Maxbialystock

Turf, smurf. I'm just glad it's inside.

This is nonsense. One game in August does not decide a season even though every game counts. Lefty pitchers have had success against Devers this season. His OPS against them is .704--vs 1.160 against righty pitchers. That's a huge swing. Also, Seattle manager Scott Servais is now in his 9th straight season at the helm. He had used 4 relievers each in games 1 and 2 of the series and another 4 in game 3, but not lefty Diaz. He had not even used Diaz in the 3 prior games (all wins) against the White Sox. Plus at that point, bottom of the 10th with O'Neill on 2b and the Mariners having failed to score in the top of the 10th, the odds strongly favored the Sox winning the game. This was a good time to gamble on the rarely used Diaz who just might, lefty vs lefty, get Devers out. If he did, then righty bat Ref could be walked so that Diaz would face another lefty bat, Smith. The crucial decision was not whether to walk Devers, but rather was to bring Diaz in to pitch the 10th. We have seen Cora do similar things, which I sometimes call his "dud liberation movement." Instead of letting Diaz continue to hide out in the bull pen, Servais sent him out to show what he could do. And what he did was lousy. He threw three straight sliders. The first two were barely outside and Devers refused to swing at them, which was a giant clue that he could see those sliders clearly. The third one was right in the middle of the zone, and he clobbered it.

It's August 1, and I'm fine with Abreu still on the roster. MLB righty pitchers appear to outnumber lefty pitchers about 3 to 1. As for Priester going to Worcester, that's fine, but does not mean he can't be called to Boston. He has pitched in 20 MLB games and started in 14. Last year his ERA was 7.74, and this year it's 5.04 . I would be astounded if the Sox never use him in relief this season.

A terrific post!! Well done, well researched. I'm interested in this season, so not too concerned about a possible Angels deal. As for this season, a lefty DH does make sense, even one who doesn't come anywhere near Big Papi's numbers. Yoshida didn't miss many July games, and his July OPS was .898. Moreover, I don't think Ref and O'Neill, both reasonably good righty bats with OPS's of .955 and 1.092 vs. lefty pitchers, missed too many opportunities vs lefties. That includes games in which a righty starter for the other team is replaced by a lefty reliever because both are available to pinch hit for Abreu, Yoshida, or even someone else. I don't know the exact number, but my guess is that righty arms outnumber lefty arms in MLB by about 2-1 or maybe 3-1. The Sox right now have 9 righties and 4 lefties. So do the Orioles. The Yankees are 10 to 3. Rays 9 to 4. Jays 10 to 3. Dodgers 10 to 3. Mariners lead MLB with lowest ERA and have 11 righties to 2 lefties. 2d best ERA is the Braves with 9 to 4. 3d best Phillies have 8 to 5. Guardians have the 4th best team ERA with 11 righties and 2 lefties. So the top 4 team ERA's have 39 righties and 13 lefties, a 3-1 ratio.

As you know, I prefer to hammer Brez, but this time no complaints. The Sox pitching nosedived after the ASG and gave him every reason to do the minimum. He did more than that.

Ref is nice righty bat to have around, plus he's an adequate outfielder. Valdez has no reasonable role for the Sox. And the Sox are paying Yoshida $90M for 5 years, and this is his second year.

You could be right about Priester, but "our SPs have a history of effectiveness" is misleading. Yes, absolutely, they have been effective. And they have also been putrid, especially since the ASG break. I did notice that with the Pirates this year Priester's ERA is 5.04 in 10 games, 7 starts, and 44.2 IP. That 5.05 is slightly better than Bello's 5.13 and a big improvement over Priester's 2023 ERA of 7.74. Plus I like Bailey, the pitching coach.

With Story and Grissom on the IL, Mayer and Campbell in Portland, and Rafaela, Hamilton, and Gonzalez playing and hitting decently in Boston, Yorke was expendable. Even if you like Yorke, the pitching need is far, far greater.

On second thought, the rationale had to be lefty vs lefty, advantage to the pitcher. Devers OPS vs lefties is .692, against righties 1.154. However, once the count was 2-0, big advantage to the batter, especially Devers.

Fantastic win!!

Agree because Devers on 1b brings in GIDP while not having to worry about him scoring.

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.