Maxbialystock

Sox defense stunk in the 4th. And the same lineup players have stunk at the plate.

Bello came off the mound nicely to field that grounder.

Fascinating bottom of the 2d when the Sox showed a whole lot more than Duran, Devers, and Toro in the 1st inning. Baz looked almost human.

Now some shots of Anthony in the dugout. Plus a sign referring to the "Roman Empire."

Excellent single (and no K) by Story. Baz is throwing a lot of fastballs, one of which Anthony popped up.

2 solid hits by the Rays in the 2d, but an easy grounder for 3d out. The NESN director and no doubt the Sox front office have decided to follow Anthony standing in RF as much as the actual game.

Whoops. Baz looks unhittable after 1 IP and 3 K's.

Great first inning by Bello! Just 12 pitches, a K, and nothing hit hard. His pitching stats say he is at his worst the first time through the lineup. I also liked his command and saw nary a fat pitch. He definitely worked the corners.

Starting 3 rookies tonight is sheer brilliance. They become the Sox story this season if they can hit and stay in the lineup. Given the miserable Sox pitching, I don't see much hope of the Sox getting back into the hunt, but who knows?

This ain't on Cora. Season to date Bello has averaged 18 pitches per inning and his K/BB ratio is 33 to 24. That said, I think Cora will be inclined to leave Bello in tonight as long as possible because he used 8 relievers last night. Statistically, I think Bello is the #2 starter on this team. If that doesn't terrify you, nothing will.

Bingo. IP is a key stat when discussing Bello.

Agree.

Rays have been coming on strong--7-3 in their last 10 games, 35-30 overall--and that's mostly because of their pitching. Ours stinks, but recently our hitting/scoring has picked up--despite Bregman still being on the IL. I would have bet money the Yankees would have swept the Sox last weekend, so my predictions are worthless. So the most I can say about this series is that it will definitely be worth watching to see whether the Sox can still salvage this season. Bello has really only had one bad game (7 runs by Atlanta on May 18), but he also has had problems going 5 IP. And last night Cora used 8 relievers.

Fine with me.

That has definitely happened. Right after Bregman went on the IL, the Sox hitting stunk to high heaven. Now it seems to be bouncing back, but for how long? Nevertheless, 4th in runs scored, season to date, is pretty good, just as 23d in team ERA is pretty bad. And I'm sick and tired off all the whining about the defense when the MLB best team fielding percentage is 99% and the Sox are at 98%. Right now the Sox have a CF, RF, C, and 3d basemen (Bregman plus Mayer) who are all in the top 5 in MLB in DWAR's. Story and Duran are at least adequate. So that leaves 1b and 2b as the only weak defensive positions.

Baloney. I'm all for bringing Anthony up along with Mayer and Campbell who are already up. But the Sox right now are ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored and 23d in team ERA. So Anthony is going to fix nothing although he could be a pleasant diversion. And Cora is the wrong guy to point the finger at when it's Breslow who gave up Sale and brought in Giolito. Those moves alone determined the Sox ignominy last season and this season. If you say the real culprit on pitching is JH, I won't disagree. But I will vehemently disagree Cora is the problem.

All good points, but the simple fact is that another bat doesn't ameliorate the real problem, pitching. The Sox currently are ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored and 23d in team ERA. On the other hand, if you believe the pitching is unfixable, which it probably is, then now is the perfect time to make room for Anthony.

A silly thread that seeks to rearrange the deck chairs while the pitching staff is causing the 2025 Sox to founder. Who cares what happens to Hamilton when the Sox team ERA is ranked 23d in MLB? The Sox are now ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored. Hitting isn't the problem and will in fact get better when Bregman returns. I would love to see Anthony brought up to Boston, but honestly see him as a trick pony, a diversion from our real problem, pitching.

