Fan_since_Boggs

There is a chance the Guardians could catch the Astros, meaning the Red Sox would play the Astros in the first round and the Guardians would play the wild card winner. I like this scenario better--going into Cleveland again, without home field, in a 5 game series, doesn't seem very promising for the Red Sox. Sale struggles against the Guardians and Kluber is Kluber. Of course, all of this assumes the Red Sox will win the AL East, which is now far from certain. Let's say the Yankees win the division. The Red Sox use C.Sale in the wild card game and the winner most likely plays the Astros, assuming the Guardians don't pass the Astros. In a weird sort of way, I like this scenario better than a 5 game series against Cleveland (with Cleveland getting home field). If the Red Sox win the W.C. game, they would take on the Astros with C.Sale unable to pitch game one. Another starter would have to step up. The Astros are a problem for the Red Sox, though. The Red Sox don't hit lefties and would likely face D.Keuchel twice. That's trouble. The Red Sox just don't have the feel & look of a championship team this year--too many guys having down years, too many injuries as well. And I'm not sure J.Farrell has done a good job managing and pacing C.Sale. The most important games are in October and I'm worried Sale might not have enough left in the tank to be dominant in October.

It is amazing: in the first game against the Blue Jays, and in the game against Sabathia, C.Young is in the lineup and does nothing. Sabathia threw Young a cookie right down the middle, and Young grounded out to 3b. Young hasn't done anything all year, he is below replacement level, and yet the Red Sox keep trotting him out there. They should have released him at the trade deadline and either promoted Brentz or traded for someone who can hit. I was calling for this at the trade deadline. In the worst scenario, I figured they wouldn't give Young too many at-bats in September--and yet he was in the lineup last night. . . .

I think Fister has a chance to win a playoff rotation spot. I would like to see the Red Sox skip one or two of Sale's starts in Sept., but they won't be able to do that unless they build up their first place lead again.

Swilhart will be out of options next year. I think he takes Leon's roster spot in 2018. Leon is pretty useless anyway. Leon can't hit, never saw a pitch in the dirt he didn't want to swing at, and I don't like his throwing to second base. Leon is a fringy MLB player; Swilhart doesn't have to play all that well in 2018 to represent some kind of upgrade.

I'm happy to hear you made it through without any damage and that your cat has safely returned. I'm a big cat person (I donate time at my local cat shelter) and I always feel terrible for pets in a crisis like this. They suffer too.

http://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/53256/hanley-ramirezs-role-endangered-by-slack-second-half-bat I wouldn't be surprised to see Pedroia take over as the full time DH when he returns. Hanley platoons with Moreland. Nunez remains the starter at 2b.

The thing is, Hanley is not having a decent year this season (he is at replacement level) and so the part time role for next season is already justified and built in based on current performance. If the agent complains, if Hanley complains, you release him. You do not hurt your team by releasing a replacement level player. The Red Sox can easily replace a no-field OPS+ of 100. However, if the Red Sox release him and another team signs him and he gets enough playing time for the option to vest, would the Red Sox be responsible for paying the money on the vesting option? Probably not. But if they are, they need to hold on to him long enough to keep the option from vesting. If the Red Sox aren't responsible (I wish I knew), the organization should seriously consider releasing him in the off-season. Problem solved.

Hanley does suck, doesn't he? He has an OPS+ of 100, totally unacceptable. I think the unacceptable OPS+ this season justifies a part time role for Hanley next season. He rides the bench next year, only plays against LHP. If he doesn't like it, release him later in the season. At this point in his career, he is an irrelevant player and so releasing him wouldn't hurt the team at all. You can easily replace a no-field OPS+ of 100. Pedroia's knee might resolve the problem anyway. Pedroia might have to be the full time DH in 2018 (or spend a considerable amount of time in the DH spot). In this scenario, the Red Sox should sign a left handed hitting first baseman (perhaps resign Moreland on another one year deal) and platoon that player with da bum, Hanley Ramirez. That would keep Hanley's option from vesting. The bigger issue going forward concerns 2b. Do the Red Sox resign E.Nunez for 2b? What about M.Hernandez? As a full time DH, Pedroia might have a few big offensive seasons in him. To be sure, he can't do any worse than an OPS+ of 100.

If the Marlins trade Stanton, they aren't going to take on another team's junk--Price, Hanley, and Castillo--even if you sweeten the pot with prospects like Groome and Chavis.

I would have called up Brentz and deactivated Jim Rutledge (or whatever his name is). I would then platoon Young and Brentz in LF, starting Young against RHP (he is hitting better against right-handers this year). Marrero makes sense in that they will probably give Devers a day off here and there against LHP. Nevertheless, I'm not crazy about the idea of Holt starting in LF and would prefer getting a little more power in the lineup.

YES! Trey Ball, the Red Sox 2020 opening day starter. I'm starting to believe again:

I also thought that the Red Sox retain control (of Brentz) if they place him on the 40 man roster. Minor league free agency is for those who are not on the 40 man roster. With that said, maybe a player has to spend a certain amount of days on the 40 man roster to block minor league free agency and Brentz won't qualify due to the fact that he hasn't been on the 40 man roster at all this year? Don't know.

