Maxbialystock

That's fine. Well done, both of you. As moonslav says, 4 of 6 from the Phillies and Yankees ain't too shabby. We need Old Red to jump in and tell us yet again that the Sox are just mediocre.

I would put it this simply. MLB is, for lack of a better word, balanced, and that's definitely the way the Commissioner and probably the owners want it. Almost everybody, rich or poor, has a shot. I think it's beyond question that the postseason format, now with six division winners and six wild cards, 12 out of 30 teams, has made that possible. Thus my harping on the fact that the WS last year was played between a team who finished with 90 wins and the other with 84 wins. That said, let's not forget that just 6 years ago the Red Sox won 108 games in the regular season and beat the Yankees (100 wins) in the ALDS, 3 games to 1, the Astros (103 wins) in the ALCS, 4 games to 1, and the Dodgers (92 wins), also 4 games to 1.

And as I keep saying, what evidence do you have that the "League just isn't that strong?" Salaries are up, and so is the population base from which players are recruited. You keep demeaning a .500 winning percentage as a sure sign of mediocrity when we have compelling evidence from last year that the difference between percentages of Atlanta (.640), Texas (.560), and Arizona (.520) last year were insignificant because Atlanta did not make it to the WS and both Texas and Arizona did. And why did that happen? Because the statistical difference between 64%, 56%, and 52% is 12%, which is actually quite small. What I also find interesting are these MLB team payrolls matched to their current won-lost records-- 1. NYMets, $308M, W-L 32-37 2. NYY, $305M, 50-23 3. Houston, $250M, 32-39 4. Philly, $246M, 47-23 5. Texas, $232M, 33-37 6. Atlanta, $232M, 38-30 7. Dodgers, $230M, 43-29 8. Cubs, $225M, 34-37 9. Toronto, $224M, 34-36 10. Giants, $201M, 34-37 11. Boston, $182M, 36-35 17. Seattle, $142M, 42-31 18. White Sox, $136M, 19-53 20. Kansas City, $118M, 41-31 25. Baltimore, $101M, 46-24 26. Cleveland, $100M, 44-24 28. Tampa Bay, $98M, 33-38 Three of the top five team payrolls have losing records. And three of the bottom 11 payrolls are 41-31, 46-24, and 44-24.

Are you freaking nuts? You beat the Yankees. Stay on the horse.

There's two of us then. They just took 2 of 3 from the winningest team in the National League, and a win tomorrow means they will have done it to the winningest team in the American League. Not too shabby. This might the most rollercoastery Sox team I can remember. Most errors in MLB. Way too often can't buy a hit with men on base. Split 4 freaking games with worst W-L record (White Sox) in MLB. Casas, who can hit, is missing almost almost half a season because he did the very dangerous and hazardous thing of swinging a bat. One of the cheapest rotations in MLB. And a flock of presumably talent guys on the IL: Giolito, Story, Whitlock, Casas, Yoshida (now off, but missed a bunch of games), Abreu. Oh, and Sale is having a great year, the Sox are paying his $17M salary, and he's pitching for the Braves. By rights this Sox team should be 20-51, which would put them a tad ahead of the White Sox, 18-53. But in fact they got a real shot at the postseason. Without Story, Giolito, Sale, Grissom, Whitlock, and maybe Casas.

Ahem, go for a series win tomorrow.

Another good inning for Criswell. He deserved both of those called 3d strikes.

What's that stuff families use for quick meals? Hamburger helper? Dalbec is cup of pitcher helper. When you're having a bad game and nothing is going right, Dalbec is your pick-me-up.

Yep. Great 3d inning by Criswell! Fantastic. Get the boats out for a parade. If this is a win--and we've got a lot of baseball yet to go--you must give partial credit to moonslav, who is the only person who said he had a good feeling about this game. Rodin has good stuff, but it sure doesn't look good tonight.

Huge double by Devers, drives in 2, batting against a lefty pitcher. 5-2, Sox. This game could be a slugfest because I have little confidence in Criswell. Of course, Rodon now has 60 pitches and another batter to face.

In JH's now 22d season as the Sox owner, the Sox have won 4 WS to the Yankees 1 WS. Or don't WS wins mean anything any more? My take is that the Yankees are happy to spend money, but not smart about it.

Ref ain't no Abreu, that's for sure. 2d inning, and Criswell is facing the Yankees order for the 2d time. And he's already thrown 60 pitches. Isn't that something?

Sox up, 1-0!!!!! 2 freaking doubles and a sac fly.

Baloney. If the Sox win, it counts on your record. If they lose, give it to me. Criswell was a real artist in the 1st inning. Just one baserunner, and three easy-peasy outs. He only needed 26 pitches. With a little finesse, he can throw 90 pitches without going through the Yankees lineup more than once.

