oldtimer

10/5/2016 Red Sox Team Projections for 2017 The Red Sox will need to revamp some of the lineup next season with the retirement of Ortiz and the lack of performance at 3rd base. Also the Sox lack depth for at PH. I did some thinking and listed the Sox in terms of importance to the team and perhaps I am being harsh, but so be it. Lineup Keepers: 1. Betts All around player, MVP candidate and good team mate. 2. Pedroia Very good fielder, excellent hitter and team captain material 3. Bogaerts Very good fielder, expected 300 hitter and very durable 4. Rameriz Acceptable fielder, probable 280 streaky hitter with much needed power 5. Bradley Gold glove outfielder with maybe a 270 avg and some power 6. Benintendi Solid young outfielder with probable solid BA and good speed, top of the order type 7. Young Good defensive outfielder and good hitter against lefties Marginal Players: 1. Leon Good defensive catcher, hitting may fall to 250ish avg, overweight and DP in waiting 2. Hernandez Good utility infielder, young, strong and fast with good hitting approach 3. Vazquez Good defensive catcher with so far 220ish avg potential 4. Holt Good utility player who tends to wear down over season 5. Shaw Good fielder at either 1st or 3rd but unimpressive hitter Probably Won’t be Here Next Year but tradable: 1. Hill Decent fielder but unimpressive hitter 2. Holaday Decent catcher but again unimpressive hitter 3. Marrero Utility infielder/outfielder but unimpressive hitter 4. Hannigan Decent catcher but very weak hitter Prospects Currently On Board With a Chance of Making the Team 1. Swihart Good young talent who can play OF, 1st, catcher and PH. 2. Moncada Hot prospect but needs to develop. Maybe later in year 3. Sandoval High salaried guy with ML experience who needs to show determination 4. Rutledge Possible returner since he might fit the 3rd base needs. A long shot at this point 5. Devers Another possible 3rd base prospect with some power. 6. Travis Probably needs time to recover from off year and major injury This team for 2017 is marginal at catcher, is missing a DH and is weak at 3rd base. We really could use a power bat as our competitors currently have more than we do in that way. I need to think more about the pitching, especially in the relief area.

No one seems to care much about where players bat in the order, but I think grouping your best hitters together is the best bet for scoring. From that point of view I have noticed the recent move of Holt to the 2 spot hasn't resulted in the team scoring. It could just be an aberration based on a small sample or having faced especially good pitching in that period. I wonder if Beni would be better in the 2 spot with Holt moved back.

That way you only need to bat your eight best. Sounds good to me.

We must not have some information that the coaches are basing their selections on with regard to Hernandez. He a big strong kid and can field and has a good arm, otherwise, why would he be the logical sub for SS. He looks composed at the plate as well. He has also been used as a pinch runner so he has good speed and they trust his judgment enough to use him in that way. it is a mystery to me as well.

If they get into a brawl, at least it will be a fair fight. Funny how so many of the field players are small while the pitchers are so tall.

The Sox may have the lineup with the most shorter players to start in the ALDS. I quote from the roster although actual heights may be less. Pedroia 5'9" Betts 5'9" Vazquez 5'9" Leon 5'10" Holt 5'10" Beni 5'10" JBJ 5'10" That makes 6 of our 9 starters 5'10" or shorter. I don't know what the significance of that may be (smaller strike zone?, Less power?). Just kind of a striking feature of our team.

And them there is home cooking.

