Perfect Vision

Come back down to earth? Homeboy is hitting .266 with a .314 OBP. He's kept 2B from being a black hole in the lineup, but he is firmly on the earth right now.

Imagine sitting at a blackjack table. You have 16 and the dealer is showing a 6. You decide to hit and get a 5. That's Danny Mendick. Not sure I can explain it any clearer than that.

I'm not shitting on him at all. He's done great. But as a temporary replacement. Madrigal is healthy now and Mendick should go back to utility/back up. And I think it's actually the opposite of what you say -- there's every reason to believe Madrigal will perform better going forward, and zero reason to believe that Mendick will. Every scout in the world would agree.

The Mendick love around here is absurd. Come on Ricky. I thought you didn't lose your job on this team because of injury?!?!

Yep. Would be a great addition, but not a realistic one, because he'd cost the Sox multiple players that none of us want to see traded.

Naive? Lol. I never said he won't progress. What's naive is thinking the Schaumburg experience is equivalent to real game experience.

Vaughn is great. I think he's a huge part of the future. But you think the Sox are going to have Vaughn skip AA and AAA entirely next year?? That's a huge stretch and would potentially set him up to struggle in MLB and be sent down.

What's really sick is that this team is no where close to full strength yet. Madrigal and Vaughn could easily become the best overall hitters in this lineup, and Kopech could become as good as Giolito. I never thought all these big prospects would pan out, but if they do.....scary. They'll be better than the Cubs, Astros, or Royals ever were after their rebuilds.

Better to look at it as $28 mil split among catcher and DH. Vaughn may not be the answer next year. Sox may want him to play a full season in the minors. In that case, there will be a hole at DH. I think most, myself included, would prefer a Grandal and McCann combo then the Sox picking up EE's option.

I don't think it's a sure thing that Vaughn will be up next year. Dude has only played 50 professional games, none above A ball, and the Sox are going to make him their regular DH in April? I know this season has been weird and he's getting time in Schaumburg, but seeing him in MLB before he's played a bunch of AA games is a stretch.

I think there's actually a lot to like about extending McCann and keeping Grandal if they're both ok with it. Both guys will get their share of starts at catcher, their share at DH (so full time at bats for both), and potentially you're extending the longevity of both as catchers. If one gets injured, the other steps in and you don't miss a beat as a team. But this only works if both can continue to hit at a level of a regular DH.

Mendick is very similar to Yolmer. A good back up who people will come to hate if he's made a permanent every day player. Madrigal is going to hit .300/.350/.450 year over year and play in All Star games.

I think everyone needs to slow their rolls a little bit with Mendick. He's done very well this year, but he's still best as part time utility player. Madrigal is a much better player and his numbers will eventually dwarf Mendick's (who I think is more of a long term .260/.300/.375 type guy).

While Vaughn's bat is arguably MLB ready right now, he still hasn't played an official game above A ball. Isn't it possible that he spends all of 2021 in the minors, split amongst A+, AA, and AAA? That way McCann could get full playing time next year, splitting C/DH duties with Grandal, and you only have a real logjam in 2022. That's the last year of Abreu's contract, with Vaughn presumably taking over full time at 1B in 2023.

I have a different view. As far as the playoffs this year and the season next year, I think the risk that neither happens is so minimal at this point that it shouldn't be factored into the decision making at all. If the Sox don't bring in Lynn or another solid starter, the Cease is probably starting the potential winner-take-all game 3 in the first round of the playoffs. I really like Cease's potential in the future, but I would much prefer the Sox have someone more reliable starting that game. Between the lineup the Sox have, their current bullpen, and a top 3 of Giolito, Keuchel, and Lynn.....that's a team that could go the distance. And I don't think the price to get Lynn mortgages the future at all. I think Stiever/Collins/Thompson or Dalquist could get it done.

I'm the schmuck who missed the no hitter last night. I expect Comcast will replay the game soon. If anyone learns that time and could post it here, it'd be much appreciated.

Sox have a great problem to have: too many good arms for too few rotation spots. Yes, Rodon is a free agent soon and Lopez could be moved to the bullpen, but that still leaves only 2 spots in the rotation for Dunning, Kopech, Stiever, and Crochet, with Kelly, Thompson, and Dalquist not that far behind. Some of those guys are getting dealt. It's inevitable. If you have an opportunity to get DeGrom for a package of a couple of those guys, I think you have to go for it.

That's not how I interpret Ricky's comment at all. Moncada isn't injured. Putting him on the shelf for 10 days seems entirely unnecessary. They should definitely give him more off days but I don't see an IL stint coming. I think Ricky would have telegraphed that more if that was the case. Also, if they thought he was injured enough to go on the IL, I don't see any way he would be playing tonight.

Madrigal's injury couldn't have helped. They probably envisioned Mendick spelling Moncada at 3B once Madrigal was called up.

That's possible, but it's also possible there wasn't anyone the Sox FO cared to trade him for. We know they were targeting Mazara and only needed Steele Walker to get that done. They also figured they were set in the rotation with their Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez signings. It's very plausible that they were saving Collins as a trade chip for this year's deadline.

I think Collins is undervalued by Sox fans. He put up excellent OBP numbers in the minors, has power, has shown the ability to catch (at least on a part time basis), and still has that draft pedigree (1st round, 10th overall). He's also never really had a legitimate opportunity with the Sox, so I don't think his spotty MLB numbers to this point should be held against him. I could see teams being very interested in acquiring him.

Maybe. Depends on if other teams see him as the 6-7 WAR pitcher he was last year and so far this year, or the 3 WAR pitcher he was up until that point.

Love that McCann is catching. Don't mind that Moncada was dropped to 5th. Hate that EE is the DH over Grandal.

Feels like Lance Lynn to me. We know that Hahn and Jon Daniels have a good relationship. I could see Stiever + Collins for Lynn.

Why are we talking about Trout? Doesn't he make like $35 million/year for the next decade? No chance that JR would approve taking on that contract even if Hahn was willing to trade the entire farm for him.