tray

If Mazara hit 35+ HR, I don't care if he sucks in the OF.

I agree Lillian. He isn't bulky. His build reminds me of Tori Hunter.

My guess is that Betts is staying in Boston on a long term deal for around 300M. He is a generational talent that the Red Sox will not let go. I thought and still think the Red Sox will trade Benintendi for the right package ...possibly something like Mazara , Collins, and a pitching prospect and/or taking on 2/3 of Eovaldi's contract in a trade deal. Absent some trade for a legit RFer, I would sign Castellanos and then trade Mazara at some point. Or come up with another plan to solve the RF problem rather than kicking the can down the road. My hope is that Nomar will hit enough home runs to make us forget about the rest of his game. That is what happened with Castellanos at Wrigley last year. And that should be as instructive as Castellanos defensive fWar. My guess is that the Cubs or the Giants will sign Castellanos.

I watched several Cub games. Castellanos was slow and wasn't able to track down every ball hit in the gap, but he didn't make one error for the Cubs. Outside if that, he was a spark plug on offense that won several games for them. Platooning is not an ideal strategy. There aren't enough outfielders on the roster to platoon every time the opposing team makes a pitching change. Eventually, Mazara will have to face LH pitchers in key situations. Trying ti insulate him from facing LH pitchers might prove to be counterproductive. So I get the platoon strategy now that we have Mazara but I just don't think it will be sustainable for very long. In fact, I would be in favor of keeping him in the line-up against LH starters and have him work with the new hitting coach on a different approach. If he doesn't get better and Steele Walker does, well the trade will be regrettable.

Precisely. For a baseball team, the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. I will go back again to Steve Stone drawing some comparisons to his 1977 SS Hitmen . Stoney made that analog to convey the sense of synergy that occurs when you have a line-up like the one the Sox FO have now assembled. In '77 the sum of the parts included the momentum that Sox fans added to. When the Hitmen mashed, opposing pitchers came under pressure the entire game.....,then their hitters started pressing. On the other side of that, when a team goes up 4-6 runs, it makes everybody better,,,,pitchers, hitters and even the Manager. Confidence and momentum are huge. The line-up we have now is potentially crazy good - a rare combination of speed and power . The glass half empty would be if Eloy, Mazara or Robert get injured diving for balls in the outfield like Avi did.. Maybe let a few of them drop and live to fight another day.

Exactly.

Strong Defense up the middle - Grandal, Anderson,Madrigal and Robert. Marginal defense from Eloy and Mazara but they can be substituted for in late innings to minimize that. Moncada is a potential All Star at the hot corner. If the Sox get out to big leads, corner outfield defense will become less critical. No worries about a guy tagging up and scoring in the 8th inning for a team that is behind by 7 runs. I agree with Steve Stone that this is the best White Sox line-up (for those of us who remember back that far) since the 1977 Southside Hitmen. Not sure about the starting pitching or the relievers but they might be more effective than expected. They will likely experience a lot less stress on the mound pitching with a big lead than worrying about every pitch in game after game. The Sox are are going to blow out a lot of teams with football score numbers. Then momentum will start to set in with the fan base and the team. Order extra fireworks. I predict that we win the division and then we go as far as luck will take us in the playoffs.

I always discount a post when it begins with a personal attack.

Fair weather fans are always welcome consumers of tickets, sports merchandise and food and beverages at sports bars while watching games. Welcome aboard one and all. You will be missed once the Sox hit another dry spell but not to worry, die-hard fans will hold down the fort until we see them return during the next irruption.

Fans who love this prospect have to trust the professionals in the Sox organization who advised the front office to pursue Grandal and Encarcion. Quite simply, they decided to take a win-now approach. If Collins can't convince the front office after 4 years in the minors that he can catch at a major league level, he may have a hard time making the roster or holding down a spot on it if/when he does get called up. The Sox do not need a DH now that they signed Encarcion for the next year or two and after that, Vaughn will likely come up. Meanwhile, Collins can light his hair on fire hitting in the minors, coax record walks from AAA pitchers, and have a fan club on the internet trying to promote him, but it won't matter.

