August 27: Dodgers at Red Sox

[moonslav59]

TBD vs Houck

 

Big game.

 

Batters are hot. Jansen is supposedly back.

 

The pen was taxed, today, so let's get some innings from Houck.

 

Go Sox!

 

[moonslav59]

LA named LHP Caleb Ferguson as their SP'er vs Houck.

 

That likely means no start from Abreu for 3 straight games.

 

I wonder where Cora will bat Refsnyder.

 

Reyes probably gets the day off.

 

Jansen should be ready to pitch, but the set up men might be tough to cobble together.Martin and Bernardino just went 1/3, but Wink, Whitlock, Schreiber and Pivetta might be unavailable. That leaves Llover as a probable pitcher, unless we make a roster move.

[Duran Is The Man]

TBD vs Houck

 

Big game.

 

Batters are hot. Jansen is supposedly back.

 

The pen was taxed, today, so let's get some innings from Houck.

 

Go Sox!

 

 

 

lefty Caleb Ferguson is going to open a pen game for the Dodgers.

[Old Red]

LA named LHP Caleb Ferguson as their SP'er vs Houck.

 

That likely means no start from Abreu for 3 straight games.

 

I wonder where Cora will bat Refsnyder.

 

Reyes probably gets the day off.

 

Jansen should be ready to pitch, but the set up men might be tough to cobble together.Martin and Bernardino just went 1/3, but Wink, Whitlock, Schreiber and Pivetta might be unavailable. That leaves Llover as a probable pitcher, unless we make a roster move.

I don’t know who will be following this guy, but he hasn’t pitched more than an inning all year, so you don’t have to overthink think this, and start more RHH.

[Maxbialystock]

I don’t know who will be following this guy, but he hasn’t pitched more than an inning all year, so you don’t have to overthink think this, and start more RHH.

 

Good point. That said, righty batters tend to do OK against righty pitchers. So, for example, Duvall's OPS vs righties is .904, Turner's is .808, Wong's is .776, etc. The middle infielders--Story, Reyes, and Urias--are all righty hitters anyway.

 

The Dodgers bullpen has a good mix of both righty and lefty relievers, so, were I Cora, I would probably start more righty bats than lefty.

 

I kind of like last night's lineup (Dugo, Turner, Ref, Devers, Duvall, Story, Reyes, Urias, Wong), but would probably put Yoshida in LF (replacing Ref), and start Story at SS and Urias at 2B with Reyes dropping out. I'd also move Turner to DH and start Casas at 1b.

[moonslav59]

I don’t know who will be following this guy, but he hasn’t pitched more than an inning all year, so you don’t have to overthink think this, and start more RHH.

 

Yes. Maybe we will see Abreu PH early and stay in the game.

 

Duvall and Turner should start and stay in every game until the last one.

[Old Red]

Yes. Maybe we will see Abreu PH early and stay in the game.

 

Duvall and Turner should start and stay in every game until the last one.

 

Now we know. No Ref Man in the lineup, and Abreu is in. You don’t need to change a lineup just because a LHP is going to throw 1 inning.

[notin]

Now we know. No Ref Man in the lineup, and Abreu is in. You don’t need to change a lineup just because a LHP is going to throw 1 inning.

 

Especially one Abreu/Refsnyder are unlikely to bat in…

[moonslav59]

Now we know. No Ref Man in the lineup, and Abreu is in. You don’t need to change a lineup just because a LHP is going to throw 1 inning.

 

That makes some sense, but why not start Abreu in the Lance Lynn game?

[Old Red]

That makes some sense, but why not start Abreu in the Lance Lynn game?

 

Between him, Masa, and Casas someone had to sit, and Cora picked him.

[Old Red]

Raffy scratched from Original line today with sore wrist. Will get X-rays today.

[Nick]

Just saw the last page from yesterday. All the talk about Betts.

 

Let's just say that I'm glad at the very least we got Wong for trading Betts. I'm not sure what will happen to Verdugo but we also got something out of him the last 3 years and he may give us more in a trade this winter.

 

I think how Abreu does over next 30 days will determine Verdugo's fate. I love his power potential.

[Maxbialystock]

Just saw the last page from yesterday. All the talk about Betts.

 

Let's just say that I'm glad at the very least we got Wong for trading Betts. I'm not sure what will happen to Verdugo but we also got something out of him the last 3 years and he may give us more in a trade this winter.

 

I think how Abreu does over next 30 days will determine Verdugo's fate. I love his power potential.

 

It's funny about talksox and and the unending complaints about the crappy defense, worst in the history or MLB, the real reason why the Sox aren't 20 games above .500, etc. Yes, I'm exaggerating.

 

But when we have a good outfielder like Verdugo, the fielding is forgotten and it's all about how he hits. Right now Dugo has the highest WAR on the team +3.7, and he's just not good enough.

[Maxbialystock]

Good point. That said, righty batters tend to do OK against righty pitchers. So, for example, Duvall's OPS vs righties is .904, Turner's is .808, Wong's is .776, etc. The middle infielders--Story, Reyes, and Urias--are all righty hitters anyway.

 

The Dodgers bullpen has a good mix of both righty and lefty relievers, so, were I Cora, I would probably start more righty bats than lefty.

 

I kind of like last night's lineup (Dugo, Turner, Ref, Devers, Duvall, Story, Reyes, Urias, Wong), but would probably put Yoshida in LF (replacing Ref), and start Story at SS and Urias at 2B with Reyes dropping out. I'd also move Turner to DH and start Casas at 1b.

