8/10 Rays @ SOX 7:10PM

[Fan_since_Boggs]

There is only one solution and his name is BUCK SHOWALTER!

 

Bye, bye Cora.

[Maxbialystock]

The team was in it with 2 outs in the 9th. An error by Renfroe cost us although Barnes was also greatly at fault. Any chance of winning left when the 3 runs came in. It has to take the wind out of the team to see us lose games like these. Our bench tonight was Dalbec, Arauz and Gonzalez. what happened to the shakeup Cora was talking about? It's too late to shake things up when you totally collapse for two weeks.

 

Renfroe wasn't the problem. That double brings in 2 runs without the error, and that's all the Rays needed.

 

This team right now is bad in every aspect of the game: hitting, rotation, bullpen, defense, and baserunning.

 

Ironically, the weakest part, the rotation, has been pretty good for four straight games, giving up 6 earned runs in 20 innings.

 

I wrote on another thread that I saw some good signs in the loss on Sunday.

 

Now I think this team is collapsing. Every reliever is suspect, no exceptions. Every starter is suspect, no exceptions. The defense is unreliable and doesn't have much range. The baserunning is as bad as I have ever seen for a Sox team. And the hitting, which has been solid for a huge chunk of this season, is also coming apart, especially when there are scoring opportunities.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

There is only one solution and his name is BUCK SHOWALTER!

 

Bye, bye Cora.

 

Can Buck pitch or play first? If so, UPS his ass to the SOX pronto.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

This season had been going so well. The Red Sox were in first place with the best record, they drafted future HOF SS M.Mayer, the Red Sox had numerous exciting come-from-behind wins, and then the trade deadline happened and every competitor got better but not the Red Sox, and then the Red Sox imploded.

[illinoisredsox]

Sometimes you have to give closers time to clear their heads when they suck back to back. They lead with a lot of pressure in a regular basis. Look at a Chapman.

 

Barnes right now does not look confident. A lot of load and pressure is in his head. The couple of knock outs of the weekend are still there. He can’t lead with pressure right now. It’s mental. Give him time to clear his head, he is not a clutch pitcher right now.

 

TV guys made a good point; Barnes has totally stopped working quickly and has since the ASB.

[iortiz]

TV guys made a good point; Barnes has totally stopped working quickly and has since the ASB.

 

It could definitely be another reason. Maybe he is thinking more than he should or used to.

 

Either way he has to take 3-4 days off or bring him in Low leverage situations and help him gain confidence again.

[iortiz]

This season had been going so well. The Red Sox were in first place with the best record, they drafted future HOF SS M.Mayer, the Red Sox had numerous exciting come-from-behind wins, and then the trade deadline happened and every competitor got better but not the Red Sox, and then the Red Sox imploded.

 

In all fairness I think the Sox had been one of the few teams in majors who never had a really bad stretch. It’s happening now.

 

I said it before. I still think we win the division. Stars will align again.

 

Hold you faith people.

[TylerD]

In all fairness I think the Sox had been one of the few teams in majors who never had a really bad stretch. It’s happening now.

 

I said it before. I still think we win the division. Stars will align again.

 

Hold you faith people.

 

Win the division lol? If you said just making playoffs by a wild card then ok….. but win the division?? Get real man. Tampa has owned us badly all year other than our sweep against them. We can’t even beat Detroit. Tampa went to the World Series last year and is showing why they can do it again, they aren’t a pretend team. Even if we pick it back up, Tampa isn’t going to fall off. I’ll be amazed if we can even get in through wild card.

[jacksonianmarch]

Sox were not a well constructed team. They played way over their heads and now reality is crashing in as they get tired and the competition got better reinforcements

[d-money]

This team is an embarrassment. Why is sale coming back to this shitshow? Give me a break.

[d-money]

The way this team has gone about is downright embarrassing. No accountability.

[iortiz]

So the Sox can’t have a bad stretch but other teams like NYY can?

[Bellhorn04]

There is only one solution and his name is BUCK SHOWALTER!

 

Bye, bye Cora.

 

Yeah right. Buck Showalter.

 

Don't lose your marbles, man.

[Bellhorn04]

In all fairness I think the Sox had been one of the few teams in majors who never had a really bad stretch. It’s happening now.

 

I said it before. I still think we win the division. Stars will align again.

