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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    I was one of screamers--well, whisperers--myself. I too wanted the 5th starter. But here's how I rationalized not getting one. First and foremost, we know for fact John Henry was not going to stand for or pay for a really good starter. Second, even a middling starter was going to cost prospects at the very time the Sox are trying to build, not trade away their prospect pool. Third, the Sox already had/have three freaking starters--Sale, Houck, and Whitlock--due back soon. Sale returned last night, Whitlock should be back tomorrow, and Houck 2 days later, August 15. All three have started multiple games this year. And this year for the first time since freaking 2019 we saw Good Sale, the same guy we saw last freaking night. As for Houck and Whitlock, both can be solid long relievers and therefore invaluable. So, given the above, I have to ask, why all the freaking screaming for what now looks to have been a very bad bargain? Back to you.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Agree. Weeks ago you listed short relievers and long relievers and that scheme is now coming into view with Murphy as a long reliever, soon to be joined by Whitlock on Sunday and Houck 2 days later. Of course, the pitching staff will then lose Garza and Llovera. That alone should lead to dancing in the streets among the faithful. Given the 48 games (started 4 August) with just 3 days off, the return of Good Sale, Whitlock, and Houck could not have been better timed. On the other hand, the hitting has headed south. Duran's August OPS is .634, Refsnyder is 0 for 6, Duvall OPS .638, Wong .579, Story .517, Devers .731, Turner injured + OPS .400, Yoshida .660, etc. I've heard rumors those guys met with Cora and asked him to stop playing Reyes and Casas because both of them are red hot and making everyone else look bad.
  3. Maxbialystock
    Meh. The Tigers win 45% of the time and are far from an embarrassment. The Sox win 53% of the time and statistically are not a good bet to sweep this series. That 3 run dinger by rookie Casas made a huge difference because the other 8 Sox hits were singles and they were just 2 for 9 with RISP. Sale was just freaking unbelievable in his first start after 2+ months on the IL. That is huge because in fact he is the fifth starter everyone on talksox was screaming at Bloom to make a trade for. If they can stay healthy, Sale, Bello, Paxton, Crawford, and Pivetta are the best rotation the Sox have had since 2019 when they still had Sale, Price, Eovaldi, ERod, and Porcello. And the bullpen, soon to be joined by Whitlock and Houck, ain't looking too shabby either. The lineup, despite having a bunch of .800 or better OPS bats, has had trouble scoring. Over the last 13 games, including the 5 runs tonight, they've scored an averaged of 3.38 runs per game. Of the 61 games the Sox have won this season, just 13 of them occurred when the Sox scored fewer than 5 runs.
  4. Maxbialystock
    Barraclough is worthless.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Here's a topic for someone to research. Is it true that Sox players traded away (or were simply offered a better contract) routinely play a lot better for other teams than they did for the Sox? The four most recent examples I can think of are Kike Hernandez, Wacha, Eovaldi, and JDM.
  6. Maxbialystock
    I'm glad you said that because I was definitely thinking it as we approached 1 August.
  7. Maxbialystock
    If you really believe that, you are just dead wrong. They both know a ton more than any of us, and it's sheer folly to claim otherwise. That does not, however, mean I don't enjoy the comments on talksox because I do. That especially includes moonslav because he does a lot of research before commenting. But I also don't put anyone on ignore so I usually read whatever you have to say--and sometimes agree with you.
  8. Maxbialystock
    Well-timed prediction, what with Story and Sale both back, Reyes suddenly hitting up a storm, McGuire back and looking very solid behind the plate, Whitlock due back Sunday, etc. Duran's slumping, Duvall and Story are below their career averages, etc, but this team clearly has potential for a run.
  9. Maxbialystock
    Clearly intentional. Cora has also stacked lefties--3 or 4 in a row--now and then. I like alternating them. This lineup is missing Duran and Turner.
  10. Maxbialystock
    60 pitches and 4 innings are the 2 targets.
  11. Maxbialystock
    Technically the correct call? No way. Explain yourself.
  12. Maxbialystock
    Great work by Paxton and the bullpen!!!! And pretty nifty catching by McGuire. Hitting, not so much. But enough to win.
  13. Maxbialystock
    Terrible call and really no excuse for it because he was standing on or near home plate and had a clear view of the runner going straight down the line without deviation, including when his foot touched 1b. Was that the same ump who gave Reyes the checked swing before he hit the dinger in game 1?
