With apologies to @grimshaw, thought it may be worth reupping this poll.
The Sox are:
40-41
+8 run differential
.537 third-order win percentage
The Sox are:
40-41
+8 run differential
.537 third-order win percentage
It's the halfway mark. Where we at?
- Thread starter AB in DC
- Start date
I expected just a bit over .500 for the season, so this is a bit below expectations. The losses to bad teams is infuriating.
I thought they'd win in the low to mid 70s, so a little better. Still a hard team for me to watch due to the terrible construction.
I voted 75-79 wins in the preseason thread, so I'd say right around what I expected. Not sure I would stick to the 75-79 win range though, I see it going a little lower.
I had them at 74 wins in the preseason poll, so they may be slightly better than I expected. But I’m still not happy with the way they’re playing,
The team is incrementally better than last year with improvements to their bullpen so I was expecting about .500. I wasn't expecting much from Sale and Paxton. Bello has been a pleasant surprise.
That defense though.... ugh.
That defense though.... ugh.
I said 78 wins in the preseason poll, so about what I expected.
A funny thing about expectations though, they’re prone to change. I was pleasantly surprised by the strong pitching, and even the offense has been better than I expected. But the defense has been so hideous (literally last in defensive runs saved in all of MLB) that the team has ended up right where I thought they would be.
Hard to watch.
A funny thing about expectations though, they’re prone to change. I was pleasantly surprised by the strong pitching, and even the offense has been better than I expected. But the defense has been so hideous (literally last in defensive runs saved in all of MLB) that the team has ended up right where I thought they would be.
Hard to watch.
Half way in they are - combined - exactly what I expected, right down to an injured Chris Sale.
A little below .500; last place in the division. Technically speaking close enough to the playoffs that (incredibly maddeningly, for the second year in a row) they won't do what a rebuilding team should do, which is sell off any pieces that aren't under contract for the following year and give time to young players.
While this isn't a "young" team, I will say I've been pleasantly surprised that they've continued to let the "young core" work through their issues at the big league level, to varying degrees of success at this point, regarding Bello, Casas, Houck, Whitlock and Duran.
What I'd like to see in the second half:
1) Extension for Verdugo.
2) Actively look to sell Paxton, Turner, Duvall and Martin (these are the guys I think they could get something decent for). Move Turner and Duvall even if you don't get something good for them (see #5).
3) Remove in any way necessary Hernandez, Arroyo, Kluber, Bleier and Ort. Give time to players in Worcester or EVEN BETTER - to young players you acquire for guys mentioned above.
4) Actively try to see if someone will give up good value for Winckowski, Bernardino or Pivetta (teams always seem to pay up for relief pitchers at the deadline), if not though might as well keep Winckowski, even though he's drastically outperforming his FIP.
5) Give as much time as possible to actual young players. Most notably Duran (move Duvall), most likely Abreu or "possibly" Rafaela (move Turner, put Yoshida at DH), most likely Valdez - but I wouldn't be at all opposed to the idea of giving time to Yorke (move Hernandez and Arroyo).
6) Unless you're going to go out and trade for multiple starting pitchers with control through at least next season (highly unlikely), keep Bello, Whitlock, Houck (when he returns) in the rotation no matter what. Crawford you might as well too, but those three specifically.
Edit - being in the bullpen in mostly long relief duty, I forgot about Pivetta even still being on the team, but if you can get value and you're not going to start him, sell him too.
A little below .500; last place in the division. Technically speaking close enough to the playoffs that (incredibly maddeningly, for the second year in a row) they won't do what a rebuilding team should do, which is sell off any pieces that aren't under contract for the following year and give time to young players.
While this isn't a "young" team, I will say I've been pleasantly surprised that they've continued to let the "young core" work through their issues at the big league level, to varying degrees of success at this point, regarding Bello, Casas, Houck, Whitlock and Duran.
What I'd like to see in the second half:
1) Extension for Verdugo.
2) Actively look to sell Paxton, Turner, Duvall and Martin (these are the guys I think they could get something decent for). Move Turner and Duvall even if you don't get something good for them (see #5).
3) Remove in any way necessary Hernandez, Arroyo, Kluber, Bleier and Ort. Give time to players in Worcester or EVEN BETTER - to young players you acquire for guys mentioned above.
4) Actively try to see if someone will give up good value for Winckowski, Bernardino or Pivetta (teams always seem to pay up for relief pitchers at the deadline), if not though might as well keep Winckowski, even though he's drastically outperforming his FIP.
5) Give as much time as possible to actual young players. Most notably Duran (move Duvall), most likely Abreu or "possibly" Rafaela (move Turner, put Yoshida at DH), most likely Valdez - but I wouldn't be at all opposed to the idea of giving time to Yorke (move Hernandez and Arroyo).
6) Unless you're going to go out and trade for multiple starting pitchers with control through at least next season (highly unlikely), keep Bello, Whitlock, Houck (when he returns) in the rotation no matter what. Crawford you might as well too, but those three specifically.
Edit - being in the bullpen in mostly long relief duty, I forgot about Pivetta even still being on the team, but if you can get value and you're not going to start him, sell him too.
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I voted "About The Same".
The swings in the teams' performance have been tough to watch, but I guess that is what happens with mediocre teams. The defense is the part that kills me. Shortstop right now is like an open wound, and it is hard to see a scenario where the bleeding stops. The throwing errors drive me crazy. Beyond that, this is now 2 years in a row where 1B defense is a big problem. On a given day, there are 3 or 4 guys who could/should be a DH at this point.
I was also thinking about possible trade deadline scenarios. Lets say they do move some of the veterans that are on short deals. Kenley, Chris Martin, Turner, maybe Duvall and Hernandez. Would moving all these guys for prospects make the 2023 team appreciably worse? That I don't know. They have been playing AAA guys almost everyday anyways.
The swings in the teams' performance have been tough to watch, but I guess that is what happens with mediocre teams. The defense is the part that kills me. Shortstop right now is like an open wound, and it is hard to see a scenario where the bleeding stops. The throwing errors drive me crazy. Beyond that, this is now 2 years in a row where 1B defense is a big problem. On a given day, there are 3 or 4 guys who could/should be a DH at this point.
I was also thinking about possible trade deadline scenarios. Lets say they do move some of the veterans that are on short deals. Kenley, Chris Martin, Turner, maybe Duvall and Hernandez. Would moving all these guys for prospects make the 2023 team appreciably worse? That I don't know. They have been playing AAA guys almost everyday anyways.
