Reds (Martinez) vs Red Sox (Bello): 7/2/25, 7:10pm

[moonslav59]

5 hours ago, cp176 said:

I had 0 problem with bringing him in at all.  Leaving him in too long I did not like.  He has done this many times.  I’m not advocating for Captain Hook here but I would like like to see him give his team at least a chance to win.

I understand these types of criticisms. I would point out the the quality of arm to replace him with are highly suspect, and the guy they did bring in let up 3 hits and a BB on his way to getting 2 outs (Hicks.)

[Maxbialystock]

31 minutes ago, Nick said:

You have a very good point. He only sees the upside of platooning, usually it's all about lefty righty matchup. He wants better defense but he does nothing to help it. It's always about offense.

You need to get together with the "why oh why is Cora always playing Hamilton" crowd.  They literally hate defense and want bats, bats, bats in the lineup.  Hamilton has played in 53 games because his DWAR is +1.0.  Only Rafaela, +1.6, and Narvaez, +1.3, have higher DWAR's  

I don't think Cora goes strictly lefty-righty in his lineups.  Some righty bats--Rafaela, Narvaez, Story, and Bregman when he returns--start against righties.  Also, Cora has some pretty good lefty bats in Abreu, Mayer, Anthony, and even Duran.  And the Sox have faced righty pitchers in 2174 at bats vs. lefty pitchers in 856 at bats.  

[moonslav59]

5 hours ago, cp176 said:

Is this “speculative blame concept” comment for me?  It is my opinion that on numerous occasions Cora has left his relief pitchers in too long..  there is nothing speculative about my statement.  Once again it is my opinion which I think is quite mild compared to many I have read here.  

Of course it's speculative, as we only have hindsight to show how one move worked and speculation on what might have happened with another move.

Of course, it's hard to imagine worse than a grand slam, in this case, but how many times have we thought a pitcher should be removed, then he settles down and does well. We just don't hear about those speculations.

[Maxbialystock]

14 hours ago, iortiz said:

This team is really a joke. Bush league team to say the least. 

You haven't suffered enough, that's for sure.   JH as owner has produced a Sox golden era with 4 WS wins, etc.  I was a Sox fan from 1949 to 2003, 55 years, when they won none.  You belong to the "what have you done lately for me" crowd.

I like this Sox team.  I like the good defense at CF, RF, 3b, SS, and catcher.  I like that they seem to be hitting again despite the absence of Bregman and Devers and playing--wait for it--4 freaking rookies this season.  All 4 of them have shown potential.

I like the offseason acquisitions of Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Narvaez.   I'm beginning to see 3 decent starters in Crochet, Bello, and Giolito.  I like Chapman, of course, but am terrified of  the bullpen.  I think Cora is perfect for this fascinating combination of players and the fact that the Sox Active Payroll, $112M, is 17th in MLB.  

I don't disagree that making the postseason looks daunting, primarily because of the bullpen, but still think it's possible.  The Dodgers have a worse pitching staff than the Sox and they have the best W-L record in MLB because of their #1 offense.  When Bregman returns, our offense will be better, possibly better than when we had Bregman and Devers in the lineup.  If Mayer and Anthony do what we think they can do, this could be one heckuva lineup that also plays good defense.   Heck, Story and especially Rafaela had terrific Junes at the plate.  

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

You haven't suffered enough, that's for sure.   JH as owner has produced a Sox golden era with 4 WS wins, etc.  I was a Sox fan from 1949 to 2003, 55 years, when they won none.  You belong to the "what have you done lately for me" crowd.

I like this Sox team.  I like the good defense at CF, RF, 3b, SS, and catcher.  I like that they seem to be hitting again despite the absence of Bregman and Devers and playing--wait for it--4 freaking rookies this season.  All 4 of them have shown potential.

I like the offseason acquisitions of Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Narvaez.   I'm beginning to see 3 decent starters in Crochet, Bello, and Giolito.  I like Chapman, of course, but am terrified of  the bullpen.  I think Cora is perfect for this fascinating combination of players and the fact that the Sox Active Payroll, $112M, is 17th in MLB.  

