Red Sox (Fitts) vs Phillies (Sánchez): 7/22/25, 6:45pm

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

4 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

What's pathetic is thinking a ballplayer making over 5 million/yr is at the poverty level. But this is where baseball is.

I remember when Al Kaline was making 90 thousand/yr. He had a bad season and told the owner to reduce his salary by 10 thousand for the following season.

[illinoisredsox]

3 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

It's 9 games, not 12, and nobody said they would define the season.  Nor should they have when all 9 games are against NL Division leaders, and the first six on the road where the Cubs and Phillies both win 2/3 of their games.   In all 5 games the Cubs and Phillies have had excellent starters.  

Last night and tonight the Phillies started pitchers with ERA's under 2.5.  That's like back to back Crochets.  And the Sox would have won the first one (last night) if Narvaez,  an otherwise excellent catcher, had not had that passed ball.  

The Sox have played 5 of the 9 games and are 1-4.

If you mean 12, you really mean 13, including the 4 games vs the Rays, who in fact have a winning record so far this season.  The Sox won all 4 of those games.  

What these 9 games could do is inform Breslow about when moves he wants to make o/a 31 July.  

It’s a two way street though.  Yes, Breslow has to decide which way to go.  But the players have to give Breslow a reason to go out and get help; the next 4 games will go a long way towards that influencing that decision.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Where Bryce Harper was from he had two choices; play the banjo or play baseball.

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, dannycater said:

Platoon v. great pitching often means nothing.

Last night the Sox win with platooning--and a great start by Buehler--if Narvaez doesn't have that passed ball, which was run #2 for the Phillies.  At the end of 9 innings, the score should have been Sox 2, Phillies 1--against the best righty starter in MLB.  

[Maxbialystock]

12 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

It’s a two way street though.  Yes, Breslow has to decide which way to go.  But the players have to give Breslow a reason to go out and get help; the next 4 games will go a long way towards that influencing that decision.

They sure do--but with the understanding that in 5 games the Sox have faced some awfully good starters.  

[Duran Is The Man]

10 hours ago, Nick said:

Our biggest mistake was not going after Kyle Schwarber. 46, 47, 38 and 32 homers for mere 4 Year $79M.

Ultimately, you need a power bat in the lineup. 

Chime Bloom thought he was better replaced with Masataka Yoshida. LOLOLOL.

[Maxbialystock]

2 hours ago, dannycater said:

Platoon v. great pitching often means nothing.

 

 

[dannycater]

3 hours ago, illinoisredsox said:

Who would you have in there instead?  Anyone is not an answer.

Sanchez is a really good pitcher; he’s 28, been around 5-6 years and has a pretty good idea of what he’s doing out there.  Tonight was never a good matchup for the Sox.

See, I would have had Devers...but hey what do I know

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, dannycater said:

See, I would have had Devers...but hey what do I know

But haven't you considered the feelings of Breslow and ownership and how THEY were slighted? 

[mvp 78]

10 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

They sure do--but with the understanding that in 5 games the Sox have faced some awfully good starters.  

Good starters and rough pitching matchups. This was going to be a pretty tough series for them. 

[mvp 78]

9 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Chime Bloom thought he was better replaced with Masataka Yoshida. LOLOLOL.

He wasn't the only one. There were Sox scouts that had liked Masa for a while. Those scouts were still with the team at least through last season. IDK if they were purged post audit. 

[Duran Is The Man]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He wasn't the only one. There were Sox scouts that had liked Masa for a while. Those scouts were still with the team at least through last season. IDK if they were purged post audit. 

if not, they should have been.

[vegasbob]

13 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

It's 9 games, not 12, and nobody said they would define the season.  Nor should they have when all 9 games are against NL Division leaders, and the first six on the road where the Cubs and Phillies both win 2/3 of their games.   In all 5 games the Cubs and Phillies have had excellent starters.  

Last night and tonight the Phillies started pitchers with ERA's under 2.5.  That's like back to back Crochets.  And the Sox would have won the first one (last night) if Narvaez,  an otherwise excellent catcher, had not had that passed ball.  

The Sox have played 5 of the 9 games and are 1-4.

If you mean 12, you really mean 13, including the 4 games vs the Rays, who in fact have a winning record so far this season.  The Sox won all 4 of those games.  

What these 9 games could do is inform Breslow about when moves he wants to make o/a 31 July.  

Dear Max,  I was including in the 12 games , the 3 vs the Twins which run July 28-30.   That concludes the games prior to the TDL.  Sox are off on the 31st .

Your lectures are getting very tiring . put me on ignore and I'll do the same for you because i think you are an ugly cheerleader

[vegasbob]

12 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

Last night the Sox win with platooning--and a great start by Buehler--if Narvaez doesn't have that passed ball, which was run #2 for the Phillies.  At the end of 9 innings, the score should have been Sox 2, Phillies 1--against the best righty starter in MLB.  

