Rod may have had that potential, we just didn't get far enough to see. Going forward, I would be looking to add Quintana over Sale, if possible and would be willing to cut Buchholz loose or even Pomeranz, but not E-Rod, Porcello, Price (not possible anyway) or Wright. I am assuming Quintana could bolster both the regular season and playoff pitching staff. I would think finding a long reliever if we lose Buch and/or Pom would be easy enough. We still have some young arms in AAA ball and should keep our best there for potential starting roles should our starters get disabled during the season. Having a main rotation of Porcello, Quintana, Price, E-Rod and Wright would give the Sox one of the best in baseball and some of the AAA kids are improving as backups.

Yes, 3rd base is the main question. I have read elsewhere that we might try to resign Ziegler. Sounds reasonable.

I agree that E-Rod is too big a price to pay as he may well morph into our #2 or #3 starter next year. Buch would be okay or Pom more reluctantly. We do have to give something to get something, but if Sale doesn't stay sound for several years and E-Rod does, it would turn into a bad trade.

I have been mulling over the question of how difficult it is to be a hitter in the majors and came up with some thoughts below. How they apply to our guys is hard to say but it is interesting in my view. My thoughts are below: Hitting at the ML Level To become a ML player, a guy has to demonstrate capability in all phases of the game and to go through a gauntlet of competitive play at minor league play along with whatever other play to earn a chance to move up to the majors. That culls out a lot of athletes and leaves a few. Among those are players that have exceptional vision, hand eye coordination and an emotional makeup that allows them to hit a baseball under difficult circumstances. Those that can do the rest and hit are rare individuals, and those who have learned to stay balanced and make a short but hard swing are rarer still. So what do hitters today face while hitting? 4 seam fastballs ranging up to and above 100 mph with movement 2 seam fastballs that tend to sink in the zone Cut fastballs that bear in on the hitter Sliders that move away from the hitter Splitters which look like a fastball but make sudden moves that are generally down Curveballs which break sharply away from a batter Forkballs which mover toward and then away from the batter Knuckle balls which are very unpredictable in their movement ML pitchers may have three or four of these in their arsenal, they can mix them up and those that command them can hit the corners or tempt hitter with balls close to the strike zone. Starters may only be expected to last 6 or 7 innings, at which time a new pitcher is brought in with a new set of pitches, a fresh arm, etc. Pitchers also can be brought in for favorable matchups based on the left handedness, or what statistics reveal is favorable. Since statistics are kept on all hitters, their weaknesses are known by the opposing staffs and become available for exploitation. Pitchers also use deceptive motions. Side-winding, under-handing, over the top, looking back, hesitation and a bunch of others are used to disrupt the timing and balls thrown at or near the hitter are also options to unsettle the hitter. With some pitchers standing 6’6” or more, their release point is a lot closer to the hitter than the rubber to the plate which leaves only tenths of a second to recognize and get the bat through the zone. The reality is the hitter has to be looking for a pitch and recognize whether it will be a strike or a ball near to the release point. The wonder is that you have guys that make contact enough to carry a 300 or above average, even when the defense on the field is so good. I maintain that guys with a compact swing have the best likelihood of being a consistent hitter, but so much of it is also raw ability, quick reflexes, good hand eye coordination, the ability to stay cool under pressure, that many different styles can be seen being effective. Bottom line: If you have a good hitter, keep him because they are so hard to find.

Watching the championship series just confirms that pitching and defense overcomes offensive prowess. The Guardians and Blue Jays and one of the Dodgers and Cubs games have been very low scoring. Keep that in mind before going in big for an expensive FA bat for a long term contract. He might help a team reach the playoffs but is just another hitter once against playoff pitching. Best to find or train top notch pitchers, both as starters and RP's. Also, find and keep the best defenders you can get. Hopefully, the hitters we have can play good defense. Something to think about when discussing JBJ as a trade possibility. One random point is that Leon is a decent defender but is listed at 5'10", 225 lbs and is probably 235 lbs. He is very slow and may have durability issues behind the plate playing at what is clearly an overweight situation. Taken with his hitting malaise over the last part of the season, I think we would do better to look for a different solution, whether it be Swihart and Vazquez or some other.