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Looks like in your exuberance for Ketel Marte you forgot about Goodwin as a LH starting outfield option. Both him and Engel have done pretty well since they both got here. The Sox have 5 weeks to see if that's good enough for the OF once Eloy and Robert return. I think no matter how you slice it Eloy will be playing LF a lot of the time once he starts hitting MLB pitching again with authority. For the best results against RHP which is the majority of the time you just can't have Vaughn in the lineup. If your bat cannot play against RHP then you had better bring elite defensive skills and that's not Vaughn. Vaughn can complicate things by starting to hit RHP much better in the next 5 weeks and I hope he does. So for the next 5 weeks the Sox will keep a close eye of these players: Engel and Goodwin for a possible RF platoon . They both possess power and elite (Engel) to good (Goodwin) defense so maybe they don't need an upgrade in the OF . Mendick. I love Danny . He works hard. He has a good approach . Nice ballplayer. So it's with no disrespect that I say I would rather have more pop at the position with Escobar. I say this because even with Eloy and Robert on the comeback trail, there might be setbacks that derail them or if they do make it back they may not be quite ready to start mashing HR's yet. Robert only hit 1 before he was injured . I think the Sox could be fine at 2nd base with Mendick but only if Eloy and Robert come back and become who they are supposed to be. Escobar is insurance in case they don't. Ketel Marte is a good idea however I was just looking at his bWar and it's .4 . I love that he's versatile and he's hitting very well so I have to conclude that he's doesn't have much WAR because he's not all that defensively and/or on the bases. Plus he would be expensive to acquire given that he's signed through 2022 w/ team options for 23 and 24 and is 27 yrs old. Engel has already contributed .5 bWAR in his short time back and Goodwin .2. Those can go down as they get more AB's but it illustrates how valuable they have been in a very short time frame. On the other hand there's Starling Marte who only plays OF but most of the time it's CF and he's a FA after this year . He would cost less to acquire (? ) than Ketel and his bWar is 2.3 even though he's hitting on par with Ketel so that defense in CF gives him a significant higher value in WAR then Ketel.

Let's get real right now. Once Eloy is back in the lineup he will be playing LF often. There is just no way around it. He is a way better hitter than Vaughn against RHP. Now of course Eloy will play some DH maybe even half his games or more in the beginning while he readjusts to playing. If the Sox want the best lineup against LHP then Vaughn should play LF while Eloy DH's. The best lineup against RHP ,which is most of the time, will be Eloy in LF and Vaughn on the bench. I would also think Vaughn would play LF against select RHP with Eloy DHing but that won't happen too often once Eloy is re-acclimated. The only way this scenario plays out differently will be if Vaughn starts mashing RHP in the time left before Eloy returns. I would love for this to happen because player improvement in a top prospect can only mean good things for the Sox moving forward.

I wrote that because I was purely speculating based on the last time he pitched. His health and the fact that the last time he signed for $18M with the Braves he pitched 3 innings plus his age would justify me speculating that way. Whether he signs a minor league deal or gets a few million for a half a season isn't a big difference. Obviously you had knowledge of the showcase coming up and I did not. But I don't think what I said was way off base. I thought Rodon would get a minor league deal too. Some people thought he'd get $5M minimum. Who knows if another team would ve offered him anything less or more than the $3M the Sox gave him. He probably should have had a show case like Kluber. That seems to help when you say "hey look at me" and teams come out to see you, otherwise you become an afterthought .

Yep . If he can't hit in AAA maybe he would realize something is off because he destroyed AAA pitching as well as Robert did. Even a little bit better. Maybe Mercedes was good buddies with Robert . He hasn't done well since Robert got injured May 3rd.

And of course there's that little thing about our 2 best starting pitchers at the moment becoming Free Agents next year.

Sure you can because, well, he has sucked. However he was huge in April. So huge in fact he became a figure that fans and media around baseball soaked up. And he should be given opportunities to not suck like every Sox player have been given opportunities. He was so huge that if you looked at his numbers now you would think he's had a pretty good year instead of slumping for 6 weeks . Vaughn has sucked too the only difference is Vaughn can still currently hit LHP but he has sucked all year against RHP and he too will get opportunities to not suck against RHP. Hamilton has sucked for years but because he does fielding and base running at elite levels he has managed to survive and his non sucking moments are exciting. Many think Leury sucks but he too has contributed to many wins with hitting, running and fielding.

No shame at all. I love it.

