August 27: Dodgers at Red Sox

[iortiz]

Brasier goes to LA and becomes Sandy Koufax.

Pitching coach?

 

Kike goes from .220 average to .290.

Hitting coach?

But, but our coaching staff is not the problem.

[notin]

Pretty good prediction about using the bullpen as little as possible today. Murphy has been awful, but Cora doesn't want to send more guys out there in a lost cause. I say "lost" because the hitting is moribund.

 

Still it’s a poor job by Bloom that it’s still August and we still have Murphy and Llovera in this bullpen…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Brasier goes to LA and becomes Sandy Koufax.

Pitching coach?

 

Kike goes from .220 average to .290.

Hitting coach?

 

Didn't you ever listen to Tommy Lasorda? It's the Dodger BLUE. As soon as JD, Kike and Ryan put on the blue-and-white, they're great again.

 

Mainly, it's because they don't have to wear YELLOW again. That's for cowards.

[Maxbialystock]

But, but our coaching staff is not the problem.

 

First of all, jgar658 is shamelessly plagiarizing because I brought up the same two points a couple of days ago. moonslav pointed out that historically Kike's best hitting has been in August.

 

The Brasier transformation, on the other hand, does seem to suggest the Sox pitching coaches are clueless because Brasier has been stunningly good for two months for the Dodgers after being terrible for two months with the Sox.

 

I also claim--with zero proof--that the first base coach failed to remind Wong (when he came in as a pinchrunner in the 8th inning of the first game in this series) to be cautious about rounding 2d base because Casas was on 2d base ahead of him and very slow. Wong did the exact opposite and roared around 2d base like he was sure he could get to 3d base and even home.

[d-money]

s***** game. Nothing else to say.

[moonslav59]

Well, I’ve been a Red Sox fan for a while and most of recent years haven’t been fun to watch, including this to me.

 

I can understand that.

 

I have seen a lot to enjoy and give me hope going forward. I haven't felt this way since it became apparent the 2019 team was not going anywhere.

 

Sure, 2021 offered a brief moment of joy and hope, but the extended future has not looked this good in a long time.

 

I know that doesn't matter to many or most fans. So be it.

[moonslav59]

It looks like we will lose ground to most of the teams we need to be gaining on.

 

It might take a HOU sweep to get us back into this thing.

[Maxbialystock]

Still it’s a poor job by Bloom that it’s still August and we still have Murphy and Llovera in this bullpen…

 

Murphy was terrific in July--18.1 IP, ERA 1.45--and just awful this month. Same for Llovera: 6.1 IP and a 1.42 ERA in July, and 11.2 IP and a 6.17 ERA in August.

[jgar658]

First of all, jgar658 is shamelessly plagiarizing because I brought up the same two points a couple of days ago. moonslav pointed out that historically Kike's best hitting has been in August.

 

The Brasier transformation, on the other hand, does seem to suggest the Sox pitching coaches are clueless because Brasier has been stunningly good for two months for the Dodgers after being terrible for two months with the Sox.

 

I also claim--with zero proof--that the first base coach failed to remind Wong (when he came in as a pinchrunner in the 8th inning of the first game in this series) to be cautious about rounding 2d base because Casas was on 2d base ahead of him and very slow. Wong did the exact opposite and roared around 2d base like he was sure he could get to 3d base and even home.

 

I never saw your post.

I hope I do not get a copyright lawsuit.

[Old Red]

I actually watched the game today to see Mooke. One reason I remember not watching anymore was the constant yucking from the Yuckers in the NESN both with the likes of Youck, and Wake. Minor league operation. On the other hand a future HOF put on a show.

[Old Red]

It looks like we will lose ground to most of the teams we need to be gaining on.

 

It might take a HOU sweep to get us back into this thing.

 

Agree, and 17 runs for Houston today, so they are coming in with some hot bats.

[iortiz]

I can understand that.

 

I have seen a lot to enjoy and give me hope going forward. I haven't felt this way since it became apparent the 2019 team was not going anywhere.

