Maxbialystock

Agree (of course) on the first part. He stunk in the outfield before moving to RF, where he has found his kaffi. His fielding style is like his batting style--almost casual, but definitely effective. If Cora doesn't like his attitude, I'm with Cora, but he does have the highest WAR on the team.

I knew about the HBP and was concerned at the time, but he stayed in the game and went to first base. No question we need him.

I was being facetious/sarcastic. Please answer this very simple question. Why do the Sox (and all other MLB teams) have a first base coach if not to communicate with the baserunner on first base should there be an opportunity to do so as there in fact was? The fact that you agree it was not a simple situation--Wong needed to move with alacrity on any hit ball but then needed to be cautious because Casas is slow--cries out for the first base coach to say something. But you insist that nothing of the kind was needed--or, if it was, it was nevertheless too complicated to communicate "two outs, so run on anything, but round 2d base cautiously unless you know Casas is going home."

Hah. Not far off base, but I do like Abreu instead of Yoshida. As for Urias at 3b, I see once against that Cora is resting someone who should never, ever be rested. If Turner or Duvall ever get rested, I suppose Cora should be fired for "failure to use all available resources."

It's funny about talksox and and the unending complaints about the crappy defense, worst in the history or MLB, the real reason why the Sox aren't 20 games above .500, etc. Yes, I'm exaggerating. But when we have a good outfielder like Verdugo, the fielding is forgotten and it's all about how he hits. Right now Dugo has the highest WAR on the team +3.7, and he's just not good enough.

Kluber was one freaking guy and vastly over-emphasized in this discussion. So forget freaking Kluber and remember two key points. First are all those injuries and the subsequent return of Sale, Story, Whitlock, and Houck--kind of like the cavalry coming to the rescue. Second, however, is playing 48 freaking games from August 4 to September 20 with just 3 off days. That's just a killer schedule and we are now 3+ weeks into it. So of course the pitching staff is stressed. And that's why I keep harping on the lineup scoring runs. Simply stated, they need to score 5 runs in any game they hope to win. With the exception of Yoshida, I don't think any of them are tired--not even 39 year old Turner. Duran isn't missed that much because he was in a slump anyway. Duvall is really coming on, and Story just might be about to--and I think those righty bats (also Turner, Reyes, and even Wong) are key.

I blame the first base coach for Wong overrunning 2b. After the game, Wong and Cora were both interviewed by the sportswriters and both said it was Wong's fault. However, neither mentioned the first base coach, nor was he interviewed. So I'm convinced they were covering for him. That situation--2 outs, men on 1st and 2d, Dugo at bat with Devers behind him, 8th inning--cried out for first base coach involvement. What the hell is he out there for if not to remind his pinch runner (Wong) that 1) he should go on any hit ball, 2) but with slowpoke Casas in front of him, he should not make an aggressive turn at 2b until he knows Casas is heading for home, 3) getting to 2b would load the bases for Devers. Lots of times, I agree, baserunners need to make decisions on their own based on what they see and can anticipate. Not always easy, but doable. But this was different and cried out for first base coach involvement because, with two outs Wong needs to run on anything, but on the other hand he must be cautious at 2b because of slowpoke Casas, to say nothing of the rifle arm (Mookie) now in right field. To me there is absolutely no way, no how the first base coach did any of the above and Wong simply ignored him or forgot what he said.

Good point. That said, righty batters tend to do OK against righty pitchers. So, for example, Duvall's OPS vs righties is .904, Turner's is .808, Wong's is .776, etc. The middle infielders--Story, Reyes, and Urias--are all righty hitters anyway. The Dodgers bullpen has a good mix of both righty and lefty relievers, so, were I Cora, I would probably start more righty bats than lefty. I kind of like last night's lineup (Dugo, Turner, Ref, Devers, Duvall, Story, Reyes, Urias, Wong), but would probably put Yoshida in LF (replacing Ref), and start Story at SS and Urias at 2B with Reyes dropping out. I'd also move Turner to DH and start Casas at 1b.

I'm never on the players side, not that I don't think Mookie is a great, great player and was a joy to have playing for the Sox. So of course he should be well compensated. But who's kidding whom? $30M/year goes beyond the needs of avarice. I'm in my 80's and my after tax income is an insanely luxurious $135K/year. My wife and I want for nothing. Furthermore, I do not for a moment believe that billionaire owners pay all those big player salaries. Nosiree. They still want to show a profit, so the cost of those gargantuan salaries are passed along to us fans. Thus, for example, the insane blackout restrictions on watching games on MLB.com, to say nothing of letting Apple and now that other outfit purchase some of those games from MLB and then charge us subscribers (to mlb.com/tv) extra if we want to watch a Sox game we guilelessly thought we'd already paid for. Goodness knows what the ticket prices are these days. What's a hot dog at the game cost these days? And haven't MLB teams cut back on their minor league teams because they're just unaffordable to those billionaire owners? When Curt Flood blew away the reserve clause, he did the right thing for all future MLB players, most of whom were underpaid (under the Reserve Clause). But since then the MLBPA and especially the agents--all fully supported by the networks, the commentators, the sportswriters, et al who vehemently insist good players today are still underpaid and that no salary is too high--have in my opinion gone too far in the other direction.

