5/19 Gameday Thread:Mr.Anderson, welcome back. We missed you

I was responding to the assertion that our top four prospects are untouchable.

Matheny with a nice diving catch. No errors but he bobbled 2 balls earlier.

The third run was driven in by a batter behind 0-2. He waited on a curve (that was too high) and drove it to left.
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At Salem (not on TV), Lakins was hit around, Moncada having a Moncada like day (except he hasn't struck out yet).

I missed the part where he was describing this in all of his plans.

You don't think John Henry provides basic guidance and direction for this team? You don't think Dombrowski was hired Primarily to fulfill John Henry's desire to win now?

The only way the Red Sox are going to significantly improve their pitching is to trade a couple of those top prospects, and if the starting pitching doesn't improve that's what's going to happen. And 29 other GM's know it and are going to demand a massive overpay.

He went 2 for 2 then was replaced. I hope he's OK, he's only had 18 ABs all year.

They do a good job, IMO, of crafting a plan for the win now and the long term, Yes they had a few "bridge years", but they kept all of their assets and signed some big money guys as well. I don't get the hate of Henry. He's won 3 WS since he took over. He's eaten a lot of bad contracts because he isn't afraid of taking that risk. But he's also committed to establishing a solid base of prospects to build for the future.

lol, Moncada just got his K. He also has a single, 2 BBs and 2 SB.
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PawSox lost 7-5. McCarthy was pretty much hammered but Mitch Atkins made his AAA debut (I think) with 4.2 innins 0H 1BB 6K.
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SalSox going into extras tied 6-6. Lakins was hit but Taylor and Grover with good outings to allow them to catch up.
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Drive lost 6-0. All pitchers and hitters pretty much what you'd expect in a 6-0 game.
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Moncada just put the Sox up 7-6 in the 10th with a SF. He also has 2RBI and 1R in the game. Anyone remember the old fashioned RP formula ? (R+RBI-HR)? He's acing that stat, literally being the perfect leadoff hitter.

Doesn't hurt his case that he's hitting .330 with an OBP well north of .400. Oh, and being on pace for 100 steals is OK, too. Doing his best Rickey impression in single-A.

Espinoza kind of salvaged his start. Looks like I was completely wrong about the Portland cup of coffee though. He'll probably spend the full season at Greenville, maybe an August promotion if he goes on a huge hot streak.

In the modern era of protecting pitchers, it always seemed unlikely that Espinoza was going to move up that rapidly under any circumstances. I presume his innings are going to be limited to about 100 this year, especially if, because of his less dominant nature right now, they end up being more stressful innings than his innings were last year. There's no reason, almost no matter how well he does going forward, to move him beyond Salem this year.

As to his struggles, they seem to be command-related, at least to some extent. For someone his age that isn't a surprise; he's still in the process of maturing and his body is in some ways different than it was last year. I've witnessed first-hand the struggle that teenagers have adapting to their changing bodies, most recently my own grandson. It's most noticeable in sports activities that require precision, and pitching command is exactly that; the capability to throw the ball pretty much exactly where you want to.

I don't know man. I guess, like most things in life, the truth lies in between: The Castillo signing as a response to just missing on Abreu, the "need for a contact offensive approach" by signing fat Pablo and Hanley, the Lackey trade (need for MLB ready talent instead of prospects) seemed pretty reactionary to me.

Being one one then best owners in Sox history is not much of a compliment, though I would agree. The Yawkees owned the organization for about sixty years prior to the Henry Group. Unless, of course, you want to go back to the guy who sold The Babe for No No Nanette.