oldtimer

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

My view is that we are in a difficult race for the playoffs with two tough teams and as such need to do everything we can to win the ones where we have a solid lead late in the game. Case in point with a 4 run lead going into the 8th and a fresh bull pen of solid relievers available and a pitcher with 93 pitches (4th time around the order), I would have had a relief pitcher up throwing lightly. After Price gave up a home run the red flag should have come up, although anyone can make a bad pitch and a hitter get lucky. After the second hit with no one out, the manager should be thinking Cano and Cruze are coming up soon so I need my relief pitcher ready and I need a second one up. After the third hit in a row, I pull my starter and go to my reliever. Farrell waited for a fourth hitter to get on with the tieing run before making a move. Abad pitch to Cano and we lose. The Seattle relief pitcher threw extremely hard and mowed down Bradley, Leon and Benintendi although the last called strike was close to 2 inches outside the box at 99 mph so was a bad call. In my view, this was another example of Farrell waiting too long to make a pitching change.

Young went out with a hamstring, which is typically a 6 weeks injury or more depending on the severity. Then there is the need to have a few games in the minors to get sharp again. I think he will be out for a few more weeks. Not much word about Swiharts progress either.We are working with left fielders who you think suck and also these are are backups for the other outfielders. Benintendi as a replacement makes sense to me and to Red Sox management. He just may show us something as he get some ML playing time. Lets hope the fans are tolerant as he is just starting his ML career.

For the first time in a while, I feel optimistic about the teams chances of making the playoffs. The starting pitching has spun a number of good games and Clay Buchholz has even regained some of his abilities. Our relief pitching has gotten another boost through DD while Kimbrel is back and Ziegler is going well. Pitching, which was a disaster, partially due to injuries is now on a par with other contenders. In the field, we continue to have great contributions from Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Bradley, Ortiz and Leon and now have hope that our left field will be strengthened. That leaves us with an okay Hanley, Shaw, Hill and Holt. Hannigan at catcher is weak at the plate but someone has to catch Wright and he got that unenviable assignment. We still have Young and Swihart in rehab and Moncada to be brought up later, so even more strength available. I see our biggest problem, should we make the playoffs is a shutdown ace starting pitcher. I don't see anything happening on that front, so we have to go with the pitching we have. We are now a real competitor to win the division, being only one game back. Our schedule is biased toward away games so that is a handicap, and I question Farrell's leadership, but every team has problems, it is not a perfect world.

This team has been heavily reliant on the top of the order of late and Ortiz is not able to play every day so bringing up someone to give the team some new energy is a good idea. Is Beni ready? Time will tell, but he just may contribute and Brentz wasn't a long term answer so I like the idea. Over the years in baseball, there have been a lot of players who have been brought up at a younger age and with less experience who have prospered.Let's hope that Beni's experience is a positive one.

That is an optimistic view and one I hope comes true for both Clay and the team. Why has it taken so long for the team to work on these adjustments for Clay? Sounds like our pitching coaches have not dealt with what was causing his inadequacies.

I think Sandoval's time in a Red Sox uniform is over and we have to look at his contract as a sunken cost. I have not been impressed with Hanley. He is so hit and miss that I think we can do much better. If we could trade him and eat part of his contract, I would be for that. TShaw has the possibility of improvement as he is early in his career and he is Hanley's equal at ist defensively. Travis is another intriguing possibility but he has to come back from injury and show he can play at a major league level, something TShaw has already done. Moncada at third is the likely choice of management. Whether he makes it remains to be determined. I sure many other clubs would love to have our problem with finding him a position. I would use Holt and Hernandez as utility players as you never know when our infielders might need rest or get injured. I do think we need to trade for or FA sign a quality power bat for DH, whether he be Encarnacion or another possibility. Probably no one can match our loss with Ortiz leaving. With 5 current good starting pitchers, perhaps we can get a #1 in the FA market. We would need a #1 to go into any playoff race with an expectation of being successful. We should continue to strengthen our pitching development capability to see if we can develop another of our own kids. Other organizations are doing it so why can't we?

Yes, sometimes the trade not made is the best one. DD is doing a good job of getting value without giving up the farm.

Your much better at coming up with the price of players to fill some of our needs (as you stated them) for next season. I would think we can fill our LF, 3rd base. 1st base needs from a combination of Shaw, Benintendi and Moncada and still keep Young as a platoon outfielder and for flexibility should we sustain outfield injuries next season. It the Red Sox thinking is along that line then Hanley is available for DH although I don't see him as nearly the power threat or clutch hitter that we will be losing in Ortiz. I know it is unlikely that we could move Hanley while signing Encarnacion but one can dream. As far as RP under control, our pen has been getting better due to DD dealing this July. I know we have Workman rehabbing. Maybe we can get one of our RP's from our minor league organization. That still leaves a tall order to add a quality SP and RP from the market. Big bucks even if we can make a deal.