Meh But huge congrats on a crucial win!!!!!

I did not say the odds are in our favor. Far from it. But it's freaking August, and the history of MLB tells us that we need to get well into September before deciding it's over. But let's get to the specifics. There are three AL wild card slots. With this win the Sox are 3 games out of the 3d slot (held by the Astros), and 4 games out of the 2d slot (held by the Rangers). That's pretty good, I think. But I would be negligent if I didn't add that 5 pretty good teams vying for those 3 slots--Rays, Rangers, Astros, Blue Jays, and, yes, our Sox. That's a lot and means the Sox must beat out two of those other four teams. I forgot one other factor. On August 4 the Sox played their first of 48 games in a row with just 3 days off. That's pretty tough on a pitching stuff, and I think that's a big part of their struggles.

8 walks by the Sox pitchers in this game to go with the 10 hits. So far in this series there is little evidence the Sox pitching staff is decent. Great freaking fantastic win, however!!!

Could someone please explain to me why moonslav keeps sniping at the Sox defense when it's the Dodgers who have committed 4 errors so far in this series. I'm dead serious because his standard now appears to be not only no errors (which the Sox have achieved so far, but also no mistakes that cause the perfect Sox pitchers--who have been far from perfect--to have to face an extra batter.

I'm not so sure he'll "be fine," but definitely agree it's way early to say he's been ruined. So, yes, I'm on your side. I think the hitting is the most solid part of the team because they've got a bunch of lefty and righty bats who can hit and do. What they need more of is scoring runs.

Sure hope that Devers HBP isn't serious. Speaking of which. The mlb.com website for the Sox has said repeatedly that Duran's foot injury was from climbing the wall on an out of reach dinger and not, repeat not, from running to 1b.

Dodgers have a legitimate gripe, but that low pitch was in fact in that buffer zone around the strike zone. Plus some other calls went against our guys--one in particular was well inside the zone and called a ball.

Are you nuts? We're still in August with a lot of baseball ahead. I do think the odds are against the Sox, but it is simply untrue to say, "realistically the season is over." I think the ingredients are on this team to make a run, but only if the hitters hit and the pitchers get guys out. In fact, today's game is a perfect example. The Sox hitters have hit enough to score 7 runs so far, and they still have 2 innings to go. But the pitching gave up 7 runs last night and here in the 8th the Dodgers have the bases loaded with 2 outs and could score another 7 runs--or more. Paxton walked 5 freaking batters and gave up 4 runs in 4.1 innings, and the bullpen--Winck, Bernardino, Whitlock, and now Martin-- has been pretty good until Whitlock came back out to pitch the 8th.

Paxton gave up 5 walks and the 2 run dinger, so maybe he's the real problem today. And, once again, the hitting--so far.

I'm very pro-Cora as you know. But it turns out you're dead right I'm as wrong as I can be. They interviewed Wong and Cora after the game and both blamed his baserunning on Wong. The Sox first base coach was neither mentioned nor interviewed, so clearly he is not expected to keep baserunners (the ones who tarry at first base) informed about game situations. He's there for moral support, talking to the other team's first baseman, looking intelligent, alert, and coach-like, and stuff like that.

I apologize for being strident, but emphatically believe that in that particular situation the first base coach must impress upon the pinch runner to 1) run on anything hit; 2) be cautious at 2b base because Casas was slow and in front of him. It's clear from the game action that Wong knew to run but showed absolutely no hesitation making an aggressive turn at 2b and heading for 3b. So I think it is at least possible nothing was said about the second issue (know where Casas was) or the third (know where the ball went). Or the 4th issue: Devers was on deck, so just getting safely to 2B would load the bases with the Sox best hitter at bat. I hardly need remind you that I've yet to see opposing players on the field who are unwilling to bs with each other between pitches. They all do it--a lot. That being the case, it should not have been difficult for the first base coach to make sure Wong understood the game situation. I grant you it's possible that the first base coach--who had absolutely nothing freaking else to do--did in fact spell everything out for Wong, but I have my doubts. Also this. Secrecy should not have been an issue. If Freeman overheard everything, it would not have helped the Dodgers one iota. Finally this. We all know the players are organized/unionized. Are they ever! My guess is the union would never allow a player to be fined for doing what Wong did. I mention this because you say players must be held accountable when in fact they really can't be.

