oldtimer

We have gone to the big and slow lineup. Cora indicates Duran would not get at bats if he stayed so I suppose he did the right thing. Proof will be if the team can win with this approach.

Yes and they finally got a base hit from one of the most unlikely players as the 8th player in the lineup. Right now this lineup doesn't appear to be killing much.

Moreland has the glove and would have been a smart addition while Casas is readied. Several of us made that recommendation.

After Shaw won the game with a walk off grand slam is unlikely to be an acceptable time to criticize our first base situation. Dalbec has been guilty of serious misplays at first and his hitting also doesn't appear to be improving with too many weak at bats. we got Shaw as a temporary option as a sub for Dalbec against right handed pitching. They do represent about 75% of pitchers faced. Shaw is big and slow and has not been hitting and was already seen to be expendable from another team. He came in defensively in the game today and failed to make 2 plays that a good first baseman should make. Both seriously hurt us. Fortunately for him and for the Sox he hit the GS. The news is Schwaber will have his maiden voyage at first this week. He is a professional hitter but it seems a stretch to start him there. This year we have tried Dalbec, Chavis, Gonzalez, Santana, Arroyo and now Shaw with Schwaber on the horizon. Kind of speaks to problems in the Sox front office.

Prolonging the agony.

matinez, bogaerts and Devers up with a man on second, If we can't score here it's on the meat of our lineup who haven't shown up today so far.

Yes, Shaw came in as a defensive replacement for an error prone Dalbec but couldn't make a play many first basemen would. Follow that with a potential inning ending groundball to Bogaerts. A flip to Arroyo where he should at least gotten one but dropped it. Barnes was not good giving up those hits but he also got no support.

The Rays started Chris Archer today and told him to go as long as he could as hard as he could. Archer was rejected from the Pirates and back off of injury. Archer now tops out at 93 mph. He went two innings followed by 4 other pitchers, each contributing so they held the mighty White Sox to 0 runs while piling on 9 of their own. Quite embarrassing for the White Sox I would think although they did not fold like the Red Sox accordion act yesterday, but just couldn't muster offense and couldn't stop the Rays. Some say the Rays can't use pitchers as they do, but the proof is in the pudding. Good defense, timely hitting and what appears to be expert handling of their pitching is winning a lot of games.

The Rays operate without a lot of starters. They have a low budget but find a way. Their top ace is out for the year.

Sorry for the length of this. I am trying to break comments into segments, but they still get long. Active Roster field players 2022 The following is my view of the field players who are currently starters on the 2021 squad and have a place or may have a similar place in 2022. I also believe that we should keep 13 active field players on the roster with the utility guys being very important and needing improvement in 2022 1. Hernandez has shown himself to be an effective defensive center fielder and second baseman. If he can play center he can also play either right or left so he has that much sought after versatility. He came to the Sox as a utility guy but his offensive performance from the leadoff makes him an every day player. He is an ambush hitter and will swing early if the pitcher tries to get an early fastball by him. He has quite a few strikeouts but also will take a walk and grind on a pitcher. He has good speed as a baserunner. 2. Devers appears to have gotten more comfortable defensively at third base and will probably stay there. A very important part of the team who can get to almost any ball and hit it with power., perhaps because of his great hand-eye coordination. He may become ore selective at the plate over time which would make him even more important. Hope the Sox sign him for a long term deal 3. Bogaerts in my opinion is a key senior player on the team despite being only around 29. He doesn’t have great range but is very dependable. He knows the strike zone and knows what he can hit hard and when to go to the opposite field. I see him as the most advanced hitter on the team with Schwaber being the only challenger. 4. Martinez is clearly a very valuable player but is one dimensional with DH being his best position. He can fill in as a corner outfielder but is second rate defensively. Surprisingly, he chases balls too often for my liking. He no doubt is a mentor to younger players so has extra value in that regard. He can opt out next year if he wants to give up a 1 year $19 mil deal. I expect to be disagreed with in my view that we should make a priority of signing Schwaber for up to a 5 year deal. Martinez is 34 and may not decline steeply but I would trade him away or let him opt out as one DH is all the team needs. 5. Verdugo is a good young outfielder defensively, has reasonable speed and is a good left-handed hitter. I recommend he reconsider his high loft swing to return to a more consistent line drive hitter. HRs will come naturally. 6. Renfroe is a very good defensive right fielder with good speed and a strong arm. His hit tool is only average and he chases outside the zone but his power is good and he can contribute to the team as any every-day player. I would bat him toward the back of the order. 7. Arroyo is a hidden gem on the team who can play second and sub in for SS or 3rd. He was tried to fill a need at 1st but I would find another person for that. He is one of the better right-handed hitters on the team with good contact and reasonable power. He is coming into his prime years. A complaint about his durability has stemmed from a couple of contusions this hear along with a pulled hamstring while playing out of position. His durability may be fine. 8. Vazquez is a steady catcher and has been durable. His defense and framing are not the best and his hitting has been on a steady decline. Given the premium new FA catchers bring, it might be difficult to find a young capable catcher to replace him. He is 31 now. He represents an obvious hole on the team so at least we should take a hard look at options for 2022. None of our prospects look exciting. 9. Dalbec is an older rookie who I consider a below average defensive 1st baseman. His hit tool is below average and his strikeout rate is high. His one special talent is his immense power. I see keeping him to bat against lefties in a platoon system. Lefties comprise about 25 percent of starters we face. Utility Players 1. Plawecki is a good backup catcher who can hit enough to continue in thee 2021 role. His receiving and framing are adequate for the role and he should be kept. 2. Duran brings something much needed on this team and that is plus speed. His defense in CF has been fine and his hitting is coming along, considering he was a rookie. He has good power and may well become an every-day player with more experience. 3. Munoz proved to be a good contact hitter in 2020 and was doing well in the minors but was not given the opportunity to come up to the 2021 club which I view as a mistake by management. He has utility defensively for both outfield and infield but admittedly his defensive is only average. If we don’t bring him up, perhaps DeShields will show himself to be worthy. 4. Casas is a left-handed power hitting first-baseman with soft hands and a good hit tool. I don’t see him making the team out of ST but he fills an immediate need for the team and I believe he will make the team at mid-season 2022. In the mean-time, we will need someone to fill in. I don’t think Shaw is that guy so maybe we look for a short term FA who can fill in for as long toas it takes Casas to show he is ready. Rest of 40 man field players separately.

