Maxbialystock

Amen!

Those guys all have tough hands, plus they also have the option of letting a screamer go by. I've seen replays of baserunners fielding grounders, but can't be sure they were Dodgers.

That too.

I haven't seen that, but I agree with any umpire that made that call.

You just don't get it, do you? This was almost Bello's best game this season at a time when the bullpen has reeked of incompetence. Moreover, I trust Cora and his pitching coach Bailey's judgments a whole lot more than yours. Also, did you not notice that Seattle did not in fact score?

Agree. Wasn't it a Dodger who as a baserunner would break up double plays by simply fielding the grounder? That's what led to the rule that doing that intentionally makes the baserunner and the hitter outs.

Yes, absolutely, if the ball is caught, both baserunners must tag up. The infield fly rule was written to prevent infielders from dropping the popup intentionally and then throwing both baserunners out. Turner simply found a way to get the double play by manipulating the umpire into calling interference.

Exactly the right phrase. Right call, but definitely chicken s***. It's especially nasty because the ball was in fact caught which meant O'Neill had to get back to 1b. In fact, Turner was blocking O'Neill, not vice versa.

I agree it's probably right call, but it's also catch-22 for the Sox baserunner because, if he doesn't get back to 1b, he can be doubled up. The infield fly rule says the batter is out whether the ball is caught or not, but he doesn't give the baserunners any license on baserunning. They must tag up if the ball is caught.

So you could reveal yourself as an idiot.

Meh. Priester's value will depend far less on "days he can be on the 26" than on how effective he is. It's enough to know that chances are good he can be used in August and not jeopardize his 6 years under control.

Agree on the dempster dives. Also agree my salary numbers are bogus in that most MLB teams have their share of players who either didn't deliver or spent/spend lots of time on the IL. I consider Mookie Betts to be pretty darn resilient, but there is nothing you can do about HBP. Trevor Story, on the other hand, does not strike me as resilient, and I have my doubts about Casas (but am delighted that he is Worcester on rehab).

Pot, meet kettle.

I think you guys are arguing needlessly. It's almost certain the Sox management know what the right number of days/games is. They also have a reasonable idea of what he could contribute this year. So we know he could be used this season and used wisely--as simple as that.

Actually, the Sox are closer to bottom third in payroll because, of the $182M they are currently paying in salaries, $22.5M is going to Story, who barely played this season, $17M to Sale, who is pitching for the Braves, $19M to Giolito, who is out for this season and questionable for next (but not his 2d $19M), $3.5M to Whitlock, who pitched 4 games and is also questionable for next year, $7.5M for Martin who is on the IL, and $6.7M for Turner, who last night was playing for Seattle. Plus I don't think the Sox are getting full value for the $16M going to Jansen or the $18.6M going to Yoshida, so let's halve their values and say the Sox are throwing away another $17.3M. If we subtract $92M from $182M, we see the real value of the Sox payroll this season, about $92M. That said, however, easily the highest WAR on the team, Duran's 6.1, only costs the Sox $760K. Rafaela, Bello, Criswell, Houck, Crawford, Wong, Abreu, and Gonzalez are also pretty good bargains. Maybe even Bernardino, Booser, Kelly, and Winck are too. Even the big money guy, Devers @ $29M, is worth his salary. So is O'Neill--healthy for a change--@ $5.85M. Pivetta @ $7.5M might over-priced, but not by too much. Back to Jansen and his $16M. To me he is the perfect example of overspending on a closer because he has actually been decent this year with 20 saves so far. The problem, especially recently, has been getting to the 9th inning with a lead. To me he has just not been worth that huge salary, which would have been better spent on 3 or 4 other bullpen arms.

A small point, but in fact the Sox win last night without the errors by Smith, Rafaela, and Wong. The Sox scored 6 runs, all earned. The Mariners scored 10 runs, 5 of which were unearned. The 2024 Sox hitting is about as good as it was in 2021, and the pitching is better. So right now the defense is once again the problem as it was earlier this season. It remains to be seen whether Breslow's acquisitions will help the Sox pitching. Last night Paxton went 4.1 IP while giving up 3 ER.

Ahem. Whoever built Sox teams before John Henry arrived and bought the Sox in 2002 is suspect--or does the 86 year drought mean nothing? And whoever built the Sox teams during the JH era brought in 4 WS's. They are demonstrably not idiots. What they mostly did was go out and buy established starters like Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lackey, Rick Porcello, David Price, and Chris Sale. Thus did the Sox payroll stay among the top 3 in MLB. This year it's 11th, so a different approach is needed, at least for now.

I like Abreu at least as much as you do, despite his weakness against lefties. But I think you have the right idea. The problem, of course, is that these days MLB arms are high risk, and my bias against Breslow is that he can't seem to tell which arms are risky.

If you agree, why in the wide, wide world of sports are you dead set on getting a righty bat? I'd like one too, but with the Sox runs scored currently in 5th place, I think the total focus by Breslow must be on pitching. Thus I guess I agree that trading Yorke for Priester makes sense. Both are first round draft picks who are struggling, but Priester is an arm and York is a bat. Now Sims, so, including Paxton, that's 3 new arms.

True, but you miss two key points, the most important of which is that hitting is way more important than fielding. Consequently, when you move Devers to DH, you eliminate Yoshida, who right now has a hot bat and a season OPS of .752. Moreover, you throw away his rather large salary. Kaline and Soto and Bryce Harper and Ted Williams all come up early because they could hit. The second is that Sox primary problem is pitching, not hitting and, really, not even fielding.

Today, July 30, the Sox team ERA is 3.94, ranked 13th in MLB. Right before the ASG break it was 5th. The hitting, on the other hand, is now tied with the Phillies for 5th most runs scored. Before the ASG break, it was ranked 12th.

And I was the only one on talksox to provide 5 reasons why he should play. I was not predicting the future by any means, but at least I and I alone saw a glimmer of hope. He sure ain't no JDM or Big Papi and it's fair to say he is probably overpaid, but right now he's pretty useful.

And I agree with both of you. The crying need for this team is good bullpen pitchers, and Breslow has made deals for two so-so (at best) starters. Priester is almost the worst pitcher on the Pirates roster. Paxton might help and might not. And forget the righty bat for now. The hitting is better.

Second straight quality start by a Sox starter. Bullpen continues to be the #1 problem of the Sox. Hitting not bad, if you like 14 runs. Much needed win--thanks in part to SPLENDIDSPLINTER.

I agree with most of the negative comments on this thread. Last night was painful. The last 9 games have been painful, especially given how well the Sox were playing from June 12 (when they were 34-34) through July 14 (when they were 53-42). Very obviously, the pitching has collapsed as many--but definitely not me--predicted could happen because Pivetta is the only Sox starter who has started 30 or more games in a season and pitched 155 or more innings in a season. Plus injuries in the bullpen. On the other hand, we saw an excellent team right up to the ASG, and since then the hitting seems to have improved. For over half the season the Sox languished in 12th place in runs scored and are now 8th. Devers and O'Neill have OPS's over .900; Duran, Abreu, Wong, and Ref are over .800; and Hamilton, Gonzalez, and Yoshida are over .700--with Rafaela @ .692. And Casas could return in August it now appears. The big question has to be: is the pitching fixable with deals today or tomorrow? Relatedly, does Breslow have the desire and the JH backing to make deals?