Front office:
The evaluators need to seriously be evaluated, starting now. If they don't want to replace anyone, (Baird should go ASAP IMO) then ownership should probably at least bring in an outside consultant to give an unbiased take on the front office. Most of the people in the front office have been with the team for a long time in various roles. They need some fresh voices and fresh ideas from outside the organization.
Farrell: he looked good in 2013, but the rest of his managing career has been lousy. He's got one real outlier season on his record, and guess which one it is? Ownership seems to love his square jaw and steely demeanor, so he probably isn't going anywhere.
Trading deadline:
Assuming that we are keeping the front office as-is for at least the rest of the season, then we need to NOT make any big trades. This group can't evaluate their way out of a wet paper bag lately. Letting them make a big trade now is way too risky for the future.
No point in talking about being "sellers." You can't sell a bunch of junk that no one wants to buy. Sure if someone wants to take it off our hands, we eagerly thank them. Put our used-TV-type of players like Breslow, Napoli and company out on the sidewalk on trash day, but when you get up the next morning, don't expect anyone to have picked it up for you. Some guys will have to be DFA'd eventually probably.
No one who has a role for next year should be sold off. Obviously anyone is available at the right price, but dumping a Miley or Tazawa just opens up a new hole for next year that needs to be filled. And this front office probably wouldn't get anything good back or be able to fill the new hole. So don't do it.
Lineup:
There is a lot of work to be done with all the playing time still to come at the big league level. Bradley and Castillo need to be promoted to Boston and put in the lineup frequently to see what they can do and so they can have a chance to try to figure it out in the majors. More info is better, find out whatever we can. If you have decent scouts, they can learn a lot from watching a guy play regularly in the majors for a couple of months. If.
Hanley might as well play a lot in LF, to see if he can get any better. If he can't then at least we'll know it. It doesn't matter at this point if it costs us runs.
Ortiz and Pedroia should be rested as much as possible with next year in mind. Holt shouldn't be played into the ground like he was last year in garbage time, when he played every single inning for a couple meaningless months and then wore down.
Sandoval? Who knows? Might as well play him a lot because if you bench him he'll just gain even more weight. Who could have ever foreseen that her might have fitness issues after being give a huge long-term contract??
With Swihart, the priority needs to be what is best for his long term development. The team seems to have decided that he is ready to play in the majors, so if he is on the roster, he needs to play a lot. Not necessarily every day, but played the right amount for his long term good. If he struggles and needs a break, he should get one. If he needs to work with a lot of different pitchers, then make sure he does, without worrying about the results of any one game.
If this front office can be trusted, then they should go out and get a bargain basement first baseman for cheap who can be controlled next year and beyond, from another team's bench or AAA team. A cheap, interesting bat kind of guy you can stick at first part time that our division rivals seem to be able to find, like a Pearce, Paredes or Colabello type. We have a hole there for next year and a couple months of playing time to allot to someone who might be interesting. Maybe you could bring up Craig, Nava, Shaw or Peguero and let them try (though Craig's contract would be an issue and the 6'5" 260-pound Peguero still hasn't even been given an inning at first base in Pawtucket yet, for some reason.) But we might as well try to find someone who might be a cheap 1B option for next year, since we have the playing time available.
Pitching:
Wright needs to stay in the rotation, to see if he can be a useful arm eventually. A few crappy starts are to be expected, but so what? Maybe he does well and shows that he might be a decent 5th starter next year. Or maybe you find out that he never will be. Either way, more info is good. This is a chance to figure out what he is.
Johnson needs a good long run of starts, again with the expectations that there will be some bad ones. Pitchers need to learn at the big league level and work out their issues. This garbage time is perfect for that.
Porcello looks like a guy who has been pitching hurt. If he is hurt, then he needs to admit it and shut it down. If he really isn't hurt, then he needs to be fixed, and garbage time is perfect for figuring that out.
