Lillian

Neslony hit that one off of a left hander. He has been terrific off of RH pitching.

The biggest need is for that ever elusive middle of the order LH bat and there aren't really any realistic trade candidates out there. Therefore, not much point in trading away anyone, especially with the low value, which they currently have. My guess is that they will try to acquire some bullpen help. TLR loves his bullpens.

My best, most realistic hope is that Moncada gets healthy enough to play the second half, with great success. Then, I would hope that the Sox could trade him, in the off season, for a power hitting right fielder. I'm just tired of his frequent stints on the IL, his subpar offense and I'm concerned about the money still owed on that contract.

If the Sox are already beginning to look toward next year, which might not be a bad idea, finding someone to fill the hole at second base is a worthwhile goal. Sosa would seem to be as good of a candidate as anyone else currently in the organization. I personally hope that they give him plenty of playing time. If he succeeds and shows enough promise and progress to plan on him being the second baseman, next season, that only leaves the RF spot open, to target a LH middle of the order bat. If they have to trade some guys to acquire one, so be it. They certainly have enough players with similar defensive profiles, whom they could use as capital for a trade.

As you guys know, I've been trying to find a solution to this perennial problem, for some time. I just don't see any viable options. In the meantime, Sox hitters appear to be trying to somewhat mitigate the problem of poor performance versus RH pitching, by concentrating on hitting to right field. That is what I have been hoping to see. It works so well for Anderson, that I have been wondering why more guys don't do it. It can be a very effective way to neutralize some of those sliders from right handers. There are a lot of base hits in breaking pitches, just outside the strike zone. As long as they don't try to pull the ball, they can exploit those pitches by taking them the other way. They have recently been trying to do that very thing, and It seems to be working. The lineup still needs better balance, but this strategy could help, until they find a LH hitter, who thrives against RH pitching.

In Vaughn's last 18 games, half of them have been multi hit affairs. He has three 4 hit games, three 3 hit games and three 2 hit games. He has raised his average from .267 to .330. That's obviously not sustainable, but great to see, nevertheless.

Neslony 1 for 2, a double and a walk. Still batting .400 vs. RHP.

Very hard to gauge the significance of today's 5 hit performance, with the last 2 coming off of position player pitchers. Let's hope he can continue to at least have decent at bats and productivity, going forward. It's a start, but that's all it is I'm rooting for him.

I agree that Haseley is probably first in line, because he is already on the 40 man roster. I'd love to see Neslony at least get some playing time at Charlotte, not that it's any harder to hit there, than it is in Birmingham.

Neslony 5 for 6 with a homer and a double. His numbers vs. RHP are really impressive: In 143 At Bats 15 doubles, 3 triples and 10 homers. AVG .400 OBP .469 SLG .755 OPS .1,224 The guy is 28, but he can really hit, especially vs RHP. I've been wondering when he will get promoted to AAA, but with Payton and Haseley hitting, also from the left side and Adolfo, I guess they don't have room in the Knights' outfield. Why not just promote him to the Sox and stick him in RF?

At this point, with all of the criticism of our manager and underperforming players, health will likely be widely considered to be the reason for the 2022 White Sox' disappointing results.

However, that also ultimately ended in Tommy John surgery. Are you suggesting that he actually completely recovered in 2020, and that this year's surgery was unrelated?

How common is it for a pitcher with forearm tightness, to not have a UCL and need Tommy John surgery? Not very, I suspect.

So far this season, in 50 games, Joc Pederson has put up better numbers than any of the Sox hitters, vs. RHP: AVG .272 OBP .353 SLG .574 OPS .926 with 12 homers and 28 RBI's. Although I wasn't enthusiastic over the prospect of signing him and maybe he wouldn't have had that success in Chicago, but if so, he would have looked pretty good, hitting in the middle of the lineup,

I agree with you, that ideally, your hitters can hit both RH and LH pitching. However, the reality is that most hitters have splits which favor hitting pitchers who throw from the opposite side, from which they bat. Moreover, it's not the only reason that the balance matters. It's more difficult for an opposing pitcher to face a lineup with both LH and RH hitters. They are typically best pitched, with slightly different pitches. Having both in the lineup forces the pitcher to adjust from hitter, to hitter.

The key is balance. A good lineup has to have both RH and LH impact hitters. That is something with which almost any baseball savant would agree.

For all of you would be GM's, who are speculating on next year's roster: It looks like the best 6 hitters, including next year's free agent Abreu, are: Anderson, Robert, Abreu, Eloy, Vaughn and Burger. Aside from the fact that 4 of the 6 are really best suited as first basemen, or DH's, what else is wrong with that picture?I'm sure you all know what I think. If you're trying to improve this roster, the biggest need is to substitute one of those 4 guys, with a LH hitting power bat, who can also adequately play a position other than first base. I've been trying to come up with a solution, but frankly, I'm at a loss. Please suggest a feasible and plausible way to solve this problem, in some way other than fixing Moncada and Grandal, which while possible, is not something upon which we should place all of our hopes. Maybe they will reconsider Conforto, now that he has had his surgery and should be ready to enter free agency, next year. We could also hope that Colas gets hot enough, to look like next year's right fielder. I wouldn't expect Pollock to be back, at age 35, unless he exercises his player option. My hope is that Eloy and, or Burger, have a good enough second half that some team would be willing to trade a decent LH Bat, for one of them. If Eloy could come back and hit for power, the way that he did in his first 162 games in the League, he would be a very valuable trade chip. Your thoughts, please.