I thought they'd be a little better. I still think they can be a little better. There is not a fundamental lack of talent here. Defensive sloppiness can be cleaned up, injuries can be recovered from, depth holes can be patched. But at some point, that has to actually, you know, happen.
@Trapaholic - while I get your point about the 3/4 guys at DH, I think they absolutely must leave Casas there. Yes, he is horrible there now. But if one believes that with continued reps and working with coaches at the highest level can help young players improve (which I do), you let him suck there all season long. What has he cost them defensively, maybe a win? So call it 41-40 if he were an average defender, not exactly something that matters in the grand scheme of things IF you can make him into an average defender at 1b for the prime of his career by taking the lumps now in a season that was never built for success in terms of wins and losses.
FWIW, I don't think replacing vets with young players would make them that much worse. Even if it did, at least you'd (ostensibly) be building toward something. Sure, a player could be David Hamilton (hey, he's up to a 4 OPS+ now!), but I think the more likely scenario is something like Valdez that is not as good as league average offensively, but better or comparable to what he'd be replacing (Valdez had an 82 OPS+; Arroyo is at 80, Hernandez is at 69) and somehow worse defensively (Valdez was a -.4 dWAR; Hernandez is -.2; Arroyo is 0.0).
The one place where it would be a predictable regression is likely a move of Paxton (if we assume he stays healthy all year, which I do not, but for purposes of this discussion, lets assume he will be), there is nobody pounding on the door nor any truly high level prospects in AA or AAA for starters. Don't get me wrong, I'd still actively try to move him to see if you can get really good pieces for the future. I'm not certain you would based on his injury history - but you never know.
Edit - The closest deals I can find recently were in 2021 when the Yankees acquired Andrew Heaney from LAA for Jansen Junk (NYY's #27 prospect at the time) and Elvis Peguero. Not exactly comparable because Heaney was pitching horribly at the time (5.27ERA), so you'd probably get something a bit better for Paxton, maybe call it another team's top 10/15 prospect - which is a move I'd totally make if you're talking a good farm system.
2022 had two that I could find, one was probably Syndergaard for Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez (here you might as well just keep Paxton because there isn't someone in Worcester you'd want to see, and even if he does get injured again, it's not like you've given up much future value). The deal of Jose Quintana might be a good comp too, where Pittsburgh added Chris Stratton to get back Johan Oviedo and Malcolm Nunez (and if that was the case, it's a move I think they should make). But those are about the things I think one should expect for Paxton.
At least with the "unknown" there is the chance they could be good. Hernandez absolute suck defensively has been unpredictable, which is hard to blame on anyone but the player, but he's been a terrible offensive player in 4 of the past 5 seasons, so that was expected. Arroyo gets hurt every year, which was totally expected, but his offensive suck this year has been in line with his career norm, but far worse than the last two seasons.
If you move Duvall you'd be replacing him with Duran (better or worse obviously depends on the version of Duvall you're replacing - pre injury or post injury, but let's assume "career level" of Duvall at a 98 OPS+ and I expect a bit more than league average from Duran, so call it a small upgrade), and Turner would be replaced by Yoshida (which would be an upgrade) but of course you'd be looking at lets say Abreu in LF, whom would obviously be a downgrade from Yoshida. That said, it's more a "Yoshida has been really good" comment, becuase Abreu has had a good season at AAA so far, and has actually been pretty consistent home and road (Polar Park is known as a hitter's park) this season. For comparison, Abreu has an .833OPS in Worcester and an .843 OPS on the road; Hamilton had a .965OPS at home and .701 on the road. Abreu also walks more and strikes out less (15.6% and 23.4%) relative to Hamilton (11.8% and 29.4%) for whatever that's worth. Assuming we aren't making a move for a WE GOT HIM?!?! type of corner OF, I'd hope we see a lot of Abreu in Boston in the second half of the season.
Which is why I'd like to see them play some of their actual prospects as opposed to just the stream of AAAA guys that they've amassed. There are "smart" teams that are doing this more and more with young players - and I'm not just talking about the talents like Acuna and Soto of the world. Atlanta has done it with Harris and Grissom, San Francisco is presently doing as such with Matos, Houston is doing it with YDiaz (only 105g at the high minors level) and did it with Tucker. I think the Sox are behind the curve on this, though, but hopefully in the second half of the year they'll give this a chance.
FWIW, I don't think replacing vets with young players would make them that much worse. Even if it did, at least you'd (ostensibly) be building toward something. Sure, a player could be David Hamilton (hey, he's up to a 4 OPS+ now!), but I think the more likely scenario is something like Valdez that is not as good as league average offensively, but better or comparable to what he'd be replacing (Valdez had an 82 OPS+; Arroyo is at 80, Hernandez is at 69) and somehow worse defensively (Valdez was a -.4 dWAR; Hernandez is -.2; Arroyo is 0.0).
The one place where it would be a predictable regression is likely a move of Paxton (if we assume he stays healthy all year, which I do not, but for purposes of this discussion, lets assume he will be), there is nobody pounding on the door nor any truly high level prospects in AA or AAA for starters. Don't get me wrong, I'd still actively try to move him to see if you can get really good pieces for the future. I'm not certain you would based on his injury history - but you never know.
Edit - The closest deals I can find recently were in 2021 when the Yankees acquired Andrew Heaney from LAA for Jansen Junk (NYY's #27 prospect at the time) and Elvis Peguero. Not exactly comparable because Heaney was pitching horribly at the time (5.27ERA), so you'd probably get something a bit better for Paxton, maybe call it another team's top 10/15 prospect - which is a move I'd totally make if you're talking a good farm system.
2022 had two that I could find, one was probably Syndergaard for Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez (here you might as well just keep Paxton because there isn't someone in Worcester you'd want to see, and even if he does get injured again, it's not like you've given up much future value). The deal of Jose Quintana might be a good comp too, where Pittsburgh added Chris Stratton to get back Johan Oviedo and Malcolm Nunez (and if that was the case, it's a move I think they should make). But those are about the things I think one should expect for Paxton.
At least with the "unknown" there is the chance they could be good. Hernandez absolute suck defensively has been unpredictable, which is hard to blame on anyone but the player, but he's been a terrible offensive player in 4 of the past 5 seasons, so that was expected. Arroyo gets hurt every year, which was totally expected, but his offensive suck this year has been in line with his career norm, but far worse than the last two seasons.
