Lillian

Another good day at the plate for Engel. That last at bat would have been out of most parks. 2 for 4, with a pair of doubles, will do just fine. Ever since he moved closer to the plate, he has been having good at bats. I'm still hoping for him to become an acceptable hitter. He's inching his way toward that point.

Maybe they've been worried about Eloy thwarting their plan to tank, for the Draft. Now that Abreu is out, perhaps they can let Eloy play, and still have hopes of losing. MLB really needs to fix this dilemma. Maybe they should add an age requirement, for free agency.

Engel's homer is one that he wouldn't have hit, before he started standing closer to the plate. It seems to be making a big difference

Thank you Flavum. That was nice to be able to see that CSN broadcast.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=moncayo01&year=2018&t=b

In one of the recent game broadcasts, it was stated that he recently decided to go back to an approach, which he had followed earlier in his young career. He began to focus upon watching the pitcher's hand, with the ball and watch it leave his hand. That approach has corresponded with the point in the season, when he began to hit consistently. Pretty basic approach, but I guess sometimes a player can loose that focus.

I'd like to see the Sox trade Castillo, over the winter.Even if it represents not much more than a salary dump. I'm satisfied with the current catching tandem of Narvaez and Smith, until Collins is ready, or whomever they draft, next year. Who knows, the long term answer may be Rutschman or Langeliers.

Omar has now been in 162 games, over the last 2 years. Seems like a fair sized sample, from which to form some reasonable opinions. Over that stretch, he has hit .279, with a team leading .377 OBP. He may not provide much power, but he consistently has good at bats. He also does not seem to be overwhelmed, in clutch situations. He passes the eye test, for me. I've always had the impression that he had a good knowledge of the strike zone and knew how to have a good at bat. As far as his defense is concerned; is there anything about his skill set, as a catcher, that cannot be improved, with a little hard work and experience? I'm looking forward to seeing how he finishes the season. The next question is; what should the Sox do with Castillo? I can't see giving him more playing time than Narvaez, given that Omar hits left handed.

I'm looking for a center fielder. Eloy will obviously be the first outfield prospect, but he is a corner outfielder.

What are the chances that he could be promoted to Birmingham? I'd rather see him there, than Call. How soon could he be in Chicago, if he succeeds at AA? Is the end of next year, feasible? He'll be 23 next month. I think that there is a good chance that he gets there before Robert, Basabe or Rutherford, because those guys are all a little younger, than he is. He seems to be the most polished hitter, who can play CF, out to the entire group of prospects. I was hopeful that Booker might stay on track, but he has not done that well, since being promoted to AA.

It seems a little unfair to criticize Benetti, in this context. He is not an ex player. He has has his own strengths, as well. He has a good voice, is a pretty well rounded and intelligent young man. It's the difference between being a "play by play" announcer, versus a "color" broadcaster.

Are you guys enjoying this broadcast, as much as I am?

The encouraging thing is that he has a great arm and is young enough. He can certainly add to his repertoire. He should develop into a very good starter.

I think Lopez needs another pitch. His stuff is very good, but he could use an out pitch.

I'm loving Konerko, in the booth. He's very interesting.

Konerko just offered some very astute and wise observations about Moncada. I hope most of you heard him. His assertion is that it's very hard to come into the League, as a young hitter, and expect to walk 100 times, and to get the close calls. He advocates a little more aggressiveness, in order to establish that you can be dangerous. The walks will come, with that respect.

Moncada is wearing glasses. I don't think that they're sun glasses.

Do you think that he is a significantly better defensive catcher, than Omar, especially handling pitchers? If not, I agree that the at bats should go to Narvaez. He's earned it.

Why isn't Rondon getting any recognition? He has it 18 homers, at AAA in just 77 games. He also hit 3 with the Sox, giving him 21 for the season. He needs to get his OBP up another .020 or more, but he has had a good offense year, for a SS.

If the Sox picked 5TH, do you think that they would still have a shot at one of the two, most highly ranked collegiate catchers?

Short of replacing Stevenson, whom could the Sox assign to work with Moncada, to try to fix whatever is "broken"? His approach is not working, and he is going to need to make some adjustments. The most discouraging thing to me, is that I don't see him making any changes. He continues to do the same thing and with the same results. There are many things, which he could try; including choking up more, especially with 2 strikes, move around in the batter's box, start being more aggressive, especially with 2 strikes, try hitting to the opposite field, etc. It is just insane to continue to do what he is doing. This has to be shattering his confidence. The Sox better do something, before they ruin this young man. So far, all I've seen is that he has been moved down to #8 in the order. That is not going to be enough of a change.

Engel has power. His problem is his inability to make solid contact. I'm not lobbying for him to get more playing time. He had plenty of opportunities to prove that he can hit. My on!y point was that one can readily see the potential.

Engel never seemed to be able to solve the challenge of hitting, as I hoped. However, you can see why some of us were rooting so hard, for him to do so. If he could just hit for a respectable average, he could be a good player, given that glove. He has speed and power, as well. It's too bad that he just can't make enough contact.

Jose Rondon hit his 20TH homer of the season. if you count the 3 he hit for the Sox.

You have to wonder if the coaches are beginning to lose their patience with Moncada's refusal to swing at close pitches, when he has 2 strikes.