Maxbialystock

I like Durbin's defense plus I'm sure he can hit better than he has.

Agree the Sox are down, 2 games to 1, in this series. The worse news is that the one win was from the only run, unearned in the 10th inning, in game 1. The pitching is nowhere near expectations, but frankly neither is the hitting. Sox have 2 runs but are 0/8 with RISP.

Fair enough. I am a habitual over-reactor, but right now what scares me is I might be right.

First, I would definitely like to see the swtich made between Mayer and Story. Second, however, making that switch won't fix the hitting, which is killing the Sox. I agree it would help the pitching, but not by much. This season the Sox have pretty good defenders in the outfield and in the infield except at SS.

None of their stats are good. Plus W-L is the one that really counts. Right now that's 8-13, which is lousy, but the Sox are still just 4.5 gsames behind Yankees @ 13-9. The Sox now ranked 25th in MLB in runs scored and 21st in team ERA. As far as I'm concerned. those two stats are directly attributable to Craig Breslow. He needed to get another good bat. Even worse is that his expertise is in pitching and right now that's in disarray. Oh, and the Sox payroll is ranked 6th in MLB. Meanwhile, the Sox fans have been hugely supportive given both the lousy play and lousy weather.

Meh. Tonight's game was clearly a pitchers' duel. Tigers pitched 9.1 IP with no ER's and lost. Also, you seem to have forgotten all those games--like Crochet's last start--in which the Sox starter didn't even go 5 innings. Suarez now leads the team in total IP, 22.1 in 4 starts, which is less than 6 IP per start.

It's Durbin, but I could not agree more that the game was amazing. Riveting. I think Anthony and Durbin can/will hit, but have my doubts about Mayer. Absolutely fantastic game by Suarez. He's the game MVP and no one else is within a mile of him. Chapman's final 3 pitches were 99 mph, 100 mph, and 101 mph.

i've made my case fo leaving Story at SS. I think it's reasonable, given other factors. Lots of luck convincing me the Sox would have a winning record if Story weren't playing SS. I find it hard to quarrel with the lineups when Story leads the Sox in rbi's by a margin of 6. Tonight was another game when Cora's management of pitchers and pinch hitters and defensive positioning was impeccable. And don't forget that two of his best hitters, Contreras and Anthony, failed to drive in runners in scoring position with 2 outs. Do I need to add that Narvaez was rested and did not play tonight?

Fascinating takes on Cora. I think a case can be made that he is being stubborn about Story at SS. On the other hand, I think "fixing" SS is not nearly as important as fixing the hitting and pitching which are both well below average among MLB teams. In that respect Story leads the Sox in rbi's with 17 in 18 freaking games. The Sox have won 7 games and Story had rbi's in 4 of them. He also had 1 rbi in a 3-2 loss @ St Louis and 2 rbi's in an 8-6 loss to Milwaukeee and 1 rbi in 6-5 loss @ Cincy. Story and his lousy .560 OPS is also 3d in total bases. Mayer is confortable at 2b and but not at the plate where his .572 OPS is below last year's .674. Back to the Sox team defense. I think the Abreu, Rafaela, Duran, and Anthony constitute a pretty good outfield. So do Contreras, Durbin, Mayer, and Wong/Narvaez 4/5 of a decent fielding infield.

To me it's this simple. So far--and I agree we're just 18 games into the season--the Sox pitching, hitting, and defense all stink. 25th in team ERA, 22d runs scored, and tied for 4th in most errors.

No doubt I missed the sarcasm. Nevertheless, I contend the Sox bats stink, but not Yoshida's.

Agree. Of course.

Thanks, MVP. Tigers come in with a 6 game win streak. However, all were home wins. On the road so far they are 2-8. Sox are 3-3 at the Fens and 4-8 on the road. Tigers are 10-9 overall and just 1 game back of Central Div leader Twins. Sox are 7-11, last in the AL: East, but only 4 games out of 1st, held by the Rays with their 28th biggest MLB payroll. Speaking of whom, anyone remember the guy JH fired about 3 years ago? Chaim Bloom is now the Cardinals CBO and their payroll is ranked 24th and they are 10-8. But it's way early. Right now the Sox pitching is ranked 25th in ERA, the hitting 22d in runs scored, and the defense tied for 4th in most errors. Thank goodness it's still April. Suarez stunk his first 2 starts but went 6 shutout IP last time out against those very same Cardinals. Trevor Story has an OPS of .560 and leads the Sox in K's with 24. However, he also leads comfortably in rbi's with 17 and has the 3d most total bases,26. Contreras is looking good with an OPS of .936 and a WAR of 1.0, so of course he has bad back and is day to day. c

Agree with Brock that starting Grey has risks. He's 36, 5'10", and definitely hittable. I hardly dare mention this, but so far Grey is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.76 and 16.1 IP. Tonight will be his 4th start--same as Crochet last night. However, after tonight, if Grey's form remains good, he will lead the Sox in innings pitched.

Agree completely on Yoshida. I still don't like him in LF, but do like him at the plate. I don't agree with sitting both Rafaela and Abreu. Let Abreu DH with Anthony in RF, Duran in CF, and Yoshida in LF. Story and Mayer must switch positions. It's not just that Story has lost some range. Mayer's arm is stornger and more reiiable. Bogaerts played SS and Story 2b in his first season with Boston.

You could be right of course. But the report is that the Twins have been killing lefty starters this season and one reason is that they had 8 righty bats in the lineup last night. I do think Crochet's fastball is more hittable than last year. Plus he doesn't have a usable changeup. Agree with "bear watching."

Devers right now has a WAR of -0.5 and is being paid $35M/year. Durbin ain't hitting, but his DWAR is +0.4 and overall WAR -0.1. So I'll take Durbin, thank you.

Cash grab? This year the Sox payroll is ranked 6th and the home attendance 11th. Like everyone else this season, I'm not happy with the hitting, but honestly think it will come around. Before Crochet's crash last night, I would have said the Sox pitching is in good shape.

All good points.

So what? I'm an over-reactor and love being one.

All good comments. Agree Mayer should play SS and Story 2b, also that Anthony will likely "turn the page." Meanwhile, however, it's painful.

Crochet showed a ton of guts last night because he didn't have his best stuff and because the Sox defense was yet again problematilcal. It's possible the cold weather has been an issue even though it affects both teams. The Sox had 3 freaking hits last night, no dingers, and won 3-2. Cora's one mistake was not starting Yoshida. Remember the Mendoza line? Last night Duran, Story, Mayer, Durbin, and Kiner-Falefa were all below it.

You trust Chapman? Last year, definitely. This year a crap shoot.

I don;'t think Story was in the WBC. At 33 he should know how to use ST to prepare. He was unprepared from day one. That double last night was huge, however. Anthony is also a shocker but that could be WBC. Gotta like Contreras and Abreu. Story and Anthony are both in the ignominious top 25 in K's.

I'm smiling.