oldtimer

I find it interesting that you fail to mention Hanley going forward, although his contract is both big and extends into the year ahead. To my way of thinking, he is not showing himself to be more than a journeyman hitter, a decent first baseman and a rather worse than average base runner. His contract seems to make him a lock to play this year and perhaps next, but with him batting behind Ortiz this year, he is less than helpful to the team. Yes, Encarnacion at Fenway would be a better choice than Hanley, but what to do with him?

They can get a look at the pitcher the first time up but then they should be ready for a grooved fast ball the second time up. Hitters have to adapt their approach to circumstances. They do that all the time to be successful. To take a rigid position of not swinging at the first pitch is handicapping the at bat. They can get away with it against some pitchers, but Tanaka had a nasty splitter and a slider last night and held them in check. The bull pen is very difficult to hit and the main chance was agaist Tanaka.

Last night brought up a question about how the Red Sox approach to hitting works when facing a team with a very strong bull pen but weaker starting pitchers. The Red Sox often take the first pitch even if it is grooved down the middle. That seemed to be the case last night again. The approach is good at accumulating a lot of pitches(work) for the starter, but with the Yankees the bullpen is very strong. Also Tanaka was good when he got ahead of batters, mixing splitters and getting low strikes. Maybe Betts and Shaw in particular would have been better served to swing at the first pitch at least once in a while to avoid getting into a pitchers count. Another not is that Hanley looks kind of pathetic at the bat and needs to get back on track soon or the offense will take a significant hit. A middle of the lineup guy has to do more that wave at pitches outside of the strike zone.

They took Hill out of the game after a very short period today. Looks like he got traded, but to which team?

There are a lot of ifs here. It would be great to acquire Encarnacion if it can be done without a long term contract at big bucks. I doubt Pablo will ever make it back or get into playing shape. The Sox should just eat the contract and move on without him. Shaw may well improve as he is still fairly new to the majors. He can play first or third for us. Hanley is not my idea of a positive asset long term although we owe him lots of money. He is doing fine at first base, but he looked pathetic at the plate today. He is also poor on the base path. I know he has shown improvement before the all star break but then today he was back to looking bad. Sam Travis may come back strongly from his injury or he could just be considered trade material. Brentz looked lost at the plate today also. We could use help now in the outfield with Benentendi being the closest fit for that position and may prove to be a major asset going into next season. Moncada could possibly play 3rd, he has the tools. We don't really need that now, so a September call up makes sense. Give him reps there now to prepare him. We also have Swihart and Young available for the late season. Next year if looks like we will have a very talented team with the loss of Ortiz being the main downer. We will have a lot of trade material also including catching talent as well. Stay young and talented. Don't set up like the Yankees with a lot of older players who are on large long term contracts and have gone way beyond their prime.

DD has made meaningful trades in the last week which 1) shore up the starting pitching with Pomeranz, 2)gave us a bridge for the return of Kimbrel with Ziegler, 3)gave us a utility infielder in Hill, when we needed depth and also added to our depth with Martinez. Our meaningful losses were really Anderson Espinoza who could ultimately turn into a top starting notch starting pitcher. We have Kelly as a possible bullpen arm and Benentendi, Moncada, Swihart, Young and Holt to provide depth, especially in the outfield. We also have 3 catchers and 4 if you include Swihart. It looks like we are in a good position going forward into the 2nd half and have trading chips if we need to go further.

With all the injuries we sustained during the first half, it is likely that we will see additional ones, even to key players, over the second half. So will other teams competing with us. So we need to look to quality depth for our field players and add quality arms in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. Benentendi, ERod and Kelly all make some sense now. Young will be back in late August and Holt is probably coming along earlier. It's a bit of a pipe dream, but perhaps DD can find us a starting pitcher without giving up the total farm.

Wasn't Bogaerts 21 when called up? A host of good players were called up at 21 or younger. The bigger question is where would Moncada fit? For that reason I would hold him off until September when the roster limits are eased. I would howwever, bring up Benentendi now, since there is a need.