You're completely wrong about Wong and the first base coach who, if he isn't there to tell Wong, "2 outs, so run on anything hit, but you can't be aggressive past 2b base because Casas is in front of you," should be fired summarily. It's his freaking job to remind players of what they hopefully already know.

True. But I assume that, when he was hired as the Sox CBO (Chief Baseball Officer), Chaim Bloom was told that was one of the conditions of accepting the job. Also, as I keep harping on, the lower payroll (now ranked 15th in MLB) is the first time this has happened in the John Henry era--and probably before then.

When the Sox picked up Kike, they paid good money for him. Same for Turner and Jansen. When the Dodgers took Kike back and then acquired Brasier, both were tremendous bargains because I think the Sox are paying half of Kike's salary with the Dodgers and all of Brasier's. About Kike. When he was with the Sox, I checked on how they did when he played and when he didn't and the winning percentage was about the same. Also, his DWAR with the Sox was +0.3, but his overall WAR was -0.7 because of his weak hitting. All that said, I still think letting Kike go was the right move because the Sox right now have a zillion outfielders, all of whom can hit, and two SS's, Story and Reyes, who both can hit and who both have positive DWAR's. Plus a SS (Marcelo Mayer) stashed at Portland and another (Ceddanne) at Worcester. Both of them could probably switch to the OF if needed. My theory about Kike's sudden hitting resurgence is that he's comfortable with coming back to his old team and with playing 2b and the outfield, etc. It's also possible the Dodgers hitting coach helped him the same way the Dodgers pitching coach helped Brasier.

All good points. The Dodgers have been smarter, I agree, but I do think the higher salaries do help. Thus Mookie for Dugo. Interesting you do not address the 4 points about Kike. You could at least throw them onto the "anomaly junkheap of history."

KIKE AND THE DODGERS I've giving this a title because I think it's instructive, but I'm reluctant to start a new thread. Simply stated, when Kike went to the Dodgers there was universal acclaim on Talksox, including by yours truly. Good riddance for bad rubbish. But four interesting things have happened since Kike switched teams-- 1. In the 26 games which Kike has started with the Dodgers they have won 20 games and lost 6 games--easily their best stretch of this season. If it were possible to connect--and it isn't--those games to Kike's personal WAR (wins above replacement), it would be at least a +10. 2. Kike has played 2b and in the outfield (CF last night) in those 26 games, during which his OPS has been over .800. When he was with the Sox his OPS was .599. 3. Kike's last game with the Sox was July 23, after which they were 53-47. Today the Sox are are 68-61. 4. So, while the Dodgers have going completely ape with Kike, the Sox have gone 15-14 without him. It is therefore unarguable that both the Sox and the Dodgers this season have been better with Kike than without him. The Sox, granted, only very slightly better. But the Dodgers have been a lot better and in fact so has Kike, especially his hitting. Why is that? Simple. The Dodgers are willing (and have been for several years) to pay for their talent. That's how they got Mookie and the Sox lost him. At the time, I was happy with that because I thought Mookie was overpriced. The Sox have gone in the opposite direction and reduced payroll--this year's it's 15th, the lowest ranking in the John Henry. With the lower salaries has come lesser talent and even instability. Here are the Sox regulars (based on games played) from two years ago when Kike joined the Sox: Devers (156 games) JDM (148), Dugo (146), Renfro (144), Bogaerts (144), Vazquez (138), Kike (134), Dalbec (133), Marwin Gonzalez (77), Plawecki (64), Arroyo (48), Cordero (48), and Schwarber (41 games). As you can see, all but 2, Devers and Dugo, are gone with the wind (although Dalbec is at Worcester). I believe all this turnover and the lower payroll are very much the intention of both Chaim Bloom and John Henry--but probably not the desire of Alex Cora. His task, beyond any question, is to manage chaos caused not only by trades, etc but also by all those injuries this year. I think Connor Wong is a smart catcher and a smart player, but last night's boneheaded running play was I think the result of his inexperience and the failure of the first base coach to tell him: "hey, Connor. I know there are 2 outs, but up ahead of you on 2b is slower than molasses Casas. Also, if the ball is hit to RF, Mookie Betts is now there and no way will the 3d base coach let Casas try for home because Mookie has one of the best arms in MLB. Plus, if Verdugo gets a hit, that loads the bases for Devers, who's having a good night. So don't try for 3d base unless you see the ball get by a Dodgers outfielder or you see the 3d base coach signal Casas to head for home."