oldtimer

A-Rod was saying on the broadcast that some teams believed Schwaber wouldn't be back until the end of August so lost interest in him.

JDM is slumping now so teams might not be interested in him for $20 mil for 2 or 3 years.

Of course

Dalbec swings at pitches out of the zone and often looks pathetic. We really have no first base answer at this time.

Pivetta pitched fairly well, getting jobbed on two strikes (1 to Zinnio and 1 to Lowe) before giving up the HR. He did give up 2 hits and a wild pitch that Vasquez might have blocked. Not so bad tonight in almost 5 innings.. I agree about Dalbec, but no reinforcements were brought in at trade time so he sits there a rally killer. The game isn't over but the Sox offense is not hitting with runners in scoring position so it doesn't look good now.

I am guessing Casas gets a cameo late this year and then has a chance to make the 40 man by mid next year. If JDM opts out, we need to sign Schwaber to take his place. Schwaber can play left field against national league teams in their stadia. I don't think we hold onto Dalbec for 2022, especially if Casas is projected in. Andriese, Ottavino, Richards, Gonzalez and Santana are most likely gone and we don't know enough yet about Robles.

I think you are correct in your evaluation based on what has transpired. The Sox are looking at the longer term goal and as a result were unwilling to exceed the CBT and also unwilling to trade away their best prospects, which are still in short supply in our minor league system. The management were well aware of our needs for one or two starters and a first baseman. Despite being well up in the standings in the East, except for the Rays, the management didn't see a way for this team to go far in the playoffs. As a result we were uncompetitive at the trade deadline while others in our division made solid moves to help themselves. The Yankees move may not help them reach the playoffs so may be seen as questionable. We may wind up quickly losing our road to the playoffs as we have a major weakness with starting pitching. We will have to thin down our roster going forward into 2022. Who will we get rid of. The fans have many suggestions and they are no fools. I just wish that Bloom was more up front with his approach at the trade deadline, but i suppose he couldn't give off the kind of information which has become evident by his actions.

Kiss this one goodbye.

The relievers are doing their jobs but our starters have been poor for a while now and we suffer from too many holes in the lineup. Not much that can be done.

Our one solid starting pitcher gave up 6 runs in 6 innings. Another disappointing start.

Another lost opportunity as we have too many swing and miss guys in the lineup.

Vasquez had to know fastballs were coming at 0 and 3 and needed to get the ball to the outfield. Big lost opportunity. Dalbec is just strikeout prone.

How do you suggest that can be done with our existing personnel?

And I was a fan from 1947 to present. Ted Williams won the triple crown that year and I was hooked from then on. I'm not as patient as you wen I see a glaring need and management doesn't find a way to make improvements.

I take it you don't consider yourself aa quitter unlike all the rest of us?

Depending on where the Sox are sitting in Sept., we might well see Casas up to get some experience at 1st base. If we are still in the hunt by then I doubt he would get more than a cameo appearance.

I don't see Schwaber on the 40 man roster. Can they delay putting him on until he is clears medical exams and gets off the IL?

I don' think we can remove both Houck and Whitlock from relief roles. Houck has success as a starter so I would keep him there. His problem is that he wastes too many pitches so has trouble lasting more than 5. Maybe he can improve that with coaching. We have 4 pitchers who have struggled getting past one or two innings. Of those I trust Richards and Perez the least so would have Pivetta and E-rod as the 4th and 5th starters and use Richards and Perez as long relievers in games we are significantly behind.

We needed a front line starter but didn't have the chips needed to get one who could be a big improvement. Big handicap to us for the rest of 2021. We have to hope that Sale will be in good form, Eovaldi holds his, Houck continues his upward trajectory and Pivetta gets back to his best form. There are a lot of ifs there. In the mean time, all of our competitors improved so August will be interesting and perhaps disappointing.

Maybe Schwaber will be kept on in case JDM bolts in 2022. He is mainly a DH player with some possibilities in LF at Fenway and an unknown at 1st base.

I agree with your assessment of our starting pitching. It puts a lot of pressure on Eovaldi. If we face top level pitching when he starts, we could be held down in runs. Notice that JDM is struggling now and both Arroyo and Schwaber are around two weeks away, maybe more. I really wonder if Schwaber can be effective at 1st. Maybe he can give JDM a rest. I hope there is more said about our lack of performance in the trade market. We did very little to help ourselves. What were the reasons we didn't compete?

Do you know where we are at this point against the CBT. We lost Chavis but picked up Schwaber and Robles? I am hoping we stayed below the limit.

Look at what the Dodgers did to throw money around. getting two excellent players to add to an already strong team. We got an injured slugger (not a bad pickup) and 2 so so relief pitchers.Maybe we will make a serious effort for 2022.

I too was disappointed in the efforts to fill our needs of a true 1st baseman and a SP. I don't pretend to know the issues and limitations faced by Bloom but just based on results, we have opened the door to lose our lead for a pennant this year. I'll reserve judgment until I know more, but we did have a disappointing effort.

It appears Schwaber is it at the trade deadline, while our competitors were active and got either better or much better. If no more is announced, I have to feel let down for the front running Sox. Some things were undeniable. 1. The Sox needed help at first base as none of their current options look competitive. Schwaber is not really a first baseman so it is difficult to see him as a solution when he returns from injury. 2. Our starting pitching has been weak of late with only Eovaldi and Houck looking good. We are hoping that Sale will also be effective when he returns. 3. Our BP is fairly well set but could use one more reliable arm 4. We have extra ML and prospect players who will have to be lost through DFA as we set our roster going forward. So what were the possible takeaways from the trade window? 1. Bloom was sleeping or otherwise occupied during the trade negotiations. 2. Bloom thought the team as constituted is strong enough to win the pennant so no activity was needed 3. Bloom thought the team had no chance of winning the WS so wanted to remain below the CBT and maintain all his prospects. 4. Bloom was advised by upper management that he couldn't exceed the CBT this year. 5 The Sox trade chips were too weak to gain any interest from other clubs. For whatever reason, I don't see the Sox as improved relative to our competitors and now are at a greater risk of losing our division lead' As I have been told, the time to strike is when the iron is hot. I am disappointed at this point and don't understand why we were so inactive.