Lillian

I assume that was tongue in cheek. It's pretty obvious what he's doing.

I was watching Hendriks today. He does indeed go to a shiny spot, on the back of his cap, especially just before he throws the slider.

Hendriks goes to the back of his cap, quite often. Perhaps it's just before he throws that nasty slider. Having his effectiveness significantly diminished would be very costly. Yikes!! Let's hope not. The pen has been shaky enough, even with a dominant closer.

That's right. Good point. Who knows who and how this crackdown will have an effect?

Batting 3RD, and right in front of Abreu, significantly diminishes the value of stealing second. Too often, that would result in opposing pitchers electing to pitch around Abreu, with first base open. Moreover, given Jose's tendency to swing at pitches out of the zone, it would make it easier for pitchers to risk putting him on, while hoping that Jose gets himself out. Odd as it may sound, it might actually be better for Moncada to be at first, rather than in scoring position, at second.

I love that suggestion. Iglesias will be a free agent, at the end of the season. What do you think it would take to acquire him, at the trade deadline?

I thought that perhaps this topic needed its own thread. What was considered to be a major strength of this roster, has turned out to be a bit of a problem. Kopech, Crochet and Hendriks have been fine, but the rest of the pen has been very inconsistent. Fry has already begun his rehab assignment at Charlotte and Kopech should be back soon. Bummer has such great stuff that it seems reasonable to expect him to get back on track. Nevertheless, the Sox probably need to add one more arm. If not, they may have to forget about trying to get Kopech stretched out, in order to be available to start, later in the season. Fortunately, the starters have been good enough that Kopech may not be needed. He may provide more value to this team, as a reliever. Could Burdi and, or Burr help? If there are any arms that might be acquired, in a trade deadline move, please suggest them in this thread.

Who else, besides Karinchak, on Cleveland's staff is likely using something?

Turnbull has actually been better vs. LH batters. Nevertheless, we should expect La Russa to use several LH hitters tonight. Lamb should get another start and Sheets may have his MLB debut.

Yes, I noticed that you have been one of the few here, who has not called for Lamb to be DFA'd. Maybe it just seems that way, because the nay sayers are so hyperbolic about it. Perhaps it's because of my age, but I just don't accept the idea that a 30 year old is "washed up". Injuries are a major obstacle for any player, at any age, but 30 is certainly young enough for a guy to resume his career, at a high level. It's also important to be mindful of potential. If Lamb can return to the kind of hitter that he was in 2016 and 2017, the Sox could finally have that middle of the order, power bat, from the left side. I'd take 30 homers and an OPS in the mid 800's, from the left side, batting behind Abreu. The guy did it two years in a row. If he's healthy, in our lineup, I don't see why it's so hard to believe that it's plausible.

