Fan_since_Boggs

Is it possible the Red Sox bring back G.Richards next year as a reliever or perhaps the closer? He has been much better as a reliever, but I don't know if he likes to close or not? Maybe he wants to be a starter next year? He could have dinner with Dennis Eckersley and Eck could convince him of the benefits of moving to the bullpen at this stage of his career.

I didn't see the game, but Sticky Fingers was booed by the Yankees faithful today as he walked off the mound: https://nypost.com/2021/09/19/gerrit-cole-booed-off-mound-as-yankees-get-pummeled-by-Guardians/

The Yankees dominance over the Twins is one of the weirdest things. When the Twins were up 5-0, it was like the Twins couldn't score again, they needed to keep the Yankees in the game to give them an opportunity for a late inning comeback, which of course happened with Judge's HR. After Judge's HR, it was over; a Yankees-Twins tie-game going into extra innings can only have one outcome 100% of the time!

Verdugo sucks against lefthanders. It makes sense to look for a 4th OF next year who rakes against lefties and can play LF. I thought M.Wilson might be that guy but the Red Sox weren't interested in Wilson obviously. Maybe you don't need to bring someone new in and instead play Kike in the OF against lefties or something like that. As far as Duran goes, I have him playing everyday next year, starting in CF, and batting ninth. He may need a few months to adjust to major league pitching, but I would invest that kind of playing time in him. The Devers situation is tricky. He is awful defensively, but I'm also worried about his defense at 1b. I would probably go with this next year: 1b: Dalbec (but I would also shop Dalbec to see if some team, with a hole at 3b, will overpay in a trade for Dalbec). 2b: Hernandez SS: Bogaerts 3b: Devers C: Vasquez LF: Verdugo CF: Duran RF: Renfroe DH: Schwarber Against lefties: Arroyo plays 2b, Kike goes to the OF, and Verdugo sits. Against RHP, Arroyo would be used as a super-utility guy. Sure, my infield defense remains weak, but my OF defense is very good.

I totally support this idea. If you want a stronger defense next year, Schwarber must DH. Both JD and Schwarber are poor defensive players. JD has been a great Red Sox but it is the nature of the game to go with the younger player who is in his prime. And JD is showing signs of decline this season, especially with his career high chase rate. If JD doesn't opt out, kick in 5 million, and trade him.

So the Blue Jays are playing the Orioles, the Yankees are playing the Mets, and the Red Sox have the toughest challenge against the White Sox. This would be a good weekend for the Red Sox to just maintain the slight lead they have in the Wild Card. That would be a win. Does anyone take the Mariners seriously? i don't. I see three teams--Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays--fighting for two spots. edit: I forgot about the Oakland A's. The A's play the Rangers this weekend; the Mariners play the Diamondbacks. Thus, again, the Red Sox have the hardest schedule over the next 3 days.

I don't like Verdugo in CF. I would like to see the Red Sox field an above average OF defense and I think they have that with Verduo in LF, Kike in CF, and Renfroe in RF.

With Duran struggling and looking like he might need some time to get major league pitching figured out, the Red Sox best lineup going forward for this season (and into the playoffs) might be (when Bogaerts & Arroyo return): Hernandez: CF Schwarber: 1b Bogaerts: SS Devers: 3b Martinez: DH Renfroe: RF Verdugo: LF Arroyo: 2b Vazquez: C Defensively, the Red Sox would have a strong OF with Verdugo, Kike, and Renfroe. The infield defense would continue to be weak, but there is really no way to fix the infield defense anyway with Devers and Bogaerts on the left side.

I wonder about the wisdom of using Cordero to pinch run for Shaw. Is Cordero that much faster than Shaw? Maybe Cruz hit the ball too hard, the TV replay didn't show a good angle, but I'm wondering if a better first baseman could have made that play. Cora should bench Renfroe. I know he won't and Refroe has been impressive at the plate, but too many mental errors in the field. It goes without saying that Verdugo sucks in CF, but with Duran and Kike out, I guess nothing can be done about it.

Arauz is a solid defender. He isn't Ozzie Smith but solid and can play 2b, SS, and 3b, which is why he will be on the 40 man roster next year. As far as Iglieses' defense goes, it sounds like you are relying on scouting reports that are 5-10 years old. I guess Iglieses is better than T.Motter.

It is actually kind of surprising the Yankees traded G.Otto in that he could help the team this season from the bullpen. It would have made more sense for the Yankees to keep Otto and include a younger high upside pitcher who isn't ready for the big leagues. Then again, maybe the Rangers really liked Otto and demanded his inclusion. Who knows. I thought the decision to use Green yesterday was "interesting" and somewhat surprising.

It would be hard to find a minor league system that has a better group of infield prospects than Mayer, Yorke, Casas, and Blaze. Amazing how great the infield prospects are even with Downs' disappointing year. They have better SP prospects than given credit for with Groome, Bello, Mata, and a few others. It would be awesome if N.Song gets started next season but I don't remember when he is expected to return. They are a little short on corner OF prospects, I suppose, but corner OF is probably the easiest spot to fill in other ways. The Red Sox top OF prospect is Duran, who plays CF and there is always a scarcity of quality CFs. As others have remarked, I hope the Red Sox spend their top two or three picks on pitchers in the 2022 draft in order to build a solid foundation of prospects behind the current group of Bello, Groome, etc.

He isn't better than Arroyo. I question whether he is even better than Arauz, who has a better glove than Iglesias.

So how much is Schwarber going to cost the Red Sox in the off-season? He is a hitting machine who turns 29 in March. I guess we need to look at other elite hitting DH types (weak fielders) who are close to Schwarber in age and see what they are making.

I'm not a fan of the J.Iglesias signing. Defensive ability is usually the first thing to go, and Iglesias is at that age when a player's defense often declines. Thus, this isn't the slick fielding J.Iglesias we remember from his early days. The signing is OK while Arroyo and Bogaerts are out, but once they return I don't see a roster spot for Iglesias.

At least we are helping the Rays extend their lead against the Yankees. Thus, something good is coming out of these losses. If I'm not mistaken, the Rays are done with the Orioles while the Yankees have six games left with the Orioles.

I guess they didn't want that chip planted in their brain. I'm being sarcastic, of course. I'm totally pro-vax. For the kids out there listening (12 and up), for the LOVE OF GOD, GET VACCINATED!

He traded away a pretty good relief prospect in Alex Scherff. I'm not going to cry over losing Scherff but don't give him away either. The Red Sox gave him away for nothing. Scherff could develop into a really good major league reliever in a few years. If you decide to trade Scherff, get someone better than Robles.

Maybe or maybe not.

If we can't beat the Rays, and yeah we probably can't, we are better off with the Rays winning so that the Yankees don't pick up games on them. We want the Yankees to play in the wild card game and not win the division.

The idea that trading for relievers is all a gamble or crap shoot is total speculation; it is not based on fact, and it isn't something we can know for certain.

Poor Duran looks over-matched. Every time you look up, the count is 0-2 against him. Duran needs to play full time next year, bat in the ninth spot, give him a few months to make adjustments.

Back to the debate on Bloom's failures at the deadline, Tomase nails it: https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/chaim-bloom-added-bullpen-deadline-not-right-pieces

Agreed, I would rather have Valdez on the team than Perez. Maybe Valdez helps the Red Sox win today's game.

We will soon have a replacement for M.Perez: