GreenSox

I would have preferred that our talented DH be dispatched, but I guess Philly wanted an OF who could catch the ball. Maybe when Muri cmes back...

I guess if you're not going to spend it....

My first reaction was "Cannon - not again." But maybe he wasn't so bad: no walks, several Ks and several of the runs were unearned. Has there been a Shane Smith sighting anywhere? A rejuvenated Smith would be better than any trade.

Once Sox went above .500, we never sunk back below. Let's do the same thing with first place.

Contreras was a deadline deal - swap of veterans. Maybe we could do Anthony Kay for... Garcia trade was not a good one; but signing him as a FA was a great move. If it wasn't for these anti-tanking rules (it's not like the Sox sucked on purpose), we'd have Cade Anderson waiting in the wings. Bonemer for Anderson....

I really hope the Tigers hold onto Skubal and get nothing for him. Certainly don't need them loading up with young players. They already have several coming soon. And the Sox trading for him would be ridiculous. It would cost Bonemer; I'm not totally adverse to trading him, but for fair value, which would 3 pitchers (1 major leaguer; 2 good prospects), not one (trade, not a buy). Still Skubal absolutely is an ace, versus faux aces like Alcantra or Webb. Don't be like Hahn or late-era Williams.

Trade Grichuk

Alcantra, a darling of the WAR factory, is a 3. But he's hyped as a 1/2 and is likely priced as such. Renting Skubal would be ridiculous. Sox shouldn't need JR's approval on much because they shouldn't trade for bloated contracts anyway. Contreras and Arraez? What? That's trading for the sake of trading. Sox don't have an opening at first or 2nd. Gonzalez+ for Conteras....a Rick Hahn special. The Sox could actually use a starter. Perhaps Detmers if the price isn't July-juiced.

Just talking trading in general, I go back to this Shane Baz trade, for whom Baltimore sent their 2025 comp draftee, 2026 comp pick (#33) and 3 minor leaguers. Baz is a #3, when he's having a good year. To me, that's a bonkers price for a #3. The price for pitching prospects, however, doesn't appear to be so high.

Well, the Astros took SS Bregman and put him at 3B. A high value SS prospect should be worth 2 high value pitching prospects (re Carlson and his future). And of course he is ++++ on defense, so if he can hit, look out. And the logjam will occur before Carlson is ready: it will be the convergence of Roch, Bonemer and maybe Bergola with Meidroth, Montgomery and Vargas....with some Gonzalez in there.

We made 3 trips to the west coast before playing a single game against Minny, Detroit or Cleveland.

The baseball media pushes buying as the thing for contenders to do - that they must do. . But buying is a losing proposition....well-heeled teams (budget and farm) can absorb those losses. Sox cannot. You can't force things. Be open to good deals.

I blame this game on the scheduler. What's with this business of scheduling 2 teams against each other with only 3 games in between? Lazy scheduling.

Yes, the 2026 edition is group of talented young guys. Brett Lawrie.... I wonder what Yolmer's up to these days?

Right - first week. We have a bunch of talented young players who are playing well. That's the "Culture."

Everything's roses now. But wait to see how the "Culture" holds when going through a streak losing 8/10 or 14/20. Because that will happen.

Is that typical for a first round pick, much less 1/1, to need a new swing?

Players' skills deteriorate; often abruptly. It just happened to Anderson sooner than expected. Same with several other Sox of that era.

Culture? Come on. And for whatever that means, LA and his culture have been on this team all season. And a major aspect of this team is that it plays excellent defense. I'll take staying defensively sound over another average bat.

Lackey and Roch are too compelling to go high school, and associated risk, here. Lackey, to me, is particularly impressive.

That's how I see it; And his numbers are as good as Roch's and he's in a better league. And he's improving.

Same suggestion I had a month ago: call him up for DH, and to spell other infielders a few times per week. Dump Beni. Low-risk move. Another thing I like about him is that his K rate is reasonable. The big club Ks too much, as do the 2 top prospects.

He can play DH right now. Is there really any downside to dumping Mr. .634 OPS lefty DH? And don't just keep him in Charlotte to trade for middle relievers in July. That would be a poor use of resources.

as does Austin Hayes. And yea, Acuna has a .408 OPS so he's going to have a negative WAR. But he can play up the middle competently (and I know he's got a small neg war on D too this year). Hayes and Grichuk are the same player. I think they need him this year more than the lesser of Grichuk and Hayes. If he has options, they can just call him back when needed..

Charlotte's a weird place, but 440....my goodness. I guess there is a logjam on the 26 man, but 440. Even if they want to trade him, get a real idea of his value; because when drafted, he was supposed to be able to hit. It may have all been a slow start and this isn't a fluke.