8/29 @ Cleveland

[moonslav59]

I disagree, emphatically. This is Bogey's 8th season as our starting SS, so by now you and I and everyone else should know he is steady at SS, but lacks range and quickness. His current overall WAR is 4.1, not too shabby, and it's because he's a very consistent hitter (when his wrist doesn't hurt).

 

And exactly when did someone announce that Schwarber would be another Verdugo in LF? He was hired to play 1b and DH, but, with Renfroe and Kike--both of whom you clearly have forgotten about--out, it made sense to put Schwarber in LF, again. Plus I thought that was a tough catch for anyone. If Verdugo had caught it, we would have given him a rave.

 

And you are darn right our pitchers got hit hard. Neither Bogey nor Schwarber was charged with an error. But Munoz was because he was a sub who just got lost out there.

 

And our pitchers getting hit hard should not have been a surprise. Cora used his best guys to get tough wins in games 1 and 2. Plus Houck, as good as he certainly was--a no-hitter after 5 innings--wasted pitches by walking 4 guys, which made it possible for him to face Cleveland's lineup the 3d time in the 6th inning, when he got one out, gave up the dinger to Ramirez, and hit the next two guys. After that, Taylor came in with 2 on and 1 out and made sure both scored. So he didn't do his job, nor did Robles or Davis. Even Barnes gave up a single for getting his 1 stinking out.

 

Let me make it clear that the real culprits were the bullpen, no surprise. Houck made some mistakes, but he absolutely did his job. This was a good start. We knew before this game started that, unless the lineup--missing Renfroe, Kike and Arroyo--scored a bunch of runs, we were going to need the bullpen and that the bullpen was fresh out of good arms. Actually, there's a caveat to that. It's possible Cora could have used Whitlock or Richards, but the Sox start playing 4 at Tampa tomorrow night. In this game, the duds were given a chance to show they could do something and utterly failed to so.

 

Bogey's range sucks. You and I and everyone should know, he is a minus defender, overall.

 

That doesn't mean he sucks. I've never criticized his offense and have been defending it, citing his wrist injury.

 

Of course the pitchers are sucking, but that doesn't let the D totally off the hook. I'm not making excuses, but it's not just the pen that is letting us down.

 

I haven't watched every play of evry MLB games, but I'd bet our defense has allowed more EARNED runs to score than any other team. We've made so many defensive mistakes not called errors, it's hard to fathom. I know there is more to BAbip than bad luck; much of it has to do with poor defense.

 

27 MLB teams are bunched between a .270 and .304 BAbip Against. The 3 that are not?

 

.324 BOS

.311 BAL

 

.259 LAD

 

A 13 point lead over the next team is huge when you figure the sample size is over 5,000 PAs.

 

We are dead last in plays made with Balls hit into the zone, percentage-wise (.774). That's like making a little more than 3 out of 4 plays hit into the fielding zone. Most teams are over 81% and some over 82%.

 

No way am I saying Bogey is a net minus on this team. It's not even close. He does normally make the sure plays, so that's a big help, but he is most certainly a drag on the D and the staff, and has been for 8 years.

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by moonslav59

[Oscars]

Our pen has sucked, but the D has to do something to pick them up in times of greatest need. Instead they shrink when it counts most.

 

No doubt, our pen let up some hard hits, but we have to make the freakin' plays when it counts.

 

I guess you should expect your 6th string 2Bman to make a blunder, and I've never been high on Bogey's D, buy MAN-O-Freakin'-Man!

 

Also a better left fielder would have made the catch that Schwarber didn’t get to.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Bloom didn't improve the bullpen at the deadline, and that is on him. He traded for two bullpen arms, but they didn't represent any kind of upgrade. The defense sucks and is part of the problem but the Red Sox didn't upgrade their defense either. Quite the contrary, in trading for Schwarber, the Red Sox downgraded their defense.

 

With that said, Cora's usage of the bullpen was kind of weird in this game, but maybe Richards wasn't available? I see Richards as the 8th inning guy, with Ottavino as the closer, but why wasn't Richards used in this game? Was he tired? Richards has been really good from the bullpen lately and is giving me some hope that the Red Sox bullpen won't be complete garbage down the stretch.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Fan_since_Boggs

[moonslav59]

Also a better left fielder would have made the catch that Schwarber didn’t get to.

 

So, at least three plays not called errors., and all led to runs, but no, this is 100% on the pen, Cora and Bloom.

 

Yes, it's on Bloom for not doing better building the pen and defense, but can you guys look at what he was given to build this team from worse than scratch? I mean, look at the team we had, last year and the budget he was given. Yes, we could have been better had he spent some of the money more wisely, but overall, the guy did a fantastic job building a competitive team out of almost nothing.

 

He could have traded some more youth to get better relievers or a better defender than Schwarber, but just yesterday almost everyone was praising the Schwarber get, a guy we got for way less than what the Yanks gave for Rizzo.

