Here's a nugget I found elsewhere. It's the impact of loading the bases that tips the scale.
JRod career BA: .279
Polanco's career OBP: .334
Odds favor pitching to JRod rather than loading the bases for Polanco.
If Joely and Slaten suck, that's on the front office, IMHO. Brernardino probably should have gotten the nod over Joely. Not sure what Joely has done to impress them. In ST games he gave up 11 hits and 4 walks in 8 innings.
I guess one thing that was highlighted in last night's game is that Breslow's plan to sign a situational RH bat in the offseason did not come to fruition...
Yeah, you show up every few weeks but you talk like you're one of the regulars. I've noticed.
I've said repeatedly they should trade Jansen only IF they're out of it at the deadline.
Just because I've been excoriating ownership doesn't mean I've said anything about throwing in the towel.
The stat rules are of course absurdly arbitrary. Rivera got charged with a blown save (though not a run) in Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS, in a similar situation to the one you're describing.
Per J. P. Long @SoxNotes:
This is only the 4th time in the DH era that all 10 players starting for the Red Sox on Opening Day are 31 years old or younger (1995, 1998, 2003, 2024).
They went on to reach the Postseason in each of the previous 3 seasons it happened.