 

Hold you faith people.

 

Good for you, iortiz. A man with some positivity.

[User Name]

This team is giving me an ulcer. This is allmvp78´s fault.

[mvp 78]

This team is giving me an ulcer. This is allmvp78´s fault.

 

Just wait until MCNLL 12 year old team loses in the Little League World Series this weekend and the whole county realizes that's my fault as well.

[redsoxrules]

In all fairness I think the Sox had been one of the few teams in majors who never had a really bad stretch. It’s happening now.

 

I said it before. I still think we win the division. Stars will align again.

 

Hold you faith people.

 

Good teams don't go through this BAD of a stretch. This is not just losing 4 out of 6 games and get back on track. This is losing 10 out of 12 games and who knows when they will get back on track.

[TylerD]

So the Sox can’t have a bad stretch but other teams like NYY can?

 

Yankees started with a lot of guys injured and on Covid, and Cole Was not pitching very well at all, you knew they had way too much talent to turn not Turn it around. Our starting rotation is pitiful, and showing nothing that they can magically get better. Our starters can’t even make it out of the fourth and fifth inning most days, and generally give us no chance to win. The offense literally has to score 5 or more every day in order for us to get a win, and even then we have now dropped two straight with good offense. You just can’t win baseball games with a bottom five rotation. Philadelphia is, but that is because they are in an atrocious division. We are arguably in the second toughest division, so if you don’t have a good pitching you just won’t win. This in my opinion is more than a bad stretch, this is who we really are

[jung]

Yankees started with a lot of guys injured and on Covid, and Cole Was not pitching very well at all, you knew they had way too much talent to turn not Turn it around. Our starting rotation is pitiful, and showing nothing that they can magically get better. Our starters can’t even make it out of the fourth and fifth inning most days, and generally give us no chance to win. The offense literally has to score 5 or more every day in order for us to get a win, and even then we have now dropped two straight with good offense. You just can’t win baseball games with a bottom five rotation. Philadelphia is, but that is because they are in an atrocious division. We are arguably in the second toughest division, so if you don’t have a good pitching you just won’t win. This in my opinion is more than a bad stretch, this is who we really are

 

This is who we are. Nobody expected much from a starting rotation of ERod coming off of COVID and COVID related health issues, Nate, Pivetta, Perez, Richards.

 

Pivetta has pitched well or at least well by today's standards for Starters. ERod is still making slow process which should have been expected. Nate to me has never really found himself, mired in too large a basket of pitch offerings for his own good and a tendency to just get lost in it all. He is OK by today's standards but not a perennial All-star by any means much less a perennial #1 in a rotation or even a perennial #2 in a rotation. Perez and Richards have turned into pumpkins as we had every reason to expect. Hauck is too young to be relied upon. What will Sale be upon return? NOBODY knows and anybody that tells you he knows, doesn't know.

 

The burden was always on the middle of the batting order from day one till now. Their fielding is unreliable and anybody that thinks a bullpen will be "reliable" for a full season is just dreaming IMO.

 

So we are in the part of the season where cream rises to the top and whatever cards teams have are on the table. We did next to nothing at the deadline to support a team that clearly had overachieved in the first half. I should remind us that our injury list in the first half was not anything like normal. We were in much better shape than the teams with whom we compete. That Arroyo's absence has been so much a factor just tells you that the Red Sox are a thin team. The Rays lost Glasnow and still thought they had enough to give up Rick Hill at the deadline.

 

Low and behold, the apples have risen in the throats of the hitters we depend upon as the pressure has increased on them to perform. 4 runs are not enough. Heck 5 runs are not enough lately. They score 4 or 5 runs just to stay in shape, almost with their eyes closed. But their situational hitting is TERRIBLE unlike that of the Rays for example. Two guys have stayed on an even keel of the guys we rely on in the order, Renfroe and X and X has been nursing a bad wrist which does appear finally to be sound again. The rest have been up, down and sideways through the season. Then you get to the end of the bench which other than Plowecki is nothing to write home about. Duran shows promise. Less thrilled with Dalbac and Cordera, Arauz and Marwin.

 

This is for all intents a MEH team as constructed. Good hitters but too few of them, barely acceptable regular season starting pitching, pretty lousy fielding, atrocious base running and maybe an above average bullpen with the exception of a Closer who does not spell a deep playoff run to me.

