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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Too early to call this season toast, especially with a rotation that has produced so many good starts.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Exactly my thinking. The rotation still looks decent/good, with or without Whitlock. The bullpen right now makes me nervous, but has been good. However, if Jansen continues to rely on just one pitch, his 90-93 mph cutter, he is going to get hit like he was last time out. The key is whether the hitting will turn around. So no time like the present to see how they do at the Trop, the worst ballpark in MLB history.
  3. Maxbialystock
    Grissom stinks, but you are dead right. He gets a long look.
  4. Maxbialystock
    Excellent win and a surprising one given the Sox 11 runs. Pivetta looked pretty doggone good, and it's just possible the rotation is still pretty good whether or not Whitlock ever returns. MLB is basically all about hitting and pitching, and so far, even with the Sox no longer leading MLB in team ERA, the Sox pitching is pretty good. Well, the rotation is. I'm beginning to wonder about the bullpen. So now back to the east coast and 3 vs. the Rays, who took 3 of 4 @ Fenway-but all three losses were competitive (as was the Sox one win). I plan to watch all 3 games in hopes that just maybe the hitting can turn around. Given these seven current OPS's, that should be possible: Duran .784; Refsnyder .954; O'Neill .932; Devers .939; Wong .919; Abreu .822; Gonzalez .791. Note I say "possible," not probable.
  5. Maxbialystock
    2 straight games the bullpen absolutely reeks. And don't forget that other recent game when Kelsey Jansen stunk it up to give away a tie game in the 9th. Bernardino's throw to 2d base (that went into CF) was not only lousy, it was absolutely pointless.
  6. Maxbialystock
    In a 1-0 game, that dinger by Rafael Devers is huge. Typical that he golfed it out of there.
  7. Maxbialystock
    If the rotation starts giving up more runs, one good reason might be that the lineup has, for most of the season, sabotaged the pitching with their lousy defense and failure to score runs. The lineup stinks, and the lead stinker is Devers.
  8. Maxbialystock
    To me Devers latest at bat defines this lineup this season. Two men on (1st and 3d), he's facing a righty pitcher, and the 7th pitch he sees is a fast ball in the geometric freaking center of the strike zone, and he swings and misses. I don't want to be told about his 3 dingers when all of them were with no one on base. Next up for Devers is an error to bring in one or more unearned runs. This is his 8th freaking MLB season with the Sox, and it's hard to see a real improvement.
  9. Maxbialystock
    Plenty to gripe about because this is the third straight season in which the postseason seems out of reach. Everyone wants to blame JH for not spending enough, but I'm inclined to blame management for getting the wrong players. As I've already said, the Sox are not alone in failing to get the right players.
  10. Maxbialystock
    Fair enough. I've side with management on Whitlock for two reasons. First and foremost, they know way more about him and about the Sox needs they any of us do. Second, I think Whitlock has way too big a repertoire for a reliever. I think the best ones rely on no more than 3 pitches, but they must be 3 good pitches. Whitlock normally goes with 5 pitches--fastball, changeup, curve, slider, and cutter. I cannot make an informed judgment about Whitlock's durability, which I realize is a big issue. So of course I fall back on the expertise of the Sox management.
  11. Maxbialystock
    Perhaps. On the other hand, there is plenty of evidence out there that spending big bucks on players doesn't guarantee success. Mets are 20-24 with the biggest payroll of $308M. Astros are 20-25 with 3d biggest ($250M). Rangers are 23-23 with 5th biggest, $233M. And, speaking of the Rays, their payroll is 27th, $100M, and they are 24-22. Cleveland's payroll is 26th, $100M, and they are 28-17. Milwaukee's is 22d, $107M, and they are 26-18. So, if we dragged John Henry into a court of law and charged him with uncaring malfeasance, his defense counsel might point to the Sox 11th biggest payroll, $182M, which includes paying $17M (or some of it) to Chris Sale, who is pitching (and pitching well) for the Atlanta Braves, ditto Turner, $7M, who is elsewhere, ditto Giolito, $18M, who is out for the whole season, ditto Story, $22.5M, also out for the season. Also Kelsey Jansen, who's getting $16M and so far has pitched 15.2 innings, which translates (for a whole season) to something like $250K per inning. Jansen currently relies basically on one pitch, a cutter, and got hit hard his last time out.
  12. Maxbialystock
    Whitlock's health and/or whether he starts or relieves is a very minor issue. The problems with this team are primarily in the lineup which leads MLB in errors and unearned runs and can't drive in runs.
  13. Maxbialystock
    Sadly, I agree.
  14. Maxbialystock
    Great dinger by Devers--thank goodness no one on base. Otherwise it wouldn't have been a dinger.
  15. Maxbialystock
    Bello's sinker is a big fat stinker. So far, 2 dingers and a double off it.
  16. Maxbialystock
    Left that big curve a little high and Hamilton nailed it for a triple. I almost fell out of my chair. Huge, huge hit--if Bello can start pitching.
  17. Maxbialystock
    Now Grissom does exactly the same thing.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Really stupid at bat by Cooper, swinging and missing at two straight sweepers in the dirt. With men on 1st and 2d and no one out (until he K'd).
  19. Maxbialystock
    Looks like the Cardinals love Bello's sinker almost as much as he does.
  20. Maxbialystock
    Bello, a fellow Dominican, takes the heat off Devers by getting pounded by a double and then a 2 run home run.
  21. Maxbialystock
    It is incredibly dismaying to see the Sox highest paid player to make errors that cost games and, as we just saw, GIDP with 2 men on. If you're a Sox ticket holder who regularly goes to games at Fenway, it would make sense not to go when the Sox marquee player consistently contributes to losses.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Bello ® vs. Gibson ® Edge to Bello, but who knows these days with a defense that leads MLB in giving up unearned runs (36 in 44 games, almost 1 per game)? That same lineup is also a "leader" in failing to drive in runs, except of course, that one glorious game in which they scored 17 vs the Cubs. And now closer Kelsey Jansen is looking vulnerable by relying almost exclusively on his cutter. Despite the above, the Sox are still @ .500, primarily because the pitching has been incredibly good. The Sox ERA of 2.91 is ridiculously low and still the best in MLB. 220 years ago Lewis and Clark set out from St Louis (pop. 5000) with their Corps of Discovery. 107 years ago Branch Rickey became the club president and business manager of the Cardinals--and stayed there for 25 years while creating the first ever farm system, the gashouse gang, etc. 65 years ago Bob Gibson, one of the greatest MLB pitchers ever, having tired of playing with the Harlem Globetrotters and joined the Cardinals minor league system, debuted (as a reliever) with the Cardinals against the Dodgers.
  23. Maxbialystock
    All good stuff. Thanks.
  24. Maxbialystock
    Ahem. Duran leads the team in AB's with 180--vs Rafaela's 149. Also, Devers, our $30M/season superstar, has 125 AB's and 16 rbi's to Rafaela's 23. So Devers with his .902 OPS gets one rbi every 7.8 AB's and Rafaela with his .595 OPS gets one rbi every 6.5 at bats. But nice try. The simple fact is that this team can't hit when it counts. And, sadly, they do make errors when those count.
  25. Maxbialystock
    One more time on Kenley Jansen. He's been an effective closer for a very long time, including this season. However, for most of this season he has relied heavily on his cutter and only occasionally uses his slider. He does move that cutter around in the strike zone, but last night it was obvious the Rays knew exactly what to expect from Jansen and capitalized on it. Other teams should be able to do the same because I can think of few other closers who were effective with just one pitch.
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