oldtimer

The American League Championship Series is underway. Players and coaches strive during the 162 game season for the privilege of playing in it. Once there, the realism is that you might not get there again so it is time to make the most of it. Execute each pitch, each at bat, each fielding play or go home. No excuses, just execute. Last night we had our ace going but he didn't get it done. Porcello's bread and butter pitch is the sinking two seam fast ball. Hard to hit at all and really hard to get in the air. That pitch sets up his high four seamer, the changeup and the curve. Last night he started well using that pitch but for some reason went away from it. Maybe only a few for the rest of the outing, instead going with belt to shoulder level fast balls and changeups. I don't understand why he, Leon and the coaches didn't realize he had done so and correct it. Instead, he seemed mesmerized and was on his way to more than a 9.0 era for the game. Giving up so many in so few innings digs a big hole for our hitters. Speaking of our hitters, they are facing major league pitching and you can't expect them to do more than put up good at bats and have occasional hits. A number of our players did just that but our original killer bees seem to have lost their sting. Betts at least drew a walk and should be okay. Perhaps the idea of being in a playoff game made him nervous. Bradley on the other hand was taking his power cut and having trouble making any contact at all while Bogaerts looked totally lost. These guys need to get in the game and execute or else we will be out early. Leon got a home run but clearly doesn't handle the curve very well. I'm guessing he will see a lot more of those as the series progresses. The only field play I thought was not made as well as it might have been is Beni's throw to second base after making a catch in deep left. He seemed to hesitate getting the ball in perhaps thinking the runner would not try to tag and take 2nd. That resulted in a run so was important. I chalk that up to experience. Pedey, Holt, Ortiz, Hanley and Beni looked good at the plate but they need more help. Price against Kluber will be to our disadvantage so we really need to step forward or go home down two.

I like to see speed along with OBP early in the order. I believe our fastest players are Betts, Beni, Bogaerts,JBJ and Young (not ordered for speed). I don't see JBJ as an early in the order guy but the rest are good possibilities. Pedey isn't as fast but he is such a good hitter that he fits in as well. Our current Sluggers are Hanley, Betts and JBJ, so I like them behind our early order guys. Betts fits batting third very well with both speed, power and a high OBP. We may well pick up an additional slugger for 2017. I love to see Beltran in a Red Sox uniform. The really slow guys that we keep on the roster like Leon should be placed where he is less likely to hit into double plays and kill rallies. Down in the lineup with lower oBP guys ahead of him.

Any chance that Kopech will make the scene in 2017? He's got a great arm.

Beltran for a year or even two would be a positive for the team. Kind of reminds me of when the Yankees picked up Ibanez. A very good veteran with real pop. Probably a very good team player as well. Would solve the DH position.

Choice of backup catcher was more to do with defense, since none of them set themselves apart at bat. I liked Hernandez over Marrero as he looks more poised at bat, although neither has proven much in that respect at the ML level. I would have chosen Hembree over Barnes but they are similar in many ways. Tazawa being left off is a little surprise but I can't criticize who was picked instead. I like having Pomeranz as he has looked pretty good having gotten a little rest. We still are weak at 3rd base but other than that, we have our best lineup available either against lefties or righties. Now they need to execute.

I guess we have to wait for game time to see who made the 25 man roster. I too would pick Hernandez over Marrero.

I took a shot at our pitching needs. It is a difficult subject as getting rid of any of our starting pitchers carries a risk of not gaining much and incurring a lot of cost. The relief area is clearly a need. Oct 5, 2016 The pitching staff for 2017 is a difficult subject in that we already have pretty solid starters but our RPs are up in the air due to FAs and returns from injury. Those assuming we should go out and trade away solid resources for a SP should consider the advantage when compared to our current starters. My thinking rating our current flock from top to bottom is as follows: Starting Pitchers: 1. Porcello is in the running for Cy Young and deserves his accolades. He will probably have another very good year in 2017 2. Price is a workhorse. I’m not sure he will be our second best in 2017 but he should be close. His contractual agreement makes him a long term member of the Sox starting rotation. 3. Rodriguez has shown signs of really blossoming. He has a terrific arm and shows signs of being at least a 3rd starter. 4. Pomeranz will start out rested in 2017 and will likely be a winning pitcher. He may surprise us an put up very good numbers. 5. Wright is an inning eater and capable of earning a winning record. He goes long in the game so is healthy for the BP as well. That is 5 starters who are all capable of winning records with Buchholz in the BP for long relief and probably able to fill in as a full time starter should we get an injury to the top 5. Starters waiting in the minors: Some of these may be traded. I would be very hesitant to trade Kopeck and Groome as they are possibly the pitching future for the Sox. 1. Owens 2. Johnson 3. Kopech 4. Groome Relief Pitchers: With FA loss of Ziegler, Tazawa and Uehara likely, we lose the strength of our setup men and possibly closers. We need 7 RPs going into the season. My grading of them right now is kind of up in the air.The best I can see includes: 1. Kimbrel who is wild now but has great stuff. Can he ever get reliable enough to be the kind of closer that racks up a starring record? 2. Ross has proven himself to be a solid left handed option is not a true setup man. 3. Kelly is developing into a good guy to get the strikeout and stop a rally. 4. Hembree is good at times but has shown to be unreliable at others 5. The question with Smith is can be ready to return as a setup man. 6. Buchholz is a good candidate as long reliever Beyond those I see possibilities but not locks: 1. Scott looks like his effectiveness is against lefties. 2. Barnes has been questionable. 3. Abad has good stuff but hasn’t delivered in numerous chances 4. Workman is coming back from injury While the numbers are there to make up a relief cadre, I don’t like the quality. I see a lot of questions in the group starting from the top. We could use two quality guys to perform the setup roles and perhaps even inherit closer duty. I wouldn’t be sad to see us keep 5 of the top 6 and trade for two others or get them through the FA market.

Both posts are informative and excellent

Good that Hanigan and Hill are FA's. I doubt we can use them anyway. I list Sandoval and Rutledge as prospects since I see them needing to fight for a spot next year. Perhaps prospects is the wrong category but what else would you call them?

I agree and he can PH and PR. Both may be of use in the playoffs.

Was he in some way injured. The things fans don't know.

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.