oldtimer

It's particularly frustrating when we have a potentially solid power hitter sequestered in the minors while we play guys who have proven to be weak. This team needs a shakeup but the collective management has been unwilling to go in that direction. I agree, Crochet deserves better. Ownership spent serious money yet we are still mired in mediocracy. Time to ask if it is management that is holding the team back.

I agree. Too many 1 run games to not improve the offense. Duran is Heating up, Abreau is valuable. Rafaela is flexible. We have far too many underperformers with the bat and should have made a move at the first of May.

The team needs to score more runs. Instead of making available changes to possibly do that, management sits tight and the season drifts along in limbo. We will have 1/3 or the season over soon. How much evidence does management need? Fire Cora and put Moon in charge. At least we would see some action.

At least you would take action and try some alternatives. Cora is not doing that and may not until the season is history. At my age, I don't have a lot of years to await the Sox return to playoff contention. I want action now.

There is a general miasma surrounding the team. The fans feel it and the results show it. Critical errors in the field and on the bases, relief pitchers who refuse to throw strikes, batters who whiff over and over and especially with men on base. If there is a thing called momentum, the Sox have it in a negative direction. There is significant talent on this team but all, except for a few, (Bregman, Crochet and Chapman per example) are playing below their capabilities. What causes it? A couple of thoughts are the Devers situation causing negative vibes and Cora himself with his placid take on what is happening. Some players may be sensitive to the negativism, Duran for instance. What I have recommended is a shakeup to put a spark and some energy back into the play. Bench or trade some players, bring up Anthony and Mayer. The upside is they provide energy and pull the team out of a funk and the downside is the team is no better but our future stars gain experience. I'm at a point where I think we need a change of style at manager. I would recommend replacing Cora to get a more aggressive manager in place but doubt the Sox will do it.

If we are reduced to hope instead of action, then we will remain in this funk. We need a spark and players have to realize their positions on the team are based on performance. That goes for the manager as well. Too many are recommending doing nothing and hoping for a different result. Shaking things up is at least worth trying. An example might be to move Story to first and bringing Mayer up at short. Maybe Story gets the message. Cora doesn't seem to like that kind of approach, then maybe it's time for him to go.

Is it better to keep using guys who have a low success rate and who have played from opening day or to try rookies who are decent in the field and are lighting it up at the plate? It's kind of the old story, continuing to do the same thing while expecting different results. I am for shaking things up with both the players and possibly the manager. It isn't working.

He seems to refuse to throw strikes. To me it appears he can throw strikes but chooses to nibble off the plate. Batters keep taking those until he gets into serious trouble. Then he finds the middle of the plate and disaster. Listen to Pedro.

Maybe it's time to ask the question about Cora. He is in his 6th year of managing the team. For many of his years, the Sox refrained from investing in the players. This year is different. Despite the investment the results aren't there. I also feel the strong prospects are being held back and that they might just provide a spark needed to get us into a winning culture. Do we need a driven manager? I'm not thinking of a Billy Martin type, but one that generates that fire in the players that seems so lacking at times.

We spent the money and have the prospects but don't seem to be able to put it together. Is it leadership?

I've recommended bringing up the prospects from day 1. With Casas having a bad start and now gone for the year, playing Campbell at first makes more sense than trading away our prospects for an existing first baseman.

The Sox have now blown 10 save opportunities. All least we are leading the majors in some category. It was just another painful example. We score 9 and that should be enough. And what's with Duran taking 3 called strikes with men at the corners and 2 outs. Swing, damn it, all three were obvious strikes.

Devers has demonstrated over the long term that he is one of the worst defensive third basemen in the league. He is a gifted but erratic hitter who often lacks plate discipline; He appears unhappy at DH and doesn't want to play 1st, where we now have an urgent need. As our highest paid player and one who has a long contract, I would think trading him now would be a reasonable move, provided we could get something of com parable value. I don't think Sox management has been smart though so I don't expect them to make the best move for the team. If Devers is this much trouble now, think what he will be when well past his prime. How many 1 run games do we have to lose. Bring up our top prospects and replace those that aren't performing. Let's not fritter the season away.

I perceive Raffy as a gifted but somewhat undisciplined hitter who has never been a good fielding third baseman. As he ages, some of his hitting gifts may diminish and you're left with a less gifted undisciplined hitter. I'm leaning to that take on his performance, not pouting. How many games does Boston have to lose before they look to a spark from their prospects?

You said it. The Red Sox seem to need an offensive spark and Anthony looks like he is our best bet for one. Let's give him a try.

I certainly hope so. The Sox are great at holding their prospects back in order to get them additional control, rather than improving the team. Bring him up, he is ready and the Sox could use an offensive spark. Mayer is a harder fit but is also capable of playing Major league ball now. I don't want to trade away all his capability.

This team still has the pieces to make the playoffs but something is holding them back. Ownership has opened their pocketbooks so where can we lay blame? Is it management or coaching? Certainly we didn't get the bats tuned up in Spring training. Trading players and/or bringing up prospects takes management courage to act. Clearly Yoshida has no place to play. Rafaela has had a problem with pitch selection but is versatile and a platinum level defender. Anthony has the potential to be a star hitter with power. Is there a reason to hold onto Yoshida? Can we bring up Anthony now and send Rafaela down with the understanding he has to work on his hitting? I'm not for trading him as he is young as still may develop into a star level player. Make moves now and improve the team before we build in another finish out of the playoffs.