I would advocate bringing Benentendi up right after the all-star break and Moncada in September. If Benentendi does as well as he projects then DD has to look at our fill-in outfielders as trade material. Also one of our catchers and probably some of our not so great young pitchers. I like your 2017 lineup concept except I think Hanley will wind up at designated hitter and Shaw at FB. Hill would be a utility player in my view.

With Swihart and Young both on the DL and now Holt in a walking boot, we are left with 3 outfielders, one of whom is Brentz. Benentendi is a kid that could fill in at LF and if he handles it, could stick. He also could play CF our RF since he is know to have good speed. The Red Sox need insurance, should any of our currently healthy outfielders go down.

Sean O'Sullivan is reportedly out with a bad knee as of yesterday. Who will be our starters going forward? We will get through the All Star break but after that we will need to put up 4th and 5th starters during the late July, August grind. Can at least one of our AAA guys be coached and brought forward to at least give a representative performance?

What is the situation on Holt? He may have sprained his ankle sliding into second. if he is out again for a protracted period it could be that would impact the decision on Benentendi.

With Kimbrel going out for 6 weeks it is fortuitous and perhaps lucky that DD traded for Brad Ziegler. Without him, our bullpen would have been hopelessly thin. The cost for the trade does not seem inordinate. Assuming Kimbrel gets back in September he should be well rested and hopefully able to return to his closer role. There are still bullpen moves that we could make, but it looks like any starting pitching move would cost a lot in prospects and dollars. Maybe someone within the organization can blossom into a 4th or 5th starter. We still have hope with ERod. Why can't the Red Sox develop pitching from the minors?

There is talk of bringing in Josh Reddick in a rent a player trade to mitigate our current lack of depth in the outfield. Reddick is returning from a thumb issue and so far isn't back hitting well but is a good outfielder and could well return to his pre-injury hitting prowess. One can guess there may also be more involved, such as pitching as yet unnamed. The question is what we would have to give up to get Reddick and/or a pitcher? Meanwhile we continue to keep Benentendi in the minors. He is an excellent fielder and has the possibility of being a decent major league hitter. So why trade for Reddick when we have a player in the minors who is slated to be on the roster as early as next season? One could argue that the Sox management and coaches know when players can contribute, but then the history of Allen Craig, Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo comes to mind.

I have heard that Holt was dizzy following Tuesdays game and sat out last night. Is Holt over his concussion enough to be a regular player at this point? If not, what do the Sox do going forward. The Sox apparently want a right handed batter in the lineup for balance, hence they called up Brentz not Benintendi. If Shaw's foot is injured and he winds up on the DL then Holt would have to fill in there with the hope that he can go most days. Calling up Benintendi is still reasonable if Shaww is on the DL since we need another solid outfielder as backup.

Having Leon and or Hannigan now catching and Holt back gives us a lineup without a break for the opposing pitching. It would be beneficial to have another outfielder available so that Holt could sub for some of our infielders and get them a rest when needed. We have an option for an outfielder in Benentendi, but so far have chosen not to go in that direction. With a relentless lineup and good defense, it still is all about our pitching. Buch and Kelly in the bullpen? Sounds like a reasonable move. A 4th or 5th starter? Has to be a trade or FA as our minor league isn't producing much. ERod will likely develop into a starter, but it may take another year and more confidence with his 3rd and 4th pitches.

Sandoval for Sabathia would be an equal trade if measured on the scales.

I think it is just you.The Sox have had quite a few on the DL, but I don't think it particularly out of line with what most teams go through. Swihart crashed into the wall, I am told Holt banged his head when trying to dive for a ball, Young got a typical injury for an older guy who extends when running the bases. Hamstrings leave ones leg black and blue from near the groin to the knee and take 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Too bad for us as he was playing well. Ortiz is one bad step from being out for a while. We had 7 of our best hitters in the lineup today but they ran into a guy throwing well. One more good hitter in the lineup would not probably meant much with Price giving up 4, but I still advocate bringing up our best talent to make Farrell's job easier. Holt may take longer than expected while Swihart is still not close.

