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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Bello throwing a lot of pitches in the middle of the zone this inning. Either in the middle or outside the zone. No corners.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Was Lee injured or was this 3d inning reliever planned?
  3. Maxbialystock
    Night and day between Bello's start tonight and Pivetta's last night.
  4. Maxbialystock
    So far the homeplate ump won't give Bello anything, but will give the corners to Lee. It also helps Lee that the Sox are swinging at everything.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Not ridiculous. Devers is not our best player right now. And he is even less effective against lefties--.749 OPS vs. .888.
  6. Maxbialystock
    Makes sense to me.
  7. Maxbialystock
    Love the punch line. Agree Pivetta should be guaranteed nothing. I count 8 starters including Crawford, and I agree with you that Kluber should continue if only because he's been almost decent in his last 3 starts. Agree Paxton should be given a shot. To do that, Cora can drop someone out--like Pivetta--or go with a 6 man rotation for awhile.
  8. Maxbialystock
    Meh. Should be good enough for 2b. The point is to get his bat (and range) into the lineup.
  9. Maxbialystock
    We need someone to start today's gamethread, and it can't be me: so far not very lucky this season; can't watch the game live because of insane blackout restrictions.
  10. Maxbialystock
    The Sox rarely emphasize defense over offense, but this year, I agree, has been worse than usual. Fascinatingly, the worst DWAR's are Yoshida's (-.5), Casas (-.5), Kike (-.3), McGuire (-.3), Turner (-.3), and Valdez (-.2). Duvall and Refsnyder both at -.1. Wong, Chang, Duran, and Devers all have plus DWAR's. I think we agreed the defense stunk about a month ago. So let's assume that Cora has decided to emphasize hitting over defense. If he has, the results have been surprisingly good. This team without Bogaerts is hitting better than last year's with Bogaerts, and by better I mean relative to all other MLB teams. The Sox are 3d in MLB in runs scored. Last year they were 9th.
  11. Maxbialystock
    I'm anti-Paxton, but I like your logic. Give him a shot. Right now, I'd probably drop Pivetta and keep Sale, Kluber, Houck, and Bello. But your approach could also work.
  12. Maxbialystock
    I agree completely he was hustling, but I also think that's what you need in a centerfielder--or any outfielder not named Ted Williams. When he returns, it's quite possible he will be encouraged to take fewer risks--or maybe he will be the DH outfielder.
  13. Maxbialystock
    He's no doubt better than all four, including Yoshida. But what distinguishes those four--Yoshida, Duvall, Verdugo, and now Duran--is that they are all hitting a lot better than Kike. The Sox rarely prefer a good glove over a good bat.
  14. Maxbialystock
    Great numbers!!! Well done. I'd take him too except for one tiny, insignificant data point. Duvall has played all of 8 games this season. In ten seasons he has averaged 84 games per season--and my guess is we will be lucky to get 84 games from him this season. Given how he broke his wrist in April, I'm guessing Cora won't put him back in the outfield. Too risky.
  15. Maxbialystock
    I happen to think ERA is a tad lenient on pitchers because, as I said, one single error can lead to 4 or 5 unearned runs, and to me the pitcher should bear some responsibility for some of those runs. The principle of unearned runs is a good one, but at some point the pitcher should be charged with those "extra" (my term, not MLB's) unearned runs. Also, nobody penalizes a pitcher who benefits from a great defensive play--it's still just an out that the pitcher gets full credit for in terms of ERA, etc. Same goes for line drives hit really, really hard but go straight to an outfielder who doesn't have to move. On the scorecard, it's just another out caused by solid pitching. What has made it harder for pitchers this season is getting rid of those radical shifts with three infielders on either side of 2b--but to me that change was long overdue.
  16. Maxbialystock
    Duvall is 34, hasn't played a full season since 2017, has played all of 8 games this season, and is hoping to recover from a broken wrist by when? June? His OPS for 8 games is a dazzling 1.544, but his OPS for 838 games (in ten seasons) is .764. Duran is 8 years younger and just may have figured out how to hit--OPS .991 in 21 games this season. His DWAR so far this season is +0.3 even with the weak arm (1 outfield assist). He has the 2d best WAR (+1.3) on the Sox and is faster and healthier than Duvall.
  17. Maxbialystock
    Mondesi was with KC for 7 seasons, two of them (2018 and 2019) pretty good. This is the 4th season since 2019, and he seems to be going in the wrong direction, especially with his health (currently his knee).
  18. Maxbialystock
    Frankly, I don't like "eliminating factors out of the pitcher's control," and I'll tell you why. The ERA rule applies to all runs scored after what should have been the third out. And it makes no difference if the pitcher gives up 4 dingers in a row after what should have been, say, a caught third out popup. And let me take that one step further. While I do support the concept of "earned runs" to a degree, I also think much more of a pitcher who gets guys out after there was an error committed. In the same way, I think it's cool when the pitcher acknowledges a great defensive play that prevents a hit and/or run.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Frankly, I've pretty much had it with Kike, and it's not hard to see why. He stinks in the infield, and the Sox have four much better hitting outfielders in Yoshida, Duran, Duvall, and Verdugo. So scratch Kike. The best fielding outfield is probably Duran, Duvall, and Dugo, but I'm fine with Yoshida out there in LF, especially at Fenway. Not much range and not much arm, but adequate. Devers is fine at 3b. I want the best hitter at 1b--Turner or Casas. SS and 2B are the problem, and my preference right now would be Chang at SS and Story at 2b. Is Mondesi the hot prospect expected to take over at SS? If so, I can wait on him because, if they can stay healthy, I'm fine with Chang and Story. With Kike and/or Arroyo lurking in the background. I'm also fine with Wong/McGuire catching.
  20. Maxbialystock
    I can't remember whether Duvall has an arm. We know Duran doesn't. However, to date Duran's DWAR is +0.4 and Duvall's is -0.1.
  21. Maxbialystock
    Sox were 10-7 in games in which Chang played (usually SS). His DWAR is +0.4.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Agree on that last point. However, it is a truism that all Sox position players are symbolized with bats, not gloves/arms. As I have already said way too many times, whenever the Sox accidentally pick up a good fielding shortstop, they quickly find a way to get rid of him--unless he's a really good hitter. Bogaerts fit the Sox profile--good bat, ok glove/arm--perfectly for 8 straight seasons. Jose Iglesias, a brilliant fielding SS, did not, and was quickly traded away. Same deal earlier with Alex Gonzalez. I hasten to add that emphasizing hitting over fielding has by and large worked for the Sox--at least in the JH era.
  23. Maxbialystock
    I don't know how WAR or fWAR is calculated, but I have no quarrel with those fWAR numbers. Sale has 3 quality starts so far, and the rest of the rotation (Houck, Kluber, Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, and Whitlock) has 4. I think Sale needs to do a better job of staying focused and calm, but he is this team's ace. Houck is the big surprise to me.
  24. Maxbialystock
    His career ERA is 5.07, and this year so far it's 6.23. Apropos of what we saw last night, try these stats on for size: first time he faces the batting order, their OPS is 1.026; second time it's .789; and third time it's .634.
  25. Maxbialystock
    I'm very pro-Wong and kind of anti-McGuire, but I'm not crazy. Overall, I've pretty happy to have two decent catchers: one bats righty, the other lefty; one is better defensively, the other (we think) is better offensively. On the other hand, Wong's WAR is +1.2, and McGuire's is -0.1. So it does make sense to give Wong more innings/games behind the plate.
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