A Realistic View at 2021: Part III

[moonslav59]

Hang in there! Relief is just around the corner...

 

Sale > Richards (DFA Richards or Richards>Rios)

Houck > Perez (Perez >Robles)

DHern > Davis

Schwarber > Cordero

Arroyo > Arauz

 

That's 5 significant improved areas with maybe one or two more, if Richards and or Perez can do well from the pen.

 

[moonslav59]

Games remaining:

 

6 (2 @ DET + 4 @ TOR) Houck returns

 

9 (3 TBR + 3 BAL + 3 @NYY in 2 days) Sale + Schwarber return

 

6 (3 TEX + 3 MN) Arroyo returns - need to mop up, here

 

7 (3 @ CLE + 4 @ TBR) Tough road trip into September

6 (3 CLE + 3 TBR) 13 games in a row vs these two teams

 

6 (3 @CWS + 3 @ SEA) Tough road trip after the previous 13 gms.

 

Crunch Time...

 

4 (3 BAL + 2 NYM) Might need to win 4 of 5

 

3 vs NYY at Fenway

 

(Day off)

 

6 (3 @BAL + 3 @ WSN) to end the season

 

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I'm not ready to panic. A month and a half ago posters were looking at this stretch in the schedule and hoping to play .500 through it' date=' then we'll be OK. Not sure what the numbers are but I believe they are still above .500 for this brutal stretch that will come to an end.[/quote']

 

OK I'm ready to panic.

[Hugh2]

162 games.......realistically 100 win teams go through funks. Calm down folks, plenty of baseball left to play. We have enough to time struggle for a month and get super hot in September and take the division. It's going to be ok.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Yeah I was just kidding. Not panic, just frustration. They need to start hitting and soon, as for Richards I surely hope this was his last start. I never want to see another Gonzalez at bat in a Red Sox uniform.

[Hugh2]

Yeah I was just kidding. Not panic' date=' just frustration. They need to start hitting and soon, as for Richards I surely hope this was his last start. I never want to see another Gonzalez at bat in a Red Sox uniform.[/quote']

 

Oh absolutely, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't too emotionally involved with my sports teams.

 

If I've done one thing in life, it's to learn to have some faith in my teams. Yeah, I got burned sometimes.....but sometimes you don't and it makes the ride that much more enjoyable. Watching Tom Brady play in NE for many years helped me with this "don't panic" mentality a lot too.

[jacksonianmarch]

It seems the once vaunted offense is falling flat and the pitching cannot support it. I am pretty sure Bogey has a wrist issue that you'll hear about off-season surgery in October or November. Ever since he missed a few games with a wrist issue, he is a different hitter. Verdugo has seemed to fall into the power trap that a lot of young hitters fall into. His game is occasional power, but his swing now has so much loft that he has lost his identity and his production has cratered. JD is chasing at an alarming rate. The only guys who are hitting right now are Devers and Kike. JD will eventually find it. Bogey may be a shadow of himself until the wrist is fixed. Verdugo is starting to look like Gleyber up there. Inbetween identities and not useful to anyone. The offense is in trouble right now as the bottom of the order has been awful. The sox are built to hammer pitching and have their staff hold them just enough. Well, without the hammer, the starting staff isnt keeping up and the pen is getting worn down

[Nick]

Everything I was wrong on...

 

1 Kike and leading off....not a problem. I now get upset when he's not leading off

2 Matt Barnes as closer...I always thought he was a wuss, mentally too soft, walked way too many hitters

3 Richards..I thought he was a bargain at $10M, only question was his health

4 Dalbec..left alone at 1B and batting 9th, he'd be a 'surprise'. Hitting 25 homers and solid at the plate.

 

Only thing I was right on

1. Whitlock, Whitlock, Whitlock..during spring training Cora was very high on him. He just has that mental toughness, especially with men of base.

[Nick]

It seems the once vaunted offense is falling flat and the pitching cannot support it. I am pretty sure Bogey has a wrist issue that you'll hear about off-season surgery in October or November. Ever since he missed a few games with a wrist issue, he is a different hitter. Verdugo has seemed to fall into the power trap that a lot of young hitters fall into. His game is occasional power, but his swing now has so much loft that he has lost his identity and his production has cratered. JD is chasing at an alarming rate. The only guys who are hitting right now are Devers and Kike. JD will eventually find it. Bogey may be a shadow of himself until the wrist is fixed. Verdugo is starting to look like Gleyber up there. Inbetween identities and not useful to anyone. The offense is in trouble right now as the bottom of the order has been awful. The sox are built to hammer pitching and have their staff hold them just enough. Well, without the hammer, the starting staff isnt keeping up and the pen is getting worn down

 

It's always good to hear from you.

 

You're spot on....but on the lighter side, I'm chuckling and thinking..."thank you, Mr. Obvious"...I like having you here on our board....

[mvp 78]

It's always good to hear from you.

 

You're spot on....but on the lighter side, I'm chuckling and thinking..."thank you, Mr. Obvious"...I like having you here on our board....

 

Jacko is a good poster. The only reason people thinks he's a troll is because he has a Yankees avatar.

[Bellhorn04]

The baseball season is like a novel, with 162 pages. Lots of twists and turns and suspense.

[mvp 78]

5-7 since calling up Duran.

[Bellhorn04]

5-7 since calling up Duran.

 

True, but not much of his fault. Especially not last night.

