Maxbialystock

All that makes sense. However, I think Mayer, Anthony, and/or Grissom comes up as a bat--with the glove secondary. Anthony goes to the outfield to replace Rafaela if his hitting continues to stink. Mayer or Grissom goes to 1b to replace Casas if his hitting doesn't improve.

Pitching is the big weakness, no question. But I think it will come around.

They are 10-6 at home and 5-10 on the road. The Sox win all three if Whitlock isn't horrible in game 2 and Slaten in game 3. Before tonight Slaten pitched 8.1 innings in April with 0 ER's. Before last night Whitlock had pitched 16.2 innings with 3 ER' and an ERA of 1.62.

I have, as you know, gone with very small statistical samples, but my defense usually is that those are the only ones we have. So splendidsplinter is definitely cherrypicking. On the other hand, the professionals do it all the time. When a guy's in a slump they focus strictly on the bad games, same for when a player's hot. So of course 80 games tells a story--I believe with the intention of exposing mediocrity. I disagree with that because I this year's team more positively than last year's. Before tonight, the Sox were ranked 6th in runs scored, and I think they can go higher. If Casas doesn't come around, bring up someone else to play 1b, the easiest position on the field, especially if he is already an infielder/catcher. Same goes for Rafaela. Anthony, Mayer, and even Grissom all look ready to move up. Meanwhile, the current Sox have starters Crochet with an ERA of 2.05, Fitts with 3.18, Bello with 3.27, Dobbins with 2.45, plus, if you ignore Houck's 2.1 IP and 11 ER's in one horrible game, his ERA is also under 4. Giolito's one start was a quality start, even with the 3 run dinger in the 6th. I even like the baserunning and the defense despite the errors. To me the only question about this squad is whether the bullpen can come around.

Love your stuff, but the above is just wrong. There are endless articles about the importance of the bullpen, largely because the third time through a batting order is risky. Had Houck stayed in to pitch the 8th he would have been facing Bichette for the 4th time. And, if any of Clement, Lukes or Bichette got on base, he would face Guerrero for the 4th time. As I've already said, going into this game Slaten had pitched 8.1 innings in April and given up 0 ER's. Your commentary reeks of 20-20 hindsight that also lacks any analytical basis.

You really mean that crap about Houck going 8, maybe 9 innings? Pitch count is important, but so is the number of times through the lineup. That's supposed to give a huge advantage to relievers because they rarely face batters twice. Before tonight Slaten had pitched 8.1 innings in April and given up zero runs. You can look it up.

Agree on your first statement. Horrible bullpen. Disagree on the 3d, that this is a .500 team. The Jays ain't much, except at home where they are now 10-6, compared to 5-10 on the road. That's at least twice in this series when Abreu took the wrong route, both times he went too far toward centerfield. The first time he corrected just in time to grab it. Tonight he was nowhere near the ball--complete flub (but not an error of course). Going into tonight's game the Sox ranked 6th in MLB in runs scored. Among the starters, Crochet's ERA is 2.05, Bello's is 3.27, Fitts' is 3.18, and Dobbins' is 2.45. And tonight Houck went 7 innings while giving up 1 run. Giolito looked almost decent his first time out in a long time--5 IP, 3 ER. While this week is a lesson--on the wrong side--of how important a bullpen can be, I think this team nevertheless has 3 strengths: hitting, starting pitching, and, believe it or not, fielding. They are ranked 4th in MLB in double plays. A 4th strength is the farm system.

Sensible. I tend to resist hype, but agree the outfield hitting--Duran and Rafaela--sucks right now, so why not give Anthony a shot?

Great game to watch. Both teams had opportunities they did not capitalize on, but the pitching on both sides was pretty tough. I was frankly stunned the Sox pitching could be this good without Crochet starting, but, as others have commented, Weissert, Whitlock, and Slaten were especially tough for 4.1 innings. 13 K's in 9 innings. Could be Casas's weird injury (from swinging a bat) last year is carrying over. Last year's Sox were also 10-10, but I like this team more, despite the early issues in pitching and hitting and errors (which I think are misleading because the Sox lead MLB in double plays).

I've seen some nasty errors, including at least a couple that led to a loss. But overall I like this defense. They lead MLB in turning double plays, which are the pitcher's best friend.

