5/20 SOX @ Rays 6:50PM ET

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

DEVERS DEliVERS!

 

Bradley lost his Mojo quickly.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Devers has been delivering more of late than UPS.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Rafaela goes deep.

 

Bradley goes WTF.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Two homers, so far, and neither were solos. Things are looking up.

[moonslav59]

Houck's ERA is now 2.00.

[moonslav59]

Devers has been delivering more of late than UPS.

 

Fat bottom boys

You make the rocking world go around

[moonslav59]

Too bad Devers can't hit a 2 run homer when down by 1 in the ninth.

 

What a bum!

[vegasbob]

Very encouraging to see the progress by Duran and now Rafaela becoming a key cog in the future of this team. Big shame that Casas isn't able , yet, to get back on the field and bring his bat. Wong may be the real deal to eventually pair up with Teel. Abreu has become the other contributor who should only improve with added experience.

 

2024 may be frustrating since it looks like a .500 type team. 2025 may see Story back, FWIW. This year's trade deadline offers a chance to move a couple of the older guys down the road. Just add, at least 1 FA pitcher of some health/ability, and 2 guys in the BP for 2025. Get Giolito mound ready, who knows ?

Edited May 21, 2024 by vegasbob

[vegasbob]

Too bad Devers can't hit a 2 run homer when down by 1 in the ninth.

 

What a bum!

 

As usual you are correct, Moon, amazing . Let's see the team record has been 2-5 since the start of the prior Ray's series, good chance to be 3-5 tonight. Now that is not at all Dever's fault , there are 6 or 7 others who shall go nameless that failed to contribute ( O'Neill, Grissom, etc) but if you are going to be the start of the team, you need to come through when needed, or at least show the effort. I doubt anyone has called Raffy a leader in the Clubhouse, or a mentor to the young Hispanic players.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Houck doesn't seem affected by having runs scored behind him. That's been a rare event.

[vegasbob]

Meanwhile Houck is throwing a 1 hitter through 6 , with a sub 2.00 ERA . Bello has a ways to go to match up with Tanner's new found talent.

[Duran Is The Man]

Unbelievable.

 

Yep. I love Florida. Hate the traffic and toll roads but love it otherwise.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

That was a SMOOTH DP.

[jad]

That was a SMOOTH DP.

 

I've never seen a 6-5-3 DP, at least, I'm not aware that I have.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Houck entered tonight's game with a 1.50 ERA on the road. Another excellent start tonight.

How important is a good pitching coach? Just ask Houck.

Edited May 21, 2024 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Hamilton continues to make excellent plays at 2nd. And his bat hasn't been too shabby either.

[vegasbob]

Houck entered tonight's game with a 1.50 ERA on the road. Another excellent start tonight.

How important is a good pitching coach? Just ask Houck.

 

So will this staff's performance make it harder or easier for Dave Bush(league) to get a job ?

[moonslav59]

Hamilton continues to make excellent plays at 2nd. And his bat hasn't been too shabby either.

 

...and he was supposed to be a poor defender.

[moonslav59]

Hamilton continues to make excellent plays at 2nd. And his bat hasn't been too shabby either.

 

What happened to our awful defense?

 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Giving credit where credit's due. Terrific defense by the SOX tonight, including the most recent by Smith.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

...and he was supposed to be a poor defender.

 

 

Hammy is definitely better at 2nd than at SS.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

So will this staff's performance make it harder or easier for Dave Bush(league) to get a job ?

 

The SOX FO signing Bailey was one of their better moves in the off season.

[moonslav59]

Hammy is definitely better at 2nd than at SS.

 

No doubt, but the word was he was not good at 2B, either.

 

Even EValdez started looking okay on D before his demotion.

 

Could some actual coaching of MLB players be working with this new management team?

 

It seems to be with our pitchers- the same guys we had, last year.

[Maxbialystock]

What happened to our awful defense?

 

 

Don't kid yourself--or us. The defense has been awful. But your point must be that it doesn't have to stay that way. There are, as you imply, examples of pretty good defense in previous games.

 

Same goes for the hitting, which has been abysmal in bringing in runs.

 

And tonight Houck was once again fantastic and by that I mean nasty stuff.

