Red Sox (Houck) vs Tigers (Jobe): 5/12/25, 6:40pm

[Jasonbay44]

44 minutes ago, notin said:

They had the third worst record in the NBA!

If the NBA fixed the lottery, why did LeBron end up in Cleveland?

Because he’s from Ohio and he would draw ratings no matter where he went and it helped give them a story?

this is the 2nd time in recent history a team has traded a superstar to Lakers and “won” the draft lottery the same year. Pelicans got Zion and now Mavs get Flagg? It all seems fishy to me

[Maxbialystock]

13 hours ago, vegasbob said:

Also the Inexperienced Toro at 1B experiment needs to end as soon as Gonzalez gets off the IL, about a week.  

Biut that's not the answer either.   Breslow, do your job.  Find 1 experienced MLB 1bman  who needs a new homw and get him over here.

Or just demand that Devers plays CF.  " Put me in coach, I'm ready to play centerfield",  J. Fogartey

Toro ain't the problem, not by a long shot.  He had nothing to do with last night's loss, and in the previous two starts, both Sox wins, he did nothing egregiously wrong.  

Why do you and everyone else keep ignoring the fact that, when he was injured, Casas's OPS was -0.8?  As I keep saying and you and others keep ignoring, replacing Casas is the easiest thing in the world.  I agree Toro is just a bandaid, but believe Gonzalez is good enough to finish this season at first base.  By the way, another bandaid is already on the team.  Wong played 1b last season, and Narvaez so far

The real reason why everyone in the known universe thinks 1b is a big deal is because Breslow wants Devers to play 1b even though Devers is now the best hitting DH in the American League.  

[mvp 78]

Everything about the NBA is completely fixed. The refereeing is fixed. The draft is fixed. The teams are fixed. Basketball was my number 2 sport at one point, but I don't really watch anymore even though the C's are really good. 

[Jasonbay44]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Everything about the NBA is completely fixed. The refereeing is fixed. The draft is fixed. The teams are fixed. Basketball was my number 2 sport at one point, but I don't really watch anymore even though the C's are really good. 

You know a sport has a problem when the three worst teams in the league are picking 4-5-6 in a draft where there is a huge advantage to picking top 3.

The draft lottery does not prevent tanking, it just makes it easier to be corrupt if needed. The 76ers have an MVP and once he got hurt started “resting” a 24 year old star to intentionally lose games. The Spurs already got gifted Wemby and once he got hurt they shut down all star De’Aaron Fox. 76ers and Spurs both moved into top 3 behind a team who allegedly had a 1 percent chance of picking first, and already have Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. 

Mavericks were one game out of a playoff spot and won more games this season than Wizards have last two seasons combined. Mavericks are picking 5 spots higher in draft. 

[Duran Is The Man]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Everything about the NBA is completely fixed. The refereeing is fixed. The draft is fixed. The teams are fixed. Basketball was my number 2 sport at one point, but I don't really watch anymore even though the C's are really good. 

i haven't watched a single game since Jordan retired.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

16 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Everything about the NBA is completely fixed. The refereeing is fixed. The draft is fixed. The teams are fixed. Basketball was my number 2 sport at one point, but I don't really watch anymore even though the C's are really good. 

You'd better tighten that tin foil hat.......

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

You'd better tighten that tin foil hat.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Donaghy

[mvp 78]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Three_(Miami_Heat)

[Maxbialystock]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Everything about the NBA is completely fixed. The refereeing is fixed. The draft is fixed. The teams are fixed. Basketball was my number 2 sport at one point, but I don't really watch anymore even though the C's are really good. 

I don't watch much NBA, but nevertheless doubt it's fixed.  For one thing, I believe the biggest change in the NBA is that they have embraced the three as never before--and you can't "fix" threes.   Last night I thought the Knicks won because they made 38 of 58 twos, including several "dreaded" (low percentage) mid-range jumpers.  I don't think Tatum's injury was a big factor because he in fact played 40 of 48 minutes and scored 43 points with 8 rebs.  

There is so much contact in the NBA it's hard to find fault with the refs, who I'm sure are told not to call "tic-tac" fouls.  I had forgotten how much more rigorous the defense becomes in the playoffs.  

 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Donaghy

That was over 15yrs ago.

I mean, you might as well stop watching baseball because of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

[Jasonbay44]

As far as I know, the NBA is the only league to have an active referee sent to federal prison for cheating. 