If you move Duvall you'd be replacing him with Duran (better or worse obviously depends on the version of Duvall you're replacing - pre injury or post injury, but let's assume "career level" of Duvall at a 98 OPS+ and I expect a bit more than league average from Duran, so call it a small upgrade), and Turner would be replaced by Yoshida (which would be an upgrade) but of course you'd be looking at lets say Abreu in LF, whom would obviously be a downgrade from Yoshida. That said, it's more a "Yoshida has been really good" comment, becuase Abreu has had a good season at AAA so far, and has actually been pretty consistent home and road (Polar Park is known as a hitter's park) this season. For comparison, Abreu has an .833OPS in Worcester and an .843 OPS on the road; Hamilton had a .965OPS at home and .701 on the road. Abreu also walks more and strikes out less (15.6% and 23.4%) relative to Hamilton (11.8% and 29.4%) for whatever that's worth. Assuming we aren't making a move for a WE GOT HIM?!?! type of corner OF, I'd hope we see a lot of Abreu in Boston in the second half of the season.
Which is why I'd like to see them play some of their actual prospects as opposed to just the stream of AAAA guys that they've amassed. There are "smart" teams that are doing this more and more with young players - and I'm not just talking about the talents like Acuna and Soto of the world. Atlanta has done it with Harris and Grissom, San Francisco is presently doing as such with Matos, Houston is doing it with YDiaz (only 105g at the high minors level) and did it with Tucker. I think the Sox are behind the curve on this, though, but hopefully in the second half of the year they'll give this a chance.
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Their record is about what I expected.... but at the same time, I think they're a better team than last year's team. And I think that IF they can get/stay fully healthy and all the key players back (Story, Sale, Houck) they could actually win a first round playoff matchup and possibly make the 2nd round interesting. I had 84 wins and think they're still good for that, but not sure if it'll be good enough to sneak in
I thought that they had a much better chance of losing 100 games this year than winning 80, so a game under .500 at the midway point is way better than I expected.
Somewhere between "a bit" and "significantly" below expectations. They're at 40-41. I think 44-37 would be more in line with what I had expected.
SP:
The Sale and Houck injuries blow, and Kluber and Pivetta imploded. 4 of the 5 key starters going down or flaming out is a bit mutch.
That said, some slack has been taken up by Paxton, who I thought of as sort of a 50-50 push with Sale for health, and Bello, Houck, and Whitlock have been making some progress as starters
On balance, this is area most off from what I expected, since I had thoughtKluber and Pivetta would provide a league-average-ish block of starts for 2 of the 5 spots. That left 3 spots for Sale/Paxton, Houck, Whitlock, Bello, Crawford, and Winckowski. With some AAA depth. We're now at Paxton, Bello, Whitlock, Crawford, and ?.
Batting/Relief:
The offense, while streakier than I thought, has been very decent overall and so in line with expectations. (Top 4 in runs scored.)
The bullpen has also been about what I expected behind Jansen/Martin (subbing some ineffective pitchers for some surprises - but that's the way it goes.)
MiL/rookies:
The MiL influx has been uneven but about what I expected on average. Slow start for Casas, but getting better, and Duran was surprisingly great when called up. Valdez (age 24) and Hamilton were adequate emergency call-ups who need a bit more AAA time.
Conversely, the AAA pitching depth just sort of crumbled, although Murphy is magically better in his ML SSS.
Management:
About what I expected. This is not a crisp team.
SP:
The Sale and Houck injuries blow, and Kluber and Pivetta imploded. 4 of the 5 key starters going down or flaming out is a bit mutch.
That said, some slack has been taken up by Paxton, who I thought of as sort of a 50-50 push with Sale for health, and Bello, Houck, and Whitlock have been making some progress as starters
On balance, this is area most off from what I expected, since I had thought
Batting/Relief:
The offense, while streakier than I thought, has been very decent overall and so in line with expectations. (Top 4 in runs scored.)
The bullpen has also been about what I expected behind Jansen/Martin (subbing some ineffective pitchers for some surprises - but that's the way it goes.)
MiL/rookies:
The MiL influx has been uneven but about what I expected on average. Slow start for Casas, but getting better, and Duran was surprisingly great when called up. Valdez (age 24) and Hamilton were adequate emergency call-ups who need a bit more AAA time.
Conversely, the AAA pitching depth just sort of crumbled, although Murphy is magically better in his ML SSS.
Management:
About what I expected. This is not a crisp team.
Pretty much what I expected from the start of the season. A very good offense — despite all the Eric Vanning on the board — combined with below average starting pitching makes for a team that lives or dies by its offense. Bullpen is fine.
I’m a bit more optimistic on the starting pitching moving forward — Bello, Paxton make for a good 1-2 punch which we haven’t had in forever. I think houck and Whitlock are better served as ace mid-relievers but we have little to no starting pitching so…
I’m a bit more optimistic on the starting pitching moving forward — Bello, Paxton make for a good 1-2 punch which we haven’t had in forever. I think houck and Whitlock are better served as ace mid-relievers but we have little to no starting pitching so…
I voted a little worse, as I had hoped this was an 84-88 win team that might be able to pull things together and squeak into the playoffs. I am quite pleased that Yoshida is in fact the player we thought he could be, and I love seeing the growth of Bello, Duran, Dugie, and Wong. Like everyone else it has been the defense and starting pitching that make this team such a disappointment. I'm often wrapping things up around the house at 7, so I don't always tune in until more like 7:30, and this season is beginning to remind me of 2020 where I would turn on NESN, see we are down 3-0 in the second inning and just turn it off. Between the All-Star Break, a couple of travel days, and some west coast games, I could easily get out of the habit of watching the team in July unless there are some player moves that give me a reason to keep tuning in.
Good time for a new thread. They're about what I expected, which is a bummer. Someone in another thread that I've been unable to dig up mentioned after the Yankees series a couple different outcomes in terms of taking some series between now and the trade deadline. Well, we only split the Twins, bombed against the White Sox, and are on the verge of being swept by the Marlins.
Blue Jays could easily put up a good fight, and you'd expect Texas to do the same. Could easily see them going 2-5 in the next 7 games, but let's say 3-4 happens, and then they sweep the A's. That gets the Sox to... 46-45, with 71 games to go. They could have another hot streak, but I just don't see it likely that they climb much above .500 any time soon.