I\ I agree that 11 pitchers are enough. If one is injured, another can be brought up. My first addition to the pitching list would be Pom, but I don't see who we would drop off the list so unless we go with `12 pitchers he may be out. At Catcher, I think we are weak in the hitting department, with Leon in a slump and none of the others big hitters. They are the guys you pinch hit for, not use as pinch hitters. We really have no solid pinch hitters except for whichever of our left fielders doesn't start. Maybe Hernandez but as you point out, how sharp can he be? I think we are going with Leon and Holaday even though Vazquez is a really superior defensive presence. Our outfield lineup is clearly Betts, Bradley and Beni/Young. I am a little concerned that Bradley is in a bit of a slump but he is our guy in center. DH is Ortiz It looks clear that Rameriz, Pedroia, Bogaerts and Holt will start in the infield as Holt has been consistently used by JF and since our options at 3rd base are not so good. That leaves three players to select. Personally I am on board with you about Hernandez. He might be a better infielder than Holt but has not started at 3rd but offers backup as an infielder in general, can pinch run and can pinch hit. The final two are you pick them from the list of Shaw, Hill and Vazquez/Holaday. I don't think the idea of carrying 3 catchers is necessary since we really only have a single quality pinch hitter (Young or Beni) available on any given night. Hernandez might pinch hit but would he over much of an advantage over the guy he would replace. Too bad we have no other big bat in reserve in the minors but who would that be? Sandoval? I doubt if he is in consideration and neither should Moncada be.

I think we now know the lineup for the Playoffs will start Holt at 3rd with possibly the left field slot being shared between Beni and Holt. When will the playoff roster for the first series be announced, or will we have to tune into the first game to find out?

I am thinking of 6 more years at $30 mil a year. I just hope we don't do a long term high money deal for another ageing starter because they probably can't hold up for as long and the ability diminishes with tons of innings and years. Price was good this year and may be for a couple of more but I doubt he can hang in there for more than that.

Price went today. He is a workhorse and has a lot of innings this year and in the past. He, like other pitchers, lose something over time and with use. Hopefully they get smarter and make up for the loss of velocity. Price was very cautious today trying not to give in to hitters. He got good defensive support but he wound up giving more walks than normal and they do hit him a little more. The result he was used up after just 5 innings and we went to our BP who also did well. The bottom line is I doubt if Price can be that dominant starter we would like to have. He may be good enough to win, but we will have to generate more offense to allow him to win.

Not totally meaningless as our loss of 5 of the last 6 has cost us home field advantage. We saw playoff ball today with good pitching and a 2 to 1 result. My view is that when in games like today's we have to think about small ball with the stolen base and bunting taking a part. We also need to execute when attempting these things. Even so, we still can lose, as we did today.

We have lost 4 of the last 5 which is certainly not going into the playoffs on a high note. Thank Kimbrel for one of those and possibly 2 if you think we could have won the game last night with Ortiz out of the lineup after 2 ABs. Farrell gets one for indifference and Price gets one for a weak performance. We have JBJ, Leon and Hanley in slumps so pull out of it guys and contribute.

That's at least a try at fixing the problem. Kelly throws as hard and is on the plate but only really has two good pitches at this point. The Red Sox were making the excuse that Kimbrel's posture was off and that he knew about it and was improving but not enough clearly in the last game. Sounds like a guy with his experience would have been working on it more effectively since he has now been off the last 3 times out.

Beni got in as a pinch hitter for one at bat in the ninth. He put up a good at bat against a guy with good heat and battled him until finally putting a ball in play down in the corner which was unfortunately caught. Still impressed with this kid at the plate.

Playoff baseball fast approaching. Top notch starting pitching will be run out and the best relievers to keep the games close. October weather can be on the nippy side so we can't have our closer doing his best impression of Rick Ankiel. What to do? We already are in jeopardy of losing home field advantage to Cleveland. We need Kimbrel to step up or we need and alternative.

I agree that we could use a third baseman free agent and Turner is a reasonable FA to go after to bridge the gap until we can develop a rookie. Will that be Moncada or Devers? I don't have an answer there as both could use more development. The answer to which rookie would impact who we could trade to get pitching.The other question is what to do with Sandoval and could he bridge the gap. I am not a big Sandoval supporter here, but his salary means he has to be considered. At 32 now Turner probably has a couple of good years left in him but would have to make the switch to the American league I like the idea of trading for Quintana if we can do so without stripping the team of too many of the solid prospects. I know it will take a lot to get him and he will be sought after by many teams with offers of their own. Giving up 3 of our 4 top pitching prospects is a lot, even if we get Robertson as well. I would rather trade one or two of our ML pitchers, say Barnes and Abad, and one pitching prospect. Also, I would find it difficult to let go of a 5 tool prospect without trying harder to develop him. Basabe has a high potential as well if he can fill out a little. Swihart I would reluctantly let go of and possibly Devers. I have trust in DD as a leader who will