  14. Maxbialystock
    I was being facetious. Sticking to a plan is horsehockey if you can see it's not working.
  15. Maxbialystock
    Only two kinds of pitchers the Sox can't seem to hit these days. Righties and lefties. Or maybe it's just one kind. MLB pitchers.
  16. Maxbialystock
    No Turner.
  17. Maxbialystock
    I know, I know. It's so very important to stick to the plan no matter what.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Love that "not many teams have 8 hitters over .778 OPS." Unfortunately, however, OPS don't bring home the bacon. Right now the Sox are 9th in MLB in runs scored. Historically--feel free to go as far back as you want to--they need to be 5th or better in runs scored to have any hope of making the postseason.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Love that "feasting on mistake pitches" because that's exactly what the Royals did with/to Crawford night before last. When he threw good stuff, he was effective. When he threw a hanging curve or a fastball right down the middle, they blasted him. I could be wrong, but I think that's part of Duran's problem right now--they are hitting the corners against him. Was it last night that he took 3 straight strikes, all on the edges of the strike zone?
  20. Maxbialystock
    He was red hot in AA and AAA. He's been an All-Star and signed a contract commensurate with his presumed ability to hit the dang ball. Anything other than 3d in the lineup would have been insulting.
  21. Maxbialystock
    I think he could have played maybe one more game to get to 20 days, but you're basically right. Let's not forget he hasn't played in a year and he missed all of spring training. My expectations were high, however, because he blasted AA and AAA pitching with an OPS over 1.000.
  22. Maxbialystock
    This year's Sox are as boring as a roller coaster. Forget the hot and cold runs, I'm talking about individual games--like last night when the Sox come from behind and then Jansen gives up the dinger to get the margin down to 1 run before McGuire (with his presumed weak arm and slow release) nails the attempted theft of 2b. I think Sale, Whitlock and Houck will definitely help the pitching. But I'm nervous about the hitting. Duvall came back cold, and Story even colder (just 2 games, but also 6 K's). Dugo up and down, Devers the same. Duran red hot in July and ice cold so far in August. Turner hurt--and a big hole in the lineup. After the terrific 5 game winning streak in late July (22-28), the Sox have scored 2, 3, 2, 6, 3, 3, 4, 1, 6, 3, and 4 runs. That's 37 runs in 11 games, 3.36 runs per game. About a month ago I looked at game scores vs wins and determined the Sox basically needed to score 5 runs to have good chance of winning a game. They won 3 of those 11 most recent games when they scored 6, 6, and 4 runs.
  23. Maxbialystock
    Meh. Agree they are far from perfect, but they've carried a heavy load since Kluber, Sale, Houck, Whitlock, and Pivetta dropped out of the rotation. Pivetta is back in the rotation and before that he came in early after a reliever pitched the first inning or two, but his IP's over his last 20 games have been 5, 4, 7.1, 5, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3.1, 0.1, 3, 0.2, 1, 0.2, 0.2, 1, 1, 3, 3, and 2.1. Or put it this way. Bello leads the Sox in innings pitched with 108.2, which puts him tied for 74th place in MLB. Given the above--a decimated rotation--I think Cora has done a good job of not over using his best relievers (which has now and then caused consternation on talksox). In addition to Martin (WAR 2.2), I kind of like Winckowski (1.4), Bernardino (1.4), Jansen (1.1), and Schreiber (.6). Due back this weekend is Whitlock (.3) and soon thereafter Houck (.8), both of whom seem headed to the bullpen because Sale is due back tomorrow to fill the 5th starter slot. Throw in Murphy (.6) and that's a pretty decent bullpen and rotation (Bello 3.2, Crawford 1.9, Paxton 1.9, Pivetta 1.6, and Sale 1.0).
  24. Maxbialystock
    One absolutely miserable at bat by Duran, who swung at nothing and took 3 called strikes. And one lousy one by Youshida with the pop out to LF. Top four in the Sox order are hitless, which is getting to be a trend. KC starter did make some good pitches. So did Crawford. However, all the Royals hitters had to do was wait for him to throw that one awful pitch right down the pike and just kill it. Sometimes his fastball. Sometimes a flat curveball right in the middle.
  25. Maxbialystock
    You are probably right.
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