oldtimer

I'm not ready to say Marwin has been a bad signing. He is one of those flexible players that is an experienced MLer. He may well hit better as the season progresses The signs are there.

It's painful watching Dalbec at bats. So far the coaching hasn't got him nearly on track. Casas has a lot of talent but is totally untested at the ML level. We just might see him in September, but until then we probably will live with Dalbec platooned with Gonzales or replaced with Chavis.

What I see is that Dalbec takes too many pitches over the plate, including 3rd strikes. I would tell him to swing at any pitch over the plate.

I did. Too early in the morning for me I guess. Off to play softball.

Right now two of the plausible top prospects are committed to the Olympics. Chavis and Franchy are there but not great replacement choices. Have to wait until mid August for Duran or Chavis and both are unknown at the ML level. I think we either go outside the organization or wait, as painful as that seems.

The Yankee fans seem to have quieted down. Spending big money doesn't always bring results.

Another area for optimism is the upcoming draft where we may well get a starting pitcher prospect to develop for 2023 and other solid draft opportunities. It will be interesting to see what Bloom does with these opportunities.

Update on the Olympic Qualifier round. The US team beat Venezuela last night 4 to 2. to qualify for Tokyo. Venezuela had former Red Sox prospect Annibel Sanchez on the mound. Our guys Duran went 1 for 4 and Casas went 1 for 3 with a walk. The hero was Todd Frazier with a 4 for 4 night including a Home run. Venezuela and Puerto Rico get to play in another round in Mexico for the final spot in the Olympics.

It was an important win for the Sox for a lot of reasons last night. It was the hated Yankees and at their park. JDM was being rested after the grind we have been in. E-Rod was pitching and showed improvement. The usual offensive guys contributed and best of all both Hernandez and Dalbec had hits that helped the club. The Yankee fans have to be crying in their beer.

Kind of frustrating to watch. Hope they find a way to help him.

Pitching in 2021 generally utilizes a strong starter whose aim is to last twice through the lineup (5 or 6 innings) and then give way to hard throwing relievers to carry through. There seems to a plethora of guys who can reach the mid nineties and get good movement. Small wonder that is increasingly difficult for hitters to succeed. Add to that the shifting and the stats available to identify hitters flaws and it is a wonder when any hitters still put up good numbers. Only the truly gifted guys can do it and it helps to be experienced. Guys like Franchy and Dalbec are up against it and may not ever succeed or perhaps gaining experience will start to contribute. I have been an advocate of trying some of our best and brightest prospects in the hope that one or more of them will demonstrate special abilities. Maybe they come up and struggle as Moncada did, only to develop at a later date. One can only guess. The alternative is to keep playing those who are essentially a black hole. I'm in favor of trying to improve with the main risk of swapping one black hole for another.

In the Olympic qualifiers today USA beat Canada 10/1. Duran went three for 5 with a double and triple and Casas went 1 for 4 with a double. They are in the super round and need to one more win the get the Americas bid.

Pe3titioning against Duran again?

doesn't Three Red Sox Starters in a row have been very good. Astros starters were also good but also caught Sox hitters in a bit of a slump. Bogaerts was quoted as saying Astros pitchers were on the corners or outside the zone and he for one had to get back to making them come over the plate. The same was probably true for others in the lineup. They need to stay mindful of what got them here and get back to good sound plate discipline. With the good pitching news comes the bad news for a few of our hitters who appear to be lost and maybe nearing getting sent down. Dalbec struck out 4 times today. To bad for him but the argument of letting him work it out doesn't make sense for a team in contention. I not as much of a stats guy instead preferring to watch batting sequences closely. He is taking average fastballs down the middle way too often, some for 3rd strikes. Kiki is in a serious slum as is Marwin. Those two have longer tract records and will no doubt be given extra leeway.

Can any of hem hit?

I am with you. Lets try to improve. Who knows if Duran is ML ready. One way to tell. Same with Casas.

The question was asked what would happen if our primary hitters went into a bit of a slump. The concern being we had little from our leadoff and little from our 7 through 9 hitters. Well, Verdugo is hitting, Renfrow is coming on and Vaz still gets his hits but Dalbec is slumping, Gonzales hasn't done much and Kike doesn't look like a lead off hitter. Some of the experiments haven't worked out. Cordero is in the minors. The hope that I have had is that Bloom and Cora would recognize that we have weaknesses and attempt to shore up those areas before we drop from our good record to a middle of the road team. Our hope would apparently lie with Duran and Casas who are currently unavailable at the Olympic Qualifiers. That pair might help or be a bust but I would have liked to see if they could help. Duran went 0 for 4 last night was Casas was 2 for 4 with a double in a second win. There is still time for the Sox and our quality hitters won't slump for long, but it might be time for Cora to rethink his lineup. Maybe Bloom can look outside.

Luke Williams and Jarren Duran combined for six hits out of the top two spots in the US order, and Mark Kolosvery homered as the United States piled on late for a 7-1 win over Nicaragua on the first day of the Americas Baseball Qualifier from Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Looks like a very rainy weekend at Fenway.

Three walks and a passed ball. Doesn't engender a lot of confidence. Fortunately, that all from him for tonight.

Now up 3 due to some good hitting with the Verdugo homer.

Nobody has been talking about Jeter Downs but he is still very high on the prospect list. He doesn't really project at 1st or the outfield but might make it up if Gonzales and/or Arroyo struggle. Kike can then play the outfield. If Jeter picks up his hitting, the Betts trade looks that much better

I don't see Casas getting a look until September, so Dalbec may have as much as 3 months to make adjustments, albeit platooned. I don't think Okaimey gets a look.

ML BB is a tough business. Players are constantly competing for their position. So it is with Dalbec, Chavis and all the others. When they get outcompeted they are at risk of being sent down. traded or even find themselves out of baseball altogether. The situation is always dynamic and all players at the ML level can do at least some things well. It's up to them to make adjustments and prove their worth. If they are unable to, sadly they are gone.

Dalbec's problem appears to be pitch recognition. He backs himself into a hole by taking fastballs and changeups early in the count and then swinging at balls off the plate. He no doubt is getting coaching to help him with that, but like Chavis is having problems adjusting. As Moon mentions, Casas is knocking on the door with a better hit tool and natural power and is a first baseman. His issue is lack of experience at even the AAA level. Still, if Dalbec continues to look lost at the plate, Casas may get his chance. If so, it might not happen until September with Dalbec platooned until then. The Sox excellent start this year has made me anxious for them to work on their weak spots, including the outfield, first base and relief pitching. If they are reluctant to exceed the CBT limit this year, it leaves only a small list in the prospect pool who offer much hope of improving the team. Duran, Casas, Bazardo, Brasier and Sale are the leading candidates to do that. Does the Sox management really believe they can be contenders this year? I wonder.