Red Sox (Bello) vs Yankees (Cole): 9/14/24, 1:05pm

[FredLynn]

22 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

JBJ took over in CF in 2014, the year Ellsbury went to the Yankees.  He couldn't hit--his OPS was .531-- but he sure could field and throw--and consequently went back and forth between Boston and Pawtucket that season.  But in 2015 and 2016 his OPS's were over .800 and in 2017 and 2018 were acceptable at .726 and .717 because he was so valuable in the outfield.  

To me Rafaela is a different kettle of fish.  For one thing, he's pretty darn good SS as well as centerfielder.  On this Sox team he has the best among the outfielders.  Unlike JBJ, he's also fast afoot, especially on the basepaths.  Plus, despite the OPS of .675, he is 3d on the Sox in rbi's with 70 (11 more than O'Neill and his 30 dingers), 4th in doubles, 4th in runs scored, and tied for 4th in dingers with 15.  Oh, and he is 2d on the Sox in games played.  Not too shabby for his first real season (last year he played in just 28 games) in MLB.  

I do not disagree he has a terrible grasp of the strike zone, but I do not think it's unthinkable he will improve in that.  

I certainly hope you’re right. If he could even manage.750 OPS he could play on my team as long as there are others on the team who are better offensively.

[moonslav59]

Just finished watching, and maybe this is all too little- too late, but it was a fun game to watch.

We almost got Cole's ERA to go over 4.00.

Devers retook the team OPS lead.

Yoshida has established himself as our resident Yankee killer.

Bello seems to be finding the groove we hoped he'd have all season long.

The pen doing well was the real shocker, today. 3.2 IP 1 hit, 3BB 4Ks and ZERO Runs allowed.

Nice to welcome Penrod, this way.

Story's 3 hits is a bit encouraging.

Erros by E Valdez and Devers did not lead to any runs, but keep the concern high on these two staying at their current positions for 2025. E Valdez still leads all Sox players with PAs at 2B in 2024. The call for Devers to 1B, sooner rather than later may start picking up some steam.

 

[dgalehouse]

Intentional walk in the fourth inning , with one out and no one on ?  What in the world was that ?  Chicken ala Cole?  The Yankees were beat right then and there. 

[Jasonbay44]

17 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

This one is spot on. Are you claiming that Rafaela has even passable K zone recognition? He looks silly with a bat in his hands. Unless that miraculously improves he’s going to suffer the same fate as JBJ-or worse because at least Bradley had a few good years with the bat. My bet is that he will never have passable plate recognition and won’t be with the team in 4-5 years max.

I didn’t say that he did, but he is still a valuable asset as is. He is 23 years old and a rookie. It’s not crazy to think he’ll improve and benching him right now makes no sense as it doesn’t help the team or his development. 

[Jasonbay44]

1 minute ago, dgalehouse said:

Intentional walk in the fourth inning , with one out and no one on ?  What in the world was that ?  Chicken ala Cole?  The Yankees were beat right then and there. 

Devers owns Cole so much that it’s actually impacting Cole mentally. He looked legitimately scared every time Devers came up. Devers was 1-1 with a 2 run single, walk and HBP and even stole a base. It’s almost comical that now matter how much Devers is slumping or how good Cole is pitching, Devers is going to hit well against him. 

[FredLynn]

42 minutes ago, notin said:

Yeah the Sox rushed him out the door after a brief trial period of a mere 8 years…

Only twice in his career did he hit over.250. He had only one good year, 2020, when he hit .283. He hit .133 last year with KC which fired him. 
Pitchers are discovering that there’s no reason to throw Rafaela a strike. Despite his defensive prowess if he doesn’t improve greatly he’s not long for this team.

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Sometimes Cora manages the bullpen like he’s trying to prove he doesn’t have good relievers…

I have noted that you subscribe to the belief that the best reliever should be used when most needed regardless of the inning.  I think it's a perfectly valid position and it is shared by others.  I have also noted that most managers are still hesitant to do it consistently unless it's the playoffs.  And Cora is kind of conventional in that area.  Or his attitude is that guys like Kelly have to get it done or they're screwed anyway, because you can't hold leads with only 2 good relievers.    

