oldtimer

I know your not a big fan of Hanley (neither am I) and would trade him if we could find any reasonable deal. I too see Holt as possible trade bait with Hernandez waiting in the wings but I would keep Hill as a utility infielder. Swihart will undergo ankle surgery so his recovery may take some time next season. I would err on the side of caution with Encarnacion. Long term contracts for high $$$ rarely work out for guys late in their careers. I would not bat Moncada as a designated hitter. The kid has enormous potential and needs to find a home in the field. If it be at 3rd, so much the better. One scenario is to generate a DH from utility field players existing within our team framework. The concept of moving Pedey down in the lineup somewhat is a good one. He still is a productive hitting and field player but his bat may be better placed around the 6th spot.

I don't think we all saw it coming with this kid. Many on the sight wanted to wait for him getting 100 ab's in AAA and were fine letting the team play Holt and Brentz in left field until Beni was READY. I am pleased that DD, the managers and coaches were smart enough to bring him up. Even earlier would have suited me since we definitely needed help in the outfield.

The Orioles and Blue Jays both lost yesterday so we move a game closer. There is hope in Mudville.

All truth passes through 3 stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self evident. "Schooenhauer"

Yes, that is true. Why don't you give us your thoughts on why that is the case? What remedial moves would you make to enliven the offense? Yes, and comparing WAR ratings of players doesn't give much insight when teams go into a protracted slump.

He did put two good starts together just before his last which was not good. In one of his good starts, JF should have done a better job and it could have been a win, in the other good start, the offense was non-existent. Can't fault Price for all of the losses. He has to doubt himself at this point and maybe he is trying too hard to be on the corners with all his pitches and just missing, which is pushing his walk total higher. He still is a viable starter, although not an ace.

I too would like to see speed in the lead off spot and Benintendi and Moncada both have that although they have a lot to prove regarding OB percentage. Still, it would be a big plus if they could. Moncada is a switch hitter as well but maybe his power would better translate to down in the order. Bogey hitting in second is also a good thought as his OBP is very good and his power average. Betts is good at 3rd or 4th. I don't expect Ortiz back as he was sore just after one try at 1st base. DH is an interesting topic. We have a great hitter in Ortiz who is beyond playing in the field. There are a few others who use a player that is primarily confined to only DH but another view is to have players who are position capable. Then the DH can be rotated to take advantage or R/L matchups or subbed around to rest field players. We may be in that situation next season. I would rather do that than to take on a long term contract for an ageing player.It does give more flexibility on a 25 man roster. My lineup for next year, based on hope that both Benintendi and Moncada make the jump into the majors is as follows: 1. Benintendi 2. Bogaerts 3. Moncada 4. Betts 5. Bradley 6. Pedroia/Hill 7. Shaw/Holt 8. Leon/Vazquez 9. Young/Swihart (DH) That lineup assumes Hanley is gone and that we don't go out and get a long term free agent DH. That provides for 5 outfielders, 6 infielders, 2 catchers and a super utility man to play infield or outfield and Swihart who could be a backup catcher in a pinch. The guy I left out is Hernandez who could be called up to play short if Bogaerts got injured for an extended period. The lineup provides speed up front, power in the 3, 4 and 5 slots, left/right alternating to make pitching moves difficult and solid hitting throughout. Of course wishing Benintendi and Moncada can make the grade is only hopeful, but wouldn't it be a blast.

Step back and take a couple of deep breaths. Price had a bad outing after a couple of good ones where there was little support. I never like long and expensive deals for older players and our history of late and really that of the Yankees shows the folly of them. Still, it is what it is and we will need to live with Price and he should give us some good games along the way. Meanwhile we need to get our offense going. Betts, Bogey, Bradley, Pedey, Ortiz still are stalwarts for this year and need to be energized. Shaw is not so bad and has some upside and Beni is promising. Leon has helped us a lot as well and the pitching is fairly sound for this year. Hill has been a decent sub as well as Holt. All is not lost, but our road trip was not a good one and maybe home cooking will get us straightened out and some good wins. If you are thinking of next year, with Ortiz gone we still have many elements of a good team. Moncada should be available late this season and get a chance to show his worth. The hope is that Vasquez or Swihart can handle the second catcher role which leaves us with the need for a DH and additional pitching. Encarnacion is tempting but again he is an older player who will demand a high dollar long term contract. I am not sold on Hanley doing the job so maybe we can find a less vaunted player who can do the job and also play in the field if necessary. Possibly we will develop a SP and/or RP's internally leaving us with some trade bait to fill positions where our hopes don't turn into realities.

