9/5 vs Blue Jays

[S5Dewey]

Can't believe the game went 19 innings last night..... Glad I went to sleep when I did. No way I would have made it up this morning and been able to come to work haha. Much needed win from these guys and glad to see a well pitched game from both E-Rod and the relievers not go to waste.

 

IMO something that often gets overlooked is the contribution of our relievers in these long games. We somewhat expect to be able to get one good inning out of each of them but when we look at what they've done in retrospect and in the aggregate they've done a great job.

 

And BTW, I don't think I've seen Carson Smith pitch before. That guy is freakin' NASTY!!! He came in for his first appearance after rehab, threw one pitch to Donaldson, Donaldson got ejected (LOL), and then proceeded to have his way with the Jays. Pretty impressive.

[mvp 78]

IMO something that often gets overlooked is the contribution of our relievers in these long games. We somewhat expect to be able to get one good inning out of each of them but when we look at what they've done in retrospect and in the aggregate they've done a great job.

 

And BTW, I don't think I've seen Carson Smith pitch before. That guy is freakin' NASTY!!! He came in for his first appearance after rehab, threw one pitch to Donaldson, Donaldson got ejected (LOL), and then proceeded to have his way with the Jays. Pretty impressive.

 

IMO something that often gets overlooked is the contribution of our pets and family members to mojo when the Sox need a key win. We somewhat expect to be able to get the Sox perform without rubbing rabbit's feet and magick incantations and those in the aggregate have done a great job, but it's time to acknowledge all of the great mystical properties of our non-TS pals.

 

And BTW, don't think that Barkley's mojo hasn't appeared before. That hound is freakin' NASTY!!! He got off of the chair right after the middle of the 9th and put so much mojo into the atmosphere that he willed Betts to finally get on base and not be such a slub who isn't worth 10/300M. Pretty impressive feat for a dog that once barked at Big Papi when we first brought him home.

[Slasher9]

How's that work going this morning, BTW? LOL

hahaha. figures i'm busy as hell today too. lots of coffee......

btw - Manny turned 12 yesterday. does last nights W count as a win on his birthday? ???

[S5Dewey]

hahaha. figures i'm busy as hell today too. lots of coffee......

btw - Manny turned 12 yesterday. does last nights W count as a win on his birthday? ???

 

The Sox won the WS in 2004 on October 27 @ ~11:40pm & my birthday is on the 28th. I'm all for counting Manny's as a birthday win if we can do the same for mine.

[Slasher9]

The Sox won the WS in 2004 on October 27 @ ~11:40pm & my birthday is on the 28th. I'm all for counting Manny's as a birthday win if we can do the same for mine.

 

jesus christ that was by far the greatest birthday present of alltime!

[S5Dewey]

jesus christ that was by far the greatest birthday present of alltime!

 

I was torn. I wanted the game to go another 1/2 hour, but at the same time I didn't want to risk losing!! LOL

[FredLynn]

I was there until the end, but I wasn't on a forum. Just watched it pitch by pitch on gameday on my iphone. Being on the west coast makes that easier.

[OH FOY]

Change-up pitcher like Estrada, who hits 90, and only get 3 hits at home, is scary.

[a700hitter]

Change-up pitcher like Estrada, who hits 90, and only get 3 hits at home, is scary.

Your description of Estrada is kind. He stinks. We should have pummeled him at Fenway.

[oldtimer]

I was there until the end, but I wasn't on a forum. Just watched it pitch by pitch on gameday on my iphone. Being on the west coast makes that easier.

 

Being old, I decided to quit at the end of the 11th.

[SoxnCycles]

DVRs are a wonderful thing. I finished the game this morning.

[illinoisredsox]

Change-up pitcher like Estrada, who hits 90, and only get 3 hits at home, is scary.

 

You do realize Estrada was selected to the All-Star team only a year ago, right? No, that guy hasn't been pitching this season, but it's not like it isn't in him to do so.

 

He changed speeds effectively. If you throw everything the same speed, major league hitters will catch up to it (Joe Kelly is a good example of this). Take a pitcher who can change speeds (i.e., can upset timing), facing a team that doesn't hit off-speed stuff all that well to begin with and is in a overall teamwide slump, and you've got the ingredients for a 3 hitter.

 

40 years ago, Randy Jones won a Cy Young and had a couple 20 win seasons throwing pitches as slow as 72 mph (and topping out at 85). There are many ways to get hitters out.

[Spudboy]

I watched the entire game.

 

I don't have good sleep patterns so it was no big deal for me.

[mvp 78]

You do realize Estrada was selected to the All-Star team only a year ago, right? No, that guy hasn't been pitching this season, but it's not like it isn't in him to do so.

 

He changed speeds effectively. If you throw everything the same speed, major league hitters will catch up to it (Joe Kelly is a good example of this). Take a pitcher who can change speeds (i.e., can upset timing), facing a team that doesn't hit off-speed stuff all that well to begin with and is in a overall teamwide slump, and you've got the ingredients for a 3 hitter.

 

40 years ago, Randy Jones won a Cy Young and had a couple 20 win seasons throwing pitches as slow as 72 mph (and topping out at 85). There are many ways to get hitters out.

 

Jason Vargas was an AS this year. He has an 8.15 ERA since July 5th. Are you going to say that he's still a good pitcher? AS game appearances are fairly meaningless.

[Bellhorn04]

For me, more to the point about Estrada is that, like many pitchers having s***** years, there are some good games mixed in there. On August 10 he blanked the Yanks for 7.

 

Now if you want to say we've been making too many s***** pitchers look good this year, I wouldn't argue with that.