Again, that's about what I expected, but it's a bummer. Yeah, there are a few bright spots, particularly Bello and Verdugo among numerous others people have mentioned. But the braindead plays and awful defense really turns me off, and even though they'd be leading in the AL Central, I just don't see any path to this team making any noise in the postseason, even if they do sneak in with a wildcard. The injuries sure haven't helped, either, but I just do not feel like this team is set up to go anywhere this year. As for the future, well, there are tons of threads about that already
Blue Jays could easily put up a good fight, and you'd expect Texas to do the same. Could easily see them going 2-5 in the next 7 games, but let's say 3-4 happens, and then they sweep the A's. That gets the Sox to... 46-45, with 71 games to go. They could have another hot streak, but I just don't see it likely that they climb much above .500 any time soon.
Again, that's about what I expected, but it's a bummer. Yeah, there are a few bright spots, particularly Bello and Verdugo among numerous others people have mentioned. But the braindead plays and awful defense really turns me off, and even though they'd be leading in the AL Central, I just don't see any path to this team making any noise in the postseason, even if they do sneak in with a wildcard. The injuries sure haven't helped, either, but I just do not feel like this team is set up to go anywhere this year. As for the future, well, there are tons of threads about that already
I went a little worse. The offense has disappeared for long stretches so many times, that was definitely unexpected. The defense was never going to be good but it's atrocious at multiple spots (looking at you, Casas).
Obviously injuries completely destroyed shortstop, but they went in ill-prepared for the spot and are getting what they deserve there. I have no sympathy for Chang's hamate fracture, etc. when they went in relying on Story's elbow to be OK, which it wasn't before 2023 technically rolled around.
The good news is their long-term acquisitions this offseason, Yoshida, looks like a real asset for the next window. Raffy should bounce back towards his 900 OPS self instead of 800 and actually has been better than expected on D - maybe a cornerstone player after all (and, well, he needs to play like a franchise player now with that contratc).
Obviously injuries completely destroyed shortstop, but they went in ill-prepared for the spot and are getting what they deserve there. I have no sympathy for Chang's hamate fracture, etc. when they went in relying on Story's elbow to be OK, which it wasn't before 2023 technically rolled around.
The good news is their long-term acquisitions this offseason, Yoshida, looks like a real asset for the next window. Raffy should bounce back towards his 900 OPS self instead of 800 and actually has been better than expected on D - maybe a cornerstone player after all (and, well, he needs to play like a franchise player now with that contratc).
They've probably been better than I expected, the pitching especially. I figured we'd never see Paxton actually take the mound for one thing. The offense has been disappointing, especially Devers, and the defense is atrocious. I do think we're in for another grind of a second half like we had last year as injuries pile up, maybe we trade off some assets, players realize the team isn't really going anywhere.
I thought this team might shoot for ~85 wins, and while that's still possible, some things have to break right.
Offense is about what I expected: well above average. Defense up the middle and at first has been bad. Could not and did not foresee Chang going down and Mondesi not coming back and Reyes going down and Hernandez being such a disaster at SS. I didn't realize he had six total errors at SS prior to this season... in which he has fourteen. His last throwing error at SS before the 12 this year was in 2015! Crazy. Did not foresee Casas being a bit of a butcher at first, either. Hoped to see some of Valdez in the bigs, but once I saw him play 2B, I quickly revised that desire. 6 errors in 244 innings is scary stuff.
I was optimistic that Sale and Paxton might be able to stay healthy. We know how that's worked out. Hopefully the former can come back in August and makes 8 or 9 more starts, and Paxton stays healthy, but I was probably wrong to think we could rely on them to stay on the mound (SP is of course always volatile). Otherwise the rotation has been a bit worse than I expected. Sale, Paxton, Bello, Whitlock and Houck all have xFIPs below 4, and I think there's reason to be optimistic they'll be better in the second half if they can get on the mound.
If this team is to reach 85 wins or more, I think they need Sale to come back healthy. They also need Story to come back to play SS and be good at it. If he's not back to play SS, or not back until September, then the SPs will continue to suffer for a long time (Yu Chang might provide some relief there, he's due to start a minor league assignment some time this wek). Having story even at his 100 OPS+ self will clear up the black hole SS has been would be great as well. The SP might be better with a better infield defense behind them too.
Offense is about what I expected: well above average. Defense up the middle and at first has been bad. Could not and did not foresee Chang going down and Mondesi not coming back and Reyes going down and Hernandez being such a disaster at SS. I didn't realize he had six total errors at SS prior to this season... in which he has fourteen. His last throwing error at SS before the 12 this year was in 2015! Crazy. Did not foresee Casas being a bit of a butcher at first, either. Hoped to see some of Valdez in the bigs, but once I saw him play 2B, I quickly revised that desire. 6 errors in 244 innings is scary stuff.
I was optimistic that Sale and Paxton might be able to stay healthy. We know how that's worked out. Hopefully the former can come back in August and makes 8 or 9 more starts, and Paxton stays healthy, but I was probably wrong to think we could rely on them to stay on the mound (SP is of course always volatile). Otherwise the rotation has been a bit worse than I expected. Sale, Paxton, Bello, Whitlock and Houck all have xFIPs below 4, and I think there's reason to be optimistic they'll be better in the second half if they can get on the mound.
If this team is to reach 85 wins or more, I think they need Sale to come back healthy. They also need Story to come back to play SS and be good at it. If he's not back to play SS, or not back until September, then the SPs will continue to suffer for a long time (Yu Chang might provide some relief there, he's due to start a minor league assignment some time this wek). Having story even at his 100 OPS+ self will clear up the black hole SS has been would be great as well. The SP might be better with a better infield defense behind them too.
I'm ready for Chang to play SS before Story gets back and stand at the plate like Rudy Stein if his wrist is still too sore to swing.
I'm not in complete disagreement here, but Martin, Bernardino and Winckowski have all been contributors this season and are back next season. I appreciate that adds to their value, but are we looking to rebuild the pen yet again? Especially in a season that we are hoping see a good amount of growth?
A little worse. Blergh. Thought we could be a few games over .500 of things broke right. They haven’t. I think people overrate the youth contribution. Bello is the only guy to be truly excited about, IMHO. The rest range from OK (with potential) to disappointing. I was hoping for more.
Really hope this team has a strong 2 weeks of play in them between now and the trade deadline. Or else the last third of the season is going to be totally meaningless.
I’m not entirely surprised, but I’m disappointed. Far too many mediocre seasons post 2018.
Really hope this team has a strong 2 weeks of play in them between now and the trade deadline. Or else the last third of the season is going to be totally meaningless.
I’m not entirely surprised, but I’m disappointed. Far too many mediocre seasons post 2018.
