Maxbialystock

It's 19 straight games, but your point is still made. Who said Winckowski? He's not the only guy in the bullpen. My point remains: why leave Sale in when he clearly does not have it? I think he was tipping his pitches--and probably am wrong--but the fact is that Cora and his pitching coach must have known he had problems because of the complete absence of K's. If the Orioles had jumped out to a lead, however small, I would have been fine with leaving Sale in. But the Sox were up 4-0, and Sale went 5 freaking innings to insure the Orioles would get that 5-4 lead. So, while I definitely like Cora this season and do see your point, I would have preferred to see the bullpen before the 6th inning.

Really? My view is that the very best team in MLB--and forget their incredible won-lost record and just remember their superb execution in all aspects of the game when the Sox played them at the Trop--has the third lowest team salaries. Meanwhile, big spenders like the Yankees (13-10), Padres (12-12), Phillies (11-12), Dodgers (12-11) , and Angels (11-12) ain't looking so smart. Yes, yes, it's early in the season. But it's not too early for Talksoxers like you to gripe about the worst VP/GM in the entire history of MLB.

Agree on SS. As for the rotation, right now I see potential but not enough execution. Sale, for example, stinks overall (ERA 8.22), but was terrific vs. the Twins. Kluber stinks, period. Houck has been surprisingly good. So has Crawford, who for some reason is not allowed to start. Whitlock has one terrific game--Angels, 7 IP, 1 ER--and two lousy ones. Bello, age 23, shows promise with one lousy start vs. the Angels and one almost OK one vs the Brewers. And Pivetta has 3 excellent starts--Brewers, Rays, and Pirates--and one bad one, Angels. Kluber, I agree, was a dumb acquisition. Shame on Bloom. But those other six guys show potential.

Yes and no. Yesterday is on both Sale and Cora because it took both of them to lose that 4-0 lead. According to the radio announcers, Cora was determined not to rely heavily on his bullpen, which is why Sale went 5 innings, just long enough to give up 5 runs. I emphatically disagree with Cora. As for Sale, the announcers also said repeatedly that this was Sale's first start in his entire career when he started and didn't get a single K. My claim is that Sale was tipping his pitches because his stuff wasn't that bad. His command wasn't great either, but also wasn't that bad. I can't name the inning or the hitter, but one of the Orioles golfed a very low pitch for a hard hit single (or double). The announcers also said that before this game the Orioles were in a slump. Sale has had one excellent start--his previous game against the Twins, 6 IP, 1 ER, 11 K--and one OK start--vs the Tigers, 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 K, 3 BB. And 3 bad starts. His ERA is now an abysmal 8.22. However, we know his fastball is passable at 95/96 mph and that his slider and changeup can be effective. He also has a sinker this year which sometimes work. We also know he hasn't started steadily since 2019, four years ago. So I'm not ready to give up on him, especially given that excellent game vs. the Twins just one week ago. I don't feel the same about Kluber, who goes tonight.

Attendance 11,811. Orioles fans not yet sold on this year’s team.

Not. The irony is that, now with a day off today for the good relievers plus another real day off due Thursday, Sale can use his bullpen tomorrow. But Kluber is fully capable of giving up a lot of runs in the 1st or 2d inning. Today was the game to pull the starter--when the Sox still had the lead. Instead, Sale was allowed to stay in and give up 5 runs. This was his first start in his entire career he didn't get a single K. Instead, lots of good contact by the Orioles. And a manager who was determined not to use his bullpen early. Or, once the Sox fell behind in the 5th, 5-4, even a good bullpen arm. Nevertheless, Brasier and the other guy, a lefty just brought up, pitched 3 scoreless innings.

Sale and Cora, who left him in for 5 innings.

Good at bat by Duran--good grab and good win for the Orioles. A few more shots at the home plate umpire by the radio guys. Apparently, Cora was thrown out at the end of the game, as was his batting coach earlier. The announcers say the ump screwed the Sox. Perhaps. But to me the culprits were Sale and his boss, manager Alex Cora. To me Alex Cora gave this game away by leaving Sale in the game when he clearly did not have his good stuff or--just as likely in my opinion--he was telegraphing his pitches. Together Sale and Cora blew a 4-0 lead.

