oldtimer

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.

The one thing I wish JF would do more of is play some small ball when it is called for. Not often for this team, but we will need to win close games by manufacturing some runs should we make the playoffs. I advocated bunting in a situation a couple of nights ago. Last night I wondered why with all our team speed that we didn't attempt a steal to put a runner in scoring position. I can understand not doing it with Ortiz at bat (even though he hit into a double play once and stuck out and was called for interference for a second double play with men on base). We have Bogaerts, Betts, Bradley and Beni who have superior speed and we aren't using it very often. We will face increasingly tough pitching in the playoffs and have to avoid that big LOB statistic that we saw last night.

JF made the right pitching moves tonight and both starting and relief pitching came through. Pulling Buchholz against a tough lefty when he had around 95 pitches made sense, as did the shift to Ziegler and Kimbrel. Nice when it works. Can't say much for the lineup tonight. Struck out a lot and little hitting with men on base. Only 5 hits and two of those to Beni. We won a close one and I hope the lineup comes through in the next game.

Beni's is 2 for 2 tonight off of Archer. I don't think he has gone cold. All players have good days and bad. You live with that when their overall production is a positive for the team. Bradley's hitting has been productive and his fielding is top of the line.

One thing it is certain to be is BIG.

We disagree on this one. When you have a chance to put up a run for a 4 run lead, and you can also avoid a DP situation I would go for the insurance run. I believe it is situational and in this case, the situation favored the bunt. Now if major league players could only bunt.

We have the elements of a great team for years to come. It means shedding dead weight contracts but keeping our proven talent. That means Bogaerts, Betts, Bradley, Leon, Pedroia and probably Benintendi. Shaw is still young and may yet become a solid power hitter and his fielding and flexibility is useful. Get rid of the dead wood contracts the best way possible. If there is no alternative but to let them run out, then such is life. Rameriz is the one iffy player, who isn't worth the money he is getting but produces just enough to be with the club next year. Time will tell on Moncada and I would bring up Hernandez with the thought of keeping him along with Holt for flexibility and Young as a solid outfield/DH sub. Pitching will need more attention.

The flexibility of having 3 outfielders capable of playing CF gave JF a chance to rest JBJ tonight although he used him as a pinch runner and JBJ did get an at bat. It is a positive thing to have 3 young and quick outfielders on this team.

Price had a good outing, going 8 full innings and giving up no runs. His velocity was going down as the game went on but he must have had good movement as he got a lot of strikeouts. He also used his full complement of pitches. Barnes came in with his power but gave another example of the weakness of our bullpen. At least with a 6 run lead, there was no need to bring in another pitcher and we got to give our closer some additional rest.

Looking at today's game in the 8th with substitute runner JBJ on first and no outs and Hill up with a 3 run lead, why not bunt? Seems like a 4th run would be extremely valuable. Instead of offering at a bunt, Hill takes 2 strikes and then hits into a double play. I realize it is a manager's choice, but given Hill's meager hitting, it would seem a smarter move.

Possibly bad positioning!

Beni certainly hit some tough pitches today, drove in two and scored two. His speed on the bases is also an asset. I would be reluctant to sit him down when he is producing. Young can get at bats by resting some players and by DHing.