Maxbialystock

Good point. Plus my "insights" are opinions--except about the flu.

I think hitting with men on base is in fact a skillset because I believe good pitchers throw better when they are are in trouble, defined as either men on base or men in scoring position.

Good word, conjecture. I thrive on it because it's 100% guesswork and 0% statistical analysis.

I'm sorry, but I've never heard of anyone in this era of modern medicine who lost 15 lbs from the flu. My thought is that Grissom hit AAA pitching but can't hit MLB pitching--exactly the same as Dalbec and probably a bunch of other players. I definitely hope I'm wrong, which is a good bet anyway because I don't know jack about baseball. I prefer to rage about Grissom because Sale--whose $17M salary the Sox are paying--is looking so good this year.

Here's my 2 cents on Whitlock. It's simple, really--way too much repertoire for a reliever. The best ones use at the most 3 pitches. Right now Jansen is getting away with just one pitch, a 90-92 mph cutter he moves around the strike zone. Three years ago Barnes emerged as this amazing closer--he had 24 saves--because he threw just 2 pitches, a pretty decent fastball, and the big freaking curve. Then MLB umpires starting checking pitchers for foreign substances or whatever and somehow that really affected Barnes confidence/effectiveness. Kimbrel has prospered with the exact same two pitches--fastball and big curve. When Koji Uehara was at his best circa 2013, he had two pitches, a slow fastball (88 mph on a good night) and a splitter that really worked. Plus he had good command and just tons of confidence--and was absolutely incredible in the 2013 postseason--in fact, the polar opposite of Kimbrel in the 2018 postseason. Whitlock has probably 5 decent pitches and is more than happy to use all of them. Sale for most of his career--and I'm talking about the good Sale--basically went with 3 pitches--fastball, slider, and changeup. This year I've seen a cutter, but he doesn't use it that often. That slider works against righties because he can consistently hit the outside corner with it.

I say again, terrific win last night--largely because of excellent pitching by a clearly rejuvenated Pivetta and by the Sox bullpen. I am not a Jansen fan, largely because I think @ $16M he is overpaid. He also basically throws just the one pitch, a 90-92 mph cutter. But it works because he does move it around the strike zone. Plus, after a hard hit single by Rosario, McGuire--yes, McGuire--got his 2d guy attempting to steal last night. The one error, by Rafaela @ SS, was costly, but it was also a tough play. Rafaela had to charge in and fielded the ball cleanly (it was low off the ground, not a high hopper), but then had trouble transferring the ball to his throwing hand, which led to a bounced throw to 1b. That gave the Rays the go-ahead run in the 11th, but the Sox tied it before winning in the 12th. Pivetta went 5.2 innings and 83 pitches--I'm sure because Cora did not want to overwork him in his 2d start coming off the IL and giving up just 2 runs. Then 1 ER by Slaten, who looked awful in the 6th but solid in the 7th. Then 5 straight innings, 8th through 12th, by the bullpen while giving up 0 ER's. In short, this 2024 Boston Red Sox pitching staff continues to astound anyone who bothers to pay attention. Their ERA of 2.78 continues to lead MLB. In 2d place are the Yankees @ 3.05, in 3d the Dodgers @ 3.16 in 4th the Phillies @ 3.19, in 5th the Braves @ 3.29, and in 6th the Orioles @ 3.30. Why do I mention the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies, Braves and Orioles? Because those 5 teams have W-L records of 28-15, 29-15, 30-13, 26-13, and 26-14. Good pitching wins games--unless, of course, your hitting and defense stink, which is the case--so far, anyway--with the Sox, whose W-L record is nevertheless above .500, 22-20. Lately the defense has looked better, but, as moonslav's stats point out, the offense/hitting has not.

Casas wouldn't have caught that throw either, but Dalbec might have. Too bad he can't hit.

Crowd was 29K last night and 33 K tonight. Hmmmm.

Sox pitching tonight was again terrific--3 ER in 12 freaking innings.

Good point. Last year the Rays looked thoroughly professional in everything they did. Tonight they looked unprofessional. About Rafaela. I left out that his quickness means he gets to balls and can make plays other players can't--but that also puts more pressure on him to complete those plays. He leads the Sox in errors with 7, but has a +0.3 DWAR. He is now making a lot of money and should be thrilled he's getting this experience. He leads the Sox in rbi's and got another tonight. The problem with leaving him in CF is that the best Sox bats--O'Neill, Abreu, Duran, and Refsnyder--are in the OF. Except for Devers, of course, which is why Cora plays him as often as possible and preferably at 3B.

I'm not worried about Devers, I'm totally pissed off at him. Mr Unclutch. As for Rafaela, he is simply error prone. Remember that easy-peasy pop fly he dropped early in the season? He simply lost focus, which is exactly what just happened in the 12th. He got to the ball on time, it was right in his glove, but then he seemed unsure of the transfer from the glove to his throwing hand--which led to that hitch in his throw.

Devers chokes yet again.

Playing CF and SS lets him play almost every day, which should delight him no end. And he's been playing both positions for at least 5 freaking years. This is not on the organization.

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Rafaela may be talented, he has an affinity for errors--the most by far on this error-prone Sox team.

John Henry got tired of paying top dollar for dog doodoo. See the 2019 Sox. This year the Sox payroll is $182M, 11th of 30 MLB teams. The $182M was not wisely spent, mostly because of Chaim Bloom, but paying Sale's salary this year is on the new CBO.

McGuire throws two basestealers out. Great stuff!!

Awful at bat by Wong.

Immediately after I say this, there will be a huge uproar about being patient. But right now the trade isn't just Sale for Grissom, with Sale having an excellent season with the Braves. It's also that the Sox are also paying Sale's $17M salary this year.

Piss poor AB by McGuire.

Tie game. Time for the Sox to find some guts. Not Grissom, of course. He's still back in AAA when he was a star.

Slaten looked much, much better in the 7th. Good stuff, hit his spots.

Sox 3d, 4th, and 5th hitters in the lineup all K in the 6th. Welcome back to reality, guys.

That was rank stupidity by both McGuire and Slaten--back to back cutters in the freaking dead center of the strike zone. They were begging for a double or dinger. Tied game. Now guys on 1st and 2d. Still 2 outs, which Pivetta got.

Before this season I kind of believed in CERA's. Then this year I saw McGuire's was better than Wong's, so attacked CERA's. But tonight Pivetta, on his 2d start after being out a month, has looked very sharp, and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe McGuire isn't just a tad better with the pitchers. On the other hand, last time out Pivetta barely acknowledged he had that big curve, and tonight he is using it. Plus his command has been excellent, which it wasn't last time. Apropos of nothing, I hate that MLB commercials are now pushing betting, which to me does more harm than cigarettes or hard liquor. Shame on them. Shame on the Sox.