oldtimer

Lindor signed for a 10 year $340 million extension with the Mets. To me, that was another crazy contract that may not help the club long term.

Getting Brasier and Sale back should help the staff. I'm an advocate of replacing our weakest field players sooner than later, either through prospects or by spending and going over the limit, if that is deemed necessary. Codero for sure and possibly Renfroe. Having two additional significant bats in the lineup should reduce the likelihood of a prolonged slump. We all should expect some injuries to our better players along the way. Having a deeper lineup helps a lot in that case. Maybe we should alter the thinking and go for it this year.

The Sox are headed to meet the rangers having used Barnes hard to pick up two excellent wins against the Mets, who also have a very solid pitching staff. The Sox also used Whitlock so will have to look elsewhere to close games for the next couple of days. It was worth it.

The Mets have very strong pitching, yet our was better. Sixteen wins in April with 2 games to go. Great start this year.

Right now we have Codero and Renfroe being envisioned as only playing against either right or left hand pitchers. Neither are good pinch hit material, nor is Plawecki. That leaves us thin. Do we have someone better waiting in the wings that might contribute to winning a game or two. It looks like the choices are Santana, Chavis and Duran at this point. I dont see the need for 14 pitchers.

Does anyone else remember willie Mo Pena? Good athlete, super raw power, rare contact. We got off his bandwagon fairly quickly. Is Codero another Willie Mo?

The Sox are likely to compile a record of 16 wins in April. It's pushing it to extrapolate such a small sample over a 162 game season, but if one does the math it would amount to a 96 win season. That would be enough to make the playoffs. We do have Sale coming back and Whitlock and Houck who could be utilized more going forward. I'm a believer in reinforcing the team and making moves where there are weak spots before we take losses. So far, Codero, Renfroe, Dalbec and Plawecki haven't helped the cause a lot. We have Chavis, Duran, Santana, Downs, Wong, Mata and Seabold who may be ready. I would also think management should look at going over the CBT if they can materially strengthen the team. Codero is having major struggles and has options. Renfroe is not far behind. Dalbec and Plaweki probably deserve a longer look. The time is now.

What was discussed by Cora "This, even though the left-handed hitter entered Sunday with just one hit in his last 22 at-bats and 15 strikeouts over that span." wasn't enough to have him act. He thinks the decision to go with Codero was the right one and he plans to stay with it. My question is how long will be too long 2 hits in 44 AB's with 30 SO's, perhaps 3 hits in 66 AB's with 45 SO's. Hate to see the team miss the Playoffs by staying with underperforming players for too long.

And what happens if he is? If you recommend staying with a guy who looks bad instead of trying a legitimate alternative, then your opinion is different than mine. Both are opinions.

Renfroe was held out of the Codero looks absolutely lost at the plate today and Renfroe was held out of the game. Neither of these guys are impressive ML players. I don't see what you do in them.

You say Duran is not ready, but in comparison to who. Are Renfroe and or Codero more ready?

The Sox offense has been good despite Refroe's very slow start.

Just looked up JBJ and Andrew Benintendi's offensive stats. Looks like Bloom's trade of Beni was a good move and not picking up JBJ's FA contract also is working well. Beni -0.2 War jbj 0.2 WAR

When you look at the practical aspects of setting a batting order, you have to look at a balance between right and left hand hitters. We currently have the following mix, which is right hand heavy. Bringing a lefty substitute for a righty makes some sense. I took a guess at who will be with the club in 2022 and who is questionable at this juncture. That might also be a consideration as to whether a prospect is brought up. Right Handed Arroyo Bogaerts Dalbec Hernandez Martinez Plawecki Renfroe Vazquez Left Handed Codero Devers Verdugo Switch Gonzalez Likely prospect pool 2021 Duran L Chavis R Downs R

