Maxbialystock

OK. Rafaela just earned his pay for the week. Big game, huge catch.

Overall, you are absolutely right. I, however, am currently in the "let's win this game we're watching" mode. It is, after all, the Royals, who are just ahead of the Sox in the wild card standings. And right now I'm pissed off at the lineup.

And Raffy kills a single right field so Wong can GIDP.

Third time through the Sox lineup for Singer.

Let's see. Righty starter, so the 7 lefty bats in the Sox lineup have the advantage. So far, I'd have to say the lineup hasn't done their job.

I didn't notice.

Game time temp was/is 95 degrees. I lived at nearby Ft Leavenworth for 5 years and remember even back then (last time was 1986-89) summers could get very hot. Well done, Paxton!

It was the polar opposite of when the leaped into the stands and caught that fly before having it knocked out of his glove when he landed.

So far against Singer he's sure hit it harder than Devers has.

Raffy is Mr Easy Out tonight. First a k on 3 pitches with men on 1st and 3d. Now a very weak popup on the first pitch with a man on 1b. I only mention that because just 5 days ago he was extolled, right here on talksox, as one of the truly great clutch hitters in MLB today--and an automatic walk in extra innings because, well, he's Rafael Devers The Greatest. And the manager who failed to give him the free pass was branded a dodo bird. A blind man could see Devers was a sure bet to drive in O'Neill from 2b--if he was pitched to. Devers is in fact having a career year, which is especially useful when he is surrounded by what I unfairly call the "no names." But he is not, repeat not, a sure bet when he comes to bat with RISP.

That's exactly what he did in the 2021 postseason--without a closer. The Sox won 6 games and had 0 saves.

Duran is nobody's backup, not with an OPS of .870 and leading the Sox with 240 total bases (Devers has 227). Funny thing, but he also has a DWAR of +1.6. Anthony has yet to show he can hit MLB pitching--or AAA for that matter.

Ref's DWAR, -0.7, is tied with Smith for worst on the team. Abreu's is +0.3. O'Neill also plays RF and his is -0.4. That said, it's the bats that count with the Sox, even @ SS and in CF. Except for Rafaela, who is invaluable on defense with an OPS of .705. But he also is 2d on the Sox in rbi's with 57.

Nice mimicry by mvp 78. Also excellent quote by bellhorn from the athlete on the genius of Alex Cora in the 2d inning. Cora managed a powerhouse in 2018 to the best Sox season ever, then got the most—ALCS—from the 2021 Sox. Now he is masterminding the 2024 no names.

Ignore the above. I think I'm right, but to me the real message of this game was that it was a terrific win. Yes, I think Cora's a great manager, but this game was all about the players, the lineup and the pitchers. And it wins the series over the Rangers. Tomorrow night, the Royals, who are tough. Sox will go with Paxton, Bello, and Crawford.

What freaking "learning experience?" Pivetta's 31 and was expected to be traded/sold last week. More to the point, when Cora pulled the plug in the bottom of the 5th, the score was 3-2 Sox and Pivetta had already given up 2 dingers. Coming up was a lefty bat now facing Pivetta for the 3d time. So Cora does the smart thing and brings in a lefty reliever who promptly gets 4 freaking outs followed by Kelly, Bernardino, and Winck, all of whom pitched scoreless single innings. It was freaking textbook managing, and you gotta gripe. And, oh, by the way, check with your confreres here on talksox. They will all tell you that wins and losses by starters are among their most meaningless stats.

You've made some very good points. Cora needs to be disciplined for letting a game get completely out of control, resulting in a 7-2 win. If he had left Pivetta in to pitch to the Texas lineup a 3d time, who knows? Maybe the Rangers come back and win. Plus he had a lefty pitcher pitching to lefty Rangers bats. What was he thinking?

It might have been about winning the game, but probably not. Cora just likes being mean to his starters.