 

Sure, 2021 offered a brief moment of joy and hope, but the extended future has not looked this good in a long time.

 

I know that doesn't matter to many or most fans. So be it.

 

The problem with mediocre teams like this, is that give people hopes where there’s any objectively speaking, while keeping people going to the ball park.

[moonslav59]

Agree, and 17 runs for Houston today, so they are coming in with some hot bats.

 

Like the Dodgers, the Astros are a damn good team, despite injuries and a struggling rotation.[

 

Getting to a point where we need to sweep them to have a good chance at making the playoffs or 2 of 3 to have a chance in hell, was not a good happening. Winning, today or any other day from the past would have helped.

 

We are running out of time, and can't rely on other teams to lose. That is why these head-to-head series have to be won, if not swept./B]

[moonslav59]

The problem with mediocre teams like this, is that give people hopes where there’s any objectively speaking, while keeping people going to the ball park.

 

I'm happy we are building towards a sustainable influx of farm help. I'm not happy about Henry lining his pockets with gold, while we could b e more competitive along the way, but have really enjoyed watching this team play. We've been in a lot of games that we lost, and yes, that is a mark of mediocrity, but it was exciting for me.

 

There were a lot of good things that happened, this year, and to me, we improved at SP, RP, C, 1B, LF, CF, RF and DH. We stayed about the same at 3B and got worse at SS and 2B, in part because of Story's injury.

 

Yes, you heard me right. Our rotation is better in 2023 than 2022.

 

ERA-

102 in 2023

107 in 2022

 

SIERA

4.13 in 2023

4.14 in 2024

 

xFIP-

96 in 2023

103 in 2022

 

WHIP

1.29 in 2023

1.35 in 2022

 

K-BB%

16.3% in 2023

13.3% in 2022

 

Okay, call it even.

 

Better at 7 positions

The same at 2.

Worse at 2.

 

Farm improved.

 

Budget ready for a splurge.

 

 

[iortiz]

I'm happy we are building towards a sustainable influx of farm help. I'm not happy about Henry lining his pockets with gold, while we could b e more competitive along the way, but have really enjoyed watching this team play. We've been in a lot of games that we lost, and yes, that is a mark of mediocrity, but it was exciting for me.

 

There were a lot of good things that happened, this year, and to me, we improved at SP, RP, C, 1B, LF, CF, RF and DH. We stayed about the same at 3B and got worse at SS and 2B, in part because of Story's injury.

 

Yes, you heard me right. Our rotation is better in 2023 than 2022.

 

ERA-

102 in 2023

107 in 2022

 

SIERA

4.13 in 2023

4.14 in 2024

 

xFIP-

96 in 2023

103 in 2022

 

WHIP

1.29 in 2023

1.35 in 2022

 

K-BB%

16.3% in 2023

13.3% in 2022

 

Okay, call it even.

 

Better at 7 positions

The same at 2.

Worse at 2.

 

Farm improved.

 

Budget ready for a splurge.

 

 

The problem with big market teams is that you don’t have time to rebuild. I get that, BUT Unlike the Orioles who are going to be competitive for a looooong time, I don’t see this is going to happen here, say, in the next day 5 years. I don’t see a strong farm aside Meyer.

[Old Red]

Devers X-rays came back negative, which is good news, and Cora is hoping he can play tomorrow.

[moonslav59]

The problem with big market teams is that you don’t have time to rebuild. I get that, BUT Unlike the Orioles who are going to be competitive for a looooong time, I don’t see this is going to happen here, say, in the next day 5 years. I don’t see a strong farm aside Meyer.

 

Our farm is not like the O's, who took years of sucking to get that good, but to see just Mayer and not Anthony, Teel, Bleis, Rafaela and others is not looking hard enough.

[moonslav59]

The problem with big market teams is that you don’t have time to rebuild. I get that, BUT Unlike the Orioles who are going to be competitive for a looooong time, I don’t see this is going to happen here, say, in the next day 5 years. I don’t see a strong farm aside Meyer.

