JoeC

Depends on the individual, I’m sure.

Does the NL have a different set of leagues or something? I’ve seen people complain about NL people like they wouldn’t know what to do or something.

Problem is, while I fundamentally agree, what good would it do to banish them to a place where they’re not going to have any sort of reinforcement of good habits? One problem is that players don’t get that sort of training in the minors, so what good does it really do other than to serve s as punitive punishment? It’s like telling someone they’re doing something wrong, but never telling them what is the right thing to do. Yeah, you hope they can figure it out, but it’s also on you for not showing some sort of direction.

That is honestly a good example of something we did well (a homegrown player!!!), albeit seemingly accidentally.

To me, it depends on what their flaws are as hitters. Are they able to work on those flaws in AAA? If so, then keep 'em down as long as they need to develop. If they have to be pulled up to the big leagues to work on those flaws, then bring 'em up. At some point all players will have their flaws. Whether those flaws will allow them to live up to anything resembling their potential is up to the scouts and player development staff to decide. To me, I almost always err on the side of "over-seasoning," provided that the coaches and player both buy in to a development plan.

Sox record overall: 76-74: .507 (82-win pace) Sox record with Leury in the starting lineup: 34-42: .447 (72-win pace) Sox record without Leury in the starting lineup: 42-32: .568 (92-win pace) Obviously it's "too easy to look at results."

It's an organizational failure to bring out the best in talent, both in the short term (through hustle, give-a-shittatude, mental focus) and in the long term (working on filling holes in games, developing things like pitch selection / lowering chase rates, etc.). The raw talent and potential are there, but, as the great philosopher Shaquille O'Neal once said, "'potential' is French for 'you ain't s%*# yet.'"

Raw talent with no refinement. Bad habits allowed to persist. Lack of leadership to tell players otherwise AND hold them accountable.

Not a slogan, but a metaphor: Swing = first 8 games of the season.

If TLR were around he’d be calling for one of them to get hit. I did notice Sox players watching from the dugout after the final out for a bit. I hope it fucking hurts.

Are those sprint speeds peak? Average? Averages at certain point(s) in a sprint (5 steps in, peak, and finish line)? Not that it matters for the point of the discussion, but just curious to know.

Tony’s boys WOULD quit, but they never learn.

You can tell even Benetti’s mailed in his optimism. ”Sox up next.” No mention of “we’ve got work to do” or any semblance of context within the game…. Because it stopped mattering last night.

It’s because Cleveland does things like develop players. Not only do they scout effectively, but they also know how to turn them into big league players.

Team just looks listless.

Fun fact: Connor McKnight is a real person (not just a radio robot)

I laughed audibly. Then cried, knowing that one such example got traded to the Sox and crashed / burned.

Seemingly off-topic for this thread, but this is my primary beef with the "call up Colas" movement. Just because someone puts up good numbers in AAA (or, in his case, AA), it doesn't mean that he doesn't have significant holes in his game that will keep him from being a serviceable big league player. Again, I hope Project Birmingham is designed to address things like this and give players more practice time to work on those holes in their games.

I would argue that it's that Cleveland does a fantastic job of player development. Chase rates are but one result of that development process. They do a fantastic job developing the assets they have and getting the most out of their returns for existing assets when they do "sell." It's how an organization should be run.

Reading the board, sometimes it sounds like that would be a benefit if Moncada is shipped off somewhere. ...but yes - I agree. The team needs to stay healthy. All of these soft tissue lower body injuries are killing us.

Sure, we've got young guys who are hurt a lot, but we generally have an older roster. As of late July, the Sox had the fourth oldest roster in MLB (based on average age), while Cleveland had the youngest: https://www.statista.com/statistics/236223/major-league-baseball-clubs-by-average-age-of-players/ The major injuries were suffered by guys like Eloy and TA, but you can't ignore the fact that older players have a tendency to get hurt more, can you?

I think the two words you're looking for are "youth" and "depth."

Yeah an overreaction on my part admittedly, but it’s been a long two weeks for me.

The Naylor game was the first one that I felt like this team was in trouble. The team had just clawed back above .500, and I thought it was "OK - the team hit some April slumps, but we're back where we need to be now." ...then Naylor came up with the bases loaded.