Lillian

Oy, so now Escobar might end up on the IL. I'm beginning to get the feeling that this year may just be an exercise in futility. All of these injuries and the mid season looming crack down on sticky substances. It's a real mess. Oh well, if Escobar ends up on the IL, I guess that we should be relieved that we dodged a bullet on a potential trade.

Thanks for the clarification. I had understood that his time off the MLB roster satisfied the suspension requirement. That would explain why he hasn't already been placed on the roster

We'll see. The only reason they wouldn't replace Mendick with Beckham would be to avoid triggering the MLB salary. They can't be that cheap. Beckham is an obvious offensive upgrade over Danny and he should be adequate at second. Moreover, until they acquire someone, Lamb should be in the lineup, every day there is a RH starter on the mound, for the opposition. I know that most here wanted him DFA, but he is the best LH power bat, in the organization, after Moncada and Grandal. He has barely had an opportunity to get his timing down, with the sporadic appearances, yet he has been reasonably productive. He has as many homers as Moncada, in 1/3 as many at bats. Lamb and Moncada have the same OPS. If that isn't enough to earn him more playing time, than I don't know what one expects.

Tim Beckham will be called up before Burger. They're both right handed and Beckham has the Major League pedigree. Moreover, Burger is really only a corner infielder and those spots are filled. Beckham can play second base. In fact, I expect them to replace Mendick with Beckham, very soon. In any case, it still doesn't solve the need for a LH power bat.

The other red flag is that the Astros' almost never look really fooled on a pitch.

Doubt the price would be that high, unless you're talking about someone who is not merely a rental.

For me, one of the biggest red flags is Altuve's performance, this month. How does that little guy hit 9 homers, in 17 games, without some kind of help? Is he really that talented? Perhaps, but that just seems other worldly.

I don't want to sound like a poor loser, but the thought crossed my mind that the Astros might still be up to their chicanery. They seem to be especially good at scoring runs. They never did receive any punishment for their previous transgressions and they never seemed to exhibit much contrition. Apparently they don't use anything as obvious as beating on a trash can, but they certainly could be employing something much more sophisticated and difficult to detect. I have no proof and therefore this should not be misconstrued as an allegation. I'm just wondering. Hey, that's the price dishonest people pay for their transgressions, especially when they show little, or no remorse. Why should we believe, or trust them? Although the Astros do have the highest runs per game average in the Majors, they actually score even more, on the road. Therefore, if they are cheating, they might have devised a way to do it all of the time, not just during home games. It's not as though Major League Baseball has suddenly gotten a conscience and decided to refrain from breaking the rules. Witness the current controversy over "sticky substances". And who knows, if they are cheating, maybe they're not alone. Again, I have absolutely no evidence, however I remain suspicious. They do have a history, and you can't blame one for doubting whether they have actually been reformed. Any thoughts?

Beckham just homered again. This one off a RHP. That's his 10Th and 9TH in just 13 games, this month. I don't care in what stadium he hit them, or off which pitchers, that's impressive.

Thanks for your kind and cordial reply. I agree that it's not realistic to try to translate AAA performance, especially at the Knight's stadium, to the Majors, but it's worth noting that Beckham has a decent track record in the "show". Considering that he didn't play last year, I think now that he seems to have found his power stroke again, it's reasonable to hope that he could contribute at a level comparable to his last few seasons in the A.L. That would represent pretty good production, as a replacement for the injured Madrigal, without having to give up prospects. He has historically not been a high OBP guy, but he has put up decent Slugging Percentages.

Yes, and with the crack down on sticky substance coming, it will be equally hard to evaluate the value of any pitcher. Maybe we need to wait until then, to acquire an arm for the pen. However, if there are some guys who don't appear to have been using anything, they might represent good value. Looking at their spin rate history would be a potential way to determine that.

Unless, and until Hahn makes a trade, here is what I'd like to see, versus RHP: SS Anderson 3B Moncada 1B Abreu C Grandal DH Lamb 2B T. Beckham RF Goodwin LF Vaughn CF Engel One note of caution, although Beckham has been hitting RHP fairly well, of the 5 homers, in the last 3 games, only one came off a RH pitcher. However, he has hit 5 of his season's total 9 homers off of RH pitching, so that is encouraging. He has 8 this month, in just 12 games, which is a really torrid pace. If he stays hot, he will almost certainly get called up, which would trigger his MLB salary. He could add some punch to the lineup, while playing acceptable defense at second base. If you don't care about "handedness," he's an obvious quick, in house option.