Seriously. Wouldn't be much worse than the abysmal plate appearances we've been getting from Hernandez and the Blizzard, who swings like he's been blinded by a uh blizzard.
The (large) variable was SP health and that broke in the same way that the most pessimistic were correct. However, the team picked it up elsewhere. I think that there has been fundamentally an issue with the players playing cohesively and crisply. The good news is that it's something that can be "fixed". It remains to be seen if it will. I'd like to see how Cora handles the rest of the year. it's not all his fault, but it does seem to be the one item that the answer should come from. At least before you go start making other wholesale changes which are a bit harder to pivot on (roster being the primary one of course).
This team could absolutely make the playoffs, or it could finish in last. It's going to be a fun second half.
This team could absolutely make the playoffs, or it could finish in last. It's going to be a fun second half.
I had them at 73 wins, because I expected, and still expect, Bloom to be a major seller during the deadline.
To echo BPMS, it's time to go into sell mode if they are still in 5th place by the ASB. I know they're technically in the race, but let's be honest: with about a third of the league making the postseason (even if a few don't get to stay very long), it's not that hard to be the shits and still be in it, especially when both central divisions are dreck that will yield two playoff teams.
If they don't, it'll be because ownership wants to hope that a playoff chase will bring more money in over the summer rather than running up the white flag for all to see and to decide to make other plans. Portland and Worcester are both close by, as are the independent ball teams, if anyone wants to get the ballpark experience for much less and actually enjoy watching the games.
As it stands right now, they are an injury or two away from effectively being a AAA team, including former studs now playing out the string. Just rip the bandage off and ignore the casuals who then scream and cry about the team being a disgrace and the sportswriters who make the inevitable comparisons to the Yankees - tHeY jUsT tHrEw a PeRfEcT gAmE aGaInSt ThE tEaM tHe SoX cOuLdN't BeAt! - and just make the second half all about getting the new talent over, as they say in the wrestling business. Try again next year.
If they don't, it'll be because ownership wants to hope that a playoff chase will bring more money in over the summer rather than running up the white flag for all to see and to decide to make other plans. Portland and Worcester are both close by, as are the independent ball teams, if anyone wants to get the ballpark experience for much less and actually enjoy watching the games.
As it stands right now, they are an injury or two away from effectively being a AAA team, including former studs now playing out the string. Just rip the bandage off and ignore the casuals who then scream and cry about the team being a disgrace and the sportswriters who make the inevitable comparisons to the Yankees - tHeY jUsT tHrEw a PeRfEcT gAmE aGaInSt ThE tEaM tHe SoX cOuLdN't BeAt! - and just make the second half all about getting the new talent over, as they say in the wrestling business. Try again next year.
Agree with this wholeheartedly — this is a fun high variance team to watch and see if they grow.
As others noted, the Red Sox are averaging nearly 5 runs per game ( good for 4th in AL ) and hover around the top third for wRC+ — they’ve had up’s and downs for sure — Devers aside, how has the collective offense been disappointing?
yeah the defense looks undisciplined, I do wonder how much that has to do with shift restrictions and whether that may be a league-wide trend.
I voted a little worse than I expected (I know, I know).
I was hoping for them to be right about where they are with a chance to go on a run in the 2nd half and give us some fun, meaningful baseball down the stretch. They can still do that, but the bad parts have been so epically bad that it's hard not to just expect it at this point.
There are reasons for hope. Verdugo breaking through, Casas and Duran both improving, Wong's defense, Bello, etc, but the cavalcade of suck that has been the infield defense has sapped a lot of the energy and joy out of what could otherwise be a promising season. It's hard to trust the team with a lead, or to come from behind, when a routine ground ball could lead to 3 runs at any given time.
I really hope they figure it out, or Story comes back and shores up the defense. I would love to see what this team could do with Mondesi and Story up the middle (and if Mondesi misses the whole year would not be opposed to seeing him signed to another one year deal next year, assuming there is a path to any kind of help). I just want to see them relevant in the late stages of the season. There's too many players I enjoy watching for them to not be.
I was hoping for them to be right about where they are with a chance to go on a run in the 2nd half and give us some fun, meaningful baseball down the stretch. They can still do that, but the bad parts have been so epically bad that it's hard not to just expect it at this point.
There are reasons for hope. Verdugo breaking through, Casas and Duran both improving, Wong's defense, Bello, etc, but the cavalcade of suck that has been the infield defense has sapped a lot of the energy and joy out of what could otherwise be a promising season. It's hard to trust the team with a lead, or to come from behind, when a routine ground ball could lead to 3 runs at any given time.
I really hope they figure it out, or Story comes back and shores up the defense. I would love to see what this team could do with Mondesi and Story up the middle (and if Mondesi misses the whole year would not be opposed to seeing him signed to another one year deal next year, assuming there is a path to any kind of help). I just want to see them relevant in the late stages of the season. There's too many players I enjoy watching for them to not be.
Have you watched the team this month? Other then clobbering the MFYs, they're scoring a handful of runs a game most of the time.
About the same. I am inclined to chalk it up to injuries more than anything else. The team had plenty of guys, but from day 1 the middle of the defense has been wracked by injuries, and the rotation too. They held it together as long as possible but we can see the strain now and they are kind of falling apart. It's so fucking frustrating. I think it explains a lot of the hitting slumps too -- Wong hasn't done much lately, probably because he could really use a rest, but of course McGuire is now out. There's a scenario where they get everyone going in July, although it sounds more like August for the rotation, which itself is just kinda sorta holding it together. The long term stuff seems positive at least.
I don't think it's got anything to do with the shift, I think it's more the quality of the players. The one surprise is how awful Hernandez has been at shortstop.
The big disappointment for me has been Casas. He's been hitting fine since the awful April and I think he will have a good career at the plate, but he looks stunningly unathletic for a baseball player. It's one thing to have no running speed--tons of Sox players have had that over the years--but his movement is just not fluid at all. It's like he's the Tin Man before they loosened him up with the oil can.
Devers is inconsistent as he's been throughout his career, and Valdez and Hamilton have always been projected to be below-average defenders, as shown on the scouting reports on Sox Prospects.
Man, one word I wouldn’t use to describe this team is “fun”. They’ve had a few good runs, but when they’re off they are maddening.
In fairness, so was the 2004 team. That team pissed me off more than no other until they figured it out.
But this team? Meh. There are some fun elements for me, notably Yoshida and Bello’s rapid development, but the roster itself and the style of play just isn’t very exciting to me.
