Rays (Jax) vs Red Sox (Bennett): 5/7/26, 7:10pm

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

2 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Yoshi back to chopping wood. worm burning.

This does not look like the team that was in Detroit

I believe this current Tampa team may be a lot better than the Tigers.

[illinoisredsox]

3 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Yoshi back to chopping wood. worm burning.

This does not look like the team that was in Detroit

Tampa didn’t look like the team the Sox played in Detroit either.  Unfortunately, the Rays are hot right now.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

5 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

Tampa didn’t look like the team the Sox played in Detroit either.  Unfortunately, the Rays are hot right now.

Tampa is definitely hot, but Caminero does make the Rays a definite threat in the AL.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Most teams have one guy in their line-up where the opposing manager tells his pitcher don't let this guy beat you.

I don't believe the Sox have that guy in their line-up.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

6 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Most teams have one guy in their line-up where the opposing manager tells his pitcher don't let this guy beat you.

I don't believe the Sox have that guy in their line-up.

I guess Chad forgot to tell his pitchers don't let Caminero beat you.

[moonslav59]

I think Watson's leash has snapped off and the dog is now running loose on the town.

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Ignoring the bullpen all off-season was Breslow’s biggest mistake…

He ignored the offense too….he figured we could win on SP and defense. How’s that working out?

BresLOW is a bona fide idiot.

[Old Red]

The Red Sox had help from the Tiger IF to score runs, and help from the Tampa IF to score runs last night. Outside of an occasional HR splurge the offense is still pretty sluggish. Someone mentioned Story battling cleanup is not a strong point.

[moonslav59]

8 hours ago, FredLynn said:

He ignored the offense too….he figured we could win on SP and defense. How’s that working out?

24th in Runs (5 Runs from 21st and 12 from being 15th) Last year: 7th

14th in Runs Allowed (5 away from 8th and 30 away from 3rd) Last year: 10th

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

24th in Runs (5 Runs from 21st and 12 from being 15th) Last year: 7th

14th in Runs Allowed (5 away from 8th and 30 away from 3rd) Last year: 10th

And the Runs Allowed includes a horrific start from Bello and pitchers on the IL. 

The Runs Scored should trend back towards 15th. I don't think they'll get to top 10 this year though.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

And the Runs Allowed includes a horrific start from Bello and pitchers on the IL. 

The Runs Scored should trend back towards 15th. I don't think they'll get to top 10 this year though.

Probably all teams have one guy that blows up their numbers, but yes on Bello (and Crochet.)

We are 23 runs from 10th best in MLB. It's doable, but there are no signs anyone is going to step up.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

10 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Most teams have one guy in their line-up where the opposing manager tells his pitcher don't let this guy beat you.

I don't believe the Sox have that guy in their line-up.

But the Red Sox have one guy in their bullpen where his own coaches tell the manager don't let this guy beat you.

So I'm here today to apologize to all the posters who I disagreed with when they told me all winter the Boston offense is better than I think. Because last night I realized it would be -- if our hitters got to swing against Weissert, like all the other clubs in the bigs. 

Facing the worst pitcher with inherited baserunners in The Show -- the past two years -- would certainly help the Sox' batting average with men in scoring position. 

And yet I implore the Boston braintrust: please don't let him beat us again.

[jad]

10 hours ago, vegasbob said:

Yoshi back to chopping wood. worm burning.

This does not look like the team that was in Detroit

Let's see.  Pitching sucks and half the team is hitting at the Mendoza line.   The problem?  Clearly the Japanese guy hitting .300

[Old Red]

Just now, jad said:

Let's see.  Pitching sucks and half the team is hitting at the Mendoza line.   The problem?  Clearly the Japanese guy hitting .300

Like they said on another talk show last night that so far with all the hype, and expectations little Anthony has been the BIGGEST flop.

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, jad said:

Let's see.  Pitching sucks and half the team is hitting at the Mendoza line.   The problem?  Clearly the Japanese guy hitting .300

Weissert can't come in with runners on. Watson just can't come in. Kelly? Yuck. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

16 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Like they said on another talk show last night that so far with all the hype, and expectations little Anthony has been the BIGGEST flop.

Anthony turns 22 this week. Read an article somewhere comparing Roman to Junior Caminero, who is also 22. 

Junior has 10 home runs so far and last year cranked 45. He is exactly who Boston fans want Anthony to be -- because the front office and media expects Anthony to be a guy like that.

Somehow, Caminero was able to overcome all the hype and pressure he got in... Tampa Bay? Florida?

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Weissert can't come in with runners on. Watson just can't come in. Kelly? Yuck. 

I have no faith in Watson and Kelly. I have some hope Weissert can turn it back around, but how long a leash do we give him?

I'm big on stats, but I do wonder when I see things like this and wonder...

Only two Sox pitchers have faced more batters and have a lower OPS Against than Kelly! (Same with WHIP)

.409 Tolle (67 PAs Against)

.549 Suarez (137)

.589 Kelly (47)

Samaniego has 46 PAs against and is at .479 and Chapman is at .525 with 40 PAs against, but nobody else is close.

Only 3 pitchers have more IP and a better ERA.

[moonslav59]

17 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Anthony turns 22 this week. Read an article somewhere comparing Roman to Junior Caminero, who is also 22. 

Junior has 10 home runs so far and last year cranked 45. He is exactly who Boston fans want Anthony to be -- because the front office and media expects Anthony to be a guy like that.

Somehow, Caminero was able to overcome all the hype and pressure he got in... Tampa Bay? Florida?

Okay, but...

.817 Caminero (1026 PAs)

.804 in 433 PAs Roman Anthony. I think the kid deserves a few more PAs.

