Maxbialystock

That's not "circumspect." That's nit-picking. Yoshida did exactly what Cora wanted him to do, he hit the ball hard, and that's why it got it out of the infield. Horn has an ERA over 6, but he got 3 outs while giving up 1 hit, the cleanest full inning by any of the Sox six relievers. Jansen's been closing games and getting saves since 2010 and has averaged over 1K per IP. This season we've seen him use that cutter over and over and over again, usually with good effect. And you want to disparage that he K'd Judge looking? And you end by assuring us the best way to watch a Sox game is after knowing the final score? I hope you were being ironic.

Amazing, thrilling win! I thought it was over when the Yankees destroyed our bullpen and went up 7-4. I do not believe Jansen's save was luck. He hit his spots.

Sounds about right. Now they have Cora for 3 more years, but the other part is still up in the air. I mean, just as you said, Paxton is at least as good as Chris Sale, but one arm isn't enough.

Meh. I've blasted Breslow more than anyone else, but he's also the guy who insisted on a new pitching coach, Bailey. To me that was bigger than any pitching deal I can remember the Sox making. And, in case you've forgotten, this 2024 Sox pitching staff is way better than the very pricey 2019 staff DD put together. When DD did that, he was a very experienced and skilled CBO, as he still is right now the Phillies--plus he basically had carte blanche with the Sox and easily the biggest payroll in MLB. Anything he wanted, he got--until the 2019 season unraveled. Then it was, see ya later, DD, and, see ya later, biggest payroll in MLB. This is Breslow's first year, and, as pissed off as I am about Sale and Giolito, I'm pretty happy with him.

Irony still lives in talksox.

Sad. but the Sox have earned that label. I haven't given up, but share your frustration.

Well, now, that depends, doesn't it? I honestly thought I saw a better Sale last season than the one we'd seen since 2019. I looked forward to his return this season. But of course my opinion doesn't count for much. On the other hand, I think the Braves opinion should count. We know they are pretty smart about player acquisitions, and they went after Sale, after a fashion. They even talked Breslow into shelling out $17M along with Sale. I don't see how anyone can conclude anything but that the Braves snookered novice Breslow. Someday maybe Grissom will help, but there is absolutely no guarantee of it. Then there's Giolito, the presumed replacement for the departed Sale. $38M for 2 years, one of which is already completely lost.

So you really are saying it. You know more than Cora and that new pitching coach--Bailey. Thanks, but I'm going with their judgment. You only come on talksox to gripe and never to root for the Sox.

By now I think we have to agree that with Cora there is always method in his madness. We do know that the Sox best defensive outfield does not include Ref or O'Neill and does include the three who are starting today. We also know that Duran and Abreu hit righties better than O'Neill or Ref.

Agree. Plus--and not that it's important--the W-L record is decent because the Sox are well within reach of a wild card slot.

My first point was an exaggeration intended for dramatic effect. The rest of that post was intended to say that since June 12 the Sox have done pretty well and that part of that is fewer errors and/or disastrous errors. I am no expert, but I think the outfield defense is probably above average, especially when it's Duran in LF, Rafaela in CF, and Abreu in RF. But Duran's a pretty good centerfielder too. However, righty bat Refsnyder's DWAR is -0.8, which is awful. O'Neill's is -0.2. I think both catchers are pretty good behind the plate, but less good throwing baserunners out. The infield has been the problem, but I think less of one with Devers @ 3b, Rafaela @SS, Hamilton @ 2b, and Gonzalez @ 1b. I include Devers in the "good" list because of his bat and the decision to keep him at 3b, where his DWAR is -0.6.

Statistically, the Sox have the worst defense in the entire history of baseball. But stats are funny and even malleable. I prefer lying, cheating, unreliable snapshots. I think the unearned runs are fewer and farther between since about 12 June.

Today @ 3:15 it's Pivetta vs Quantrill. Gotta give the Sox the edge. Then Thursday off followed by 3 vs the Yankees and 3 vs Mariners at the Fens. By the end of those 6 games, we will know one very important thing--whether or not JH and his CBO support this Sox team. In JH's defense, Breslow's 2 biggest offseason deals, Sale and Giolito, almost destroyed this 2024 Sox team by giving away a great starter and bringing in a useless one to the tune of $55M. In Breslow's defense, he insisted on a new pitching coach, Bailey, who has transformed the Sox pitching staff, which is still better than the overpaid 2018 and 2019 staffs.

Well said on all those posts. On last night's game thread I said-- 1. I over-reacted to the 4 losses--no surprise. 2. The Sox are definitely in the wild card hunt. 3. The Sox hitting--total runs scored--is now 9th in MLB, best it's been all season. 4. The team ERA, 3.71, is right now 6th in MLB. Before last night it was 10th. How is that possible? Right now 7 MLB teams--Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore, Cubs, Dodgers, Royals, and Brewers--have team ERA's ranging from 3.69 to 3.76.

