hogan873

Yeah, this isn't like Lopez and Sosa competing for playing time. This is one of the best hitters on the team (and one of the better defensive catchers in the league) being sat for literally the worst player in baseball. Lee should be catching 5 out of 7 games and batting somewhere in the middle of the lineup.

Kopech is a freaking headcase. He has tons of talent and when on, he's lights out. The problem is, the smallest hiccup causes him to lose focus and throw bad pitches. There may a team out there that offers something of interest for him at the deadline, but I don't know if the guy will ever figure it out, regardless of what team he's playing for.

If (hopefully when) Grifol is shitcanned this season, my guess is they'd promote Montoyo for the remainder of the season. Which would be fine, I guess. Regardless of how much of this season is Grifol's fault, a change needs to be made.

This would be the funniest thing in this terrible baseball year. And maybe getting Maldonado to the game would force MLB to change the way all stars are selected.

Just this 12 game losing streak should be enough to jettison Grifol to the moon, or at least the street. He's doing a horrendous job with a bad team. There has to be someone who can do a good job with a bad team and scrape together a few wins. Hell, I'm willing to bet there are plenty of us on this board who could do a better job.

That's my point. Getz apparently wants Maldonado on the team...or at least doesn't care if he's on the team getting 50%+ of the playing time.

On paper this team is bad, but they're not this bad. That, to me, says a lot about the leadership, or lack thereof. We've seen Grifol make bad decision after bad decision, and he has probably the worst bullpen management in the game. As far as Maldonado, there's no way he should be part of any MLB team. His defense isn't even good enough to justify a .180 BA, let alone a .080 BA. Let that sink in - the Sox are keeping a guy on the roster (and playing him regularly) that EVERY OTHER TEAM would have DFA'd a long time ago. If Getz were an even half-decent GM, he'd take Grifol's toy away and bring up Robinson or Perez or Hackenberg. Lee should be catching 5 out of 7 games. One of those guys would be a better option than Maldonado. It's fucking embarrassing.

Joe West was almost comical. He was the definition of the ump show and seemed to love the fact that he was despised. Hernandez was just a brutally bad umpire that seemed clueless that he was actually bad.

My son and I are going to the Sox/Brewers game on Saturday. I'll wear my Sox stuff and generally root for them, but I won't be necessarily upset if (when) they lose. However, I did see that Crochet will be pitching, so maybe they'll have a chance. On a side note, we have front row seats along the left field line, so I think some heckling of Benintendi will be in order.

That's like saying Grifol is an average MLB manager.

Don't let Eloy anywhere near him.

Hopefully right onto DFA avenue.

Hey, TLR tried. He said not to run hard. Maybe he was on to something with these guys made of glass.

Who had DeJong being one of the better hitters on their bingo card?

And DeJong is one of the better hitters on this team...and leads the team in HRs. ?

If he thought last year was bad, he'd be beyond miserable this year.

Burger is a nice guy and a cool story after battling injuries. His performance in Miami after the trade may end up being an outlier, as he's hitting like he did with the Sox while getting more playing time. Time will tell with Eder, but as others have pointed out, one of the most likely scenarios is neither guy turns out to be much of a player. Sure, his power numbers would look decent on the Sox right now, but his BA would fit right in with the schlub parade that gets rolled out daily. There are a few folks on Twitter that are absolutely obsessed with Burger (and TA) and wax ad nauseum about them and how much they want them back. Neither guy would add much value to the Sox right now.

But the knock-off brands. Dr. Thunder, Mountain Mist, Sprint Lemon, Fantuz Orange...

So, are thinking Pham slapped Benintendi across his smug face and told him to get his s%*# together?

Chuck Norris can actually pitch with his foot...while making a stiff bourbon cocktail with his hands.

I don't know if it's the Tommy Pham effect or what, but this team looks completely different. I know that winning will do that, but the attitude seems to have swung 180 degrees. Benintendi alone is a new guy. I obviously don't expect this team to sweep series after series, but starting to win up to 50% of their games going forward seems possible. I've thought for a while that this team is not as bad as they've played. On paper they are a bad team but not a historically bad team. I have literally watched no more than an inning or two of just some of the games up until this weekend. I had been watching Saturday's game a bit and turned it back on just in time to see the walk-off. I watched the entire game yesterday, and that is the first game this season I watched all the way through. These guys pulled me back in...for now.

If he ever had the team, he's lost them.

The Sox are bad. On paper, they are a bad team but not this bad. At this point, a change is needed. I can't imagine any other team sticking with the manager after this type of start. One of my biggest concerns is Grifol being the manager when some of the prospects come up. He can't, just can't, be involved with the talent coming up.

Obviously we can't see Abreu play every day, but from what I've seen he doesn't look to be enjoying himself. That could be from his poor play, but Jose was always a guy that looked like he was having fun when he was with the Sox (up until the end anyway). His poor play could be causing his poor attitude or vice versa. Likely it's a combination. Regardless, it's sad to see.

It's good to see some hope for the future. Nastrini looked great last night, and it will be interesting to see Cannon pitch this week. Crochet will obviously be inning-limited this year as will Nastrini and Cannon (probably). But, those guys are a nice way to start building the rotation of the future. Quero, Montgomery, and Ramos are the most exciting offensive guys, and they'll be a big part of the future. Still a TON of holes to fill, though. I'll say this: Fletcher has shown some life recently. He should most starts in CF while Robert is out, and the more he plays the better he could be. He's most likely not the answer in RF, but he could be an answer for a while.