Roman had pressure on him, last year, too. Once could argue more, since we were looking like a playoff team.

[notin]

11 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Most teams have one guy in their line-up where the opposing manager tells his pitcher don't let this guy beat you.

I don't believe the Sox have that guy in their line-up.

Sure they do.  And that guy isn’t beating them…

[notin]

32 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Okay, but...

.817 Caminero (1026 PAs)

.804 in 433 PAs Roman Anthony. I think the kid deserves a few more PAs.

Roman had pressure on him, last year, too. Once could argue more, since we were looking like a playoff team.

Roman Anthony  - 128 OPS+
Junior Caminero - 125 OPS+

I think a lot of Anthony detractors suddenly praising Caminero as better missed out that a month ago, Junior was stepping up with a .699 OPS…

[notin]

53 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Like they said on another talk show last night that so far with all the hype, and expectations little Anthony has been the BIGGEST flop.

Well, if a TALK SHOW said it, I mean.  Thsts the Biblical Word.

Ignite the metrics!! Ignore StatCast!  They are but there to fool you! The Mighty Talk Show hosts have made their decree!  All hail talk shows!!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Okay, but...

.817 Caminero (1026 PAs)

.804 in 433 PAs Roman Anthony. I think the kid deserves a few more PAs.

Roman had pressure on him, last year, too. Once could argue more, since we were looking like a playoff team.

Last year teams were challenging the rookie more with hittable pitches and he wasn't quite yet the media messiah he'd become all winter and especially after the WBC.

Obviously, Junior has shown a ton more power so far, and here's where I personally don't view OPS as the end-all be-all stat: I don't care if Anthony draws more walks, because I want my young star swinging more...  not at benders in the dirt but at first-pitch fastballs down the middle. 

That's why I hated him as leadoff, where the responsibility isn't just to get on base, but to work pitchers and let teammates see tonight's arsenal. I want my best hitter going up there looking to do one thing: DAMAGE.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Last year teams were challenging the rookie more with hittable pitches and he wasn't quite yet the media messiah he'd become all winter and especially after the WBC.

Obviously, Junior has shown a ton more power so far, and here's where I personally don't view OPS as the end-all be-all stat: I don't care if Anthony draws more walks, because I want my young star swinging more...  not at benders in the dirt but at first-pitch fastballs down the middle. 

That's why I hated him as leadoff, where the responsibility isn't just to get on base, but to work pitchers and let teammates see tonight's arsenal. I want my best hitter going up there looking to do one thing: DAMAGE.

Can't disagree, but I hesitate to think the media spotlight is the cause of a small sample size slump.

[notin]

10 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Last year teams were challenging the rookie more with hittable pitches and he wasn't quite yet the media messiah he'd become all winter and especially after the WBC.

Obviously, Junior has shown a ton more power so far, and here's where I personally don't view OPS as the end-all be-all stat: I don't care if Anthony draws more walks, because I want my young star swinging more...  not at benders in the dirt but at first-pitch fastballs down the middle. 

That's why I hated him as leadoff, where the responsibility isn't just to get on base, but to work pitchers and let teammates see tonight's arsenal. I want my best hitter going up there looking to do one thing: DAMAGE.

Agree that leadoff was stupid.  

But was Anthony walking because pitchers were pitching around him?  And hey, take what they give you.

Anthony has the better StatCast profile, inferior to Caminero in Bat Soeed (where all of MLB is inferior to Caminero) and Barrel %.  Anthony has better exit velocity, sweet spot and hard hit percentages. (This is 2026 only.)

The baseball card numbers will even out in time…

[notin]

1 hour ago, jad said:

Let's see.  Pitching sucks and half the team is hitting at the Mendoza line.   The problem?  Clearly the Japanese guy hitting .300

Clearly.

Duran finally had a good week, but it still hasn’t made up for his horrific start.  Story is just looking useless on both sides of the ball.  Durbin only recently got out of a slump that was worse than the one that got Campbell banished.

But we need Eaton over Yoshida to fix this!

[notin]

11 hours ago, illinoisredsox said:

Tampa didn’t look like the team the Sox played in Detroit either.  Unfortunately, the Rays are hot right now.

Boston was the first team to score more than 3 runs against Tampa in 2 full weeks…

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, notin said:

Roman Anthony  - 128 OPS+
Junior Caminero - 125 OPS+

I think a lot of Anthony detractors suddenly praising Caminero as better missed out that a month ago, Junior was stepping up with a .699 OPS…

Caminero also had a 954 OPS at the little league park he played in last season vs 743 away. 

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

All.  Durbin only recently got out of a slump that was worse than the one that got Campbell banished.

Pretty hard to do worse than .526 in 134 PAs, like Durbin's season, but Durbin's bad stretch is really just 24 games long and .452 in 91 PAs.

In 2025, KC went...

.535 in his last 172 PAs, which is about as bad as Durbin's season and with 38 more PAs. It's way better than Durbin's .452 in 91 PAs but nearly double the sample size.

Now, KC's las 144 PAs was worse than both Durbin sample sizes and with more PAs than both:

.451 in 144 PAs (last 39 games in MLB in 2025.)

Maybe this statement was just a "happy little accident."

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

Clearly.

Duran finally had a good week, but it still hasn’t made up for his horrific start.  Story is just looking useless on both sides of the ball.  Durbin only recently got out of a slump that was worse than the one that got Campbell banished.

But we need Eaton over Yoshida to fix this!

You know that's who they'd want. They just believe their hands are tied. 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

Boston was the first team to score more than 3 runs against Tampa in 2 full weeks…

That's what powerful offense do!