They're very different situations, Denny. It's a plain and simple fact.
The different spring training regimen this year was heavily publicized, and it was also heavily publicized that the different program had everything to do with the long postseason.
Maybe you missed that part.
How is doing things differently next spring going to prove anything?
They did things differently this spring because of the World Series run.
It's going to be two completely different sets of circumstances.
All year long you said the big problem with the team was the bullpen and DD's fault for ignoring it. Now you've changed your tune and it's the slow start and Cora's fault.
If we let Porcello go and trade Eovaldi, that leaves us with 3 starters, one of who, Sale, still has some serious question marks hanging over him, another, Price, who has some question marks as well.
Well, it's not really as simple as that at all.
They might keep Betts and JBJ to start 2020, and trade them at the deadline if they fall out of the race.
There are myriad possibilities.
SPLINTER, you're a manager-basher from way back, aren't you?
I'm not meaning to call you out here. You're obviously a very knowledgeable fan. It's just that you never let up with the WTF s***.
You thought Farrell (Farkell, as you called him) was terrible and you also didn't think much of Francona either, which says it all.
It's not like you're going to speak highly of the guy who replaces Cora.
It was certainly a move that can be questioned. But the Phillies had their 3-4-5 hitters due up in the bottom of the 7th with Harper leading off.
I really don't think anyone would rather have seen one of our relievers there than E-Rod.
JBJ is not a good hitter. No one's arguing that. But OPS does show some important things.
Compare JBJ's line for this year with Nunez's:
JBJ 220/320/411 - OPS 731
Nunez 228/243/305 - OPS 548
If you just looked at BA, Nunez is higher. But obviously JBJ is doing some other things-getting on base without a hit, and getting some extra-base hits, that make his overall production better.
So much has been made of the bad start putting the team in a hole it couldn't get out of.
The facts say otherwise.
On May 12 the Sox were 22-19, 3 behind the Rays and 2.5 behind the Yankees, with the 5th best record in the AL, with 121 games left.
They were in good shape in the standings at that point.
I'm not distorting the argument. You're refusing to address any of the other points I made about why our starting pitching is a shambles. You just stay fixated on the one thing. That's what gets a little frustrating.
Let's take Porcello for example.
Is it your opinion that his slower ramp-up to the season is the sole cause of his ERA being 1.5 higher than his career average?
It may have been a mistake. But it doesn't explain why Porcello has pitched badly all season long. It doesn't account for injuries to Sale, Price and Eovaldi (all who have had recent injury issues coming into this year), or the flops of Johnson, Velazquez and Cashner, or the lack of any MLB ready starters in the minors.
I just think it's blown way out of proportion.
The Red Sox did do something slightly different in the 2018 postseason, using starters to pitch some big innings in relief. And it paid off handsomely.
They were concerned about the aftereffects of that.