 

To my thinking a huge win because it follows the 11-3 win @ St Louis--and especially because it's at the Trop.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

No doubt, but the word was he was not good at 2B, either.

 

Even EValdez started looking okay on D before his demotion.

 

Could some actual coaching of MLB players be working with this new management team?

 

 

It seems to be with our pitchers- the same guys we had, last year.

 

Look at Duran. He was considered a liability in the OF until this season. Now he's one of the best. Definitely coaching, but only if the player is 100% committed to what the coach is preaching. One major thing about Duran; speed never slumps, whether it's on offense or defense.

[notin]

As usual you are correct, Moon, amazing . Let's see the team record has been 2-5 since the start of the prior Ray's series, good chance to be 3-5 tonight. Now that is not at all Dever's fault , there are 6 or 7 others who shall go nameless that failed to contribute ( O'Neill, Grissom, etc) but if you are going to be the start of the team, you need to come through when needed, or at least show the effort. I doubt anyone has called Raffy a leader in the Clubhouse, or a mentor to the young Hispanic players.

 

Moon’s post was largely sarcastic, but calls attention to some truly bizarre Devers Hate. Some of the criticisms of this guy do seem crazy.

 

“He only hits solo home runs!!”

 

“He’s no Ortiz!!”

 

Ok so he isn’t a Hall of Famer and he’s struggling with some clutch situation this year. He’s still the best player on this team and will probably go down as one of the ten to fifteen best hitters in the history of the Red Sox…

[moonslav59]

Don't kid yourself--or us. The defense has been awful. But your point must be that it doesn't have to stay that way. There are, as you imply, examples of pretty good defense in previous games.

 

Same goes for the hitting, which has been abysmal in bringing in runs.

 

And tonight Houck was once again fantastic and by that I mean nasty stuff.

 

To my thinking a huge win because it follows the 11-3 win @ St Louis--and especially because it's at the Trop.

 

The D is not awful, anymore. It's not good, either, but it is nice seeing some really nice plays. That one by Rafaela, the other day, was one of the best I've seen a Sox SS make in 4 decades.

 

We've seen improvement just from the start of the season (Devers, Abreu, Valdez...) and vast improvement, starting last year from Duran and our catchers.

[moonslav59]

Moon’s post was largely sarcastic, but calls attention to some truly bizarre Devers Hate. Some of the criticisms of this guy do seem crazy.

 

“He only hits solo home runs!!”

 

“He’s no Ortiz!!”

 

Ok so he isn’t a Hall of Famer and he’s struggling with some clutch situation this year. He’s still the best player on this team and will probably go down as one of the ten to fifteen best hitters in the history of the Red Sox…

 

I guess I should not be surprised at the Devers bashing.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Moon’s post was largely sarcastic, but calls attention to some truly bizarre Devers Hate. Some of the criticisms of this guy do seem crazy.

 

“He only hits solo home runs!!”

 

“He’s no Ortiz!!”

 

Ok so he isn’t a Hall of Famer and he’s struggling with some clutch situation this year. He’s still the best player on this team and will probably go down as one of the ten to fifteen best hitters in the history of the Red Sox…

 

Devers is already #11.

 

I've said it before, but if this franchise is truly so money-conscious about spending on players these days, then finding a star righty hitter to protect Devers in the batting order should be a priority... because that guy will protect their biggest longterm player investment.

 

Dunno who that may be -- or even if there are even more than a handful of right-handed hitters in their primes in MLB right now... but it's a worthy topic of discussion (not political vitriol) on this forum.

[Maxbialystock]

Moon’s post was largely sarcastic, but calls attention to some truly bizarre Devers Hate. Some of the criticisms of this guy do seem crazy.

 

“He only hits solo home runs!!”

 

“He’s no Ortiz!!”

 

Ok so he isn’t a Hall of Famer and he’s struggling with some clutch situation this year. He’s still the best player on this team and will probably go down as one of the ten to fifteen best hitters in the history of the Red Sox…

 

I'm one of the guilty parties, mostly because I forgot/forget he's just one player and can do only so much.

 

Today I do think that early dinger made a difference. But of course so did Tanner Houck and the rest of the team.