I have wondered about Holt. What was the incident that caused him to be put on the DL in the first place? Was it a true jar to the head or were there other causes which left him with dizziness and headaches. The length of time he has been on the DL makes one wonder. The team really needs depth at left field and also as a utility infielder to give spot rests to Pedroia and Bogaerts and possibly Shaw. Holt is a pro and can hit. He would be best to fill those roles but if he can't come, we need to reevaluate whether who the club brought up is a reasonable answer for more than a couple of days.

There are several areas that have hurt the Sox this year. Depth of the position players, Starting pitching and relief pitching. Position player depth was setup to be a problem by a series of trades and acquisitions that others have highlighted. Craig, Sandoval, Castillo and to some extent Rameriz. These players have been expensive with only Hanley producing at a journeyman level. Meanwhile, like all teams, our players face a 162 game season in tough climates with lots of travel and a strenuous daily routine. They face scientific evaluation of their hitting shortcomings and are bound to feel mentally letdown when their pitching staff doesn't do the job, not to mention the typical stresses of family life. Injuries are a part of the game and often they play through minor ones. Of course players can and do get sidelined during the season and the team management needs to plan for replacements to give regular players rest and to fill in when the guys go on the disabled list. With Swihart, Holt, Hannigan and Young on the disabled list the replacements called up were on the weak side with the exception of catcher. If we have can't miss prospects in Benentendi and Moncada, why not let them fill in? Starting Pitching We have Wright, Porcello and Price generally performing as acceptable starting pitchers. I was not a fan of the Price deal due to the length of the contract, however, we would be even more lost in the starting pitching arena without him. ERod has talent but has not developed. Buchholz is not doing the job at all, Kelly seemed to fail as well as the two or three youngsters brought up. Are we not getting major league quality pitching prospects or are we not developing the ones we have? This is a serious question. Farrell was a pitching coach at a prior time. Is there something wrong with the coaching and development of red sox pitching? Relief Pitching Some of the problems we have faced here stem from the failures of the starting pitching, which is putting high workloads on our bull pen. Kimbrel was a good acquisition. Koji might just be getting too old. Tazawa is still effective. Hembree is doing a decent job but in general the bull pen needs an infusion of talent. Perhaps Kelly will be moved back to that role but trade or free agency needs to be gone to for more talent. Alas, I think the Red Sox with retreat to a mediocre record this year and Dombroski will need to set sites on improving for next season.

The idea that you have to get a certain number of at bats at AAA level before you can bring a player to the major leagues sounds to formulaic to me. Guys like Bryce Harper, Bogaerts and Marchado have come up very young and worked into great young players. Moncada and Benintendi should be brought up when they show they can compete and when there is a need. Left field was open There has been a lot of talk about Benintendi had only 450 minor league at bats and those at AA at the highest. I wonder about delaying a players appearance in the majors based on a formulaic approach like number of hits at the AAA level. Get real and judge a player by performance and club need. Hope to see Benintendi and Moncada in August at the latest.

Agreed. It takes enormous resources to obtain a true ace starting pitcher. You may have to give long term contracts as we did with Price. If you have a starting pitching prospect that can be developed, it is more reasonable to develop him than to take a flyer on an iffy free agent or in trade. Espinoza looks like that kind of prospect.

You were right, Bryce Brentz got called up for the Rangers series. He is a right handed hitter and is probably more needed than Benni at this point.

With Young down with what looks like hamstring injury that probably puts him out for 6 to 8 weeks, we only have a couple of legitimate outfielders on the roster. Holt will be back soon but I like his role as a utility player and as a infield sub. We will need an outfielder. Who knows who else could go down. I would bring up Benentendi now, and/or look for a trade to get someone to fill in the spot. Young may not be an answer for next year anyway, so having him in September is all we can look forward to. I believe Swihart is still a few weeks away but he also could help to answer our current shortage in the outfield.

Man on third, one out, one of our best hitters at the plate, not so much behind him. Why bunt? Did Farrell sanction this? If so his judgment is clearly called into question.