 

Hah. Not far off base, but I do like Abreu instead of Yoshida. As for Urias at 3b, I see once against that Cora is resting someone who should never, ever be rested. If Turner or Duvall ever get rested, I suppose Cora should be fired for "failure to use all available resources."

[Jasonbay44]

Freeman has 49 doubles and it’s not even September.

[illinoisredsox]

Hah. Not far off base, but I do like Abreu instead of Yoshida. As for Urias at 3b, I see once against that Cora is resting someone who should never, ever be rested. If Turner or Duvall ever get rested, I suppose Cora should be fired for "failure to use all available resources."

 

Day of rest? You are aware Raffy got hit on the wrist in the 8th yesterday and is having X-rays taken. Let’s hope that today and maybe tomorrow are the only days he misses.

[Jasonbay44]

Great job by Houck to get out of that

[vegasbob]

Houck pitches his way out of a 1st inning jam that could have headed south very quickly. Good work

[Maxbialystock]

Day of rest? You are aware Raffy got hit on the wrist in the 8th yesterday and is having X-rays taken. Let’s hope that today and maybe tomorrow are the only days he misses.

 

I knew about the HBP and was concerned at the time, but he stayed in the game and went to first base. No question we need him.

[Nick]

It's funny about talksox and and the unending complaints about the crappy defense, worst in the history or MLB, the real reason why the Sox aren't 20 games above .500, etc. Yes, I'm exaggerating.

 

But when we have a good outfielder like Verdugo, the fielding is forgotten and it's all about how he hits. Right now Dugo has the highest WAR on the team +3.7, and he's just not good enough.

 

It's more about letting Verdugo go through his final arbitration year is my issue. Extend him or trade him. It's business.

 

And to remind you, last year he sucked as a defender by MANY on this board. And now he's a Gold Glove candidate. What happened? I hope he got better because he worked hard at it. Not because he was lazy in the past.

 

His attitude has been questioned by his manager, not by me.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Nick

[moonslav59]

Between him, Masa, and Casas someone had to sit, and Cora picked him.

 

Of course. He's not sitting Duvall or Dugo (the other choices,) so he made the choice: a slumping player (Masa) over the red hot one (Abreu).

 

He's done this several times, this year.

 

(BTW, it doesn't mean I think Cora is a bad manager.)

[moonslav59]

It's funny about talksox and and the unending complaints about the crappy defense, worst in the history or MLB, the real reason why the Sox aren't 20 games above .500, etc. Yes, I'm exaggerating.

 

But when we have a good outfielder like Verdugo, the fielding is forgotten and it's all about how he hits. Right now Dugo has the highest WAR on the team +3.7, and he's just not good enough.

 

20 games over .500 may not really be a big exaggeration. It's just 12 more than what we have, now..

[vegasbob]

Houck delivers 3 credible innings on a reasonable pitch count. Looks like he has recovered from the impact of his injury. Let's see what happens in the 3rd go round.

[moonslav59]

It's more about letting Verdugo go through his final arbitration year is my issue. Extend him or trade him. It's business.

 

And to remind you, last year he sucked as a defender by MANY on this board. And now he's a Gold Glove candidate. What happened? I hope he got better because he worked hard at it. Not because he was lazy in the past.

 

His attitude has been questioned by his manager, not by me.

 

He failed to run out grounders and showed up late to the park.

 

How is that something you don't question?

[Bellhorn04]

Of course. He's not sitting Duvall or Dugo (the other choices,) so he made the choice: a slumping player (Masa) over the red hot one (Abreu).

 

Some day someone has to explain how a slumping player can come out of a slump if you bench them when they're slumping.

[notin]

It's funny about talksox and and the unending complaints about the crappy defense, worst in the history or MLB, the real reason why the Sox aren't 20 games above .500, etc. Yes, I'm exaggerating.

 

But when we have a good outfielder like Verdugo, the fielding is forgotten and it's all about how he hits. Right now Dugo has the highest WAR on the team +3.7, and he's just not good enough.

 

The Sox defense is really bad. I heard Pedro Martinez on the radio saying he felt it cost the team 10-15 wins. That feels excessive, but I’m not going to put a number in it.

 

As for Verdugo, I do think he is likely to get moved, but if it happens, it’s more related to contract than defense. Personally I think moving Duran makes more sense for a couple reasons…

[vegasbob]

Verdugo is a 27 year old, 7 year MLB starting player with clear signs of immaturity . He should be seen as a veteran leader on a team and in the clubhouse . He is coming up on a good payday after next year bassed on his abilities. I believe the Sox should trade him over the winter, get fair value, and move on to the younger guys like Abreu and Rafael.

[moonslav59]

Some day someone has to explain how a slumping player can come out of a slump if you bench them when they're slumping.

 

It's a good point, but eventually a hot player starts slumping, and then you give the other guy his chance.

 

I know, it's hard to bench a $90M guy for a rookie, but I was just talking about one game, and at some point, Yoshida could have been used as a PH'er.

[Old Red]

Some day someone has to explain how a slumping player can come out of a slump if you bench them when they're slumping.

 

If the thoughts are that Abreu has to continue to play then someone has to sit, and to me that would come down to Masa, or Casas. Take your pick.

[vegasbob]

Without cross checking all the team stats, do Red Sox hitters get hit by pitch more than other teams ?