If memory serves, it was the Sox rotation--Houck, Pivetta, Bello, Crawford, and Whitlock--who made the biggest difference early in the season. And it was the rotation that Breslow decimated by dumping Sale and signing Giolito. Also, these are the current top six pitching WAR's on the Sox: Houck 2.8, Crawford 2.1, Kelly 1.3, Jansen 1.2, Pivetta 1.2, Bernardino 1.0. I still think Breslow did better than the Rangers CBO because the Rangers team ERA has plummeted from 6th last year to 15th this year, and the Sox team ERA, now 13th, is still better than last year's 19th. Sox ERA has improved from 4.52 to 3.97. Of course, the season is a long way from over.

Thanks, everyone, for the discussion on Criswell and Cora. My take is that Cora is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't because right now there just aren't enough good arms to go around--in the rotation or in the bullpen. Since the ASG break, the Sox have played 14 games, of which 2 were well-pitched--the 6-0 win over Colorado with Criswell starting and the 3-2 win over Seattle with Bello starting. We can almost include the 4-1 loss to the Dodgers because Pivetta went 6 scoreless innings and Kelly 1.1 before Bernardino destroyed that game. The decision maker on Criswell must be Cora. He is the manager and therefore accountable for wins and losses. Others--Bailey, Varitek, even Breslow--no doubt provide input.

Pretty good reactions. About the coaching. You could be right that breaking balls risk damaging elbows, but these days you gotta throw them, and the more spin the better. My impression of Crawford lately is that his pitches don't break much, thus 12 dingers in his last 3 games--all post-ASG. In his last 3 starts before the ASG he went 7, 7, and 6 IP giving up 1 ER and 1 dinger. Post-ASG has been an absolutely unreal turnaround in the wrong direction. Bello, on the other hand, is about the same before and after the ASG: 18 IP and 9 ER before ASG and 17 IP and 8 ER after. Pivetta is also about the same before and after: 10 ER and 15 IP after the ASG and 9 ER and 17 IP before the ASG. Houck is better post ASG: 22 IP and 7 ER before ASG and 26 IP (4 starts) and 3 ER after ASG. The bullpen, on the other hand, has been mostly awful since the ASG break, and part of that is because of injuries. Interesting comments on the hitting. Breslow did nothing to help it, but they are better. It could be the hitting coach, as you say, but I also think it's Cora's willingness to load the lineup with lefty or righty bats, depending on the opposing starter, and then to bring in other bats when the opposing manager goes from a lefty starter to righty reliever or vice versa. Plus this off the wall comment. The five worst DWAR's on this Sox team belong to Devers, O'Neill, Yoshida, Smith, and Refsnyder, and my impression is that Cora has no hesitation in playing any of them. Yoshida has yet to play in the field, but gets -0.5 DWAR because of it.

The staff did fine last game. Even Bello, the starter, went 6.2 giving up 2 ER. Crawford is throwing crap. Hence, once again, a bunch of dingers--4 this time.

I didn't even look at 2018. I think maybe a 3, but either way I agree with "I'll take it."

I would certainly hope not. Plus it's been awhile since he's been allowed to start. Crawford is now 29th in MLB in IP, 122.1, and 36th in ERA, 3.60. Last year he started 23 games with 129.1 IP and ERA 4.04. This is his 22d start this year. What others have asked is valid: can Crawford go a whole season as a starter? On the plus side is that I think both Cora and Bailey know what they are doing.

It's Jose Urena, righty, ERA 3.07, with 6 starts and 3 quality starts--but no starts in July. Instead, 5 relief appearances of 4.1, 3, 1, 1.2, and 2.2 IP. His July ERA was 4.26. He's 32 and this is his 10th season--6 with Miami, 1 Detroit, 1 Milwaukee, 2 Colorado, 1 White Sox, and now the Rangers. His splits say he is much better at home than away and--get this--way better against lefty bats (OPS .595) than righties (OPS .736). He has 76 IP this season, 5th most for the Rangers.