I don't disagree that making the postseason looks daunting, primarily because of the bullpen, but still think it's possible.  The Dodgers have a worse pitching staff than the Sox and they have the best W-L record in MLB because of their #1 offense.  When Bregman returns, our offense will be better, possibly better than when we had Bregman and Devers in the lineup.  If Mayer and Anthony do what we think they can do, this could be one heckuva lineup that also plays good defense.   Heck, Story and especially Rafaela had terrific Junes at the plate.  

Add Wilson to the good offseason additions. Only Buehler looks like the bad move.

Then came the Devers dump.

This season reminds me of 2022, where it looked like we made better off season moves (Story, Wacha, Strahm & Hill) than the previous season (Richards, Perez II, Marwin & Andriese) but the team record got significantly worse.

(Okay, I left out  Kike, Ottavino & Renfroe in 2021 and JBJ, Paxton & Diekman in 2022.)

[cp176]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

20-20 hindsight.  Plus, let's face it, the Sox bullpen this season has been notoriously unreliable.

And of course you have never, ever said, "you know, I thought Cora handled the pitchers just right in that game."  I know that's true because in fact he was brilliant in the first game yesterday by using his 2d best starter to pitch the 4th-8th innings.  Plus, guess what?  He left Bello in after he gave up 2 runs in the 4th. 

You wouldn't know good managing if it bit you in the ankle.  

Did I forget to mention that last night the Sox bullpen gave up just 4 ER's in 9 IP?  Weissert and Hicks gave up all 8 Cincy runs and 4 of them were unearned.  I'm sure your response to that is that those errors were on Cora for not playing the right guys or not teaching them defense or whatever.  

 

Hey now you’re getting a tad nasty which I really don’t care for.  You seem to be great with respect to your debate style when people  agree with you.  I believe that Cora is an average manager.. I’m ok with that.  Maybe it is good enough.  

Not that it matters but you are wrong with respect to what I do and do not know about coaching in general.  If you knew just a little bit about me, I don’t think that you would be silly enough to make this comment.  How about you continue on with your little cat fights with someone else.  

[cp176]

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Of course it's speculative, as we only have hindsight to show how one move worked and speculation on what might have happened with another move.

Of course, it's hard to imagine worse than a grand slam, in this case, but how many times have we thought a pitcher should be removed, then he settles down and does well. We just don't hear about those speculations.

When you are in the moment, often times as we all know decisions have to be made.  Speculation comes with the hindsight.  Posting on this site allows people to speculate.  I just don’t like many of his in game decisions.  That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be the coach of this team.  It also doesn’t mean that I think that I could do his job.  It simply means that I’m expressing my opinion on a forum board that I don’t care for some of the ways he does business.  

[Bellhorn04]

Managers are always going to be second-guessed and worse.

Cora takes plenty of heat, but he actually takes less than the man who was in the other dugout the last 3 games did when he was in Boston, Terry Coma.  

[cp176]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Managers are always going to be second-guessed and worse.

Cora takes plenty of heat, but he actually takes less than the man who was in the other dugout the last 3 games did when he was in Boston, Terry Coma.  

There is no question about that .  The good ones question themselves.  I think that Cora’s best skills are with handling and supporting his players.  That is in fact a very important piece of coaching.

[Nick]

Right now I'm excited about Garcia. The Password.

His arrival will balance out the lefty-righty dynamic in our outfield, assuming Duran or Abreu gets traded. One really has to go. I'm leaning towards Duran. It seems many playoff contenders believe he'll fit in very well. 

Garcia has power. I love the idea of rotating Garcia, Abreu and Anthony for two outfield spots. The third can DH. At some point, Yoshida has to go. Refsnyder will probably retire. 

At that point, we just need to get a 1B that does not need platooning. Extend Bregman and our lineup looks solid to me. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, cp176 said:

When you are in the moment, often times as we all know decisions have to be made.  Speculation comes with the hindsight.  Posting on this site allows people to speculate.  I just don’t like many of his in game decisions.  That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be the coach of this team.  It also doesn’t mean that I think that I could do his job.  It simply means that I’m expressing my opinion on a forum board that I don’t care for some of the ways he does business.  

Agreed. I'm usually the last guy wanting the manager fired.

