CaliSoxFanViaSWside

I wrote a thread about a month ago asking if we would ever get to see a season where we get Eloy and Robert at their best in the same season because they are both so frequently injured. I should have included Moncada and perhaps Vaughn too. If we envision them all playing 150 games in the same season and all of them being able to reach their vast potential in the same season try imagining that lineup . Eloy .300 40+ Hr's, Robert .300 35+ Hr's , Moncada .300 25 + bombs and Vaughn .300 25+ HR's. That's the season I am hoping to see. Maybe next year now that the Sox resigned Lynn.

Yes Marte over Goodwin or Engel X100 . Assuming Tim is going to bat lead off practically all the time I don't want to spend too much time envisioning where Marte would've been put in the lineup. He probably would be a better leadoff hitter then Timmy but then where does Tim bat ? Marte went 3/4 with a walk and 3 stolen bases yesterday.In a loaded lineup assuming everyone is healthy Marte, Moncada,Eloy, Abreu, Vaughn, Robert, Timmy, Grandal, Hernandez or any variation .

Well my 1st choice was Gallo because of HR's and defense and the extra year but Marte is still a very good player and very good player improve the team and I am all for improving the team in any manner available. In the off season, when assessing what you need, a more consistent read on our guys helps knowing who to pursue. But in a short season like after the deadline I would have preferred the power guy who plays good defense over the more consistent hitter who plays good defense but low power guy because the team wasn't showing much power. I didn't want to have to expect Eloy, Robert and Grandal all to be 100% their usual powerful selves to deliver bombs.

But Engel is . There is no such thing as having a perfect situation. Vaughn isn't the end all, be all of OF defense either. He is passable, but he's going to be a starter in the playoffs because of his improved bat. The thing you want to avoid is having 2 less than ideal defenders in the corners . Goodwin, as well as he has been hitting, probably shouldn't be getting more playing time than Engel despite being the strong side of the platoon. As soon as Engel is deemed fit enough to play 70% of the time, perhaps after Robert returns, we will see him more.

I think it's a matter of expectations. You don't expect much from Goodwin but we expect more from guys like Moncada, Timmy and Abreu. After a lot of AB's we actually still have no idea what to expect from him. Yes we get a very good fielding 3rd baseman, a guy who hits the ball hard,a definite 5 WAR type guy . Right now what we don't know about him is where is the best place to hit him. Is it the middle or the top of the order ? I think we all want to see that guy from 2019 again and maybe he will never be that guy again. He had the lowest walk rate of his short career but his best offensive year. Of course I think we are more than pleased with his production . However he is a Yo-Yo as far as the type of player we are seeing from year to year. If this is the Yoan we get from now on that's cool. He's a very valuable player just not as valuable as many want him to be. I suppose the same thing can be said about Goodwin when others complain about his fielding. I know it's seems out of place to express concerns about the teams best player but maybe a lot of people want or expect that WAR to be above a 6 . Most the the truly elite players in baseball usually hit in the 25+ HR range. Remember the wild predictions thread ? I think the most popular one was Yoan was going to win the MVP and that kind of year requires a 8+ WAR usually. The offense can certainly use our veteran players stepping up offensively whether it's Moncada, Timmy , Abreu . Eloy will be a huge help as will Grandal and Robert and perhaps it will have a domino effect and they all perk up.

Exactly we are the glass half full supporters of Goodwin rather than the glass half empty bashers.

Just showing your baseball ignorance. Any scorekeeper would rule those hits because they were difficult plays. You need to get your eyes checked. So what you are saying, he should always get a hit and getting on base at a .538 rate in the series wasn't good enough ? Go back under your rock.

Here and there ? Try 7 times out of 13 plate appearances. Also 2 Hr's in the 3 game series, 5 runs scored and batted .333

And one makes $300M and the other makes the minimum. Understand the difference ? 2 plays by Harper that are basically just long fly balls missed. 2 plays by Goodwin one of which would've been a HR and the other a sliding attempt running in as hard as he can . There are thousands of errors and misplayed balls but yet all that is focused on instead of the very good 3 games of hitting he just finished. He hit better than anybody on the team for the 3 games unless you want to count the one game by Seby. The scrubs should not be the ones carrying this team yet Seby had 3 HR's, Goodwin 2, Engel 1 , thats 6 HR's to 1 for Moncada, Anderson and Abreu the ones being paid to be excellent. Y'all need to slow down on the hatred for the scrubs. They are carrying their weight during a difficult time throughout the season.

Is Bryce Harper a professional? Go look at what he did 3 days ago in RF . 2 long lazy fly balls he's camped under and somehow they went over his head. I rather have Brian Goodwin who is making squat look bad in the OF than my $300M OF. No errors is no errors how is that generous ? 2 difficult plays 2 non catches . At least he didn't kick the ball away.

Brian Goodwin: 8/1 1-3,BB, 2 R ,1 RBI Game winning walk off HR. 7/31 1-3, 2 BB ,3 R ,1 RBI , HR 7/30 1-3 1 BB 1 RBI Total: 3-9 ,4 BB, 7/13 .538 OBP, 3 RBI, 5 RS, 2 HR's and 1 of them a walk off. I dare someone to find one other guy who did as consistently well this series. Mind you this is a scrub and Moncada, Anderson and Abreu are not. Also no errors . I know we can all get mad that he didn't rob a HR and the ball is not sticking in his glove on difficult plays. But if he was a .900 OPS and a great glove he'd be an All Star not a scrub. Maybe he starts using a new glove soon

It's always a little odd when someone who is generally known as a scrub comes in and does a great job filling a huge void by hitting way better than expected has a bit of a slump , prevents a HR but doesn't catch the ball and or attempt a sliding catch but not catch it and people are all over him. 8/1 1-3,BB, 2 R ,1 RBI Game winning walk off HR. 7/31 1-3, 2 BB ,3 R ,1 RBI , HR 7/30 1-3 1 BB 1 RBI Total: 3-9 ,4 BB, 7/13 .538 OBP, 3 RBI, 5 RS, 2 HR's and 1 of them a walk off. I dare someone to find one other guy who did as consistently well this series. Mind you this is a scrub and Moncada, Anderson and Abreu are not. Also no errors . I know we can all get mad that the ball is not sticking in his glove on difficult plays. Maybe he starts using a new glove soon

That's what she said !

I think it's about time they push all in on Engel if he is healthy enough. He's been hitting RHP just fine, better than fine actually, and with his defense it would be a huge upgrade once Robert starts playing CF again. Maybe to protect Robert you use him in RF and keep Engel in CF

That's mighty nice of you Doc.

Tepera's done so bad his thread was unpinned !

Did you see Bryce Harper the other day ? 2 routine but deep fly balls he was camped under and both went over his head.

I'll take a walk off before he ever gets to bat

My most humble apologies to Sexy for saying he hit like a pitcher ! WOW

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.