Maxbialystock

The Sox are losing because they’re pitching and hitting stink. When they get walked, no one brings them home.

What we need is an error by the Sox so we can once again blame the loss on lousy defense. That’s baloney of course. The are struggling because of hitting and pitching. The headline for last nights game was the defense blew it, which ignored the fact that the Astros had two errors to our one and the 6-2 score.

Nothing wrong with that idea. Story still isn't hitting, and Reyes is on the IL.

Well said, as always, even when we disagree. About the 48 games with just 3 days off. I think I mentioned it first on talksox--over a month ago. I thought it was a big deal and was right. However, I agree with whoever says most MLB teams are playing lots of games in Aug-Sep. And my suspicion, which I ask you to comment on, is that the Sox have not yet built a system--nor do they have the expertise to do so--to develop good pitchers and by that I mean good pitchers in volume. As you and others have written, you really need to be able to feed AAA pitchers to the big club--and send some back to AAA--to have fresh arms. But they can't just be fresh, they also need to be able to get MLB hitters out. I therefore offer Brasier as Exhibit A as to how clueless the Sox are about pitchers. He stunk here for 2-3 months and has been gangbusters for 2 months with the Dodgers. They know something our guys don't know. Feel free to refute me, pound on me, whatever. But you gave me this idea when you said some time ago that historically the Sox have pretty much relied on paying for good pitchers developed elsewhere. DD was the very embodiment of that by bringing in Price, Sale, Eovaldi, and Kimbrel and maybe a couple of others. And CB seems to be the anti-DD.

Don't kid yourself. The fans pay those salaries, not John Henry.

Go to MVP 78's thread.

Good point.

I believe JH has put a damper on multiyear contracts for starters and that DD was the one who poisoned that well. To be fair, DD made several good moves--JDM, Price, Sale, Eovaldi, Kimbrel, et al--to improve an already good Sox team into the best Sox team ever in 2018. But what no doubt infuriated JH was the very next season, 2019, that great 2018 team was still very much intact and could not make it to the postseason, primarily because the big money guys, Sale and Price, turned sour. So DD was fired and CB hired with the guidance to avoid big contracts for starters.

Indeed he was. However, I don't think his health was the real issue, but rather Cora, Tek, and the pitching coach's collective judgment on how tired the bullpen was. I think they discussed that topic before the game and agreed to do something like what in fact happened--Barraclough pitching the last 4.1 innings and giving up a boatload of runs--provided certain things didn't happen. First thing that didn't happen was Sale pitching at least 5 and preferably 6 effective innings. Second was the Sox with a good lead of, say, 3 runs, when the bullpen was called for. The third was Barraclough being able to hold that lead until at least the 7th and preferably the 9th inning when Jansen would be available.

You and I seem to be on the same side of this argument--to the degree that we both recognize that Cora's decision to stay with Barraclough in the 6th inning was carefully considered and in fact had a rationale. I agree with you that such a drastic action--talksoxers are furious and would gladly lynch Cora and/or Bloom--might not have turned the tide. Stay tuned for the next 2 games. But I would ask you whether you agree the schedule--48 games with 3 days off--isn't the biggest culprit here? It seems to me unprecedented. Is it? The 48 games started on August 4, which was before Story's return (8 Aug) or Sale's (11 Aug) or Whitlock's (13 Aug) or Houck's (22 Aug). If those four were the cavalry coming to the rescue, maybe they were a tad late because all four still needed MLB games to get back to their best (if that were possible). I think they did help, but Sale and Houck definitely contributed to the problem of starters not eating enough innings, which exacerbated what the brutal schedule was already doing--putting immense pressure on the bullpen.

I guess that's me, the Lone Defender. Four points in support of Cora-- 1. He's done this before this season--sacrificed one reliever to rest the bullpen. In fact, you can argue he did that yesterday with Murphy. 2. Sox are in the middle of 48 games with 3 days off--a brutal schedule and especially taxing on the bullpen. 3. The rotation has exacerbated the pressure on the bullpen by eating fewer and fewer innings. 4. Tonight, I completely agree, was especially galling. However, it was just a 1 run lead and the bullpen was going to have to pitch 4.1 excellent innings to keep that lead. Barraclough did get that 1 out in the 5th, but then there were 4 more innings for the likes of Martin, Winck, Schreiber, Jansen, et al.

I agree he was a waste of $10M, but no way, no how did he cost the Sox 15 games. You can't count games he didn't pitch in.

Whatalotta. Barraclough knew exactly why he was out there and almost certainly was a willing participant. He pitched--and got hammered--to give the rest of the bullpen a break during an absolutely brutal schedule. Your comparison to OJ is unseemly.

