Maxbialystock

True. I still think Pivetta will start one of the four Rays games, but Cora could still decide to go with Kluber.

I'm certainly no expert, but I know what I saw last year: JDM was a sucker for low and away sliders. In 2018, about which I raved in my earlier post, JDM's OPS was 1.031 his WAR was 6.7, and he batted in 130 runs. Last year his OPS was .790, his WAR was 1.1, and he batted in 62 runs. You seem to think last year, for which JDM was paid $20M, was just fine and dandy. This year his OPS is back up to .951 and his WAR is 1.0 for 1/3 of a season. So, as I also pointed out, maybe he or his hitting coach fixed that tendency to chase low and away sliders.

Agree, 7th is about the highest the Sox can go because Fenway is a small park. Also agree the Sox are just a tad over 80% capacity.

This is the first game Saturday, which we will call the replacement for Friday night's postponed game. Presumably, it's still Glasgow vs. Houck. Game time is 1:10 pm

Postponed.

Its the Casey Stengal in me.

Wouldn't that be something? NOAA map agrees with you.

Thanks very much for that. I was about to say it, but remembered we're not supposed to talk real baseball on this game thread. Not the right mojo. So now you and I are completely responsible if the Sox lose tonight. And I have to say I like the name maxbialystock (and Zero and Mel), but I'm not too happy being connected to vegas freaking bob.

I think Wong is our best catcher--and we saw why last night--but lately I think Wright has shown he is very capable. I'm not sure I'd have Casas DH, but Cora knows what he is doing.

With absolutely no intention of being ironic, allow me to say I believe the rotation has improved. They still could stand to last longer, but a quick glance at the Sox schedule tells us that-- Sale gave up just 1 run in 3.2 IP last night before the shoulder went bad, the night before Paxton had 5 IP and 1 ER, before him Bello went 4 IP with 1 ER, before him Houck went 4 IP giving up 4 ER, before him, before him Whitlock with 5 IP and 1 ER, before him Sale went 5 IP and 1 ER, before him Paxton went 3 IP and 5 ER, before him Bello went 7 IP and 2 ER, before him Houck went 6 IP and 1 ER before him Kluber went 2.1 IP and 1 ER, before him Sale went 7 IP and 2 ER, before him Paxton went 6 IP and 1 ER before him Bello went 5 IP and 1 ER before him Pivetta went 5.1 IP and 4 ER I count 14 games and 3 bad starts--by Houck, Paxton, and Pivetta. In the other 11 games the Sox lineup and bullpen had a good shot at winning. That's not what happened of course. In Pivetta's 5.1 IP and 4ER game the Sox won, 9-4. And way back on May 13 Sale went 8 IP and 1 ER and Jansen came in and gave away 3 runs in the 9th for a 4-3 loss. The day/night before Paxton went 5 IP and 2 ER, but Winck gave up 3 ER and Jansen another 3 and the Sox lost 8-6.

This is just stupid. Stop trying to convince us Pivetta is better than Kluber since going to the bullpen. I don't care that Pivetta has pitched the 3d most innings on the team, that he has 2 quality starts, that he now has a positive (+0.1) WAR--and certainly not that in his 3 relief appearances he has gone 5 IP with 0 runs, 7 K's and 0 BB's. We have already made up our minds. Pivetta is a dirt bag who belongs on the ash heap of history. He's a Canadian, and Kluber is a red-blooded American with a blazing 88 mph fastball.

He doesn't swing from his heels at everything, but does do it a lot and does K a lot. However, last night in his 2d at bat he swung hard at a 99 mph fastball near or above the top of the zone and drove it to deep centerfield for a double. In the 8th inning he semi-golfed a changeup low in the zone and also drove it to deep centerfield. In addition, Devers is 9 years younger than JDM. When JDM was Devers age, 26, he was back in the minors with the Toledo Mud Hens. Also, to remind: I've already said I'm a big JDM fan because I believed he transformed the Sox lineup in 2018 and made everyone else better. So I'm happy for his success with the Dodgers. But, based on all those missed sliders last year, I think the Sox were right not to bid for him to return. And, while Turner is the ostensible JDM replacement, I think Yoshida is too because he is the least effective of our outfielders.

I just want to make sure I have this right. You consider this Sox team to be unwatchable, but you seem to pin that observation on us watching freaking JDM swing and miss and swing and miss and swing and miss at sliders low and away. We watched him do that all last year and it got really old. Maybe the Dodgers fixed him. Maybe he fixed himself. But, if he had stayed in Boston, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind he would still be swinging and missing sliders low and away.

Guilty as charged. The mojo just might have turned the tide last night because it was certainly needed after Sale was pulled in the 4th inning.

Probably similar. I believe letting Mookie, Bogey, Price, and even JDM were all the right moves. But I also think big names, usually including big salaries, puts butts in seats. See the Phillies attendance the year after they picked up Bryce Harper.

Turner's WAR is currently +0.5 and JDM's is +0.9. So that looks like a bad bet. On the other hand, I do like Turner's versatility. He looked pretty good at 3b and is OK at 1b. Because of that, Cora can move Yoshida, who is the least good of our outfielders, to DH. Right now, 1/3 into the season, the Dodgers are ranked 3d in MLB in runs scored and the Sox--who got rid of Mookie, Bogey, JDM, Renfroe, et al--are ranked 4th. And that's with both Duvall and Story on the IL.

