5/06 SOX @ Phillies 7:15PM ET

[TylerD]

Hell of a win!

 

8 straight

[moonslav59]

Right. In this series I just love the way he's hitting.

 

It's more than just this series. (He's .176 on the season.)

 

I'm happy with Turner and his contract.

[Nick]

Some still wish we signed Schwarber, right?

 

He would've been entertaining last on a team with no pop.

[Maxbialystock]

Ever win this year is to be savored--that is, if you remember last spring.

 

Kluber just notched another win with 3 runs in 5 innings. Some pretty good guys--Schreiber, Bernardino, Winckowski, and Jansen--backed him up in the 6th-9th innings.

[moonslav59]

Hell of a win!

 

8 straight

 

Pinch me!

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Pinch me!

 

 

At your service, MOON. Consider yourself pinched.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

I've been wearing the same jock strap since this streak started. It's starting to get uncomfortable.

[Maxbialystock]

Pinch me!

 

Exactly.

[Maxbialystock]

Attendance 43,832.

[moonslav59]

If we had picked a stretch in the schedule where we might be most likely to win 8 in a row, nobody would have picked these 8 games.

[Bellhorn04]

He waits until a play is white hot and then rests him.

 

Seriously? Masa had played for 15 straight games before Cora rested him. And he only had a single in the game before being rested.

 

Do you really think no players should have any scheduled rest days, that Cora needs to base it all on whether they're hot or not?

 

Obviously, I'm in agreement with Cora. I think he handles this stuff great.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Seriously? Masa had played for 15 straight games before Cora rested him. And he only had a single in the game before being rested.

 

Do you really think no players should have any scheduled rest days, that Cora needs to base it all on whether they're hot or not?

 

Obviously, I'm in agreement with Cora. I think he handles this stuff great.

 

Lying, cheating -- oops, that's my ex-wife...

 

Good modern managers aren't so much seen as strategists, but people-people -- guys players want to play for. Cora and Francona have been the best in that regard in Boston the past half-century, and the words of actual Red Sox players back that up.

 

The anti-Tito was Bobby Valentine, for calling out his guys in the press. Other historic hardasses met with mixed results: Duroucher, Mauch, Martin, Williams, etc.

[Bellhorn04]

Lying, cheating -- oops, that's my ex-wife...

 

Good modern managers aren't so much seen as strategists, but people-people -- guys players want to play for. Cora and Francona have been the best in that regard in Boston the past half-century, and the words of actual Red Sox players back that up.

 

The anti-Tito was Bobby Valentine, for calling out his guys in the press. Other historic hardasses met with mixed results: Duroucher, Mauch, Martin, Williams, etc.

 

Cora reminds me a lot of Francona, and I think he learned a lot from Tito.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Cora reminds me a lot of Francona, and I think he learned a lot from Tito.

 

Good point, and other guys with dugout jobs or futures may have been likewise influenced: Cash, Roberts, Kapler, Varitek, Mueller, Pedroia, Lowell, Julian Tavarez (kidding)

[moonslav59]

Seriously? Masa had played for 15 straight games before Cora rested him. And he only had a single in the game before being rested.

 

Do you really think no players should have any scheduled rest days, that Cora needs to base it all on whether they're hot or not?

 

Obviously, I'm in agreement with Cora. I think he handles this stuff great.

 

It's one area of a few that I strongly disagree with Cora on, but I still really love Cora as our manager. I also don't pretend to know more than him and strongly consider I could be wrong on this and my other differing opinions.

 

On Yoshida:

1. The whole team had a day off a week ago.

2. He has been DH'd in 3 of the 7 straight days he's played.

3. He has a .937 OPS in those 7 games. (1-4, yesterday does not beg for a day off.)

 

I'm fine resting players 3-5 games over the season. I'd prefer 2-3, if you can DH a player a few games here and there. I do not think DH'ing is very tiring, at all. In fact, I don't think baseball is tiring all that much, except for pitchers and catchers and maybe busy SSs.

 

It's just my opinion. I'd still rest players, but I do not think I am mischaracterizing Cora's penchant for resting guys that are hot over their last 4-7 games. Some seem to just be pulling out of a slump, and boom- day off. IMO, players find strides and ride them out. Most players have stat lines that are greatly improved by just a few hot streaks. Don't mess with them.

 

I still love Cora.

[moonslav59]

Cora reminds me a lot of Francona, and I think he learned a lot from Tito.

 

Agreed.

 

I do recall people saying, last year, that all the rest given to our best players would help them in August and September.

 

I do recall everyone loving all the rest Cora gave our rotation in ST'ing 2019.

 

To be fair, there are likely more examples of players doing well, late in the season, but it's certainly a topic for debate.

[Maxbialystock]

Agreed.

 

I do recall people saying, last year, that all the rest given to our best players would help them in August and September.

 

I do recall everyone loving all the rest Cora gave our rotation in ST'ing 2019.

 

To be fair, there are likely more examples of players doing well, late in the season, but it's certainly a topic for debate.

