6/14 Yankems @ SOX 6:30PM ET

[vegasbob]

Sure hope the Sox can bring these two home before Devers comes to bat.

 

I have 2 theories about him which anyone can feel free to shoot down. The first is that opposing pitchers focus better and throw better stuff when men are on base and Devers is at the plate. The other is that he loves, absolutely loves to swing at breaking balls because he knows he's pretty good at it. At the same time, he does not like to swing at heat, especially good heat--but almost any heat will do. So the way to pitch to him is throw heat for strikes and curves outside (especially below) the zone.

 

I think you have assessed Devers pretty well. With all the analytics available, opposing teams should know how to pitch to his weaknesses. Throw in that he is a free swinger and you get Raffy. A threat but not consistent.

[d-money]

This team can’t play spoilers. They’re that terrible.

[vegasbob]

Cue the theme music from Jaws. Bello is a f***wit

[Maxbialystock]

I haven't seen Bello shake off many pitches, which tells me that someone wants him throwing his world-famous sinker a lot. The Yankees sure like that sinker. I'll bet Bello does too. So everybody's happy.

 

And a sinker got the GIDP!

 

 

And an egregious Bello error gave the Yankees run #3.

[Maxbialystock]

Gil is an idiot. I told him throw heat for strikes. Devers is so happy he can't see straight.

[vegasbob]

The key hit missing so far tonight, but now it's time, 2 on , no outs !

[Maxbialystock]

Sox have 3 hits and 0 runs. Yankees have 4 hits and 3 runs.

 

Sox now have 2 on and no one out. Any guesses on what happens next?

[Maxbialystock]

Nice play by the Yankees, especially Judge, to keep Wong from scoring from 1b.

[vegasbob]

All Smith had to do was a flyball.

 

Valdez continues to amaze at bat. But Smith and Rafaela chase as only they can to kill the rally

[Maxbialystock]

Our absolute fav firstbaseman strikes out as ignominiously as it's possible to do. Sad but true, he's still a better choice than Dalbec.

[Maxbialystock]

There's global warming, which is serious and upon us. And there is Gil heat, which is worse.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Our absolute fav firstbaseman strikes out as ignominiously as it's possible to do. Sad but true, he's still a better choice than Dalbec.

 

Smith and Dalbec are 'spitooning' at 1st base.

[vegasbob]

Duran is a little shy, maybe rightfully, of the Monster . Another ball that was just missed off the bat of Verdugo. Bello may not make it through 5 full if he can't settle down.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

That should get Bello's ERA to about 5. Getting starters from the SOX farm is as difficult as trying to grow tomatoes in the desert. Edited June 15, 2024 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[vegasbob]

Game slip sliding away , and so am I as we go out on a Friday night.

 

My guess is that Bello's extension was not well timed. He and Rafaela needed to complete the year and show something more than either has.

[Maxbialystock]

Duran on 1b and Hamilton flies out, so Devers is smiling.

[Maxbialystock]

Did I not say you absolutely must throw strikes when you throw heat to Devers?

 

OK. 2 on, 2 out, and Yoshida to the plate. I'll take a lying, cheating, no good, lowdown sneaky single.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

SOX continue their tradition of losing the 1st game of a series. They've got it down to a science.

[Maxbialystock]

5 of 6 hits against Bello were off of his sinker/fastball. He likes it, and so do opposing hitters. Ain't that nice?

[Oscars]

SOX continue their tradition of losing the 1st game of a series. They've got it down to a science.

 

They also continue to struggle against the teams over .500

[Maxbialystock]

They also continue to struggle against the teams over .500

 

Continue? Continue!!!???? They just took 2 of 3 from the Phillies.

[Maxbialystock]

Well, at least the Celtics got another NBA title. Oh, wait . . .

[moonslav59]

Not much fun at all, tonight.

 

Gotta bounce back, next game.

[Old Red]

Bad night/good night. The Celtics sucked, and got embarrassed by the Mavs, and also embarrassed themselves in a well deserved loss. On the Red Sox side BBB (Big Baby Bello) couldn’t last 5 innings, and had another bad outing raising his ERA to an unimpressive 5.00 in a well deserved loss. On the good side Dugy got to strut his stuff hitting a HR on the first pitch he saw, and getting a couple of more hits as well. I said when Dugy got traded to the Yankees he would come back to haunt them, which was an easy prediction to make, and I’m sure he’s not done yet. Go Dugy!🤫

[Maxbialystock]

Bad night/good night. The Celtics sucked, and got embarrassed by the Mavs, and also embarrassed themselves in a well deserved loss. On the Red Sox side BBB (Big Baby Bello) couldn’t last 5 innings, and had another bad outing raising his ERA to an unimpressive 5.00 in a well deserved loss. On the good side Dugy got to strut his stuff hitting a HR on the first pitch he saw, and getting a couple of more hits as well. I said when Dugy got traded to the Yankees he would come back to haunt them, which was an easy prediction to make, and I’m sure he’s not done yet. Go Dugy!

