hogan873

I only watched the first round, but Luis was like a movie villain that dispatches a main character in the first 10 minutes of the film. The crowd and announcers (and most people watching at home) were just loving Rutschman's performance, praising him, getting teary eyed with his dad pitching to him. Then Luis comes in and destroys him and 28 baseballs. The perfunctory hug afterwards was classic.

Man, I remember when this thread started and I still believed. How naive I was. Now 90 losses seems optimistic. If they sell, which they should, 95-100 losses is likely. Oddly, the team will probably be more fun to watch afterwards. Right now it's torture.

Players I've seen enough of: - Tim Anderson - Elvis Andrus - Seby Zavala - Clint Frazier - Gavin Sheets (over used, not necessarily his fault) Just bring up Colas and let him play RF. Give Remillard every chance at 2B. I heard Carlos Perez was up with the team; let him take Zavala's role. I think we're stuck with either TA or Andrus at SS, unfortunately.

I don't think we're misunderstanding anything about TA. He's woefully underperforming this season, and certainly seems to be distracted. His personal life is a mess, and his mistakes are public. He is a shadow of the guy who hit the walk-off HR in Iowa. We want that guy back. Maybe he misunderstands that.

Good point. It's tough when we're this close to the mediocrity of this team. We have a tendency to be much more critical and negative because we watch these guys daily. It may not necessarily take lightning in a bottle to win the first series, but they would be going against the odds.

True, but getting in the playoffs this year in this division is a hell of a lot easier than getting in the playoffs from the AL East. A shitty team from the AL Central will make the playoffs while a few decent to good teams will miss the playoffs because of their division.

I think it's more likely this was a comment of frustration, probably because he gets asked frequently why one of the better hitters isn't batting higher. However, one could presume he's getting pressure from above to make the lineups the way he is. I really wanted to like Grifol and give him the benefit of the doubt. I still do, but comments like this aren't doing him any good. He can't say he's putting Burger in the lineup where he can help the team win while putting him 8th in a lineup of dead weight. There's really no evidence that Burger hitting 8th helps the team win. He's a power hitter with the second most home runs on the team. He needs to be hitting somewhere between 3rd and 6th.

TA might be a great "new surroundings" candidate. He still seems distracted and certainly seems to not like playing here. I don't know if he'd be batting champion again, but he's a better player than he looks like right now. He may thrive in LA.

The thing is, I don't know if he's capable of pitching better. Whether it's something physical or he's refusing to make an adjustment. Each start he goes out and throws BP and puts the team at a significant disadvantage. Maybe an IL stint is needed. Maybe a swift kick in the ass is needed.

At this point, stretch out Lambert to a few innings when he returns and use Scholtens. Those two can get you 4-5 innings and give you better performance than this tub of disappointment. Or sign MadBum 😱

I understand the idea of getting him in the game the day he was activated. But, yeah, I don't think it's fair to him to put him out there in a tight game like that. He was going to be emotional and amped up to begin with, plus he's certainly not 100%. Still a pretty emotional scene with him taking the mound.

I would imagine the decision to not re-sign Abreu, or at least not make a serious offer, was more about not spending money than Abreu's projected performance. I'm not sure anyone thought he would fall off this fast. I feel bad for Abreu. His last season with the team that gave him the chance to play in the majors was miserable. Then he gets a nice contract with a perennial contender and has a horrendous start to his tenure there. I don't think he's quite as bad as he looks right now, but I think it's clear he is not the guy he used to be.

Was that a 6 pitch inning? That only happens when the Sox are batting.

Kopech seems to have flipped a switch. He went from meh to the guy we hoped he could be from one start to another. And then he continued it into another start. Hopefully we'll see much more of this guy moving forward.

