Hugh2

Exactly, starting pitchers would go deeper into games if they......wait for it........PITCHED BETTER!!!!

I don't know about his history, because I don't care to look it up and it may be irrelevant to this but more recently JDM has been a first-half performer. There was a .148 point drop in his OPS the second half of last season and .139 points the year before. Turner has historically been a much better second half guy. Pass him in OPS? IDK, like I just said I'm not going to be money on it, but I would be willing to be the difference between their two OPS's will be significantly smaller than it is now by the end of the season.

No, but by no means would I be surprised if it happens.

The problem with someone like Duran is you only have a small sample size to go on, because he's so young. So yes, taking the last several weeks is cherry-picking, but given where he is in his career you can't help but wonder if he's turned back into a pumpkin, the league has figured him out. Question is....can he do anything about it? His improved defense has raised his floor in my book and that gives him a longer leash to figure it out. I'm certainly rooting for the kid.

Don’t underestimate the power of one hot streak/cold steak

As a 22 year old guy....he'd probably love all that.

Sale should have no bearing on this team (at this precise point) for the following reason. The Sox just reset the luxury tax limit this year and if they blow past it next year. Let's just say hypothetically for those who don't think it's a likelihood that they are. By the time the Sox would want to reset again Sales money is off the books. It's no longer handicapping this team IF they wanted to spend. That's the question at hand though.....it really comes down to what John Henry wants to do. In my humble opinion, Henry should remember that he's the owner of big market team and if he builds a winner he will make plenty of money.

Progress isn't linear, sometimes a guy struggles for a long time and just figures it out. But this is why you don't rush him, let him figure it out in AA, let him get a full season there then let him start next year in AAA. I'm starting to think his MLB career gravitates more toward his floor than his ceiling....but I'm still hopeful and like him as a prospect.

Here's a tid-bit from soxprospects on Ceddanne. "Potential bench utility player. Ceiling of an everyday regular who adds considerable value on defense and also contributes some at the plate. Defensive ability and versatility and speed give him a high floor. Could be a plus defender at every position except catcher and first base. Bat lags behind, but has improved considerably in 2022. Approach is what holds him back now and will determine his ultimate value at the plate. Needs to cut down on chasing pitches out of the zone and improve swing decisions and quality of contact." From what I can remember hearing on some recent soxprospects podcasts is that his approach hasn't really shown any improvement this year. The season is still young, and changing your approach is a lot harder than any of us can imagine. Sometimes you have to accept players for who they are. Rafaela might be nothing more than a speedy utility guy who adds tremendous value all around the diamond. Whatever, you get him for peanuts instead of going out and paying 5-10 million for that guy. But if not rushing him drastically increases the chances that he hits enough to be a solid starting outfielder then I don't want this kids development messed with.

Bringing up Ceddanne now would be a disaster. He'd be a black hole in your lineup, you'd start his service clock too early, and you'd completely stunt his development. He needs to be working on things, he's not ready, if he tries to work on them at the MLB level where he is overwhelmed it's only going to stunt his development.

His defense grades better in CF, elite. If he’s not hitting, I don’t know why a team wouldn’t want to maximize his value in CF

I’m the context that the wheels come off. Even a .500 team missing the playoffs wouldn’t be awful but it would certainly be underwhelming. At the very least, this organization needs to show its heading in the right direction.

If Rafaela is ever a starter it’s as a CFer, if he’s playing SS he’s a utility guy.

I think Rafaela likely plays a lot of SS at the MLB level because I don’t think he’s going to hit enough to be a starter, so he has more of a chance sticking to a roster as a SS/CF/Pinch runner guy. He has a chance to be more, that’s why he’s highly regarded. But his plate approach is not great. Bringing him up to showcase is not wise, other teams know what he is, bringing him up can only hurt his value. When he shows the bat isn’t ready, teams will be left with a guy whose service clock has started, thus reducing his value. I also don’t think you see him if Story is out longer. I think the Sox would trade for a rental first.

I don’t agree with Red often, I was only saying in this I can see the point of those who are frustrated by this franchise. Teams will have bad years, but 3 out of 4 years being awful is not a good look. If this team doesn’t figure it out at some point this year a lot of people in the organization need to start looking at themselves in the mirror

I have serious reservations about Rafaela’s bat. I don’t think he’s going to hit. Base case scenario he’s a .680 ops guy in my book. Also, his defense in CF is elite, his defense at SS is just good. With a little progression or step forward he could be a regular in CF, I don’t want to mess up his development. Just plug Reyes at SS and bat him 9th. The team will better

I think this is a mischaracterization of the plan. The plan as you stated it is a bad one, or at the very least poorly executed. It shouldn’t take a big market team 5 years to rebuild. I don’t think you have to look like a championship franchise, I think you just have to have the workings of one, one in which a few added tweaks turns you into that team. I think this team has that now, I don’t think they’re a championship caliber team. But I think you can look at Whitlock/Houck/Bello/Devers/Casas/Yoshida/Duran/Wong now and see Mayer+ on the way and if you have faith in guys figuring it out (like Casas and Bello) then you could envision a championship caliber team in 2024 with few major acquisitions. An SP1 and a big RHH would do wonders. If that’s the plan, and they have faith in these guys then I expect the Red Sox to pivot and spend this upcoming offseason. If they don’t, then it’s because the didn’t execute the plan. Ownership should take a real hard look at themselves and their management and consider a change of action if that’s the place. Because people like Oldred are right. I personally can stomach a losing season, heck I don’t even mind the last place years when we bounce back and win the World Series but if this team falters this year it will be 3 out of the last 4 years as bad seasons. baseball has done a good job at bringing parity to the game, but there’s still an advantage being a big market team. If the Sox can’t figure it out in 4 years they’re doing something very wrong. I haven’t given up on this team yet.

I wonder how much all those numbers come down if they kept the ball in the yard. Sox pitchers seem to have given up a lot of runs on homer is this year.

He can't even troll right.

I truly know this is the right answer. There is plenty of blame pie to go around.

How does it feel to be widely regarded as the dumbest poster in here. I’m not going to bother even debating this point because every knows you won’t understand. Go drink some drano and crawl back under your rock little man

A quality start is not a “great start” just quality. I too, wonder given the current state of affairs in baseball today if the stat should be changed, or come up with a new one. We can call it “pretty much a quality start”

One thing that makes sense is they had anticipated a move that never came to fruition in which they would have needed the cap space for that they currently have.

Yes, but if you take his contract starting next year, add in this years ARB number and make it 11 years.....its' the same money to him. The NPV of that contract should actually be higher for Devers. So I'm not sure why they wouldn't be open to it if asked.

No, but I suspect when they get healthy (If they get healthy) you will see more of that.