Thought it would be time for a General thread about this season.
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I'm concerned that no one on the Rays pitching staff has recorded a save. Last in MLB in that stat. 
Rays got a SV last night... They may want to start that proposal to move to Ybor City again right now - while the getting is good that is ;-P! When they go 10-0 vs better teams that'll be news (Tigers, Nats, an A's are looking worse than the Sox)
No question the Rays will come back to earth (though I am enjoying it while I can). Their schedule has been the weakest in MLB by far, but it's important to win the games you are supposed to win.
So far just about everyone seems to love the pitch clock. It has been nice to read positive stories about baseball rather than nothing but "all the fans are old and the game is dying." Too soon to tell, of course, but (as with the Rays) the signs are encouraging.
Seen quite a few games already this year, and there are a lot of new faces across the league. More than I remember in past years. The games are exciting and there is no wasted time. MLB has a done a good job with that, they just need a couple tweaks.
Waiting for the Red Sox to demonstrate how extraordinarily average they truly are when they face stiffer competition. So far, they have not hit the high water mark on their pitching staff yet. Waiting for a couple pitchers to get healthy to join the staff. Their offense has been lackluster except for Duvall (now on 10 day DL) and Devers. Not sure why they have Yoshida batting cleanup as he is a ground ball machine. This makes no sense. They need to tweak their batting order as soon as possible.
Lots of competitive divisions especially NL East, AL East, and I expect the NL Central to heat up very soon.
It's a good time for a lot of people to come back to baseball.
Fenway … Isn’t it wiser to lead off a guy (Hernandez) hitting .097?
Go Rays!!!!
@RJM posted:Fenway … Isn’t it wiser to lead off a guy (Hernandez) hitting .097?
Yep, its quite a conundrum when you have 5 starters hitting below the Mendoza line, and your hottest bat in now on the 10-day DL. None the less, I like Verdugo hitting lead off.
The Red Sox should feel obligated to take risks because they have to. Trying to alternate L-R-L hitters should be out the door. Go crazy and put Yohida (also a L-handed hitter) behind Verdugo, then Turner and Devers. As Bob Dylan sang..."when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose". I say, throw the haymaker and see what happens. That is your 2023 Boston Red Sox in a nutshell.
@fenwaysouth posted:Yep, its quite a conundrum when you have 5 starters hitting below the Mendoza line, and your hottest bat in now on the 10-day DL. None the less, I like Verdugo hitting lead off.
The Red Sox should feel obligated to take risks because they have to. Trying to alternate L-R-L hitters should be out the door. Go crazy and put Yohida (also a L-handed hitter) behind Verdugo, then Turner and Devers. As Bob Dylan sang..."when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose". I say, throw the haymaker and see what happens. That is your 2023 Boston Red Sox in a nutshell.
My preseason prediction was aside from lack of overall talent the real death knell would be lack of depth as the season wears on.
Refsnyder and Tapia are not centerfielders. Tapia has played mostly left due to a weak arm. As Duran has proved speed alone doesn’t make a player a good centerfielder.
Hernandez has to play center. These leaves weak hitting Chang at short. Not that Hernandez isn’t a weak hitting centerfielder. I normally don’t bet against the Sox. Not there’s nothing to lose this season. I might as well take advantage. I have bets neither Hernandez or Arroyo hit .250 if they get 500 at bats. I’m beginning to question if they deserve 500 at bats.
I’ve heard rumblings Hamilton will be called up soon. He only hit .250 in AA last year.
@RJM posted:My preseason prediction was aside from lack of overall talent the real death knell would be lack of depth as the season wears on.
Refsnyder and Tapia are not centerfielders. Tapia has played mostly left due to a weak arm. As Duran has proved speed alone doesn’t make a player a good centerfielder.
Hernandez has to play center. These leaves weak hitting Chang at short. Not that Hernandez isn’t a weak hitting centerfielder. I normally don’t bet against the Sox. Not there’s nothing to lose this season. I might as well take advantage. I have bets neither Hernandez or Arroyo hit .250 if they get 500 at bats. I’m beginning to question if they deserve 500 at bats.
I’ve heard rumblings Hamilton will be called up soon. He only hit .250 in AA last year.
Agree RJM. Got to try something different and see what sticks. Putting Hernandez back in CF is a start maybe that takes the pressure off him and he can bring up that .083 avg up to a pedestrian .250. I'm kind of surprised with the pitching staff so far and it hasn't included Whitlock and Mata. The bullpen has not been terrible yet. Offense is another matter entirely as they have not lived up to expectations. Bring Hamilton up and lets see what he can do. Nothing to lose here. JMO.
@fenwaysouth posted:Agree RJM. Got to try something different and see what sticks. Putting Hernandez back in CF is a start maybe that takes the pressure off him and he can bring up that .083 avg up to a pedestrian .250. I'm kind of surprised with the pitching staff so far and it hasn't included Whitlock and Mata. The bullpen has not been terrible yet. Offense is another matter entirely as they have not lived up to expectations. Bring Hamilton up and lets see what he can do. Nothing to lose here. JMO.