Let's talk more about Tim Beckham, as Madrigal's replacement. He is tearing the cover off the ball, at AAA and has the Major League resume, to suggest that he could certainly equal Mendick's production, with much more upside. After all, this was the #1 pick, in the 2008 Draft and he has performed reasonably well at the Major League level, at times. Of course, he has never lived up to the lofty expectations, but at 31, he is still a pretty decent player. He's hitting RH pitching about as well as he is lefties, so that is in his favor. If you put him at second base and then find a LH power bat to DH, or play a corner outfield, the lineup would be in pretty good shape. I wouldn't even mind just giving the DH at bats, vs RHP to Lamb. That would only leave the acquisition of another bullpen arm, as the lone trade deadline target.

Tim Beckham just hit his 5TH homer, in the last 3 games. Maybe they'll just bring him up to play 2ND, and look for a LH bat for the outfield.

Ok, so keeping in mind that the objective is to get some LH power inserted into the middle of the lineup. would you then flip Escobar and Gandal, vs. RH pitching?

Since this thread is a discussion about Escobar, it might be interesting to flesh out the details of how it could look. If Eloy and Robert are both back in time for the Post Season, here are potential lineups, with Escobar. Having 3 switch hitters staggered throughout the middle of the order would be a nice advantage, in late inning match ups, when the opposing manager has to go to the pen: VERSUS RHP: SS Anderson RH 3B Moncada SH 1B Abreu RH 2B Escobar SH DH Eloy RH C Grandal SH CF Robert RH LF Lamb LH RF Goodwin or Eaton LH VERSUS LHP: SS Anderson RH 3B Moncada SH 1B Abreu RH DH Eloy RH C Grandal SH CF Robert RH 2B Escobar SH LF Vaughn RH RF Engel RH

Sheets would be worth a little exposure to the Majors, but what do you see in Rutherford's performance, that suggests to you that he might be ready for a call up?

I think that the oft used process of evaluating two players, especially by WAR, is flawed, when trying to gauge the overall impact on the team. In this particular case, can you really determine the impact of replacing Mendick with Escobar, strictly on the basis of the difference in their anticipated WAR? The Sox lack power, particularly from the left side. Escobar would address that need, while Mendick does not. It's a team problem and while the difference in WAR is important, it doesn't address the overall value of having a more balanced lineup. For example, one can debate the issue of providing "protection" for teammates in the batting order, and you can argue how important it is to avoid letting the opposing pitcher get too comfortable facing consecutive hitters, from the same side. However, those kinds of issues are not considered in the WAR equation. In other words, it may indeed not be worth giving up prospects, just to add .5 in WAR, but being able to construct a lineup, which has a better chance against a particular pitcher, on a particular day might make a significant difference. Let's say that you're facing a tough RH pitcher, who has dramatically favorable splits against RH hitters. On that day, being able to insert a potent, run producing LH bat into the lineup, could certainly be a critical advantage and one which mere WAR does not take into account.

Yes, and he provides very little power.

I agree, 100%. Moreover, La Russa was brought in to take this team to the World Series. I'm sure that Tony will be lobbying hard for whatever additions, he feels they need.

Could simply be posturing, in order not to lose too much leverage in bargaining. It also shows confidence in the guys on the roster. There is no point letting the other GM's know that you're desperate for reinforcements, not that it's any secret.

Yes, it is important to me and to most people in the sport. It's the rationale behind platooning, switch hitting, pinch hitting, lineup construction and more.

I don't understand. Would you please clarify that, or were you joking?

This thread is about acquiring Escobar, not about "replacing Madrigal". The rumoured Sox interest in Escobar doesn't emanate from a perceived hole at the keystone position. Mendick would be fine, if this team didn't have such a dearth of LH power. Remember, even if the Sox got both Eloy and Robert back, they still would not have a single really big LH power bat. Moncada has not proven to be a big home run threat and Grandal is,....well Grandal. He's a very good OBP hitter, with decent power, but he's not suited to be a #3, or clean up hitter. If one wants to talk about acquiring someone other than Escobar, please try to limit your suggestions to a LH power hitter. You may disagree, but you can be sure that management is more interested in fixing this roster imbalance, than they are in finding someone to simply play second base. Even if they weren't satisfied with Mendick, they have other internal options. There is Leury, Tim Beckham and even Marco Hernandez. The problem is that none of those guys provide that much needed LH power.

Remember not to minimize the La Russa connection with the DBacks, even with Mike Hazen's "physical departure," due to his wife's health issues.