Lillian

I agree and would expect at least .100 above his batting average. A more realistic expectation would be a .250 AVG and a .375 OBP, or higher.

And just how would Jackie Bradley Jr. fit into the Sox' coming window of contention? It makes no sense, to me. I'm not buying it.

I don't disagree, but it remains a priority, whether through free agency, a trade, or the draft.

Where do you think Walker will rank on our prospect list, especially the list of outfielders? He will obviously be behind Eloy and Robert, and probably Rutherford, but could he be above Adolfo and Basabe?

Excuse me. but batting where Tilson does, in the line up, renders his being left handed, of little value. My insistence on the need for a left handed bat is focused upon balance, in the middle of the order. I have long wanted a power bat, from the left side.

His defense rarely gets discussed, however I'd really like to see him play more fundamentally sound second base. He seem a little too flashy, at times. I give him a "10" on style, and a "5" on results.

At this point, I'm pretty resigned to the losses. My only interest is in the emergence and development of individual players. I'd like to be able to realistically muse about a competitive team, in a couple of years. However, unless some of our core players can demonstrate that they are legitimate pieces of that future, it will be difficult to sustain much hope. So, I'll continue to check the guys, down on the farm, as well as watch for Anderson, Moncada, Yolmer, Matt, Palka and anyone else, who could establish himself as part of that core, for 2020 and beyond. The biggest focus, for me, is my dream of a pitching staff filled with 5, or 6 young, affordable, top of the rotation arms. If that happens, I think the offense will be there, or can be obtained through trades or free agent acquisitions.

Regarding Moncada, but not exclusively; What ever happened to the old rule that states; with 2 strikes, a hitter should swing at anything close to a strike? It is a shame to see him go down, with the bat on his shoulder. Why not shorten up his swing, try to make contact and maybe foul the pitch off? It also wouldn't hurt to choke up, on the bat, with 2 strikes. I understand the idea of being selective, early in the count and looking for your pitch, but not with 2 strikes.

Backing off the plate could work, providing that he is willing to take those pitches on the outside corner, to left field, rather than insisting on trying to pull them. That approach would also be a way to counter the shift.

The Quintana trade is beginning to look like it will have brought back a better package than the Sale deal. Eloy and Cease have out performed Moncada and Kopech.

Flavum, I love that old quote from George Will's "Men At Work". It was an umpire's response to a frustrated rookie pitcher, who could not get a called strike, while pitching to Roger Hornsby, if I recall correctly.

You probably never read my post, in which I described, what I term "the angle of contact". It explains why breaking pitches, which break from inside, toward the strike zone, provide a better angle of contact, for a pull hitter's swing. The ball is literally breaking right into the swing path, of the pull hitter. By contrast, balls which break from outside toward the plate, provide a poor angle of contact, for a pull hitter. That is one of the reasons why it is often suggested that the best approach for a hitter, with such pitches, is to take the ball the opposite way, by using a "hands before the barrel of the bat" swing. It's difficult to explain, in a short verbal description, without illustrations, but the logic is compelling. Of course, a hitter must learn to not bail on breaking pitches, which appear to be heading toward him, before they break toward the plate. Good hitters learn to stay closed, and to recognize breaking pitches. About 20 years ago, I wrote an article on this subject, in which I demonstrated my hypothesis. Some years later, I presented it to Craig Walker, when he was the Sox hitting coach and afterwards, had an opportunity to discuss it with him. He agreed with the hypothesis and asserted that is was quite valid. His reservation was the same as the one, which I just articulated, i.e. a hitter must be able to not bail on breaking pitches, which start inside, and then break toward the strike zone. He also concurred that good hitters are able to do that, with reasonable consistency. That is part of what makes them good hitters. I understand that this principle is antithetical to the entire approach of platooning, which was popularized back in the late 50's, by Casey Stengel. He used it extensively with a platoon of Elston Howard and Yogi Berra. It then became conventional baseball "wisdom" and practice. That doesn't mean that it is entirely valid. Again, it does provide the advantage of eliminating the temptation of a hitter to open up, or "bail" with his front foot, and it affords a hitter a little better look at the pitch, as it comes from the other side, but that advantage is off set by the poorer angle of contact. Now, you may be wondering why I am so vehement about the need for the Sox to have a middle of the order, left handed bat. After all, since most pitchers are right handed, why wouldn't it be better to have almost all right handed hitters, based upon my hypothesis. The fact is that most hitters are right handed. My point is that you need to have the balance in the line up. It is not advantageous to have an opposing pitcher get comfortable facing all of the good hitters from one side of the plate. Moreover, since managers use their bullpens, by matching left handers with left handed hitters and right handers, with right handed hitters, by having a good mix of both, in the lineup, the opposing team is forced to "burn" through the pen, in the late innings. In addition, there are some inherent advantages to hitting left handed, chief among them are that a left handed hitter is closer to first base, and the momentum of his swing, carries him in that direction, thus allowing him to get down the first base line, faster.

