Maxbialystock

Game tied. Winck got lucky on the GIDP. But of course first he had to ensure no win for Paxton. I don't mind criticizing Cora, but in this case Winck is one his mainstays in the bullpen and the perfect choice to go the 5th and 6th innings. Instead, just 2 outs. On the other hand, he just brought in Bleier to do exactly what he did last time--give up a big hit that puts the Cardinals in the lead. Last time, with Houck removed, he gave up a 2 run dinger, also going lefty vs. lefty.

Agree, but it turns out Winck wants to give the game away.

True. This season bears watching, however.

8 righty bats in Cards lineup—including 2 switch hitters.

Agree 37K is about max at Fenway (night games actual max is 37,755), but there is compelling evidence that, if you want high average attendance vs. high peak attendance for when, say, the Yankees come to town--vs the A's or some other small market team--a smaller ballpark is better. The exceptions to smaller is better are the Dodgers and Yankees because both have very big fan bases. Dodger Stadium hold 56K and Yankee Stadium 54K. I disagree about not comparing season average attendances at Fenway because I'm just about convinced that, not only are there significant ups and downs in average attendance, year to year, but also that they are not necessarily tied to how well that team is playing that year. More to the point, I think it's very possible that Chaim Bloom and John Henry's joint commitment to cutting payroll will continue to have an effect on attendance--and probably on TV ratings. When the Angels came to town, April 14-17, attendances were 36,680, 36,594, 34,790, 34,942--an average of 35,751. In the other 16 home games this season, the average attendance has been 29,516. That's a swing over over 6,000 butts in seats per game of presumably avid Sox fans who actually wanted to see Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. And who can blame them? The four game temperatures were 58, 56, 54, and 50 degrees. When the Jays came to town, May 1-4, the attendances were 27,438, 27,721, 27,863, and 30,173. And the game temperatures were 50, 50, 50, and 47 degrees. That 47 degree temp game, May 4, was the one with the biggest attendance, 30,173, so I'm not sure weather temp was a big factor in this series or in April series vs the Angels. Those Jays games were all wins in the middle of an 8 game win streak, which completely failed to get Sox fans to go to Fenway Park the way the did to see Ohtani and Trout.

This discussion on pitcher retention options--like who to DFA--is erudite and insightful and way over my head. Whoever said there ain't much good pitching left in Worcester definitely got my attention. On the other hand, I think that, with Paxton, Whitlock, and Crawford coming off the IL this month, the big club has a lot of almost decent pitching. That includes 8 starters: Sale, Bello, Houck, Kluber, Paxton, Pivetta, Crawford, and Whitlock. Yes, certainly, Sale, Bello, and Houck are the only semi-reliable starters, but quantity has a quality of its own. And backing those 8 up are Winckowski, Jansen, Schreiber, Martin, and Bernardino, all 5 of whom have WAR's ranging from +1.1 to +0.4. If we assume that Crawford and Whitlock go back to the bullpen when they come off the IL, that's 7 pretty good relievers. None of the above resolves the issue of who to DFA. While I agree that Brasier deserves to be Public Enemy #1 on the charts, it is also worth noting that this month, May, he has pitched in 4 games and given up 1 meaningless run (Sox beat the Jays 11-5). In April Brasier pitched in 13 games and gave up 1 or more runs in 4 of them and 0 runs in the other 9 games. Overall, he has pitched in 18 games, including 1 on March 30. In those 18 games, Brasier's malfeasance was costly in two games: the 29 April 8-7 loss (10 innings) to the Orioles in which he gave up 3 runs and the--wait for it!!!!--the March 30th loss, also to the Orioles, 10-9, in which Brasier also gave up 3 runs. So, if you are completely looney tunes and want to keep the scrofulous, worthless, low down, no good Brasier on the roster, I have a modest proposal. Don't send him to the mound against the Orioles.

Excellent comments, especially the one about fan gear at the games at Fenway. You got me: I knew one of the reasons for poor attendance was absolutely abysmal weather. You are also the only one who's ever agreed with me that not all of the seats at Fenway Park are comfortable and unobstructed. So tonight the weather should be decent. The Sox are above .500. They may be "no names," but right now our guys are playing pretty good baseball when the Sox starter doesn't crap out the first time through the opposing lineup. Sox attendance to date, 20 games, averages 30,763, 12th in MLB. Last year--with a really lousy team (last in AL East)--they averaged 32,408, 10th in MLB. In 2021 it was covid-affected 21,300, 11th in MLB. So too 2020. 2019, the year after the spectacular 2018 season and with all those big (and/or popular with Sox fans) names--Mookie, Bogey, Devers, JDM, Beni, Sale, Price, JBJ, Vazquez, et al--the Sox average attendance was 36,106, 7th in MLB. And in 2018--the greatest season ever for the Sox, it was 35,747, 9th in MLB. Why was attendance greater in 2019, a lousy season, than in 2018, a spectacular season? Simple: fans make ticket-buying decisions based on the previous season, not the current one. Remember that amazing, surprising 2013 season, ending in the Sox 3d WS win in the JH era? Attendance was 34,979, 9th in MLB. The next year, 2014, when the Sox weren't very good, it was 36,494, 6th in MLB. So, given last season's lousy W-L record and the absence--except of course for Devers--of marquee players, my prediction is that this year's average attendance will be below last year's 32,408. Indeed, you just have to read talksox to realize the disgruntlement with Chaim Bloom and his boss, John Henry. We all seem to believe they have no intention of paying for any good players or fielding a competitive team.

