jung

Oh God don't be up in the Zone to Napoli please

Welcome to second half baseball folks. Many said that the pitchers would start to take over more and more at least those that could. By this time everybody has a book on everybody and whatever your weakness is as a hitter, expect it to be exploited over and over again.

Two strikes....by Mike

Has gotten to the point where even I beg for HR's. Seems like the only way they score these days.

Just looking and this is Shop's 8th game this year catching Buch. Salty has caught 9. OPS with Salty catching is .899 and .680 with Shop catching. Opponent BA is .306 vs. .249. Slugging is .519 vs .361. ERA is 5.70 vs 4.60. Buch up to tonight has pitched 47 innings to Shop and 53 to Salty.

Buch has started getting more balls up in the zone. Hope he can continue to keep it down.

Not sure what to say about tonight's offense. The RH lineup has grown somewhat vulnerable to LH pitchers that can find the outer third of the plate with two strikes. Aviles has a hard time with that pitch...Ross does....WMB hit that one but I am not sure how many times you can depend on being able to jerk a ball on the outer half to left field if you are a RH hitter. I have not figured out what to think of how Shop hits. Pedey for his part seems intent on trying to drive the ball out especially with Ortiz out of the lineup. This offense does almost totally depend on stringing together hits to score runs. They don't get many walks and don't move runners over that well. So they have to string together hits to score. Sometimes they can't even score when they do string hits together. Since their speed guys are both LH hitters, that factor is somewhat negated by a LH pitcher.

Buch has induced ground outs before but the amount he is getting tonight is kinda' insane. Don't think he has had a night quite like this in 2012 so far.

Don't know SFF...would have hated to see that thing get outta there considering how well Buch has pitched so far. But I did not think it had a chance when hit and I think it was within a foot of getting out.

Buch has gotten a ton of GB outs tonight. I wonder how often Shop has caught Buch this year.

I do wonder if Shop will get more opportunities in the second half. So far this year it seems he has gotten the call: when a LH pitches for the other guys like tonight when it is a day game after a night game a Double Header day I can't think if any other opportunities he has gotten other than that short stretch when he caught Beckett. I would think there is not much of a reason not to split the time more.

Geez what a bad call that was. It is not like one of those plays where the ump has to have his eyes in two places at once. Good thing it did not hurt.

Sort of interesting that Shop is batting ahead of Aviles tonight. I wonder if they had to catch Salty tonight if he would have been 9th in this order.

Shop almost got that one out!

Take one for the team Shop...let it hit ya.

Salty's throwing is much improved from about end of May this year forward. So I can't really fault his arm this year. He does not block the plate well. he does not frame the ball that well although with some improvement this year and his target is terrible. His throws are better I think because throwing is in the main a physical talent and he seems to also have learned not to try to rush the mechanics of the throw to second. I think it is all the same thing as far as much of the rest goes. He simply loses concentration and focus. He works with his pitchers some of the time by giving them a good target and then out of the blue he will be holding the mitt almost right over the middle of the plate seemingly oblivious to the fact that his pitcher is going to throw it there. I have seen him do that for six, seven pitches in a row. Then either he snaps out of it again himself or somebody yells at him...at don't know but he will work at it again for time before he falls back into holding the mitt over the middle of the plate, 2" or so one way or the other. I think blocking the plate is a matter of concentration and focus as well. He drifts out into the diamond and away from the plate and suddenly he has to make a play. He is often in the wrong spot still wearing that stupid mask. If he tossed the mask about a mile away at the start of the play he would have a much easier time taking that throw from the outfield.

at a boy Salty....hold the mitt right over the middle of the plate and then act surprised when that is where your pitcher puts it.

Boy they are playing with fire with this Rangers team. Buch has kept them in check but the Sox have real opportunities to score against this guy and just are not getting it done. I almost wish they would get more two strike counts against as it might force them to stop trying to hit a dinger on every swing. This guy should be giving up base hits like penny candy.

Well that is what I mean....they hardly ever get timely hitting. They get occasional timely hitting which in part is why they get big innings or nothing....that combined with being a total fail at moving runners up into scoring position makes it very difficult for this team to score consistently throughout a game. They get a big inning and are for the most part done.

Way ta' go Buch.

I realize they are often in a hole before they get their first bats but that they have hit just like this from day one of the season....just exactly like this. It's ridiculous. Figure out what you are as a hitter and adapt to what the pitchers are trying to do to you. If not you are a fail when timely hitting is required. Instead when timely hitting is required the Sox are like a bunch of puppets at the end of a string

Mike Aviles simply never learned how to take balls the other way. In fact he would be better served trying to foul it off and see if he can work a walk or a ball in the inner half from the pitcher. He simply has no ability to take the ball to right field. That was actually a cookie to a RH batter for going to RF.

Aviles lately has no idea where the plate is

Good spot here for Aviles

That was a bad pitch to Crawford. Clearly only wanted to show him that inside pitch and got to much plate. LH pitchers are starting to go right back to what worked on Crawford last year....new stance and all.