I think that he is still nursing the hamstring, which could explain why he isn't going all out. There is no question about his speed, when healthy. However, the point is that he is simply not a good hitter, from the right side, for average, or for power.

Yes, Fathom, it is not that great of an advantage to hit from the other side of the pitcher's arm. Plenty of guys do just fine, without switch hitting. There are however, advantages to hitting left handed, especially for a guy with his speed. He could probably beat out a lot of infield ground balls, from the left side. I don't see the need to insist upon him trying to be a switch hitter.

At some point, it would be interesting to see how Moncada could hit lefties, while batting left handed. He has looked completely hapless.

That was very impressive. I didn't realize that Covey was selected on the very next pick, after Sale, in that year's draft. It is pretty clear that our Sox saw something intriguing about him, and Coop has him pitching like a top of the rotation starter. If he can pitch like he has been lately, that would significantly accelerate the time table for that anticipated window of contention. Next year's staff of Rodon, Lopez, Covey, Kopech and Giolito could provide enough to get it done.

Yes, the Sox have a lot of outfielders, but only Jimenez is really near ready. Basabe, Adolfo, Rutherford, Gonzales and maybe even Robert, are a ways away. Anderson and Moncada, are already establishing themselves on the parent club. Regarding Harper; if it will take that much money, to sign him, I agree with your assessment that it's hard to see the Sox making that kind of commitment, and I would echo their reluctance. Moreover, if both Moncada and Anderson turn out to not be productive players, this rebuild is going to be in serious jeopardy.

Machado is no longer the best use of the vast financial resources, which would be required to obtain him. I would much rather pursue Harper. He fits the Sox plan, much better. He is an outfielder and bats left handed. Those are two good reasons, for starters. In 2020, I could see Harper in RF, Robert in CF and Eloy in LF.

We should anticipate that, by 2020, the infield will consist of Moncada, Anderson and Madrigal. The question is, where do those 3 best profile? Moncada's personal preference aside, it's pretty hard to refute the argument that the best use of those 3, would be Moncada at third, Anderson at SS and Madrigal at second. Does anyone have valid reasons, to the contrary?

Well, he would have to really be bad, to simply DFA him.

He won't have enough of an opportunity to establish his trade value, so he will likely be the starting right fielder, next season. Then what could transpire, if Lopez, Kopech, Giolito and a healthy Rodon keep the Sox in contention, and Avi has a good first half, is that they could face the dilemma of either trading him before the trade deadline, or keeping him, for the final stretch of the race. If Eloy has already been called up, he could certainly take over in RF, but having both Avi and Jimenez in the lineup could be the preferred strategy, if the Sox are indeed competing. Of course, If the Sox falter, out of the gate, all of that would be a mute point.

Apparently, you have not read all of my posts, in this thread. If so, you have misunderstood me.

My guess is that Madrigal has all of the tools to be a very good SS, with the one exception of his arm. He is supposed to have terrific hands, and he is very quick. His range will likely be very good. Given his high baseball acumen, and previous experience at SS, he should be very capable at turning the double play. His one questionable defensive tool will be his arm strength, which will impede his ability to make throws from deep in the hole, at short. In any case, we will soon find out, as they plan to let him start at short. Regarding his height; a hitters power has more to do with bat speed, than his size. Moreover, "size" is not measured exclusively in height. There are some very strong guys, who are not tall. In Madrigal's case, I have no idea how strong his hands are and what kind of bat speed, he generates. That will determine whether, or not, he will be able to produce any kind of power. However, power is not his game, and if he begins to focus upon things like launch angle, with that goal in mind, it would be a mistake. His role will be to see a lot pitches, get on base, and provide a threat to steal, thus distracting the pitcher. Those are the lead off hitter's responsibilities and that is what we should all be hoping that he can provide. How many homers he hits is of little importance. In any case, the difference between his hitting 7 or 8 long balls, versus 10 to 15, is not significant. Adding 5 more homers per year, from your lead off hitter, is hardly a difference worth worrying about.

This is the most valid point, made so far, in this discussion of Madrigal's hitting skill. I frankly hope that he does not try to elevate balls. That is not his game. His value will be on making contact, using his speed and getting on base. I suspect that his ability to barrel up pitches will diminish somewhat, once he begins to face Major League pitching. Although he rarely strikes out, he also does not walk, as much as he should. At his height, his strike zone is pretty small. He should be able to draw more walks, and I would expect his OBP to be around .400. If he does that, sees a lot of pitches and then provides a legitimate stolen base threat, he could be a fantastic lead off hitter. If anyone can learn to be more patient and learn to draw more walks, it is a guy with his kind of baseball acumen.

On May 29, 2017. he fractured the index finger on his left hand. He missed quite a bit of time.