 

Face it. We are not going to spend like the Mets or Padres, no matter how much you hope we do. We all agree: JH can, if he wants, but he doesn't and won't, so building a farm is the best way to try and win. It's not like JH is a bottom spender. We should be able to win with a good farm and being 8th to 12th in spending.

 

It might not be 4 times in 20 years.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

The SOX have a killer starting staff. They've pretty much killed the SOX BP. In regards to Youk and Wake, they're great examples why Vin Scully preferred to work alone. Edited August 27, 2023 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[moonslav59]

The SOX have a killer starting staff. They've pretty much killed the SOX BP. In regards to Youk and Wake, they're a great examples why Vin Scully preferred to work alone.

 

They are pitching like crap- no doubt.

 

No way we can win without the rotation coming around.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

According to Mookie, he never received an offer from the Boston Red Sox.

 

It’s a shame they let that ball pass.

 

According to OJ, he never killed his ex-wife.

[vegasbob]

So, to summarize, the Sox entered a 10 game stretch vs good to excellent teams ( Astros-Dodgers) and are now 3-4 in that stretch. A 2- 1 series win over the Astros will give them a marginal net win over Houston, but we seem to be incapable of a 8-10 game winning run that would be the mark of a playoff team moving up the standings. The Mariners have done that well behind the very hot bat of J. Rodriguez.

 

With 31 games to go, and if the teams ahead of the Sox play to .500 ball only, then Boston needs to go about 20-11 minimum to have a fair shot at catching one of them. GFL.. I'm focusing on just making sure they continue to bury NYY in the AL East. Not asking too much, so I won't be disappointed.

[jad]

I actually watched the game today to see Mooke. One reason I remember not watching anymore was the constant yucking from the Yuckers in the NESN both with the likes of Youck, and Wake. Minor league operation. On the other hand a future HOF put on a show.

 

It's the radio with the video on delay for me. I am truly afraid of brain degeneration resulting from listening to Youk.

[jad]

According to OJ, he never killed his ex-wife.

 

Mookie did NOT kill OJ's wife.

[notin]

Mookie did NOT kill OJ's wife.

 

You’re only saying that to push your book “If Mookie Did It”…

[notin]

According to OJ, he never killed his ex-wife.

 

The old “team says we made an offer; player says they never got an offer.” Fans always believe the player, but no one blames the post office…

[moonslav59]

The old “team says we made an offer; player says they never got an offer.” Fans always believe the player, but no one blames the post office…

 

I think this may be as simple as no "formal offer" was made, but possibly the number was floated and turned down, so no formal offer was needed.

 

Like I said, who knows?

[notin]

One odd thing about this series I noticed rather late in it, and maybe this is more common than I realize.

 

Dodger manager Dave Roberts played for both the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

 

Red Sox manager Alex Cora played for both the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

 

Does this kind of thing happen more often than I realize?

 

Granted, Cora didn’t play for too many teams, but he does have some others on his resume…

[moonslav59]

One odd thing about this series I noticed rather late in it, and maybe this is more common than I realize.

 

Dodger manager Dave Roberts played for both the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

 

Red Sox manager Alex Cora played for both the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

 

Does this kind of thing happen more often than I realize?

 

Granted, Cora didn’t play for too many teams, but he does have some others on his resume…

 

Lots of current players played fo each other, too.

[Maxbialystock]

Face it. We are not going to spend like the Mets or Padres, no matter how much you hope we do. We all agree: JH can, if he wants, but he doesn't and won't, so building a farm is the best way to try and win. It's not like JH is a bottom spender. We should be able to win with a good farm and being 8th to 12th in spending.

 

It might not be 4 times in 20 years.

 

Interesting. First time I've read anything this comprehensive/detailed, and I think you just might have nailed it.

 

The "CBO" for the Dodgers also came from the Rays system. The Dodgers currently have the best attendance in MLB, 48K/game, and it's 6K/game more than the 2d place Yankees. So their owners are capable of spending a whole lot of money for players--just like JH could and has for the Sox. But in fact the Dodgers payroll is currently 6th in MLB and $104M less than the Mets.