oldtimer

Only innovation tonight was to move JBJ to the 9th spot. Pedey has been amazing, Bogaerts is starting to hit, Betts continues to hit and even Hanley showed some life tonight. A much needed win.

I don't blame Pedey for the injury to Beni but with runners on 2nd and 3rd, he should attempt to hit the ball to the right side. Easier said then done of course.

What happens when our best hitters get cooled off by really good pitching> Stay tuned tonight.

I don't see Hanley exhibiting the kind of contact or power we should expect at DH. He is okay at 1st base defensively but his metrics don't look great and I don't think he is a good base runner. At his age, he is likely to trend downward. The main argument for Hanley is his big contract and how difficult it would be to get any other team to take him for nearly that money. We have another big contract guy in Sandoval who might DH, but is even more iffy than Hanley. Shaw on the other hand is a relatively new player who is good defensively and has show flashes of power. Can he be helped to improve his offensive production? If so, he might be better off at first with Moncada coming along to handle 3rd. I don't think leaving a player in a position where he doesn't show much positive offensive production over a long period is good for the team. All players have slumps but when does a slump become too much for a team to bear?

Rutledge is coming off knee surgery so he might not be as sure a bet as you propose. I also wonder about Elias, otherwise I agree with your list of sure returnees. In the probably keep list, I would assume Abad is likely as he has good velocity and a great curve ball. Workman is coming back from injury so he will have to prove he belongs but has what is needed to do that. Sandoval's big contract and past competency will give him a chance to make it, but that will depend on how much he wants it. I can't see keeping Holaday and Brentz and have no opinion on Jerez and Cuevas.

I think Rutledge is still on the DL. I know he was awhile back.

With what we have seen this season, I think your assessment is interesting. I would slim down the number of options to make it more useable. C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart 1st: Shaw, Rameriz, Travis 2nd: Pedroia, Holt, Moncada SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Holt 3rd: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez RF: Betts, Benintendi, Swihart CF: JBJ, Benintendi, Betts LF: Benintendi, Swihart, Young DH: Rameriz, Swihart, Young I kept the depth chart down, but Holt would be on the list on many positions if I went to a 4th option. I am ruling Sandoval out at this time until he can prove that he belongs. Putting Moncada in is a stretch at this time but the competition for him is weak and he is the #1 or #2 player in the minors this year. I think he will make it. I would get rid of Rameriz if possible but am resigned to the fact that his salary might make a trade impossible. Rutledge, Castillo, Marrero, Hill I see as trade bait. No comment on pitching at this time.

After Betts the bottom 5 guys went 2 for 21 with 10 strikeouts. If you give Leon a bye for an off night in an otherwise strong month, then the question is what to do with the others? Your suggestion is one thought. Hill is no threat, can Hernandez be worse? With Hanley and Shaw not doing much meaningful, platooning them might help a little, but our lefties weren't hitting their right handed pitching either. We need JBJ defensively but I think he can get back to hitting better if he ditches his uppercut swing. Small sample size on Young but he looked absolutely lost in his one at bat. Holt at least looked like a major leaguer. Even Ortiz is struggling in the clutch and he is so slow the double plays are hurting. Can't move him as he is likely to win the next one. It's too close to Sept 1st to bring someone up now, so JF's hands are tied and he needs to play Buddha until some viable options arrive.

Even though they lost tonight, I didn't see what JF could have done differently to change what happened. I think he needed to stay with Wright and that will help Wright's confidence in his next start. He used Tazawa as the game was somewhat out of hand and Tazawa showed again that he looks like a tired pitcher with his velocity down. He also used Abad who showed again that he has really good stuff but sometimes tries to get too fine. Pretty good result by him. JF put his best lineup out there but some of the guys are just not hitting. Our substitutes also look weak at the plate. It doesn't look good for the Sox unless the front office and JF do something to bolster this lineup.

It was another tough night for the Sox. Unfortunately, Wright had to shake off some rust and that resulted in giving up a big 1st inning. After that, he settled down and looked like himself. The major story was how the lineup from the 5th through the 8th hitters did nothing until Hanley blooped a single in the 9th. Pedey had 4 hits and a walk, Bogaerts had 3 hits, Mookie had 5 hits and both Ortiz and Holt had one hit each. In most cases this was righty on righty so the Royals pitchers could be hit. Our middle to bottom of the lineup just doesn't look good and pinch hitters Young and Hill looked weak as well. What can be done? The only thing I noticed again that might be corrected is that JBJ has gone to an uppercut swing. From the Ted Williams book on hitting, he advocated swinging on the same plane of the ball as it comes into the plate by gravity. JBJ's approach means he needs to be right on the ball to get good wood on it. He is something like 1 for last 15 or so. He needs to get over it soon to give this team some punch in the bottom part of the order. Leon gets a bye as he has been hitting of late. Hanley still looks bad at the plate and Shaw hit one ball very hard but to straightaway center. He still might add some punch. What else can be done? I don't know other than call ups. The good news coming out of the Sox front office is that there is no structural damage to Beni's knee and it will only require the time for the swelling to go down and a rehab period. Great for the kid and good for the club.

Vazquez is around 26 years old and is a proven defensive catcher. Would he prefer to be in the majors? I can guess the answer to that one. How much more development can be expected from a guy with his experience? Bryan Holaday on the other hand is batting 174 for us so we need an improvement there. Did we bring Holaday in to catch for Pomeranz? It seems like a bad deal to me.

