Lillian

As his reputation as a "dangerous" hitter grows, he will almost certainly be pitched around, in many situations, with a RHP on the mound. That will afford him more chances to walk, if he can be patient.

Palka will almost certainly be on the roster and get plenty of playing time. If Cordell is going to be on the team, he will be the centerfielder and Palka would be the DH.

I disagree. I think Anderson is still growing, as a baseball player.

Palka now with a homer every 14 at bats. That puts him among the leaders in the Majors.

So then, I assume that you gentlemen favor trading Abreu and Avi, for more prospects, and simply tanking again, next year, in hopes of acquiring more high Draft choices. I wouldn't expect to get much for Avi, after his injury plagued year. Not sure what Jose would bring either, given his age and his being a first baseman/DH.

The only ones, for whom I projected better numbers than their historical norm are Moncada and Palka, the two rookies. Everyone else pretty much has the kind of projected stats, which would be consistent with what they have done, weighted more heavily for the last couple of years, in the case of someone like Avi, who only "broke out" last year. Certainly Abreu and Donaldson have both performed at that level, or better. There is no track record for Eloy, of course, but those numbers seem reasonable, for our projected "Super Star" of the future, even if in his rookie year. Yes, I indeed stated that the young pitchers would need to improve, but that is both a reasonable expectation and one which better transpire, or this rebuild is in serious question. I think with Rodon and Corbin at the top of the rotation, Lopez and Giolito should be able to fill the #3 and #4 spots. If neither of them are going to fulfill that expectation, then I guess we have to wait and hope the Sox can find some arms to fill out the rotation, behind Kopech and Cease, in 2020 and beyond. Dunning could certainly be one of those guys, but Hansen is a huge question mark.

The following projections for 2019 seems reasonable, if Moncada and Palka can improve a little, in their second full seasons: HR AVG. OBP 2B Moncada. 25 .250 .350 3B Donaldson. 35 .275 .375 1B Abreu 30 .290 .350 DH Palka 30 .250 .330 LF Eloy 25 .280 .340 C Narvaez 10 .270 .360 RF Avi. 25. .280 .330 SS Anderson 20 .250 .300 CF Engel (With that offense and Eloy and Avi at the corners, his defense in CF would justify below average offense)

If Rodon, Lopez, Giolito and a solid #2 through free agency, like Corbin, wouldn't give them a solid front four, then the rebuild has serious problems. It's reasonable to hope for Giolito and Lopez to take a step forward. They have shown flashes of being very good, but inconsistent. Covey is probably OK, as a 5TH starter, for one year until Kopech and Cease arrive in 2020.. If next year's outfield of Eloy in LF and Avi in RF and whoever can provide plus defense in CF, wouldn't be adequate, then we are going to be disappointed in Eloy. The bullpen is a wild card, as always, but there are some decent options. What is so lacking in an offense featuring Moncada, Avi, Donaldson, Abreu, Palka, Eloy, Narvaez, Anderson and whoever plays CF.

It may be September, but he is not exactly doing this off of AAAA pitchers, or rookies. His last two homers have come off of Kluber and Carrasco. Moreover, they were not hit on "off" nights, for those outstanding pitchers. The rest of the lineup wasn't doing much against them.

If it's time to start the clock on Eloy, next year, it seems a waste not to try to compete. Another year of Rodon's contract will be wasted, as well as Avi and Abreu's last year. Why not try to compete next year and then move into the next phase, with a few more of the prospects, like Madrigal, Adolfo, Robert Cease, Dunning etc? The Sox have plenty of money, as we have discussed. We have enough pieces, to begin to try to compete, with the addition of one more bat and one more arm. This team doesn't need to sign Harper or Machado, on a 10 year deal. I'd prefer to see them spend that money on 3 players, all of whom are a little older and willing to sign for 2 to 4 years. Donaldson is a good example of a guy who could help but not require a long term deal. You put Donaldson at 3RD and you have a solid infield and a potent lineup, providing Moncada and Anderson improve. If they don't, or regress, the rebuild would have big problems, as those are two key core pieces. Add Corbin to the rotation of Rodon, Lopez, Giolito and whoever takes the 5TH slot, and again, they could compete, unless they don't get some progress out of Lopez and Giolito. And, if they don't progress, that too would be a serious problem for the rebuild.

Yes, that's true, however that seems to be the norm, in this era. Even the good offensive teams don't seem to have very many high average hitters. It's a function of all of the strike outs. It's pretty hard to hit .300, when you strike out 25% to 30% of the time. Even that potent Cleveland lineup, is featuring lots of guys hitting below .275. With so many fire ballers coming out of the bull pens, and the emphasis on homers, there just aren't that many high average hitters, anymore. Among all MLB "qualifiers," there are only 50 players hitting .275 or better. That is less than 2 players, per team.

The statistic that I find most intriguing is his home run rate of one in every 15 at bats. That makes him a bonafide "slugger," and has the potential to fill the void of that elusive, middle of the order, left handed bat. If he can maintain that, going forward, that is one hole filled. Now, do they keep Avi and Abreu, next season and try to fill out the rotation, or do they trade them, and delay the contention window, until 2020, or beyond? What the front office does with those two will probably tell us, in which direction they want to go. A lineup of Moncada, Avi, Abreu, Palka Eloy, Narvaez, Anderson etc, is probably good enough, if they have the pitching.

