CentralChamps21

Name a guy on any good team who can only play 3B/1B, can't hit lefties at all, and can barely hit righties.

Cleveland now 23 straight scoreless innings when not starting with a runner on 2nd.

"He has options" is an excuse rebuilding teams use to make roster decisions, not contenders. Mendick was not on the team because Lamb was an insurance policy for Mercedes/Vaughn. Now we know that those two are good enough to squeeze out Lamb. As for LH power off the bench, whichever catcher isn't starting is LH with better power than Lamb. Engel will start in RF for Engel vs some LH starters and that gives another good power option against a RH reliever. Lamb is utterly useless at this point. Even moreso than Hamilton.

Doesn't matter whether or not if it was intentional. If the fielder's motion caused the runner to come off the base, he's safe. However, that is umpire judgment and not reviewable.

Hitting matters a lot. Plus, Mendick's defense isn't that bad. The reason Mendick started the season at the alternate site has nothing to do with his defense and everything to do with the Sox didn't know what they were going to get from Yermin and wanted Lamb as another DH option. There was never a plan for him to play 3B, especially when Moncada takes so few days off. Pinch runners are used so infrequently that a marginal difference in baserunning is the worst possible reason to keep a guy. Once Engel is back, the only way there are any starts for Hamilton is if Mercedes craters and Vaughn has to move to DH, and I don't see that happening. There is no place for Hamilton on this roster once Engel is back.

Mendick and Leury aren't redundant. Mendick can play IF and can hit. Leury can play IF and can't fucking hit. Leury is closer to being redundant with Hamilton in that they both can play OF and can't hit.

Switch-hitting versatility with Leury is non-existent. He hits worse vs RHP than most RH hitters, including Mendick. You don't lose positional versatility because Leury is still on the roster. You just have him as the 2nd backup option in the IF and OF rather than the 1st option in the IF.

Hawks +140 at Detroit

The 2B-SS-3B aren't going to play every day. Even in a best case scenario your backup IF is getting at least 1-2 starts per week. The value of Mendick over Garcia getting all those plate appearances outweighs the very rare situations where Hamilton pinch-running earns you a run that Garcia or Engel wouldn't get you. If you trust Giolito, Lynn and Rodon to continue working late into games, you can shorten the bullpen by one and keep both.

Hamilton can't score from 2nd when Garcia is killing a rally because Mendick isn't there.

Which is when Hamilton would be DFA.

Engel and Garcia are both capable pinch runners and unlikely to both ever be in the lineup such that neither is available.

Vaughn in LF batting 8th, Eaton batting 2nd, Robert 7th

Anderson back, Williams DFA.

Keeping Hamilton over Mendick means that Garcia is the only backup available for all of 3B, SS and 2B. Any time any of those guys needs a day off, those at bats to go Garcia instead of Mendick, and I think that difference matters more than whatever value a pinch runner gives you. Also, Garcia, Mendick and Engel when not starting can all pinch run capably.

Leury Garcia is a paradox. You really want him on the roster, and at the same time you really don't want him playing much.

OF: Engel, Robert, Eaton, Vaughn, Garcia IF: Moncada, Anderson, Madrigal, Abreu, Mendick C : Grandal, Collins, Mercedes That's what it has to be. I can't see any justification for keeping Lamb or Hamilton over any of those guys.

For the Houston Astros, Gurriel, Correa, Altuve and Alvarez have combined for 59 hits. The entire Cubs team has 59 hits.

Nick Williams didn't earn playing time. He got playing time because THREE outfielders got injured. And, yeah, if Lamb is still on the roster tonight that is ridiculous.

I wonder who will be the sacrificial Lamb to make room on the roster for Tim?

What got reported was over 90% of the Sox traveling party got vaccinated on the off day Friday. No report of whether the rest refused or just weren't available. If Cease started exhibiting symptoms in the past couple days then he was almost certainly infected before Friday so the choice of whether or not to get vaccinated didn't impact that.

Tidbits: The Indians have failed to score in 21 straight innings where they didn't start the inning with a runner on 2nd. Combined last start by Lynn, Giolito, Rodon: 26 IP, 0 R, 8 H, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 26 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 13.0 K/BB 3 of the last 4 Sox no-hitters were caught by the backup catcher. First time in franchise history with no-hitters in back-to-back seasons.

I do not approve of a rule that decreases the number of times we get to see Yermin hit.

That's everybody's pitching line against the Cubs. They can't hit anything right now.