Red Sox (Moran) vs Tigers (Valdez): 5/5/26, 6:40pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

Who is following Moran? Has it been announced?

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Zack Kelly	0	19	0	19	0	38
Tyler Samaniego	0	0	26	13	0	39
Ryan Watson	0	0	39	0	0	39
Jovani Morán	0	0	0	11	0	11
Greg Weissert	0	0	0	22	0	22
Garrett Whitlock	0	16	0	19	26	61
Aroldis Chapman	0	16	0	17	13	46

[mvp 78]

Moran is opening for Bello.

[vegasbob]

Interesting experiment, often alluded to last year.  Glad to see them try it

[mvp 78]

“If we do it, (the Tigers) tend to have some lefties up at the top (of the lineup),” said Tracy. “So they can change it around and get more righties into the lineup, possibly. But it also pushes him down to where when, third time through, maybe it’s in a section of the lineup we can push him through a little bit.

 

“I think he’s open right now to doing whatever to get himself on track,” said Tracy. “I think to doing whatever it takes to help our team win. He’s frustrated, too. But Brayan will be fine. If you watch and really look at the outing last time, there was 2.2 (inning) where it really looked like vintage Bello. It’s 96 mph and it’s sink. There’s a lot of quick outs and he’s looking good. A couple of guys get on and he lost the zone a little bit. So, I think I saw glimpses in that outing where he was very close to turning in a solid outing. But we have to get him over that hump.

“Seeing the velocity back up, the other day, that was encouraging to me. I was watching and there was a lot of 96 mph. If he’s got that sinker, he’s usually in good shape. But I still, again, think, there were glimpses where he takes down pockets of hitters fairly easily. We just have to get him over the hump. A lot of it the other day was maybe getting a little tentative with some people on base. If we can keep him on the attack, he’s still capable.”

[iortiz]

I don't think Bello is going to be starter again. I always was opposed to extend him at the time.

[moonslav59]

Facing a lefty, so I wonder if there will be a change to the line-up.

[mvp 78]

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Facing a lefty, so I wonder if there will be a change to the line-up.

Quote

 

Same lineup Cora would have done.

[mvp 78]

 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Same lineup Cora would have done.

Lineups are coming from inside the house (Brez).

[Nick]

It's insane to keep doing the same thing. Maybe changing up the routine will free him. 

[Nick]

I'm staying positive. Really encouraged by our three rookie starting pitchers.

I think you can buy position player with lesser risk than pitchers. Just draft all pitchers every year.

[moonslav59]

Story up 4th is idiocy. I realize none of the 5 through 9 batter look like good choices, but Story (4th) and Durbin (7th) are the worst batters on the team, next to IKF (9th tonight.)

[moonslav59]

40 minutes ago, Nick said:

 Really encouraged by our three rookie starting pitchers.

It is exciting seeing Early, Tolle and Bennett in the rotation.

Gray starts, tomorrow, so I hope Bello gets bumped (pen?) - not a kid.

[moonslav59]

58 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Same lineup Cora would have done.

Looks that way, although Cora was resisting Duran up first for a long while.

[vegasbob]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Looks that way, although Cora was resisting Duran up first for a long while.

Of all the head cases on this team, Duran is the one who may most benefit from a defined and consistent role such as LF-Leadoff.    I don't think he is real flexible between CF, DH, up/down the batting order.  Moving him around may seem like failure to Jarren .    OTOH, he needs to produce and for more than a week .

I think he imposes way too much mental pressure on him reminding me of Jimmy Piersall way back in the day.

[moonslav59]

10 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Of all the head cases on this team, Duran is the one who may most benefit from a defined and consistent role such as LF-Leadoff.    I don't think he is real flexible between CF, DH, up/down the batting order.  Moving him around may seem like failure to Jarren .    OTOH, he needs to produce and for more than a week .

I think he imposes way too much mental pressure on him reminding me of Jimmy Piersall way back in the day.

I totally agree. He worries me.

[Nick]

Only 3 games out in the wildcard chase. Plenty of time to leap frog multitude of teams. 

[RedneckRedSoxFan]

I'm actually surprised Mayer isn't at 2B today. I was one of those that didn't like his bat in the lineup and was willing to swap him out. But he's been proving me dead wrong (and I'm happy to say that). And Tracy (I thought) wanted him hitting more lefties. Maybe it's just a designated rest day for Mayer? Or I missed something.

Duran has been doing better game by game. MLB stats show his AVG and OPS (and other players) as this. The first "up" means the year-to-date was lower than the 30 day.

