5/14 vs LA Angels

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Good Gosh. Barnes pitching like he has to hit the showers and has a hot date in 30 minutes. Wow. Electric

 

He's having a late dinner with KOJI.

[Maxbialystock]

Great win. Yanks win too.

[moonslav59]

He's having a late dinner with KOJI.

 

I was just thinking about Koji and how no Sox RPer has pitched like this since him.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

My 3 stars for the game:

1)Pivetta

2)Dalbec

3)Renfroe

[SoxHop]

He's having a late dinner with KOJI.

 

Koji is probably sitting on a high mountain in a thrown looking down and nodding........ very well done barnes-son. You have learned.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

I was just thinking about Koji and how no Sox RPer has pitched like this since him.

 

I was also thinking that Barnes is like Kimbrel, but w/o all the drama.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Koji is probably sitting on a high mountain in a thrown looking down and nodding........ very well done barnes-son. You have learned.

 

Barnes will now be known as GRASSHOPPER.

[moonslav59]

A couple good relievers in the pen is the only thing that saves a manager from tar and feathering.

 

Indeed, and I’m finding it hard to understand how it’s Cora’s fault we only have two trustworthy pen arms. It wasn’t long ago bringing in Ottavino was a mistake made by Cora.

[moonslav59]

Koji is probably sitting on a high mountain in a thrown looking down and nodding........ very well done barnes-son. You have learned.

 

When you can walk on rice paper without making sound, then you can leave.

[SoxHop]

Indeed, and I’m finding it hard to understand how it’s Cora’s fault we only have two trustworthy pen arms. It wasn’t long ago bringing in Ottavino was a mistake made by Cora.

 

Looking at our record. I've had about zero to complain about in the bullpen use department. We also have some help on the way.

 

Although schedule wise, s*** is about to get real as far as competition.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Indeed, and I’m finding it hard to understand how it’s Cora’s fault we only have two trustworthy pen arms. It wasn’t long ago bringing in Ottavino was a mistake made by Cora.

 

BP's are like a box of chocolates, but bringing in Andriese(spelling?) after his performance last night was, imho, a valid reason for criticism.

Edited May 15, 2021 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[moonslav59]

BP's are like a box of chocolates, but bringing in Andriese(spelling?) after his performance last night was, imho, a valid reason for criticism.

 

It was 2 nights ago , but just about everyone has sucked their last outing or more.

 

I happen to think Andriese might be our best hope as our #3, but the freshest sucky outing always seems like the worst.

[moonslav59]

Our bottom 4 hitters had 6 of our 9 hits, 3 of our 4 runs and all 4 rbi.

 

I’m not sure when the last time that happened.

[TylerD]

Our bottom 4 hitters had 6 of our 9 hits, 3 of our 4 runs and all 4 rbi.

 

I’m not sure when the last time that happened.

 

Is there a way we can make sure this continues ?

[moonslav59]

Is there a way we can make sure this continues ?

 

Probably not, because maybe one of these guys will be moved to a top 5 slot.

[Larry Cook]

Good news today: pivetta with another impressive outing! Dalbec bails out to the bullpen!

 

Bad news today: the Yankees won!

[iortiz]

A day at a time. People (even Red Sox fan here) expect this team choke all of the sudden and be mediocre as expected — 80-85 win team. Not today. Not today.

 

Let’s f go!

[Bellhorn04]

 

It was 2 nights ago , but just about everyone has sucked their last outing or more.

 

I happen to think Andriese might be our best hope as our #3, but the freshest sucky outing always seems like the worst.

 

Was Splinter being mean to AC again?

[Thunder]

Very impressed with the game last night. Pivetta and Richards are locked in a tight race for the title of best starting pitcher on the roster, a race I am enjoying very much. Should Cora have gone to Andriese? Perhaps not. Whitlock was unavailable, Darwinzon has been shaky of late, and Sawamura has pitched better recently, but still has been known to blow it up. So, Andriese was probably his most viable options. I don't think Pivetta should have come out for the 7th in the first place. I always like to see relievers come into a clean inning, so I think that might have helped Andriese a little. But how about Ottavino? Striking out Ohtani and Trout in the 8th? I bet that got the crowd charged up. Barnes continues to dominate in the 9th. On a night to night basis, if we can just get to the 9th with a lead, we'll be fine.

 

 

No, the offense wasn't great, but it produced when it needed to. If we are starting to witness the true extent of what Bobby Dalbec can do, this next week or so could be a lot of fun. The bottom of the order is starting to produce, between Renfroe, Dalbec, and Chavis, if you lump him in with the bottom of the order. It doesn't matter who does what on what night, just as long as we end up outscoring our opponents. But, very happy to see us win a game where the bullpen blew a lead. We know they will blow leads for us, so it's important to grab as many of those wins as possible

[Bellhorn04]

No, the offense wasn't great, but it produced when it needed to. If we are starting to witness the true extent of what Bobby Dalbec can do, this next week or so could be a lot of fun. The bottom of the order is starting to produce, between Renfroe, Dalbec, and Chavis, if you lump him in with the bottom of the order. It doesn't matter who does what on what night, just as long as we end up outscoring our opponents. But, very happy to see us win a game where the bullpen blew a lead. We know they will blow leads for us, so it's important to grab as many of those wins as possible

 

I think the team has handled Dalbec's early struggles beautifully and now he's going to be a force.

