oldtimer

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.

A goal for Chavis has been to learn to layoff the high fast ball out of the zone. It doesn't look like he has accomplished that as yet. It is too bad for him but he will probably be one of the guys sent down when Henandez and Arroyo come back up. With 2 men on we had Chavis chasing out of the zone and Arauz swinging from the heels and chasing. He is really young and needs to learn situational hitting. He too will probably be sent down. Dalbec has learned not to chase, but he goes too far in the other direction, taking fastball strikes right across the plate. He has earned the respect that will keep him on the team. It was a good game today and we lost on a quirky blooper and a HR by an honest to goodness star.

Those advocating spending a lot of money to bring in a top lineup should consider what is happening with the Angels. They have Trout, Othani and Rendon and had Puholz until recently and the results have not been great for them. Putting so much into starts leaves them with budget pitching.

Maybe there are other reasons that they are reluctant to bring Duran up. Years of control or something like that. Trying Duran now instead of sticking with a very unproductive Cordero appears to be a no brainer and I don't buy the stated excuses for not doing it.

I don't expect either to have a high on base %. When the bottom can supply a few rbi's it makes the team more balanced. Leave them where they are and keep expectations in bounds..

My view is the Sox went into this season with very moderate expectations and the idea of strengthening the prospect list while as you say picking up some 1 or 2 year players who were rejects from their own teams in hopes of picking up a gem or two. On the pitching side they did pick up Richards and Ottavino to solidify the staff. The starting pitching has been solid while Cora is still searching for the right mix in the BP. With a lot of dead money this year in Pedroia, Price, Sale and Beni and a desire to remain under the CBT, the Sox were not thinking contention. What has occurred, perhaps due to the weak early schedule and the hot hitting of our core players, the Sox has looked like a contender. That has been despite the black hole at the bottom of the lineup consisting of Dalbec, Renfroe and Cordero. We were getting a little out of Arroyo and Hernandez but they now are on the IL. Our replacements for them (Chavis and Arauz) are got game changers, It is predictable that our hot hitters would cool off a bit. The season is a grind so we need some others to share the offensive load. That hasn't happened so we are losing winnable games with a woeful lack of run production. So what to do? I never expected fill ins and rejects to carry the team, but I did hope for some level of competence. To Bloom's credit, we have done so on the pitching staff, but not s much with the position players. We will get Arroyo and Hernandez back and Renfroe has shown signs of life offensively to complement his good outfield defense. I believe Moon has suggested platooning Dalbec, although if he can't produce at all he might do well to get this swing together at a lower level. Cordero is the mystery to me. He has been awful offensively and average defensively. He has options. Why management refuses to try someone different is a mystery to me. Santana and Duran are awaiting a chance. Isn't the idea to bring up our prospects this year to see which ones will fir going forward into 2022 and beyond. We also have Downs and perhaps later Casas. I hate to see us squander our good start without at least trying to make changes where players are obviously not getting the job done. Is it Bloom? Is it Cora? Who are making these decisions?

The weakness at the bottom of the lineup makes if likely we go into the 9th by 1 run and that is if the BP holds.

Continuing to play guys who obviously need to work on their hitting and losing winnable games is equally stupid, particularly when they have options. Moon put the question in perspective by asking who the replacement would be. Unless we go outside the organization, the outfield possibilities are Santana and Duran. Dalbec has Chavis, although due to injuries we are very thin at 2nd base right now. That is an artifact of carrying 14 pitchers.

Codero is back to his 0 for days. I day of hitting surrounded by lots of 0 fors.

I would factor in the quality of the opponents offense. Over a season, that would average out but so far the Sox have only played a few teams with strong offenses. I would rate the White Sox and Blue Jays as strong. Our Sox are about to take on 3 tough teams, so that should be interesting. GS numbers also would have a bias for those who play in places like Coors field, where the ball carries so well. So maybe a good start should have different numbers depending on the park.