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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    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.
  2. Maxbialystock
    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.
  3. Maxbialystock
    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.
  4. Maxbialystock
    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.
  5. Maxbialystock
    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.
  6. Maxbialystock
    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.
  7. Maxbialystock
    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.
  8. Maxbialystock
    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.
  9. Maxbialystock
    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.
  10. Maxbialystock
    He's actually gotten better: 6 runs in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, 2 in the 8th, and 0 in the 9th.
  11. Maxbialystock
    You really are quite emotional, aren't you, colonel?
  12. Maxbialystock
    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.
  13. Maxbialystock
    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.
  14. Maxbialystock
    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.
  15. Maxbialystock
    I was thinking the exact same thing except I hadn't focused on any particular team.
  16. Maxbialystock
    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.
  17. Maxbialystock
    Unfortunately, the signal is also going to the players on the field and in the dugout.
  18. Maxbialystock
    I sure can't tell you that. What we are seeing is nothing less than mind-boggling.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Check your wording. I think you mean to say--in a roundabout way--that you would be happy to see Cora get fired. To be honest, I too question leaving Barraclough in. Yesterday was actually a kind of rest day because Cora left Murphy in for 4 innings and 6 runs and Llovera pitched the last inning. Plus Barraclough went in with a 1 run lead.
  20. Maxbialystock
    One of the best predictions on talksox this entire season--sadly.
  21. Maxbialystock
    You could be right. I like Verdugo, but the experts on talksox--and they do know a ton more than I do--say the smart move is to trade him this off season while he still has a year of "control" left.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Don't mention his name, please. I beat up on him incessantly when he came back from the injury and basically said the first 8 games in April were just luck. Right now his OPS is .920!!!
  23. Maxbialystock
    Did I forget to mention that rotten, stinking, worthless Yoshida is 2 for 2 and scored 2 of our 4 runs? Those should not count, of course, because the Sox are paying him to play great D.
  24. Maxbialystock
    No one else on this team or on any recent Sox team makes the 3d out grab that Casas just made for the 3d out in the 5th. The play by Urias was magnificent of course, but Casas has an unbelievable reach and he's not half bad on bounced throws. But moonslav will never give Casas an ounce of credit for anything he does on defense. The defense just saved a freaking run--made possible, I grant, by Wong's passed ball. I think the incessant caterwauling about the defense is unbalanced. The defense is good enough. Sale (who I think is a good defender, rare for a pitcher) committed the only Sox error, which cost nothing in runs, but he also gave up 2 BB's, 7 hits, including a dinger and 2 doubles, and one wild pitch. The Sox win when their hitting and pitching are good. In that regard, I think Sale was not all that bad in giving up 3 runs in 4.2 innings against the Astros. He didn't have his best command, but did throw 92 freaking pitches.
  25. Maxbialystock
    Show me. Oh, wait, it was that fly ball into the stands in CF that Duvall should have grabbed but didn't go up high enough for. You blame everything on the defense. Is that wild pitch by Sale on Wong?
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