Kelly is an issue. He is still starting in the minors, so maybe he should come back up and start in the majors instead. Find out if he can be a decent starter next year or not. If not, then try him in the bullpen.
Buchholz needs to do whatever is best for his 2016 season. If that means sitting out the rest of the year, then that's what he does. No pitching him until he is 100% ready.
Rodriguez has some real issues with pitching from the stretch. They need to do whatever is best for his long-term development. If he needs to go back down to get things fixed, then do it. If he needs to fix at in the majors, then fine. But he needs to be protected. You can't keep running him out there to give up 9 or 7 runs in the majors, that could be damaging to him in the long run. He gave up the runs today so quickly that this time there wasn't much Farrell could do. But it's happened a few times now, he needs to be ready for it. Three guys get on base against him in an inning then a reliever needs to get warming and the team needs to start stalling so no more horrific innings like today's happen. He has a ton of upside, but young pitchers are usually really up and down, so be ready for that. Don't expect him to be our #2 starter next year just because he had some good starts in June and July of this year, he's still young and there will be growing pains.
If/when Owens would benefit from being in the majors, he should be promoted. But not until it's best for his long term development.
The bullpen should be filled with players we control beyond this year. Barnes should come back when he's ready. Young pitchers struggle frequently, it doesn't mean he stinks forever or is washed up. He needs more chances to figure it out at the big league level.
Escobar has been terrible since coming back from injury, and Pat Light has been terrible since being promoted to AAA, but maybe one of them gets straightened out over the next month or so. If so they should get a shot in the majors. Might as well give Hembree a shot too. No Way Ramirez doesn't look ready, but maybe after some more time in the minors, he'll be more ready for another shot.
No point overworking Tazawa or Uehara. They need to be used gently and save their bullets for next year.
To make room for some of these promotions, we'll probably have to DFA some guys currently on the roster. It'd be sad to see World Champs like Napoli or Victorino get dumped, but that's the business. Making use of the next 2+ months of garbage time needs to be the priority. Again.
The evaluators need to seriously be evaluated, starting now. If they don't want to replace anyone, (Baird should go ASAP IMO) then ownership should probably at least bring in an outside consultant to give an unbiased take on the front office. Most of the people in the front office have been with the team for a long time in various roles. They need some fresh voices and fresh ideas from outside the organization.
Farrell: he looked good in 2013, but the rest of his managing career has been lousy. He's got one real outlier season on his record, and guess which one it is? Ownership seems to love his square jaw and steely demeanor, so he probably isn't going anywhere.
Trading deadline:
Assuming that we are keeping the front office as-is for at least the rest of the season, then we need to NOT make any big trades. This group can't evaluate their way out of a wet paper bag lately. Letting them make a big trade now is way too risky for the future.
No point in talking about being "sellers." You can't sell a bunch of junk that no one wants to buy. Sure if someone wants to take it off our hands, we eagerly thank them. Put our used-TV-type of players like Breslow, Napoli and company out on the sidewalk on trash day, but when you get up the next morning, don't expect anyone to have picked it up for you. Some guys will have to be DFA'd eventually probably.
No one who has a role for next year should be sold off. Obviously anyone is available at the right price, but dumping a Miley or Tazawa just opens up a new hole for next year that needs to be filled. And this front office probably wouldn't get anything good back or be able to fill the new hole. So don't do it.
Lineup:
There is a lot of work to be done with all the playing time still to come at the big league level. Bradley and Castillo need to be promoted to Boston and put in the lineup frequently to see what they can do and so they can have a chance to try to figure it out in the majors. More info is better, find out whatever we can. If you have decent scouts, they can learn a lot from watching a guy play regularly in the majors for a couple of months. If.
Hanley might as well play a lot in LF, to see if he can get any better. If he can't then at least we'll know it. It doesn't matter at this point if it costs us runs.
Ortiz and Pedroia should be rested as much as possible with next year in mind. Holt shouldn't be played into the ground like he was last year in garbage time, when he played every single inning for a couple meaningless months and then wore down.