Mango has an immutable belief that all relievers except closers are basically fungible. So it makes sense from his worldview to trade every reliever except Jansen.
That being said, in the world where we don't go on a tear prior to the deadline, I would definitely trade Bernardino if someone wants him. What he's doing likely isn't going to be consistent & replicable & if someone values him enough to give a real asset for a guy we picked up off waivers, that's fine.
Winckowski I have cautioned on for a while when people were talking about him as a high leverage reliever because he does not have high leverage reliever stuff. Probably a bit late to sell high on him now, but I would listen if someone is enamored.
Personally, I would also trade Pivetta if someone thinks this is real & he can be a starter again or a high leverage reliever.
& I would trade Jansen if the package is right. We'll have plenty of money to throw at another closer next year if that's the route we choose to take. We could even eat some of Kenley's salary if it helps improve the prospect return.
I would not trade Martin unless the trade package was much larger than I would expect it to be, though. Would rather extend him even further if the price is right.
In terms of the actual question...I guess about 2 games worse than what I would expect. Am a bit disappointed & concerned about some things & feel like there's a dark cloud hanging over the team I would like to remove. It almost feels like they're making conscientious choices to do a bit worse to make the PR easier when they sell at the deadline? Idk, probably just a dumb thought.
The guys in the minors are a ton of fun to watch & follow at least & I'm excited about that, & the $80m or so they can spend this off season, & some of the guys are fun to watch, especially Bello.
Yes. I was at the twins game on Tuesday, where they scored in the double digits as well.
Over the past 30 days they scored 124 runs in 28 games. In June they’ve scored 4 or more runs in 12/26 games ( 3/6 against the Yankees ).
Again, what exactly is disappointing about the offense? I think this is a view that stems from optimistic expectations due to consistent high performance offenses year on year.
In other words, if you’re disappointed because you expected the Red Sox to score at least 4 runs a game — then yeah that makes sense.
Fair! I get it if people dig watching the inexperienced guys develop. I’m enjoying the hell outta Bello. But most everyone else frustrates me more than entertains me.
And it’s not that I’m against watching guys develop. I really enjoyed the tail end of the 2015 season when it was Betts, Bogaerts and JBJ on the rise. This year doesn’t have that feel at all to me. But that’s just me.
I don’t think using June as a basis for evaluating midsession baseball offense is legitimate to begin with, it’s an Eric Van-esque approach. My point was that the offense wasn’t just bunching runs in June against the Yankees.
If you’re expecting 2004 level offense, then no it’s bad. However, disappointing is a very subjective evaluation that depends on one’s initial evaluation as well as the present. A top 10 offense can be seen as disappointing if one regularly expects a top 5 offense.
But to turn this back to the OP is that the dividing line between clobbering the Yankees and the offense being disappointing?
The 2015 team was 35-43 on June 29th on their way to a 74 win season.
You mentioned Bello, but watching Verdugo and Duran this year has been a treat, Casas is rounding into form offensively (man, do I hope his defense improves, though), Yoshida is a ton of fun (though older for sure), Winckowski has been largely very fun, and while Houck and Whitlock have been a mixed bag, they have shown flashes of something to dream on, as well.
Meanwhile, there is a crop of players tearing up the mid-minors, and as unlikely as it is that all of them pan out, it is just as likely that a few of them will.
Again, I am disappointed by the way this season has gone so far, but there is plenty about this team that is still there to be enjoyed, if you are willing.
124 / 28 = 4.42
273 / 53 = 5.15
Their offense is down 14% in June compared to April and May, at the time of year when offense should be at its peak from a weather perspective.
The A's have scored 3 runs or fewer 15 times this month. The Sox have done it 14 times. The A's have the worst offense in baseball and are historically bad. I will let you draw your own conclusions.
273 / 53 = 5.15
Their offense is down 14% in June compared to April and May, at the time of year when offense should be at its peak from a weather perspective.
The A's have scored 3 runs or fewer 15 times this month. The Sox have done it 14 times. The A's have the worst offense in baseball and are historically bad. I will let you draw your own conclusions.
Thanks for letting us do that. I'll conclude that the offense has been pretty much exactly average this month.
It's been a disappointing month, but on the whole it's a top five offense. I expect it to be going forward, no matter how much June has disappointed folks.
To your question @YTF and to @JM3 point, I could probably be a bit more clear. It's not that I think ALL non-closers are totally fungible, I think that the vast majority of bullpen pieces we've had or acquired the past several seasons are totally fungible. In short, if someone is a relief pitcher but not a bona fide closer, 28 or over, and doesn't have a track record of dominance in the 'pen, I think they're totally fungible on a rebuilding team that isn't put together to contend for a title in that season.
Spend on a team the way we have for pretty much the entire Henry era up until 2020 and I'd totally get spending on the 'pen too. I don't think anyone would argue we're spending to try and win a title right now (nor do I think that is the plan, to be clear). But if you're going to try and use some manner of fiscal prudence (which I don't entirely disagree with) then spend money on places with a more predictable stream of return than the bullpen. To be clear, I'm not trying to say "oh, their cheap", I'm saying I don't think they're spending their money wisely - much different argument.
But it's why I was strongly advocating (using Baseball Trade Values) trading something like Shcrieber and Duran for HS Kim (not that I thought SD would ever do it, but the numbers matched up) but also said there was no way I'd trade Houck for HS Kim (due to years of control for each).
In long -
If Whitlock or Houck were pitching out of the bullpen, I wouldn't so cavalier about them, nor would I be advocating to trade them. I want to make that crystal clear.
I'm very intrigued by Murphy (SSS alert) with his 4.0 k to bb ratio and I want to see a heck of a lot more of him the rest of the way to see if he can be a shut down relief pitcher. I feel mostly the same way about Crawford as a relief pitcher (though I totally support trying him in the rotation right now). I certainly am not suggesting to move either of those players, and I certainly wouldn't be advocating moving someone in their early 20s and pitching like Daniel Bard in 2009 or even Manny Delcarmen in 2005.
I also don't want to just get rid of those guys for nothing (as mentioned), especially Winckowski because at least he is dirt cheap, but if you can get real value for any of Martin (because I don't think the Sox are going to be good next year either based on what I perceive "the plan" to be) or Winckowski (because he is out-performing his FIP by a run and a half and only has a 6.4 k/9 ratio), I'd certainly do it. If someone offered you stupid value for Kenley, I'd take that too, but I wouldn't be actively soliciting trade offers the way I would for Martin (or Winckowski, but again, he'd be tougher for me to move).