Yes I do. I believe you take your best shot when that shot is available. If you don't, I have a problem with it. If you do and you fail anyway I'm good. Hahn was quoted as saying "Chances to win are sacred, and we're going to treat this one accordingly." We shall see if the juice is worth the squeeze.

There are those here who think trading prospects should never happen or our guys most of us have given up on because talent cost will be low and other GM's will be taken in by Hahns announcement that we don't know what we are going to do. As of now in my not so humble opinion , the Sox will try to preserve the status quo. That means wait and assess the situation until the last possible moment and see where the team is at and where the weaknesses are. Then they will make the minimum least costly move(s) available for more relief pitching which probably would be in accordance with LaRussa's wishes. Let's hold onto those Gold pitching prospects we have who are going to be the 2nd wave in the decade long window of contention of sustained success that Hahn has been selling us . After all if we have to trade someone ,guys like Sheets,Adolfo, Rutherford and Burger will surely entice teams way more than anything else other teams have to offer. When we don't win the World Series in the next 10 years feel free to look me up after Hypnotist Hahn and Jerry have lead their followers into the Valley of Sustained Success. But hey we will always have Danny Mendick ,our saviour, to console us. No need to go all in this year just because we have the best Starting pitching staff in baseball and probably the best it will ever be in the next decade . Keep dangling that carrot Jerry you sure have Sox fans pegged right. Keep them longing for a better future while delaying the present. Fill the hole at 2nd base with needed LH power get more pitching . That's where I stand. Give up what is necessary and if it isn't our best low minors position players or our top pitching prospects even better . Win Win.

Lambert may get his turn if he's not traded. They may need some starts in the 2nd half.

He's not even pitching this year. No one wanted him. "Only money" would have to be a minor league deal and who knows if he even thinks that worth it. Probably not since he wasn't signed by anyone. He hasn't announced his retirement but he might as well unless an overture to him and a willingness to pitch in the minors is acceptable.

Burdi has sucked at AAA this year and they brought him up before . I was hoping if they brought up a pitcher it would be someone different. If Hahn wants to wait and see if they can avoid making trades and giving up too many prospects then what's the harm in actually trying a RP who is doing well in Charlotte like Ofreidy Gomez or Nik Turley both of them can at least throw strikes and get people out in the minors. Both have under a 1 WHIP. Burdi is 1.55

I was watching a Mic'd up segment with Frazier mic'd up during a game with the Dodgers .He was pretty funny. The whole time he was talking to Justin Turner about brokering a bet between himself and AJ Pollock regarding Miss. St and Notre Dame. The he made a bonehead running play and he wanders off the field telling himself I must be one of the dumbest base runners in the history of baseball or something along those lines.

The Sox traded Dunning for a rental . How is that working out so far ? Were you against the Dunning trade too ? Trading a backup 2nd baseman for a big power bat would be a lot better than trading prospects. Danny has done well and it's appreciated but if he is anything more than a utility guy for the rest of his career I can live with whatever he becomes in the future for a shot at winning the World Series. It's not like he's some some 18 yr old super athletic guy barely starting his pro career the Sox traded for a bum pitcher when they weren't even legit contenders.

The Sox needs are LH power and pitch BP. TLR will probably like more pitching above all else . Take all the time you want Rick but we know where the needs are right now. That won't change unless it changes for the worse in the next 5 weeks . Do what you feel is necessary and what Jerry allows when he pulls your strings and controls the pocketbook. Experiment with some arms . See if Ofreidy Gomez and the 2 31 yr olds Nik Turley and Mike Wright can contribute . All 3 are doing well in Charlotte. Pitch Burr more w/e it takes but in order to get answers you have to try solutions.

You will have to be more specific for me to answer that question in detail. Give me details and I will answer the question. What acquisitions are you referencing ?

