Maxbialystock

Grissom, yes, Grissom leads off the 5th with a sweet single. Followed by Hamilton's stupid and terrible bunt on a pitch well outside the strike zone. Bunts can still be effective, as team after team playing against the Sox have demonstrated. But you actually have to practice bunting, which clearly the Sox don't believe in.

He's heard of it, but his antennae are busted.

Ahem. Hamilton's OPS is .750. Rafaela still leads the Sox in rbi's.

That's two SB attempts in 3 innings. Cora needs to gamble some because the hitting is moribund.

Notable--to me, anyway--that Houck today is faring better with McGuire behind the plate than Crawford and Pivetta did with Wong.

Sox defense looking ok to good, but then there is the small matter of hitting and pitching--in which the Brewers have dominated the Sox more than any other team this season. Crawford and Pivetta were both clobbered while the Sox lineup remained supine.

Body builders apparently believe that baseball is not actually a game of skills. Nor, I hasten to add, a game of endurance.

Smart baseball, modern or not. Worked like a charm both days.

They're swinging because they love what Pivetta is serving up: 3 doubles, 4 singles, and 2 walks. They also like that he only has 2 pitches, a curve and a fastball.

It's kismet. Pivetta loves his fast ball, and so do the Brewers.

Abreu is short and dumpy and exactly what you don't want covering RF at the Fens, but he has been terrific. So mental telepathy works. Who knew? I keep saying, "use the curve, use the curve," and Pivetta finally does.

Beautifully timed leap.

2 straight games the Brewers have started with a reliever. 2 outs last night, 4 tonight--then in comes the starter.

Bases loaded, 1 out, and looking way too much like a repeat of last night.

Pivetta is throwing way, way too many fast balls and most of them in the middle of the zone.

Agree on all but the pepper spray.

Good. Fan tossed for taking away a double, which has now been restored. Tough for the Sox, but Pivetta looks very hittable despite the 2 K's in the 1st inning.

Great story, moonslav. I would never have figured your for a Milwaukee guy. Then Maine and now Houston. That's three key sectors of this country--and you still go back to Maine every summer.

On the surface, the Grissom watch is just silly because he's played just 16 games. What's the point? Well the point is that the Sox brain trust are paying Chris Sale's freaking salary of $17M while he starts for the Atlanta Braves and so far has the highest pitching WAR on the Braves and the 2d most IP. That is nothing less than extraordinary and demands that we question what the Sox got in return. The catch, of course, is that the Sox have 6 years of control over Grissom in addition to his being a pretty good prospect a year or two ago. So, as moonslav and others insist, it's way, way, way, way too early to pass judgment on the trade. But not for me. I'll give Grissom another 2-3 months, which is about what Pedey had as a rookie in 2007 (and having played in 31 MLB games in 2006) before he showed how good he was. And maybe I'll give Grissom the whole season because no way, no how can he fix this lineup with his bat. And as for losing Sale, while I hate it, after 51 games the Sox still have the 2d best ERA in MLB (but the Phillies, ERA 3.11, are about to pass them). 3d is still pretty amazing.

I would love to have had Sale stay. He is just one more example of the malfeasance of JH's "brain trust." Consider-- This year's payroll is $182M, but $16M is going to closer Jansen, $17M to Braves starter Chris Sale, $22.5M to Story who's out for the season because he risked life and limb diving for a grounder, $18M for Giolito who is out for the season because he unwisely threw pitches in spring training, $18.6M for Yoshida whose thumb hurts and who can't hit anyway, and $7M for Turner who plays for the Jays. That adds up to $99M, which leaves $83M, of which Devers is paid $29M, so the rest of the team--the entire pitching staff (rotation and relievers) except Jansen, the entire outfield, both catchers, all of the infielders except Devers, and the DH--are being paid $54M. The bottom 5 payrolls in MLB are $64M (A's), $83M (Pirates), $98M (Rays), $99M (Marlins), and $99M (Orioles). Looked at that way--and disregarding what other teams are paying their players who are on the IL or otherwise not contributing--the 2024 Sox needed to spend $360M, way more than the top dollar Mets payroll of $307M, to have any hope of competing this season. Indeed, given the above, it's a semi-miracle the Sox are still 1 game above .500.

After 4 straight wins, especially 3 @ the Trop (where manta rays hang out), last night was very disappointing. I honestly had high hopes, but the fans didn't--attendance seems fixed at 31K, 12th best in MLB. 5 years ago, the last season before covid, the Sox averaged 36K, 7th best attendance. But for several seasons before 2019, the Sox attendance was 9th best. And 10 years before that--2009--when the Sox were getting max attendance, 38K, they were still just 8th best in MLB. If average attendance is a key indicator of the annual income of a MLB franchise--and if for most of his "reign" as owner of the Sox John Henry has been paying top dollar for talent--then it's just possible the Sox haven't been all that profitable over the years. Moreover, JH and his brain trust have spent large on some players who didn't deliver. 2024 is a perfect example of that. This year's payroll is $182M, but $16M is going to closer Jansen, $17M to Braves starter Chris Sale, $22.5M to Story who's out for the season because he risked life and limb diving for a grounder, $18M for Giolito who is out for the season because he unwisely threw pitches in spring training, $18.6M for Yoshida whose thumb hurts and who can't hit anyway, and $7M for Turner who plays for the Jays. That adds up to $99M, which leaves $83M, of which Devers is paid $29M, so the rest of the team--the entire pitching staff (rotation and relievers) except Jansen, the entire outfield, both catchers, all of the infielders except Devers, and the DH--are being paid $54M. The bottom 5 payrolls in MLB are $64M (A's), $83M (Pirates), $98M (Rays), $99M (Marlins), and $99M (Orioles). Looked at that way--and disregarding what other teams are paying their players who are on the IL or otherwise not contributing--the 2024 Sox needed to spend $360M, way more than the top dollar Mets payroll of $307M, to have any hope of competing this season. No wonder JH is fed up.

This is his 7th season of MLB, the first 6 with the Cardinals. 3 years ago, age 25, he had his one full season, 141 games, with 34 dingers, an OPS of .912, and 168 K's. His career OPS is .784.

Exactly. This rotation of kind of, sort of nobodies has been incredibly good. Crawford does not have magic stuff, so he needs to hit the corners and mix things up. I am a huge Wong fan, but once again I wonder if McGuire might have been better last night.

Bad night for Crawford.

I also agree. The ESPN WAR for Rafaela is -0.2, but I'm OK with -0.6. As others have said, his range--at both SS and CF--is what has led to 1 or more of his errors. And he still leads the Sox in rbi's with 26.