I do think managers make mistakes, including Cora. I like him more than many here and much more than some here.

I shy away from in game criticisms because we don't know all the facts, and I feel it is too speculative, even for someone like me, who is always presenting what if scenarios.

I realize many fans call it a bad move before the move blows up, so it's not really "hindsight" criticism, but we rarely hear about the times Cora's moves worked, over the objections of posting fans- on and on. (Not that you do that. You don't. I respect your views, a lot.)

Weissert was struggling. There were likely very good reasons for not bringing in Hicks a batter or two earlier, that maybe we don't know about. Maybe it was a mistake, Maybe even Cora would say it was.

Like you, I don't roast managers and call for their firing over a few questionable moves. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

Right now I'm excited about Garcia. The Password.

His arrival will balance out the lefty-righty dynamic in our outfield, assuming Duran or Abreu gets traded. One really has to go. I'm leaning towards Duran. It seems many playoff contenders believe he'll fit in very well. 

Garcia has power. I love the idea of rotating Garcia, Abreu and Anthony for two outfield spots. The third can DH. At some point, Yoshida has to go. Refsnyder will probably retire. 

At that point, we just need to get a 1B that does not need platooning. Extend Bregman and our lineup looks solid to me. 

Garcia is also a plus defender and can play CF & RF, well.

If Sox brass really believes in him, then surely Duran or Abreu will be traded between the deadline and the start of 2026. If Refsnyder returns, he can platoon with Yoshida at DH. If not, Romy can be the DH platoon with Yoshida.

[Nick]

21 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Garcia is also a plus defender and can play CF & RF, well.

If Sox brass really believes in him, then surely Duran or Abreu will be traded between the deadline and the start of 2026. If Refsnyder returns, he can platoon with Yoshida at DH. If not, Romy can be the DH platoon with Yoshida.

Any thought on acquiring Ozuna from Atlanta?

[moonslav59]

22 minutes ago, Nick said:

Any thought on acquiring Ozuna from Atlanta?

I'm thinking more about being sellers than buyers, so maybe you are asking the wrong guy.

I'm not sure I want us to trade top prospects, even if we go 15-5 to send the month.

Then, if I am looking at buying, DH is not the slot I see as even a top 3 or 4 slot we need filled.

I'd like the 34 year old Ozuna, who is a FA after this year in our line-up, yes, but I doubt I'd be willing to give up what ATL might demand. Sure, he's only at .760, this year, but he was over .900 in '22 and '23, so I think he may be more expensive than you think.

I'd look at a #2 SP'er first- but again, not a rental.

Next, I'd look at 2B, but with Bregman's return, I'm fine with Mayer/Story at 2B and SS. That leaves the pen and 1B as higher priorities than DH.

Right now, our OF is packed, and Anthony is being used as our DH. Who sits so Anthony plays everyday? Duran or the Abreu-Ref platoon? I'd rather have Anthony than Ozuna, to be honest.

[Nick]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm thinking more about being sellers than buyers, so maybe you are asking the wrong guy.

I'm not sure I want us to trade top prospects, even if we go 15-5 to send the month.

Then, if I am looking at buying, DH is not the slot I see as even a top 3 or 4 slot we need filled.

I'd like the 34 year old Ozuna, who is a FA after this year in our line-up, yes, but I doubt I'd be willing to give up what ATL might demand. Sure, he's only at .760, this year, but he was over .900 in '22 and '23, so I think he may be more expensive than you think.

I'd look at a #2 SP'er first- but again, not a rental.

Next, I'd look at 2B, but with Bregman's return, I'm fine with Mayer/Story at 2B and SS. That leaves the pen and 1B as higher priorities than DH.

Right now, our OF is packed, and Anthony is being used as our DH. Who sits so Anthony plays everyday? Duran or the Abreu-Ref platoon? I'd rather have Anthony than Ozuna, to be honest.

Anthony playing 1B would solve lot of problems. lol

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Nick said:

Anthony playing 1B would solve lot of problems. lol

I'm not sure what's wrong with Toro-Romy at 1B.

