Maxbialystock

Another Chicago error gets Yoshida on 1b to lead off the 4th. That slider is so good Giolito is using it on lefty bat Devers.

After three innings a tie game which nevertheless looks a little grim for the good guys. Chisox are hitting Bello, and the Sox only run is on a walk and Hamilton going completely ape on the base paths.

Back to back bon mots.

Great stuff by Hamilton and really stupid stuff by the Chisox.

Nice double play with Hamilton in the middle getting off a quick release, hard throw to 1b.

Very clever attacking Wong now catching his 6th game in 6 days. Duvall and Turner, far more experienced hitters, also had a tough time with that slider.

Weird. Cora has six righty bats in the lineup, and Giolito's favorite pitch is that slider, which is making those righty batters look silly.

Bello looking good, and thank goodness for that because the Sox lineup doesn't. But it's way early.

Good defense is not "often the key to not losing." It's a factor, but nowhere near as important as hitting or pitching.

Bello and Paxton are the Sox two best starters--going in the first two games vs the Chisox, with Crawford slotted for game 3. That looks pretty good to me and could be an opportunity to take a series or even get a sweep. However, Dugo leaves a big hole, especially with Devers and Duvall not bringing too much to the scoring table. Everybody but everybody on talksox seems to think good defense is the key to winning, and I think that is horse hockey. Pitching and hitting are way more important. Yesterday the Sox defense played errorless ball and even made some good plays--and it made absolutely no difference at all because Ryan owned the Sox lineup. That could happen again today. Another worry--and here I'm going to the other side of the argument and saying that defense can make a difference--is that yesterday Connor Wong started/played his 5th game in 5 days at catcher. So Caleb Hamilton of Woodinville, WA is likely to be the Sox starting catcher very soon in his very first MLB game.

Agree on all. I think Pivetta's problem is throwing too many fastballs. His breaking stuff isn't half bad.

I was busy with errands, but could have made time if I had seen the Sox show signs of life.

I doubt Sale will get back this year, but I think Houck will--the steel plate seems intended to ensure that--and hopefully in July. Paxton, Bello, Whitlock, Houck, and Crawford might not be too bad.

Agree completely.

moonslav has said the same things repeatedly. But the simple fact is that the Sox have won 4 WS titles (and ended the 86 year curse) in the John Henry era primarily with terrific hitting and now and then pretty good pitching. Defense was always secondary. And I'll tell you why, so pay attention. Hitting a round ball with a round bat squarely is extremely difficult to do--according to Ted Williams--and even harder when the ball is coming in hard with all manner of spins on it. And pitching, if anything, is even harder to do well because you are stuck with that miniscule rectangle, plus the tremendous effort it takes to throw that ball hard with the right spins, etc. Thus the advent of Tommy John surgery. As for the defense, most of those plays are just routine grounders, popups, lazy fly balls, liners hit right to someone, etc. There are tons of good defensive players in the minors today who are just as good defensively as their MLB counterparts. They can't get to MLB because they can't hit, which is much harder to do. Also, until this season, MLB teams were making defense even easier by using computers to predict where hitters normally hit grounders/liners/fly ball.

At $30M/year for 10 years (or whatever) he is non-DFAable.

You've oversimplified things. Yes, Kluber and Pivetta needed to go to the bullpen, but back in April they were reasonable choices as starters. Pivetta's WAR last season--33 starts--was 3d best on the team and 2d best among starters. He had 12 quality starts. Kluber used to be great. Sale, on the other hand, was a huge question mark--and started out badly. Paxton was another question mark, having pitched in just 6 games in the last 3 seasons. Houck was expected to be in the bullpen. Indeed, the rant this year was that he couldn't even get through a lineup a second time, let alone three times. Before this season Whitlock was way better as a reliever than as a starter. Bello showed promise last season, but no one expected him to be this good his second year.

Mostly hitting, but the rotation improved and pitching made a difference. It still can, but Sale and Houck are out. Claiming that defense is the key to winning is just stupid. MLB is all about hitting and pitching. That's what teams pay the big bucks for. It's what a player must do reasonably well to get to MLB. I'm not saying defense can't make a difference, just that it's nowhere near as important as the other two.

Kluber on the 15 day IL, leaving a huge hole in the bullpen, which Reyes will fill when he isn't playing 2b or SS. I just read that starter lefty Walter, up from AAA Worcester, is in fact expected to pitch today.

Very interesting lineup. Dugo on bereavement leave (and won't be back until Tuesday), so Duvall in RF and Duran in CF and Yoshida in LF. Hamilton at SS and Reyes at 2b!! Against a righty starter, 5 lefty bats (including Hamilton). The other Hamilton is McGuire's replacement at catcher.

Right you are. Opening rotation was Kluber, Sale, Houck, Crawford, and Pivetta. Sale is probably out for the season. Houck should be back in July. Kluber and Pivetta are still in the bullpen (where Pivetta is a plus and Kluber a minus). And Crawford, who went to the bullpen, is now back in the rotation where in his his last 4 starts he has gone 15 innings (under 4 IP per start).

Yes indeed. Could be a throwaway game or one that Cora is willing to invest in with the bullpen. I believe the Sox opening day rotation was Sale, Paxton, Houck, Kluber, and Pivetta. Only Paxton remains. Sale and Houck are on the IL and Kluber and Pivetta are in the bullpen. Now it's Paxton, Whitlock, Bello, Crawford, and TBD. Cora has the easiest managing job in MLB.

Dalbec could return if Casas is traded, which I've read is a possibility. The Sox could use more pitching. Also, right now Reyes is out with an abdomen issue and McGuire with an oblique strain. Both are day to day but that could change. FWIW, Casas's current overall WAR is -0.4. Only Kike is worse at -0.5. But Casas is 23 and therefore has trade value which Dalbec probably does not (he'll be 28 next week).

Yes, but that's exactly what Moran (of the Twins did)--and he made it look easy, striking out Devers and Casas.

Exactly how I felt.