[illinoisredsox]

Jason Vargas was an AS this year. He has an 8.15 ERA since July 5th. Are you going to say that he's still a good pitcher? AS game appearances are fairly meaningless.

 

Vargas probably isn't as good as he was in the first half nor as bad as he's been in the second half. Goes for Estrada and a lot of guys. Heck, it went for Pomeranz last year.

 

The real point is that people need to get off this should have pounded him crap based on their perception of stuff. There are many ways to get hitters out, not all of them involve throwing the ball 95+. Maybe the Sox hitters just aren't as good as people here think they are.

[OH FOY]

Next year better to check him out, we'll see if Major Leaguers have him figured him out. Wow Randy Jones, remember him very well batters figure him out too.

[illinoisredsox]

For me, more to the point about Estrada is that, like many pitchers having s***** years, there are some good games mixed in there. On August 10 he blanked the Yanks for 7.

 

Now if you want to say we've been making too many s***** pitchers look good this year, I wouldn't argue with that.

 

Well said. Porcello has had a few gems this year as well, but it doesn't change his overall lousy season.

Edited September 6, 2017 by illinoisredsox

[Bellhorn04]

I made it into the 18th before giving up.

 

My 'find out the next morning' mojo has actually been very good this year.

[illinoisredsox]

Next year better to check him out, we'll see if Major Leaguers have him figured him out. Wow Randy Jones, remember him very well batters figure him out too.

 

Estrada's 34 now, so it's hard to say how he'll fare from here forward. I don't recall if he's ever been overpowering, but if he can change speeds and locate, he could be somewhat successful for a few more years.

 

Jones had an arm injury late in his Cy Young year, IIRC, and was never the same after that. My point was that 95+ is not a necessity.

[OH FOY]

Never said it is, but 2 pitches should be easy to figure out, to Major League hitters. You get a guy like Mike Cuellar who threw junk all over the place, but had multiple pitches was guy who was real hard to sit on pitches.

You get guy like Maddox who had pinpoint control, seems like the exception, about having 1 or 2 pitches. He had a lot of movement on his Pitches.

Edited September 6, 2017 by OH FOY!

[moonslav59]

I'm in the central time zone, so it wasn't difficult for me.

 

I usually watch the games on delay, so I can fast-forward the commercials. I'm not used to sitting through so many commercials and pitching changes.

 

It was torturous.

 

The win made the pain go away.

 

[Bellhorn04]

Never said it is, but 2 pitches should be easy to figure out, to Major League hitters.

 

That's kind of oversimplifying don't you think? A lot of pitchers have been successful with 2 pitches. Hell, Mariano Rivera only had one.

[a700hitter]

Quarter Pounder with cheese or a Big Mac? Probably going to get them a side of chicken nuggets too. Is it wrong to not buy them fries as well?

Spring for the meal.

[a700hitter]

For me, more to the point about Estrada is that, like many pitchers having s***** years, there are some good games mixed in there. On August 10 he blanked the Yanks for 7.

 

Now if you want to say we've been making too many s***** pitchers look good this year, I wouldn't argue with that.

That outing against the Yankees probably said more about the Yankee slumping than Estrada pitching well. He stinks.

[a700hitter]

You do realize Estrada was selected to the All-Star team only a year ago, right? No, that guy hasn't been pitching this season, but it's not like it isn't in him to do so.

 

He changed speeds effectively. If you throw everything the same speed, major league hitters will catch up to it (Joe Kelly is a good example of this). Take a pitcher who can change speeds (i.e., can upset timing), facing a team that doesn't hit off-speed stuff all that well to begin with and is in a overall teamwide slump, and you've got the ingredients for a 3 hitter.

 

40 years ago, Randy Jones won a Cy Young and had a couple 20 win seasons throwing pitches as slow as 72 mph (and topping out at 85). There are many ways to get hitters out.

Randy Jones and Mike Cuellar were aces. Estrada is back of the rotation and not an ace. He is the type of pitcher that we should light up, especially this year when he is stinking up the joint.

[a700hitter]

Staying up has never been a problem for me. Going to sleep is my problem.

[Maxbialystock]

So true. If you strike out in a pinch hitting situation, you should never play again. Great post!

 

Meh. You twisted my words, of course. I am absolutely not anti-Devers because of his obvious potential. I'm not blind. All I'm saying is that he is missing games right now for a reason--mostly, his hitting has dropped off, but also because his defense is suspect--and that the easy K last night did not suggest that he has things figured out. Then I also said I can see the real possibility of Devers getting back into the lineup with Nunez going back to SS and Bogie dropping out. This ain't April or even August. Given our hitting woes and the reality there are just 23 games left, patience is not a virtue right now. Farrell has to go with the guys he thinks can help right now. If he says Devers, I am fine with that. If he doesn't, I will understand why.

[Maxbialystock]

That, and maybe a little bit of "oh, f*** this s*** already" on the part of the Jays center fielder. He didn't exactly go all out diving to make a play on that.

 

Agree. But, honestly, I thought that guy was a little hesitant on earlier plays and that maybe Betts was counting on that. But you are right about what we would have said if the CF made the grab, especially with no one out. What was he thinking?

 

My answer is he was thinking about the 9th when HanRam came to bat with men on base and grounded out to the left side. My answer is that that pop to CF, if caught, would not allow Betts to get to 3b with one out. My answer is that Betts put that entire game on his back and did what he thought would win the game. And he was so right. I have griped about his hitting as much as anyone, but there is no doubt in my mind he is a great ballplayer, one who can beat you five different ways (hit, hit with power, field, throw, run the bases). On top of that, I think he has exceptional situation awareness.

[Maxbialystock]

Thanks to MVP78 for squeezing out that last bit of mojo to get this win and to moonslav who has kept the faith.