6/14 Yankems @ SOX 6:30PM ET

[Old Red]

Meh. You exaggerate mediocrity and you ignore the simple fact that this year, without Verdugo, the Sox outfield is crowded with talent. I'll take Abreu in RF anytime, plus his cost is lower. FWIW, Abreu has a higher WAR and higher OPS.

That said, yessireebob, he hammered the Sox last night. That dinger was in straightaway CF, the deepest part of Fenway. Getting Dugo was a definite plus for the Yankees, and he looks pretty happy too.

I had no problem Dugo getting traded, but just not to the Yankees. They did Dugy a BIG favor in doing that, and not to mention he will help the Yankees.

[Tedballgame]

Five years control of mediocrity is five years of mediocrity

[moonslav59]

2 of 3 vs. the Phillies has me pumped up again.

I am, hands down, the least expert and most ill-informed contributor here, so take this with a grain of salt. Last night Bello was up for the Yankees and way better than against the White Sox--or the Tigers, for that matter.

I thought he threw hard, but that sinker fastball just maybe doesn't sink very much because the Yankees pounced on it, including when it was over 97 mph. Also, his changeup, which is an important pitch, didn't look so hot--not much break and not command control. I hasten to add that Bello was not calling his own pitches--they were coming from Wong or from the bench.

To me it's instructive to compare Judge's first at bat with Dugo's. Granted, righty vs righty, advantage to the pitcher, but Bello struck out a guy having a great season and did it with 4 breaking balls--slider, slider, changeup, slider--and one sinker fast ball, which barely nicked (or missed) the inside low corner for called strike 3. But when Dugo came to bat, it was time for his sinker, with a little oomph--which Dugo was ready for and hammered.

5 of the 6 Yankees hits were off that sinker. The other one was a single off a slider up and in the middle of the zone. Those 5 hits included 2 doubles and the Dugo dinger.

And then there's the top of the 3d inning when Soto grounded out, Judge struck out again, and Dugo grounded out. A one, two, three inning in which Bello threw 15 pitches and just 3 of them were sinker fastballs.

I'm never letting one game get me down, and I'm having more fun watching this year's Sox than I did in '22 and '23, but last night was not fun.

I guess when we play the Yanks, a well pitched inning does not register like maybe it should.

Despite tonight's Criswell v Rodon match-up, I think we have a good shot at a win. I'm not going into this game all depressed.

[Maxbialystock]

I had no problem Dugo getting traded, but just not to the Yankees. They did Dugy a BIG favor in doing that, and not to mention he will help the Yankees.

Can't disagree.

I'm not sure the Sox brain trust has many (or any) smart guys. They did know Cora was unhappy with Dugo, but they also needed to look at Dugo's track record--and remember that short right field wall in Yankee Stadium. His lifetime OPS, .765, ain't great but is definitely playable, and so is his defense in right field.

The same not-so-smart guys who sent Dugo to the Yankees sent Sale to Atlanta--and paid his freaking $17M salary this year! Oh, and signed Giolito for $38M for 2 years, which is already $38M for one year, assuming he can pitch next year.

[Maxbialystock]

I'm never letting one game get me down, and I'm having more fun watching this year's Sox than I did in '22 and '23, but last night was not fun.

I guess when we play the Yanks, a well pitched inning does not register like maybe it should.

Despite tonight's Criswell v Rodon match-up, I think we have a good shot at a win. I'm not going into this game all depressed.

You lead the pack in not getting down, but I agree this team has been fun, mostly because of the rotation, but now and then the lineup has looked decent. Like games 2 and 3 vs the Phillies 2d best pitching staff in MLB.

Last night, however, the Sox were 1/11 with RISP and the 2 through 5 hitters were 0 for 15.

[moonslav59]

Five years control of mediocrity is five years of mediocrity

I'm not sure why you seem to be assuming Weissert is and will be mediocre. He has a good WHIP (1.15,) which beats the league RP 1.28 WHIP. He wasn't even the main guy in the trade, as Fitts has high hopes on being better than Mediocre,

We know who Dugo was and is- barely better than mediocre.

I'd rather have Abreu and Ref in RF.
I'd rather have 10 years of Weissert + Fitts than 1 year of Dugo on a team like this year's Sox.

[Old Red]

Can't disagree.

I'm not sure the Sox brain trust has many (or any) smart guys. They did know Cora was unhappy with Dugo, but they also needed to look at Dugo's track record--and remember that short right field wall in Yankee Stadium. His lifetime OPS, .765, ain't great but is definitely playable, and so is his defense in right field.

The same not-so-smart guys who sent Dugo to the Yankees sent Sale to Atlanta--and paid his freaking $17M salary this year! Oh, and signed Giolito for $38M for 2 years, which is already $38M for one year, assuming he can pitch next year.

Well said, and Dugy has all those Big bats around him too, which makes it easier for him.

[moonslav59]

You lead the pack in not getting down, but I agree this team has been fun, mostly because of the rotation, but now and then the lineup has looked decent. Like games 2 and 3 vs the Phillies 2d best pitching staff in MLB.

Last night, however, the Sox were 1/11 with RISP and the 2 through 5 hitters were 0 for 15.

Sadly, having lower expectations has likely played a role in my enjoyment level, but the joy goes beyond just watching the pitchers do way better than expected. The D has looked better than April, but has still been an overall joy-killer since then.

I'm really enjoying watching our young players do well and or look more promising than they did in February.

Wong has been amazing.
Abreu has, too.
Rafaela needs some work, but overall, he looks more promising, now than last winter.
Valdez has seemingly worked out his kinks and even looks a bit better on D.
Refsnyder is no spring chicken but has amazed me, and I've been tooting his horn before this year.
Duran is shaking of concerns that 2023 was a fluke. This guy is for real.
I mentioned that Devers was still young enough to have a career year, and he might be in it, now.
DHam and Romy have already outshone all the other back-up middle infielders we've seen since 2021.

As inconsistent as our offense has been, I'm not worried about it, all that much, going forward. We need a big RH'd bat, for sure, but that is but one need out of 9 positions. Our positional depth looks very good, and we will soon be adding Mayer, Anthony and Teel to it- yes, all lefties, but still...

The future of our pitching staff- top to bottom, may show some holes, but to me, it looks better than it has since going into the 2019 season. It's not as good as the numbers show in 2024, and losing Pivetta, Jansen & martin will hurt, but who here feels worse about these guys than they did in February?
Houck
Crawford
Criswell
Slaten
Bernardino
Weissert

The only longer term pitchers who have seen their stock fall are...
Bello
I Campbell (who is looking great at AAA, now)
and who else? Wikelman, Murphy & Walter?

We have seen our big three doing well on the farm.
We have seen some major steps taken by Perales (before his injury,) Campbell, Lugo, JH Garcia and more.

It's hard to be "down" with so much going on that looks bright(er).

[dgalehouse]

Bad night/good night. The Celtics sucked, and got embarrassed by the Mavs, and also embarrassed themselves in a well deserved loss. On the Red Sox side BBB (Big Baby Bello) couldn’t last 5 innings, and had another bad outing raising his ERA to an unimpressive 5.00 in a well deserved loss. On the good side Dugy got to strut his stuff hitting a HR on the first pitch he saw, and getting a couple of more hits as well. I said when Dugy got traded to the Yankees he would come back to haunt them, which was an easy prediction to make, and I’m sure he’s not done yet. Go Dugy!🤫

Red, I don't know what to say about the Sox. They can't get anything going. But no worries about the Celtics. Just a bad game. It will be sweeter to win it at home anyway.