Nice win. Cease was fine. Bullpen was really good again, although Kelly tried to hurt himself. Loved seeing a Yaz bat drop. Romy earning more playing time. Frazier could be an answer in RF. Anderson is really struggling at the plate. He needs to move down in the order. Maybe the 2-hole is not the place for Burger. It's crazy how bad the division is. A team with the record the Sox have is not a team that is in contention to win the division. But we'll take it. However, this probably means another trade deadline where the Sox do little to nothing.

The drop in defensive skill at 3B from Moncada to Burger (or Alberto for that matter) is dramatic. Moncada is damn near elite at 3B. Plus, we might be seeing "odd year" Moncada offensively here in 2023. You really don't want to do anything that could change his mental approach to the game. Not that the Sox are a particularly good team, but good teams don't significantly sacrifice defense at one of the toughest positions. Burger deserves to continue playing DH, especially with Eloy on the shelf (again). When Eloy comes back, there may have to be some tough decisions. If Burger is still tearing the cover off the ball, you need to find a way to play him most games. But you don't do that by moving Moncada to 2B.

I was hoping that the return of TA would bring back some of the swagger and attitude, but only the attitude came back - a bad attitude. These guys look bored out there. I look at Luis Robert as the perfect example of how this team is out there. Probably one of the most talented players in baseball, and he just doesn't try. He'll look like a great hitter one day and then go up the plate and look bored and swinging at absolute s%*# with absolutely shitty swings the next day. It's not for a lack of talent; it's a lack of giving a f***. We can blame JR all we want, but the team has one of the higher payrolls in baseball. It's bad enough that a good chunk of that money is spent on less-than-good players, but the players are going through the motions and not caring. I used to be apprehensive about some key players being traded, but now I don't care. It's time to clean house. And, yes, I do believe that players like TA, Giolito, Lynn, etc. will play better elsewhere. Tim will probably be a perennial all star with the Dodgers. Fine, whatever. He doesn't want to do it with the Sox? See ya. This team is boring.

Kelly has great stuff, and when he's on he's damn near unhittable. Problem is, you never know which Joe Kelly you'll get when he takes the mound. He's actually been pretty good overall this season.

I'm not holding my breath thinking Hahn will be fired or JR will change his ways. I'm just saying a sell of is most likely coming, and this team will look much different before the season is over. We, as fans, have learned our lesson regarding rebuilds. I don't trust Hahn to do it right, and I don't trust JR to allow whatever GM is in place to build a championship caliber team.

It's mind-boggling how bad the pitching has been this season. Aside from Cease's first start, on the national stage when he garnered much praise, he's been bad. Lynn strikes out a lot of hitters but gives up way too many big hits and HRs. Kopech can't seem to get out of his own way. Clevinger has been meh at best (but no one is really surprised). Giolito is actually having a decent season, but he's pitching for his next contract. The bullpen has been a big disappointment aside from Santos and Middleton. Kelly and Graveman have been okay recently, but they're under-utilized. With each loss, we're getting closer and closer to a big sell off. This team is going to look very different come late summer.

When Joe Kelly is on, he’s filthy.

Amazing play by Andrus.

Billy is a nuisance, and it's really nice to have him on the roster. He's being used exactly how he should be used, and it's paying off. I'm sure he'll get the occasional start or at-bats after being subbed in, and he'll confirm he's not much of a hitter. But as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, he's perfect. This seems like a different team. The walk-off on Sunday may have indeed woken them up. Maybe the roster moves helped, too.

Lots of moves. Some good for sure. Although the best move is just correcting a really bad move. Hopefully Billy will be a spark the team needs. I'm okay with Colas going down to get more work at AAA. It should help him. I think we've seen enough of Sosa to know he's not ready, if he ever will be. I actually like the construction of the roster better now. Still not a good team, but maybe there are some hungry guys who will perform. TA returning is definitely a need. The team was atrocious without him. It wasn't all because he was out, but it certainly didn't help. And thank goodness ol' Hanser is back.

I have no problem with adding some life to this team. It would be disappointing yet not surprising if Moncada goes on the 60-day.