May 1st>>>

.919 Romy- Best on roster

.795 Toro- 4th best on roster w dbl the PAs as Ref and Bregman ahead of him.

Season:

vs LHP: 1.074 Romy

vs RHP: .840 Toro

We could only hope Casas would do this.

Now, can they keep this up, or do we bet no and trade for a 1Bman?

 

 

[Nick]

14 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not sure what's wrong with Toro-Romy at 1B.

May 1st>>>

.919 Romy- Best on roster

.795 Toro- 4th best on roster w dbl the PAs as Ref and Bregman ahead of him.

Season:

vs LHP: 1.074 Romy

vs RHP: .840 Toro

We could only hope Casas would do this.

Now, can they keep this up, or do we bet no and trade for a 1Bman?

 

 

I am talking about a permanent solution, for next 6 years. He's 6-3 I think. With PASSWORD, Garcia on the horizon, we'll still have surplus of OF. Surely you don't want to count on Toro/Gonzalez combo next year.

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, Nick said:

I am talking about a permanent solution, for next 6 years. He's 6-3 I think. With PASSWORD, Garcia on the horizon, we'll still have surplus of OF. Surely you don't want to count on Toro/Gonzalez combo next year.

I'd prefer to count Toro-Romy as 2026 depth, but if we fill our other priorities with high quality players, I'd be okay with starting the year with Casas, Toto, Romy at 1B with someone like Campbell, Garcia or Anthony/Duran able to provide depth, if needed.

Trading for Hoskins would not be for 2026. Bohm has one more year after 2025.

[jad]

6 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

You haven't suffered enough, that's for sure.   JH as owner has produced a Sox golden era with 4 WS wins, etc.  I was a Sox fan from 1949 to 2003, 55 years, when they won none.  You belong to the "what have you done lately for me" crowd.

I like this Sox team.  I like the good defense at CF, RF, 3b, SS, and catcher.  I like that they seem to be hitting again despite the absence of Bregman and Devers and playing--wait for it--4 freaking rookies this season.  All 4 of them have shown potential.

I like the offseason acquisitions of Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Narvaez.   I'm beginning to see 3 decent starters in Crochet, Bello, and Giolito.  I like Chapman, of course, but am terrified of  the bullpen.  I think Cora is perfect for this fascinating combination of players and the fact that the Sox Active Payroll, $112M, is 17th in MLB.  

I don't disagree that making the postseason looks daunting, primarily because of the bullpen, but still think it's possible.  The Dodgers have a worse pitching staff than the Sox and they have the best W-L record in MLB because of their #1 offense.  When Bregman returns, our offense will be better, possibly better than when we had Bregman and Devers in the lineup.  If Mayer and Anthony do what we think they can do, this could be one heckuva lineup that also plays good defense.   Heck, Story and especially Rafaela had terrific Junes at the plate.  

Well. I've been a Sox fan maybe a year or two less than you have (can't recall whether I sang Sweet Caroline at age 2 or not), and true they have sucked.  But these last few years are the first when I thought that ownership was indifferent to winning, although yes Yawkee was a racist s***, and would rather have a bad white team than a better one with black players; Henry, no racist, has his own version:  he'd rather be a mediocre or losing team making money than a great or even historic team making less money.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, jad said:

Well. I've been a Sox fan maybe a year or two less than you have (can't recall whether I sang Sweet Caroline at age 2 or not), and true they have sucked.  But these last few years are the first when I thought that ownership was indifferent to winning, although yes Yawkee was a racist s***, and would rather have a bad white team than a better one with black players; Henry, no racist, has his own version:  he'd rather be a mediocre or losing team making money than a great or even historic team making less money.

I don't disagree, but even during the winnings years from 2003 to 2018, JH spent in cycles. The long span from 2019 to 2024 was a first, despite a couple of minor spending blips and the record deal given to Devers.

I do think this past winter showed he was fed up with mediocre, but then the Devers dump puts the doubt right back into our heads.

While the Gio ($39M/2) and Hendriks ($10M/2) deals were made in the previous winter, both ended up being more about 2025. Then, we spent this:

$40M x 3 Bregman (w opt out) Largest AAV in Sox history

$21M/1 Buehler (Largest AAV for P since Sale)

$18M/2 Sandoval

$11M/1 Chapman

$2M/1 Wilson

That's over $90M AAV for 2025 and $113M, if you count Gio & Hendriks.