[notin]

35 minutes ago, d-money said:

If the NBA did a solid for the mavs they should do one for us next season. I expect a  rough year for the celtics. Tatum likely will miss a year. 

They didn’t do the Mavericks a favor.  The Mavs did something incredibly stupid and deserve the fallout.  And we’re talking about Dallas - hardly a marquee NBA franchise.

If the NBA did nothing for the Celtics (definitely a marquee franchise) after the misfortunes they had with Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, they’re clearly not in the business of using their lottery system to reinstall some justice as they see fit…

[notin]

9 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

As far as I know, the NBA is the only league to have an active referee sent to federal prison for cheating. 

However, MLB did have their own umpire betting scandal this year…

[Jasonbay44]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

However, MLB did have their own umpire betting scandal this year…

And he was found innocent and there is no evidence he tampered with games. In fact, he called a perfect strike zone in a World Series game. 

[notin]

16 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I don't watch much NBA, but nevertheless doubt it's fixed.  For one thing, I believe the biggest change in the NBA is that they have embraced the three as never before--and you can't "fix" threes.   Last night I thought the Knicks won because they made 38 of 58 twos, including several "dreaded" (low percentage) mid-range jumpers.  I don't think Tatum's injury was a big factor because he in fact played 40 of 48 minutes and scored 43 points with 8 rebs.  

There is so much contact in the NBA it's hard to find fault with the refs, who I'm sure are told not to call "tic-tac" fouls.  I had forgotten how much more rigorous the defense becomes in the playoffs.  

 

People like to scream “fix!!”

I remember many years ago, Duke was playing UConn(?) in the tournament, and Duke PG Chris Duhon launched a last second shot from 3/4 of the way down the court and drained it.  The game went from Duke trailing by 4 to Duke losing by one.

But the spread on the game had Duke as a 2 point underdog and that meaningless Hail Mary meant Duke covered the spread.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars likely changed hands all of the sudden! So the cry the next day was “FIX!! FIX!!”

A fix!! On a 60 foot shot that goes in maybe 0.0001% of the time!  If the NCAA was fixing games, they really took a chance on that one…

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I don't watch much NBA, but nevertheless doubt it's fixed.  For one thing, I believe the biggest change in the NBA is that they have embraced the three as never before--and you can't "fix" threes.   Last night I thought the Knicks won because they made 38 of 58 twos, including several "dreaded" (low percentage) mid-range jumpers.  I don't think Tatum's injury was a big factor because he in fact played 40 of 48 minutes and scored 43 points with 8 rebs.  

There is so much contact in the NBA it's hard to find fault with the refs, who I'm sure are told not to call "tic-tac" fouls.  I had forgotten how much more rigorous the defense becomes in the playoffs.  

 

I don't mind the game switching to 3's. Ball movement and shooting is closer to how it was in the 80's than the isolation nonsense in the 90's. I just think there are too many fouls called and it disrupts the flow of the game TBH. If I'm noticing the refs, it's a bad time. 

[mvp 78]

20 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

And he was found innocent and there is no evidence he tampered with games. In fact, he called a perfect strike zone in a World Series game. 

I get frustrated as Hell with MLB umps, but haven't heard they've been on the take. Angel stunk. Joe West was a dingbat. That doesn't mean they were fixing games. 

[mvp 78]

39 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

That was over 15yrs ago.

I mean, you might as well stop watching baseball because of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

15 years ago vs 1919. Almost the same thing! 

[Bellhorn04]

With all the money in sports gambling, there's gonna be some fixing.  

I would think the fixers tend to gravitate toward the less obvious ways to do it - low profile games, prop bets etc.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

Why do you and everyone else keep ignoring the fact that, when he was injured, Casas's OPS was -0.8?  As I keep saying and you and others keep ignoring, replacing Casas is the easiest thing in the world. 

We all know Casas was off to a really bad start, and replacing those numbers looked easy, but that is not all there is to it.

I'd rather have a healthy casas that Toro, now, because I expected him to turn things around.

Maybe he would not have, but I liked his odds more than Toro's. I'd also prefer Casas than Yoshida getting a look at DH with Devers at 1B- not that this might happen.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

With all the money in sports gambling, there's gonna be some fixing.  