The Sox brought Beni up because there was a weakness in left field and really no effective substitute should our CF or RF was injured. In addition, the Sox are slumping at the plate and could use another bat and some enthusiasm. Beni is a legitimate outfielder and management thought he could hit as well or better than others we have. So far his use has been spotty and mainly against righties. The kid is doing well with his second multi-hit game already plus two RBIs and a stolen base. Of course it is too early to form an opinion about his abilities, but so far they look promising. If he can morph into that early in the order guy with good bat control and speed for next year then we have found a gem and an answer to allow Mookie to hit down into a power spot.

Is the offense in a funk? If you look at batting averages of key players, they have been dropping now for some time. Perhaps they were too high and were not sustainable, but Ortiz and Bogaerts to name two have not looked as good recently, while Betts has maintained his pace. Key players off their game have a major impact on the offense. Can this be attributable to facing much better pitching or being unlucky with balls hit in play not finding holes? There are 5 other possibilities that I see as causes: 1. Players sustain nagging injuries that don’t put them out of games but impact their level of play. Sore feet, being hit by pitches, pulled or stained muscles. There are many opportunities for these players to sustain these kinds of injuries. Not much can be done about this as all teams have to play through these sorts of injuries. 2. Near exhaustion with games daily and travel in any off days plus playing in the heat of the summer have to wear on even well conditioned athletes. JF does try to rest his players at times. The schedule is tough and that rest is at least somewhat beneficial. 3. It has to be a mental strain to remain positive and interested when playing daily, when away from family, when games get lost due to errors and miscalculations. I would guess there can be friction among the players and between players and coaches/managers. All that has to be a greater issue on the road. I know these guys are pros but even people working regular jobs get bored or sick and tired of things and need time to refresh. A positive point of view and toughness of some guys such as Ortiz and Pedey can help and JF can help. Is it happening? 4. The technology of the game has increased to where opposing coaches and technologists are continually looking for any weaknesses in a player’s offense. When they think they’ve found something they exploit it with pitching type and location and with defensive shifts. It is up to our players and coaches to look for and implement adjustments. All teams face this problem today and with young players it has to be even more of a problem learning to adjust. 5. Lineup displacements due to DL injuries lead to weakened lineups. Even when players get his hits, they wind up left on base as the weaker lineup has holes in it. Also having a threatening hitter coming up behind a player means he is likely to see better pitches in his at bat. JF has control of lineup decision making. Fans don’t have all the details that coaches do but putting your best available players on the field hitting in the right order and making adjustments during the game are in his purview. As fans we can second guess the decisions, but it is only through a full season of results we can get a fairly clear picture of the effectiveness of managerial decision making. Let’s hope the return home and of players from the DL will help enough to get the offense rolling again.

Normally I agree with your point of view but I don't agree that DD has made poor trades. I think he got the best available to fill in voids created by injuries and by some lack of performance and he had done that without giving away many of our best prospects. Getting Sale would have been nice, but the reality is that we couldn't get that deal done without an extremely high price. Neither could other teams who need a starting pitcher. Looking over the past number of games, an ace would not have won us many or possible none of those games as our offense has gone into a funk. Our pitching is decent, we have offensive pieces, now we have to get them to play up to their potential. Seems that is what has been lacking of late.

Pitching has been good on the road trip, however, the team has had difficulty with the offense. An ace starting pitcher will not help much when there are so few runs being scored. No suggestions although I hope someone can energize the guys before we slip too far.

Equally important is that he caught Wright last night, showing that Hannigan's one plus area as the only catcher for Wright seems to be undermined.

Benintendi is a good outfielder and is insurance should any of our outfielders need a rest or get hurt. In addition, he looked good enough hitting to be called up. Betts, Pedroia and Bogaerts all face right handed pitching, so why not get Benintendi regular reps against right and left handers unless and until he shows he can't handle it. He's only had 7 AB's in the majors and lots of guys are claiming it is a mistake to call him up. Have a little patience and give the kid a break.

I agree with your thinking but would make no change this season. Perhaps next year we will have a prospect for lead off with speed and and good OB percentage. Benintendi is a possible candidate and as we currently feature 3 right hand hitters in our order, it might be good to modify that next year. Benintendi is a long shot as management would have to see some proof of his abilities but something to think about. I don't see Pedey in the leadoff role and Bogaerts has some possibility but hard to move a guy doing so well where he is. Another tough decision next year for management.

And many are delegated to the coaches.

Maybe its time to morph this thread into is it time to call up Moncada. I'd start it but have no strong opinion or point to make. Last night showed that our lineup was weakened without Ortiz and Rameriz though, so maybe another bat to choose from would be welcome.

I can't believe a manager makes 50 to 200 moves a game. Once the lineup is set the moves deal with pitching (warmups and pitching changes), lineup changes for defense, and pinch hitting and to replace injured players and perhaps come to that number only if you include decision to steal, to hit and run and to take pitches. In addition, there may be pitchouts or throws to first. Many of those decisions, such as to take pitches, throws to first, etc. are probably left to coaches, so the manager is probably involved in pitching and other important decisions a lot less than 50 times a game. I believe one poor inaction or action can cost a game. In the example most talked about here, Farrell was slow to get a relief pitcher up, slow to make the change for Price and some would argue (not me, I'm ambivalent on that one) that the second change didn't make sense. In my book that was two areas that put the Mariners in a position to win the game and win they did.