I don't think Rafaela's hitting had developed enough to warrant a FT position but his defense and versatility along with his right hand bat makes him a player you don't want to quit on. I advocated sending him to the minors to work on his hitting. Meanwhile the Sox are sitting on the #1 prospect who is an outfielder who has both power and looks like an solid hitter. I advocated taking a chance on him even though he is another lefty bat. Now we are into the season and it still looks like the right approach. Rafaela could rejoin the team at the end of June, assuming he learns to be more selective at the plate. I can see him as that super utility player all teaks would love to have.

At the beginning of the season the Sox were looking for an improved defense and as you point out there were a number of changes which should have made that possible. There were some negatives that were associated with the defensive changes. Rafaela hadn't shown he could hit ML pitching. I had recommended they start him in AAA and bring up one of our stud prospects. Who know what would have resulted but clearly what we did hasn't worked to date? Moving Devers from third should have helped but his hitting is less than stellar at this point. I expect Devers to always be a streaky hitter with natural gifts which overcome his tendency to swing at balls. We are paying a bundle to a guy who is a substandard fielder and a gifted but streaky power hitter. I think we did the right thing to move him to DH. Story is a higher paid guy who we hoped would be a superior fielder and could give us a solid bat with some power. It's early in the season, but he too is providing less than we hoped. We doe have Mayer who may be worth a try. Losing 3 to the White Sox should mobilize the management to attempt to get better. I hope they don't wait too long.

I had hoped Spring Training would have allowed players to hone their plate mechanics such that they would at least have started competitively. Whether we faced incredible pitching, the players were unable to use Spring Training to their benefit or the manager made poor choices with the lineup construction remains to be seen. There were choices available, including two high potential rookies and Yoshida. That's what the front office gets paid to do (make choices) and I can only see the results. So far things are not going well. Good to see you back. I haven't been around much of late either

If he knows what it isn't, can he say what it is? Just working hard isn't going to cure this. Practicing the wrong technique makes one better at doing the wrong thing. They need to identify the problem(s) and make the necessary adjustment(s). Quit making excuses and lets see results!

Also wilder than Bregman's

There is a tendency among talksox fans to be reluctant to bring up our high level prospects and to instead want to stay with proven non-winners. There were those who disparaged Duran and wanted to trade him away. Now we have 3 top prospects and the advice is to hold them out for more seasoning? The time is now. Where there is a hint of an opening I prefer to bring a player up. Campbell to second, Bregman to third, Yoshida gone makes sense to me. Find a way to get Anthony into the outfield. Package Abreu with Yoshida and get a pitcher like Cease. Mayer may have to wait but Story has been fragile in the past so we need Mayer available in the wings. Devers to DH and sharing third when necessary is a reasonable approach and may increase the availaility of both players.

I recommend drastic action now. To me we want to put both the best offensive team available on the field while also greatly increasing our defensive. Clearly Devers, Casas, Bregman and Story are expected to be the best infield offensive players while only Bregman and Story are considered high caliber defensive players. We do have Campbell as a possible 2nd base prospect who is unproven but may well be a plus on both the offensive and defensive ends. The drastic action seems to imply either Devers or Casas be moved to DH, Story to remain at short, Bregman to 3rd. Probably Casas should remain at 1st, where he has experience. I would recommend taking a flyer on Campbell from the getgo. The loser in this is Yoshida at DH, who remains a bad fit on the team. In the outfield we have Duran who is good offensively and Abreau who is only good on one side of the split and Rafaela is currently below average. Yoshida has offensive potential and Anthony is a wild card with high potential. On the defensive side we have Duran again as good as is Abreau and Rafaela. Anthony looks to be high potential while Yoshida is not a quality defensive outfielder. I don't see a major role for Yoshida in the outfield with Duran, Abreau platooned and hopefully Anthony. I can see Rafaela and Refsnyder as utility especially since Rafaela has infield flexability as well. I had hoped the Sox would have traded Yoshida and perhaps Abreau for one quality right handed outfielder but that didn't happen. Taking drastic action does risk club house disfunction but if the problems aren't confronted now they will continnue to fester.

Devers and Casas are two of our best hitters and both have power potential. I finbd it doubtful that Sox management would risk the clubhouse upheaval of moving either from their hot corner positions despite their below league average defensive woes. That relegates Bregman to 2nd base. Each of the three could wind up as DH for short stints but the majority of their play will be at the expected positions. Story will line up at SS as long as he can remain healthy. In the outfield we have Duran as a lock. Abreau is solid and Rafaela is capable defensive;y but is a question mark at the plate. It has been difficult to follow the Sox on the basis of a long term plan as they have had a terrible time of it for years. Still I remain hopeful and I think you do as well. Somehow, we have to incorporate are best prospect into the team sooner than later. That means Anthony, Campbell and Mayer. Bregman could opt out after a year. Yoshida is a bad fit for our team. We have a structurally weak defensive team and need to take drastic measures to correct the problems. Does management have the willingness to do so? I doubt it.