[FredLynn]

27 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

I didn’t say that he did, but he is still a valuable asset as is. He is 23 years old and a rookie. It’s not crazy to think he’ll improve and benching him right now makes no sense as it doesn’t help the team or his development. 

Actually, you’re right. Benching him won’t make a difference to him or to the team. I hope it works out for him. I hope he manages to obtain some discipline in what he swings at-for his sake and for the sake of the team. 
But if he doesn’t improve I don’t want him on my team. I’d give him another year.

[dgalehouse]

No doubt the Sox would like to see Rafaela improve his plate discipline. And no doubt he would be a better hitter and more valuable to the team if he did. That being said, the idea of benching him or sending him to Worcester at this point is preposterous. 

[dgalehouse]

18 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I have noted that you subscribe to the belief that the best reliever should be used when most needed regardless of the inning.  I think it's a perfectly valid position and it is shared by others.  I have also noted that most managers are still hesitant to do it consistently unless it's the playoffs.  And Cora is kind of conventional in that area.  Or his attitude is that guys like Kelly have to get it done or they're screwed anyway, because you can't hold leads with only 2 good relievers.    

  That is an idea that has been talked about a lot. But it has not caught on much with MLB managers. Part of the reason is that it causes problems of when to get a guy loosening up and when to start throwing hard, etc.  The guys in the bullpen need to have an idea of when they are coming in. You don't want guys getting up and down in the seventh inning in case they may be coming in. And you can't always predict where the batting order will be two or three innings ahead. What you really need is more than just one or two guys who can get some tough outs. 

[vegasbob]

I saw very little live of this game but when dumbass Story crashed into Devers, who still made a key juggling catch of the popup while screaming "I got it" ,   I sincerely hoped Story was on the ground because his shoulder popped out.

In a year of poor defensive support , Story's blunder by a veteran takes the cake.   

Great team game overall , plus another couple new pitchers to love on .  Makes the loss of last night be emphasized, not  soothed.  Please win tomorrow, Boston .

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I came here honestly expecting more discussion about how one of the best pitchers in basebal is scared to death of our player.  Instead I see a lot of discussion defending a career .225 hitter who was below the Mendoza Line 3 of his last 4 seasons.

What happened with Cole was one of the highlights of a lost season. I really enjoyed that.  Bello's outing was great to see, need to see more of this.  I'm not ready to give up on Rafaela yet but predicting he will chase a slider a foot off the plate has become too easy. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, Yaz Fan Since 67 said:

I came here honestly expecting more discussion about how one of the best pitchers in basebal is scared to death of our player.  Instead I see a lot of discussion defending a career .225 hitter who was below the Mendoza Line 3 of his last 4 seasons.

What happened with Cole was one of the highlights of a lost season. I really enjoyed that.  Bello's outing was great to see, need to see more of this.  I'm not ready to give up on Rafaela yet but predicting he will chase a slider a foot off the plate has become too easy. 

Why hammer Cole when he's down? Because we can!

Not only is he a fraidy cat, but he and the Yankees' advance scouts are complete idiots -- or haven't they been watching the Red Sox lately, because we're so inconsequential...

... Devers and his two bum shoulders wouldn't even be playing if Boston was already mathematically eliminated.

So going deep off Cole -- which is one of Raffy's favorite things to do in baseball -- is nearly impossible right now -- even if Gerrit and his bat-finder pitches can't avoid bouncing off his sweet spot. So the douche deserves to get rallied on, for intentionally putting Devers on base.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Why hammer Cole when he's down? Because we can!

Not only is he a fraidy cat, but he and the Yankees' advance scouts are complete idiots -- or haven't they been watching the Red Sox lately, because we're so inconsequential...

... Devers and his two bum shoulders wouldn't even be playing if Boston was already mathematically eliminated.

So going deep off Cole -- which is one of Raffy's favorite things to do in baseball -- is nearly impossible right now -- even if Gerrit and his bat-finder pitches can't avoid bouncing off his sweet spot. So the douche deserves to get rallied on, for intentionally putting Devers on base.

"Bum shoulders?"  I think that's a wee bit exaggerated. I doubt 'bum shoulders' would allow Devers to still overswing and I also doubt a 'bum shoulder' would allow Devers to make hard accurate throws to 1st base.