07/28/19 Yankees (German) @ Red Sox (Sale)

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

At this point I don't believe anyone is going to lose any sleep worrying about JD opting out.

[Tedballgame]

Much needed day off tomorrow. Take a breath, regroup, and get another W streak going

Yep.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Chavis has no chance against Chapman.

 

His chances were about the same as JD's.

Edited July 29, 2019 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

6 runs with Sale pitching should have been enough.

 

Not this year's model.

[illinoisredsox]

I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hit Aroldis Chapman

 

I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hit major league pitching period.

 

Put another way, you know the best pitcher you ever saw? He ain’t here.

 

Best kid I ever faced was the #1 pick of the Blue Jays. I had faced him in Babe Ruth ball when he was a tall skinny guy with a curveball. I could hit him. A couple years later we were teammates on an American Legion team. He had added 20 pounds of muscle and was throwing 85. I couldn’t touch him in BP. He made it to AAA but never got the call.

[Station 13]

Chavis has no chance against Chapman.

 

Chavis didn't give himself a chance. He can't hit heat and can't lay off breaking stuff.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hit major league pitching period.

 

Put another way, you know the best pitcher you ever saw? He ain’t here.

 

Best kid I ever faced was the #1 pick of the Blue Jays. I had faced him in Babe Ruth ball when he was a tall skinny guy with a curveball. I could hit him. A couple years later we were teammates on an American Legion team. He had added 20 pounds of muscle and was throwing 85. I couldn’t touch him in BP. He made it to AAA but never got the call.

 

I'm guessing if he was pitching today, he would have gotten the call.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Based on the mediocrity of major league pitching presently, if there's a pitcher in AAA who hasn't been called up, he may want to rethink his career choice.

[oldtimer]

True. But Sale did s*** his pants again and that's not acceptable.

 

Moon always tells us how Leon gets Sale to pitch better as an excuse for Leon not hitting. The evidence doesn't seem to fit.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Moon always tells us how Leon gets Sale to pitch better as an excuse for Leon not hitting. The evidence doesn't seem to fit.

 

 

What Sale did or didn't do tonight was on him. Blaming the catcher is lame. Plus, VAZ can't catch every game.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

The SOX are better than the Yankems in every facet of the game except the BP. And that demonstrates how important a good BP is. The Yankems have Chapman and the SOX have a committee.

[jad]

The SOX are better than the Yankems in every facet of the game except the BP. And that demonstrates how important a good BP is. The Yankems have Chapman and the SOX have a committee.

 

The game was not lost because of the relative strength of their closers!

[jacksonianmarch]

I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hit major league pitching period.

 

Put another way, you know the best pitcher you ever saw? He ain’t here.

 

Best kid I ever faced was the #1 pick of the Blue Jays. I had faced him in Babe Ruth ball when he was a tall skinny guy with a curveball. I could hit him. A couple years later we were teammates on an American Legion team. He had added 20 pounds of muscle and was throwing 85. I couldn’t touch him in BP. He made it to AAA but never got the call.

 

I faced a few. Faced a future major league reliever for the Jays and Sox. Single-K-K. Doubled off a Sox first rounder the week after he was drafted which was cool. Flamed out in AAA. Took an 8th rounder from the A’s deep in an all star game. He flamed out in low A. Faced a kid who was drafted in the 6th round in college. Hardest pitches I’ve seen thrown. Topped out at 98. You could barely see the ball. Mostly, you just heard it. Didn’t K, but the ball didn’t leave the infield. The crazy thing is, the hardest guys I’ve ever faced can hide the ball and make their fastball play up. Chapman hides the ball and throws over 100. That’s nearly impossible to hit. By the time you see it, it’s by you

[Maxbialystock]

Not this year's model.

 

I could be wrong, but I thought Sale had a good stuff last night-a fastball that reached 98 mph once or twice, a changeup that broke 10 inches, and a slider that broke 11". But man oh man did he have control issues. He walked three guys and they all scored and two of them scored on dingers off pitches in almost the geometric center of the zone--in other words, fat pitches. Sale made too many mistakes, and the Yankee bats capitalized on them.

[Maxbialystock]

I faced a few. Faced a future major league reliever for the Jays and Sox. Single-K-K. Doubled off a Sox first rounder the week after he was drafted which was cool. Flamed out in AAA. Took an 8th rounder from the A’s deep in an all star game. He flamed out in low A. Faced a kid who was drafted in the 6th round in college. Hardest pitches I’ve seen thrown. Topped out at 98. You could barely see the ball. Mostly, you just heard it. Didn’t K, but the ball didn’t leave the infield. The crazy thing is, the hardest guys I’ve ever faced can hide the ball and make their fastball play up. Chapman hides the ball and throws over 100. That’s nearly impossible to hit. By the time you see it, it’s by you

 

Enjoyed the tale of your own experiences, but over the years have come to believe that MLB hitters can hit 100 mph if the batter is sure that is the next pitch. Thus 2-3 years ago Devers hit Chapman's 103 mph out. Last night Bogie pulled a Chapman 98 mph fast ball with no problem. Somewhere around 8-10 years ago Rookie Daniel Nava singled off a Verlander 100 mph fastball in large part because he knew that was the next pitch, plus he didn't try to pull it.