Whitlock missed most of spring training coming off hip surgery. He pitched a game for Woostah before starting for the Sox last night. He got pounded. I hope his neck recovers from turning back so fast before his next start.
Mata only started five AAA games last year. He couldn’t find the strike zone in spring training. In his first Woostah start he walked five in three innings.
Maybe you mistook Bello for Mata? Bello was out most of spring training with arm soreness. He had a quality start for Woostah this week. He should be back on the Sox in a few days.
I know who Ort to be sent down or released. Other magic words I’m looking for is “Down goes Brasier! Down goes Brasier!”
The cardinals definitely need to trade for a starting pitcher.
Their offense is really good but their rotation is quite sub par and they have a few extra hitters.
Jordan walker of course is untouchable but 1 or 2 guys could maybe go.
Ideally they are making a big package for an elite pitcher because like every team they could use depth but really their top of the rotation doesn't Stack up well with almost any top10 team either and to win in the Playoffs you need a good 1,2 Punch at the top.
@RJM posted:Whitlock missed most of spring training coming off hip surgery. He pitched a game for Woostah before starting for the Sox last night. He got pounded. I hope his neck recovers from turning back so fast before his next start.
Mata only started five AAA games last year. He couldn’t find the strike zone in spring training. In his first Woostah start he walked five in three innings.
Maybe you mistook Bello for Mata? Bello was out most of spring training with arm soreness. He had a quality start for Woostah this week. He should be back on the Sox in a few days.
I know who Ort to be sent down or released. Other magic words I’m looking for is “Down goes Brasier! Down goes Brasier!”
Yes, my bad. I meant Bello. Unfortunately, I don't get to see/hear much of the WooSox and get the players mixed up.
Agreed. Wasn't sure why Ort was with the big team, and Brasier doesn't have the stuff he had a few years ago. Not sure if he'll ever be the same, and he certainly isn't getting the job done even with the weak starting schedule of 2023. The second tier of relievers (Kelly and others) need figure it out, and quick.
Wander with a pretty casual play
Honestly I think the sox are doing better than I expected. Over .500 is better than I thought. I do say bring up the young players and dump some of the career utility guys. You have to live with the bad baseball from young players while they are getting acclimated. Look at Duran from last year, what a disaster... seems he's getting comfortable now. Seriously need new catchers, I know what a God Veritek is perceived to be, but I don't think the mighty Zeus could teach these guys how to receive. I could care less about the hitting or framing, can you play your position, and it's a big no for both.
Young pitching is going to be bad with a lights out game here and there. Sale needs to learn to use his fastball again as there is nothing to tunnel his sweeper (non strike swing and miss pitch) off of, they're just spitting on it. PIvetta, Houk and Kluber are all end rotation guys, serviceable for the year. Nothing special. One or two may have a good year, but I wouldn't say anyone is reliable.
Haven't really watched enough to know if those observations hold, so really just shooting from the hip ;-)
There are players in the middle of hot streaks collectively. It’s put the team in a hot streak. With Wong, Valdez and Duran it’s stats in small numbers. Let’s see if it holds up.
Wong currently leads the majors in dWAR. If he can hit .220 for the season he should be the starting catcher. McGuire can’t catch a cold. The problem with Valdez is he’s an atrocious fielder. He has no range. Hard ground balls eat him up.
I have a special place in my heart for fast, left handed centerfielder. I was one. Duran has made two majors changes to his swing. It doesn’t matter where you start as long as you get to locked and loaded in time. Duran wasn’t getting there last year with his hands too low. He raised his hands in his stance significantly. He’s getting to locked and loaded on time now. He’s also widened his stance and shortened his stride. He he’s getting the same force on the ball with less lower body movement.
Verdugo starts off hot every year. Check back after Memorial Day. Maybe Yoshida is the player Bloom paid him to be. Let’s see where he settles in after his hot streak. A .280/.850 OPS, 20+ homer season seems possible.
Devers is Devers. No concerns. Hernandez is Hernandez. I believe Sox fans have him grossly overrated due to one World Series performance. Hamilton is blazing hot in AAA. He’s likely hitting way over his head. But call him up and give him a shot at short while he’s swinging well.
The problem is the starting pitching is atrocious. Eventually all the early departures is going to wear down what has been a productive bullpen. Winckowski and Crawford have been great surprises in multiple inning relief.
Sale and Kluber are likely done. They’re too inconsistent. They’re certainly not the future.is Bello ready? It appears doubtful Whitlock has the endurance to be a starter. Same with Houck. Pivetta is typically ok until he flames out after the all star break.
The team ERA is around 5.00. Teams can’t bash their way to consistent winning. From the beginning I stated if enough goes right they play .500 baseball. If not it’s a 75 win team.
The first twenty games of the schedule were a great advantage to the Sox. Let’s see what happens when they play three or four quality teams in a row.
For the first time this year, I'm "watching" a MLB game on Gameday livestats. Wow does it move fast! I've watched a lot of games this way, HS, college, and pro, but this just ticks along so fast, pitch after pitch.
There's barely time to eat dinner and drink beer at a game now.