Except they aren't. I'm not saying you find can't Phillies or Yankees fans at Fenway because of course you can. But two salient facts put those two rumors (Phillies fans and Yankees fans) to rest. The first fact is that, season to date, the Sox are averaging 32K attendance, which is low--as it should be if the Sox fans are hoping to send a message to JH." The second fact is actually several--the Fenway attendances for the 3 Phillies games and the one Yankees game so far: 35K, 33K, 34K, and 35K. Now, if will, compare those latter numbers with the 32K average, and you can make an excellent case that the increase, which is less that freaking 10%, could well be because Sox fans themselves wanted to see the Phillies and the Yankees. And, if you don't like that idea, we can agree a 5%-10% increase is because Phillies and Yankees fans want to see their guys play at one of the most famous (and vastly over-rated) ballparks in America. That still means that 90% of the butts in seats belong to Sox fans. I used to go to Sox games at Camden Yards, and there were a whole lot of us well into the Peter Angelos era because Orioles fans were unhappy. Right now, June 15, 2024, the Orioles are having their second straight excellent season, sure to get to the postseason, and their attendance is 26,666, 19th in MLB.

Meh. I disagree about Grissom, but you could be right, and I entirely agree 87 AB's ain't much. Pedroia had more than that when he stunk early his first full season--the same year he was voted ROY. What rankles me is paying Sale's salary, $17M, while he leads the Braves, while also paying Giolito $38M for one season (next season). Little wonder John Henry hates shelling out big bucks. This year, with just one exception--Devers--his best pitchers and hitters are bargain basement types.

Muscular, which helps if your goal is to go 0 for 5 with four K's.

You lead the pack in not getting down, but I agree this team has been fun, mostly because of the rotation, but now and then the lineup has looked decent. Like games 2 and 3 vs the Phillies 2d best pitching staff in MLB. Last night, however, the Sox were 1/11 with RISP and the 2 through 5 hitters were 0 for 15.

Can't disagree. I'm not sure the Sox brain trust has many (or any) smart guys. They did know Cora was unhappy with Dugo, but they also needed to look at Dugo's track record--and remember that short right field wall in Yankee Stadium. His lifetime OPS, .765, ain't great but is definitely playable, and so is his defense in right field. The same not-so-smart guys who sent Dugo to the Yankees sent Sale to Atlanta--and paid his freaking $17M salary this year! Oh, and signed Giolito for $38M for 2 years, which is already $38M for one year, assuming he can pitch next year.

2 of 3 vs. the Phillies has me pumped up again. I am, hands down, the least expert and most ill-informed contributor here, so take this with a grain of salt. Last night Bello was up for the Yankees and way better than against the White Sox--or the Tigers, for that matter. I thought he threw hard, but that sinker fastball just maybe doesn't sink very much because the Yankees pounced on it, including when it was over 97 mph. Also, his changeup, which is an important pitch, didn't look so hot--not much break and not command control. I hasten to add that Bello was not calling his own pitches--they were coming from Wong or from the bench. To me it's instructive to compare Judge's first at bat with Dugo's. Granted, righty vs righty, advantage to the pitcher, but Bello struck out a guy having a great season and did it with 4 breaking balls--slider, slider, changeup, slider--and one sinker fast ball, which barely nicked (or missed) the inside low corner for called strike 3. But when Dugo came to bat, it was time for his sinker, with a little oomph--which Dugo was ready for and hammered. 5 of the 6 Yankees hits were off that sinker. The other one was a single off a slider up and in the middle of the zone. Those 5 hits included 2 doubles and the Dugo dinger. And then there's the top of the 3d inning when Soto grounded out, Judge struck out again, and Dugo grounded out. A one, two, three inning in which Bello threw 15 pitches and just 3 of them were sinker fastballs.

That wall is hard, and right now Duran, in this season of endless trips to the IL, leads the Sox in games played, total bases, and WAR (3.8). Were I Cora, I would have told Duran when he came in from left fied, "nice move. Don't go near the Monster unless you are sure you won't bump into it. If Drew Barrymore or some other damsel in distress shows up, that's a different story."

A shout out to SPLENDIDSPLINTER, who brought us two terrific wins over the Phillies.

Meh. You exaggerate mediocrity and you ignore the simple fact that this year, without Verdugo, the Sox outfield is crowded with talent. I'll take Abreu in RF anytime, plus his cost is lower. FWIW, Abreu has a higher WAR and higher OPS. That said, yessireebob, he hammered the Sox last night. That dinger was in straightaway CF, the deepest part of Fenway. Getting Dugo was a definite plus for the Yankees, and he looks pretty happy too.

Well, at least the Celtics got another NBA title. Oh, wait . . .

Continue? Continue!!!???? They just took 2 of 3 from the Phillies.