Duran (up/up/up)
Last 30 days:
.205 / .614

Last 15 days:
.255 / .745

Last 7 days:
.368 / 1.242

Durbin (up/down/down)
Last 30 days:
.198 / .602

Last 15 days:
.171 / .512

Last 7 days:
.143 / .343

Mayer (up/down/up but consistent!)
Last 30 days:
.273 / .660

Last 15 days:
.371 / .878

Last 7 days:
.294 / .627

Story (down/up/up)
Last 30 days:
.247 /.627

Last 15 days:
.233 / .539

Last 7 days:
.313 / .728

Yoshida (up/down/up - seems like a consistent hitter)
Last 7 days:
.600 / 1.467

Last 15 days:
.250 / .586

Last 30 days:
.317 / .757

Yoshida's numbers are at the level of Abreu with only 54 ABs vs Abreu's 122 AB. Both of them are consistent no matter the week, it seems. Probably not fair to compare them since Abreu has far more ABs and doing well across all of those.

Now Duran is swinging. Mayer has been swinging. Contreras has been swinging this whole time. Even Story's numbers (batting) are far better than those first outings. If I only look at the last 30 days for everyone, the only outliers that strike me are Durbin/IKF/Monasterio and both catchers. But those first three have OBP numbers in the .300s or near it. They get on base.

Anthony is/was starting to swing as well. Still missing big bats overall all hitting at the same time, in the same game. If we can get/keep Yoshida in games and Duran keeps swinging and Anthony isn't out for a while then...well...I'm starting to get...optimistic. At least fun to watch with Bennett and Tolle and Early and Gray and Suarez and Crochet all being healthy [fingers crossed].

Heck, time for beer!!

Last 7 days link:
https://www.mlb.com/stats/boston-red-sox?timeframe=-6

[vegasbob]

20 minutes ago, Nick said:

Only 3 games out in the wildcard chase. Plenty of time to leap frog multitude of teams. 

Nick, I think all are hoping for some magic on the field , mound and at bat  that can put this team in motion.  Just don't confuse a win with a steak or any momentum.    There are a few gaping holes to get turned around including, can Brayan Bello pitch effectively in the face of even a little adversity . Can Durbin hit anything ?

Is Roman Anthony  made of porcelain ?   When do Gray and Crochet return, and stay healthy.

Lots to solve , but get it done tonight and that can be a start.

[Nick]

15 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Nick, I think all are hoping for some magic on the field , mound and at bat  that can put this team in motion.  Just don't confuse a win with a steak or any momentum.    There are a few gaping holes to get turned around including, can Brayan Bello pitch effectively in the face of even a little adversity . Can Durbin hit anything ?

Is Roman Anthony  made of porcelain ?   When do Gray and Crochet return, and stay healthy.

Lots to solve , but get it done tonight and that can be a start.

My main goal for this group right now is to play .500 ball and tread water. Gosh I just hate saying it every year but we need to get players healthy.

If you are a poker player, would the % say it's best to trade a young player right after his first successful season, knowing he probably won't repeat that year? Good example is Duran. 

[moonslav59]

42 minutes ago, RedneckRedSoxFan said:

I'm actually surprised Mayer isn't at 2B today. I was one of those that didn't like his bat in the lineup and was willing to swap him out. But he's been proving me dead wrong (and I'm happy to say that). And Tracy (I thought) wanted him hitting more lefties. Maybe it's just a designated rest day for Mayer? Or I missed something.
 

Seems like Cora never left, when it comes to line-ups, positioning players and playing time.

[iortiz]

4. Story SS
5. Ceddanne Rafaela CF
6. Andrew Monasterio DH
7. Caleb Durbin 3B
8. Connor Wong C
9. IKF 2B

I mean, you just can’t even pretend to compete like this man.  

[vegasbob]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Seems like Cora never left, when it comes to line-ups, positioning players and playing time.

Seems to confirm that the lineups are a FO/Analytics output, not the field manager's. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 hours ago, Nick said:

It's insane to keep doing the same thing. Maybe changing up the routine will free him. 

Isn't that a t-shirt? Like the definition of...

And your second line should be -- edited: Change will Set you FREE

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Seems to confirm that the lineups are a FO/Analytics output, not the field manager's. 

Well, Cora was an analytics guy and a firm believer in scheduling days off weeks ahead, so I don't think he was just a robot.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

25 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Seems like Cora never left, when it comes to line-ups, positioning players and playing time.

Mayer should play everyday. And Duran should remain leading off. As for the rest of the line-up do as you may.