oldtimer

It is strange that the guy who pitched worst and for 1 inning gets the win. On the other hand, we can't go to the same guy every night. We need some others to come back of the IL. It's about time for D-Hern. Every little bit helps.

We have some potential for young players to join the team in 2022 and beyond. Casas some time in mid to late 2022, Yorke possibly sometime in 2023 and Mayer probably in 2024. Each of these guys may have solid careers and we may have a star in Mayer. Now we need to fill the pipeline with a couple of pitching prospects each year to make the team the consistently competitive force that Bloom is talking about.

Our major issue involves the BP. We are relying on Whitlock, Ottavino and Richards. They can only do so much. Getting D-Hern back would help and Brasier is back but kind of an unknown as far as form goes. Taylor, Swamamura and Barnes may be out for another week.

I continue to be in awe of Schwaber as a hitter who seems to fit the team as a perfect DH candidate. He also is capable of playing LF in an emergency or perhaps even 1st base. At 29 years old I imagine most fans want to give him a 4 or 5 year contract to stay with the team. It does create a problem with Martinez having another year with the Sox unless he opts out. The problem is that it is not optimum defensively to play them both together. In addition, both will carry substantial contracts that could make adding a quality starter and at least one and possibly two high leverage relief pitchers difficult. We have some other infield defensive needs to address but whether that means FA's or trade bodies is hard to determine. Even through JDM is still a viable DH and perhaps because he is, I would hope to trade him or to see him go in and opt out for 2022.

I have heard that his arm is not Bradley or Renfroe like and that is a negative for a CF. Beni's arm was also a notch lower than our best. It ight impact the DRS calculation. They say it is complex and not something that a fan has the data to make, perhaps somewhat subjective. If we trade him away and he blossoms into an above average ML outfielder while we get less in return, won't we feel had.

Let's hope D-Hern will be back in a couple of days.

I'll bet Cora wanted to save Whitlock with a 5 run lead going into the 8th.

Let's hope there are not more where that came from!

Funny

There continue to be a lot of negative comments about Duran's defense. His actual numbers including zero errors and 46 out of 47 opportunities converted, look pretty good but his DSR doesn't. It turns out it is a complicated calculation made from BIS's (scouts) collected data. Here is one comment which caught my eye in the Fangraph's description. "The other thing to remember is that DRS isn’t going to work well in small sample sizes, especially a couple of months or less. Once you get to one and three-year samples, it’s a relatively solid metric but defensive itself is quite variable so you need a good amount of data for the metrics to become particularly useful. There’s plenty more to say about this issue, but that’s for another entry. In general, DRS isn’t perfect because it doesn’t factor in shifts, positioning, and can’t perfectly measure everything it needs to, but it’s still among the best options out there." I don't think the criticism is all that valid at this point. People tend to ignore things like the game winning rbi two games back because it doesn't fit their narrative. I believe he would be a good 4th outfielder for us in 2022.

What about Brasier?

They did credit him with 46 catches of 47 chances. I'll have to look into how they do the calculation. Hate to pick on a kid unless there is something real behind it.

I like that Cora stayed with Richards. Our relief pitching is thin and a long start followed by 3 innings of relief was a much needed rest for guys like Ottavino and Whitlock

It's a wonder you can remember what you said with 46,494 posts to your credit.

How does that line up with 0 errors and 46 catches in 47 chances? I guess I don't understand the DRS calculation?

Where do you get the backup for him having no glove, hearsay? He has had 47 chances in CF and made 46 of those with 0 errors. He only played in LF once and made plays which came his way, without an error. Does that sound like no glove?

Our best hope now, when we are in a close game after 6 is to use Whitlock to keep it close and Ottavino is the only asset still available to close. In a pinch, Richards could be tried. The problem is that they represent a few bullets a week. We need more but don't have then right now.

By the way, I agree with you about our outfield for 2022. With Renfroe, Hernandez and Verdugo as starters and Duran as the up and coming low cost outfielder we have a very good start. All three of the starters are good defenders and contribute well offensively. Between injuries, rest times, paternity leaves, bereavement leaves and the need for Kike to help in the infield at times, Duran will get enough PT to stay sharp and grow as a player. He is the perfect low cost replacement who can cover any outfield position and his speed can be used when needed. I also agree about Dalbec. Despite his poor defense, he is a valuable platoon player at worst, and possibly a 20+ HR hitter sitting on bench with Duran, a backup catcher and hopefully a backup infielder.

Now the Sox need to pitch and defend for 3 outs. Cross your fingers.

Our best defenders now are Kike and Renfroe with Verdugo good but sometimes lacking focus. Maybe Arroyo would fit if he could play more of our games. In Schwaber we have a DH who doesn't need to play in the field very often. The rest of the starting team is substandard defensively. It is a big question to know if some players could be moved and improve their defense.

The Sox hasn't reached the 85% vaccination rate but no one is indicating what % they have reached. The 85% rate would have meant 6 of the 40 man wasn't vaccinated and 4 of the active roster. For all I know they could be at 60% or lower. In the words of that old Chinese philosopher, "Sum Ting Wong".

Nice to have something to laugh about.

It has come down to 2022 or bust, hasn't it?

The Sox are suffering the loss of 6 players and 2 coaches due to Covid. They have also been without Arroyo, Kike and D-Hern for other reasons with Renfroe out briefly as well. It has been very difficult for Cora to put a competitive team on the field. The team still does have a few good individual performers available, but not enough. Part of the problem is that our BP is very thin and the additions through Bloom haven't helped. The defense seems to have lost focus and has been weak at 3rd, SS and 1st. Mistakes are being made even by normally solid defensive players. Base running also reflects a loss of focus. The pieces don't fit together very well with Schwaber and Martinez similar and best fitting in the DH slot. Dalbec has improved his offensive production but is weak defensively and Shaw is a temporary fill in. It appears we are cooked as far as this year is concerned as we won't field our best team until at least the 10th of September and in the mean time will be fortunate to win at the 500 clip. The emphasis now should be on deciding on the direction for 2022 and beyond.

Cora has a terrible predicament, with so many players either hurt or on the Covid 19 list. The pitching is decimated and it will be very difficult for the team to play competitively in games. The best we can hope for is return of our Covid players by Sept 10th and to limp by until then.