Another good pitching performance required in this case to eke out a win in the 11th. A weakened lineup out there with Papi and Hanley out and Brentz in.

Pedey is the toughest guy on the team.

I do think Holt has value in the trade market and maybe more than the value we ascribe to him in a super utility role. I can see us adding Hannigan and Rameriz into the trade market and perhaps Buchholz of our starters, realizing we wouldn't get his full contract covered. If Hanley does go we may save $10 Mil a year and with Ortiz coming off the books we will have some cash to spend. It sounds like we then would have to acquire a DH with Hanley gone and probably look for another RP or two as we are likely to have at least one retirement. I assume you are thinking of Benintendi in LF, Moncada at 3rd base and Shaw at first with Leon as the primary catcher and Swihart, Young on the roster. Is it impossible in your view that we won't get at least one RP and even a possible SP from the minors for next year?

Don't know where to put this one but it is one old fan's perspective on how things are working out. in 1978. Myself and my older brothers followed his lead with me becoming old enough to be a fan in the late 1940’s. I have been blessed to see some individually great players and some excellent teams along the way. To me, there are things which are probably obvious to others but worth mentioning in my view. 1. ML baseball is a very competitive game. To do well and reach the playoffs, a team needs to win around 25 or more games than they lose. Teams with the financial resources to afford costly FA’s and maintain a solid farm system have the advantage although they still need a smart front office and good day to day management. The 2016 version of the Red Sox has a good mix of speed, defensive and offensive talent and reasonable pitching and has a shot at making the playoffs. The front office this year has done their share of providing incremental improvements and filling voids created through injuries. DD has been bold but hasn’t thrown away the store with his moves. 2. This is an imperfect world and we shouldn’t expect perfection from players or managers. Good hitters make outs more often than not and fielders make errors. Players can be playing with injuries, have outside issues or the opposition may have found weaknesses. Those players need to overcome their problems and make adjustment or otherwise face being replaced by their betters. Good coaching can help these players but it still up to them to find answers. In modern times, fans seem to be in love with stats, and they are meaningful, but these are humans playing out there and they need to have positive feelings to give their best. The manager on the other hand has to do what he can to keep the club house positive and to make lineup cards, and moves to win games while making certain he doesn’t wear out his players. It is a tough job and fans realize poor choices can ruin any chances of making the playoffs. If a manager causes a team to lose 5 or 6 games during the year due to his actions or inactions, it is very difficult to make that up in the competitive baseball environment. Is Farrell better or worse at managing than anyone else we might have? For that we have to let the season play out and see if the team plays to its expected capabilities. 3. Baseball is a young man’s game and only a few of the very best last well into their 30’s. We need to accept that youngsters will arise from the minors to take on meaningful roles. Our coaches are the best evaluators of these kids and they should be listened to. Benintendi was brought up because they think he is a better alternative to what was available. Let’s hope they were right. Maybe he can give us a game or two we wouldn’t have won with the alternative players.

Last night the shaky Italian kid went two for three, while the veterans were held to less. Last nights 3 to 1 loss points out the obvious situation. 1. We will run into a good opponent pitching performance and when we do will lose even if we get a good effort from our own pitching staff. 2. Clearly we need to win those games where we have a clear advantage late, like the night before. Opportunities need to be exploited. My speculation is that a failure to win a game we should win is disheartening to a team and can lead to following on poor performances from our hitters. Lets hope we don't go into a tailspin as we are on the road and tired.

Does anyone know whether the team carries insurance to cover salary costs for periods when players are injured? Hanley is getting $22 million a year, so a period away from the team costs real money expenditure without return. Just an example as many players get injured over the period of a season, and some of them are not directly injured in game situations.

Next year we should have a nice mix of veteran and young players in the field. Even better, some of our veteran players are young as well. Our veterans will include Pedroia, Bogaerts, Betts, Brandley, Leon, Hanley if he stays, Hill and Holt, also if they stay. Hannigan is unlikely to remain as his primary value is catching Wright. I expect our youth to include Benintendi and Moncada and possibly Devers. I doubt Travis will be ready due to his injury setback. I see Hernandez as a possibility for a utility role as his is a very good fielder. Maybe HOlt and Hill become trade chips.We also have a couple of options for a backup catcher behind Leon. I would not like to see a young 5 tool kid like Moncada doing the DH. Hanley might fill that role, but doesn't impress me as the kind of reliable power bat we need. Certainly a possibility, but maybe he will be traded while we find a better overall power bat for DH