Brentz won't have to perform at a very high level to add more value than Chris Young, who is playing at a replacement level this year. Brentz would just need to put up some semi-decent numbers against lefties and that alone would surpass anything Chris Young is doing. Brentz should have been in the lineup on Sunday against the Yankees lefty.

I'm not sold on Morrison--the one year wonder thing scares me. I like Duda but I'm not sure if his defense is good enough and he has had health issues in the past (bad back). Hosmer is a safer choice over Morrison and Duda but he will also cost a lot more money. I would consider bringing Moreland back on a one year deal if I'm convinced that Chavis is my 1b of the future, but we don't know what the Red Sox think of Chavis.

That's right, and that is one of my points. This team can be very strong in 2020 and beyond but they will need to develop or acquire starting pitching to stay competitive. Enter Jay Groome, who looks sensational, and a few others. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Red Sox draft another arm in the first round of the 2018 draft.

According to some info I read on soxprospects, the Red Sox are expected to introduce Chavis to a few different positions in the offseason and then decide on which one would work best for him. Chavis will likely spend the 2018 season in the minor leagues playing that position and strengthening his defensive skills. If they can get him to play a solid 2b, that would be so advantageous for the organization. You can always find a 1b, but 2b are harder to find and Pedroia might not be able to handle the position for much longer (knee). Like others, I tend to think he profiles best as a 3b or LF, but the Red Sox are set at those positions. . . .

I suppose C.Smith will pitch for the Red Sox in Sept. and if all goes well they would want him on the playoff roster. Fortunately, after this season, H.Owens has one option remaining. So the Red Sox have one more season to fix his control. Owens has that plus change up and so there is hope for him--maybe he can be a late bloomer.

Pretty good, though, especially for an 18 year old. I love the ratios. I wonder what the average age is in that league? Groome has got to be the best Red Sox pitching prospect since. . . .Lester? Or do we go all the way back to Clemons? Maybe I'm forgetting someone.

Stellar defense from Frazier and Headley in yesterday's game. To be fair, Frazier does have a good defensive reputation, but he feels like an automatic out at the plate. Headley is going through a good stretch at the plate, but he is a s***** hitter and has been a s***** hitter for three years now (large sample size). And it looks like he has real problems catching hop throws at first base. Cashman has made a lot of good moves, but his decision making at the corner infield positions has been a total train wreck. The Yankees really suck at 1b and 3b. Cashman had a chance to bring Duda in (and keep Headley at third) but he decided to "steal" Frazier from the Red Sox. I'm sure Dombrowski had a good laugh over that.

Wow, the Cardinals -- didn't see that coming. They would be even better this year if they didn't lose A.Reyes to Tommy John, a guy who has ace potential.

Bst, what would you do at 1b next year? Moreland is a free agent. Nietzsche: I like Duda but I'm skeptical the Red Sox like him. (1) They had a chance to acquire him and didn't. (2) They might not like his defense at 1b; and if they don't like his defense at 1b, there is no room for him on the 2018 team. But if the Red Sox like his defense, I would be happy to see his bat added to the lineup--I wanted to trade for him at the deadline. In your 2018 plan, does Hanley's option vest? The other complication, of course, is Pedroia's knee. Will he need at-bats in the DH spot? But Nunez and M.Hernandez seem like very good back up plans and using Pedroia at DH from time to time is one way to keep Hanley's option from vesting.

Hosmer is far from perfect. In two of the last five seasons, his OPS+ hovered around 100. In three of the last five seasons, his OPS+ hovered around 120-125. If we get the latter, we will be happy, but I suppose the former could easily occur. The Red Sox would save a lot of money by going with Moreland for one year and then Chavis beginning in 2019 but it is impossible to know their plans with Chavis. What other options are there? I don't see Travis as much of an option--if he can't hit in AAA, he likely won't hit in the major leagues.

I don't think anyone is fascinated with him; we are talking about replacing a replacement level player with a guy who might be just a little better than that. The "better" involves more impressive platoon splits (and power) against LHP.

I think Duda will come pretty cheap. Problem is, between hanley and Pedroia's knees, the Red Sox don't need another DH type. Instead, the Red Sox would be better off resigning a guy like Moreland who can play the field or Hosmer if they decide that Chavis isn't the long term solution at 1b. Hosmer makes the most sense--he can hit, he can field, he is a great clubhouse guy, and he is young enough. The only thing that would block Hosmer is Chavis but I'm not sure what the Red Sox's plans are for Chavis.

More than two-thirds of the season is over and the soon-to-be 34 year old Chris Young has a 0.0 WAR. There isn't much to debate. The Red Sox held on Young for one season too long, a common thing to do. According to Eric Van, Brentz's defense is better than Young's and so Brentz would not represent a defensive downgrade. I'm not sure what metrics he is looking at, though. Young hasn't play CF at all this year.