 

Yes, this team has glaring weaknesses Bloom did not or could not address, without sacrificing the future or the budget. The Richards, Perez, Marwin and Andriese signings sucked, no doubt. I guess some of you think he deserves to be hung for that, despite our doing well beyond expectations.

 

Bloom has been far from perfect, but the guy is a genius who has us on the right track beyond 2021 and favorites to make the playoffs, this year. I guess that's not enough.

[moonslav59]

Bloom should have know the entire pen was going to implode all at once. He sucks.

 

Many posters, here were screaming for a 1Bman and SP'er not pen help.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

On the bright side. All of you guys do realize how close the SOX were to getting swept in this series. That they won 2 of 3 is a minor miracle. Btw, Cleveland isn't as terrible as the Twinkies or Rangers. Those 2 teams the SOX should have swept. Getting thru September with this BP will probably make alcoholics out of most of us.

[moonslav59]

I guess when you're lucky, you're lucky.

 

The Yanks tied the As in the 7th like this:

 

BB

K

K

WP (Man to 2nd)

E (dropped foul pop up by catcher)

E (Error by 3Bman allows run to score)

 

[moonslav59]

Kemp with a 2 run HR off Green to give the A's a 3-1 lead in the 8th.

[a700hitter]

Part is on the defense, and it wasn't like Robles and Davis were supposed to pitch so many high leverage games.

 

Yes, he can be partially blamed for those two choices, but blaming one guy for a loss is neglecting everyone else who had a hand in this loss, and there were many.

Part of the blame?

[Maxbialystock]

Morning after reflections.

 

Cleveland series was tougher than expected. Both our wins were squeakers and so was theirs.

 

I think the bullpen, while not as good as April-July, still has 8 very good to good enough guys who can get outs: Ottavino, Whitlock, Richards, Taylor, Sawamura, DHernandez (on IL), Barnes, and Valdez (also on IL). Plus the garbage men like Robles, Davis, and Perez. Thus by the 3d close game, the good guys needed a rest, especially with 4 games vs. the Rays starting tonight, and Cleveland scored 6 runs after starter Houck left the game.

 

I also like the lineup now that Schwarber is full-time and can DH, play 1b, play LF--but it sure would be nice to get back Kike, Renfroe, and Arroyo.

 

Do ya think that with those three guys in last night's lineup the game might have gone differently? Bogaerts still doesn't hold onto that liner, but Verdugo likely would caught caught that long fly/drive to left center, and Arroyo wouldn't have be malpositioned as Munoz was. Plus maybe another hit or two.

 

I also like this rotation because Sale and Eovaldi are solid, ERod looked very good in 4 of his last 5 starts, Houck just might be good 5 inning pitcher, and Pivetta is capable of pitching well, just not every time out.

 

I honestly look forward to this Rays series because they right now are the best around. They were in the WS last year and are probably the AL favorite to repeat. Kike and Arroyo out will hurt, but that's MLB in 2021.

[moonslav59]

Part of the blame?

 

Not even the major part, yes.

[moonslav59]

Morning after reflections.

 

Cleveland series was tougher than expected. Both our wins were squeakers and so was theirs.

 

I think the bullpen, while not as good as April-July, still has 8 very good to good enough guys who can get outs: Ottavino, Whitlock, Richards, Taylor, Sawamura, DHernandez (on IL), Barnes, and Valdez (also on IL). Plus the garbage men like Robles, Davis, and Perez. Thus by the 3d close game, the good guys needed a rest, especially with 4 games vs. the Rays starting tonight, and Cleveland scored 6 runs after starter Houck left the game.

 

I also like the lineup now that Schwarber is full-time and can DH, play 1b, play LF--but it sure would be nice to get back Kike, Renfroe, and Arroyo.

 

Do ya think that with those three guys in last night's lineup the game might have gone differently? Bogaerts still doesn't hold onto that liner, but Verdugo likely would caught caught that long fly/drive to left center, and Arroyo wouldn't have be malpositioned as Munoz was. Plus maybe another hit or two.

 

I also like this rotation because Sale and Eovaldi are solid, ERod looked very good in 4 of his last 5 starts, Houck just might be good 5 inning pitcher, and Pivetta is capable of pitching well, just not every time out.

 

I honestly look forward to this Rays series because they right now are the best around. They were in the WS last year and are probably the AL favorite to repeat. Kike and Arroyo out will hurt, but that's MLB in 2021.

 

I'm thinking we might pull a big surprise.

 

The Rays are playing better than even the Yanks. It seems like the perfect storm is brewing for the Sox to get throttled.

 

It's times like this that what seems like the obvious never happens.

 

Our team has grit. Renfroe is back. Our starters are doing well. Our offense seems to come and go, but Schwarber has provided a big boost.

 

The defense is scary, but the pen is not this bad. Maybe they weren't as good as they looked earlier in the year, but they should bounce back.

 

7 of the next 10 vs the Rays should be telling. We could lose 5 and still have the inside track on the WC2 slot, but I'm hoping for 4-5 wins.