tray

Vaughn has to stop diving. Burger looks so good at the plate. Maybe he takes the Vaughers RH DH spot when Moncada comes back.

Stone on Eloy : "He's gotta stop diving in LF" LOL. Stoney picking right up where he left off last season. Meanwhile Eloy 1- Tigers 0.

Burger can hit but, IMO, he doe not have the footwork nd balance to play third on a regular basis. Having said that, that I think Jake will be fine for a few weeks until Yoan returns. Great opportunity for Burger though and it is exciting to see him get it. I hope Moncada returns soon though because we need his D and his LH bat.

Austin Meadows goes 2/4 with a HR. Eloy and Robert also homer and Sox win 6-4.

I would have been OK with Cody Bellinger, instead of AJP for probably less than 10+5. Frankly, if the just got a team to take over Kimbrel's 16 Mil salary that would have been a positive outcome. . Consider if AJP spends 50+ games on the DL the Sox can still buy him out for another 5Mil. That's 15Mill for an POFer on a team that has a boatload of them. Frankly at the end of the day ptatc was right about the priorities being misplaced. Maybe Vaughn's lawn dart dive sealed the deal with Hahn. Never forget some posters here lwere all in on the original trade for Kimbrel. Terrible trades can weigh down a team with older or under-performing players and bloated contracts .Rule #1 - Don;t trade young #1prospect for an old Closer in decline. Rule #2. Don't make stupid trades with the Cubs.

LaRussa was right about the Sox having guys who could play RF , at least at what they call serviceable standards. Like Tony or not, he was probably right. Meanwhile, Hahn, with a boatload of outfield types on board, cashes in his 16 MIl. Kimbrel chip to get another one. Realistically, there is no "window" to win "multiple championships" when you don't have a deep and solid starting staff. There are some talented pitchers like Kopech and even ReyLo, but they are not guys who can be counted on to start all year. Keuchel has looked lost after umpires startled checking for foreign substances. Another problem with a weak rotation is the potential burn-out of bullpen arms who have to cover more innings than expected.

So much so that Vaughn, Sheets and Burger might get buried under it.

Do you think the Dodgers considered Bellinger untouchable? LaD have Mookie in RF. Bellingers had a down year and a slow ST and there here have been rumors about the Dodgers possibly wanting to trade Bellinger for over a year. Thus deal worked out financially for the Dodgers who took about as much off the books as they are putting back. Hahn probably felt he had to make a move before the season started figuring that Kimbrel could destroy his value with a couple of weak performances or an arm injury. There is some irony in disposing Kimbrel with a similar logic than that used to acquire him - a similar hope than an aging player has enough juice left to put the WSox over the top. That is the same strategy used to acquire James Shields. The final piece to a puzzle is often elusive.

I am skeptical about Pollock's durability as an everyday outfielder in his age 34 season. My guess is that Cody Bellinger will prove to have been a better choice over time. I also don't like the price tag for a guy who looks like a one year stop gap in RF. Additionally, if Pollock remains healthy, he will be taking a lot of at-bats away from Vaughn. I understand though that if Pollock remains healthy and hits like a b1tch, the trade works.

ST batting average doesn't earn a spot on the roster nor do ST HRs...but I have been a fan of Romy and Seby so I enjoyed seeing their blasts. And Remiillard's as well.

Cespy hit his 3rd HR of ST in the B game yesterday. I'm OK with lack of contact to some extent if he can play D and continues hitting HRs.

A short while back I posted about Vaughn's tendency to dive for a lot of balls that he could not get to by staying on his feet. The point was and is, that Vaughn can play in the OF, if required, but like Eloy, he has to be told to play more conservatively and let balls that are out of reach drop in for a hit. At around 5'11" and 225 lb. he doesn't get too much air time and the resulting collision with the turf is always pretty violent. He is out there for his bat, not for his speed and athleticism. As far as his injury, I don't think it is a hip pointer based on my own experience with that injury. AV looked like he was doing the twist when he stood up trying to get things back into whack. He also grabbed toward the front of his hip, rather than the side . Even if it is just a hip pointer, those can be pretty painful for a week or two.Very sharp pain, like someone is sticking a needle in your hip when you bend in a certain way.

Cody Bellinger has had a rough Spring at the plate for the Dodgers and they need a Closer.

that post didn't age well.

Several WSox players sustained injuries during the course of the last few seasons - Engel,, Grandal,TA, Abreu,Robert, Moncada and Eloy and Vaughn. Fear of injury is not going to win games. You put the best players on the field. Eloy is better than Vaughn, by a lot.. So is Abreu. And Sheets hits RH pitchers better than Vaughn. Vaughn has a chance to start in RF because the Sox did not fill that hole via trade or FA. One would think that opportunity would be enough for Vaughn enthusiasts to stop whining about Eloy, who is arguably one of the most important players on this team. Give it a f-ing break.

Instead of parroting old Steve Stone, go to a few games, watch the players in front of you, and form your own opinions.

I could see starting the season at least with Vaughn in RF, Sheets DH and Burger at 3B with Moncada moving to 2B. Burger lacks the footwork and range for 2B.

I have a view of corner outfield defense vs offense that I am sure is in the minority here. It seems to me that HRs are of increasing importance to winning. One 3 run HR in the middle innings and that could decide many games. HR are also important to momentum within a game for the team and for Home field fans. I think fans are probably more inclined to go to games to see a team that mashes the baseball than one where an outfielder makes a diving catch. So..I am fine with Eloy in LF and Vaughn (or Burger) in RF with Sheets at DH, if the Sox get 25 + HR from each corner OF position and 15+ from the DH spot. Outfield errors will cost some games but at the same time 75+ HR are going to going to win a lot of games and create a lot of excitement for fans.

Burger could become a prolific hitter, certainly prolific enough to platoon with Sheets at DH.

Dodgers share the same facility for ST so no doubt their scouts are familiar with every player the Sox have. I think the Dodgers are a team that would be looking at the cream of the prospect crop rather than the sediment.....and other than prospects, they might be interested in Kimbrel. I have not seen any rumors about potential trades with the Dodgers so perhaps there isn't a chance for a trade between them.

LOL at you as well Saco.

Steve Stone picked up where he left off last season in the first ST game imploring fans to forget about Vaughn's .235 BA (in 417 ABs) and declaring that Vaughn will be a "prolific hitter" in the major league. OK, that is an opinion and one from a HoF pitcher, but at some point promotion has to yield to statistics and actual performance. Last year Stone promoted Vaughn's defense while mocking Eloy on several occasions, even when he made decent plays. I hope Vaughn improves his BA average by 40 points, (close to what Eloy hits) and doubles the amount of HR he hit last season (15). However, until Tony sees that kind of improvement, I would not blame him for platooning AV at DH with a few platoon starts at 1B. And please no more outfield starts for AV, OK he was serviceable last season in the OF, but too many balls got down in front and behind him and it is only a matter of time that he injures himself on the plays where he makes a lawn dart of himself diving for a routine blooper.

I remember Jack Brickhouse calling both WSox and Cub games on Channel 9 on our Zenith black and white vacuum tube TV. Floyd Robinson, Smokey Burgess, Wilbur Wood.. Gary Peters, Joel Horlen, Tommy John... Pete Ward purchased a home in Bridgeport and would sometimes walk to the ballpark before he played in homes games.

A few fans getting out over the skis a bit after a win against the Cubs farm team.

"In some order, it’s going to be Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock." ---------- That order doesn't have Gavin Lux in it. Dodgers could use a Closer too.