cp176

I agree with an awful lot of what you have said here. I am one of those though who really does believe that your up the middle defense is incredibly important to your team's success. Maybe that is because I was for the most part an all glove and not much bat second baseman - lol. Even considering my feelings about the importance of defense, it really is hard to justify playing a centerfielder who is hitting less than .170 at this point in the season. The Red Sox current record I think like you gives the team the luxury of playing JBJ and hoping that the slump ultimately ends.

Really? You read that JD Martinez was responsible for this little celebration in the outfield ending? Guess I must have missed that one. I was hoping that maybe it was joint team decision. I actually think that it probably was.

I wonder what Jackie is actually looking at when the ball is in the air these days.

If JBJ is going to actually play and not be relegated to a late inning defensive replacement type, he is going to have to hit just a little bit. He has been hitting a lot less than a little bit. I would never suggest that Martinez replace him in the outfield. We all know how that goes over here. but if JBJ plays and continues to struggle, Cora will have to explore other possibilities to replace him in the outfield even if it is on a part time basis. I like the rotation concept being used if JBJ hits (at all). I'm sorry but I don't care how well he fields his position, if he continues to be an automatic out then he represents a liability for this team going forward. I like JBJ as much as anyone here. I've followed his career since he arrived in Portland but really?

An average of just 5.1 innings per start just amazes me. If that trend continues, Kind of looks like a team could use a couple of so called starting pitchers per game and have no real need for a 9th inning only closer. Maybe it is the labelling thing that is being oversold but there looks like a trend is really developing.

I think that much of what you say here probably is an accurate way to look at things. I'm just wondering what the next change with respect to pitching will be. As "starters" are held to pitch counts and really are pitching fewer innings, doesn't it kind of make common sense that having one guy to pitch the 7th inning, one for the 8th, and a closer isn't where the trend is heading. It brings into play a lot of questions for me. I think that if the current trend continues more and more teams are going to be looking for very good pitchers who can throw multiple innings in relief - not just the old mop up duty.

Must watch tv tonight once again.

Is another starting pitcher who might give you 5 possibly 6 innings even as important as a relief pitcher who can give you 2 or 3 a little more often? I wonder how long it will be before a lot of pretty good starters start throwing in relief? There are starting pitchers out there now who pitch just about as much as a good quality middle reliever. Is the whole concept of starters and closers over rated?

When starters now who can go 6 solid innings are pretty special, does that change perspectives about how bullpens should be put together. Used to be a lot of pretty good aging starters became potential bullpen arms. Guys who just could not get it done as starters were converted to relief pitchers. It seems now that with 5 man rotations and pitchers being limited to right around 100 pitches somewhat changes the landscape. I love Kimbrel but if he is only going to be used in the ninth, is the whole concept of having a closer a little overrated? Is there too much specialization? How about a couple of really good arms out there who could give you 2 or maybe even 3 solid innings every 4th day lets say. (maybe even every 3rd day). For the record though, it still is really hard for me to buy into the theory that Kimbrel has a problem coming in to the 8th and getting 4 or 5 outs. He is one of the best relief pitchers who has ever played. Most guys like him don't have any problems approaching any situation from a mental perspective. Are we just dealing with too much specialization these days?

It's always looked to me like it is a kind of an accident when he hits the ball. I've never been exactly sure if he is seeing the ball or not. Contrast his head location at contact most of the time with Martinez's. It just looks to me that he comes out of most pitches before any kind of contact. I like him and here's hoping for the best for him!

Hang in there. There aren't many here who come across as absolute a-holes. Most of us can be sacastic and maybe even a little insensitive from time to time but this is still a great place to get some very good insight with respect to the Sox.

Tough game tough night for a tough guy. I don't think that Kimbrel gets to the level he has gotten to by lacking confidence in anything that he does with a baseball in his hands. If for some reason management felt that the only time that he could be used was in a clean 9th inning, I would sure hope that they would not over pay for him going forward. I don't believe that that is the case though. I'm a big Kimbrel fan.

This was a Celtics throwback game for me. A working class team. They are a perfect match with our greater Boston community. They are of course much more talented than they look but there are times when it really looks like there is no way that they can do what they just do. When the ball is loose and rolling around out there who would you put your $ on the Celtics or anybody else? I'll give credit to Philly for playing hard and I have to say that a healthy Embid is an absolute force.

Never trust those eyes! You know better than that. Your tv could be tilted.

couldn't help myself - lol

I just tried to answer your question Slasher and see what I did. I poked the "defend all things statistical crowd".

Guess i am - Thought I read that he hasn't always been considered this bad.

beauty of the internet isn't huh - you get to run your mouth whenever you want even when your bell isn't chimed. You can kiss my ass.

Some great posts on this page. Very impressive. My only addition would be that I have gone from accepting the fact that Marcus Smart would not be back with us to absolutely hoping that he will. I think that the arguement against him is basically his streaky shooting. I feel that he does so many things for this team that just do not show up in the box score. What Baynes does physically in the post, this guy does all over the court. He makes big plays both offensively and defensively when his team needs them the most. He may not look the part of a pure smooth NBA player but he does what he does as well if not better than most.

Those lefty bats were JBJ, Benintendi, and Devers. JBJ had 3 of the K's and the other two aren't exactly ripping the hide off the ball. Moreland very well could have made a difference. Maybe or maybe not but I think that it would have been worth the try.

ok Slasher here you go. Basically I am just pissed off because anyone who has suggested that maybe jD isn't as bad out there as the past metrics say he is has been talked down to by the people who spend their time studying all things quantifiable. Now we hear from one of their heroes that maybe he could actually be average out there and what do we hear - 0. if Alex Speier says it, i guess it must be right. Anybody who has watched him this year should have been able to figure that one out. I'm not suggesting that he is a good fielder or that he should be out there any more than he has been but the suggestions that he is as bad as there is are ridiculous. I think that there is a huge difference between being a player in the field and one who sits on his ass or rides a bike in the dugout between at bats. That job isn't for everyone. It takes a special kind of mental approach and if JD says that he is a better player by getting the opportunity to play in the field roughly half the time then I think that is what needs to be done. He is too good a hitter (and we sure need him) to disrupt his mental approach to the game.

Sadly I guess but if you take Hanley out of this lineup, you are taking one of our top 4 or 5 hitters out of the batting order. Who are you going to replace him with is the question I would ask. Betts, Martinez, Bogaerts, Moreland maybe and after that who am I missing. It might be different if we didn't have pretty much black holes when it comes to hitting with respect to the center field and catching positions.

Needlessly cocky? Swihart? I do agree that when you are using just about everybody else on the team and not him it kind of looks like a waste of roster space to us.

Oh and I agree with you about Embed. To be that young, that talented , and that much of a whiner - just too bad.

I really have to question whether this Sixers team has more talent than the Celtics. Don't get me wrong, many of the sixers are more talented at the specific things that they do but they are really quite one dimensional players. I absolutely believe that Boston has the better athletes to send out against them even without Irving and Heywood.