Maxbialystock

If memory serves, Jansen is not nearly as good in the 8th inning as he is in the 9th, and he is especially not good when he comes in with men on base. I could be wrong about that, but don't think so.

True. But starters can eat innings. Last year Pivetta started as a starter and went to the bullpen before finally returning as a starter. Crawford, Houck, and Whitlock all came from the Sox bullpen. I do not have any good response to your point. In fact, I think you have nailed a key point about MLB managing.

According to spotrac, the Sox are paying Sale $17M this year. That's more than the total salaries, $14M, of the Sox original rotation--Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, Whitlock, and Houck--this season. I have no doubt the Sox have 6 years of team control, but effectively right now they are paying Grissom $17M. Wasn't he selected in the 11th round? I know he looked very good at AAA last year.

Martin got the last man out--with 2 men on--in the 7th inning on a little dribbler Wong picked up and threw to 1b. So of course Martin should have pitched the 8th inning. Yes, he gave up 2 singles and a dinger in the 8th--bad--but then he K'd 2 Cubs and got the last out on a fly. Tauchman's 3 run dinger to dead center was on a 94 mph cutter low in the zone, which I think was a good pitch but a better swing by the batter. Then in comes the Ancient Mariner, Jansen, who gets 3 quick outs in the 9th with basically nothing but his 93 mph cutter which he threw to good spots. I have maligned Jansen regularly this season and don't like his salary ($16M), but he has been effective. Overall, I can't complain about any of Cora's decisions, including leaving Martin in, last night.

Duran had an overall good game, obviously, including the BB in the 9th and then getting to 3b on Devers' line drive single to LF. But not tagging up on the pop could have been a disaster because, had it been caught, the Cubs get a double play and are then likely to escape the 9th without giving up the winning run. I have not looked at a replay to see what the heck the 3b coach was doing.

Meanwhile, the Sox are paying a big part of Sale's salary while he has made 5 starts, 31 IP, and ERA 3.69 for the Braves. Have I got that right? Grissom for Sale, with the Sox paying Sale to pitch for Atlanta?

Terrific win by the Sox despite Martin's horrible 8th inning.

Agree--he screwed up. And so did the Sox 3d base coach.

I like the 3 batter rule and have absolutely no sympathy for Martin. He screwed up royally, period.

Excellent list.

That's a very good point. Again, it's worth remembering what the John Henry actor says to the Billy Beane actor near the end of the movie Moneyball. JH wanted Beane because of the cost per win the A's had in 2002 was so much lower than the cost per win for the Yankees. You need smart guys throughout your system to recognize and develop talent. Funny the subject of Cora came up because--on top of my ongoing support for him since he arrived--I too think this latest chapter underscores his value. In 2018 he showed what he could with a ton of talent. And this year he's shown what he can do with what at times has seemed to be a neighborhood pickup game.

Casas claims he'll be back in 9 weeks at the latest. However, it's also painful for him to breathe, so some significant healing is needed.

Ian Browne of mlb.com says all three will be back by 15 May.

I did watch the game--enough to see clearly it was a matter of one pitcher having good stuff and the other not. End of story. Except that Imanaga reminds a whole lot of Koji Uehara, especially in 2013. Uehara had just two pitches, a pretty nasty splitter and a kind of a nothing 4 seamer that rarely topped 88 mph. But he had great control and, even more important, confidence, and was unbelievably effective, especially in the postseason. This guy Imanaga relies heavily on the same two pitches, but his fastball is around 90-93 mph and his splitter is just as wicked as Koji's. So instead of 1 or 2 innings, he went 6.1. Plus he made that fantastic play on a truly excellent drag bunt by Duran--caught it backhanded and then made a perfect flip with his glove to beat the runner. I'm not sure I would have plunked down a ton of money for a two-pitch repertoire, but there was no doubt last night he had our guys in his hip pocket.

Sal Romano, good baseball name. Who cares that his cumulative WAR is negative?

This season it seems about the only thing the Sox can do safely, with minimal risk of injury, is breathing. Story is out for the season because he dove for a ground ball. Casas swung the bat too hard, tore a cartilage in his rib cage, and could be out for months. Pivetta, Whitlock, and Bello are on the IL because they threw baseballs. At least Devers and O'Neill can say they collided--heads, in fact. Giolito is missing the season because he too was foolish enough to throw a baseball in ST. And Dalbec, whose OPS is the lowest in the history of baseball--at any level--is a regular for the Sox because his defense is pretty decent and because he is healthy.

Guys like you. You write good stuff.

Agree I can be silly, boring, repetitive and don't forget long-winded. Simply stated, I think the Sox record, 14-12, is astounding given their injury list, abysmal fielding, so-so hitting and baserunning, and up and down bullpen. They could easily be 10-16 or worse--except that the original rotation of Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, Whitlock, and Houck are/were so doggone good. The Sox still have the lowest ERA in the MLB. And lately the defense has looked better, to say nothing of the Sox being 2d in MLB in dingers (but 17th in OBP and 12th in runs scored).