 

What makes Chapman so good is that he can also throw other pitches for strikes to set up the fast ball (or vice versa). It's that combo that makes relievers effective. Uehara rarely threw a fastball more than 90-91 mph and usually in the high 80's, but he had great command and confidence, along with a terrific splitter, and that made all the difference. Last year Kimbrel was great before the postseason as long as his knuckle curve was working as well as his fastball. When batters knew the fastball was coming, they could hit it.

[Maxbialystock]

Moon always tells us how Leon gets Sale to pitch better as an excuse for Leon not hitting. The evidence doesn't seem to fit.

 

You're right he does, but I happen to think Leon is a better defensive catcher than Vazquez, including his pitch-calling. That said, I thought Sale had great stuff last night, but terrible command, with the result that, if the Yankees were patient, they would either get walked or get a fat pitch to hit. That's exactly how they got their first four runs--two walks followed by two dingers, both in the middle of the zone. So I don't blame Leon.

 

Consider this little stat. Vazquez has missed 16 games this year, and the Sox record in those 16 games is 14-2.

[TylerD]

I like that the bats showed some fight. 6 runs normally with your ace is enough to win a game. Had Sale given us the performance of his last 2 starts this is a win. Simple as that. But unfortunately Sale gave us what he has given us most of the year.... dog s***. It is what it is. I don’t expect a good start from Sale anymore this season. If he gives us a good start like he did against Toronto and Tampa then that’s awesome but I don’t expect it.

 

End of the day we played 7 games and went 5-2 against Tampa and New York. Can’t ask for a much better result. Keep it going boys and don’t take your foot off the gas. Oakland and Tampa are still in front of us. We have Tampa at home tomorrow. Obviously we need to win this series.

[Kimmi]

I like that the bats showed some fight. 6 runs normally with your ace is enough to win a game. Had Sale given us the performance of his last 2 starts this is a win. Simple as that. But unfortunately Sale gave us what he has given us most of the year.... dog s***. It is what it is. I don’t expect a good start from Sale anymore this season. If he gives us a good start like he did against Toronto and Tampa then that’s awesome but I don’t expect it.

 

End of the day we played 7 games and went 5-2 against Tampa and New York. Can’t ask for a much better result. Keep it going boys and don’t take your foot off the gas. Oakland and Tampa are still in front of us. We have Tampa at home tomorrow. Obviously we need to win this series.

 

It stinks that we couldn't pull off the sweep, but I'm pretty sure that any of us would have been all in if we were told ahead of time that the Sox would go 5-2. I will take that all year long.

 

We have another 3 game and 4 game series coming up against the Rays and Yankees, respectively. I'd be very happy to go 5-2 again.

 

Also, good game thread mojo for this series.

[moonslav59]

The good news: we've gone 14-7 gthe last 21 games, including 5-2 vs the Yanks and Rays.

 

The bad news: we can't seem to finish things off in recent series.

 

We won the first game vs the Dodgers 8-1, then lost the next 2. We lost the 3rd game and the series to BAL. We won the first 2 vs the Rays but lost the third game 3-2. We looked like we might sweep the Yanks and had Sale on the mound but lost it.

 

WE have a day off.

 

3 at home vs the Rays.

 

4 at NYY in 3 days.

 

7 at home vs the Royals and Angels. then a big 3 games at CLE.

 

Now, is the time to keep rolling along like the last 21 games.

[TylerD]

It stinks that we couldn't pull off the sweep, but I'm pretty sure that any of us would have been all in if we were told ahead of time that the Sox would go 5-2. I will take that all year long.

 

We have another 3 game and 4 game series coming up against the Rays and Yankees, respectively. I'd be very happy to go 5-2 again.

 

Also, good game thread mojo for this series.

 

Definitely We needed to take both series and we did. It sucks that we started the season so slow because it feels like winning 5 of 7 against Tampa and the Yankees isn't good enough when really it is. That slow start could hurt us more than we think. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Damn Oakland just keeps winning.

[TylerD]

The good news: we've gone 14-7 gthe last 21 games, including 5-2 vs the Yanks and Rays.

 

The bad news: we can't seem to finish things off in recent series.

 

We won the first game vs the Dodgers 8-1, then lost the next 2. We lost the 3rd game and the series to BAL. We won the first 2 vs the Rays but lost the third game 3-2. We looked like we might sweep the Yanks and had Sale on the mound but lost it.

 

WE have a day off.

 

3 at home vs the Rays.

 

4 at NYY in 3 days.

 

7 at home vs the Royals and Angels. then a big 3 games at CLE.