Maybe there should be a set of standings for woulda-coulda-shoulda and one set that ignores 1 run games or extra innings.     The W-L's  are misleading because they don't include dWar  and other advanced metrics that only tell you what happened, not what is currently trending .

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He wasn't the only one. There were Sox scouts that had liked Masa for a while. Those scouts were still with the team at least through last season. IDK if they were purged post audit. 

Their assessment of Schwarber bothers me more than their assessment of Masa

[drewski6]

38 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Maybe there should be a set of standings for woulda-coulda-shoulda and one set that ignores 1 run games or extra innings.     The W-L's  are misleading because they don't include dWar  and other advanced metrics that only tell you what happened, not what is currently trending .

Thats not the point.  The point, for me, dont want to speak for Max is this old school incorrect belief that platoons are not good.  If MLB rosters were 30 deep, most MLB players would platoon.  Are platoons are some of our stronger spots.  You dont see a platoon and circle it as a weak spot.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Their assessment of Schwarber bothers me more than their assessment of Masa

"We can't pay two DH's! What are we billionaires made of money?!?!?" 

I believe that was the argument at the time. 

[Bellhorn04]

17 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Their assessment of Schwarber bothers me more than their assessment of Masa

There has been a lot of swing and miss in their game since 2019.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Their assessment of Schwarber bothers me more than their assessment of Masa

A lot of intangibles we're hearing about Bregman right now favor the Red Sox for extending or resigning him: leadership on and off the field, coaching players like Rafaela in the cage, prepping himself on a night off and insisting on pinch-hitting -- then homering, disdain for opponents and loyalty to teammates...

... many of the same traits Schwarber supposedly brought to Boston. 

JD brought a valuable iPad culture to the offense -- but Schwarber was a batter with an attitude. Cora, a guy who played the game, noted his appreciation for that publicly. For those upstairs who never made it, Schwarbs might only be a body and a dollar sign.

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, vegasbob said:

Dear Max,  I was including in the 12 games , the 3 vs the Twins which run July 28-30.   That concludes the games prior to the TDL.  Sox are off on the 31st .

Your lectures are getting very tiring . put me on ignore and I'll do the same for you because i think you are an ugly cheerleader

Well, I deserve that because I completely forgot about Minnesota, no doubt because I became fixated on the three Division leaders.  

[mvp 78]

Cheering for the Red Sox in a Red Sox forum... How could we let this happen?!?!?

[Maxbialystock]

40 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

"We can't pay two DH's! What are we billionaires made of money?!?!?" 

I believe that was the argument at the time. 

2021 was a weird season coming the year after covid arrived--fans were reluctant to come to games.  Sox averaged 21,300.    Sox payroll was 5th highest.  

The Sox had absolutely no problem playing both Schwarber, who often played 1b, and JDM who occasionally played in the OF.  They surprised the heck out of everyone by getting to the ALCS, largely because they had the highest team OPS, .827.  Their team ERA was 4.68, however, and the Sox had no closer.  

And the defense stunk.    Verdugo's DWAR was -0.1, Renfroe -0.5, Schwarber -0.5, JDM -0.9, Devers -0.9, and Dalbec -1.4.  

The Sox lost to Houston in the ALCS because the Astros pitching shut them down in games 4, 5, and 6:  9-2, 9-1, and 5-0.    

I believe John Henry made the final decision on Schwarber and DD was almost certainly the reason why the Phillies signed him.  In 2022 the Phillies payroll was 4th and the Sox 6th.  However, thanks to Price and Sale, the Sox active payroll for 2022 was 12th.  The Phillies, 87-75, made the postseason and the Sox did not.  The Phillies have been competitive ever since and the Sox not. This season the Phillies payroll is 4th and the Sox 13th.  

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

2021 was a weird season coming the year after covid arrived--fans were reluctant to come to games.  Sox averaged 21,300.    Sox payroll was 5th highest.  

The Sox had absolutely no problem playing both Schwarber, who often played 1b, and JDM who occasionally played in the OF.  They surprised the heck out of everyone by getting to the ALCS, largely because they had the highest team OPS, .827.  Their team ERA was 4.68, however, and the Sox had no closer.  

And the defense stunk.    Verdugo's DWAR was -0.1, Renfroe -0.5, Schwarber -0.5, JDM -0.9, Devers -0.9, and Dalbec -1.4.  

The Sox lost to Houston in the ALCS because the Astros pitching shut them down in games 4, 5, and 6:  9-2, 9-1, and 5-0.    

I believe John Henry made the final decision on Schwarber and DD was almost certainly the reason why the Phillies signed him.  In 2022 the Phillies payroll was 4th and the Sox 6th.  However, thanks to Price and Sale, the Sox active payroll for 2022 was 12th.  The Phillies, 87-75, made the postseason and the Sox did not.  The Phillies have been competitive ever since and the Sox not. This season the Phillies payroll is 4th and the Sox 13th.  

Henry maybe made the decision to go lighter on payroll and not sign Schwarber, BUT THEY STILL ENDED UP GOING OVER THE LUX TAX in 2022! I would have rather done so with Schwarber on board.