Blaaaat!!!! Yoshida and Dalbec are from different dimensions and therefore never compete for innings/games. Dalbec right now is our best fielding first baseman and not half bad at 3b, but can't hit a lick. That's why he has played 17 games. The exception can of course be a righty reliever with the Sox behind, maybe men on base, 5th or later inning, and Dalbec coming to bat. Yoshida could pinch hit. Yoshida can't field at all, especially in comparison to the other outfielders available. So he has to DH or PH. Unfortunately, as DH he loses to Devers every time. If it's a lefty starter, he also loses to O'Neill, Duran, Wong, and McGuire, all of who have better OPS' vs lefties than Yoshida.

Cherry-picking, I see. There's skillful cherry-picking, and then there's yours. You cite the Mariners as "good" when they are 13-12, plus you've forgotten the Mariners and Sox so far are 2-2 in games. Of the other two good teams, I completely agree the Orioles pretty much dominated the Sox, 3 games to 0 at Fenway Park. But the Sox, now 2-5 vs the Guardians, played Cleveland tough in 3 of those 5 losses. Then there's the terrible awfuls, the Pirates, who just happen to be 13-13 right now, which is almost as good as the wonderful wonderful Mariners. I guess you assume that, if the Sox sweep a team, that team has to be the pits. But the numbers just don't agree with you. Agree the Angels and A's aren't so hot at 10-15 and 10-16, but both are ahead of the Astros, 7-19. And didn't the A's just finish a 4 game series @ the Yankees which they split, 2-2? I do agree with the talksox consensus, which is that the 2024 Sox are probably awful. But to me that is all the more reason to be amazed and even delighted that they are still 2 games above .500 despite now having lost 3 of their 5 initial rotation, plus Story, plus Casas, et al. Or this. DALBEC THE HORRIBLE has now played in 17 games, the same number as Wong and O'Neill and more games than Devers, Story, or Refsnyder. Valdez, whose WAR right now is -0.9, has played in 23 games, and Abreu, WAR +1.3, has played in 21.

I'm no expert, but I doubt that Cora can do anything whatsoever about the "atmosphere." When the Sox had that roughly 10 year run of max attendance (about 37-38K/game) at Fenway Park, the Sox always had plenty of stars to come see. Plus they were getting into the postseason and even winning an occasional WS. That stopped, interestingly, in 2013, the year the Sox won their 3d WS in the JH era, but averaged just 35K attendance. Because of the WS win, in 2014 it climbed back to 36K, but not to full attendance--and it stayed their through 2019, including 2018, the best season in Sox history. Then came covid--as well as JH's determination to spend less on players--and Sox attendance this year is just 31 K in the first 10 games. Interestingly, the Phillies can't keep their fans away and are currently ranked 3d in MLB attendance with 38K/game. Just 7 years ago they averaged 24K.

This is hands down the most sensible presentation of pertinent facts about Sox (John Henry) spending--the most important of which is we don't know exactly what number he or his brain trust has in mind. As you hint, others have been profligate in their spending, without a lot to show for it. As you have also said unequivocally, DD spent a lot when he was CBO--and definitely got results with the best Sox team, 2018, in Sox history--108 wins plus 11-3 in the postseason, beating three excellent teams (Yankees, Astros, Dodgers). Two late acquisitions--JDM before the 2018 season and Eovaldi during the 2018 season--were especially useful. I personally think JDM was the key to how strong the 2018 lineup was--despite the fact that he was a sucker for a slider away by a righty pitcher. The point is, that was JH's 4th WS win and all of them were in part because he was willing to spend to get the right hitters/pitchers. However, I'm convinced that the 2019 Sox convinced JH there was absolutely no limit to the amount DD would insist he needed to keep the Sox competitive. They already had the biggest payroll in MLB, and up ahead were big contracts for Mookie, Bogey, Raffy, and new arms to replace Price and Sale. In that regard, let's not forget the scene in the movie Moneyball when Billy Beane meets John Henry at Fenway Park and is told JH wants to make him the highest paid GM in all sports, not just MLB, because Billy understands the value of sabermetrics. JH recites the cost per game won by the A's vs the cost per game won by the Yankees. Let's also not forget that JH amassed his fortune in futures trading by employing a "trend-reversal" method.

True.

JH is going "cheap" this season, but to the tune of $180M, 11th biggest payroll on MLB. And way too much of that $180M is not delivering on the field of play. DD was good, I finally agree, but only as long as JH was willing to pay for the highest payroll in MLB even when in 2019 that highest payroll finished 84-78.

He's spending $180M this season and not getting much for it.