hogan873

He's going to have plenty of suitors, and a few teams that will actually be able to afford him. However, he's not doing himself any favors behaving the way he is in the limelight when he's ready to get that big contract. Some team will pay...a lot, but there may be fewer teams willing to do so now.

I was following the game on my phone and eventually fell asleep. My dog woke me up at 12:45 wanting to go outside. Checked my phone and saw the Rockies had won. Never so happy to be woken up at 12:45.

Great series, but very frustrating to watch. It's hard to believe how poorly the CIA and FBI communicated.

Exactly why I say why not bring him back. I can remember many threads over the years discussing a fifth starter. I'm not sure there are many of us who would be upset about a guy who can eat 200 innings and have an ERA under 5.00 as your number 5 starter. Especially during a year when the team is rebuilding and full of young pitchers. Forget about the fact that the guy's name is James Shields. Look at what that guy can do for you.

I've mentioned this before, and I wouldn't mind seeing Shields back. Obviously they'd need to buy him out and look to sign him for a lot less. He's an innings eater and a good clubhouse guy and mentor.

I don't know that any loss is good, but last night's loss really takes a backseat to Giolito's performance. His 2-seam looked great, the changeup was working, and he looked very confident out there. He deserved the win, but it's unlikely that the current bullpen will look anything like future bullpens.

Nice outing for Lopez.

Or Covey.

Awesome, but how did Smith miss that pitch? Did he get crossed up?

Holy shit. That's pretty impressive. And to think he didn't have his best stuff working last night.

I love the attitude Anderson, Kopech, and Rodon bring to the team. Anderson had an incredible game everywhere, but his base running was phenomenal. Rodon dug deep and pitched out of a jam in the 7th. His reaction was great. I hope moving forward we see these guys prove themselves as leaders and create a culture of badassery. These guys could be a hell of a lot of fun to watch for the next few years.

Nice inning by Minaya

These guys are fun to watch at times. Rodon digging deep and that DP. Good stuff there.

Sox definitely sold high on Kahnle.

Hell yeah!

Davidson is not good. I don’t think he has a place on this team after this year.

It's too bad the rain shortened Kopech's outing. He was impressive, and I believe that had there been no rain delay he would have had quicker innings after the second. The hits he gave up were weak and the hit batter was iffy. He looked looser and more relaxed in the second, and I think he would have settled down even more as time went on. His fastball was electric, although a few too many had too much of the plate. The breaking stuff was nasty. But that one changeup was absolute filth. A 91 mph changeup with that type of movement?

Rain will stop before they get the tarp on the field.

That change is filthy.

Shields eats a ton of innings and he hasn't been terrible. Money isn't an issue with him. Unless he's traded, I would assume he'll be with the Sox through the season. Beyond that, he's gone unless they buy him out and he comes back for very little. He'll likely find another home, though.

Aside from the first inning, Giolito pitched pretty well. Velocity seems to be coming back slowly. It's been a tough year for him, but thankfully for the rebuild he had the opportunity to keep working at the MLB level. Fry's pitching was really good. His breaking stuff was nasty. Kevan Smith got his ass kicked for two innings.

I was originally thinking having Shields one more year as an innings eater and mentor wouldn't be a bad idea. But there's no way the Sox (or any other team for that matter) would pay $16 million. After the $2 million buyout, I wonder if the Sox would entertain bringing him back. Would any team sign him for a few million? Realistically, I see Rodon, Giolito, and Lopez and locks. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I assume Kopech will be up some time next year, maybe as part of the opening day roster. And I suppose the Sox will go out and sign a project or two.

Was at the game. Seeing Engel make a catch like that live was amazing. Great crowd today. Lively until the last strike.

It's frustrating to watch him right now. However, he's a better player than he looks at this time. I think partially he's in his own head, and he doesn't look very comfortable at the plate. One thing I've noticed is that his approach at the plate changes frequently. Sometime he'll go up and swing at the first pitch. And it seems that he's more successful when he does that. Other times he'll stand there and wait for two strikes before even looking like he wants to swing. Not many hitters are consistently effective with two strikes, and he is definitely struggling in that respect. Overall, I think he might need a day or two off and maybe dropped in the order to take some pressure off. He needs to continue to see MLB pitching, though. Sending him down wouldn't accomplish much.

Maniel Palkidson?