oldtimer

I see we have an outfielder Gettys at Spring Training who Cora has praised as an athlete with power but likely will wind up playing in AAA. I don't see him on the 4o man or the list of 30 prospects. Is that an oversight?

My understanding is Cora wants solid on base guys with speed in the first couple of spots and then lineup some power hitters behind. There is also a general desire to alternate left and right hand batters to prevent easy pitching moves by opponents. If he was talking about Verdugo and Hernandez leading the order, I suppose 3,4 and 5 would consist of Bogaerts, Martinez and Devers in some order. Not a bad list to choose from and it hard to go wrong in any order.

If you watched today, Devers had his problems as did Arauz. Very poor defense. At least Pivetta looked good on the mound.

We have the draft coming up but that is in the distant future for pitching prospects. I expect Bloom to continue to pick up pitching talent through trades and/or free agency.

Clearly I said 2022 thru 2024. Each in their own time.

I fully expect Downs, Duran, Casas and probably Yorke being the future of the Sox lineup. Some in 2022, others in 2023 and possibly 2024. Will they all become starters? Probably not but others will likkely come along and make the Sox an exciting team again.

I don't thing they believe Santana will be ready for a while due to his elbow surgery.

You may well be right although there is talk of a different lineup at Fenway with Verdugo in CF. I don't know enough about Cordero to evaluate him although another swing and miss guy on top of Renfroe and potentially Dalbec and Chavis might wind up as rally killers. It will be interesting to see how they choose. It looks like Mata will take a while to recover from a slight muscle tear so he is removed from early consideration on the pitching side.

I think you responded to a tongue-in-check reply referencing the rock band Santana and song Evil Ways (baby)

Speed is as much of an asset scoring from 1st on a hit and going 1st to 3rd. Steals are fine but have to be at a high percentage to be worth the risk.

I admit to being confused about what the Sox are thinking about to fill the 26 man roster for opening day. I have heard they want to have 14 pitchers and 12 position players at the beginning but traditionally there is less need for pitching numbers early in the season. So it's either 12 position players or 13 for opening day. Barring injuries or sickness it's pretty clear who those position players will be with a few exceptions 1st Dalbec 2nd Hernandez (probable) SS Bogaerts 3rd Devers C1 Vazquez C2 Plaweki CF Verdugo (probable) RF Renfroe LF (????) DH Martinez In reality, there are no clear choices at 2nd or the outfield but it does look clear that Hernandez, Verdugo and Renfroe will occupy some of those and be on the 26 man. I count 9 clear choices. So how then do the Sox choose the remaining players on opening day. There can be either 3 or 4 names depending on how many pitchers we choose to keep. You pick-em: Munoz Gonzalez Arroyo Arauz Santana Codero Chavis Duran So if we only can take 3 of those along who do we bring? I don't think Codero is a clear cut choice. Gonzalez was picked up and I believe he will make it. Is Arroyo likely? I can't make out the thinking behind the acquisitions, especially from the standpoint of bringing up Druran, Downs and possibly others this year. Is the thinking to bring in a lot of lower cost talent and hope that at least a few will perform above their average? Do they then trade away from the stockpile as the season unfolds?

Duran had a HR and double in three trips. The kid is helping his cause.

Perhaps it's ala Mode

I didn't think of Cordero there, but I suppose he is an option.

The whole premise of this string has now been blown up, with most of those mentioned signing with other clubs. It appears now to come down to a choice between Kike, Verdugo and Duran. I think it will come from those already in the system, as taking a so-so player from outside to fill the void when we have better internally makes no sense to me.

Cora wants to put speedy players in the first couple of spots so the thumpers can bring them in. Kike is one of those. I suppose Verdugo would also fit. Got to be a decent hitter to be batting up front as it doesn't help to be fast if your OBP is low.

I think we expected it to be too much and this is even more than we expected. Good for JBJ, he deserved it, but beyond what the Sox should pay.

You don't have to defend yourself. The course of action we took was bound to lead to a turn down, by whatever name. It was heightened by the loss of Sale and E-Rod and the diminished farm system. Now we are on the road to recovery with an opening of the purse strings in order for the 2022 season.

I watched today's game and noticed Devers does look like he is in much better shape, which is good news for the club. The way they did the show it was hard to tell who was pitching and who was playing what position and who was at bat. The managers seem to say Spring Training is aimed at getting the regulars ready to play and the pitchers a few innings. Generally, the others are playing for an opportunity to impress enough to get a roster spot.

Better pitching

Duran is 24 years old and a terrific athlete. Time to give him an opportunity. I agree that the team doesn't look fully competitive at the highest level so experimenting with Duran will not tank our season. If he can't cut it, we will find out, but give him time enough to show what he can do. The possible upside outweighs the other arguments in my view.

I doubt we sign JBJ strictly based on the cost. JBJ would be a nice asset but I don't see the Sox taking on a multi-year commitment while rebuilding.

I've been hoping Duran will pan out better than some defense only CF in his declining years. We shall soon see whether he becomes the regular CF coming out of ST.

The team will get a look at talent bubbling up from the minors and better know what the real needs of the team will be. They will have some resources to use and can make good decisions and spend the money wisely. Lets hope that we don't lay out huge money on long term contracts for marginal players. Some questions that should be answered during this season: 1. Will JDM return to form or will he show himself to be losing capability? 2. Will Dever's defense at 3rd show he belongs there? 3. Will Dalbec demonstrate he is capable of hitting in the majors? 3. Will Downs and/or Duran become solid pieces of the team? 4. Wii Houck and or Pivetta become useful starters? 5. How far away is Casas from the majors? Insight on these and other questions should be gained during the 2021 season and allow for targeting our resources in the offseason.

I would take A as a better starting lineup and maybe platoon Gonsales at 1st if Dalbec shows weakness. That makes 2nd base iffy but Arroyo is still worth a shot. Verdugo has shown he can handle leadoff.