Inevitable. There's been some players suspended so far. I think getting into bed with online sportsbooks is one of the more hypocritical things these leagues have ever done. 

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Inevitable. There's been some players suspended so far. I think getting into bed with online sportsbooks is one of the more hypocritical things these leagues have ever done. 

Money always carries the day.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

15 years ago vs 1919. Almost the same thing! 

Still talking about things that happened in the past that have zero to do with the present.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We all know Casas was off to a really bad start, and replacing those numbers looked easy, but that is not all there is to it.

I'd rather have a healthy casas that Toro, now, because I expected him to turn things around.

Maybe he would not have, but I liked his odds more than Toro's. I'd also prefer Casas than Yoshida getting a look at DH with Devers at 1B- not that this might happen.

The thing is -- for fans like us who appreciate the importance of defense -- we haven't seen a decent fielding first baseman in Boston since who, Moreland?

First may seem to some posters the easiest position, but it's also the spot on the diamond where the most "automatic" outs better be made -- and when you try to fit round pegs into square pizza boxes, they get cheese all over them:

Toro ranges half-way to second for a grounder, and nobody covers... Toro gets his feet twisted on a ball down the line, and can't make a smooth flip. 

It's noticeable and unacceptable. Like Max or someone said, the Sox weren't getting production out of 1B by Casas before he was hurt. But at least get someone who knows how to play there who won't Franchy the team under .500...

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Still talking about things that happened in the past that have zero to do with the present.

That's like saying "yesterday was the past and has nothing to do with today." 🙄

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

34 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

That's like saying "yesterday was the past and has nothing to do with today." 🙄

Except 2007 wasn't yesterday

[Tedballgame]

3 hours ago, notin said:

They had the third worst record in the NBA!

If the NBA fixed the lottery, why did LeBron end up in Cleveland?

Because he grew up in Akron. It was a natural fit to save the franchise.

 

[notin]

23 minutes ago, Tedballgame said:

Because he grew up in Akron. It was a natural fit to save the franchise.

 

Getting LeBron to the Knicks or the Bulls would have been much better for the NBA…

[notin]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The thing is -- for fans like us who appreciate the importance of defense -- we haven't seen a decent fielding first baseman in Boston since who, Moreland?

First may seem to some posters the easiest position, but it's also the spot on the diamond where the most "automatic" outs better be made -- and when you try to fit round pegs into square pizza boxes, they get cheese all over them:

Toro ranges half-way to second for a grounder, and nobody covers... Toro gets his feet twisted on a ball down the line, and can't make a smooth flip. 

It's noticeable and unacceptable. Like Max or someone said, the Sox weren't getting production out of 1B by Casas before he was hurt. But at least get someone who knows how to play there who won't Franchy the team under .500...

I’m not a fan of this guy but I’ve mentioned him multiple times - Andrew Vaughn.

Hes managed to play 1b all through college, the minors and MLB despite being 5’3”.  His StatCast page is actually decent.  His defense is lackluster but at least experienced.  And Chicago is clearly going nowhere and already called up their AAA masher 1b in Tim Elko.  They’d deal Vaughn today because the market in July will be dead for him.

BTV gives him a surplus value of -$4.7mill.  He’s no Freddie Freeman, but at least he’s no Abraham Toro.  And the cost won’t be Anthony or Mayer…

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The thing is -- for fans like us who appreciate the importance of defense -- we haven't seen a decent fielding first baseman in Boston since who, Moreland?

First may seem to some posters the easiest position, but it's also the spot on the diamond where the most "automatic" outs better be made -- and when you try to fit round pegs into square pizza boxes, they get cheese all over them:

Toro ranges half-way to second for a grounder, and nobody covers... Toro gets his feet twisted on a ball down the line, and can't make a smooth flip. 

It's noticeable and unacceptable. Like Max or someone said, the Sox weren't getting production out of 1B by Casas before he was hurt. But at least get someone who knows how to play there who won't Franchy the team under .500...

No complaints on this.  Our corner IF defense has been atrocious for as long as Casas/Devers have been the starters.

Their bats "make up for it," and that's enough for many fans, and apparently our managers and GM for several years. We knew this when we signed Yoshida, but for some reason, these guys felt Yoshida could play a decent LF in MLB. The plan, all long, should have been to have Devers and Casas share DH/1B duty or to trade Casas and have devers be the FT DH (or 1B, if he proved he could be decent enough there.)