Sandoval? Who knows? Might as well play him a lot because if you bench him he'll just gain even more weight. Who could have ever foreseen that her might have fitness issues after being give a huge long-term contract??
With Swihart, the priority needs to be what is best for his long term development. The team seems to have decided that he is ready to play in the majors, so if he is on the roster, he needs to play a lot. Not necessarily every day, but played the right amount for his long term good. If he struggles and needs a break, he should get one. If he needs to work with a lot of different pitchers, then make sure he does, without worrying about the results of any one game.
If this front office can be trusted, then they should go out and get a bargain basement first baseman for cheap who can be controlled next year and beyond, from another team's bench or AAA team. A cheap, interesting bat kind of guy you can stick at first part time that our division rivals seem to be able to find, like a Pearce, Paredes or Colabello type. We have a hole there for next year and a couple months of playing time to allot to someone who might be interesting. Maybe you could bring up Craig, Nava, Shaw or Peguero and let them try (though Craig's contract would be an issue and the 6'5" 260-pound Peguero still hasn't even been given an inning at first base in Pawtucket yet, for some reason.) But we might as well try to find someone who might be a cheap 1B option for next year, since we have the playing time available.
Pitching:
Wright needs to stay in the rotation, to see if he can be a useful arm eventually. A few crappy starts are to be expected, but so what? Maybe he does well and shows that he might be a decent 5th starter next year. Or maybe you find out that he never will be. Either way, more info is good. This is a chance to figure out what he is.
Johnson needs a good long run of starts, again with the expectations that there will be some bad ones. Pitchers need to learn at the big league level and work out their issues. This garbage time is perfect for that.
Porcello looks like a guy who has been pitching hurt. If he is hurt, then he needs to admit it and shut it down. If he really isn't hurt, then he needs to be fixed, and garbage time is perfect for figuring that out.
Kelly is an issue. He is still starting in the minors, so maybe he should come back up and start in the majors instead. Find out if he can be a decent starter next year or not. If not, then try him in the bullpen.
Buchholz needs to do whatever is best for his 2016 season. If that means sitting out the rest of the year, then that's what he does. No pitching him until he is 100% ready.
Rodriguez has some real issues with pitching from the stretch. They need to do whatever is best for his long-term development. If he needs to go back down to get things fixed, then do it. If he needs to fix at in the majors, then fine. But he needs to be protected. You can't keep running him out there to give up 9 or 7 runs in the majors, that could be damaging to him in the long run. He gave up the runs today so quickly that this time there wasn't much Farrell could do. But it's happened a few times now, he needs to be ready for it. Three guys get on base against him in an inning then a reliever needs to get warming and the team needs to start stalling so no more horrific innings like today's happen. He has a ton of upside, but young pitchers are usually really up and down, so be ready for that. Don't expect him to be our #2 starter next year just because he had some good starts in June and July of this year, he's still young and there will be growing pains.
If/when Owens would benefit from being in the majors, he should be promoted. But not until it's best for his long term development.
The bullpen should be filled with players we control beyond this year. Barnes should come back when he's ready. Young pitchers struggle frequently, it doesn't mean he stinks forever or is washed up. He needs more chances to figure it out at the big league level.
Escobar has been terrible since coming back from injury, and Pat Light has been terrible since being promoted to AAA, but maybe one of them gets straightened out over the next month or so. If so they should get a shot in the majors. Might as well give Hembree a shot too. No Way Ramirez doesn't look ready, but maybe after some more time in the minors, he'll be more ready for another shot.
No point overworking Tazawa or Uehara. They need to be used gently and save their bullets for next year.
To make room for some of these promotions, we'll probably have to DFA some guys currently on the roster. It'd be sad to see World Champs like Napoli or Victorino get dumped, but that's the business. Making use of the next 2+ months of garbage time needs to be the priority. Again.