Both is possible. But I am more in the this year mode because this year is the best and cheapest starting pitching staff the Sox will have in the next couple of years and the core will keep getting more expensive in arbitration years and the progression of the contracts that have been extended and Jerry doesn't pay the big bucks like Houston did for Verlander or the Cubs did for Lester or the Dodgers did for Bauer in their windows . If you have faith in the pitchers in the Sox system to replace the loss of Lynn and Rodon after this year and Gio and Keuchel in the coming years and still won't spend much for top of the line pitching that's an awful lot to ask of a bunch of young arms none of whom are top 100 prospects. Lynn and Rodon are 2 of the best pitchers in the AL this year. Giolito at his best isn't far behind. We have an elite closer who we have at his peak now but also have for another 3 years. Kopech next year still building up his arm, Cease, Giolito, Keuchel. Maybe pray we can sign Lynn or Rodon if Rodon can survive the innings this year. It's probable Lynn and Rodon are gone after this year. 2022 we are down our 2 best current starting pitchers. 2023 could be the end of the window if Kopech doesn't become an ace with Crochet hopefully not losing any time to TJS just starting to become a starting pitcher. My main concern is how is the window sustained unless 2 of Stiever, Thompson, Dahlquist ,Vera, Kelley, Lambert don't step up to replace the production of Gio and the aging Keuchel between now and 2024 when we will need Kopech and Cease to be a 1 and a 2 .With Crochet a long shot and all those other guys long shots to fill out the rest of the rotation and without Jerry spending enough to fill the holes in the starting pitching staff when the inevitable injuries and failures to the prospects start piling up I don't see sustained success as anything more than blowing smoke up our asses. We've seen this play out time and time again with the Sox. They never do enough to make the playoffs time and time again. It's up to the Sox to decide who is worth giving up . If we see very little action outside of Escobar or someone like him it's either Jerry being frugal or Hahn will come out and say teams were asking for those arms they might not to give up to prop the supposed window open beyond 2023. It's my biggest concern that not only won't the Sox win a World Series and that there also will not be sustained success for more than the next couple years. Anyone who buys the sustained success BS when they've seen how Jerry operates is wearing Sox blinders.Expecting things to get better when he is gone also never works out.

Ok I asked you to quote something I said. That's pretty easy to do here and since you didn't . End of discussion. There's a reason why courtrooms have stenographers but apparently you have no use for using the info easily at hand.

Damn straight I would.

I already said I prefer Escobar mainly because he hits HR's and we don't need Frazier for 2 years. Please contribute your ideas to the discussion unless you are afraid of being wrong.

You identify young talent and you go after it then you trade it before it gets too expensive. This is what TB does so well . I'd rather get Escobar because he would be cheaper if I want to live in Reinsdorfs head and have room to add some arms.

Ok lets not start misquoting me before we go any further please. I never said the solution is trading all the starting pitching. Please quote something I actually said otherwise it's not worth responding to. It really subverts actual baseball discussion when you paraphrase or put words in someones mouth.

If you believe in the 2nd wave sure. I don't. I'd rather win the World Series now. We all know with Reinsdorf around there isn't going to be any sustained success. For that to happen the Sox would have to operate like a cross between the Rays and how they operate now. It feels like its getting better in that regard with Katz and some other changes but the talent evaluations are still lacking as is going after guys who process talent on both sides of the ball. It still feels like the team possesses too many 1st base , C, DH types and is short on up the middle athletic versatile well rounded players. All of this should have been accomplished at the beginning of the rebuild. Instead of spending money on it they spent money on idiotic veteran players and picking up those 1st base DH types I was talking about.

Kelley could be beyond the window years away from contributing if he ever does. Stiever , Dahlquist, Thompson , Sheets, Adolfo, Rutherford, Lambert Burger. Do any of these guys excite anyone for the near future window ? The problem the Sox face is actually deciding who among the lower level prospects on the rise in the organization are worth trading because those are the guys the other teams will want and who among Stiever , Kelley, Thompson, Dahlquist and Lambert they will part with since pitching is always in demand.

Oh we have another Hahn catch phrase to throw around : “We’ve talked all along about making sure the juice is worth the squeeze. The juice this year may be a team that’s capable of winning it all. That’s pretty big juice. Is the squeeze going to be worth it to increase those chances?” Is the juice worth the squeeze ? Definitely. As my old man used to say " Who does he think he is kidding" or "You can't bullshit a bullshitter". I find it highly unlikely that they went through the rebuild only to decide at every trade deadline that they won't do anything. Of course they proved me wrong last year by not doing anything and surprisingly fans bought it as "we weren't ready" . This is the biggest carrying water for management BS I have ever seen. There is no excuse not to make every effort to improve a playoff caliber team into a World Series type team or at least at capable of advancing a round or 2. I'll always wonder how much more Texas was asking before the trade deadline last year and what they eventually settled on for Lynn. The Sox have needs in the BP and on the field . The only thing stopping the Sox from making deals would be Reinsdorf. The starting pitching staff is the best and cheapest it will ever be. This year is possibly the Sox best chance to win the World Series in the window because we are already nearly halfway there. Get the pieces you need and quit screwing around with the fans heads and pocketbooks.