6/25 sox @ cws 2:10pm et

[Duran Is The Man]

Kike keeping the line moving, setting up Caleb's GS. Actually now this Hamilton is 1 for 19 in MLB action.

 

he is now 1 for 20 in his MLB career, with sixteen strikeouts. ouch. but he did a nice job behind the plate today.

[notin]

he is now 1 for 20 in his MLB career, with sixteen strikeouts. ouch. but he did a nice job behind the plate today.

 

Did he?

 

I was at that game so I didn’t get a great view of much behind the plate. I did see him sail a throw to 2b in between inning well over the head of Kike…

[Duran Is The Man]

Did he?

 

I was at that game so I didn’t get a great view of much behind the plate. I did see him sail a throw to 2b in between inning well over the head of Kike…

 

well...he didn't have any errors or passed balls so i was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[oldtimer]

Who cares? The problem today wasn't the freaking defense, but the lack of hitting.

 

I looked at a replay, but it didn't show where the runner going home was when Casas got the ball. Suffice it to say, the batter, Beni, got all the way to 3d base on that hit. And the guy on 1b got a huge jump because there were two outs. It would have been unusual if he had not scored on a double in the corner with two men out.

 

I wonder why Cora keeps changing the lineup. Would our hitting look better with more stability in the team we put on the field? I realize injuries and other factors are involved but too often our hitting seems subpar.

[notin]

well...he didn't have any errors or passed balls so i was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

 

Fair.

 

He’s a minor league talent at best, however…

[notin]

He absolutely had a play at home.

 

Was anyone telling him where to go with the ball? When I was a kid, the catcher would have that duty. Say nothing, the throw goes through. Cut two, cut three, cut four meant cut the ball of and throw to second, third or home respectively. Cut hold meant just cut the ball off. We didn’t use cut home because it sounded to much like hold.

 

He had NO PLAY at home. Sheets was at third base before Refsnyder even picked the ball up…

[notin]

He had NO PLAY at home. Sheets was at third base before Refsnyder even picked the ball up…

 

Casas was not perfect on that play.

 

When he caught the ball, he looked across the diamond and had Benintendi stopped halfway from home to third. Casas should have charged Beni and made him commit to a base. But instead he threw it behind Benintendi to 2b and Beni just broke for third.

 

But there was no play at home…

[illinoisredsox]

He had NO PLAY at home. Sheets was at third base before Refsnyder even picked the ball up…

 

Looked to me like Sheets was about 45-60 feet from home as Casas caught the ball. I thought he had a shot, though it would have taken a virtually perfect throw and tag (so it probably would not have happened). White Sox tv crew said he may have had a shot as well. Reasonable people can disagree here.

 

But you are correct. Casas’ real screwup was on Benintendi. That was a play I learned as a first time first baseman when I was a 12 year old Little Leaguer and further instilled through Babe Ruth, high school and Legion ball (well maybe not so much there; I didn’t play much at that point). A major leaguer should not be messing that up.

[vegasbob]

Let's just sum up all these comments as follows: This team was ill composed, has suffered significant injuries where depth is still a question and cannot hit for a damn , while playing poor defense. It was , is and will be a .500 team with little to no distinction among the mediocrities in baseball. When your results have not improved over a 3+ year period , try something else. Tired of listening to cheerleaders rooting for a lost cause. If these guys cannot go 7-3 over the next 10 , then you have got problems. Let's hope they do.

[moonslav59]

Let's just sum up all these comments as follows: This team was ill composed, has suffered significant injuries where depth is still a question and cannot hit for a damn , while playing poor defense. It was , is and will be a .500 team with little to no distinction among the mediocrities in baseball. When your results have not improved over a 3+ year period , try something else. Tired of listening to cheerleaders rooting for a lost cause. If these guys cannot go 7-3 over the next 10 , then you have got problems. Let's hope they do.

 

Take away 2021 and the growth is steady.

 

We had a lot of depth- just not 5 SSs and 10 SPers.

[Bellhorn04]

Let's just sum up all these comments as follows: This team was ill composed, has suffered significant injuries where depth is still a question and cannot hit for a damn , while playing poor defense. It was , is and will be a .500 team with little to no distinction among the mediocrities in baseball. When your results have not improved over a 3+ year period , try something else. Tired of listening to cheerleaders rooting for a lost cause. If these guys cannot go 7-3 over the next 10 , then you have got problems. Let's hope they do.

 

I f**king love "ill composed".

[notin]

One thing I never noticed was just how small Andrew Vaughn is. You get this 1st round high pick college 1b, and you think he’s going to be built like Casas. Nope. Vaughn is listed at 6’0”, but absolutely not. I think he’s not much taller - if at all - than Yoshida. But he is considerably stockier…

[cukes]

I wonder why Cora keeps changing the lineup. Would our hitting look better with more stability in the team we put on the field? I realize injuries and other factors are involved but too often our hitting seems subpar.

 

you have to keep a rhythm going when it's working and we don't do that, I just don't aggravate myself anymore, this is what it is in the basement

[Maxbialystock]

I wonder why Cora keeps changing the lineup. Would our hitting look better with more stability in the team we put on the field? I realize injuries and other factors are involved but too often our hitting seems subpar.