Because I do think that the Chris Martin's of the world have a lot more value on a contending team than on this team, and I really hope that Bloom is actively trying to see if that is the case. If he now goes and moves Martin for "Ben Brown", I'll applaud him for spending $13.75m (see below) to get a really good prospect and call that a clear win for Bloom where I was wrong - but I think you need to make the trade to actually capitalize on that value.
However, generally speaking, I think spending any money on old, non-dominant, non-closers when the rest of your team is put together to be "meh" is just flushing away money that could be used elsewhere because you can probably get the same from guys off the scrap heap or any youngish "failed" SP in the minors.
I think this season has added more fuel to my fire:
$6.75m for Martin, $3m for Bleier (or Barnes because I think extending him was a mistake too), $2m for Rodriguez, $2m for Brasier or $13.75m in total for .4 bWAR combined (adding in Jansen, whom I like the idea of having an established closer; makes it $29.75m for 1.1 bWAR).
vs $725k for Winckowski, $570k for Beranrdino, $725k for Crawford (I'm assuming most of his WAR is from use in the 'pen), $400k for Murphy, $535k for Garza, $545k for Ort and $440k for Jacques or $3.94m for 2.4 bWAR.
*I know I did 4 (or 5, counting Jansen) for one side and 7 for the other, but I felt it disingenuous NOT to count the three guys whom have been dirt cheap and sucked.
Spend on a team the way we have for pretty much the entire Henry era up until 2020 and I'd totally get spending on the 'pen too. I don't think anyone would argue we're spending to try and win a title right now (nor do I think that is the plan, to be clear). But if you're going to try and use some manner of fiscal prudence (which I don't entirely disagree with) then spend money on places with a more predictable stream of return than the bullpen. To be clear, I'm not trying to say "oh, their cheap", I'm saying I don't think they're spending their money wisely - much different argument.
But it's why I was strongly advocating (using Baseball Trade Values) trading something like Shcrieber and Duran for HS Kim (not that I thought SD would ever do it, but the numbers matched up) but also said there was no way I'd trade Houck for HS Kim (due to years of control for each).
In long -
If Whitlock or Houck were pitching out of the bullpen, I wouldn't so cavalier about them, nor would I be advocating to trade them. I want to make that crystal clear.
I'm very intrigued by Murphy (SSS alert) with his 4.0 k to bb ratio and I want to see a heck of a lot more of him the rest of the way to see if he can be a shut down relief pitcher. I feel mostly the same way about Crawford as a relief pitcher (though I totally support trying him in the rotation right now). I certainly am not suggesting to move either of those players, and I certainly wouldn't be advocating moving someone in their early 20s and pitching like Daniel Bard in 2009 or even Manny Delcarmen in 2005.
I also don't want to just get rid of those guys for nothing (as mentioned), especially Winckowski because at least he is dirt cheap, but if you can get real value for any of Martin (because I don't think the Sox are going to be good next year either based on what I perceive "the plan" to be) or Winckowski (because he is out-performing his FIP by a run and a half and only has a 6.4 k/9 ratio), I'd certainly do it. If someone offered you stupid value for Kenley, I'd take that too, but I wouldn't be actively soliciting trade offers the way I would for Martin (or Winckowski, but again, he'd be tougher for me to move).
Because I do think that the Chris Martin's of the world have a lot more value on a contending team than on this team, and I really hope that Bloom is actively trying to see if that is the case. If he now goes and moves Martin for "Ben Brown", I'll applaud him for spending $13.75m (see below) to get a really good prospect and call that a clear win for Bloom where I was wrong - but I think you need to make the trade to actually capitalize on that value.
However, generally speaking, I think spending any money on old, non-dominant, non-closers when the rest of your team is put together to be "meh" is just flushing away money that could be used elsewhere because you can probably get the same from guys off the scrap heap or any youngish "failed" SP in the minors.
I think this season has added more fuel to my fire:
$6.75m for Martin, $3m for Bleier (or Barnes because I think extending him was a mistake too), $2m for Rodriguez, $2m for Brasier or $13.75m in total for .4 bWAR combined (adding in Jansen, whom I like the idea of having an established closer; makes it $29.75m for 1.1 bWAR).
vs $725k for Winckowski, $570k for Beranrdino, $725k for Crawford (I'm assuming most of his WAR is from use in the 'pen), $400k for Murphy, $535k for Garza, $545k for Ort and $440k for Jacques or $3.94m for 2.4 bWAR.
*I know I did 4 (or 5, counting Jansen) for one side and 7 for the other, but I felt it disingenuous NOT to count the three guys whom have been dirt cheap and sucked.
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I was curious so I looked this up also - in the last 30 games they've allowed 3 or fewer runs in 11 out of 30 games. Of course, a lot of this is entangled in managerial decisions - whether to punt a game or not.
More interestingly, in the last 30 games, they're 4-6 in games decided by one run. (On the season the record for 1 run games is 8-14.)
On travel days (meaning the game prior to beginning a new series elsewhere) they are: 9-11.
But don't worry, you just have to win series, not individual games, and not get hung up on trying to nail down a winnable game by doing something exceptionally ridiculous like PHing someone on their off-day, and Alex will get them hot sometime soon, and like, hey, starting Bobby Dalbec at short is kinda fun, right?
Series Lost: 11. Series Won: 13. (plus some splits)
So we're winning, per Cora's strategy.
B-R shows the Red Sox with 397 runs scored in 81 games, 4.90 runs per game. That's 9th overall in baseball.
They've scored 283 runs in the 40 games they've won, and 114 in the 41 games they've lost.
That's 7.08 runs per game in wins, and 2.78 runs per game in losses. Obviously every team scores way more runs per game in wins than losses. So I looked a few other teams to see how that compares.
(I couldn't find any way to quickly get this info, so I did all this by manually entering numbers into a calculator and then writing more numbers down on a note pad, then typing them here, so apologies for any errors.)
BOS: 7.08 in wins, 2.78 in losses. Difference: 4.3
TB: 6.71, 3.18, diff: 3.53
StL: 6.90, 2.98, diff: 3.92
Atl: 6.85, 2.89, diff: 3.96
Oak.: 6.05, 2.54, diff: 3.51
MIN: 6.12, 2.33, diff: 3.79
Bal: 6.10, 3.06, diff: 3.04
NYY: 5.91, 2.53, diff: 3.38
Tor: 5.55, 3.32, diff: 2.23
Tex: 7.92, 2.90, diff: 5.02
SD: 6.65, 2.19, diff: 4.46
NYM: 5.86, 3.34, diff: 2.52
(If anyone wants to do the rest of the teams or kind find a site where this is ranked, please do.)
