Maxbialystock

That splitter by Chapman for the K was nasty. If he can command it, it's all he needs beside that fastball. 1 run win. My, my.

Agree. Big if.

The 7th and 8th innings were terrific examples of how good Cora is. He sent Buehler back out to pitch the 7th, and then he pulled Wilson right before he gave the game away. Defense has been excellent. 3 dingers by Mayer and Anthony are just unreal Between them they have 18 games of MLB experience, including tonight. They account for 3 runs in a 4-3 game, with Story getting the other dinger.

Tough game, a long way from over. Need those 6 outs.

He's had a tough season, but back in the day he wasn't half bad. Tonight I thought 95 mph fastball worked for him. And I'm very impressed with the 7 IP, 97 pitches, 7 K's, and 1 BB.

6 innings are huge these days, especially on a team that has had to use its bullpen too much. Before the stats guys showed how vulnerable a starter is his 3d time through a lineup, 6 IP was not that big a deal. Now it is. This game must be a disappointment for you with the Sox leading and lousy, rotten, stinking, no good Buehler pitching in the 7th. Me, I'm just the opposite. I see some hope glimmering in what has been a tough season. Now it's 7 IP and 3 runs. Oh, the heartbreak.

I've been badmouthing Sox pitchers' defense, but Buehler has been excellent on plays at 1b.

By a mile. But I also like the way Story puts the tag on. He's lost range, but not his smarts.

Meh. If he gets through the 6th unscathed, it's a quality start.

Last night was one of hope with a great start and what sure looked like one heckuva rookie. And now a dinger by the leftfielder!!! What's his name.

Agree on Story, Narvaez and Toro. Breslow missed 2 months with the same injury 4 years ago, but he sounds like maybe early July this time.

Oh, come off it. He is using the heck out of the bullpen and has used 8 different starters. Houck is a bust after a solid 2024. Crawford is on the IL. Bernardino already has 4 freaking errors in 26.2 IP. Cora ain't the problem. Guys above him are. I think Breslow is pretty good, but it's a fact that he dumped Sale and hired Giolito at the same salary. If he had kept Sale and ignored Giolito, the Sox would have made it to the postseason last year and be in the hunt this season. They might still be in the hunt this year.

I was just reciting what actually happened in the game. I agree Narvaez is the better hitter, OPS .814 vs .516. I can think of 3 reasons to go with Hamilton: 1 is the righty-lefty thing; 2 is that, if Hammond got on base, he was more likely to score than Narvaez; 3 not hitting Narvaez in the 8th saved from expending energy (or getting HBP) when he was subbing for the part-time catcher Wong.

A word or 2 about the defense. I said this elsewhere, but it bears repeating that the worst-defended Sox position by far is pitching. They have 10 freaking errors and a bunch of wild pitches. They are in fact their own worst enemies. I think tonight's outfield of Duran, Rafaela, and Anthony is adequate with Rafaela way above par and the other 2 around par. It does boggle the mind, however, how easily Duran drops liners/flies that are very catchable. Last night's was called a single. I like both Mayer at 3b and Story at SS. Campbell is a liability at 2b, but sometimes he does make good plays. And Toro's primary job at 1b is to get hits when he goes to bat. Narvaez is why above average at catcher. In other words, except for pitcher, 2b, and 1b, I think the defense is at least average. Their fielding percentage is an excellent 98%--1% below the best fielding percentage is MLB--but also irrelevant.

Sox starters are consistently inconsistent. I would have bet good money last night that Gioilito would not make it through 6 innings, That he also gave up no ER is astonishing. Buehler had some good years with the Dodgers through 2022. Then he missed 2023 from injury and had an ER of 5.38 in 16 starts last year with the Dodgers when he also had 3 quality starts. He already has 3 this year, so maybe he's not hopeless.

Same game, Narvaez struck out looking--a righty bat facing a lefty reliever--in his one at bat leading off the 10th. In the 8th Hamilton, a lefty bat facing a righty pitcher, popped out.

Same as last night. Why not? Interestingly, the Sox hit lefties better righties--OPS .790 vs. OPS .736. Trevor Story June OPS is .966 (for just 9 games). May OPS was .432.

Could not agree more. It absolutely is a good thing. And let's not forget that the real problem is the pitching. So maybe some lineup talent is sent elsewhere to bring back pitching talent.

I'd rather have "swings" than unremitting depression and negativity.

I would rather have great hitting, which the Sox had in 2004, than great fielding. By the way, far and away the weakest position defensively for the Sox are the pitchers with 10 errors, almost uncountable wild pitches, etc. Bernardino is the worst. I mention that because you have written repeatedly that errors and missed outs are such a heavy burden for the Sox pitchers. In their defense I think their first focus must be on their pitching, plus I think wild pitches are unavoidable if you are trying to work the bottom of the strike zone.

Agree on all. Riveting game, low score, so every play counted--and in his second MLB game Anthony made 3 of them, especially the double off an outside changeup. I especially like this happening at the Fens, where the Sox fans have been disappointed too many times this season. Like your peek at the future. That is, there just might be one this season. I could be wrong (and often am), but I think Cora is the perfect manager for a Sox team this inexperienced.

Guilty as charged. I love good defense and agree it can make a difference. And that's why I keep reminding you and everyone else that the Sox defense is above average at 4 positions--CF, RF, 3B, and C. Rafaela, Abreu, Bregman/Mayer, and Narvaez are all ranked in the top 5 in DWAR's for their positions. That's half the defense. I think Duran is adequate in LF--his DWAR is 0.0. And I like Story at SS because he is steady, smart, and good on double plays--the Sox are ranked 4th in DP's per game, and DP's are a pitcher's best friend. The problems are primarily at 2b and 1b. And don't forget that most teams and mangers think a player's OPS is more important than his fielding percentage or DWAR. CF and SS are the two positions where some good defense can keep a player in the lineup. Or try this. The best Sox team ever was probably the 2018 Sox. These are some of that team's DWAR's: Nunez -1.4, Martinez -1.4, Bogaerts -1.0, Devers -0.9, Benintendi -0.6, Moreland -0.5. The good defenders in 2018 were Betts +1.8, Leon (87 games) +0.9, JBJ +0.4. Meanwhile the 2018 Sox team ERA was ranked 8th and the total runs scored by the offense was ranked 1st. To me it's astounding that this year's Sox are ranked 4th in runs scored, but they are, despite the fact that the Sox hitters are ranked 2d in K's. But the team ERA is ranked 23d. You can blame some of that on the defense, but the real problem is with the pitching where the Sox have one good starter and maybe 3 good relievers. Since this thread is about Cora, I think he's still an excellent manager and that the major problems have been with the CBO's and JH's intent to reduce the payroll. And this. The most damaging thing that's happened to the Sox since Breslow took over as CBO is when he dumped Sale and picked up Giolito. Had he kept Sale and stayed away from Giolito, chances are the Sox make the postseason last year and this year (provided he also hired Crochet).

I agree losing provides a compelling argument for firing the manager. However, it is unarguable that the quality of Sox players, especially the pitchers, has gone steadily down since 2019, and that's mostly because JH didn't want to keep paying big bucks for pitchers who crap out--like Price and Sale on the 2019 team. Also, 2021 was not a bad year, not when the Sox made it to the ALCS.

Could ain't would.