6/17 Cards @ SOX 7:10PM ET

[Old Red]

Come on. He came into the game with a freaking 6-2 lead and two men out. When he finally got the final out, the score was 6-5.

 

He did make it harder than it should have been.

[Bellhorn04]

Come on. He came into the game with a freaking 6-2 lead and two men out. When he finally got the final out, the score was 6-5.

 

Yes, he gave up 2 hits, one to a .287 hitter and one to a .338 hitter. That's gonna happen.

 

Then he struck out a .344 hitter.

 

He wasn't going up against any chumps.

[Maxbialystock]

Here's some interesting stats on Houck, especially if you think he is the best closer available.

 

In the month of June he has pitched in 6 games, pitched a total of 7.1 innings, registered 10 K's and just 1 BB, and given up 1 run for a June-to-date ERA of 1.23. The Sox won all 6 of those games.

 

In May he pitched in 6 games, a total of 17 innings, and gave up 11 runs (7 in one game vs the Angels and 3 in another vs. the White Sox, and 1 in the other four games and 12 innings vs the Rangers, Mariners, White Sox, and Orioles).

 

If you lop off those first two games, May 5 and May 8, Houck has now pitched in 10 straight games, from May 15 thru June 17, in which he has pitched 19.1 innings and given up 2 runs with 19 K's and 5 BB's.

 

So it sure looks as though the case for House is a good one and that last night was just a bad night in which he still got the save.

 

The caveat to the above is that in 9 of those 10 straight games Houck faced some pretty weak hitting teams: A's (2d worst team OPS in MLB) once; Mariners (8th worst) three times; Orioles (5th worst) once; Rangers (8th worst) once; Angels (10th worst) once; White Sox (9th best) once, and Reds (12th worst) once.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Maxbialystock

[Old Red]

Next Cora has to see how he does on back to back nights, which hasn’t happened yet. He only threw 15 pitches last night, so it will be interesting to see if Cora uses him tonight if needed. Big challenge for Kutter tonight.

[Bellhorn04]

Next Cora has to see how he does on back to back nights, which hasn’t happened yet. He only threw 15 pitches last night, so it will be interesting to see if Cora uses him tonight if needed. Big challenge for Kutter tonight.

 

My guess, FWIW: Cora won't use Houck for a full inning tonight no matter what, but would use him again to get the last out if necessary.

[moonslav59]

Agree, and don’t forget Sale, and Kutter too. Bottom line Houck crapped his pants last night, and if a few Imodium won’t do the trick outside of a trade the Sox are in deep doo doo especially with the tough part of the schedule coming up. That shouldn’t have been a tough save last night, but Houck turned it into one. Crazy rules too that he was awarded a save.

 

It was one game- a real bad one for Houck. We are lucky we still got the win.

 

I'm still hopeful Houck is the man to close, but the deadline may be too far away, if he doesn't work out in the closer role.

 

Trades do happen in June and early July. It may need to happen, here, but not based on one game.

[moonslav59]

Papelbon and Kimbrel had their share of heart attack saves.

 

The only relaxing closer we've ever had was Koji in 2013, and that was a short-lived phenomenon.

 

Papelbon had some long stretches of near complete dominance and little drama, but I agree: Koji was put us all at ease.

 

His OPS Against numbers for that year or two were better than Mo.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

After all is said and done the SOX beat a damn good offensive team last night. Cards have as good a line-up as anyone in MLB. They're not gonna roll over and die. Last night proved that. Edited June 18, 2022 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[Old Red]

It was one game- a real bad one for Houck. We are lucky we still got the win.

 

I'm still hopeful Houck is the man to close, but the deadline may be too far away, if he doesn't work out in the closer role.

 

Trades do happen in June and early July. It may need to happen, here, but not based on one game.

 

Agree I haven’t given up on Houck after 1 shaky game.

[Old Red]

After all is said and done the SOX beat a damn good offensive team last night. Cards have as good a line-up as anyone in MLB. They're not gonna roll over and die.

 

Like I said earlier this will be a big challenge for Kutter tonight.

[moonslav59]

Like I said earlier this will be a big challenge for Kutter tonight.

 

I'll feel a lot better with Big Nate on the mound, but Kutter showed some promise, last time out.

[dgalehouse]

Yes, he gave up 2 hits, one to a .287 hitter and one to a .338 hitter. That's gonna happen.

 

Then he struck out a .344 hitter.

 

He wasn't going up against any chumps.

 

Closin' ain't easy . The game is on the line . The guy at the plate , with bat in hand is giving it his best also. In the end , Houck got the job done. He got the save. The Sox won the game. But it is hard to please some people.

[Maxbialystock]

Closin' ain't easy . The game is on the line . The guy at the plate , with bat in hand is giving it his best also. In the end , Houck got the job done. He got the save. The Sox won the game. But it is hard to please some people.

 

Oh, come off it. Wacha went through their entire lineup 2+ times and gave up 1 run. Then Schreiber and Strahm went through their entire lineup once, giving up 2 BB's, no hits, and no runs.

 

Davis and Houck butchered the 9th inning, giving up two doubles, a triple, an HBP, and 4 runs of a 5 run lead. Given the first 8 innings, no other assessment is reasonable.

 

And what is this, "the game was on the line" stuff? They had a freaking 6-1 lead and just had to get three freaking outs. When Houck took the mound, it was a 6-2 lead with two men out, and you want to congratulate him for his brilliant, gutsy, fearless save?

 

The good news is that Houck (and Davis) are still probably pretty good relievers who just had a bad night/game.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Maxbialystock

[dgalehouse]

Oh, come off it. Wacha went through their entire lineup 2+ times and gave up 1 run. Then Schreiber and Strahm went through their entire lineup once, giving up 2 BB's, no hits, and no runs.

 

Davis and Houck butchered the 9th inning, giving up two doubles, a triple, an HBP, and 4 runs of a 5 run lead. Given the first 8 innings, no other assessment is reasonable.

 

The good news is that Houck (and Davis) are still probably pretty good relievers who just had a bad night/game.

Max , I did watch the game , but thanks for the recap anyway. The Sox won , by the way. There were quite a few blown saves in MLB this week , but this wasn't one of them. I try to be relaxed , happy and stress free. You should try it . It seems to me that if you found a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk , you would complain that it was rumpled. Relax. Don't be so truculent all the time.

[Old Red]

Max , I did watch the game , but thanks for the recap anyway. The Sox won , by the way. There were quite a few blown saves in MLB this week , but this wasn't one of them. I try to be relaxed , happy and stress free. You should try it . It seems to me that if you found a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk , you would complain that it was rumpled. Relax. Don't be so truculent all the time.

 

Yes, but would he keep it?

[TylerD]

Completely agree the closer has to be fearless--I said that up above--and that might be Houck. However, coolness doesn't work without great command and two really effective pitches. Houck now has 3 saves and in all three of them at least one batter hit the ball hard. Tonight he needed just one freaking out and instead gave up back to back hard hit doubles that cut the Sox lead from 6-2 to 6-5.

 

I remain unconvinced that Houck is THE MAN, but for now think Cora should stick with him. Eight other Sox relievers have had save opportunities this season and none has shown he has the right stuff.

True, might just take Houck some time to settle into the position as well.

 

It’s been a while, but I remember Kimbrel used to give us some pretty good heart attacks at the best of times lol.