Maybe, this is a sign the cycle has come full circle.... 5-6 years later.

 

 

 

[BLOODSOX]

8 hours ago, cp176 said:

There is no question about that .  The good ones question themselves.  I think that Cora’s best skills are with handling and supporting his players.  That is in fact a very important piece of coaching.

Cora is obviously a good player coach. He's run his term;  just based per lack of results resembling the team concept of performance. Diligence to prevent  basic base running errors and fielding choice errors. He does not have a coaching commitment to save himself. It's alright, the team just needs a change and right coach change for the 2025 thru 2030's.

We can't be compared to Colorado Rockies Teams..

[Maxbialystock]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Add Wilson to the good offseason additions. Only Buehler looks like the bad move.

Then came the Devers dump.

This season reminds me of 2022, where it looked like we made better off season moves (Story, Wacha, Strahm & Hill) than the previous season (Richards, Perez II, Marwin & Andriese) but the team record got significantly worse.

(Okay, I left out  Kike, Ottavino & Renfroe in 2021 and JBJ, Paxton & Diekman in 2022.)

I believe emphatically that Devers should have stayed as the DH this season because it was working.

At the same time I understand why Breslow didn't want that:  Raffy's $30M plus Yoshida's $18.6M were far too much for the DH slot. 

So I'm ready to put Devers behind us and consider Cora's options with him gone, Bregman returning, Story and especially Rafaela hitting better, Narvaez solid at C, Abreu in RF, Toro/Gonzalez at 1b,  and what I see as the hitting potential of Mayer and Anthony.   I like that lineup at bat and in the field.   They are also a bargain for the Sox, which means they Sox should extend Bregman.  

You or someone else opined that JH can't fire Breslow because he can't get another CBO.  So be it.  Breslow has made mistakes, but I think he is on the right track.  The real culprit, if he is one, is JH who is no longer willing to underwrite the biggest payroll in MLB.  

I therefore expect Breslow to make one or more trades on or before July 31 and that he will seek to improve the bullpen and/or rotation.  

[Brock Beauchamp]

27 minutes ago, BLOODSOX said:

Cora is obviously a good player coach. He's run his term;  just based per lack of results resembling the team concept of performance. Diligence to prevent  basic base running errors and fielding choice errors. He does not have a coaching commitment to save himself. It's alright, the team just needs a change and right coach change for the 2025 thru 2030's.

We can't be compared to Colorado Rockies Teams..

Welcome to Talk Sox!

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, jad said:

Well. I've been a Sox fan maybe a year or two less than you have (can't recall whether I sang Sweet Caroline at age 2 or not), and true they have sucked.  But these last few years are the first when I thought that ownership was indifferent to winning, although yes Yawkee was a racist s***, and would rather have a bad white team than a better one with black players; Henry, no racist, has his own version:  he'd rather be a mediocre or losing team making money than a great or even historic team making less money.

You could be right about JH.  He certainly headed in a new direction after the 2019 season and firing DD.  

Breslow, like CB, is a first time CBO, so it's possible JH is waiting and watching.  The big bucks for Crochet, Bregman, and Chapman imply that he is willing to spend more.  This is made easier by all those low rent guys who are looking pretty good:  Rafaela, Abreu, Mayer, Anthony, Narvaez, Duran, Toro/Gonzalez, Bello, et al.  You need those guys so you can afford to go after more pitching.  

[Maxbialystock]

9 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Managers are always going to be second-guessed and worse.

Cora takes plenty of heat, but he actually takes less than the man who was in the other dugout the last 3 games did when he was in Boston, Terry Coma.  

Oh, very well said!  I do remember the comments on that other Boston Globe website.  Every loss, every error, every failure to hit, and every failure to get someone out was his fault alone.  

[Maxbialystock]

9 hours ago, cp176 said:

When you are in the moment, often times as we all know decisions have to be made.  Speculation comes with the hindsight.  Posting on this site allows people to speculate.  I just don’t like many of his in game decisions.  That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be the coach of this team.  It also doesn’t mean that I think that I could do his job.  It simply means that I’m expressing my opinion on a forum board that I don’t care for some of the ways he does business.  