So far it seems like the Red Sox offense has scored more runs than usual in wins and fewer runs than usual in losses. It looks like they tend to pile on the runs when they win, more than most other teams.
The last 14 games illustrate this. The Sox have gone 7-7, scoring 53 runs in the 7 wins (7.57) and 18 runs in the 7 losses (2.57).
In the home series against the Yankees, the Red Sox hit really well with RISP. Since then they haven't. It seems like when the offense consistently puts up good at-bats, laying off pitches they can't hammer, especially with runners in scoring position, they are really good and can make up for the lousy defense and the frequently mediocre pitching. When they don't, the rest of the team isn't good enough to make up for it and they don't have much chance to win.
Also, the offense has been getting worse as the season goes along, despite the many runs scored against NYY earlier this month.
March-April: .769 OPS, 111 OPS+
May: .766 OPS, 109 OPS+
June: .723 OPS, 99 OPS+
The 2 positions doing the worst offensively are SS (.614 OPS!) and second base (.662 OPS).
Those 2 spots have been bad defensively too (bad defense at 2B was mostly Valdez and a terrible series against NY from Arroyo who otherwise has been solid) and have really dragged the whole team down.
When Reyes and Chang were playing SS, they were solid defensively, and Reyes even hit a little bit. With both of them out injured, the SS position has completely cratered.
It's pretty revealing that 2 guys off the scrap heap like Reyes and Chang stood out on this team just by being solid defensively and overall fundamentally sound players. (Reyes even hit a little bit, which probably wasn't sustainable but was still really helpful.) Kike has been terrible in every aspect and Hamilton doesn't look ready, which combines to be a really big problem.
Chang is supposed to start another rehab assignment this weekend, so if he doesn't have another setback maybe he could be back next week. I haven't seen any word on Reyes.
So no help is coming for that black hole position this weekend, and probably longer. The latest on Story was that he is hoping to be back in August. Till then we are kind of in no-man's land for shortstops. I can see why they wouldn't want to give up anything for a SS now when both Chang and Reyes could be back in a week or so, and Story could to be close to coming back in only a little over a month.
But I think they need to change up something. Either dumpster dive again to find a solid defensive SS for a little while, or maybe try Arroyo at SS and Hamilton/Kike at 2B for the next week or so. That sounds like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but it's getting late early and some urgency might be helpful.
The next 7 games are against Miami, Toronto, and Texas. With only 4 starting pitchers on the team, a streaky offense and a terrible defense, this next week is looking like it could be very ugly.
B-R only shows us with a 5.9% chance of making the postseason now, and another bad week could sink the season.
They've scored 283 runs in the 40 games they've won, and 114 in the 41 games they've lost.
That's 7.08 runs per game in wins, and 2.78 runs per game in losses. Obviously every team scores way more runs per game in wins than losses. So I looked a few other teams to see how that compares.
(I couldn't find any way to quickly get this info, so I did all this by manually entering numbers into a calculator and then writing more numbers down on a note pad, then typing them here, so apologies for any errors.)
BOS: 7.08 in wins, 2.78 in losses. Difference: 4.3
TB: 6.71, 3.18, diff: 3.53
StL: 6.90, 2.98, diff: 3.92
Atl: 6.85, 2.89, diff: 3.96
Oak.: 6.05, 2.54, diff: 3.51
MIN: 6.12, 2.33, diff: 3.79
Bal: 6.10, 3.06, diff: 3.04
NYY: 5.91, 2.53, diff: 3.38
Tor: 5.55, 3.32, diff: 2.23
Tex: 7.92, 2.90, diff: 5.02
SD: 6.65, 2.19, diff: 4.46
NYM: 5.86, 3.34, diff: 2.52
(If anyone wants to do the rest of the teams or kind find a site where this is ranked, please do.)
So far it seems like the Red Sox offense has scored more runs than usual in wins and fewer runs than usual in losses. It looks like they tend to pile on the runs when they win, more than most other teams.
The last 14 games illustrate this. The Sox have gone 7-7, scoring 53 runs in the 7 wins (7.57) and 18 runs in the 7 losses (2.57).
In the home series against the Yankees, the Red Sox hit really well with RISP. Since then they haven't. It seems like when the offense consistently puts up good at-bats, laying off pitches they can't hammer, especially with runners in scoring position, they are really good and can make up for the lousy defense and the frequently mediocre pitching. When they don't, the rest of the team isn't good enough to make up for it and they don't have much chance to win.
Also, the offense has been getting worse as the season goes along, despite the many runs scored against NYY earlier this month.
March-April: .769 OPS, 111 OPS+
May: .766 OPS, 109 OPS+
June: .723 OPS, 99 OPS+
The 2 positions doing the worst offensively are SS (.614 OPS!) and second base (.662 OPS).
Those 2 spots have been bad defensively too (bad defense at 2B was mostly Valdez and a terrible series against NY from Arroyo who otherwise has been solid) and have really dragged the whole team down.
When Reyes and Chang were playing SS, they were solid defensively, and Reyes even hit a little bit. With both of them out injured, the SS position has completely cratered.
It's pretty revealing that 2 guys off the scrap heap like Reyes and Chang stood out on this team just by being solid defensively and overall fundamentally sound players. (Reyes even hit a little bit, which probably wasn't sustainable but was still really helpful.) Kike has been terrible in every aspect and Hamilton doesn't look ready, which combines to be a really big problem.
Chang is supposed to start another rehab assignment this weekend, so if he doesn't have another setback maybe he could be back next week. I haven't seen any word on Reyes.
So no help is coming for that black hole position this weekend, and probably longer. The latest on Story was that he is hoping to be back in August. Till then we are kind of in no-man's land for shortstops. I can see why they wouldn't want to give up anything for a SS now when both Chang and Reyes could be back in a week or so, and Story could to be close to coming back in only a little over a month.
But I think they need to change up something. Either dumpster dive again to find a solid defensive SS for a little while, or maybe try Arroyo at SS and Hamilton/Kike at 2B for the next week or so. That sounds like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but it's getting late early and some urgency might be helpful.
The next 7 games are against Miami, Toronto, and Texas. With only 4 starting pitchers on the team, a streaky offense and a terrible defense, this next week is looking like it could be very ugly.
B-R only shows us with a 5.9% chance of making the postseason now, and another bad week could sink the season.