Excellent point, which I tried to make earlier (vs Dodgers) but nearly as well.

Stupendous game. Somewhere on another thread I wrote that the 4 straight losses were a sure sign this season is over. I even provided some supporting stats, mostly about the disintegration of the pitching staff. Now, after just this 1 game, a relook of those supporting signs suggests I was--as has often been the case--over-reacting. Here's what the relook says: Sox are absolutely, positively in the wild card hunt. They are 1 game back of KC and the Twins and 3.5 back of the Yankees. They are now 9th in runs scored, the highest they've been all season, so just maybe the offense ain't too shabby. And the pitching, 10th in ERA before last night, is now 6th in ERA. There is in fact a huge cluster--7 freaking teams--with team ERA's ranging from 3.69 (Cleveland) to 3.76 (Milwaukee). The 4 best--Seattle, Phillies, Braves, and Yankees--range from 3.43 to 3.55.

Agree. Someone else pointed out that SS is almost the inevitable destination of players with quickness, good hands, and a good arm. Mookie came up as a second baseman, but was shifted to RF, I think at Pawtucket, because of Pedey.

I beg to differ. He attempted to steal 2d base, and the ump called him safe but the guys back in NYC called him out. The Sox are ranked 5th in MLB in stolen bases, but are 94/123, 68%. Back in the day, the standard was around 80%, but with the new bases managers have looser rains on their horses.

Absolutely not. Criswell is the opposite of a stopper, plus that name will never do. All he did was pitch 7 shutout innings in a game which just may have demonstrated it's still too early to check for less change. Sox win, 6-0, in a stunningly good game all around.

Pretty thin gruel. Bailey, I agree, has been worth his weight in gold, even with what appears to a collapse of the pitching staff. I could be wrong, but I believe this season would have been hopeless without Bailey. But you left out Breslow's signature moves: 1)dumping Sale to the Braves while paying the Braves $17M to make Sale the bargain of the century; 2) and acquiring Giolito, who is being paid $38M for whatever he can or can't achieve in one freaking season.

Nicely put.

Oh, come on. We fans can afford to hit the panic button, but shame on any manager who says, "I just read on talksox that some guy named maxbialystock thinks the last 4 games are the end of life as we know it and I completely agree with him (or it)." In fact, this entire season has been one of ups and downs and more surprises than we can count. I'm over-reacting--or at least I hope it's over-reacting--to these last 4 games because the month prior was so terrific. And Cora has every right to emphasize the good aspects of this team. A good battle captain--and Cora has proved to be just that--should never take counsel of his fears.

Allow me, then, to speak up for us guys in a complete panic. This 2024 Sox team has relied heavily on their pitching, despite the propensity of the lineup to commit errors and cause the Sox to lead MLB in unearned runs. But these last 4 games have made it quite clear the bullpen stinks. Even Jansen, our $16M closer, blew one save and then gave up 3 runs in the next game. Crawford, our 2d best starter, just gave up 5 dingers and 6 runs in his last start, and last night our ace Houck gave up 4 runs in the 3d inning. Who's left? Bello and Pivetta, both of whom have been wildly inconsistent this season. Oh, and Criswell. Wait, there's more. For at least 2 months the Sox team ERA was the best in MLB. Then it dropped to 5th, which was still pretty good. Now it's 10th, with no bottom in sight. And let's not forget that in the past the Sox have always, always led with their hitting and run-scoring. Just 3 seasons ago, 2021, the Sox team ERA, 4.26, was ranked 15th. So what got the Sox into the postseason was the lineup/hitting, which was ranked 3d in MLB in runs scored. This year the Sox are ranked 11th in runs scored, not nearly good enough to compensate for a pitching staff which now seems to be in disarray.

Meh. We always have moonslav reminding us of the potential long term value of guys like Grissom. To me there is no way, no how Grissom can make up for the loss of Sale at exactly the wrong time--a major misread by Breslow. Moreover, because Sale was booted to Atlanta, Breslow went out at got Giolito for $38M, half of which is already down the drain. As for Vazquez, I liked him when they brought him up because of that great arm and release for nailing guys trying to steal 2b. Over time, I decided he was just stupid, but he hung on because for a while it looked like he could hit. I loved when Vazquez was traded away and am fine with Wong and McGuire--plus Teel at Portland.

Agree. The mistakes came before the season started. Breslow focused almost exclusively on the rotation--and screwed that up completely--and did little for the bullpen. He also got a decent righty bat, which we now see was not enough. Everyone's in an uproar about the 11th biggest payroll ($182M), which is in fact the lowest ranked payroll in the John Henry era. But we see now that, had Breslow been smarter and not committed $38M for Giolito, to say nothing of $17M so Sale could become the ace for the Braves, there was in fact enough money to improve the Sox. It was just misspent. It is no small irony that in return for the outrageous deal with the Braves, who basically have a no-cost ace, the Sox have Grissom, who is unavailable and probably not needed this year.