Lillian

I think this team will be ready to compete, as soon as they establish the starting rotation. My guess is; Rodon, Kopech, Cease, Lopez, followed by one of Giolito, Covey, Dunning, or Hansen. Whether, or not that can happen, by the 2ND half of next year, I have no idea. The lineup could be good enough next year, if they don't trade Avi and Abreu. Maybe one free agent acquisition, and Eloy could make this offence competitive. There could be enough internal options for the bullpen. It may not be necessary to wait until 2021 to compete. That is likely the time when the next wave of prospects arrive, including whom ever they might select in net year's draft.

There appear to be at least two college catchers, ranked in the top 10 of next year's Draft. Shea Langeliers, C, Baylor If Rutschman is the top catcher in the class, Langeliers might not be far behind. He has excellent catch-and-throw skills with outstanding pop times to second. At the plate, Langeliers is quick to the ball and can drive it to all fields, with double-digit home runs in each of his first two seasons.

Last night's walk off homer was another "vote" for Palka. He does seem to have a flare for the dramatic. But even more significant than when he hit it, is where he hit it. He took an outside pitch, way over the left field wall. He possesses that kind of power and should be taking more advantage of it. The shift employed against him leaves the left side wide open. It's an invitation for him to hit the ball to that side. He might be well served to take a step back, off the plate, which would afford him more pitches, which he could hit, in that direction. He would still be able to reach the stands and that open left side would afford him more hits. Moreover, pitches on the inside corner would then be right in his wheel house. Any pitch, which crowds him, inside should be readily recognized as a ball, given his position, in the batter's box. It is inexplicable to me, how our hitters fail to make any adjustments, regarding where they stand in the box, especially in this era of extreme defensive shifts. I wonder if other teams are equally inept, in that regard.

And Steele Walker

While I have been one of the most vocal critics of his habit of taking close pitches, with 2 strikes, I actually feel pretty optimistic that he will develop into a productive player. Given his ability to take pitches and his speed, he might ultimately become a good leadoff hitter. Perhaps he won't be the big power hitter, whom we expected, but a high OBP guy, with speed would be OK. He may have to stop swinging for the fences, and learn to hit pitches to all fields. When teams employ the shift and he gets a a pitch, just barely outside, take the ball to the left side, for a hit With his speed, most of those would be doubles. If he could get his OBP to .350+ and steal bases, I'd be satisfied with 20+ homers. For now, I think we need to see him have better at bats. Not necessarily the results, but the approach. It would be encouraging to see him foul off a bunch of pitches and take a few to the opposite field, maybe move around in the batter's box. Anything but standing there and taking strike 3.

I think that this discussion is more appropriate, in the new thread; "Delmonico or Palka""

I wouldn't be surprised to see Eloy next season. However, I'm not expecting a big free agent signing, this winter. Whom would you like them to sign, to fill the LH bat void?

Yes, I have certainly been consistent, in my advocating the acquisition of a LH middle of the order bat. Apparently, management agrees, evidenced by statements from the front office. Unfortunately, the players, whom they have brought in have not been very good. I hope that they acquire one through free agency, when they decide to spend some money. At this point, Palka seems to be their best option, and that is why he is in the lineup vs RHP, despite the fact that he is a defensive liability.

"Required" would not be my choice of words. I would say "advantageous". For example; Let's assume that next season, Eloy is in the lineup. If the middle of the order choice were Abreu, Avi, Eloy and Davidson, versus Abreu, Avi, Palka and Eloy, I would favor the latter, even if Matt's stats were slightly better than Palka's. The reasoning is; An opposing manager might feel the need to go to the pen, for a LHP. A middle of the order, consisting of all RH hitters, does not force a manager to make that kind of move. In fact, it might be even better to bat Avi after Palka. Nobody hits leftiies better than Avi. That would further complicate the opposing manager''s decision making process. If he brought in a LHP to face Palka, he might have to go back to the pen, for a RHP to face Avi. I agree that Palka needs to cut down on his strike outs and draw more walks. I hope that by establishing his reputation, as a "dangerous" hitter, that pitchers will begin to nibble more, and that he can exploit that, in order to draw more walks. In any case, thank you for the clarification.

He isn't a "perfect" solution to the problem, but he may do, until the Sox have a better one. Just to clarify; Do I understand that you don't think it's important to have a "dangerous" LH hitter, in the middle of the order?

These have been the first 250 at bats of his MLB career.

That's fine and the opposing manager will bring in a lefty to face him, late in the game, which is exactly what a right handed heavy lineup would like. Precisely my point.

