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Imanaga Gausman Holmes

Whether we like it or not I have a strong sense that Shane Smith is going to pitch Tuesday or wednesday. just a hunch!

Fully agree…I just think they might wait until Sunday to call up Thorpe to both let him get fully stretched in a lower pressure situation and do one final evaluation on some of the arms on the fringe of the roster.

trade frenzy is a mental illness from being a fan of a habitual losing organization. This seems more exclusive to baseball than any other sport. Applying the baseball model to the NFL and it wouldn't work very well. It doesn't take long for the knee jerk reactions when a player has a disappointing moment for one to use the word trade. We somehow think a GM doesn't see the same things we do. Baseball is the least predictable sport. Yet we don't treat it that way. You would think organizations would also realize the sport has become more injury prone. Working players at other positions would seem to be a good idea in the minors. I think it would sort out players who have a high baseball IQ. Most teams draft OF and SS since those are usually the mot athletic players. It wasn't long ago we bragged about the Sox being strong at catcher. What more evidence does one need to know this is the least predictable sport. I think any organization that is strong at catcher is more of a myth.

Yes, this seems right. Fedde's last real start before they messed with him was a very nice outing, holding the Rays to 1 run in TB in a similar situation (tough road series with question marks up and down the pitching matchups). Let's hope he can recapture that.

That’s pretty much where we are at with everyone after Castillo and Burke, shortened workload and sic the bullpen on them. This is who this team is at this point, there is nobody out there who can rescue them from this starting pitching deficit. We are fully in piecemeal production and we have seen in implemented

I believe it’s 30 days, so should be today or tomorrow. But they just have to move him off the 60 day IL for now. He has three options remaining so can wait the 26 man decision out a bit longer.

This topic is arguably going to be the biggest test that Getz faces over the next 24 months. It's a good problem to have, but the decisions they make will have ultimately decide the direction this team goes. Future success isn't a guarantee, even from players with established ML Service time. This has been the breakout season for Vargas, but are his 450 AB's in 2026 who he is moving forward, or is he the guy from his previous 1000 AB's in MLB? That's not throwing shade at Vargas at all, but it's the reality of what you have to decide. Colson sported an .840 OPS in 2025 (255 AB's) and is currently sitting at a .722 OPS in 2026. Where is that OPS going to be in 2028, 2029? The numbers historically tell you one of Bonemer/Roch probably aren't going to turn into the players we are hoping for, that's just how the prospect game works. The point is, if you aren't playing with the payroll and infrastructure a team like the Dodgers have, the hit rate on your decisions has to be higher. You aren't going to be able to buy your way out of mistakes. The difference with this "rebuild" than the last is the core of Abreu-Anderson-Eloy-Moncada-Robert-Vaughn-Giolito was basically set in the stone, there was nothing in the minor leagues that warranted tough decisions having to be made. And when Eloy-Moncada-Robert-Vaughn all turned into pumpkins, it was over. So Getz finds himself in a much better situation, but one that presents different challenges. And it should be pretty exciting to see what transpires, hopefully there is a 2027 for us to watch it unfold.

Here are my guesses at the pitching plan for the rest of the week: Mon: Castillo vs. Cubs Tue: Schweitzer/Fedde vs. Cubs Wed: Urquidy vs. Cubs Thu: Kay vs. Braves Fri: Burke vs. Mets Sat: Castillo vs. Mets Sun: Thorpe vs. Mets Weakest man bumped for Thorpe. Sandlin or Shane because options on Sep 1st when rosters expand. Schultz not part of the major league for remainder of year.

The Sox have 3 more years of control on Doyle. I doubt Getz acquired him to not give him a shot in CF beyond this season, whether that’s the right move or not.

Gotta open a 40-man spot for Thorpe as well (though, they could just DFA Gilbert or someone),

Fedde was a serviceable 5th starter type all year - not sure why he's such an afterthought now, especially since sending Schultz down means there's an open spot in the rotation. I'd start Fedde on Tuesday and hope he goes as deep as possible; start Urquidy or Thorpe on Wednesday and do the same.

How much time does Thorpe have left on his rehab assignment?

The issue with Thorpe is he’s maxed out at 75 pitches so far. I’m guessing they are targeting around 85 or so for his next start and then 100 thereafter. That’s still probably more than what some of the relievers are going to give you, but I could also see them wanting him to achieve that pitch count target no matter the outcome of the game (which isn’t feasible if with the Sox).

I admit I thought this series was going to be a disaster. When your a Sox fan for over 56 years you have that feeling of imminent disaster ingrained in you. But this team just keeps getting up off the canvas and gets back in the fight. This sweep was especially great because I live in MI and of course surrounded by Tiger fans. The great thing now is the Sox don't have to depend on anyone but themselves to win the Central. I'm thinking 86 wins will get you the title of AL Central Champions. The Sox need to finish 21-18 to reach that. The Guardians have the easiest remaining schedule followed by the Tigers and the Twins have the most difficult. Both the Twins and the Guardians have to go 26-11 to reach 86 wins, the Tigers need to go 26-12.

