oldtimer

Sad to watch Bogey struggle. He and JDM have been a shadow of themselves following the AS break. Did something during that event change their confidence?

I wouldn't let E-Rod face the meat of the Cleveland order again. He was unable to get them out and it's risky to do that again.

A promising inning down the toilet.

E-Rod was having trouble putting hitters away. That led to him giving in and giving up 2 runs.

Again, I think this belongs in the 2022 discussions. Yes, the JDM decision is important for us. Yes, $19.4 million for a one dimensional player is a lot and he is 35. Is he washed up based on his extended slump since the AS break on top of his miserable 2020? I don't think so but I also don't think he is worth the money. We would be better off signing Schwaber for up to a 5 year contract while not attempting to extend JDM. This is an example of the hard decisions the front office faces. Could we wind up with both for a year? It looks possible and would handicap us and limit us in the FA market and also it might be difficult to play them both together, as it is now. Yes, we could use 2 solid starters while cutting loose or reassigning 3 of our current starters. I can see Eovaldi, Sale and Pivetta on the staff with one of Whitlock, Houck or possibly Seabold brought in to fill one of the open position. For the other, I would compare E-Rod with what we could get on the FA market and take the best of that choice. I would think of reassigning Richards to a short term long reliever/fill-in starter role, if that was possible financially. Very few have recommended getting rid of Dalbec but instead, finding a part time left handed bat to take a lot of the AB's against right handed pitching. The question of when Casas will become ready complicates that decision. We had that guy and let him go presumably due to his expense ($6 mil) but then filled in with a number of lower cost players, none of whom worked out. We also need a closer. It's interesting to see how many closers are now having serious problems getting the job done. I would think we should look to the up and comers in our own system for BP help but the closer to supplement Barnes might have to come from outside, probably an intermediate priced FA. As far as our outfield is concerned, we do need a 4th and Duran is that obvious low cost player who fills that need and should be able to improve given a reasonable amount of PT. Jiminez is a possibility but is much further away and has recently regressed. So I see no wholesale changes in the team but more of a transition from what we have this year to one with less holes and more home grown talent, particularly in the pitching department.

I've come to appreciate Schwaber as I watch his AB's and heads up field play for the Sox. Yes he is big and slow, which limits his field positions to LF, possibly 1st base and DH. He will only turn 29 during ST next season, so he is in his prime. He is the epitome of a patient hitter. Due to his power, opponents pitch him very carefully. He is well aware of that and due to his discipline and his pitch recognition ability you rarely see him striking out and you often see long ABs which much frustrate the opposing pitchers. In the last 15 games he has 10 BBs and 4 strikeouts which is great. If he does get two strikes, his mechanics allow him to foul off anything close while he takes obvious balls. Only swinging at strikes is what Cora preaches and this guy is the king of that idea. He should be a great example to all hitters on the team and especially young lefties who get to watch what he does. Devers is a very dangerous hitter in his own right but does chase a lot and because he has unique hand eye coordination and very good power, he can hit balls out of the zone. He does have a lot of strike-outs this year (111) and a fair amount of walks (51). Kind of reminds me of Adrian Beltre in the way he can get to balls outside the zone. Imagine if he could lay off pitches outside the zone at a higher rate. Verdugo is also a young lefty with a good hit tool. He has altered his swing to add more loft and he can do damage. He also expands the zone both on high fastballs and outside pitches. Just improving in those areas would help his offense. Duran is also a young lefty hitter who needs to improve his pitch recognition and plate discipline. I have heard extensive criticism on this site that I believe is short sited. He has cut down on his strikeouts during the last period and is working to get better although doesn't get into enough games to develop consistently. I hope to see him as a part of the Sox team going forward. Let's hope we keep Schwaber and that his example will be a help to all our hitters.

2 for his last 24 and no rbis. I have wanted to rest him. maybe tomorrow.

Good example of keeping the line moving. Don't need HRs to score.

He did a great job of getting out of that mess. Whitlock's performance is encouraging.

Sale was at 80 pitches and losing command. With Sano up I glad Cora made the move. Who knows how it will turn out though?

Great example of plate discipline and pitch recognition. Now if our young left handed batters would learn from him.

Got to expect some damage. We just need to add some runs to counter those two.

Nice AB by Verdugo. He stayed in it and finally got a pitch to put in play. Drove in a run. Ran up the pitch count. All good things.

You have to ask questions from the Sox point of view as well. If they can sign Schwaber with the DH in mind, do they need a second one dimensional hitter? Under those circumstances I would not offer an extension. We would either wind up with two DH's for one year or if Martinez opts our and we have one. Then we could have extra resources to fill in our holes with pitching, 1st base ad catcher. Martinez has really not been hitting well since the AS break.

Didn't the Twins cut Robles loose? I thought he was their closer but didn't get the job done so we picked him up and he isn't getting the job done here. Small wonder.

There is an interesting article today about Martinez hitting issues of late. A middle of the order guy who is in a serious slump does impact our team.

He didn't make any contact against a pitcher who had just given up a double, HR, single and walk. Making excuses for poor situational hitting doesn't change the fact we had an opportunity for a win but blew it.

Martinez is 2 for 20 with 0 rbi in the last week. Why not give him a rest while letting Arroyo DH. Doing nothing is condoning poor performance.

Pivetta didn't have it and Robles is not who we need at closer. that said, our BP pitched well but the middle of the order didn't do much or we would have won. In particular, JDM hasn't had an RBI since Aug 17 and is 2 for 20 over that period. We had our chances after the kiki double in the 9th, followed by the Schwaber homer tied it and Borey got a single and Devers a walk. We had two on and nobody out against a pitcher totally on the ropes. What followed was a Martinez fly out to move a runner to 3rd and then a poor example of situational hitting by Verdugo who swung hard at 3 successive cutters when we needed a BBIP and then a pop-out by Renfroe. So we lose another game we should have won. Maybe Arroyo should get to play while guys underperforming sit out.

One thing he couldn't do is strike out. Ball to the outfield would have done it.

Still the 0 fors in the middle of the lineup that are killing rallies. Especially since Bogey and Martinez have been slumping. At least Devers got big hits recently.

Now we need to get the middle of the order contributing offensively again.

Bogey and Martinez are no shows.

Looking at our top ten prospect list and finding Downs fairly high doesn't agree with his stats at AAA. Nor does Groome, who hasn't been very effective ,up so high.