 

2018 a pretty good year--resting of lineup players noted on talksox. 2019 a bust, the dismissal of DD, and the arrival of Chaim Bloom. 2020 a nonyear--plus Cora out of MLB. 2021 a surprisingly good year, especially getting to the ALCS without a closer--and the only blown save was in the 6th inning of an ALCS game. 2022 a bad year thanks mostly to bad pitching. Not sure another manager could have done better.

 

And this year, still very young, surprisingly good because of the hitting. And most of the "resting" of position players has been the result of injuries--Chang, Story, Duvall, Yoshida, Dugo (illness?), et al. Management of pitching staff, pretty good, especially in view of weak rotation. Cora has benefitted from the emergence of Duvall, briefly, Duran, Yoshida, Dugo, and the two catchers.

[Bellhorn04]

It's one area of a few that I strongly disagree with Cora on, but I still really love Cora as our manager. I also don't pretend to know more than him and strongly consider I could be wrong on this and my other differing opinions.

 

On Yoshida:

1. The whole team had a day off a week ago.

2. He has been DH'd in 3 of the 7 straight days he's played.

3. He has a .937 OPS in those 7 games. (1-4, yesterday does not beg for a day off.)

 

I'm fine resting players 3-5 games over the season. I'd prefer 2-3, if you can DH a player a few games here and there. I do not think DH'ing is very tiring, at all. In fact, I don't think baseball is tiring all that much, except for pitchers and catchers and maybe busy SSs.

 

It's just my opinion. I'd still rest players, but I do not think I am mischaracterizing Cora's penchant for resting guys that are hot over their last 4-7 games. Some seem to just be pulling out of a slump, and boom- day off. IMO, players find strides and ride them out. Most players have stat lines that are greatly improved by just a few hot streaks. Don't mess with them.

 

I still love Cora.

 

But the thing is, scheduled days off have to be planned in advance. Otherwise they wouldn't be scheduled days off.

 

I think in the modern game there's a lot of pre-game preparation, studying film and data on the opposing starting pitcher etc. I think that part of the day off is getting a mental break from that stuff, not just a physical break.

 

Let's see if Yoshida stays hot after the day off.

[Bellhorn04]

The other thing about the day off for Masa is that it meant playing time for Refsnyder or Tapia, and they both contributed to last night's win.

[moonslav59]

But the thing is, scheduled days off have to be planned in advance. Otherwise they wouldn't be scheduled days off.

 

I think in the modern game there's a lot of pre-game preparation, studying film and data on the opposing starting pitcher etc. I think that part of the day off is getting a mental break from that stuff, not just a physical break.

 

Let's see if Yoshida stays hot after the day off.

 

I can see having a rough idea about needing to rest player A in the next week or two and looking ahead to the right game and likely pitcher match up, but it seems like too often, the day off comes vs the wrong-handed pitcher and or when a player has been extremely hot over the previous week or two.

 

Also, we have Monday off, and I don't get the need for 2 days off in a row, especially when Masa had a day off a week ago and DH'd in 3 of the last 7 days.

 

Sorry, I just can't go along with this one, but watch his replacement go 4 for 5, today and shut me up (for a few seconds.)

[moonslav59]

The other thing about the day off for Masa is that it meant playing time for Refsnyder or Tapia, and they both contributed to last night's win.

 

You can play them by resting Masas at DH and giving Turner or Casas the day off.

 

I would not rest our hottest hitter when we have tomorrow off.

 

Wait until we face a tough lefty.

[Bellhorn04]

You can play them by resting Masas at DH and giving Turner or Casas the day off.

 

Like I said, it might be more about the mental break.

 

You're pretty old school, man.

[Bellhorn04]

Casas OTOH is not hot, but he's playing every day. I would suggest that's because they want him to get the reps.

 

It's just not as simple as play the hot guy and rest the cold guy.

[jad]

The other thing about the day off for Masa is that it meant playing time for Refsnyder or Tapia, and they both contributed to last night's win.

 

Tapia is a lot of fun to watch on the basepaths ... IF he can just get there more often. Becoming one of my favorite players for his speed and hustle. (Hear that, Tristan? Maybe the next time you ground out you can actually run down the basepath instead of doing your Hanley Ramirez imitations?)

[moonslav59]

Like I said, it might be more about the mental break.

 

You're pretty old school, man.

 

Old school is to let players play 160-161 games, if healthy.

 

I'm fine with 155-157, but to me it's more about the timing and wrong-handed pitcher rest days.

 

Like I said, I love Cora as our manager. This is just one minor differing opinion, and often times, they guy Cora plays instad of the resting player does very well.

[moonslav59]

Casas OTOH is not hot, but he's playing every day. I would suggest that's because they want him to get the reps.

 

It's just not as simple as play the hot guy and rest the cold guy.

,

I get this idea. Look at what happened to Renfroe, Kike and Dalbec in 2021.

 

Look what happened when we gave Duran another look, after many felt he'd already met his chances limit.

 

I'm not sure how much longer we give him. His .367 OBP over the past 14 games is encouraging, but he needs to start hitting and showing some power.

 

With so many other hot hands on this team and ways to get them in the line-up by sitting Casas, his days on this opportunity may be short.

 

When Story, Duvall and Mondesi return, he better be doing better, or there will be no choice.

 

He may end up like Duran and help us more, next year, but I am far from giving up on him and 2023.