You are definitely a swinger, by which I mean you swing from pessimist to optimist in the same paragraph or even sentence. That said, I agree pitchers make adjustments, so hitters have to as well. Whatever the Braves did against Yoshida really did a number. He was 0 for 9 with 3 K's. In the six prior games (Philly and Toronto) he was 12 for 25 with 0 K's. As for Duran, I'm just happy he's hitting. Clearly he made adjustments, maybe with Pedroia's help. So, if he needs to make further adjustments, chances are he can and and will.

They got 2 singles off Bello's slider. The dinger was off that fastball. In this game Bello did not use the slider all that often. Mostly heat and cut heat. He likes that changeup, but wasn't putting it where he wants it.

As always, an authoritative laydown. I think Dugo has blossomed in RF, where he is way more effective than in LF. And I would be dishonest if I didn't think the Sox made out like bandits getting him. He ain't no Mookie, but Mookie is also vastly overpriced. And by overpriced I mean that one position player just can't make that much of a difference. However, the payoff for that huge salary could well be in the Dodgers attendance because Mookie probably is worth the price of admission. Same reason why the Sox attendance jumped when the Angels--with headliners Ohtani and Trout--came to town. So allow me to simplify what I mean by "no name." It's someone who doesn't put butts in seats, and this team, which is surprising all of us with their winning record, has really lousy attendance this year. A whole bunch of guys are hitting and/or starting to hit, and they are great fun to watch, but that lineup, with the exception of Devers, doesn't put butts in seats. Same goes for the pitchers--no star power. Does anyone on here besides me remember the 8 game winning streak? First six games were at Fenway, and games 3 thru 6 were against the Blue Jays. Average attendance for the 6 games: 29,068. Average attendance for the last 4 games against the Jays: 28,324.

I didn't count 2017 and 2018 as full seasons, but they do constitute Major League experience. This year is Dugo's 7th straight season at the MLB level. Were parts of 2017 and 2018 in the minors? Very possibly. 2021 and 2022 were full MLB seasons. Mookie's $25M salary was a relative bargain, and I'm sure John Henry would have been thrilled to sign a 10 year contract circa 2020 with Mookie for $250M. He just didn't want to pay $365M for 12 years through age 40.

"Main piece??!!!" The Sox sent Mookie to LA because John Henry didn't want to sign him for long term megabucks--and LA did. LA also graciously took David Price off our hands (with the Sox still paying half his salary). I put "player to be named later" in quotation marks because I knew even then Dugo was more than that. But you have gone in the opposite direction and almost equated him with Mookie. In his 2d and 3d seasons with the Sox--his 5th and 6th in MLB--Dugo's OPS's were 2.2 and 1.2. Based on those two numbers, I think calling Verdugo "no name" is not far off the mark--even though so far this year he looks really good.

I don't see the issue. Yes, Pivetta wants to keep starting, but that's not his decision and right now he is clearly 5th out of 5. Plus the Sox should give Paxton a shot. So Cora has a choice of moving Pivetta to the bullpen or using him as a sixth starter. Since the Sox are paying him $5M+ this year, he's clearly a liability.

I wasn't because I couldn't get the game. But it is great to hear/read.

I said that. The only real name in this lineup is Devers. Mookie, Bogey, and JDM are gone. Yoshida had a name--but in Japan, not here, and when he started out here his name here was mud. Duvall has only played in 8 of 38 games. Justin Turner is thirty freaking eight. Dugo was almost the proverbial "player to be named later" in the Mookie Betts deal, but right now seems to be having a career year. His WAR of +1.5 is higher than Mookie's 1.2--so far (early in the season). Kike, Arroyo, McGuire, Wong, Duran, Casas, Tapia, Refsnyder are all unknowns outside of Boston.

Great win!!! Yes, the bullpen was terrific, and so was Bello (6 innings, 2 runs). Tapi, Kike, Duran, and Casas all came through big time at the plate. But we all know who really ended this long national nightmare of a losing streak. moonslav, that's who.

Thus did I call this the "no name offense," but no one on talksox was buying.

You betcha.

Holy mackerel, Andy. Casas just hit a 2 run dinger in the 9th!!!!! Is Cora lucky or a genius? He starts Casas and benches Devers in a game he really wants to win.

Cora wants this one. First Winck, then Martin, now probably Jansen for the save.

Of course he did. We know this because I've just redefined "slump" as two games in a row. Yoshida is officially in a career-ending two game hitting slump. Williams hit .254 in 1959, age 41--pretty much a season long slump given his career BA of .344. Two years before .388 at age 39. A year later at age 42 he hit .316 with 29 dingers in 390 at bats.

Sox have 3 runs on 4 hits (1 double) tonight. RBI's by Tapia, Kike, and Duran.

The Braves pitchers have just destroyed Yoshida in these two games.

I assume your use of the word "talking" is intended as sarcasm.

Winck gets three in the 8th!!!