Of course he has "thrown the white flag" before this game. That's the whole freaking point. The Sox are playing 48 games with just 3 days off, the rotation is not eating enough innings, and Cora only has one freaking bullpen. Like you, I hated leaving Barraclough in for the 6th when he gave up 6 runs and before which the Sox had a 1 run lead. But, unlike you, I think Cora always has a reason, usually a good one, for whatever he decides. He did not want to waste his best arms when yet another starter couldn't go 5 innings and the Sox only had a 1 run lead.

I can't resist saying this. I do not for a second believe I'm an expert on MLB. Far from it. But this thread has convinced me I'm not quite as ignorant as I usually think I am. Like everyone else, I was apoplectic when Cora left Barraclough in for the entire 6 runs in the 6th inning when the Sox started the inning with a 1 run lead. But then it occurred to me that Cora always has reasons, usually good ones, for whatever he does. That's when I posted that the Sox are in the middle of 48 games with just 3 days off, that the rotation has not been eating innings the way they need to, and that the bullpen is at risk of collapsing. Plus I said Cora has done this same thing earlier this season. In fact, he left Murphy in for 4 innings and 6 runs yesterday--to give the rest of the bullpen a break--except Llovera, who pitched the 9th. And I have convinced no one on talksox that Cora is not a raving idiot. Managers are hired to be fired, and that's the way it should be. But I seriously doubt Cora gets the chop for this game. Leaving Barraclough in was draconian, but necessary.

That is exactly the reaction I had. Madness, sheer madness!! But that doesn't describe Cora at all. He maps out everything and discusses everything with both Varitek and his pitching coach. I'm almost certain he decided before the game he was not going to try to save still another game when his starter couldn't go at least 5 innings--and, really, 6 or more innings.

Well, we agree on that. I agree it was all on Cora although I think he almost certainly discussed the game plan with Tek and the pitching coach. Make no mistake, this was planned and by no means capricious or arbitrary. Cora wanted one more day to rest his bullpen because yesterday was also pretty much of a rest day with Murphy going 4 innings while giving up 6 runs.

Go back and read my earlier post in which I said I didn't blame you or anyone else for wanting Cora's head. I think it's pretty clear by now that Cora made up his mind to do this before the game started--but with caveats. If in fact Sale went, say, 6 innings and the Sox had more than a 1 run lead, he might have decided to go for the win. The same might have applied if Barraclough went, say, 2.1 or 3.1 scoreless innings and the Sox were still leading. Go for the win.

He's actually gotten better: 6 runs in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, 2 in the 8th, and 0 in the 9th.

You really are quite emotional, aren't you, colonel?

Unethical? Ain't no ethics in baseball. Barraclough's getting paid a MLB salary for this game and however long he's on an MLB roster. If in fact Cora's intent is to buy another off day for his overworked bullpen, this is not unprofessional and in fact is something he's done before. And right now the the Sox are in the middle of 48 games with just 3 days off while the rotation is averaging less than 5 innings per start. Yesterday Murphy went 4 innings while giving up 6 runs. So this is two straight days of this.

I'm not saying I'm right. But my explanation is better than yours. The only other explanations I've read are that Cora literally doesn't care and/or he wants to get fired so he can go back to the Astros.

One more time. Yes, I understand how absolutely weird leaving Barraclough in is and I sure don't blame SPLENDIDSPLINTER and others for wanting the head of one Alex Cora. But I offer the following just in case there is some method to this insanity-- 1. The Sox have in fact been screwed by the schedule--48 games with just 3 days off. 2. I don't keep track, but it is entirely possible Cora and his pitching coach and Varitek all agree the bullpen is at their limit. See 1 above as well as the fact that the starters haven't been eating innings. 3. Cora has in fact done this before this season--kept a reliever in despite the deluge of runs. This time is different because the Sox in fact had the lead, 4-3, when Barraclough came in. But the principle is still the same. If you are trying to revive/rest your bullpen, you may have have to pay for it in lost games. 4. It would be interesting to read/hear what the players say after the game, if anything. Or, for that matter, Cora.

I was thinking the exact same thing except I hadn't focused on any particular team.

The NESN commentators just showed a slide depicting the number of pitches thrown by each reliever over the last week. So Old Red has a point. If you count Pivetta, the Sox now have 6 starters, but they ain't going very many innings--except for Bello's 7 innings in his last start. The other thing to remember is that on August 4, 24 days ago, the Sox began a string of 48 games with just 3 days off interspersed. That's a killer.