Red Sox (Giolito) vs Blue Jays (Gausman): 9/23/25, 7:07pm

[vegasbob]

Looking behind the obvious, remain aware that Detroit is setting the Sox for a monumental showdown vs Skubal

[Maxbialystock]

43,000 at the game tonight.  

Crochet tomorrow against Scherzer.  

Sox 7th and 9th hitters drove in all 4 runs tonight.  

Jays limited to 3 hits tonight, all off of Giolito.  

[Maxbialystock]

4 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Looking behind the obvious, remain aware that Detroit is setting the Sox for a monumental showdown vs Skubal

I doubt it.  Honestly.  Detroit is lifeless.  

[vegasbob]

3 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

I doubt it.  Honestly.  Detroit is lifeless.  

I do hope that is true

[Maxbialystock]

25 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

You can flip a coin on trading Duran vs Abreu.    There are some peripheral matters like age and cost that favor Abreu  but both have trouble with LH pitching

Abreu's OPS vs lefties is 100 points higher than Duran's.  Plus he's a better outfielder.  However, he was out twice this season with injuries and will play in 116 games to Duran's 155.  Duran's WAR is 4.6 to Abreu's 3.3 mostly because of more games played.  Abreu is 3 years younger.  

I agree it's a coin flip and believe one of them will be traded this offseason.  

[FredLynn]

21 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

The best and most consistent part of this team has been the BP.

We actually have three very good SPs too. It’s not the pitching that is the problem now.

[Maxbialystock]

8 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

I do hope that is true

There's a ton of people on talksox, especially moonslav,, who say teams are very unpredictable.  Rationally, I know he's right, but my gut says the Sox will beat out the Tigers by a couple of games.  

[moonslav59]

Big win!

Damn CWS!

I may be in a minority, but I'm glad CLE is beating up on DET. I hope they sweep em.

[vegasbob]

7 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

There's a ton of people on talksox, especially moonslav,, who say teams are very unpredictable.  Rationally, I know he's right, but my gut says the Sox will beat out the Tigers by a couple of games.  

The Red Sox are a prime example of unpredictable over the course of this season 

[Maxbialystock]

1 minute ago, FredLynn said:

We actually have three very good SPs too. It’s not the pitching that is the problem now.

I think we have 5 competitive SP's--Crochet, Giolito, Early, Bello, and Harrison--but Crochet is the only one who deserves "very good."   Crochet, Giolito and Bello all have ERA's over 4 this month.  

Pitching has been the Sox strong suit all season long and especially in those 6, 7, and 10 game winning streaks.  

The Sox lineup, meanwhile, lacks a single big hitter, so needs all 9 slots to be competitive.  Tonight 7th and 9th each drove in 2 runs, both with solid doubles.  

 

[vegasbob]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Big win!

Damn CWS!

I may be in a minority, but I'm glad CLE is beating up on DET. I hope they sweep em.

Could be 3 up with 3 to play vs Tigers.  Interesting scenario, Moon

[moonslav59]

This Sox team has time and time again bounce back from adversity. If anything should have been predictable about the 2025 Sox is that they'd not go out without a fight.

Their M.O. is not to "flop."

This is not the same Sox team as the ones that did flop.

[FredLynn]

Just now, Maxbialystock said:

I think we have 5 competitive SP's--Crochet, Giolito, Early, Bello, and Harrison--but Crochet is the only one who deserves "very good."   Crochet, Giolito and Bello all have ERA's over 4 this month.  

Pitching has been the Sox strong suit all season long and especially in those 6, 7, and 10 game winning streaks.  

The Sox lineup, meanwhile, lacks a single big hitter, so needs all 9 slots to be competitive.  Tonight 7th and 9th each drove in 2 runs, both with solid doubles.  

 

The big 3 all have ERAs under 3.50 for the year. Harrison and Early haven’t pitched enough to be able to assess them. Both have been evaluated as having a ceiling of depth SPers from what I read. 

[Maxbialystock]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Big win!

Damn CWS!

I may be in a minority, but I'm glad CLE is beating up on DET. I hope they sweep em.

So maybe you agree with me that the Motor City team broken down and needs repairs. 😄

 

[Maxbialystock]

4 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Could be 3 up with 3 to play vs Tigers.  Interesting scenario, Moon

Could be.  

[FredLynn]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

This Sox team has time and time again bounce back from adversity. If anything should have been predictable about the 2025 Sox is that they'd not go out without a fight.

Their M.O. is not to "flop."

This is not the same Sox team as the ones that did flop.

Time will tell if your assessment is correct. If they don’t make the playoffs then they are no better than the teams that flopped. On September 1 they were 2 1/2 games out of first place. Now they are fighting for the last WC. If the choke job is realized then you can add this year to the list of teams that flopped. 

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

The Red Sox are a prime example of unpredictable over the course of this season 

Yet, everytime we lost 3 in a row, some felt we were doomed to keep losing.

[Maxbialystock]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

This Sox team has time and time again bounce back from adversity. If anything should have been predictable about the 2025 Sox is that they'd not go out without a fight.

Their M.O. is not to "flop."

This is not the same Sox team as the ones that did flop.

Target hit!!! And you're the first to say--and have said it before.  I've been beating up Bregman for about a month but now suspect he has been a good influence all along.  

