oldtimer

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.

I guess the more likely competition for the 2nd WC spot is the Mariners at this point.

We have Schwaber, Martinez and Shaw in the lineup who are the big and slow types. We have Kiki, Renfroe, Verdugo, Rafie and possibly Arroyo with decent speed and Bogie, Dalbec and the catchers with average speed. It's not all about base stealing. It's about the ability to take the extra base on an outfield hit and also scoring where our slow guys get thrown out. Cora talked about speed being important and I believe him.

I question Houck as a closer as his command under pressure may be a problem. Whitlock seems to be cooler under pressure and has excellent stuff, but both Whitlock and Houck may be better handling longer relief stints. Seabold remains to be proven. I was thinking one left handed starter and one solid setup man/Closer. I too would look for a first baseman with good defensive skills and also for a catcher although they are hard to come by at a decent cost.

I'm definitely not up on all of minor league prospects. Let's hope that our program can develop one or two of them into useful contributors in 2022. We need some help.

Comments on the actual staff Starters: 1. Chris Sale is being paid $30 mil in 2022 and 27.5 Mil in 2023 and 2024. That is ace money. He will turn 33 before the start of the 2022 season. While still very good I doubt if he will be able to provide ace quality starts that the money indicates. It will be interesting to follow his efforts for the remainder of 2021. 2. Nathan Eovaldi is currently our best pitcher with great velocity, an array of pitches and a physicality that is hearty enough to see him last in games into the later innings. We have him for 2022 at $ 17 mil. He turns 32 at the beginning of the season and if he has another good year could get a a multi-year contract at near ace money. At that age, should we compete? 3. Nick Pivetta was a steal for us. At the start of 2022 he will be in his prime at 29 years old. He has shown qualities of a mid-level starter but has been inconsistent at times. The way I understand it he will be in arbitration next season. I would try to sign him to a 3 year contract. 4. Eduardo Rodriquez is a second left hander behind Sale. He has mid-level starter stuff but seems to suffer from a lack of focus at times. He has been a nibbler in the past running up his pitch count due to this so has trouble lasting past 5. He is only going to be 29 early in the 2022 season but resigning him is complicated by his FA. 5. Tanner Houck is definitely a starter/long reliever candidate for 2022 and on. I understand he is working on at least one more prime pitch to go along with the 4 seamer and slider. He needs to learn to throw more strikes and not to tire himself out early and the additional pitch might help him get to three times around the order. At 26 years old and at the arb stage in 2022 we should consider a longer term deal. 6.Whitlock is another starter/long reliever candidate. What a steal from the Yankees. Another 26 year old who could definitely become a starter. He has great stuff now and should be considered for a long-term contract. Long Reliever: 1. Garrett Richards seems to have found his best spot as a long reliever. He will be 34 in the 2022 season and will be owed $1.5 mil although as a FA, we might not be able to sign him. My offer would be two years and maybe $3.5 mil a year which might not do the trick. 2. Conner Seabold is also a possibility as a starter/long reliever. We haven’t yet seen him at the ML level so it is hard to know what he is capable of. At 26 years old and still available to us we need to get a close look. If it works out he can get a start or two in the majors in 2021 we can get a look, otherwise it may come down to spring training. So looking at starters and long relievers for 2022, there is real uncertainty about signing E-Rod, which would leave us with one lefty starter. It appears we can get at least one starter from Houck, Whitlock and Seabold. I would look at the FA market for a competitive left hand starter and compare his virtues with E-Rod before committing. Two quality arms out of the three young pitchers could fill any needs in long relief and emergency starts. I wouldn’t rule Richards out if he can be gotten for no more than a 2 year contract at the type of money I mentioned. Spot Relievers: 1. Matt Barnes will be 32 going into the 2022 season and is signed for $7.4 mil a year to close. He did a good job closing for us with his 4 seamer and knuckle curve. He appears to have exhibited a case of tired arm and lost confidence of late but may bounce back with rest. Hard to know if the extension was smart. 2. H Sawamura was a great pickup for us this year. He will be 34 in 2022 but still has good velocity and a wicked splitter. I don’t know his contractual status but think he is a quality spot reliever. He may be showing signs of fatigue in August. 3. Josh Taylor started off poorly for us in 2021 but found his form and pitched extremely well for us from then on. Everyone has hiccups, but his have been minor. He is a much-needed left hander in the BP and at 29 he should be resigned. Don’t know his contract status 4. Darwizon Hernandez is an effective hard throwing guy who suffered a relatively minor injury and should return this year. He is 26 year old in 2022 so could continue to be mainstay of the BP going forward. He is in arb next year. His issue is command issue which might limit his use in high leverage situations although young guys can improve. He represents a second left handed reliever. 5. Adam Ottavino has been used in high leverage situations this season for us with mixed results. At 36 years old next season he should be looked on as on the decline. He still has reasonable velocity and his slider can be a wicked pitch, but he can get into trouble losing command. I think we may owe him $2 mil for 2022 but would be reluctant to bring him back. 6. Martin Perez will be a 31 year old FA and some team may offer him a contract for 5th starter money. We would probably only have any use for him as a reliever for less money so I assume we let him walk. 7. I not in love with either Hansel Robles nor Yacksel Rios. Both throw hard but suffer from serious command issues. If we could keep Rios in the minors he might be of some value to us during the season. Robles is a FA and I would let him walk. 8. Ryan Brasier will be 35 in 2022 and it appears he will be in arb. If he can make it back, he might prove to be a solid but not high leverage reliever who can throw strikes. 9. Austin Davis has not impressed in his period with the Sox. I would try to off load him. 10. Phillips Valdez can be effective but has great trouble finding the command to be a consistent relief pitcher I would stockpile him in the minors but don’t have a lot of hope for him. We have Bello, Murphy, Walters, Winckowski, Ward, Schreiber and Groome in development. It shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to expect at least one of them to reach the ML team in 2022. I would be looking to the FA market for another high leverage reliever since we still have question marks which will likely carry over into 2022. How much can we afford in the market?