 

Now, is the time to keep rolling along like the last 21 games.

 

Ya I have noticed that trend lately with the Sox. I would say it's almost like they take their foot off the gas but last night the offense produced 6 runs. Last night was on Sale and the many mistakes the defense made. Offensively we were good enough, but the rest of the game was pretty awful.

[dgalehouse]

I give German credit . I thought he was going to fold like a cheap suit . But he didn't . He wasn't great , but he was good enough .

[TylerD]

I give German credit . I thought he was going to fold like a cheap suit . But he didn't . He wasn't great , but he was good enough .

 

All he needed to do was out perform our pitcher and he did that.

[moonslav59]

Ya I have noticed that trend lately with the Sox. I would say it's almost like they take their foot off the gas but last night the offense produced 6 runs. Last night was on Sale and the many mistakes the defense made. Offensively we were good enough, but the rest of the game was pretty awful.

 

We had our chances last night, despite Sale's bad showing. We need to keep the foot on the gas! Go 4-3 or 5-2 vs the Yanks & Rays, then go 5-2 at home vs the Royals and Angels. 9-5 would work well. 10-4 would put us in the favorite's seat for the WC slot and maybe even be in the division race depending on the record head-to-head with NY.

 

[TylerD]

We had our chances last night, despite Sale's bad showing. We need to keep the foot on the gas! Go 4-3 or 5-2 vs the Yanks & Rays, then go 5-2 at home vs the Royals and Angels. 9-5 would work well. 10-4 would put us in the favorite's seat for the WC slot and maybe even be in the division race depending on the record head-to-head with NY.

 

 

Agreed! can't worry about anything else. Oakland doesn't lose many games in the second half of baseball..... I feel we are a series loss away from missing the playoffs.... But hopefully I am wrong. That slow start to the season and losing that series to Baltimore really hurts now. Win that damn series and we are in a playoff spot right now.

[Maxbialystock]

One thing, though--I just don't understand the attacks on the espn commentators. To me they were fine, about on a part with all the other announcers, including those from NESN. Of course, I also keep the sound off.

[Maxbialystock]

The hitting is clearly back when their worst game vs. NYY still gets them 6 runs. Rotation wasn't too shabby either. Bullpen still a little scary, however.

[Jasonbay44]

I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hit major league pitching period.

 

Put another way, you know the best pitcher you ever saw? He ain’t here.

 

Best kid I ever faced was the #1 pick of the Blue Jays. I had faced him in Babe Ruth ball when he was a tall skinny guy with a curveball. I could hit him. A couple years later we were teammates on an American Legion team. He had added 20 pounds of muscle and was throwing 85. I couldn’t touch him in BP. He made it to AAA but never got the call.

I did face Josh Hader in HS. He was pretty damn good, didn’t throw as hard as he does now. I like to brag that I had a .667 OBP again him. I was 0-1 with a walk and a HBP. I couldn’t imagine trying to hit him now though lol

[Thunder]

The good news: we've gone 14-7 gthe last 21 games, including 5-2 vs the Yanks and Rays.

 

The bad news: we can't seem to finish things off in recent series.

 

We won the first game vs the Dodgers 8-1, then lost the next 2. We lost the 3rd game and the series to BAL. We won the first 2 vs the Rays but lost the third game 3-2. We looked like we might sweep the Yanks and had Sale on the mound but lost it.

 

WE have a day off.

 

3 at home vs the Rays.

 

4 at NYY in 3 days.

 

7 at home vs the Royals and Angels. then a big 3 games at CLE.

 

Now, is the time to keep rolling along like the last 21 games.

 

I agree with all of this, but even as well as we played this weekend, sweeping the Yankees is a tough ask. Sweeping anybody is a tough ask. We didn't sweep Tampa because Morton threw a gem, and because Angel Hernandez f***ed up again

[jacksonianmarch]

The good news: we've gone 14-7 gthe last 21 games, including 5-2 vs the Yanks and Rays.

 

The bad news: we can't seem to finish things off in recent series.

 

We won the first game vs the Dodgers 8-1, then lost the next 2. We lost the 3rd game and the series to BAL. We won the first 2 vs the Rays but lost the third game 3-2. We looked like we might sweep the Yanks and had Sale on the mound but lost it.

 

WE have a day off.

 

3 at home vs the Rays.

 

4 at NYY in 3 days.

 

7 at home vs the Royals and Angels. then a big 3 games at CLE.

 

Now, is the time to keep rolling along like the last 21 games.

 

The offense cannot run this hot forever. Merloni talked about it on EEI. Yeah, it's all well and good that the O dropped over 35 runs on the Yanks in 3 games, but what happens when they're up 3-2 in the 8th against the Yanks or Rays. You wanna go on a long winning streak or suppress a team through a whole series, you gotta have the pen to do it. A lot of the sox woes this year have had to do with the s***** pen work. Either leaving a starter in too long because of the bad pen or the pen blowing it outright. You gotta fix it