Maxbialystock

Not sure that would help much. Nobody's hitting.

91 mph fastball in the geometric center of the strike zone and Dugo grounds out in his third time facing Bieber. With Duran on 2d base of course.

Sox have 2 hits, both by Yoshida, who appears to know something about hitting.

Paxton was just lucky in the 2d inning.

Nice play by Duran. I think he was in a little, and then got a good jump and then turned on the afterburners.

SplendidSplinter was hot.

Paxton is throwing mostly in the middle of the zone and mostly fastballs. Not good.

Actually, he was imitating me. I can't tell you how many times I've said so-and-so stinks right before he drills one. I thought Duran had a good at bat. Got that 0-2 count, then looked at a couple of pitches not in the zone, then hit the ball hard to LF, but right to the leftfielder.

Paxton stinks, period.

Verdugo Yoshida Turner Devers Casas Kike SS Duran Valdez McGuire

Watched Ike: Countdown to D-Day earlier today for at least the 10th time. I would have picked none of those actors for their roles, least of all Tom Selleck as Ike, but he does a good job and I like this movie a lot because it does an excellent job of exploring how difficult the planning was. And the stakes were huge, much bigger than any other American (Brits, French, and Canadians were also at Normandy) battle of World War II.

Paxton vs. Bieber, lefty vs righty Need this one, so I'm glad Paxton is taking the mound. Now wouldn't it be nice if the moribund hitters came back to life? The Sox have 30 wins. Of those, 25 occurred when the Sox scored 5 for more runs.

I said "weather was a factor" but didn't say it was the only factor. The product on the field isn't so hot, especially defense and pitching. Plus no names.

Weather has been a factor. First a lot of rain, then game temps in the 50's and 40's.

Well, he's entitled, isn't he? I once had the concept of "perceived deprivation" explained to me. It's the product of success. Once you've won 4 WS in 15 years, even though it followed an 86 year drought, expectations are raised to a standard inconceivable during the so-called curse. But, honestly, I think that's OK. We know what good management is capable of and won't settle for less. Well, I probably will, but what the heck.

Sherlock Holmes would struggle to detect irony on a thread consumed with bitterness. The value of talksox is it gives each of us a chance to vent when the Sox lose and lose again.

Actually, the Rays are the real problem. They simply outclass the Sox in every aspect of the game.

Bello’s ok. It’s the team that’s the problem.

Bello’s ok. It’s the team that’s the problem.

Agree. Eovaldi is from Texas.

Right. Robo-umps. And thus MLB will become the only sport on the planet where the most central part of the game is officiated by computers/cameras and only computers/cameras. Last night's game, which restarted this discussion, was typical of all the games I've watched, especially in this era of replays, rectangles on the tv screens, etc. Despite the fact that the little rectangle told us not every called ball or strike was precisely called, those calls had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the game. In fact, allow me to ask simple question. Can you name a single MLB game in the last ten years that was decided by bad ball/strike calls by the umpire?

Solid post. Thanks.

What a crock. No umpire is making up his own strike zone. He's simply calling what he sees. The one example cited for me today was the last Rays better in the 1st inning. Houck through a pitch that crossed the bottom line of that invisible rectangle we all see so precisely on our TV screens but which no one on the field of play sees. I looked it up on mlb.com and agree it should have been called a strike--but was in fact called a ball. But then that same Rays hitter grounded out. So, basically, it just caused Houck to throw another pitch. And once again, whether or not we agree with the calls on balls and strikes, its abundantly clear that the outcome of this game will be the result of the players on the field and not the freaking umpires. Rare is the the MLB game today in which anyone can rightfully claim the outcome was decided by bad calls by the umpires. What we see with respect to that rectangle on our TV screens--that is, those calls we disagree with--is just nuisance value. The balls and strikes called by the home plate umpires are well within the parameters of what is needed. From the very beginnings of baseball, what we have always wanted the umpires to do and be is, for lack of a better word, officious. We want them present, decisive, loud, and visible. Make the call and make sure people know what you called. Baseball is a human endeavor and should be officiated by humans, not machines. I hasten to add, however, there seems to be no limit on the use of computers to analyze and predict where balls will be hit, pitchers' tendencies, etc. Plus I'm pretty sure ball and strike calls--which we fans can now find recorded on mlb.com--are reviewed by the umpires as well as MLB officials.

The only clowns I've seen today are the Sox defense. The umpires, as always, have been alert, decisive, and essential to the game.

It's a sport, not an attempt to land a man on the moon. And imperfections are rampant in sports. But, since you raised the issue of perfect calls on balls and strikes, did you just notice that unchecked swing by Duran? The third base ump said he didn't check his swing in time--and that was that. No endless replays by the guys in NYC to see whether it really and truly was or was not a checked swing. Was Duran happy? Nope. Tough. Get on with the game.