I don't understand the preoccupation with a second tier prospect like Collins. Let it go man.

You can't teach quickness and athleticism.

1. Watches James McCann make adjustments after being DFA'd, decides it's not a fluke despite a less than stellar second half. What an absurd non-sequitur. 2. Zack Collins makes adjustments after being demoted, decides it's a fluke despite him tearing the cover off the ball and having a track record of power and an elite batters eye. .186 after 4 years on the minors Did you happen to read ANY scouting reports or watch Collins catch when he was up with the Sox ? You're a bigger piece of work than you think Zack Collins is. That personal attack was mighty lame. Read any number of scouting reports on Collins dating back to before he was drafted and tell me that the scouts are "pieces of work" before you go off on another rant or try to flame another poster.

they're committed to Nomar Mazara - Nightengale Texas gave this guy away for a reason or reasons that we may become more familiar with a few months into the season. Maybe the Rangers gave up on him too soon (after 4 years) , at least that is the hope, but committing to him ? OK, hope springs eternal for 2020.

Maybe Mazara can try switch hitting or changing his approach against LH pitching. The Rangers became frustrated with his apparent inability to make adjustments.

MFY: You see, this is now making us think , how TF do we get a platoon guy in here now.

But I'm not buying it ?

That is the upside.

Yes but if you get the signature Mazara ground out or worse a gidp, you probably accomplished your objective. Also, the other Manager probably has another Lefty to face Mazara if he comes up in another key situation. Mazara could be making his problem the Sox problem. We want to solve a problem in RF, not create a new one.

Indeed. That is one reason why I originally wanted Bennintendi or Castellanos, both of whom have weaknesses, but I think are the types of guys that you probably don't feel compelled to platoon. Now it looks like the hunt for a better platoon OF than Leury is under way. I don't know, thiat strategy seems a bit crazy to me .

It is difficult to address the weakness of having a guy like Mazara with bad splits in the line-up. You want him to be up in the lineup 7th, 8th and 9th innings to get the big hit when you need it. However, let's say the Sox are in a close game is the the 4th inning with men on 1st and 3rd and one out. Mazara comes up. You are the opposing Manager and know Mazara's splits so you signal for your big Lefty out of the pen.Mazara obliges your strategy by grounding into an inning ending, rally killing, game changing, ball-busting double play. Or you are Renteria and you anticipate a signature Mazara gidp so you pinch hit Engel for Mazara. Engel who is forced to come in cold (w/o warming up) , probably whiffs anyway but whatever happens, you now have Engel or another weaker bat in the line-up for the last 4-5 innings of a game you need some runs to win. My point (which I probably should have condensed) is that bad splits are not that easily addressed with a platoon regime. And, IMHO, a Mazara and Puig platoon is just a head shaker. Even if the Mazara platoon mate is not as goofy as Puig, I still think it isn't an ideal situation. Platooning might only compound problems by having two incomplete players that never gain consistency because they are always being substituted for, passed over, and not given the confidence that they need to possibly become legit full time starting players.

The Rangers became frustrated with Mazara's inconsistency and lack or progress after 4 years and relegated him as a platoon player. "If Mazara maintains his current .771 OPS, it would be the highest of his young career. That is the surface. Dig a little deeper and a more nuanced picture emerges. He is striking out more frequently (22.6 percent of the time) than ever and has the lowest on-base percentage of his career (.317) for this date in the season. Mazara has not started six of the Rangers' last 18 games, most of them against left-handers. And there is good reason for that: No everyday left-handed hitter in baseball has been less effective against left-handed pitching. Of the 50 qualifiers, Mazara's .230 OBP is last. His batting average (.200) and OPS (.595) are fourth from last. Those are the stats of a platoon player" link Given that assessment of Mazara from his prior team, perhaps it would be a good idea for the Sox to look for another outfielder to compliment Mazara or even to replace him as the starting RFer. I do not think RF has been solved by tradingffor Mazara, a player who struggled last season and has been very inconsistent.

At this point, the Red Sox are knocking on doors, not the White Sox.

That was my thought as well.

wut?