April 8, 201511 yr We've got Duffy and Milone to face in the next few days. I figured this should be started now, as I feel it will be a point of discussion throughout the season. The consensus seems to be that Gordo, not Boni, will get the LHP part of the Conor platoon, that Soto will get the catching duties, and those will be the only platoon situations INITIALLY. Will we see this? Eaton Cabrera Abreu LaRoche (I would bat him 6th, but don't expect the Sox will move him at all) Garcia Soto Lexi Gordo (I would put Boni here, if they felt he would be semi-competent at 3B) Micah Or does Sanchez get the 2B platoon? Or does LaRoche get dropped a bit in the order? What say you? Personally, I believe that this will evolve over the course of the season. The problem with pulling LaRoche, even if he's not hitting a damn vs. LHP, is that you're taking power from a lineup that doesn't have a ton of it. The best way to alleviate this, IMO, according to the constraints of the current 25 man, is to do something outside the box, like this: Eaton Cabrera Abreu Garcia Soto DH Lexi Bonifacio 3B Flowers C (platoon split mostly negligible) Micah They gain a few hundred OPS points for each of at least 3AB's from Soto vs. LaRoche, and lose the least power this way. They'll have RHP mashers in Adam and Conor ready for late game matchups vs. RHP closers/setup. And, in case you're wondering, A DH can be moved to another position (in the case of TFlow injury), it just means you lose the DH and need to manage NL style going forward. I think they score the most runs with this setup, and it allows the benefit of Soto's bat (which looked darn good to my eyes in ST), especially vs. LHP, without having to watch his fielding. Still, he should get significantly more catching starts than Nieto did, to rest TF more than 2014, but those should be targeted toward RHP, and toward the "slower" clubs as much as possible. It bothers me a lot that it didn't seem to bother Robin much to trot Dunn out there in the late innings vs. LHRP when he was 1 for 80 on the season. Perhaps he didn't have any options, but he kinda does now. Don't want be a "chicken little" worried about something that isn't even a problem yet, but it may well be, and soon. Discuss. Edited April 8, 201511 yr by Stan Bahnsen
April 8, 201511 yr Author QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 8, 2015 -> 11:30 AM) Personally I would go with Eaton Cabrera Abreu Garcia LaRoche Soto Alexei Bonifacio Johnson/Sanchez or Bonifacio Eaton Abreu Cabrera LaRoche Garcia Soto Alexei Johnson/Sanchez But we're both EXPECTING to see Gordo, no? My most preferred lineup is probably: Eaton Boni Abreu Cabrera Garcia Soto Lexi TFlow Micah but I have a feeling they will want Melky comfortable in the 2 hole everyday. Edited April 8, 201511 yr by Stan Bahnsen
April 8, 201511 yr What I WOULD do: Eaton 8 Melky 7 Abreu 3 Garcia 9 Alexei 6 LaRoche DH Bonifacio 5 Flowers/Soto 2 Johnson 4 What I think Robin WILL do: Eaton 8 Melky 7 Abreu 3 LaRoche DH Garcia 9 Alexei 6 Bonifacio 5 Flowers/Soto 2 Johnson 4
April 8, 201511 yr The thing Bonifacio does better than anything else is hit lefties -- he should be in there SOMEWHERE against lefties.
April 8, 201511 yr CF Eaton LF M. Cabrera 1B Abreu RF Garcia SS Ramirez C Soto 3B Bonifacio/Beckham DH Shuck 2B Johnson Edited April 8, 201511 yr by Lillian
April 8, 201511 yr QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 8, 2015 -> 06:28 PM) CF Eaton LF M. Cabrera 1B Abreu RF Garcia SS Ramirez C Soto 3B Bonifacio/Beckham DH Shuck 2B Johnson Shucks a LH......
April 9, 201511 yr QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Apr 8, 2015 -> 06:34 PM) Shucks a LH...... Who hits good against lefties (small sample size but still)
April 9, 201511 yr The Sox just didn't build this roster to really do a lot of platooning as of now. If they wanted to do that a)don't sign Melky; sign 2 versatile players who can hit from opposite sides of the plate; b)part of that could be to see if Gillaspie can play LF; c)keep Semien or get someone who can actually hit from the right side to play 3B. But Beckham is the best they could do for right now. d)perhaps don't sign Laroche and include DH in the platoon mix; That said, I like the idea of Beckham batting against only lefties. I realize his splits suck, but maybe, just maybe, if he concentrates just on hitting lefties, he can become competent at it. I'm not suggesting him in the lineup against every lefty or even against most. If Micah's on this team, let him play basically every day. I just don't think this is a finished product and I never have. And I don't think the Sox consider this to be a finished product. Edited April 9, 201511 yr by GreenSox
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