Kimmi

Keep the winning mojo going Boggs!

The Yankees are playing over their heads. I've said that many times. That said, even when they come back down to earth, they have set themselves up nicely for a playoff berth.

I am sure that I am biased when it comes to our announcers. Much of my dislike for other teams' announcers comes from the fact that they are pulling for the other team! We can't have that! That said, there are some really bad ones out there. At the same time, there are some pretty good ones too. The Twins crew that I had to listen to in the last series was not bad at all.

I don't really know much about him either, but I wish him the best. Hopefully, he'll be back to baseball soon.

Thanks Ben!

Exactly. You don't want to lose a game while you're best reliever/player sits on the bench waiting for an opportunity that never comes.

1. Desperation move? I don't think so, because I think it's the right move. It might seem desperate to you because it's not something that most managers would do, but the reason for not doing it is because it goes against the 'norm'. 2. We most definitely overpaid for Kimbrel. Doesn't mean that I'm not happy to have him.

I think some people are forgetting just how bad Shaw was after the first 2 months of the season. From June 1 through the end of the season, his batting line is .207/.270/.351/.631. An OBP of .270!!!

Bell, do not let Jacko rain on our parade. Through April 22nd, we stunk. We hit 8 HRs in 18 games, had a slugging % of .374 and an OPS of .712. In our last 13 games, we have hit 19 HRs, slugged .465, and had an OPS of .812. Even without the last 2 games, we have hit 11 HRs in 11 games. The home runs are starting to come.

Yup! I'm even at the point where I'd take Hawk Harrelson over Thorne, and I never thought I'd dislike any announcer more than I dislike Hawk. As far as Mendoza goes, I agree that she's not very good. However, I've heard a lot worse. @Harmony - The Mariners guy is bad too. Annoying.

Exactly!

Voice of reason.

I'm too lazy to look it up, but our home run numbers are suddenly not looking so bad. Our lack of home runs in the first 3 weeks or so was one of those fluky things.

I'm not saying to use the closer form more than 3 outs necessarily. But why can't those 3 outs be in the 8th inning if your setup guy puts runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and preserving the lead becomes dire? And as far as what most managers do, they do it because that's what tradition dictates. One of the beat writers (may have been PA?) made a good point. It's a lot easier to defend a decision that goes bad if the decision is a 'traditional' decision than it is to defend a decision that bucks tradition. That doesn't make it right though.

I can see both sides of the argument. Farrell has to manage the marathon, not the sprint. He can't be in a 'win today's game at any cost' mode this early in the season. That said, I am a believer in the philosophy that you should not always save your closer for the 9th inning. Sometimes the true 'save' situation comes in the 7th or 8th inning. Last night's game was a perfect example. There is no sense in saving your closer for a close situation in the 9th that may never come. If the Sox had blown that game in the 8th with Kimbrel sitting on the bench waiting for the 9th inning save which never came, what a waste that would have been. Kimbrel saved the game in the 8th, which was the true 'save' situation of that game. It turned out that we didn't need him in the 9th. But if we had, there are times when Farrell could use Kimbrel for more than one inning, and when he can't, he'll have to take his chances with another reliever to close out the game. He can use Kimbrel in the 8th without overusing him. But again, it doesn't make a lot of sense to save your best reliever for a 9th inning situation that may never materialize. Use him when the game actually needs to be 'saved', be it the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning.

Exactly. We need the depth, if nothing else.

I agree as well. I expect JBJ's offense to get back on track, but even if he doesn't hit that well, the rest of our offense can carry him. To quote some of your favorite stats, so far this year, JBJ has a DRS of +4 in only 142 innings, and a UZR/150 of 18.8. What Jackie lacks in offense, he makes up for in defense, errant throws and all.

Eff those other two teams. I can't stand either one of them. The Sox need to worry about the Sox, not those other 2 teams. It's too early for scoreboard watching.

True enough on both posts. I know I am posting this in hindsight, but I'm glad that Farrell allowed Sale to go back out for the 6th inning. Sale is a competitor, and I'm sure that he really wanted to go back out there. Sale does not seem like the type who needs a boost of confidence, but even so, I think it's good that he was able to retire the side in order and end his the game on a high note. Five days is a long time to stew over something like that 5th inning.

I believe you are worrying too much about the Yankees and the Os. They are likely not going to go away, though I do think that both teams are playing over their heads. The division was never going to be a cake walk. It will be a battle all season long. The Sox just need to play like they are capable of playing and take care of their own business.

It's odd how Sale absolutely dominated the Twins in the first 4 innings. At this point, I'm feeling positive that 4 runs will be more than enough. Then he has a questionable HBP, a bloop single, and a sac bunt that can't be fielded and turns into a hit, and the wheels seemingly come off, with Sale throwing 36 pitches that inning. Then, he goes back out in the 6th and sets the side down in order in pretty quick fashion. Go figure. Anyway, nice win today and nice series win. It's good to see the offense finally doing some damage.

I pretty much agree with all of this. I am sure that the Sox practice these skills just like all the other teams do. Why they are making the so many mistakes is beyond me. I don't think Farrell is to blame for the mistakes, but as someone else mentioned, Farrell needs to hold the players accountable for the sloppy play, which is where Farrell may be at fault.

Goodness, I have no idea where that partial second sentence came from or what I was even thinking. LOL

Our pitching really has looked solid, Kendrick notwithstanding. With bated breath, I wait for the offense to start performing up to par.

With apologies to Moon for getting off topic, 'inflammable' and 'flammable' mean the same thing. What???