bobo52

Thanks for the explanation. The problem is that it isnt 2023 or 2024 anymore and Rutschman has been awful trying to hit from the right side - which is why latest 50 PAs is important. The only time he is effective is when he bats lefty and thats against RHP. Wong in his last 50 PAs is batting very well against Lefties - his problem is that they also use him a lot against Righties because he is good defensively - hence his overall stats dont look great. Chad Tracy and Craig Breslow agree with me - Wong will be on the roster for the rest of the year and in the postseason because he is by far the most effective catcher against LHP and they will use him in that role. I dont know why we care about whether the Red Sox will move on from him in the offseason - I dont know why as a Red Sox fan you would write something distracting like that in the middle of a pennant race.

I dont think Wong is going anywhere - he is one of their best hitters against LHP and the only catcher who hits it well. I only see Rutschman batting well from the left side so far for the Red Sox. Wong is just much better vs lefties and Gasper doesnt even hit against lefties.

I'm not so sure they will be getting rid of Wong - he hits LHP by far the best of the 3. The Red Sox do not even bat Gasper against lefties (269 OPS against LHP and 964 vs RHP) ) and Rutschman (640 OPS against LHP and 784 against RHP) is also stronger against RHP. Wong hits 724 OPS against LHP and 636 vs RHP - much better against lefties than the alternatives. I think they like the flexibility/platoon advantages of keeping Wong and the fact that Gasper can be a platoon 1B or DH allows them to carry the 3 catchers. Wong is also much better than Gasper defensively and Rutschman has an elbow problem. I hope Wong can turn it around - we can definitely use him against lefties.

I gotta admit that I am not well versed in what is being contemplated. I do think that the league is healthier with some marquee teams like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox consistently spending more than small-revenue teams like TB and Pittsburgh. It's OK if the Dodgers and Yankees win more often since they have a larger fan base. But KC and Pittsburgh should have good teams occasionally. I like the idea of a floor and a cap that is designed to generate payroll growth - but in a more balanced way - as I assume the players want.

Rutschman finally comfortable and contributing with over a 1000 OPS over last 6 games with 3 HRs. Nice to see Story bouncing back and sticking it to the naysayers with over a 900 OPS since returning. You would think fans would learn after booing Durbin the first month and all the silly "sell the team" chants we heard in May and June - he turned into the player we wanted. Id love it if Sox fans can just give the next new guy a chance before trashing and/or booing them -Im realizing that Pitino was right about the negative energy from the fanbase. I think it was part of the problem early in the season - particularly how tight they played at Fenway.

It’s amazing how much starting pitching the Red Sox still have considering how much pitching they’ve traded away. Crochet, Suárez, Gray, Tolle, Bennett, Bello, Sandoval, Crawford, Houck and Oviedo are all still in the organization — plus younger depth like Eduardo Rivera and Jedixson Paez. And look at what Breslow has been able to turn excess pitching into: Connelly Early brought back Curtis Mead; Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan were part of the deal that brought back Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler; Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke helped bring in Sonny Gray; and Hunter Dobbins was the key piece in the Willson Contreras deal. That doesn’t even include some of the younger pitching prospects they’ve dealt in other trades. Breslow obviously has an excellent eye for pitching, and the Red Sox have become one of the very best organizations in baseball at drafting, acquiring and developing arms. Milwaukee may be the only organization I’d put in the same category.

I agree that I dont want to take anything away from Gasper - he has been spectacular and a huge reason for the Red Sox recent performance. There are fans who are upset he doesnt play every day - they dont realize that the Sox dont want to bat him against LHP. He is on a spectacular run and I hope he keeps it going - but he is a platoon hitter. The comparisons to the best Yaz and Williams months are not really appropriate - they played every day against righties and lefties.

I dont really want to take anything away from Gasper but these articles should note that he is a left handed platoon hitter who only has success against RHP. He has a 220 OPS against lefties and around 1000 vs righties this year. They dont even bat him against lefties. The stat comparisons against Williams and all for the month are impressive but Williams and Yaz did not platoon.

Guys get hurt - it's part of baseball. Luckily Gasper can catch and is on fire from the left side of the plate (not great defensively) and Wong is a good fielding catcher who will play against any lefties we face. The injury could be a convenient excuse to use Gasper over Rutschman while Gasper is hot - sub in Wong defensively mid-game if. the situation calls for it.. Hopefully Rutschman can contribute this year but we have him next year also - same for Mead. What starter was affordable who was going to knock out Tolle, Bennet, Gray, Suarez or Sandoval? Only Skubal was clearly better and the price for a 3 month rental was more than Rutschman in prospects. Robbie Ray is having a nice season but I dont think he is any better than Tolle, Bennet, Suarez or Sandoval. Casey Mize and Jose Soriano are other guys traded but I dont see them as upgrades. Also - they are both RHPs and thats not what you need against the Yankees and Dodgers. We have the left handed starters to beat the Yankees and the Dodgers and can mix in Gray.

I have no problem keeping Gasper around as a great lefty batter but holding 3 catchers is a luxury. He is a bit of a specialist like Romy or Refsnyder (from the other side) last year but can only really play a serviceable catcher in the field. Im not sure if Wong has reverse splits or if he just sucked last year - Im not disagreeing with you.

Gasper was competing with Rutschman to be the catcher who hits RHP and he wasnt going to win that battle. Wong is the catcher who hits LHP the best and his spot was pretty secure- Adley is a switch hitter but hits much better from the left side. Then you have Anthony coming back and he is another lefty bat who hits RHP better than Gasper. Nice to see Anthony and Story come back strong. Im OK not playing my best in late August as long as we have the playoffs locked up. This team is obviously streaky - let them get hot in late September.

Yankees particularly weak against LHP with Judge out - so Sandoval and Bennet are perfect. Judge and Goldschmidt are the 2 guys in their lineup who crush LHP with both over 940 OPS against LHP - Judge is out and Goldschmidt won the game for them yesterday. Ben Rice neutered by LHP but hits righties hard - look out for him against Bello but watch Goldschmidt sit.

Don't expect to see much of Gasper today with Rodon and Fried starting since they dont play him against lefty pitching. I'll bet Wong starts the second game since he has best OPS of the catchers versus LHP and he and Rutschman will split catching the games. Rutschman will come around and while better against RHP - he is serviceable against LHPs.

Possibly correct - but they wont play him against lefties and thats what most people are missing. Gasper is awful against LHP. Wong hits RHP by far the best of the 3 and is a better fielder than Gasper.