ABSOLUTELY!!

For all of you Palka nay sayers, this guy is having a terrific rookie season. I understand that his OBP isn't as high, as we'd like. Nevertheless, 24 homers in just over 2/3 of a season, from a left handed bat, pretty much qualifies as a "keeper". Anyone have any suggestions for a better left handed power hitter, until some of the prospects arrive?

The Sox are not going to be good enough to contend, next year, unless they acquire another pitcher. If they sign someone to fill out the rotation, then I could see adding Donaldson, on a shorter term contract, providing he's healthy. Assuming they don't trade Avi or Abreu, next year's offense would be pretty competitive: 2B Moncada RF Avi 3B Donaldson 1B Abreu DH Palka LF Eloy C Narvaez SS Anderson CF Engel (With that offense and Eloy and Avi at the corners, they will need his defense in CF) ROTATION Rodon Lopez Corbin (one possibility) Giolito ????????

I think that he is too young and way too inexperienced to be drawing conclusions, regarding what kind of player he will ultimately become. I'm focusing on his tools. He is fast and is said to have a good eye. He is certainly not prone to chasing lots of bad pitches. His approach has seemed to be one of waiting for the perfect pitch to pull, with power. That approach has not worked. If he begins to be a little more aggressive, and use the whole field, it is not hard to imagine him getting his OBP up to over .350. Given his speed, that would make him a very viable leadoff hitter. The power would still be there, but I argue that he shouldn't be trying to make that his primary objective. At any rate, we'll see.

The versatility is fine, but I was thinking that Rondon might be a viable option at third. He really has taken a big step forward, this season. He hits RHP as well as LHP and 18 home runs, in just 80 games at Charlotte is impressive. He seems to be picking right where he left off, since his promotion. He obviously has sacrificed some average and OBP, in order to significantly increase his power, but still acceptable. The outfield seems pretty crowded, so being able to play there is not much of an advantage, in this organization. Perhaps management is trying to figure out a way to have one less bench player, by covering both the infield and outfield, with one guy.

Whatever was the cause, if he is learning to make adjustments, that's a very positive and encouraging step.

I prefer this version of Moncada. The home runs will come. He is better suited as a high OBP leadoff hitter, and stolen base threat, unless he is going to bat 3 - 5, in the order. Swinging for the fences doesn't suit that profile. That's fine for guys like Palka, Eloy and Davidson, not for Yoan. It wouldn't be surprising if he still hit 25 homers a year, in the leadoff spot, with this kind of an approach.

Anyone know why this game would be blacked out for me, here in Western N. Carolina? I normally can get any Sox game, on my MLB.com subscription.

I am more interested in his approach, than his results. When it is apparent that something isn't working, it makes sense to alter that approach. I'm pleased to know that he is doing something different.

During these final few games, I'd love to see Moncada work on any, or all of the following: 1) Swing at anything close, in 2 strike counts 2) Take pitches, on the outside edge of the plate, to the opposite field, especially when the shift is on. 3) Bunt for a base hit, again especially when there is a dramatic shift on. 4) Choke up on the bat, when in 2 strike counts 5) Move around, in the batter's box. If he can squeeze out a few more hits, and steal a few more bases, it might provide some confidence, going forward. At least it would represent a "plan". He needs a better "approach". If his eye is as good as claimed, he should be able to recognize that a pitch is close enough to swing at, even if it isn't necessarily a strike. He has to stop leaving the outcome of so many at bats, in the hands of the plate umpire. He has too much talent, to look so hapless. He's headed for over 200 strike outs. That simply won't cut it, certainly not as a leadoff hitter. That might be acceptable for a middle of the order hitter, slugging 35 homers, but not at the top of the order. Look, all I'd like to see is some effort to fix, what is clearly "broken".

I'm beginning to wonder if this young man is capable of learning. It has been brought to his attention, by coaches and teammates that he needs to be more aggressive, in two strike counts. Yet, he continues to take called third strikes. I'm sorry, but being a good baseball player requires a certain degree of baseball smarts, or acumen. He better wake up and begin to figure that out, or this League is going to eat him up. If we, as fans, can see this, you have to wonder why he can't. He also continues to try to pull everything. Anderson has discovered that there are a lot of base hits, to be derived from taking outside pitches to the opposite field. Moncada can't seem to grasp that. I've said it before, but despite taking a lot of pitches, far too many of his at bats are not good at bats. Is anyone else getting tired of his stubborn insistence on doing the same things, over and over again, in spite of less than acceptable results? Do you think that the Boston front office might have thought that he was a "head case"? What a waste of talent? I don't know what Madrigal will amount to, but his baseball acumen will be a refreshing change, after watching Moncada. I. apologize for the rant, but it's getting hard to take, especially after the let down over Kopech.

He has been taking fewer pitches in 2 strike counts, and has been hitting more balls to the opposite field, even while hitting right handed. That is very encouraging to me.

Uribe's range was fine, but I doubt that it was as good as Tim's. However, his arm was a "cannon". I attended the entire Spring Training seasons, 9 consecutive years. One of the first was right after the Sox had acquired Uribe, from the Rockies. I was sitting right in line with 1ST and Uribe was playing 2ND. I remember that his arm was almost too much for a first baseman to handle, from that close range. All the fans sitting around me were astounded by his throws.