Much ado about nothing. The 2020 season was meaningless even though I understand why MLB decided to do something rather than nothing., 2021 was a pretty good season, but 2022-24 weren't. The worst season, however, had to be 2019 when the Sox had the biggest payroll and couldn't even make the postseason. Thus did JH let DD go.

Crochet is currently ranked 3d in MLB in pitches thrown. I've read numerous articles, as have you, that the third time through the batting order normally gives the advantage to the hitters. I thought Crochet looked terrific today, which is pretty much the way he has been all season. I honestly don't worry much when he faces a batting order for the 3d time. But I was fine with Whitlock coming in to finish the 8th, which would have been scoreless for the White Sox if the ump hadn't called a third strike, clearly in the zone, a ball. I would have left Crochet in to finish the 8th if the Sox were up by just 1 run.

Meh. Bregman is a ton better than Devers, and the Sox lead MLB in double plays by a wide margin thanks to Bregman, Story, Campbell, and Casas. When you throw in Duran, Rafaela, and Abreu, it's a pretty good fielding team. Plus I love the way Bregman played in on that grounder to 3b, which allowed him to throw out the lead runner going to 2b. I too am disappointed by the throws by Bregman and Campbell leading to 3 unearned runs for Crochet and probably a second straight loss. But I partly blame the weather plus coming off the double header on Sunday.

After a dry spell It's now raining (2d day) in Greensboro. YBut it's not raining in Tabuk.

Devers has yet to practice at 1b. Casas and Devers both have higher career OPSs than Yoshida. Yoshida is admittedly an expensive bench-sitter, but I think he stays there.

Fascinating. Makes sense.

Well you were wrong because the 2025 Devers was his worst ever. Or so I claimed and am happy to see his OPS is already at .825. His rise coincided with a Sox winning streak.

The article in the OP is hardly original. I was commenting repeatedly on Cora's reluctance to use his bullpen and specifically said leaving his starters in games was the direct cause of losing games 3 and 4 in Texas.

1. We know what the Dodgers are paying Betts, but don't know how much more they were willing to pay him if the Sox made a competitive offer. It's important to remember that the Betts deal happened after the 2019 season, which was unmitigated disaster. The Sox had the highest payroll in MLB and couldn't make the playoffs. The hitting was still pretty good with Mookie--the Sox finished 4th in MLB in runs scored. But the pitching, ranked 19th in team ERA, stunk. 2. So DD was fired and replaced by Chaim Bloom from the Rays system, probably in hopes he could field a competitive team that didn't break the bank at Monte Carlo. Thus the pursuit of relative bargains like Story and Yoshida--and a whole bunch of pitchers. The 2021 team, Chaim's first when you exclude covid 2020, was pretty good and made it to the ALCS before losing to the Astros. 3. But then came 78 wins (and no postseason) in both 2022 and 2023, so the Chaim experiment ended and Breslow, with a Yale degree (majors in molecular biophysics and biochemisty) and 12 years of MLB pitching experience, was hired. 4. Last year, despite the Giolito/Sale disasters, was a slight improvement--from 78 wins to 81 wins--plus the Sox finished 3d in the AL East instead of the cellar in both 2022 and 2023. In the 2024 postseason Breslow had the go ahead to make some big acquisitions--Bregman, Buehler, Chapman, and Crochet. Interestingly, however--and I think moonslav predicted this last year--the Sox payroll right now is ranked just 12th. 5. I don't like being 1-4 right now, but have hopes the new blood--including Campbell and the guys still in AAA--will get the Sox to the postseason. 6. All in all, I'm inclined to defend JH, who is the best owner in Sox history--his quirks notwithstanding.

OK, OK. I admit Devers can hit well and that moonslav has a point. But I live in the present and right now he's killing us and the team is 1-4. Other hitters stink too, and the pitching isn't all that sharp.

If you're right, Devers needs to grow up. He's getting paid more than he is worth--$313.5M thru 2032 or 2033. He may like playing 3b, but he's demonstrably a liability there. DH is the right position for him now with gold glover Bregman available. Bregman's lifetime OPS is .847, but it's been around .800 for the last 3 seasons. I personally don't like the DH, but it's now legal in both the AL and the NL, so it's stupid not to put a good bat there.

Afraid so. Heck, today Duran contributed an error.

There is no known pitch in MLB that Devers can't swing and miss at. He has a complete repertoire of swings.

I was wrong. Newcomb only pitched 4 innings, then Whitcomb 2.

beides