So we agree that team fielding percentage is meaningless. Good. We also agree that defense can affect pitching. And that's why I say a fair evaluation of our defense has to be based on the DWAR's of the individual players because DWAR's include everything a defender does or fails to do. Bregman and Mayer at 3b, Rafaela in CF, Abreu in RF, and Narvaez at catcher all are in the top five in their positions in DWAR. That's half the freaking defense (not including pitchers). Of the other half, Story does have a positive DWAR and has been very steady, especially on double plays. The Sox are ranked 4th in MLB in double plays per game. And Duran is a decent left fielder. That leaves just 2b and 1b as the trouble spots. As far as I'm concerned trouble at 1b is not biggie, but at 2b is, but Cora has not seen fit to bench Campbell--and I think Cora is right.

Oh stop it. Just stop it. Devers does not in any way, shape, or form run the team. Cora was the one who convinced Devers to make the most of the DH position--after he lost 3b where he had played for 8 seasons--and Raffy did just that. He's having a career year and is tied for most games played in MLB precisely because he is the DH. He is also 2d in MLB in rbi's and 10th in OPS. Meanwhile Toro and Gonzalez are both worlds better at 1b than Casas was. Beyond any question, the dilletante in this situation is Breslow who went around his manager to ask Devers to play 1b. Dumb.

June 18th is just 10 days away during which the Sox play six at home against the Rays and Yankees and three at Seattle. Plus they get the 12th off. I would love to see the Sox win 6 of 9, but seriously doubt they can if the pitching doesn't improve. And that's really the point, isn't it? If the Sox pitching doesn't improve, Winning 6 of the next 9 ain't happening. The Sox have won 3 of their last 6 games while averaging 8 runs per game. In the three wins the Sox scored 11, 10, and 11 runs. Is it relevant to point out that rookie Campbell currently has a WAR of -0.6? Rookie Mayer's WAR is +0.3 because of his defense. I think June 18th is soon enough for Anthony.

My guess--and that's all it is--is that Whitlock needs to focus on being good at just 2 or 3 pitches. Most relievers get by with 2, but both have to be effective pitches.

Sure looks that way.

Someone else wrote a neat article about why neither Cora nor Breslow is expendable. I agree managers are hired to be fired and that a lousy team is a good excuse for doing so. On the other hand, I also think Cora is a terrific manager and perfect for this season. Does anyone on here know where the Sox team ERA is ranked? Anyone? It's 23d out of 30 teams. And the blame for that rests entirely with Breslow and somewhat with CB before him and of course with JH the owner. Plus 15 games ago Cora lost his best player and hitter for maybe 2 months. The Sox were 26-26 after Bregman's last game on May 23d. Since then they are 6-9 without him. But they are now 3-3 in their last 6 and took 2/3 against the AL East leading Yankees. Right now the Sox are winning primarily with their hitting, and it's not just 1 or 2. Practically the entire lineup has contributed. What strikes me about the lineups these days is Cora's willingness to change lineups and to use the bench, which we saw yet again tonight. Subs Gonzalez and Toro are now regulars because they are hitting. Same goes for Narvaez, who has displaced Wong. Cora likes Abreu in RF, but lately Ref is starting against lefty starters (and pinch-hitting against lefty relievers). With the lead tonight, Abreu pinch hit for Ref and stayed in RF. I also think the defense is under-rated, especially on Talksox. The outfield is definitely above average, and so are 3b and catcher. Story is actually pretty reliable at SS even if he has less range. Tonight he took that pop fly away from Toro because he saw Toro was having trouble seeing the ball. He's very good on double plays--and the Sox are ranked 4th in MLB in double plays per game. So the only two real trouble spots are 2b and 1b. My guess is that 1b would be a lot worse if Raffy had taken it over. Toro and Gonzalez have both made good plays there.

You got that wrong, dead wrong. Cora told Raffy to embrace DH, which he did. When Casas went down, Cora wisely never asked Devers to play 1b, which has proven to be exactly the right decision. Breslow had his head up his whatever when he bypassed Cora to tell Raffy to play 1b.