Since Hill has a batting average of 202, Hernandez may well be an improvement there. Hill hasn't lived up to our expectations so an eventual replacement with Moncada looks probable. The problem will still be what to do about Shaw/Rameriz

That suggestion reminds me of an old joke, "One good way to make a small fortune out of a large fortune is to go into the thoroughbred horse business". I think the same applies in Baseball. John Henry is a good owner but he has been burned several times with the likes of Allen Craig, Rusney Castillo, Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Rameriz. Pull return on investment with that crowd. As an astute businessman, he has probably learned to question his baseball people when they come to him with a proposal for an aqeing ball player or one with stability problems. Puig reminds me of that kind of player and one that would not be an asset on the team.

Holt is in a slump and has a minor injury which may be contributing to that slump. Bogaerts hasn't been able to shake out of his slump and may need a short rest. Hernandez is a SS replacement even though he may not be any better hitting than Bogaerts in his slump. Moncada is primarily thought of as a third base prospect at this time. We certainly have not gotten production out of our starters at 3rd for some time. Hill and Shaw haven't produced although Shaw did make good contact twice last night. Shaw filled in at first with Hanley at DH.

You certainly read a lot in to my comments. Since JF is managing the club, he had to know they were unlikely to score with the lineup they had last night. My view is that it is time to take action and make moves that will give the club a better chance of winning. He needs the support of the front office to do that. Of course he has to believe that things need to be done. Clearly I didn't blame JF for Beni's injury but do think he and the front office needs to be proactive in bringing up reserves that will give the club a more dynamic character. I made suggestions that I think could help. You chose to criticize any mention of JF's part in this. Do you think the club should just give up and wait til next year?

I'd also bring him up but I think it is a bad idea to put him in a key middle of the lineup position.

No doubt there were reasons for it, but the lineup the Sox put on the field today was very weak going in and did indeed waste a very good performance by Pomeranz. With Leon and Ortiz stting, run production was left to Pedey and Betts. Too much to ask of these guys. 1. Very weak hitting at catcher 2. Very weak hitting at 3rd base 3. Bogaerts in a long slump 4. Handley doing his usual with only one hit in the series. 5. Bradley slumping 6. Poor left field hitting against righties The game was bound to be a nail biter, even with good pitching by our side. No doubt guys are tired and need some rest but we essentially donated this game to Tampa Bay. Young didn't look particularly good in the field and made a running blunder as well. So what should we do going forward. 1. We have Leon so we are good there but I would bring up Vazquez. I understand he is hitting well in the minors and would make a good substitute for Leon 2. Bring up Moncada. The situation really cries for a change with Hill being weak. Could Moncada be any worse. 3. Give Bogaerts a couple of days rest and put Marco Hernandez in for him. Bogaerts isn't hitting now anyway and Hernandez is a good defensive SS. 4. Let Shaw play first and if need be substitute Hanley in against lefties. A middle or the order guy has to produce something and he is very hit or miss. Ortiz will generally fill the designated hitter role so will take care of Hanley's poor DH showing. By the way Hanley, cut off your pretty curls so your batting helmet will stay on. 5. Bradley is so good defensively and we don't have an alternative with Benintendi down. His swing has gotten very uppercut based. Hitting coach should work with him on it. 6. Young didn't look good in the game so maybe we have lefty in the minors who could share time with him Someone needs to tell JF we are in a pennant race and to act accordingly! Two frustrating days in a row.

If your scenario comes to pass with Encarnacion at DH (I don't favor it), then we should try to unload Hanley and save some (half) of his salary. We have capable first basemen who can field the position and hit well enough with the rest of the lineup so strong. That would be an $11 million saving (less what the replacement 1st baseman would get). Probably another $8 Million.

Unless the picture is of his twin brother, the guy truly has taken major weight off. That said, he is working out 6 days a week for around 6 hours a day to take the weight off. What happens if he gets back playing day to day? I'm saying he is likely still eating a lot and he is prone to regain the weight. Kind of skeptical about his long term viability but he is owed a ton of money so they need to weight and see.

The talk has turned to Castillo. Strange season.

I haven't seen the play and wonder what happened. With men on 2nd and 3rd and no one out, the hope is that Pedey gets a hit. The best approach for a hitter is to go behind the runners if possible and to elevate the ball into the outfield is even better. Pedey is a hot hitter but major league pitching is hard to hit where you want to so I don't fault Pedey in this one bit. Then the question is whether Shaw should have run or it was a blunder on Beni's part heading toward third. The result is bad for the kid and also bad for the team as he has done a very good job since coming up. We all can hope that he didn't seriously damage his knee with ligament damage. Left field for the Red Sox this year has produced more injuries and appears to be cursed.

Several players are in slumps at this point which is showing up in the game tonight. Bogaerts is striking out more than is normal and Bradley is not producing a lot but at least he makes contact. Shaw and Holt haven't got it going in fact Shaw is in a freefall slump. Beni is at least making hard contact at times. Hanley is not in tonight but he is hit or miss so doesn't get the production we need from a middle of the lineup guy. It's tough for a few guys to have to produce all the runs. Pedroia, Ortiz and Betts tonight with a little help from Leon. Maybe the long road trip is getting to some of the players or maybe pitching staffs are catching up to weaknesses. It also tough on the pitching staff to try to hold onto slim leads.

Got some of both the small ball and the bashing already. Pedroia stole second to avoid a double play and then Ortiz went deep. The best of both worlds.

Kelly has a great arm but has yet to learn how to pitch. I advocate being patient with him as he might still give us a lift. If not this year, perhaps he can break into a staff position next season.The front office recognizes the problems the Red Sox have had in developing its young pitchers. The method of correcting that problem hasn't been well defined but we do have talent in the minors.

I wonder who will be brought up in September to fill out the team for the stretch run. Moncada is only one of the pieces.