 

Still have a shot at post season. But I am not expecting a deep run with this bunch.

Edited August 11, 2021 by jung

[TylerD]

This is who we are. Nobody expected much from a starting rotation of ERod coming off of COVID and COVID related health issues, Nate, Pivetta, Perez, Richards.

 

Pivetta has pitched well or at least well by today's standards for Starters. ERod is still making slow process which should have been expected. Nate to me has never really found himself, mired in too large a basket of pitch offerings for his own good and a tendency to just get lost in it all. He is OK by today's standards but not a perennial All-star by any means much less a perennial #1 in a rotation or even a perennial #2 in a rotation. Perez and Richards have turned into pumpkins as we had every reason to expect. Hauck is too young to be relied upon. What will Sale be upon return? NOBODY knows and anybody that tells you he knows, doesn't know.

 

The burden was always on the middle of the batting order from day one till now. Their fielding is unreliable and anybody that thinks a bullpen will be "reliable" for a full season is just dreaming IMO.

 

So we are in the part of the season where cream rises to the top and whatever cards teams have are on the table. We did next to nothing at the deadline to support a team that clearly had overachieved in the first half. I should remind us that our injury list in the first half was not anything like normal. We were in much better shape than the teams with whom we compete. That Arroyo's absence has been so much a factor just tells you that the Red Sox are a thin team. The Rays lost Glasnow and still thought they had enough to give up Rick Hill at the deadline.

 

Low and behold, the apples have risen in the throats of the hitters we depend upon as the pressure has increased on them to perform. 4 runs are not enough. Heck 5 runs are not enough lately. They score 4 or 5 runs just to stay in shape, almost with their eyes closed. But their situational hitting is TERRIBLE unlike that of the Rays for example. Two guys have stayed on an even keel of the guys we rely on in the order, Renfroe and X and X has been nursing a bad wrist which does appear finally to be sound again. The rest have been up, down and sideways through the season. Then you get to the end of the bench which other than Plowecki is nothing to write home about. Duran shows promise. Less thrilled with Dalbac and Cordera, Arauz and Marwin.

 

This is for all intents a MEH team as constructed. Good hitters but too few of them, barely acceptable regular season starting pitching, pretty lousy fielding, atrocious base running and maybe an above average bullpen with the exception of a Closer who does not spell a deep playoff run to me.

 

Still have a shot at post season. But I am not expecting a deep run with this bunch.

 

Exactly, spot on! The only reason why this is disappointing is because they got off to such a great start..... Whether we deserved to have the best record in baseball at one point or not really doesn't matter, it's still disappointing going from that to this crap. I obviously knew we were playing over our head, but it doesn't make this less painful. There might be some people that can say, "Hey, it's been a hell of a season, and we way over achieved, I am just glad we played good up till this point." but I am not one of those...... I can ACCEPT the fact that we were playing over our head, but it's still disappointing as all hell to fall this bad. Any time a team gets off to the start we did in the second half of the season, and then drops like this in the second half is disappointing regardless what you expected at the beginning of the season.

 

The same thing happened with the Colts in 2019 with Jacoby Brisette. Nobody was expecting a great season after Luck retired, and then Indy went 5-3 (hell they even beat the Chiefs) and then we went 2-6 to finish the season..... Disappointing was an understatement. It's no different with the Sox this year. I wasn't expecting big things from this team with the rotation we had, and I even thought the bullpen would be awful.... But we just kept winning games. Now we are slipping back to reality to the team we really are and it stings. Anyone that thinks this is just "a rough patch" will be very upset by the end of the year. We have a bottom 5 rotation, you can't just turn that around. When your starters can't go past 4 or 5 innings tops (and have given up 4 runs) you aren't winning many games. They are showing zero signs of turning that around unfortunately. Sale coming back Saturday definitely helps though.

[a700hitter]

When your team exceeds expectations and finds itself in first place after 100 games, management owes it to that team and the fans to get some reinforcements to give that team a chance. To sit and watch multiple deals by each of the 3 teams chasing us and to do nothing is just unacceptable.

[iortiz]

Good for you, iortiz. A man with some positivity.

 

Seems like our rotation has settled down a bit. Our offense while not that great it was in the first half, at least they are getting on base. Thing right now is the BP, which had been our biggest strength in the first half.