 

And Renfroe has really been stepping up too.

[Thunder]

I think the team has handled Dalbec's early struggles beautifully and now he's going to be a force.

 

And Renfroe has really been stepping up too.

 

Absolutely. The difference between him and Franchy is that we know what Dalbec can do. It was just a matter of working with him until he got that stroke back.

[Bellhorn04]

Very impressed with the game last night. Pivetta and Richards are locked in a tight race for the title of best starting pitcher on the roster, a race I am enjoying very much.

 

Peripheral stats indicate that Eovaldi and E-Rod are in the race too.

 

The overall stats for our 5 starters right now are excellent. I can't remember too many Red Sox teams where all 5 starters were pitching well like this.

[moonslav59]

Peripheral stats indicate that Eovaldi and E-Rod are in the race too.

 

The overall stats for our 5 starters right now are excellent. I can't remember too many Red Sox teams where all 5 starters were pitching well like this.

 

We’re the only MLB team with 5 starters over 30 IP and a plus ERA plus or minus 100 ERA-.

 

As a team, our starters are 5th in IP.

[Maxbialystock]

We’re the only MLB team with 5 starters over 30 IP and a plus ERA plus or minus 100 ERA-.

 

As a team, our starters are 5th in IP.

 

So maybe Bloom gets an A for the rotation and something lower for the bullpen. The WAR's and ERA's for the staff are:

 

Pivetta 1.1, 3.16

Barnes 1.0, 1.89

Whitlock .7, 1.77

Eovaldi .6, 4.20

ERod .5, 4.15

Richards .3, 3.89

Perez .2, 4.01

Sawamu .2, 3.31

Valdez .1, 3.38

Houck 0, 4.35

Ottavi -.2, 4.02

Taylor -.2, 6.39

Brice -.3, 7.39

Hernan -.3, 4.63

Andries -.3, 4.91

[Maxbialystock]

Here's something interesting.

 

I track the Sox pitching staff ERA and it's position with respect to the 29 other MLB teams. The team ERA has been dropping recently and is now 3.85. But not that long ago 3.85 had the Sox ranked 9th, and now 3.85 has them ranked 15th.

 

Relatedly, of the top 17 MLB teams in ERA, only the Marlins (8th, ERA 3.49) and Nationals (14th, ERA 3.84) have losing records.

 

Meanwhile, in the hitting and especially run scoring department, The Reds, ranked 5th in run scoring, have a losing record; the Rockies, 6th, ditto; the Diamondbacks 7th, ditto; the Braves, 10th, ditto; the Rangers, 11th, ditto; the Angels, 12th, ditto; the Cubs, 14th, ditto; the Twins, tied for 14th, ditto (in fact, at 12 and 24 they are the worst team in MLB).

 

So it sure seems to me that, as much as I like the fact that the Sox are 2d in MLB in scoring runs and 1st in team OPS, that good pitching is more vital than ever.

 

Which gets us back to the argument about the active roster. I say again, more pitching choices are more useful than more position players. Cora actually believes in resting position players by giving them a day off, but this year he seems to want to keep those good bats in the lineup, so in the last two games first Bogie and then Devers were DH while JDM patrolled LF.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Maxbialystock

[Thunder]

Here's something interesting.

 

I track the Sox pitching staff ERA and it's position with respect to the 29 other MLB teams. The team ERA has been dropping recently and is now 3.85. But not that long ago 3.85 had the Sox ranked 9th, and now 3.85 has them ranked 15th.

 

Relatedly, of the top 17 MLB teams in ERA, only the Marlins (8th, ERA 3.49) and Nationals (14th, ERA 3.84) have losing records.

 

Meanwhile, in the hitting and especially run scoring department, The Reds, ranked 5th in run scoring, have a losing record; the Rockies, 6th, ditto; the Diamondbacks 7th, ditto; the Braves, 10th, ditto; the Rangers, 11th, ditto; the Angels, 12th, ditto; the Cubs, 14th, ditto; the Twins, tied for 14th, ditto (in fact, at 12 and 24 they are the worst team in MLB).

 

So it sure seems to me that, as much as I like the fact that the Sox are 2d in MLB in scoring runs and 1st in team OPS, that good pitching is more vital than ever.

 

Which gets us back to the argument about the active roster. I say again, more pitching choices are more useful than more position players. Cora actually believes in resting position players by giving them a day off, but this year he seems to want to keep those good bats in the lineup, so in the last two games first Bogie and then Devers were DH while JDM patrolled LF.

 

Very interesting take about ERA. Middle of the road ERA and a top 5 offense is about what most people thought heading into the year. If we're right on those numbers, and 24-16, that's a sign that this level of play can be maintained.

 

What do the offensive numbers look like for the Marlins and Nats, those 2 teams in the top of the ERA category that are under .500? The Nats scoring 17 last night should have an impact on those numbers though