oldtimer

The Sox could have clinched tonight but Price was getting hit hard and was left in too darn long. Also Ortiz, Betts and Hanley couldn't get a hit and had ample opportunities to drive players in. The time to clinch was tonight but we frittered away the many opportunities to do so. We used up some of our bullpen as well when the horse already left the barn. Pedey, Bogaerts and Beni certainly hitting well. Hope we get more aggressive and go for the win hard tomorrow.

Hill helped himself with the homer tonight. He may make the roster.

Price wasn't solid tonight leaving many balls in the zone and the Yankees were hitting him. I expected JF to go the bullpen in the 6th after one of many first up hits. Farrel didn't look like he was managing to win and left him in one batter too long. Price can pitch but is having trouble leaving fastballs belt high in the middle of the plate. Major league hitters can hit those hard and did tonight.

Another very good night for him with a single, double, run scored and a ball hit to the center field wall (a long distance in Yankee Stadium) and a strikeout. The strikeout was on a tough curve by Tommy Layne.

My assumption is that JF will experiment with the roster in subtle ways. He wants to win the AL East of course and even to get home field advantage, but the lineups he uses during the next 6 games should hint at who will make the playoff roster. Most players are settled already of course, but it is the fringe players who will be chosen late who we are looking at. As said earlier in this thread, it is a choice from the three catchers, Hill, Hernandez, and Moncada for field players. In the pitching area it may be a choice between Scott and Abad and Kelly is probably in so Barnes may not make it and Hembree had a good night recently but he or Tazawa may not make it. With 11 pitchers it is pretty restrictive. Price, Porcello, Pomeranz, Buchholz, Kimbrell, Uehara, Ross and Ziegler look like locks so there is room for. Kelly, (Scott, Abad, Henbree, Barnes, Tazawa). Maybe JF will go with 12 pitchers to ease the choice a little.

I think Bogey will get it together. He can handle the inside pitch and perhaps is just worn down and he has to adjust to some new approach they are using on him. Beni will have to be very good to surpass Bogey.

The real issue is that the Sox don't have much hitting depth after the lineup and Young/Holt. With both Shaw and Leon in deep slumps, we have to settle between Holaday, Hernandez, Hill and Vaz. Of those I would take Hernandez and Holaday although neither are boppers. At least they make contact.

Shaw has to show some modicum of hitting or why have him in the lineup. Yesterday it was 3 strikeouts in 4 trips. Pretty terrible for a guy to go as many days without not only hitting but barely making contact.

Did anyone else notice the really nasty piece in the NY Daily News throwing cold water on honoring David Ortiz at Yankee Stadium. Essentially it said Jeter and Rivera were worthy of being honored but Ortiz was not. Pointing out his bat flips and slow home run trots and claiming he is an admitted steroid user. Apparently forgetting there was some substance in some medication he took but he was not a steroid user like their A-Rod. All these tested years he has continued to produce numbers and he has been one of the most tested guys in the league. Very ungracious of the NY Daily News and their sports writer. I suppose it is typical of Yankee fans but I hope not.

Beni worked three walks and flied out to right field. Hanley, Shaw and Young did nothing at bat facing the same pitching. This kid appears to be the real thing out there.

In a different thread, I was considered the options for who starts at 3rd in the playoffs. I can't see Shaw, Hill, Moncada or Sandoval. None of these guys is as legitimate as Holt. One question I asked is why not try Hernandez there? If JF has any thought of that he should audition Hernandez is some of the remaining games. I would add Hernandez to the list of potential 3rd basemen for next season, along with Devers.

The most difficult decision for JF going into the playoffs is what to do about 3rd base. As I see it, you have choices that can be summed up as follows: 1. Use a guy who hasn't got a hit in virtually a fortnight because he is a decent defender and can be used at 1st base. 2. Use a guy who went 0-21 recently and seldom gets a hit but is also a decent defender 3. Use a key utility guy who can hit at a major league level and has recently shown that ability. 4. Use a rookie who appeared to be absolutely unready in his short time of play. 5. Use a guy who hasn't been used much but may fit the bill and looks like a composed hitter at the plate. Not much experience there. If it was me I would probably go with option 3 (Holt). If not him, I would be interested enough in option 5 to play him during the last 6 games and see what he can do. (Hernandez). Option 1 (Shaw), hasn't been hitting at all. Option 2 (Hill0 also doesn't hit well at all. Option 4 (Moncada) appears out of the question. I didn't even include an option 6 for a player with no PT this year coming back from injury and out of shape (Panda). What I don't understand is why Hernandez hasn't got a look.