 

Also, Arroyo and Schwarber will join. Sale will join. Houck will go deeper. Clutch hitting/pitching won't be this bad.

 

So yes, while I could sound positive, I think there's still objective reasons to think they can bounce back.

[iortiz]

Good teams don't go through this BAD of a stretch. This is not just losing 4 out of 6 games and get back on track. This is losing 10 out of 12 games and who knows when they will get back on track.

 

Have to check it twice but MIL, NYY, TBR, among others have had similar bad stretches.

 

I think the only team who has been good without major problems is SFG. Even LAD and SDP have had bad times.

 

Our record is still one of the best in baseball.

[moonslav59]

Seems like our rotation has settled down a bit. Our offense while not that great it was in the first half, at least they are getting on base. Thing right now is the BP, which had been our biggest strength in the first half.

 

Also, Arroyo and Schwarber will join. Sale will join. Houck will go deeper. Clutch hitting/pitching won't be this bad.

 

So yes, while I could sound positive, I think there's still objective reasons to think they can bounce back.

 

Well said.

 

Maybe we just need a big spark to ignite a big flame.

[Bellhorn04]

It's always about the W's and L's. A stretch like this with too many L's makes fans sour on everything from the owner down to the ballboy/girl/person, and full of opinions on what should have been done and who f***ed up.

[illinoisredsox]

Have to check it twice but MIL, NYY, TBR, among others have had similar bad stretches.

 

I think the only team who has been good without major problems is SFG. Even LAD and SDP have had bad times.

 

Our record is still one of the best in baseball.

 

One of the best teams in Sox history had stretches of the following:

 

3-11 in July

3-13 in September

 

All the 1978 Red Sox did was win 99 games (and yes, I lived through that nightmare, no need to remind me of what happened in game 163).

 

Right after that second streak, they went 12-2 to finish the year, including 8 straight to close the scheduled season and tie the Evil Empire. It took all 8 to make up a one game deficit as the Yankees refused to lose until the last day of the season.

 

That all being said, this team is not the 78 Sox in any way, shape or form. Devers and Bogaerts would be the only guys who would have played regularly for that team. Eovaldi and ERod would have been slotted in the 4-5 holes in the rotation.

[TylerD]

When your team exceeds expectations and finds itself in first place after 100 games, management owes it to that team and the fans to get some reinforcements to give that team a chance. To sit and watch multiple deals by each of the 3 teams chasing us and to do nothing is just unacceptable.

 

This!!!! I totally get it if we aren’t in a playoff spot , but we were tied for best record in the entire league. How does management just sit there and not care. Absolutely mind blowing. It’s almost like they expected failure like this and decided it’s a throw away season.

[TylerD]

Guess I won’t panic yet. We are still in a playoff spot. Once we lost the second wildcard spot…… then the optimistic people need to get real.

[iortiz]

One of the best teams in Sox history had stretches of the following:

 

3-11 in July

3-13 in September

 

All the 1978 Red Sox did was win 99 games (and yes, I lived through that nightmare, no need to remind me of what happened in game 163).

 

Right after that second streak, they went 12-2 to finish the year, including 8 straight to close the scheduled season and tie the Evil Empire. It took all 8 to make up a one game deficit as the Yankees refused to lose until the last day of the season.

 

That all being said, this team is not the 78 Sox in any way, shape or form. Devers and Bogaerts would be the only guys who would have played regularly for that team. Eovaldi and ERod would have been slotted in the 4-5 holes in the rotation.

This team reminds me 2013. Geez we started without a closer until Kioji emerged and we all know how it ended up. That 2013 team was not fav by any means but day after day found ways to win games. This team has proven that they can do that with a bunch of subpar players.

 

Said that, yes, Bloom probably should have made a trade specially at pitching and here and there, but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt once Shwarber and Sale play; maybe and just maybe, the later (plus Houck) was his master plan. We'll se though.

[moonslav59]

This!!!! I totally get it if we aren’t in a playoff spot , but we were tied for best record in the entire league. How does management just sit there and not care. Absolutely mind blowing. It’s almost like they expected failure like this and decided it’s a throw away season.

 

Management is not sitting and not caring.

 

They were not running to make panic moves.

 

You think they expected to go 2-13 with the same team that had the best record in MLB?

 

Did you expect this?