oldtimer

We are going into a very meaningful 7 game stretch and are approaching the trade deadline. It would be important to complete a trade now to shore up the roster. With Santana down and Arroyo out for at least 7 more days, we are reliant on Chavis, Dalbec and possibly Cordero and a rookie Duran. We also have Verdugo struggling and Bogie working with a sore wrist. Having a solid first baseman would help right now. Also another relief arm now would take some of the pressure off our top arms, who will no doubt be used during this next stretch. Bloom, t he time to act is now.

The Rays won and the Yankees are ahead, primarily due to their pitching. We needed this one to keep our margin.

Isn't this supposed to be about trades?

Who will the Sox call up with Santana with a groin pull tonight?

Santana has a groin pull and may go back on the IL leaving the Sox with 1 bench player 9other than a spare catcher). Who do they call up?

Breathing rom and much needed. Two key abs

God is usually right but tonight maybe he made some questionable decisions.

Santana, Dalbec and Chavis against right hand pitching. Is Verdugo available? I know Duran is.

How often when you walk a guy it comes back to haunt you?

The Rays won in the 9th so we need to win this one tonight to keep them behind.

I still believe Cron might be a good pickup at fairly low cost. 1B: C.J. Cron, Rockies The Rockies signed Cron to a one-year, $1 million contract this offseason, a deal that has paid off for Colorado. Cron has 10 home runs and an .804 OPS through 64 games, providing solid production at a bargain price. For a team in need of help at first base, Cron could be one of the best -- and most affordable -- options. Trevor Story is the Rockies big trade chip but we don't need him.

The idea of lightening up has been talked about since the Sox have too many prospects to keep over the winter. Throwing in an outfield prospect like Wilson with a ML guy who isn't in our long term plan makes some sense. Chavis, Dalbec and perhaps Cordero all are possibilities and there are many other prospects we could trade without much impact. What we could use is an upgrade in the RP area to replace Andriese, Workman or possibly Rios. If we can get one with an additional year of control it would be better. It is the kind of move that would help the team competitiveness without going over the CBT. Of course we could use help at 1b. Cron might make sense as Casa is still a full year away.

Arroyo was playing well. It's a shame about the hamstring. A severe hammy takes 6 weeks to heal. Let's hope it isn't that bad.

Santana had a really nice game. HR and double, but also a sharply hit ball and a 9 pitch at bat where he finally struck out.

Good by Cora to get sawamura into the the game. Two pitches is all it took

Another Jays pitcher with 33. That makes 5 in the game and 4 with 30 or more and 3 innings to go.

Cora will likely go with him again in the 5th. Hope he can settle in.

Pivetta's big mistake was to walk Guerro when he had a 1 and 2 count. Better to give up a hr then a walk with a 12 run lead.

The3e Jays have already used 3 pitchers with 36, 50 and 30 pitches respectively. Clearly they won't be using their best guys in this game but they still have to use guys for 6 more innings and may use up another 2 or 3 guys who won't be available in this series.

Not after tonight

The trade deadline might determine if some of those guys are even here to call up. It's only a little over a week and by then first base may be filled through trade.We have bigger problems in that quite a few of our core offensive players have gone cold.

The Yankees grossly overpaid and got burned.

It's important to understand why we are having a rough period so attention can be directed to those areas. Based on the past few series, we have failed to produce runs more often than not. Players we rely on have not produced and that is a worry. JDM has looked out of whack at the plate, taking multiple good pitches and chasing bad. Verdugo is pressing and not getting results, Renfroe is having a tough time with breaking balls and of course Dalbec is just not hitting. Losing Arroyo to injury hurts while Duran is too new to evaluate. Defense remains a problem for the Sox. Dalbec has made several misplays recently and Devers and Bogie have their issues as well Our starting pitching went through a spell of giving up runs early. With our lack of run production, we have recently have had problems catching up. The Sox can be helped with a better hitter at first base and perhaps also improve the defense. Rafi and Bogie are going no where so we have to live with their defense. Starting pitching that can make a difference is expensive and hard to find. I wonder if the Sox will attempt anything before the trade deadline or just hope that Sale and Houck can lift them.

Didn't he have more than 70 stolen bases one year?

In truth, the Sox hitting was missing for all three Yankee games although in the first there were several shots to the wall that were caught. Verdugo and JDM are both struggling as is Renfroe. Dalbec just isn't hitting at all and with Arroyo injured, we lost a guy who was giving us some good AB's. Duran being a newbie is an unknown at this point. Was the Yankee pitching that good? There are a lot of question marks now so it certainly can inform Bloom about how to move forward in the trade market. Certainly a left handed first baseman is needed. Beyond that, Sox management needs to decide if this team is capable of a major run or not, and act accordingly in the trade market.