Back to the title subject is who will be on the playoff roster. Today's game seemed to be one more audition for the playoffs with JF getting looks at a slightly different lineup, while resting other players. Bradley and Leon got the rest today while Shaw was back in with Young and Benintendi in the outfield and Vaz behind the plate. If I was on the fence about who would be on my playoff roster, Shaw went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts (not so good). Young took the collar as well, while Beni walked 3 times and flew out to right in 4 AB's. Vaz got a double. I don't doubt that Beni and Young are on the playoff team, and Shaw continues his poor hitting but will no doubt make it since there is so little competition for the job. Vaz is the one most in question. I guessing it is Leon and Holaday but easily could be wrong there. It will be interesting to see how JF structures his team lineups for the next 6 games. I wonder how many he has up in the air. Abad was not solid today so perhaps Scott will be the lefty we got with behind Ross. Kelly did the job and may have solidified a spot on the playoff roster.

GM's tends to copy what works in the successful teams. That means the Sox approach will be looked at and copied where possible. But what really is special about the Sox, and can they recognize what has gotten them to this stage of success in the strong East? We have a strong cadre of talented outfielders and young players who are excellent both defensively and at the plate. The lesson there is don't trade away your good young prospects and players to land questionable experienced guys. We resisted the tendency to go for big names and kept our young talent. Takeaway? Don't trade Swihart, Devers or Moncada. They may be next years Betts, Bradley, Bogaerts. I don't think the Sox are that different than other teams in trying to retain a cadre of quality veteran players to solidify the young talent into a cohesive team. I guess one difference is we were fortunate to have Ortiz who has been a one of a kind talent, even at 40 years old. In the pitching arena, I think that having a GM that is willing to act and to get value in any trade is the Red Sox forte. The acquisition of Kimbrel, Pomeranz, Price, Ziegler and Abad were good moves. Pomeranz is likely to be a more dependable starter and get more innings next year as he will come in fresh. Abad has the stuff but to date hasn't shown his potential. The book is out on him.

For some reason, Hernandez is never mentioned as an option at 3rd yet we know he is a potential sub at short. He is young, 6', 200 # and looks composed at the plate. I wonder what the problem is with considering him over Pablo, who shouldn't even be in the conversation.

I tend to agree with this approach although I wouldn't be looking strictly for a DH, but instead a guy who could play third or first and also be a decent hitter. My goal would be to keep the length of contract down to a year or two if possible so we don't repeat some of our past mistakes. We can use pitching and I can see the need for 2 RP's and if a SP comes available that could help us at any reasonable contractual basis, it would be good if we are flexible enough financially to go for it.

Well, Pedroria hit tonight so no rest was given but good to see him come out of the slump. JF also sat Shaw tonight. Maybe the threat of not playing will light a fire under him.

Another win tonight cuts the magic number to three. A couple of comments about the lineup. First, it was great to see Pedey come out of his slump in such a meaningful way after many days of taking the collar. He has been nursing a sore knee and when he gets things going, the Sox are so much better. The second comment is not a criticism but more of a question. Why put Young in against a RH pitcher when Beni was available? I can think of several possible reasons. 1. JF wants to keep both LF's sharp for the playoffs. 2. They want Beni to rest between games to get back to 100% following his injury. 3. Young has some history of hitting the starting pitcher. 4. JF wanted more balance in the lineup at the back end, going righty/lefty, etc. As it turned out, Young didn't register a hit but that can happen to anyone. Bogey was also hitless tonight.

As important as selecting a playoff roster, which on the top is obvious anyway, is getting our better players some rest with the hope of getting them hitting where they are currently in slumps. Pedey is mired in one (rest his sore knee ASAP), Shaw only seems to hit when threatened of losing his position (play Hernandez or Holt there for a couple of days), Leon (probably could use rest). It is difficult to rest players until we clinch the division, so I hope we can get a couple of wins and Toronto a couple of losses in the next few days.

We are in a pennant chase and will soon be in the playoffs. I wouldn't experiment with Moncada. The sample we got is enough to indicate he isn't yet ready to play at the level needed. Maybe as a runner, but even there I wonder.

I am not sure what JF has against Hernandez, but admit I don't see the day to day work they do as he does. Hernandez looks composed at bat and is a good fielder so in my opinion didn't get as many opportunities as were warranted by the poor hitting of Shaw and Hill. Hernandez may turn out to be a utility player for us next year.

Instead of who? Hill

He is having an incredible year, period!

You have to remember that Mookie lead off for much of the year and did a very good job of that.

Repeating some of my earlier comments, I wonder if Scott is a better choice to get out that one left hander than Abad who doesn't seem to get it done despite fairly good stuff. Tazawa vs Kelly or Barnes is also a question in my mind. Holaday has gotten a few hits recently whereas Hannigan seems to be a lost cause at the bat. We also need to consider possible pinch hitting. I really don't like Hill on the playoff roster but have trouble making suggestions since no other one we have is capable there. Moncada to run? Hard to put him in after his very weak showing. Some guys who need a rest are Pedey (0 for a lot), Shaw (also 0 for a lot) and Leon (in a slump). Maybe with the magic number at 4 we will get a chance to rest them for the playoffs.