True.  Thanks to talksox we all get to opine, agree, and disagree.  

[moonslav59]

34 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

You could be right about JH.  He certainly headed in a new direction after the 2019 season and firing DD.  

Breslow, like CB, is a first time CBO, so it's possible JH is waiting and watching.  The big bucks for Crochet, Bregman, and Chapman imply that he is willing to spend more.  This is made easier by all those low rent guys who are looking pretty good:  Rafaela, Abreu, Mayer, Anthony, Narvaez, Duran, Toro/Gonzalez, Bello, et al.  You need those guys so you can afford to go after more pitching.  

Chapman was cheaper than Jansen in AAV ($16M to 12) and years (2 to 1.)

The recent Buehler ($21M/1 highest SP AAV since Sale) and Gio ($39M/2 largest and longest since Nate) plus Sandoval ($18M/2, 2nd largest and longest since Sale) does show a significant increase on the rotation. That's $78M for 3 pitchers. Before that, It was about $10-12M a year, tops.

The Bregman signing broke the Sox AAV record, and the Crochet extension was a breath of fresh air, and I didn't even count his contract towards money spent on the rotation, recently. It seems like an obvious uptick in spending, despite the Devers cash dump.

[Maxbialystock]

9 hours ago, cp176 said:

Hey now you’re getting a tad nasty which I really don’t care for.  You seem to be great with respect to your debate style when people  agree with you.  I believe that Cora is an average manager.. I’m ok with that.  Maybe it is good enough.  

Not that it matters but you are wrong with respect to what I do and do not know about coaching in general.  If you knew just a little bit about me, I don’t think that you would be silly enough to make this comment.  How about you continue on with your little cat fights with someone else.  

I know nothing about coaching.  I coached kids basketball and was lousy at it.  I do think managers know one heckuva lot more than we do about pitching decisions.  We, of course, have the benefit of hindsight, but not necessarily the insight to use it correctly.  

A bunch of important and knowledgeable people think Cora is a pretty good manager.  That's why DD fired Farrell after back to back AL East Division titles and hired Cora (who had never managed).  It's why JH hired him back after being banned from MLB for the 2020 season.  To me the 2021 season was confirmation that Cora was a better manager than Farrell.  Thus was he also extended despite the struggles of 2022-2025 and the clamor on talksox to dump him.

As for yesterday's game, I do think you used hindsight to castigate Cora about the 2d game, and chose not to use it to appreciate what Cora did in the first game.  

 

 

[mvp 78]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I'd prefer to count Toro-Romy as 2026 depth, but if we fill our other priorities with high quality players, I'd be okay with starting the year with Casas, Toto, Romy at 1B with someone like Campbell, Garcia or Anthony/Duran able to provide depth, if needed.

Trading for Hoskins would not be for 2026. Bohm has one more year after 2025.

I’d dump, Toro, Romy and Ref on anyone who needed them at the deadline. They are not long for this team. A RHB that can only hit LHP isn’t hard to find. Toro (LHB) just isn’t that good TBH and I’d take a low level prospect for him. All three are older too.

[mvp 78]

6 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

I know nothing about coaching.  I coached kids basketball and was lousy at it.  I do think managers know one heckuva lot more than we do about pitching decisions.  We, of course, have the benefit of hindsight, but not necessarily the insight to use it correctly.  

A bunch of important and knowledgeable people think Cora is a pretty good manager.  That's why DD fired Farrell after back to back AL East Division titles and hired Cora (who had never managed).  It's why JH hired him back after being banned from MLB for the 2020 season.  To me the 2021 season was confirmation that Cora was a better manager than Farrell.  Thus was he also extended despite the struggles of 2022-2025 and the clamor on talksox to dump him.

As for yesterday's game, I do think you used hindsight to castigate Cora about the 2d game, and chose not to use it to appreciate what Cora did in the first game.  

 

 

When the relievers pitch well, it’s on the relievers. When the relievers pitch poorly, it’s bad bullpen management from Cora. Duh.