My general comments on pitching 2022 and beyond. Setting up the pitching staff for 2022 and onward is a very complicated business. On first principles, the Sox could have either 13 or 14 pitchers on the roster coming out of ST. I would prefer 13, however Cora chose 14 in 2021. Currently they have a total of 22, if you include the 40 man roster as a repository of talent available to the majors. I count 8 more not on the active roster that have some lesser chance of appearing in a big league game in 2022. Perhaps that will signal an improvement in the development of pitching talent by the Sox minor league coaching. If we do go with 13 pitchers on the active roster, what should the makeup consist of in general. I would expect 5 starters capable of going at least 5 innings and better if they can go at least 6 on average. Coupled with that I would expect that there would be 2 longer relievers who could fill in as starters if a BP game was needed. The remainder of 6 would include 6 spot relievers with 3 of those being of the higher leverage types including closing capability. The old story of righty and lefty mix comes into play here, with 3 right handed and 2 left handed starters and 3 left handed relievers and 5 right handed relievers allowing for optimum flexibility and variations on that based on available talent. The question of velocity comes into the game now as many pitchers are hitting 95 and above. I agree that velocity is important but not if command is sacrificed in a way that makes for a lot of walks. Pitchers are asked for full extension of their delivery on their fastballs which seems to make them prone to physical injuries. Also, clearly starters need a variety of quality pitches if they are to go multiple times through the lineup. Long relievers need at least 3 quality pitches while spot relievers can get by with 2. Command is extremely important. Most common of the pitches thrown is the four seamer, followed by the 2 seamer (sinker) and cut fastball. Nice to have a slider, a changeup or a splitter. The curve balls of various types, including the knuckle curve although effective seem harder to control. If you keep 9 pitchers besides the active roster on the 40 man, some of those will be protected and may be recovering from issues but too valuable to let walk. There may be only 5 or 6 that can be transitioned to the majors as needed when injury strikes. Having a starter and long reliever stashed in that way along with maybe 4 spot relievers makes sense to me. Looking at the Sox roster for 2022 and beyond for specific names dives into the deep water of choices. I will share my choices separately as this is already a long entry.

What we need to see more out of the meat of the order and a stabilization of our BP. Without those happening our likelihood of gaining on the Yankees and Rays is low. Can we beat out Oakland? That's the only realistic hope but we need more from Martinez and Bogie.

Gamblers choice.

The lower part of the order is coming through. Renfroe, Verdugo, Shaw. I hope that whatever hot streak they have gotten into rubs off on Schwaber, Bogie and JDM.

Tough outing 80 pitches in 4 inning with a walk and 8 hits. The Sox offense looks anemic so far so Houck may need to come out if there is a chance to win this game.