Interesting. I notice you and I came here together when the Globe site folded, but you have stayed away from talksox a lot. I think there's a lot of truth in that paragraph, but I also think you left out a key factor, John Henry. He fired DD in 2019--in my opinion because he was getting tired of spending big bucks, getting that one good year, 2018, and then seeing all that talent just collapse because the high-priced pitching collapsed. But, yeah, this team is, relative to the 2018 and 2019 Sox under DD, a bunch of no names. Mookie, Bogey, JDM, Price, Kimbrel, Eovaldi, and maybe now even Sale again--all gone. As I pointed out on today's game thread, attendance so far this year is the worst in the John Henry era. On the other hand, I like what moonslav has said about building a quality 40 man roster--as well as his belief that Bloom is about to spend (this year or this winter) more for the simple reason the franchise can afford to. And this. I really liked Mookie and am even fascinated that he is now playing SS and succeeding. But his price tag--on top of what the Sox were already paying for JDM, Price, Sale, and Bogey--was just too much. Mookie turns 31 in October and will still be owed $290M for 2024-2032. In his 5 1/3 seasons with the Sox Mookie's accumulated WAR was a little over 42 or an average WAR of freaking 8!!!!! No way, no how will he do anything remotely that good with the Dodgers and they will be paying him 10 times as much as the Sox paid him. As for JDM, I'm glad he's having a good year with the Dodgers because I like him. He made a huge difference to the Sox lineup in 2018. But I was fine with letting him go. Same goes for Eovaldi. Same goes for Bogey to the Padres, especially given the kid who was just promoted to AA Portland.

Agree on Old Red. My usual preference is to add a little emphasis to my commentary. I believe I was the first one who cited the three days off recently, but I had no idea about the numbers you produced. On Old Red's side is that Sale has been our best innings-eater with 59 in 11 starts (about 5 1/2 IP per start). Houck is next with 52.2 in 10 starts, then Pivetta--yes, Pivetta--with 50.1 in 8 starts and 5 reliefs, then Kluber with 41.2 in 9 starts, Bello 39.1 in 8 starts and Whitlock with 41 innings in 4 starts. So, going back to your point about 5.1 innings per start by the Sox so far, I think that is maintainable.

Seriously? I was the exact opposite. I thought the Rays completely outclassed the Sox on defense, at bat, pitching, and running the bases.

Average attendance at Fenway to date is 31,184, ranked 12th in MLB. Excluding 2020 and 2021, both of which were affected by covid (as they should have been), 31,184 and 12th are the worst Fenway attendance in the John Henry era, now in its 21st season.

I still think Pivetta starts tomorrow. As I said last night, he went 3 innings and 54 pitches last Sunday, then 13 pitches Wed night and 15 pitches last night. Even better is that overall those 5 innings were scoreless with 7 K's and 0 BB's and 0 hits. Why? I think because he's using his breaking stuff more and his fastball less. Also, on April 10 Pivetta went 5 innings and 0 runs in the Trop. Kluber, meanwhile, has shown us nothing since his last start. That said, I trust Cora to make the smart choice. He may decide Pivetta is best used as a long reliever in games the Sox have a chance of winning. If he starts Saturday, that will be his only game in this series.

There you go again, backing and filling. You said the bullpen was/is busted, exhausted, unable to continue. Moonslav provides solid evidence you're wrong. So now your tune is, "no, I meant sometime in the future when you will have forgotten what I said back in May." Also, I don't mind agreeing that at some point it's possible for the bullpen to in fact get tired. But you never said that. You said it's tired right now.

What's this "guys" crap? My OP is pretty level-headed, even optimistic despite the fact that the Rays have the best won-lost record in MLB and whipped the Sox 4 straight in April. However, I did leave out that early last night Devers hit a 99 mph fastball in the top of the strike zone (or above it) to deep center for a double, then later in the 8th hit a changeup in the bottom of the strike zone, also to deep center for a double. Old Red is the pessimist, naysayer, curmudgeon, doubter . . . I remember way back in 1941 when Williams hit .406 after playing a double-header on the last day of the season even though his manager said he would not play him in order to preserve .400 (Williams was hitting exactly .400). Williams went something like 6 for 8, after which Old Red commented, "why couldn't he have hit like that the whole season?"

Spoiled rotten. I could tell you such stories about 55 of the 86 years of the curse. Everything changed with the arrival of John Henry--with 4 WS wins and 2018 probably the best Sox season ever--so of course you expect more. Me, I'm just happy I lived long enough for those 4 WS, to say nothing of the unbelievable advent of satellite dishes and getting all the Sox games in Fairfax County. Now I get them online and not as many thanks to the blackout rule. But I can still watch any game if I wait 90 minutes after it ends. Curt Flood broke the reserve clause and changed MLB forever. Then the MLBPA came along and ensured that most contracts are guaranteed, so every big buy--a $250M or more contract--is a now a huge gamble. See Sale, Chris, who's about to get an MRI on his left shoulder. See too David Price, Trevor Story, and even Rafael Devers. Or how about the great Mookie Betts, the one who got away? His WAR is an excellent 2.3, so good for the Dodgers. But Verdugo's WAR is 1.9, so even better for the Sox. You want to spend the big bucks for massive contracts, and I absolutely do not.

Whitlock vs. Glasnow, both righties Big series, David (us) vs. Goliath (Rays)--but the Sox have a winning record at Fenway and the Rays are just 14-12 on the road. The Rays will be playing their last four games of 20 games in 19 days. They have a run differential of +119 to the Sox +15. Glasnow has started for the Rays for five years, but never more than 14 starts in a season--and just two starts last year and just one so far this year. So a bit of a mystery. Whitlock went 5 IP and gave up just 1 run vs Arizona last Saturday, so I'm hopeful even though the Rays beat up on him April 11 with 5 ER in 5 IP. Terrific 8th inning rally tonight plus good defense plus good pitching, especially the bullpen (1 run in 5.1 innings!).