 

Meh. You exaggerate mediocrity and you ignore the simple fact that this year, without Verdugo, the Sox outfield is crowded with talent. I'll take Abreu in RF anytime, plus his cost is lower. FWIW, Abreu has a higher WAR and higher OPS.

 

That said, yessireebob, he hammered the Sox last night. That dinger was in straightaway CF, the deepest part of Fenway. Getting Dugo was a definite plus for the Yankees, and he looks pretty happy too.

[Maxbialystock]

Gil(RH) vs Bello

 

Duran(LF)

Hamilton

O'Neill(RF)

Devers

Masa(DH)

Wong

Valdez

Smith

Rafaela

 

 

Bello will have to be much better than he's been lately.

Hopefully, SOX offense can stay hot.

Early start at 6:30.

 

Go SOX!

 

A shout out to SPLENDIDSPLINTER, who brought us two terrific wins over the Phillies.

[Maxbialystock]

Not much doubt in my mind that Duran misplayed a catchable ball off Soto. So what if the ball hit the wall above him, it's a double either way.

 

Damn, I dislike Bello

 

That wall is hard, and right now Duran, in this season of endless trips to the IL, leads the Sox in games played, total bases, and WAR (3.8).

 

Were I Cora, I would have told Duran when he came in from left fied, "nice move. Don't go near the Monster unless you are sure you won't bump into it. If Drew Barrymore or some other damsel in distress shows up, that's a different story."

[Bellhorn04]

That wall is hard, and right now Duran, in this season of endless trips to the IL, leads the Sox in games played, total bases, and WAR (3.8).

 

Were I Cora, I would have told Duran when he came in from left fied, "nice move. Don't go near the Monster unless you are sure you won't bump into it. If Drew Barrymore or some other damsel in distress shows up, that's a different story."

 

They really do have to tell Duran to be a bit more careful.

[moonslav59]

Meh. You exaggerate mediocrity and you ignore the simple fact that this year, without Verdugo, the Sox outfield is crowded with talent. I'll take Abreu in RF anytime, plus his cost is lower. FWIW, Abreu has a higher WAR and higher OPS.

 

That said, yessireebob, he hammered the Sox last night. That dinger was in straightaway CF, the deepest part of Fenway. Getting Dugo was a definite plus for the Yankees, and he looks pretty happy too.

 

The thing about NY, is that the fans can turn on a player, very quickly. (Sound familiar?)

 

Dugo has been a success for the Yankees. Every Yankee fan would agree. I do think the issues he had with the Sox have not gone away. At some point, they will resurface, and let's see what happens, then. The other thing about the Dugo trade was the years of control: one. Weissert and Fitts both have 5 years.

[Maxbialystock]

Not much fun at all, tonight.

 

Gotta bounce back, next game.

 

2 of 3 vs. the Phillies has me pumped up again.

 

I am, hands down, the least expert and most ill-informed contributor here, so take this with a grain of salt. Last night Bello was up for the Yankees and way better than against the White Sox--or the Tigers, for that matter.

 

I thought he threw hard, but that sinker fastball just maybe doesn't sink very much because the Yankees pounced on it, including when it was over 97 mph. Also, his changeup, which is an important pitch, didn't look so hot--not much break and not command control. I hasten to add that Bello was not calling his own pitches--they were coming from Wong or from the bench.

 

To me it's instructive to compare Judge's first at bat with Dugo's. Granted, righty vs righty, advantage to the pitcher, but Bello struck out a guy having a great season and did it with 4 breaking balls--slider, slider, changeup, slider--and one sinker fast ball, which barely nicked (or missed) the inside low corner for called strike 3. But when Dugo came to bat, it was time for his sinker, with a little oomph--which Dugo was ready for and hammered.

 

5 of the 6 Yankees hits were off that sinker. The other one was a single off a slider up and in the middle of the zone. Those 5 hits included 2 doubles and the Dugo dinger.

 

And then there's the top of the 3d inning when Soto grounded out, Judge struck out again, and Dugo grounded out. A one, two, three inning in which Bello threw 15 pitches and just 3 of them were sinker fastballs.