oldtimer

What should be considered was whether Duran was possibly better than Cordero not some paragon of baseball perfection. Duran was MVP of the Puerto Rican and has been demonstrating his quality since. In 24 exhibition games prior to the start of the 2021 season, Duran slashed .340/.352/.702 with three home runs, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and 16 hits (six doubles). Why not try him instead of going with a guy who has demonstrated he needs more work? I would say the performance of the Sox main club should come before the Olympics considerations. Dalbec has also regressed and Casas should be developed for a try soon. Quoting stats on Dalbec when he is clearly lost at the plate to me is foolishness.

We won't see Duran until the completion of the Olympics which would be at least into August. Casas is in the same boat but he is only at the AA level. These are the only two guys who might have bolstered the lineup and now they are unavailable. During the last 7 days some of the guys are carrying weak batting averages: Dalbec .135, Cordero .208, Renfroe .115 and Gonzales .063. Very few teams, if any, are strong offensively 1 thru 9, but to your point, the team should be making every reasonable effort to improve. Santana was one of those moves but Duran looks like an obvious one as well.

They faced excellent pitching last night and got beat. It happens. To me the loss against the Phillies was worse, since we came at them with a weakened lineup. Let's hope for a rebound today.

Tough to see our top three hitters go down so easily.

Mookie seems to have looked for the best financial deal for him. Taking $30 mil for 12 years was a windfall for him. I'm just as happy the Sox felt the risk of such a deal was greater than the potential benefit. Time will tell which approach was the best. The Sox offered a big contract but Mookie chose not to accept. Would $30 mil for 10 years been too much to risk? I think so but can understand those who believe the opposite.

He certainly appears ready and was selected to play in the Olympics qualifying round which will keep him off the roster until August. Casas is being treated similarly, although in his case he hasn't played at the AAA level as yet. Meanwhile, the Sox had a surprisingly effective, nearly ist third of the season and are in the hunt. They did this with a very weak hitting Cordero in the lineup, a Chavis for s short time who appears to still be a sucker for a high fastball, a right fielder who is good defensively but is weak hitting against right handed pitching and Dalbec, who appears to be lost at the plate. I didn't understand why they refused to bring Duran up. This business about him not being ready defensively sounds like a lame excuse. The real reason may be to give him a chance to play in the Olympics, at the expense of the ML team. In addition, one could question why Casas shouldn't be given a try while letting Dalbec be platooned. Of course we also have Houck waiting in the wings for another chance. In his case, he had a slight injury so his help was not available. If the Sox feel that they can't be competitive this year, then not trying hard to solve their shortcomings makes sense. Based on their record, I really think they should have made moves which at least have a shot of making the club better.

Not necessarily. Chavis had more chances yet still had not gotten past chasing high fast balls. Franchy could be the next to go down. It doesn't appear Duran will be coming up any time soon with his appointment to the Olympic baseball qualifying team and I see no other outfielder in the system who is likely to be brought up, so if Franchy is sent down it more likely will be for a pitcher. (Sale?)

Related question. What will Duran and Casas selection for the team to play Nicaragua in the qualifying round for the baseball Olympics do to their availability for both their minor league teams and the possibility of them making the Sox club this season? I understand that 2 of the current 28 players selected for the team will be dropped from the roster, but assuming they are still part of the 26 man team, what does that mean?

I hope Cora will use our best lineup going forward. Today was a bad joke.

I wasn't the person who said he had legendary power. He doesn't need to provided he can help us with his speed and be more consistent offensively than Cordero or Chavis.

Cordero needs regular work so he can possibly develop into more of a consistent offensive threat. AAA may be the best place for that to occur. Chavis has had more chances with the Sox and still has major problems with the high fastball. Dalbec appears totally lost at the plate at the present time. Taylor has found himself and is too valuable to send down. Valdez has a knack of missing bats but his command is marginal just due to the movement he gets. Andriese has not impressed. I would send Cordero and Chavis down and bring up Arroyo and Duran. I also would platoon for Dalbec. He is becoming an offensive liability and needs to work out his problems. His pitch recognition seems to be lacking. When Brasier becomes available I would either send Valdez down or consider moving Andriese. Sale won't be up for a while and by then an injury spot may open.

You don't give him much credit for the improvements he has made. He has gained a lot of strength and changed his swing. Seven home runs this season is pretty impressive.

Speaking of Duran's HR's yesterday: The 24-year-old left-handed hitter went 5-for-5 with two home runs Saturday to help lead the WooSox over Buffalo, 7-4. His home runs traveled 480 feet and 475 feet. That is a show of power.

It looks like a giveaway. But why?

Sometimes I don't understand Cora's motivations. This lineup is gift wrapping the final game of the series with a day off tomorrow. A game in May means as much as a game in September.

Jarred Duran yesterday Jarred Duran, RF: 5-5, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI Bring him up soon.

Excellent win for the Sox last night had this old man up til the end. Our pitching was g with the exception of Valdez, who can and did have severe command issues. Our offense was limited by having to sit Verdugo, playing without a DH, starting a backup catcher, the light hitting Cordero and Dalbec who is looking lost at the plate. Despite that we did just enough to pull it out while the Phillies threw all the pitching they could at us.

I think we will see the Sox starting rotation in 2022 to include: 1. Pivetta' 2. Richards (resign) 3. Sale 4. Perez (option exercized) 5. Ace level acquisition 6. Houck (Whitlock, Seabold both possibles) Relief Pitching: 1. Keep Barnes (if possible financially) 2. Valdez 3. dHern 4. Sawamura 5. Taylor 6. Bazardo 7. Whitlock 8. Seabold I see Ottavino, Basier both leaving In the outfield I expect Verdugo, Duran and Renfroe with Hernandez as a solid utility backup In the infield I see Devers, Bogaerts, Arroyo (his job to lose) with competition between Dalbec and Casas at 1st. Will JDM stay another year as DH? His performance this year may generate multi -year offers that the Sox would be reluctant to match.

I'm with you on that. It's in Cordero's interest and the Sox interest to let him work out his problems, if he can, at the AAA level. The Brice demotion made the best sense for the time being.

Chavis didn't help himself with the careless error tonight.

Three errors accounting for unearned runs and the shifts opening big holes for damaging hits. Our pitching wasn't as bad as the results indicate Even the first two runs were unlucky.

So who will Santana displace? Will it be Cordero, Chavis or other?

Ross Stripling's 2021 WAR is -0.4

The Blue Jays have pitching depth issues and when they put weak pitching against our lineup, good things happen. Lets take the finale.

I agree that Cordero should be sent down where he can work on his hitting without being a drag on the Red Sox team. Chavis is a bit of a different issue. He has been working on laying off the high fastball for a couple of years but it seems he has been unable to avoid going after high fastballs out of the zone. He has some value but that weakness is one that may keep him off the Sox team going forward.