[a700hitter]

The baseball season is like a novel, with 162 pages. Lots of twists and turns and suspense.

Many times you can figure out the end long before you finish the book.

[Kimmi]

In theory, Wild Card teams have 50% as good a chance as division winners.

 

Yes, due to the extra playoff game, the wildcard teams initially have a lesser chance than the division winners. But once you get to the ALDS, it's pretty much a crapshoot.

 

Obviously, the preference is to win the division.

[Kimmi]

done. If all teams are given a 25% chance to make the ws (3 division winners, 1 wc winner per league), the wc winner only got in 19% of the time.

 

sss

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Hang in there! Relief is just around the corner...

 

Sale > Richards (DFA Richards or Richards>Rios)

Houck > Perez (Perez >Robles)

DHern > Davis

Schwarber > Cordero

Arroyo > Arauz

 

That's 5 significant improved areas with maybe one or two more, if Richards and or Perez can do well from the pen.

 

 

I'm also banking on the overall offense as an improved area because of Schwarber's presence in the middle of the order. He doesn't have to hit 10 HRs in 12 games (like he did before injury), but crushing a couple a week will provide consistent production and a threat to foes, and allow other bats to relax and not press as much. I just hope the Sox don't bat him leadoff like the Nats did, because that's a spot unlikely to feature baserunners on in front of him...

[Bellhorn04]

sss

 

Pretty logical results, however.

[Kimmi]

It's still better than I thought it would be. A slight disadvantage for WC teams seems fair.

 

The strongest correlation to postseason wins is regular season wins. The best teams do have a slight advantage in the postseason, which means the wildcard teams would have a slight disadvantage, emphasis being on the word 'slight'. I would even classify it as being very slight. The playoffs really are a crapshoot, especially in comparison to other sports.

[Kimmi]

The Sox aren't hitting. For all the complaints about Duran, he went 2 for 5. Devers was 0 for 5 behind him. The Sox need some of their hitters back. Missing Kike was big tonight as we played Duran, Cordero and Gonzalez and pinch hit Dalbec. Would like to know when Arroyo gets back and Schwaber is probably out until the 10th at least.

 

To me, the lack of offense right now is the bigger problem than our starting pitching. Our starting pitching is what it is. The offense has to be better than what it's been. Since the ASB, we have averaged 4 runs/game. In our last 10 games, with a 3-7 record, we've average 3.1 runs/game.

[Kimmi]

We've lost 6 of 7 right after winning 6 of 7.

 

Don't give up on this team.

 

Someone take names. (lol)

 

It's a bad stretch, that's all. Very painful while we're going through it, but things will get better.

 

I don't dare read the game threads right now. My mental health can't take it. LOL

[mvp 78]

The strongest correlation to postseason wins is regular season wins. The best teams do have a slight advantage in the postseason, which means the wildcard teams would have a slight disadvantage, emphasis being on the word 'slight'. I would even classify it as being very slight. The playoffs really are a crapshoot, especially in comparison to other sports.

 

If it really was a crapshoot, we'd see more WC teams advancing further into the playoffs IMO.

[mvp 78]

Many times you can figure out the end long before you finish the book.

 

IDK, this season seems more like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.

 

Call up Jarren Duran? turn to page 83

Do nothing at the deadline? turn to page 94

Trade for a 1b? turn to page 102

Send Casas to the Olympics? turn to page 76

[Kimmi]

It seems the once vaunted offense is falling flat and the pitching cannot support it. I am pretty sure Bogey has a wrist issue that you'll hear about off-season surgery in October or November. Ever since he missed a few games with a wrist issue, he is a different hitter. Verdugo has seemed to fall into the power trap that a lot of young hitters fall into. His game is occasional power, but his swing now has so much loft that he has lost his identity and his production has cratered. JD is chasing at an alarming rate. The only guys who are hitting right now are Devers and Kike. JD will eventually find it. Bogey may be a shadow of himself until the wrist is fixed. Verdugo is starting to look like Gleyber up there. Inbetween identities and not useful to anyone. The offense is in trouble right now as the bottom of the order has been awful. The sox are built to hammer pitching and have their staff hold them just enough. Well, without the hammer, the starting staff isnt keeping up and the pen is getting worn down

 

One can always tell when the Yankees are playing a little better.

[Kimmi]

Many times you can figure out the end long before you finish the book.

 

But more often than not, you can't.

[Bellhorn04]

One can always tell when the Yankees are playing a little better.

 

Yes, Jax is about as bipolar a fan as you'll find.

[Kimmi]

Pretty logical results, however.

 

Based off of 8 postseasons?

[jacksonianmarch]

Yes, Jax is about as bipolar a fan as you'll find.

 

This is a bipolar year. With the names in the Yankee lineup, we should be seeing 10+ run outbursts every other week. Instead, it is almost as rare as a ball hit with authority by Gleyber Torres

[mvp 78]

Based off of 8 postseasons?

 

That's the only data we can go on.

 

You can't just say everything is a crapshoot and not be able to have any sort of backup for it.

 

Right now, it appears that WC teams are less likely than division winners to make the WS.

[jacksonianmarch]

That's the only data we can go on.

 

You can't just say everything is a crapshoot and not be able to have any sort of backup for it.

 

Right now, it appears that WC teams are less likely than division winners to make the WS.

 

Especially now that half the WC teams are eliminated in a one game playoff and have burned their best starter before their following series