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I just checked the July stats Goodwin .302 OBP , .682 OPS. Hamilton .250 OBP , .639 OPS . Hamilton would be hitting RH against a RHP whereas Goodwin who's overall numbers against RHP on the season blows the doors off of Hamilton. Good walk rate, decent batting avg. good OBP ,way higher slugging and OPS. There will always be players who perform better than other player in any given 30 day period. When you take into consideration that Zavala is in the lineup I think I'd want the guy who has a better chance of hitting McKenzie better in the lineup based on effectiveness through the whole season. Since Collins is not playing you can't put every RHH in the lineup based on your sample size.

Whats wrong with Goodwin ?

Yup just goes to show what they think of Collins catching abilities and that his bat isn't nearly good enough to make up for his defense. Of course knowing that before hand is why I was actually a bit surprised the Sox showed no interest in Yan Gomes. The A's ended up getting him and they have Sean Murphy who has a 2.7 fWAR due in part to his great framing stats while Yan Gomes is a better hitter but still pretty strong defensively with an over all 1.1 fWAR. Collins is at a -.3 fWAR and Zavala is a black hole offensively . If Grandal has any relapse and, lets face it, with a balky knee and being a catcher he has the highest chance of not being able to handle his position in the playoffs of the guys returning from injury. You can't have a lousy defensive catcher or a non hitter in the playoffs. If they make it to the World Series playing in the NL park without the DH and Zavala catching means its almost like having 2 pitchers hitting in the lineup . Even in the AL playoffs they are at a disadvantage with a position player who hits like a pitcher. Guess we should be keeping our eyes on the DFA's or Carlos Perez being promoted to AAA.

Was there ever any indication that the Cubs ate any money in the Kimbrel trade ? If the Sox are paying the whole contract and they gave up Madrigal and Heuer there's definitely the Crosstown Rivalry tax here.

Not sure I understand what you are getting at. If Robert and Eloy stay down longer are they less prone to injury here ? Do they play with less intensity or not run as hard there as they do here ? And if that is the case how does playing with less intensity or effort prepare them to play with more effort ? They can get hurt just as easily in the minors as here but at least we could get a big HR for the Sox rather than with the Knights. I understand the concerns specifically related to what happened to Engel and I had to question how Engel played when he was rehabbing with Charlotte due to him stealing 4 bases and then coming back and getting hurt again. He had gotten to the point at Charlotte where he seemed to playing at full speed and testing his leg and passed the audition so it's not just a matter of saying leave them down longer and they won't get hurt again when they come back up. Injuries happen regardless of how long you rehab . I also want Robert to use as much time as is needed before he comes back but relating that to injury prevention once he does come back doesn't compute. If the issue is Roberts torn muscle that injury will always be a concern in the future since we have heard many times the once a certain part of your body is injured it is more susceptible to being reinjured no matter how much one does to prevent it.

Was probably a wise move. Can't do it now unless some catcher is released and he sure won't be the quality of Gomes.

I can handle any RF combo among Engel, Goodwin. Leury, Sheets but the catching duo now is just ugly and will not help 1 iota in the playoffs if Air Grandal gets grounded. I wanted Gomes bad. A's gave up 3 prospects for Gomes and Josh Harrison. No idea how good any of them are. This is a partial summation of Gomes from MLBTraderumors: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/07/nationals-trade-josh-harrison-yan-gomes-athletics.html "Gomes, 34, is in the second season of a two-year, $10MM contract and has gotten out to a strong start, hitting at a .271/.323/.454 clip with nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple as the primary backstop in D.C — a demonstrable uptick from the league-average .226/.307/.387 slash posted by catchers so far in 2022. He’ll pair with Sean Murphy to give the A’s a pair of backstops who are outpacing that average level of offense behind the plate. Gomes also carries a terrific defensive reputation, which is supported by strong framing numbers and a robust 36 percent caught-stealing rate on the year. " A's upgraded one of the best catchers and framers in baseball with another good catcher. They didn't even need him that much.

Home team win for the Sox . Road team loss for the Cleve. Game was a disaster on a lot of levels but wow the game thread was a shit show , even more than usual. Pito is the man , always has been , always will be.

True but in Abreu's case he hits a lot of his HR's to LF and CF and hits a lot of his doubles down the line in left. He consistently better at pulling the ball than Tim is. Tim also hits the majority of his HR's to left field and a lot of them down the line or straight away left but when he is hot it seems like most of his hits go to RF.

Guess you couldn't find a droopy cucumber or banana and had to go with the eggplant.

I liked the kid. Feel bad for Poppy and Hi8is and wish him good health and happiness.

Moncada also huge difference between home and road OPS+ . Home 139 , Road 97.

Anyone else notice that TA gets hot and almost all his hits go to RF and a few to center and when he gets cold he looks like he's pulling everything and grounding out to the left side a bunch ? I'm starting to wonder if this isn't some process that he goes through on purpose . Like he will try to be a pull hitter once in a while to make himself a better hitter or HR guy. I expect him now to get hot again at home since his OPS+ is 133 home and 93 road.

Won't happen. The Sox are like night and day between being on the road and at home. On the road you just want to slap them and say what the f@#$ is wrong with you guys ?

Think of your younger version of Angelina , that should help .

I think they made the right choice.

I was worried about you !

I think the Sox will play with Lopez a little bit. I think soon they will give him a shot at holding a lead. I know that will freak everyone out but they also just might be content letting him pitch an inning or 2 when they are behind or spot start him since they have Tepera now but another reliever added and the Sox can seriously start getting Kopech stretched out.

That's why I've been posting all day about Gomes. Last injured guy to return and couldn't stomach seeing Collins in the playoffs . It's easily their biggest positional need now.

Should've guessed Martin but with Martinez looking so good they could afford to move Martin. Martinez might have the higher upside.

Yan Gomes. No organization should trust Collins in any playoff game should Grandal 's knee not hold up well.

Jays have a really good SS prospect in A ball Orelvis Martinez. I wonder if the Twins got him too.

This is like my 4th post on it today but I gave @Backwash07 credit for the guy I first saw post it a few days ago.

I like it when anyone can be witty and call everyone out and still Win the Day.

Catcher . While RF would be nice too. However, can you imagine if Grandal, who will be the last injured player to return, has problems with his knee and the Sox are stuck with Collins who might be the worst defensive catcher in baseball getting significant playoff time ? Yan Gomes with his 115 OPS+ is till the best backup catcher available since he's a FA next year. I don't even care that he is right handed , catcher is still the spot on the team that needs the most help given what could happen if Grandal can't cut it.