I believe Devers continues at 3rd this year and any evaluation of moving him will take place in the off season. Clearly he is a star offensive player and will find a home on the club. I think the verdict is out on Dalbec, Renfroe and Codero. Dalbec may well improve his hitting and with his power and defensive abilities stay with the team longer term. I'd say the verdict is out on him right now. Renfroe looks like a decent defensive outfielder but his offense is a major question. Codero has been a pleasant surprise offensively yet his defense is suspect. neither Codero or Renfroe seem particularly flexible, since they tend to be a liability against same side pitching. The Sox have Chavis and Duran as potential replacements this season. There is no guarantee that Chavis will hit well and his defense is somewhat suspect. Duran is that fresh new face. His main strength is his speed and you rightly point out he would be an unknown against ML pitching. Still, if some of our players are struggling for a significant length of time, it may be best to try alternatives.We may be a playoff level team and we shouldn't overlook the possibility of improving through replacement of a struggling player.

And some of those may win or lose games. Use technology to assist the umpire where it is easy to do, like ball and strike calls!

I also have followed the Sox and from the late 1940's. I think Bloom is doing a remarkable job given the circumstances and I guess I am more understanding of the Betts move. I believe Bloom was tasked with bringing the Sox back to relevance while staying below the CBT until the Sox have a real chance of competing at the highest level. His plan appears to involve improving the minor league prospects while gradually bringing the team forward. There was no way that taking on 365 million for the next 12 years was consistent with that approach. Bloom has instead added lower cost, but potentially talented players and prospects by trading away Betts and a few lesser players. He is still stuck with the Price, Pedey and Bennintendi contract residuals and an ace level contract to Sale, which for the time being is not contributing to the team. Fully 1/4 of the CBT is wasted. Getting Arroyo, Verdugo, Codero, Renfroe, Hernandez, Gonzalez and a plethora of better pitching has improved the team. Will all the guys we picked up perform well enough to be with the club for more than this year? No, but some will and the budget will grow next year and put us squarely in the race. The surprise is that we appear to be causing some major ripples already this season.

Very encouraging to date. They may feed off each other gaining confidence in what they can do collectively.

I've thought this year we have started with an experiment with three players on the roster who are relatively low cost power hitters coming into their prime years, but who all have question marks. Codero, Renfroe and Dalbec all are decent athletes and defensive players for their positions, but those question marks remain. Codero has durability question marks and doesn't hit left hand pitchers while both Dalbec and Renfroe strike out a lot which may be exploited during a full season. We also have Chavis who had options or might have made the team or been traded. he is not as good defensively but has versatility going for him. He is another question mark as far as strikeout rate.. The way I see Cora handling these guys is to encourage Codero to go with the pitch more and hit to left when the pitcher goes outside. With Dalbec he just wants him to make more frequent contact and not to worry about the HR. They will come. Renfroe tends to take a big swing so I don't know if Cora can get him to a better place. The point is that these guys are young enough to be around in 2022 and 2023 provided the experiment shows that they can adapt. They could be solid for the team this year, help us to a winning season and be a part of a rebuilt team. I doubt they all show that they belong, but one or even more happily, two of these guys come through we have gotten a real lift. Clearly there are young stars in the making in Duran this year and Casas next depending on how these guys do.

Thats the risk a team has to accept to sign a guy for such a long contract. I hope I live long enough to see his contract through.

We do have that speed but have chosen to park it in the AAA site.

I fully expect Betts to have several additional years of good performance, barring injuries. He is getting paid more than $30 million a year and should produce. The risk is high that he will either get injured or will decline after 5 years, but his salary will remain.

We need to remain flexible in our thinking as new FA stars will appear and we will have to assess our prospects and they include both Codero and Renfroe who are both fairly young. As you point out, we will have lots of money to spend and need to use it to fill in the weak spots and especially in the pitching area. I personally hope we don't pour big money into aging ace pitchers.

A few of us were concerned that JDM was losing bat speed and as a highly paid DH without defensive cred, he might become a liability. I didn't see a way to effect a trade so suggested the best approach would be to let him demonstrate his ability, at least to the All-Star break and then be better informed about how to deal with him going forward. So far, he is hitting much better and looks like a top DH and strength of the team. Patience is a virtue.

Moving Bogey rom short during the season is also unlikely. That may happen someday but not during this season.