You all know how much I value right and left handed balance, in the lineup. If any imbalance exists, I'd prefer a more heavily weighted LH hitting lineup, for obvious reasons. Most pitchers are right handed and most hitters fair better against pitchers who throw from the opposite side. A left handed hitter's swing leaves him falling toward first base, which is already a stride closer from the LH batter's box. Some people here have the mistaken impression that I am obsessed with LH hitters. That is not the case. It's rather simply a matter of it being a particular issue with recent Sox teams, which have been too heavily weighted with right handed hitters. The Sox recent dominance over left handed pitching is evidence of that imbalance. After Jake Lamb was acquired, I argued that he might provide some help, from the left side. Some here rejected the idea and vehemently asserted that he was washed up and could not be expected to return to the All Star caliber player he was during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Although he is just 30, some argued that 2017 was too along ago to provide any indication of his current ability. They refused to consider his shoulder injury and subsequent surgery, in August of 2018, as a possible explanation for his poor performance in 2018 and 2019. Although it's a very small sample size, he is currently producing at just about the same rate as his breakout seasons, as well as his limited playing time, last year, after Oakland acquired him. He's currently sporting a .882 OPS. Hopefully, he can continue to produce and get more playing time. If so, his track record is good enough to suggest that he might be able to provide some much needed left handed power, in the middle of the lineup. Lamb's two best seasons were with the Diamondbacks, when Tony La Russa was an executive there. I suspect that La Russa had something to do with the Sox signing Lamb. Therefore, now that Jake has had a chance to play a little and perform, we shouldn't be surprised if he gets more playing time versus RHP. Until Eloy and Robert return, I would like to see the following lineup versus RHP: SS Anderson RF Eaton 3B Moncada 1B Abreu LF Lamb DH Mercedes C Grandal/COLLINS CF Engel 2B Madrigal VERSUS LHP: SS Anderson 2B Madrigal 3B Moncada 1B Abreu DH Mercedes C Grandal RF Engel (Until we're sure that he can run at maximum effort) LF Vaughn CF Hamilton I think Mendick is the most logical candidate to be sent down, as he has options. Leury can be the middle infield sub, off the bench, and Hamilton can be the outfield defensive replacement, as well as a pinch runner. So, that means that Collins, Hamilton, Leury and Vaughn are the part time players. If Vaughn continues to slump, perhaps he should be sent down to Charlotte, to work on his pitch selection. He's been swinging at a lot of balls out of the zone. That would also impact his service time, leading to an extra year of control.

Brilliant call by Stone.

His game isn't popular with most fans, but he is sporting the best OBP on this team.

Mendick. Leury becomes the bench infielder. I assume that Mendick could be sent to Charlotte.

You're absolutely correct about that. Unfortunately, there are many more right-handed pitchers. I think this team has proven that they can dominate LH pitching. They still really need to attain a better balance. That RF spot seems to be about the only place to remedy this short coming. Maybe Sheets can sustain his early success and provide some help.

Correction: Sheets now 4 for 4

Right handed hitters are killing Harvey, hitting .330, with an OBP of .378 and almost a .500 slugging %. It will be interesting to see if Leury and, or Grandal decide to go against normal protocol, and hit from the right side.

I love Moncada, but I hope that while he is sitting on the bench tonight, he remembers what a bad approach he had in 2018, when he did not utilize a "protect" mode, with 2 strikes. He has been reverting to that practice again, lately. Sometimes it appears that he is his own worst enemy. A hitter cannot leave his fate in the hands of the plate umpire, once he has 2 strikes. He has to try to stay "alive," by fighting off close pitches, hoping for a pitcher to make a mistake. It's maddening to watch him take called third strikes. I'm sure that he has been taught better, but for some reason, he has the bad habit of not swinging, as a hitter might, with a 3 and 1 count.

Isn't Fry expected back soon? He was projected to be back about this time, but I haven't heard anything about him starting a rehab assignment.

You have a good point. However, if J.R. doesn't at least want what's best for his team, this organization has bigger problems than its manager.

Ideally, J. R. could tell Tony that he doesn't want to see his good friend's HOF reputation stained by this kind of ending. "Why not walk away, having taken the team to the best record in baseball, and turn it over to a younger man, who is more in tune with the new style of the game". He could exit gracefully, using any excuse he chooses. Let Tony compose his own resignation letter.

Such a move would have to be done with complete discretion and secrecy. If not, the consequences could be worse than having to endure La Russa's ineptitude. Moreover, it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be any players who sided with La Russa, which could create irreparable discord. This really needs to come from ownership and management.

The problem is that Tony's conception of "sportsmanship" is not in tune with today's game.

La Russa must certainly be aware of a common perception that he is too "old school" to be managing today's game of baseball. Apparently, he doesn't give a damn about such skepticism. I'm beginning to wish that he would just retire, again. One of the best parts of being a Sox fan, of this current roster, is the way that they play the game, with such emotion and personality. So, what does La Russa do?.........He goes out of his way to try to stifle that team character.

Agreed.