Urquidy + Fedde Tuesday. Dfa whoever pitches worse. Call-up Thorpe Wednesday. Hating dragging Thorpe back in like this but not many options.

Man, dude has been absolutely shitty outside of his last start. This is a foolish wish and I hope the Sox aren’t leaning this way

If we can get Castillo to go minimum of 6 today and win this game then you can piece together Tuesday and Wednesday. I would bring up Shane Smith to pitch Tuesday or Wednesday. To me Thorpe needs to pitch more in the minors and get himself stretched out. I would not consider him until September call ups. It's time for Shane Smith to s%*# or get off the pot. In regards to the pen for today, you have a rested Richards (he may need to pitch in high leverage), Hicks should be good to go. If you can get 6 from Castillo then Richards gets 7 and 8 and Hicks gets 9th. That way you rest the other guys.

Graphic from yesterdays broadcast. Think they said BA was 6th in MLB

Someone hacked Joejoes account. Normally this would be bad but this new guy seems optimistic

Lurking in the shadows and relying on others to make game threads apparently. If I knew I had this power I would have put it to use ages ago! 🤣

Two other considerations that could factor in where. First, rosters will expand in roughly two weeks. However, you can only add two additional players and only one can be a pitcher. Calling up Thorpe, Shane, or Noah will require a pitcher to be sent down and there aren’t many options there. You are really looking at Schweitzer and Hagen if you need to temporarily free up a spot. Second, guys can only be optioned 5 times in a season now. This is important to highlight since Schweitzer has already been sent down 4 times I believe. If that’s correct, if we send him down again, he’s stuck at AAA the rest season. For a team operating on pitching fumes, it would be tough to have a guy on the 40 man who can’t contribute down the stretch. At the same time, Hagen has looked pretty good and is much more likely to be a postseason weapon than Schweitzer. If so, you got to keep giving Hagen major leagues reps ahead of October.

hopefully they keep him hitting at the top of the order, dude has been absolutely crushing pitching with runners in scoring position

Chisholm would be for CF. Star power, 30/30 skills like Robert but very disappointing this year. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dodgers-expected-pursue-star-japanese-230003927.html Itoh is one of the pitchers mentioned frequently, but nobody even at the level of Imai, who has struggled mightily with the astros this season. More likely to get a reliever this cycle. https://www.justbaseball.com/international-baseball/npb-top-15-starting-pitcher-rankings-2026/ https://www.espn.co.uk/mlb/story/_/id/48185225/mlb-2026-wbc-world-baseball-classic-japan-future-stars

Alright, woke up this morning to see who is scheduled to start the next three games against the Cubs. Right now, it’s Castillo going tonight and then two TBDs listed for Tuesday & Wednesday. Who do we think those TBDs will end up being? Here are the main options: Urquidy - He last pitched this past Friday giving up 3 ER in 3.2 IP. If he pitches on Wednesday, he’d be on four days rest. Right now, I’m not sure they can send him down without exposing him to waivers, so my guess is he’s locked in for getting at least one more start. Fedde - He last pitched this past Thursday in relief of Martin giving up 4 ER in 3 IP. He could be an option for Tuesday or Wednesday going on 4 days rest or 5 days rest respectively. It’s also very possible he’s just a piggyback option for someone else or part of a broader bullpen day strategy. Bullpen - Speaking of which, this is also a very realistic possibility. Schweitzer & Richards haven’t pitched since last Thursday and each could give you two or three IP. If Fedde doesn’t piggyback, he could also give you a couple. It would be a low frills plan, but I could them making if they don’t mind the optics of it happening during a big series for the fans. Thorpe - He last pitched this past Wednesday making his first start of the season in AAA going 5 IP with just 1 ER, 6 K, & 0 BB. As such, he’s option for either day and Venable recently brought him up, so I think he’s a central part of the rest of season roadmap. I’m just skeptical they do it for this series. Feels like one more start in Charlotte and then being called up for Sunday’s game is more likely. He will also require a roster move, both to the 40 man and 26 man roster, in order to be added. Shane Smith - He last pitched last Thursday in AAA going 6 IP with 1 ER, 5 K, & 1 BB. It was his best start in a while, but hard to ignore the rest of his struggles after just one good start. And like with Thorpe, is this the environment you want to bring him into when returning to the majors? That being said, he would be on four & five days rest if they wanted to with him, so he’s certainly an option. Schultz - He last pitched the past this past Friday going 4 IP with just 1 ER but also with no K’s or BB’s. He’d be on four days rest for the Wednesday game, so certainly an option, but seems like an unlikely one to me. He’s got a lot of stuff to work through and I think a low stress AAA environment is ideal for him. He’s also getting close to an innings limit, so calling him up and forcing another 26 man roster move for someone who may not be able to stick through September seems unlikely to me.