Red Sox (Suarez) vs Guardians (Bibee): 5/31/26, 1:40pm

[vegasbob]

2 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

I posted this right after Cleveland lost their last challenge. It feels good to be right, especially when it's so rare.

Truly made a huge diffence. Opened the floodgates for Masa's tremendous single scoring 2 and Masa keeps it up with another soft single in the 9th

[vegasbob]

Doubles Durbin moved up to a triple threat but he is still a weak hitter for pitch recognition

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 minute ago, vegasbob said:

Doubles Durbin moved up to a triple threat but he is still a weak hitter for pitch recognition

Back to back 9 run games. Did you have that on your bingo card?

[vegasbob]

Wonder if Chapman feels the pressure of playing for a road series winner ?

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Breaking news:

The Guardians admit they're lucky to be in the AL Central.

[moonslav59]

18 runs scored in 2 games.

31 in 5.

42 in 7.

61 in 11.

Who is this team?

 

[vegasbob]

Why do RS pitchers think they need to field the position ? Just throw the damn thing and get out of the way

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 minute ago, vegasbob said:

Wonder if Chapman feels the pressure of playing for a road series winner ?

I believe the Sox should stay on the road as long as possible. There's no home sweet home for them.

[vegasbob]

Just when the Sox get a little MO ,the league scheduler makes them return to Fenway

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

3 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Why do RS pitchers think they need to field the position ? Just throw the damn thing and get out of the way

Just pure instinct.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 minute ago, vegasbob said:

Just when the Sox get a little MO ,the league scheduler makes them return to Fenway

Already? Damn.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

18 runs scored in 2 games.

31 in 5.

42 in 7.

61 in 11.

Who is this team?

 

Which one? There's the team that plays at Fenway and there's the team that plays on the road.. I like the road team better.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Cleveland manager blaming the ump for the loss w/o mentioning the ump. Well played.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

One last thing. Cleveland has now played 12 straight games scoring 4 runs or less.

[Bellhorn04]

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

18 runs scored in 2 games.

31 in 5.

42 in 7.

61 in 11.

Who is this team?

 

Finally some positive regression perhaps.

Also it's a crazy game.

[notin]

2 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

When Crochet returns, I would think Suarez would be the #5 starter. Fortunately, Breslow only gave him a 5 year contract.

As long as we stop using openers…

[Tedballgame]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Not based on 2026 only...

1. Crochet

2. Gray

3. Suarez

4. Tolle

5. Early

2-3-4 are very close to each other. If Early can stop walking so many batters, he'd be closer to 2-3-4.

That is an excellent rotation going forward although I think Sonny will be traded at the deadline because he is valuable to a contending team.

[Tedballgame]

1 hour ago, vegasbob said:

Doubles Durbin moved up to a triple threat but he is still a weak hitter for pitch recognition

The only reason Durbin had a good series is I was playing against him in fantasy. I can't believe the other guy started him all week.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

14 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Finally some positive regression perhaps.

Also it's a crazy game.

The most important thing about scoring 9 runs in each of the last two wins is that the Sox season average of runs per game is now almost 4...

...which will make it easy for diehards to ignore that they scored 3 or less in 77% of their games the first two months. "At least we're the second-highest scoring team in almost every game we play in Fenway Park all year!"

[notin]

20 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The most important thing about scoring 9 runs in each of the last two wins is that the Sox season average of runs per game is now almost 4...

...which will make it easy for diehards to ignore that they scored 3 or less in 77% of their games the first two months. "At least we're the second-highest scoring team in almost every game we play in Fenway Park all year!"

You’re right.  We should ignore games when the Sox score runs.  The entire focus should be their average and keeping it low…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

You’re right.  We should ignore games when the Sox score runs.  The entire focus should be their average and keeping it low…

You can do better than that. At least add "It's Still June!" or tell us how many other teams this season have used more #5 batters in their lineups who have one home run (or less) so foes won't pitch around the clean-up man. I count six on the Red Sox, but I could be wong.

It's great some guys are finally hitting, but that shouldn't excuse the front office for not completing the roster and heart of the order over the winter. Breslow and Kennedy tell us they're shopping for a bat -- but won't apologize to the fans or admit a stupid mistake. Wonder if it will be an interim bat.

Anthony's injury doesn't excuse them, either... especially for putting all their eggs in his basket -- when he's so young it's still attached to the handle bars of his bicycle.

 

[notin]

6 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

 

It's great some guys are finally hitting, but that shouldn't excuse the front office for not completing the roster and heart of the order over the winter. Breslow and Kennedy tell us they're shopping for a bat -- but won't apologize to the fans or admit a stupid mistake. Wonder if it will be an interim bat.

 

 

As unlikable as they are, those front office employees do know more about this stuff than we do.  Anyone who says otherwise has unresolved ego issues.

That said, the issue isn’t knowing the problem.  If the issues with this team are so patently obvious even rank amateurs such as us can spot them, the FO is aware.  This is not the problem.

The problem is it doesn’t guarantee they act on it.  And it certainly doesn’t guarantee they act to a level that appeases the fans…

[mvp 78]

16 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Back to back 9 run games. Did you have that on your bingo card?

How could Driveline do this to the Red Sox? 

[mvp 78]

BOS 2026 Sogard Era

4th fWAR

1st BABIP

2nd AVG

3rd OBP

7th SLG

4th OPS

7th wRC+

2nd 1b

5th 2b

1st 3b

 

 

[Duran Is The Man]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

How could Driveline do this to the Red Sox? 

are other players besides Durbin getting hitting advice from somewhere else?

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

are other players besides Durbin getting hitting advice from somewhere else?

Narvaez used the same company that Durbin did. Most players use multiple avenues to work on their swings, not just the internal coaching. Lots of guys have their own networks they lean on. These guys are rich and spend big $$$ to fix their swings. This isn't little league daddy ball. . 

[Duran Is The Man]

33 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Narvaez used the same company that Durbin did. Most players use multiple avenues to work on their swings, not just the internal coaching. Lots of guys have their own networks they lean on. These guys are rich and spend big $$$ to fix their swings. This isn't little league daddy ball. . 

i don't doubt this at all, but it seems odd that Durbin started hitting immediately after getting help elsewhere. i'm sure it's just a coincidence. 

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i don't doubt this at all, but it seems odd that Durbin started hitting immediately after getting help elsewhere. i'm sure it's just a coincidence. 

He was also benched for a few days to help clear his mind. I'm sure they've been doing a lot of work with him. Eventually, the balls were just going to fall in. It's not like his hitting the ball in the air now. He went 1 for 5 yesterday and his 3 hardest hits went a combined 165 ft in the air. If you hit a lot of ground balls, you need luck or a lot of skill. Not sure which Durbin has if either.

Anyway, I hope he breaks out. Him being a 700 OPS guy makes this team a lot better. He's a legit GG 3b. 

[JoeBrady]

17 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Finally some positive regression perhaps.

Also it's a crazy game.

That's what makes it beautiful.  Barring an injury, offensive linemen rarely change their performance.  But hitters can go from 0-22 to 11-22 overnight, and no one in the world knows why.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

As unlikable as they are, those front office employees do know more about this stuff than we do.  Anyone who says otherwise has unresolved ego issues.

Suppose one does not want to resolve their ego issues, is it then still a problem?  For some reason, my wife wanted to know.

Past that, we can't make the first trade we see, if it is an overpayment.  That said, with this rotation, incredibly, even without Crochet, we need an additional bat (& BP arm), even if it is a slight overpayment.

More of the issue might be finding teams that want to tank.  Kind of a cognitive dissonance thing.