Badly.

Last night thee Sox played very poorly and looked lethargic throughout. This was in front of a large home crowd having been at home for 2 days and with a rest day. We put a team on the field made up of almost all the players Moon identified as next years team that was pretty well set except for a couple of pitchers. Despite what happened, I substantially agree with that assessment. So what went wrong? 1. Texas played good crisp defense, while we made 5 fielding errors. 2. Texas hit and ran the bases aggressively while our base running was sloppy and we couldn't string together hits. 3. Texas pitched well while E-Rod was the worst version of himself. I knew he was in trouble i the second inning when he got up in the count 0-2 and then proceeded to throw 3 non-competitive fastballs completely off the plate. (no command). He also failed to run to first on a ground ball to Dalbec. I can't blame Cora for trying to stay with his front line starter but it wasn't working and out relief corp also had an inferior night. So what could cause such a complete team breakdown. Errors, wild pitch. wild throws from the outfield, failure to pickup balls thrown to first, etc.? I don't know, but it certainly doesn't look good for us down the stretch. I wonder what the Rays organization would do when seeing play like this?

This is pretty much t same club we might field in 2022. Doesn't give me a warm feeling.

The Sox look totally out of sync. E-Rod didn't have much command and we couldn't make plays. Kiki, Xander, JDM all have made bad plays. The Sox look snakebit.

i believe we still want to be patient with Dalbec, but in more of a platoon situation. Cordero, Santana and Gonzalez were people who other teams didn't want where Casas is a top Red Sox draft choice, a left hander who also happens to be a first baseman. he has really good power and has an advanced hit took according to scouting reports. I think there is a word of difference between Casas and the other 3. The question of whether he can be ready by mid 2022 is a legitimate one. Duran is an example of a rookie finding his way in the majors.

The Sox had obvious problems fairly early on in 2021. Two of those were we were not performing offensively at first base and our lineup had only two left handed bats who were competitive at the ML level. Our brain trust, consisting of Cora, Bloom, the front office and our coaching and other resources had reached into the reject bin to get us Gonzalez, Santana and Cordero who were either switch or left handed hitters and who had a possibility of playing first base. I suppose they hoped to find lightning in a bottle. The results were not good with Gonzalez DFA, Santana oft injured and not providing offense when healthy and Cordero back in the minors after two bad stints on the team. Meanwhile, we waited a long time to bring up Duran who was touted as the CF of the future. He was held back saying he was not ready at over 24 years old and with the best speed on the team should he come up. He did everything in the minors a guy could do. Given the earlier bad choices by our so called brain trust, how much credence could you place in their evaluation of Duran. To date he has done fine in the outfield and struggled at the plate, as many rookies do. His offense has improved as they work with him to put more balls in play and use his speed once on base. The irony for 2022 is that we could have 5 players in the starting lineup by mid 2022. Since about 75 percent of starting pitchers are right handed, that would be an interesting feature for the team. If we sign Schwaber and bring Casas up mid season we could have Devers, Verdugo, Schwaber, Duran and Casas. With our existing quality right handed batters, Cora would have a great opportunity to mix and match based on the pitching we face. More on that later.

Arroyo had a contusion on his hand and another on his leg. Those are hazards of the game. His pulled hamstring came when he tried to play an unfamiliar position. Give the guy a break.

What I have read from fans is they like Schwaber for 2022 provided we can keep him. The issue was he was injured so couldn't play during a stretch when we were losing our lead and he also was not a solution for our 1st base issues.

I am hoping the coaches share these kind of discussions with the players and help them correct issues when they are headed in the wrong direction. I know they are working with Duran to stop chasing and to put the bat on the ball so he can use his speed as more3e of an asset to the team.

On base 3 for 3 tonight, so far.

Good they added 3 runs for breathing room. Some guys came through with RISP.

No. Verdugo has now sold out for the HR swing and is popping the ball up much more often> Ted Williams advice was to keep the bat in the plane of the ball as long as possible while in the hitting zone. Guys who try to loft the ball are looping their swings and have to have perfect timing to hit the ball hard. The results speak for themselves. Sell out for a HR while risking weak contact or a strikeout. HR's tend to get paid for by management but the price to the team is higher than the benefit in my view. Once they get down in the count, all hitters should go into the protect mode. The good ones do. Empty at bats have been hurting the Sox.

Cora's desperation move with Arroyo cost us 5 to 6 weeks of an important player for this team. If he still is willing to tempt fate, it seems to say Schwaber is not really being considered for 1st base as the Sox have discussed. In either case, Casas is probably being considered for call up in mid 2022.

I see that as a gratuitous comment by Brian O'Halloran. He said they had full owner support and the front office screwed up. Out of the other side of his mouth he indicated they think they made the right decisions while not adding more than they did. I don't buy his comment as an apology. They took Schwaber who was injured and two semi-cast off relief pitchers and followed it up with Shaw. Schwaber may work out for 2022 if we can resign him but who can say he fills a real need on the team for the rest of 2021? The rest are not much help for this team.