True, but on the other hand managers often bring in relievers based on matchups, lefty on lefty and so on. When the lineup has with many of righties or lefties in a row, it makes it easier for the manager to match up. The Blue Jays are constructed that way. The Guardians have a lot of switch hitters and are not so easy. Of course you need quality hitters not just matchups. I believe every team sets their lineups up with table setter types followed by power hitters to try and produce the maximum runs. They also want to get their best hitters up the most often possible in a game so they bat them early in a game to maximize their AB's. There are time tested strategies that do work.

We are getting very close to the announcement of the initial series playoff roster. As it stands today, I expect the roster to look close to my list below. Most picks are obvious but a few will take some head scratching: Pitchers: Porcello, Price, Rodriguez, Buchholz, Kimbrel, Uehara, Ross, Ziegler, Kelly, Tazawa, Scott If they take 12 (between Pomeranz and Barnes) Catchers: Leon, (between Holaday, Vazquez) Infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Rameriz, Hernandez, ( between Shaw, Hill) Outfielders: Benintendi, Betts, Bradley, Young, Holt (infield/outfield utility) DH: Ortiz If 11 pitchers they could pick from the two remaining on list for the 14th field player. NO great choice there as none are hitting that well.

You certainly are willing to give up a lot. Hope DD is not so generous.

I'll bet that JF and his coaches are doing just the kind of tradeoff thinking that I rambled through and more.

When you look at the current alternatives (Shaw, Hill, Holt, Hernandez, Marerro and Moncada) none look attractive as the starting 3rd baseman at the beginning of the year. Holt could hold that down but then is lost as a utility player adding flexibility to the team. Moncada is not ready as yet. Sandoval at least has some chance but has to go a long way to prove he belongs again. His salary is of course a motivator.

Ortiz comes through again to make a further case for his consideration. As a DH, he lacks the contribution on the field but his clubhouse presence is also valuable. It is a great team that can have 2 players under real consideration for MVP. I side with those who believe it should be Mookie due to his contributions at the plate, running, fielding and with his arm. Pedey is a great and valuable player, but a cut below his two team mates in consideration for MVP.

Kimbrel closed again tonight with a 2 run lead. He seems to have difficulty throwing strikes consistently, getting ahead and then throwing a strike when he needs to. I had speculated that maybe the mound at Yankee stadium through him off but tonights against the Blue Jays he walked 2 to put the going ahead run at the plate, so I guess is that we either win or lose with Kimbrel and his inconsistencies. To be fair to him, the umpire did not five him a strike nor actually Uehara a strike for the same location, which the K gun indicated was a strike. That said, a pitcher shouldn't put himself in a position to need a call like that, because he has nibbled to put the count at 3 and 2.

Maybe this is the best place for discussion of the lineup going into the post season based on the game against the Blue Jays tonight. JF went with Holt in the two spot replacing Bogaerts. In addition, he moved Betts to 3rd in the order and pushed Ortiz to 4th. This has the impact of having righty/lefty through to Hanley. Bogaerts moved on behind Hanley. On the surface this looks interesting as Shaw has moved out of the starting lineup. In addition, Mookie has seemed to lose power over the last period so putting him up ahead of Ortiz as still a great hitter but more of a speedy on base guy seems smart. One problem though is Holt may not be optimum at 3rd in that me didn't make a couple of fielding plays perhaps a Shaw would have made. It's just a case of trying to optimize results and Holt is the better hitter. Clearly Benintendi has been a great addition to the lineup, starting the damage in the 4 run inning tonight with a nice double and then getting on again with an infield hit based on his good speed. He may also offer an option for top of the order instead of Holt. At this point though we have Hanley cooling off from his great production of only a week or so ago and JBJ dangerous but not producing regularly. I think Bogaerts is starting to hit again although he is still getting fooled too often. Great win for the Sox and congratulations to Ortiz for coming through in the clutch yet again. He hit the ball well tonight with 2 hits, 3 RBI and another liner that was caught on an excellent play.Pedroia also looked very good tonight.