Lillian Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 This is a .500 team, at best, and has a lot of questions regarding next season. It seems to me that it's now time to play the remainder of the season with an emphasis upon resolving some of those issues. Therefore I hope the Sox will do the following: 1) Shut Gavin down. Playing with that hip could cause him to alter his motion and damage his arm. 2) Shut Peavy down. He is a very competitive guy and is probably pushing himself to get ready for what was thought to be a realistic playoff run. It now seems foolish to risk a premature return. Let the elbow heal completely, and make sure that his legs are really strong enough to pitch without unnecessary strain on his arm. 3) Give most of the catching duties to Flowers. Castro will likely not be brought back, and Flowers could be A. J.'s backup next year. Let's see if he can handle that role, and give him a chance to get some Major League at bats. I would actually prefer to see him catch most of the remaining games, and DH the rest. Flowers and A. J. could alternate catching and DH duties. This is not intended as a slight of A.J. I love him. It's just that I'd like to see Flowers get some valuable experience. 4) Start, and or relieve Hudson and Torres. Perhaps at least one of them can fill a bullpen spot next year. 5) Jhonny Nunez should be used as often as possible instead of Dotel and Lindbrink. He could be another important piece in the Pen. 6) Give Carrasco some later inning work to see if he could take over Dotel's spot. Octavio's contract will be expiring, and it would help to know if they have other options. 7) Matt Thornton should close the rest of the way. Let's see if he could replace Bobby. It will be a difficult decision to pay Jenks the kind of money that he will likely get in arbitration. You have to think that Jenks gives Kenny and Ozzie the same uneasy feeling he now gives us, every time he comes in with the game on the line. 8) In deference to Dye, let him play if he wants to. He may want to play as he will be signing a new contract with someone. Otherwise, shut him down, and let Kotsay get some more playing time in RF. Kotsay may end up being an important piece for next year, so it wouldn't hurt to get him some more at bats. Unfortunately the Sox really don't have any young outfield prospects on the roster whom they could play. 9) If they want to consider moving Alexei, it could be worthwhile to see if Beckham is a Major League SS. I know that management insists that Gordon is their third baseman of the future, but I still drool over the prospects of having him be an All Star shortstop. His bat is much more impressive as a shortstop. There are lots of good hitting thirdbasemen. That would also open up third to C. J. Retherford. I'm just not sold on Alexei defensively, although admittedly, I was sure that he would be just terrific at SS. What a disappointment! 10) Let's see if Tony Pena could handle the set up role. I doubt it, but if Thornton closes and the Sox don't bring back Dotel or Jenks, they may need him there. Does anyone have any other ideas for this scenario of playing the rest of the season for next year? Or, of course, some of you would probably like to debate whether it makes sense to do this. I'm not saying that they have to stop playing hard. I'd just prefer to see some other players giving their best effort, instead of some of the guys who won't, or shouldn't be back next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Dye Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) I've wanted Thornton as closer for awhile now. My preseason scenario where I wanted Jenks traded was scoffed at...but we saw this coming and now his value is a step down. All that said, back then we had more LHP to rely on. So I think Thornton, at least as things stand, needs to remain a setup guy. More and more, I think Kenny might overhaul the pen. Decline Dotel, trade Jenks. Then there'd be cash to spend on the bullpen....b/c without those two really it's just Liney that's making big money. Edited September 18, 2009 by Princess Dye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThunderBolt Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 We're hardly 5.5 games back and we have six more games against the division leading team. Let's not give up, and say we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillian Posted September 18, 2009 Author Share Posted September 18, 2009 QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 18, 2009 -> 12:05 PM) We're hardly 5.5 games back and we have six more games against the division leading team. Let's not give up, and say we did. Well, if we were playing over .500 ball, and didn't have two teams in front of us, I might agree with you. Moreover, it's 6.5 games, and 7 in the loss column. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MexSoxFan#1 Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 There is a clear path to win this division but the Sox have not taken advantage of it,we needed to at least go 4-2 or even 3-3 this road trip to cut into Detroit's lead,we went 2-4 and are still 6 1/2 games out... I've given up on this season,the 2009 Sox are an average team at best,let's play for 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobryansson Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I think we make the changes today and see. I'm grasping (as I always do), but MAYBE the young kids see the opportunity and play well and we win some games.... Like an Irish drummer walking past a bar, it could happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatScott82 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 The Pen needs a complete makeover. How KW will do it, im not sure? Boston seems to have the perfect recipe every year bringing in new arms that can get the job done. KW hopefully will take a few pages out of Theo's notebook. Guys from 2009 that will be back: Thorton and Liney. Nobody will take on Liney's contract and im sure Peavy will have a long talk with KW about how he wants his boy to stay with the team. Thorton is solid once again- he may be a good option as our new closer pending on what KW decides to do with Jenks. That loss vs Seattle really hurt and that really showed me that Jenks doesn't have what he used to have. The time is now to ship him off, bring in some young talented arms or a leadoff hitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillian Posted September 20, 2009 Author Share Posted September 20, 2009 QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Sep 20, 2009 -> 06:27 AM) The Pen needs a complete makeover. How KW will do it, im not sure? Boston seems to have the perfect recipe every year bringing in new arms that can get the job done. KW hopefully will take a few pages out of Theo's notebook. Guys from 2009 that will be back: Thorton and Liney. Nobody will take on Liney's contract and im sure Peavy will have a long talk with KW about how he wants his boy to stay with the team. Thorton is solid once again- he may be a good option as our new closer pending on what KW decides to do with Jenks. That loss vs Seattle really hurt and that really showed me that Jenks doesn't have what he used to have. The time is now to ship him off, bring in some young talented arms or a leadoff hitter. Carrasco will be back as well, and perhaps with a greater role. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg775 Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 The time is now to ship him off, bring in some young talented arms or a leadoff hitter. If Bobby is finished, then why would anybody want him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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