southsider2k5

What a gift.

Josh is singlehandedly keeping the Sox in this game.

Lol, I thought Eloy was at DH?

If you separate out 2nd half with Tony, and 2nd half without there is still a pretty fair step up Post Tony. .256/.318/.427/.745 2nd half with Tony and .268/.312/.479/.791 after. When you look at just second half, this streak obvious skews things.

Which tells me he is probably starting there next year unless he goes bonkers in ST.

If someone offers you value, you take it.

Because if he isn't going to be an every day starter, you trade him for whatever value you can get for him and are happy about it. Bench DH's aren't exactly a commodity around baseball. if someone is willing to give you something useful, you take it.

That's not wrong, but it also isn't hugely relevant. Gavin Sheets should never be counted on as a mainstay. He should be treated like found money, not an anchor fund.

IMO he is WAY more likely to be a AAAA type player who spends a decade mostly at AAA, but with the occasional trip to the majors on bad teams and with injuries. I would trade him for a modest return for sure.

We know.

I don't think we have to play the 'if it isn't one extreme, it has to be other' game here. An actual normal spring training for the first time in 3 years should be a big asset all by itself. Normal winter workouts will also be a big help, as we haven't had those in three years either. Obviously the big question is how much of the Sox injury problems belong to those external and extraordinary problems, how much belongs to the Sox off the field conditioning being trash since Herm left, and how much of it is players not doing the right things during the off-season? That's the part I have no idea about, yet it could mean TONS to what the Sox do going forward.

Until Gavin Sheets forces himself into the mix, he isn't in the mix. There are too many already good hitters in front of him.

Leury is fine in moderation. If you run him out a couple of times a week in a sub role, and as needed around injuries to MI players, that's fine. He can't get 500 ABs a year. 200-300? Fine.

Can someone please light Lake Erie on fire on their way out of town? Thank you.

Shohei Ohtani is the literal definition of MOST VALUABLE.

I mean MAYBE he develops into a guy who you can DH on a regular basis, but he has some work to do. Even with the change in management, his numbers have actually slid hard in the last month.

Eloy failed by not being on the field for most of the season. Again.

And so far, Sheets hasn't proven he can be one.

I'm so old, I remember when the Cubs were going spend big in free agency last year.

Not really, no. The kid is a DH in waiting who hasn't been able to consistently hit. What's the attraction?

Since Tony left... Aj Pollock .268/.312/.479/.791 Yoan .333./359/.569/.927 Eloy .348./397/.710/1.108 (in 19 games played for the record) Grandal .205.294.364.658 Abreu .316.369.434.803 Vaughn .269.329.463.792 Harrison .333.385.417.801 Sheets .160.259.360.619 Out of the guys who have been starting essentially most games during this stretch, literally only Gavin Sheets is hitting at a level that is appreciably below their season performance. Almost everyone is above their season marks (6 of the 8), and Vaughn is right about at his averages. Sheets is significantly down.

FWIW, since Tony left, AJ is .268/.312/.479/.791 with the bat. No idea how to get a split on his defensive numbers.

I have ran the clock and scoreboard for about a decade for my local HS football games. Due to a nice recommendation from the AD I work with, I am actually going to get to run it now for a D1 football game this weekend, so that should be fun.

The Sox took the 1st step when Tony had to bow out. I don't think it was a World Series favorite team, but seeing the rebound in key guys tells me that more is there.

And it isn't any coincidence that his longest stretch of the year healty has been with him playing DH so he can't hurt himself in LF.