jung

Just one... the extra point. It might take at least one touchdown and a field goal to win this. Heck two TD's are not out of the question.

Gotta' love how Eck just does not pull any punches.

Absolutely..... Kiermaier irritates me no end because while he is a great CF, he makes so many plays look so much more difficult than they in fact are and gets to pull it off playing in a town that really does not know any better. Pillar does not do that though he might be just a hair under Kiermaier. JBJ just glides to the baseball. So much of what JBJ accomplishes in CF is lost on the viewing public because he positions himself better than the other league CFers and he takes very direct routes to the baseball. In all honesty, I can't tell much difference defensively between Kiermaier, Pillar and JBJ because all three of them do it very differently to achieve pretty much the same result. All around, JBJ might be better than the other two. He comes in on the ball better than Kiermaier but not as good as Pillar. Pillar comes in better than Kiermaier but does not go back as good as Kiermaier. The terribly inadequate stats and advanced defensive stats they have devised so far favor both Kiermaier and Pillar more than they do JBJ. In Fenway, I would take JBJ over the other two. In your average ML park, probably Kiermaier followed by Pillar followed by JBJ. The three of them are so close together that its a sheet of paper dif between them. Jones is no slouch either and is probably even less than a sheet of paper under those three guys.

You just gotta' love the way Beni has been playing LF. Yes its the easiest of all the Fenway OF spots. But all of the Fenway OF spots are hard relatively and if Beni keeps making plays like that hitters are going to start to turn possible doubles into long loud singles and that is a big deal in this park which is doubles heaven.

JD should have a "stomach illness" every night if that is what he has.

JBJ was never as bad since 2014 than he is this year. It was not like you could say "well look at that massive swing flaw". 2014 was the last time you could say that. But that is where they are with him this year and its not even the same massive swing flaw from 2014. Its a different massive swing flaw. We saw what it took to take care of it in 2014. That was an intervention! This one is if anything going to be harder to come to grips with and just sending him out there in the lineup every day is not going to get it done.

Oh my God..this is tailor made to drive Buck right through the roof. Cora resting JD to bat Swihart in the 6th inning of a game. I wonder if Cora sticks with that idea next inning when JD should lead off.

I think they should fire Buck for his mental health. They are going to carry him off in a straight jacket at this rate.

His line is 171/253/256/520. Hard to support that with struggling catchers that are also giving us nothing in a league with a DH. You can't send two guys to the plate 3-4 times a game that are actually like having two pitchers hitting when every other team you play has no pitchers hitting. That is a tailor made defensive specialist if JBJ keeps this up and you have to have a catcher. I said earlier this year that Vaz was helping us support JBJ's struggles at the plate. That has sort of gone out the window. So now JBJ just has to get better. If the Vaz/Leon combo improves they can support JBJ's struggles though I am not really convinced that actually helps JBJ the player. Always thought I was providing my own "temporary" rationalization for keeping JBJ in the lineup. But this bottom of the order can't go on all season. It will become too easy for opponent pitchers to tactically treat innings like NL pitchers treat innings.

If the Sox can get Beni and Devers to mature just a bit faster than we should expect, I doubt the Yankee batting order has much to talk about over this batting order...maybe still a bit better at the bottom. But this one might actually end up better 1-6.

Yes he contributed. But he has proven how stubborn he is about his swing. It took 500 of the worst AB's in a row in history in 2014 before he would finally relent and listen to somebody. Honestly, they need his glove out there because Beni is no CFer. But if he does not at least improve to the point of being able to afford to put him into the everyday lineup, its an issue. Coddling won't help that. He has already proven that coddling him through these won't help him. Insisting that his hitting is going to just come back when he is not even seeing the ball to the plate is simply wishful thinking IMO.

What is going on with this O's team?

Don't know that I would go that far unless he saves something in the field or shows some improvement at the plate.

JBJ got to contribute. That might help him some.

I wonder if Buck is thinking he has nothing for this O's team. Sorta' like Tito was his last year here.

That was a nice play by Beni. His spot is LF...no question....Not CF.

Agreed...going oppo is actually about the best way there is to do that quickly because you have to stay on the ball and you have to get your hands inside. It also prevents the hitter from trying to pull the ball which is about the best way to stay in a slump if you are in one. In HR happy MLB the incentive is to pull whether you get a pitch to pull or not. Makes it hard to work out of a slump if you are in one.

I would not have a problem with that but JBJ is clearly losing the ball way out in front of the plate which is why his bat is generally nowhere near the ball when he swings. You can see it just from what his head does in the swing. He can't possibly see the ball to the bat. I just don't see how trying to hit it hard will work for him when his problem is so basic to hitting the ball at all. If he takes a measured swing trying to go oppo he might be able to work out of it mid-season like this. If not I am afraid that what he hits will be pure luck.

See now I saw hardly anything that indicated JBJ was trying to go oppo in that AB and you are not going to cure what really ails him now that the season has started. Getting him to go oppo is just about the only thing you can do quickly and see if that gets him to quiet his head. I would not have put him back in the lineup just so he can prove how damned stubborn he is. Maybe we will see something in the next AB.

That reminds me...at least we have Eck back for this series.

That might be the best first inning we have seen from Mr Tingles (sorry... I had to steal it...it was too good) this year.

I actually think the Sox DON'T need another pen arm until they actually do need him. I would do nothing until the deadline and might not do anything then either. The pen is what it is. One more arm is not going to do anything. Need to see how serious the Smith injury is and if Thornburg actually comes back and then see where we are. Strength of this team is not the pen and it was never going to be the pen. Strength of this team is its rotation followed by the top of the lineup. I would also rather see if Beni and Devers mature a bit through the year. If they do, then this lineup is a monster when coupled with this rotation.

They have to pick JBJ back up again and get him hitting good enough to be out there in CF. Our defense is basically on fumes and just waiting for the next batted baseball to prove itself insufficient. As for the Kelly/Kimbrel combination being the best 8th and 9th combo in baseball, you could put a monkey ahead of Kimbrel and make that claim. Kelly still has that flat as a pancake FB that just does not do anything at 100 mph. He has struggled to find a role that suits him for how long now? He is in the 8th by default at this point because we have nobody else that can even begin to go there. Strength of this team is still its rotation. It was built that way. For those that are amused at our lack of pitching development as an organization, it has always been that way here. In Boston we develop hitters and BUY pitchers. So it has been and so it shall be.

Good job XB. Nice cut. Funny how Cora I guess is talking about the Sox swinging at too many pitches on the edges of the plate...obviously he means with less than two strikes. Really that was there problem under Farrell...swinging at too many pitches on the edges while letting meatballs just go right past. Sort of a lost talent is purposefully fouling off a pitch that is really not a good pitch to hit but is very likely a strike on the edge.

If Barnes tries to stay out there more than this inning something is leaving the yard.