In scanning the rosters of teams that might soon be sellers, I really can't find a solid LH bat, with decent RF defense, who might be someone whom Hahn could try to acquire, at the trade deadline. Benintendi will likely be available, but I don't think that he has the arm to play RF. Moreover, he's really not a big power hitter. Tyler Naquin has been injured the last couple weeks and Joey Gallo is having a terrible year. Is there someone in Japan? I'm at a loss. I guess that we shouldn't have scoffed at the idea of signing Joc Pederson. He would look pretty good, at this point. I even looked at teams who will likely contend, all year, to see if any of them were too heavily loaded with LH bats, and in need of more RH balance. I don't think there are any teams that are in that circumstance.

I don't know, but I agree that this might be the most serious dilemma that faces the front office. He is owed a lot of money and has been regarded as a key piece of this team's core, for the window of contention. Complicating the situation is the emergence of Burger as a productive offensive player, whose only viable position is third base. Releasing Moncada is not an option, due to the size of that contract. I still favor the idea of trading him, for whatever they can get, just to get out of that contractual obligation for all of that money. That would allow them to better spend the financial resources on a player more suitable to their needs, such as a LH hitting run producer. Not that any names, quickly come to mind, but perhaps if a few more teams fall out of contention, someone could emerge as a viable candidate to fill that role. The only other plausible option, that I can think of, is to retool his game. I wrote about that in another post. He has so many tools that he might be better served by changing his approach to the game. He has speed and athleticism. If he could become a good contact hitter and stolen base threat, he could still be a useful player and could profile as a second baseman. That seems more feasible than hoping that he will develop into a slugger, which he has clearly not been able to do.

I suspect that they have missed the mark, even further, on Moncada. The difference being that he was acquired in a trade, rather than selected, as were Robert and Vaughn. I still have high hopes for them, but not so much for Yoan.

It may be "too soon to panic," but it's not too soon to fix this mess. If they're serious about contending this year, they will need to address the obvious shortcomings. This is not merely a "slump". It's almost an entire year, since this team played above .500 baseball. They were just 5 games above .500, the second half of last season and they are now 4 games under ,500, for this season. Since the middle of last year, they are 1 game over .500.

They aren't going anywhere, unless they can find at least one LH bat. Grandal and Moncada are not providing anything, which leaves only McGuire and Leury as the only other 2 guys and they obviously are not the solution. If the Sox can pick up someone to fill the void, they may be alright, with their schedule. They may have to try either Payton, or Haseley in RF, if they can't swing a trade. They may even consider Neslony. However, that would be a desperation move as none of them have a Major League track record that instills any confidence.

The other change in his approach that Moncada could try is to emulate Tim's willingness to hit to the opposite field. That ability to take the outside breaking pitches to right field has turned Anderson into a perennial .300 hitter. Moncada has generally been strictly a pull hitter, but with little success. One of the biggest advantages of Tim's approach, which is often overlooked, is that it allows the hitter a little more time to see the pitch and to let it get closer to the plate, which also allows it to finish its breaking trajectory. The shift is another factor that argues for employing a hands before the barrel of the bat approach. If defenses are going to continue to play Moncada as a pull hitter, the logical response should be to try to exploit the open side of the field. Perhaps Yoan has been advised to try hitting to the opposite field, but has rejected the suggestion. Whatever the case, it's time for him to make some changes, because what he is doing is clearly not working.

If they would take that contract, I'd take whatever they would trade for him. I'd rather see the Sox spend that money on another player. I'm as disillusioned, as most, with his game. When thinking about how much money he has been paid and guaranteed. it's so frustrating.

Do you think that there is any team that would trade an asset for Moncada, let alone take on that contract? It seems pretty doubtful. At this point, it might be worth his trying to retool his game. Forget about trying to be a power hitter, choke up on the bat and start trying to become a contact hitter. Use his speed and his good eye to get on base and run. Perhaps he might want to give up switch hitting for a while, to make the changes a little easier. Although he has actually looked a little better from the right side. Nevertheless, hitting from just the left side, might simplify things. He just looks lost. He is back to taking called third strikes, which he did twice today. Something in his game needs to change. Jake Burger has earned a spot in the lineup and when Eloy comes back he is a better candidate to DH. Moncada has experience playing second base. Jake really has no position, other than third base. I know that it's not a popular suggestion on this board, but why not let Yoan play second and if he still can't even outhit Mendick, Leury and Harrison, then he probably needs to be benched. That contract is going to become a real albatross, if Moncada can't produce.