No credit to Cora of course.  As is clear from reading talksox, he has no clue about lineups, when to bring in relievers, which ones to use, when to pinch hit, etc.  Were it not for his endless mistakes, the Sox would be leading the AL East by 5 games.  

 

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

Time will tell if your assessment is correct. If they don’t make the playoffs then they are no better than the teams that flopped. On September 1 they were 2 1/2 games out of first place. Now they are fighting for the last WC. If the choke job is realized then you can add this year to the list of teams that flopped. 

10-9 in Sept is not a choke. You can keep saying it, but that doesn't make it real.

11-9 since Aug 31st and 15-11 since Aug 25th is not choking. 4 of last 6 is a real choke job. LMAO.

You can will it to happen all you want, and maybe we do another down turn, like we have several times, this year, but nobody knows.

[Maxbialystock]

31 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

The Red Sox are a prime example of unpredictable over the course of this season 

Meh.  Look at the AL standings.  9 teams have winning percentages from .500 to .570--from the Rangers to the Jays--which means all 9 of them are unpredictable.  

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

 

No credit to Cora of course.  

Cora knew Bregman was a clubhouse leader and strong influencer, especially on younger players.

Too bad Devers wasn't "young enough."

[moonslav59]

It's still early, out west, but SEA & HOU are losing.

The Yanks nearly lost to the lowly CWS.

It ain't the Sox a chokin'!

[FredLynn]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

10-9 in Sept is not a choke. You can keep saying it, but that doesn't make it real.

11-9 since Aug 31st and 15-11 since Aug 25th is not choking. 4 of last 6 is a real choke job. LMAO.

You can will it to happen all you want, and maybe we do another down turn, like we have several times, this year, but nobody knows.

If we were 10-9 and needed 14-5 to make the playoffs then it’s a choke. 10-9 is barely over .500. Not good enough for a team trying to make the postseason. 
So again: if we manage to complete the gag job then the 2025 FLOPS can join the choke club along with so many other Flops teams. If the make the playoffs they are exempt.

This franchise has a long history of blowing it. Let’s hope the 2025 team doesn’t join them.

[moonslav59]

A HOU loss, tonight puts them 2 behind the Sox with us having the tie-breaker. Essentially, a 3 game lead, assuming ATH beat HOU tonight.

HOU is 29-37 since July 6th.

DET is in the midst of an epic choke job.

SEA (14-1) and CLE (16-2) are on epic hot streaks.

What a crazy season!!!

[Maxbialystock]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Cora knew Bregman was a clubhouse leader and strong influencer, especially on younger players.

Too bad Devers wasn't "young enough."

Do I need to supply a 😃 when I am being over the top facetious? 

I think this might be Cora's best season yet because of all the permutations.  13 starters.  Devers traded.  Bregman injured and then a slump.  Abreu on the IL twice.  Mayer through for the season on 24 July after playing  44 games and Anthony on 2 Sep after 71 games.    Despite a good defense, leading MLB in errors.  Starting 8 different rookies: Campbell, Mayer, Anthony, Narvaez, Garcia, Dobbins, Early, and Tolle,  

[illinoisredsox]

Astros lose in Sacramento.

Sox magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 4 (not going to get into tiebreakers, which could reduce that number depending on who and how many teams tie).

[FredLynn]

19 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

Astros lose in Sacramento.

Sox magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 4 (not going to get into tiebreakers, which could reduce that number depending on who and how many teams tie).

Which other teams are involved with that magic number? Detroit? Houston?

[harmony]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

A HOU loss, tonight puts them 2 behind the Sox with us having the tie-breaker. Essentially, a 3 game lead, assuming ATH beat HOU tonight.

HOU is 29-37 since July 6th.

DET is in the midst of an epic choke job.

SEA (14-1) and CLE (16-2) are on epic hot streaks.

What a crazy season!!!

The postseason-bound Seattle Mariners have won 15 of their last 16 games after starting the month with four straight losses that dropped the M's record to 1-6 on an East Coast road trip.

Baseball is unpredictable.

 

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, Maxbialystock said:

43,000 at the game tonight.  

Crochet tomorrow against Scherzer.  

Sox 7th and 9th hitters drove in all 4 runs tonight.  

Jays limited to 3 hits tonight, all off of Giolito.  

Scherzer got rocked his last game. from espn: the Royals sent 10 batters to the plate against Max Scherzer (5-4), who exited after recording just two outs and allowing seven hits in the shortest non-injury start of his career. It was Scherzer’s shortest outing since facing just one batter while pitching for Washington on June 11, 2021, before leaving with an injury.

[Beaneater]

7 hours ago, jad said:

I realize the Robo-Ump case has been argued ad nauseum, so I will simply vent here as MLB announces the WORST solution--one that combines all the negative aspects of human umps with all the negative aspects of Roboump.   Nothing like delaying things for an idiotic 'challenge', which will lead announcers to say equally idiotic things '' GREAT challenge!" or "Do you want to use your challenge now?"  Who gives a crap.  If you are going to judge balls and strikes electroniclly (through the challenge) and judge umpires by how well their calls reflect the electronic call, JUST GO WITH ROBO-UMPS for God's sake.

"After further review"... I think I agree with you completely. Neither the old classic game nor the new accurate game (which would be my preference), but something in between that's not as good as either. Good take, jad.