What Palka provides is exactly what has been missing; a middle of the order LH bat. He provides that kind of presence. Sandwich him somewhere in between Avi, Abreu and Eloy and you have a potent, balanced middle of the order, 3 through 6. When this team is playing meaningful games, that kind of lineup will force opposing managers to make more bullpen changes.

With Rodon and Avi back, Omar hitting and both Lopez & Giolito back on track, add Eloy to that team and who knows. Oh, and I forgot Palka. And then there is always the chance that Moncada stops taking strike 3 and decides to get a hit, instead.

What if he comes up and performs so well that the Sox drop from #3 in the Draft, to #5 or 6?

As badly as the Sox need a middle of the order, LH bat, I hope they give him every chance to succeed. Gee, I wonder where you guys have heard that before? He certainly provides that missing "presence" in the lineup. First base or DH, but he should be in the lineup every game, vs. RHP, the rest of this season, at the very least.

Yes, good hitters foul off a lot of those two strike, close pitches. They also can take the outside pitch, the other way, for a hit. The good news is that this is something that he is certainly capable of doing. It is simply a question of his mindset. He will learn and I certainly hope that he is being coached to do so.

Moncada is his own worst enemy. How does a hitter get called out on strikes, 4 times in one game? What ever happened to the notion that you don't take anything close, with two strikes?

Thank you "Jack Parkman". I did not realize that.

This is interesting: In his entire career, including his couple of Cuban League, teen years, he has a total of 61 home runs and 618 strike outs, in 2,294 at bats. That's 10 times as many strike outs, as home runs and only about 15 home runs, per season. He could always decide to concentrate more on making contact and utilizing his speed. That would be an alternative approach, just in case he can't ultimately figure out how to be a "slugger" at the Major League level. That is one of the advantages of having speed. It provides other ways to contribute. I'm hopeful that he can be that advertised 'Robinson Cano, with speed," but if not, he could still be a useful player. We do have to remind ourselves that he is still young. However, the results better start coming soon. Let's see what happens, the rest of this season. It would be nice to see some improvement.

As I said, the strike outs should be considered as a relative factor: "If he were a prolific slugger, hitting 40 homers, his strike outs might be acceptable." Bryant's last full year in the Minors, he hit 34 doubles, 43 homers and drove in 110 runs, while hitting .325 with an on base % of .438. I'll take strike outs, with that kind of production, but not with Moncada's.

I just went back and took another look at Moncada's Minor League career. I don't know why we should be surprised that he hasn't been any better than he has. He really never demonstrated any ability to dominate, in the Minors. He had a 30% strike out rate there, and we had no reason to think that it would improve, in the Majors. If he were a prolific slugger, hitting 40 homers, his strike outs might be acceptable. However, he didn't hit for that much power, in the Minors and he isn't anywhere near that, now. I've said it before, but to me, he looks like a very "well built, speedy, athletic and "flashy" player, with a pretty LH swing. In other words; a lot of style and not much substance. To this point, the style hasn't translated to great baseball skill. Let's hope that he develops the skill, but so far, he really isn't very good. I'd like to see if he could hit LH pitching, as a left handed hitter, like most of the great left handed hitters do. At this point, he is worthless, as a right handed hitter. I'd also like to see where else he could play. We've discussed this, at great length, but it bares repeating; Second base should belong to Madrigal. I have a feeling that he is soon going to push the issue, because he doesn't really profile anywhere but second base, and that is where he should stay. Moncada might better be utilized at third. I don't really care what position he prefers, he isn't good enough to demand that the team accommodate his preference. He has the arm to play there and Madrigal does not. It's hard to justify keeping Eloy at AAA, considering how much better he has hit there, than Moncada did. Yet Moncada got the promotion pretty quickly. Eloy appears to be a much better hitter than Yoan and I'll be surprised if he doesn't have a better career. That's ok, if Yoan ends up hitting anything close to what Jimenez is likely to produce, he could be a valuable core piece, given his other tools. I'm not giving up on him, but I admit that I'm disappointed with Moncada's results, so far.

Please note that I was referring to "borderline" pitches. I don't think that it's a good idea to be taking borderline pitches, with two strikes, especially outside pitches, which are very hittable.

I think that it depends upon where the borderline pitch is. I've been advocating that he take the "borderline" outside pitches to the opposite field. The outside pitch is easiest to hit in the direction. With these dramatic shifts, that side of field is just inviting a hitter to go that way. When he has two strikes, those pitches should not be taken, but rather hit for singles and doubles. He probably has enough power to even take a few of those pitches, out of the park.

I probably would have made note of such deals, if they had been cancelled, because of failure to extend. Thanks for the examples.