 

Cora has been known to stick with a lineup that works. This year he's had a bunch of lefty bats--Devers, Verdugo, Casas, Duran, McGuire, Yoshida, Valdez, etc--and the Sox have naturally faced a lot of righty starters. So five (Devers, Dugo, Casas, Duran, and Yoshida) of the lefty hitters are in the top seven (of Sox batters) in at bats. The three righty bats in the top eight of at bats are Turner, Kike, and Wong.

 

Rookies Duran and Casas are the ones most likely to be replaced in the lineup against a lefty starter.

[Maxbialystock]

Casas was not perfect on that play.

 

When he caught the ball, he looked across the diamond and had Benintendi stopped halfway from home to third. Casas should have charged Beni and made him commit to a base. But instead he threw it behind Benintendi to 2b and Beni just broke for third.

 

But there was no play at home…

 

Exactly the way I saw it. No play at home plus Casas should have run toward Beni and then thrown ahead of him (going to 3b or back to 2b).

[Maxbialystock]

you have to keep a rhythm going when it's working and we don't do that, I just don't aggravate myself anymore, this is what it is in the basement

 

What rhythm? The latest little hitting slump is almost certainly due to Dugo going on bereavement leave.

 

Devers has had mini slumps. So has Yoshida: his OPS so far in June is .706. It was .962 in May.

 

Duvall starting out like a house afire, but it only lasted 8 freaking games. He's struggled in the 15 games he's been back to find that "rhythm." He was pretty good day before yesterday, but the day before in the 9th inning he came to bat with the bases loaded and struck out on 4 pitches. The third strike, swung on and missed, was a slider in the freaking heart of the strike zone. Duvall's OPS in April was 1.669 and in June it's been .574.

 

Casas has been the primary first baseman from the get go--and his OPS in April was .585. It's gotten better since. Duran has been a pleasant surprise, especially on defense, but struggles against lefty pitchers.

 

Wong has been a pleasant surprise at catcher--especially on defense, but his OPS is a very respectable .721. His lefty-hitting partner/backup, McGuire, just got hurt so Wong is having to play a whole lot more (7 games in 7 days). In the last 4 games of those 7 he struck 10 times.

 

Also, about the basement. I don't know how many houses you've been in, but I've been in a lot, and I can assure you all basements are not the same.

 

In the case of the AL East, it's the best freaking basement in the history of MLB. Why? Because the AL East has by far the best won-lost record in the history of MLB divisions. Consequently, the Sox are one game above .500 and 3 games back of the Jays for one wild card slot and 3.5 games back of the Yankees for another.

[illinoisredsox]

What rhythm? The latest little hitting slump is almost certainly due to Dugo going on bereavement leave.

 

Devers has had mini slumps. So has Yoshida: his OPS so far in June is .706. It was .962 in May.

 

Duvall starting out like a house afire, but it only lasted 8 freaking games. He's struggled in the 15 games he's been back to find that "rhythm." He was pretty good day before yesterday, but the day before in the 9th inning he came to bat with the bases loaded and struck out on 4 pitches. The third strike, swung on and missed, was a slider in the freaking heart of the strike zone. Duvall's OPS in April was 1.669 and in June it's been .574.

 

Casas has been the primary first baseman from the get go--and his OPS in April was .585. It's gotten better since. Duran has been a pleasant surprise, especially on defense, but struggles against lefty pitchers.

 

Wong has been a pleasant surprise at catcher--especially on defense, but his OPS is a very respectable .721. His lefty-hitting partner/backup, McGuire, just got hurt so Wong is having to play a whole lot more (7 games in 7 days). In the last 4 games of those 7 he struck 10 times.

 

Also, about the basement. I don't know how many houses you've been in, but I've been in a lot, and I can assure you all basements are not the same.

 

In the case of the AL East, it's the best freaking basement in the history of MLB. Why? Because the AL East has by far the best won-lost record in the history of MLB divisions. Consequently, the Sox are one game above .500 and 3 games back of the Jays for one wild card slot and 3.5 games back of the Yankees for another.

 

Devers has been in a slump since the beginning of last August. His slash for that timeframe is .244/.317/.444/.761 in 129 games.

 

His career numbers are .279/.339/.509/.848 in 764 games, and those numbers are being dragged down by the last 5 months.

 

He's had times in the past where he slumps trying to do to much, but this year especially, it looks like he's trying to hit an 8 run 500 foot homer every time up. I hope the plate discipline he showed this weekend will continue; it will be better for him and the club.

[Maxbialystock]

Devers has been in a slump since the beginning of last August. His slash for that timeframe is .244/.317/.444/.761 in 129 games.

 

His career numbers are .279/.339/.509/.848 in 764 games, and those numbers are being dragged down by the last 5 months.

 

He's had times in the past where he slumps trying to do to much, but this year especially, it looks like he's trying to hit an 8 run 500 foot homer every time up. I hope the plate discipline he showed this weekend will continue; it will be better for him and the club.

 

You could be right about swinging too hard because I've seen him make great contact with an almost slow swing (in which his wrists seem to do most of the work) at pitches outside of the zone. You have too.