Frank Coztansa wrote:
Sox split a doubleheader on Thursday and scored a grand total of 4 runs.
Sox played 27 innings in Philly this past weekend, and scored in two of those innings. In 19 of those innings, they did not get a hit.
Pound the under until they prove they can score otherwise.
MLB needs a salary cap and salary floor, but even with that the Sox would still be bad.
They have all but guaranteed outs at several positions on most days.
C (Maldonado), 1B (Vaughn), 2B (Lopez), SS (Shewmake, DeJong), 3B (all of the above) and LF (Benintendi).
Their best hitters are Gavin Sheets, Eloy Jimenez with some occasional competent moments from Dominic Fletcher and Korey Lee. DeJong actually probably qualifies through April as one of their better hitters which probably says everything about the current state of this team. The fact that Danny Mendick's return is creating excitement is also telling considering he's probably at least as good as most of these hitters and he's not more than a journeyman.
I'm not convinced that Benintendi and Vaughn will rebound much or that that Gavin Sheets will maintain his play so far.
It's very difficult to see how they can consistently score more than 1-2 runs (or be shut-out) on most days without their veteran hitters playing at or above their career numbers and getting minimal production from the rest of this lineup, but we're looking at 5-6 easy outs in their lineup almost every day unless there is unexpected production from hitters who haven't produced.
Even if the offense begins producing some run production on most days, they then have a Triple AAA pitching staff. There are only a handful of pitchers on this roster that would be on a competitve teams roster. Perhaps a few of these guys turn out to be useful pieces, but it's a mishmash of spare parts and flyers, much like how their lineup was put together. Is Nastrini and Cannon actual legitimate prospects or just young pitchers that people are hopeful about because everyone else is so bad? These guys are also not top of the line prospects, just middle of the road ones who may or may not work out.
Yes, they have some limited hope coming from the minors at C, SS and a starter or two. We already know that the starters will only be there for 4-5 years before they have to be traded. The team is cutting payroll and don't spend on elite talent.
Getz and Pedro should both be fired, but, at best, it would probably be Pedro and they may not even do that.
I guess this is what rock bottom feels like.