Horrible at bat by Casas.

The radio announcers have been ranting about him for almost the entire game. Worst game, they say, they've seen this season. Cano in and not the closer for the Orioles, but still tough.

Bernardino miraculously goes 2 innings without giving up a run and while giving up a lot of hard hit balls. The Orioles closer, however, is tough, and the Sox have been scoreless since the 3d inning. Losing Chang is another tough break.

Leash and $30M had absolutely nothing to do with it. Cora wanted as many innings as possible. In addition, he has yet to use a good reliever in the 6th (Brasier), 7th (Bernardino), or 8th (Bernardino again) inning.

Now the radio announcers seem to agree with Cora--don't use any of the good bullpen arms in this game. Keep Sale in as long as possible.

Radio announcers continue to emphasize that in their opinion Cora basically gave the game away by keeping Sale in for 5 innings. They say he over-reacted to 17 games in 17 days which has no doubt put strain on the bullpen. But in this case the Sox had a 4-0 lead. This was a very winnable game. Instead, Sale gives up 5 runs in 5 innings and for the first time in his career had 0 strikeouts in 2 (or more) innings--a sure sign something crucial was amiss. Then in came Brasier to hold onto the 1 run lead, and then O'Hearn in the 7th. They have also pointed out several times that coming into this game the Orioles were in a slump and that Sale definitely helped them out of their slump. All in all, I'm inclined to agree. Cora had a game he could win and threw it away by leaving Sale, who was clearly struggling badly, in through 5 innings, just long enough to give up the 4 run lead and one more run for the lead.

Still no K in 5 innings. The Orioles flat know what Sale is about to throw. And Cora does not care.

Sale could telegraphing his pitches. Zero K’s in 4 innings is very unusual for him.

This is the Sox 17th game in 17 days.

Radio announcers say the home plate ump has made to bad 3d strike calls tonight--against the Sox.

Sale doesn't have the good command so far tonight. But he's got 9 outs vs 1 run. And no K's. Could be Wong is the right catcher for Sale. Astros up 3-2 in the 3d.

That has not been the case this year. He needs to hit the corners.

Can't get video on the game, but gameday graphics suggest Sale's command tonight stinks.

Wait, wait. "So far" . . .!!!!????? So far the Sox had a bad start, especially losing 4 of 4 at the Trop. But the Rays are the hottest team in MLB with no apparent weaknesses. And the Sox have won their last three series against the Angels (1 game back of the Astros), the Twins (lead the AL Central) and the Brewers (15-7, 1/2 game back of Pittsburgh in the NL Central). The team ERA of 5.10 still stinks, but the hitting is now 3d in MLB in runs scored. The rotation is what stinks because the bullpen is pretty decent. The defense is only so-so, but what is new about that? Ted Williams was the greatest Sox player ever and a liability in LF. Besides, Chang looks OK at SS, Devers at 3b, Dugo in RF, and Wong behind the plate. Yoshida is starting to hit in LF, which is what he's there for, and so is Duran in CF. The lose-lose guy is Casas at 1b. Kike is starting to hit, now plays 2b, and has a plus WAR (+0.1).

I'm one of the ten who said the Sox will have a losing record, and right now I can only applause moon and others who voted for a winning record.

The simple fact is that the Sox team ERA is 5.10, ranked 26th in MLB, mostly because of the rotation. While I think it's entirely possible CERA is real and that Wong makes a difference, I also think the dismal rotation is primarily on the pitchers. And maybe on Cora because I do not understand why Kluber has 4 starts and Crawford has just 2 starts. Crawford was awful on April 3 against the Pirates: 4 innings, 7 ER. Since then, however: 5 IP vs Tigers, 1 ER; 3 IP vs Tampa (best offense in MLB), 1 ER; 6.1 IP vs. Angles, 0 ER; and 2 IP vs. Brewers, 0 ER.

Ok, you're getting banned for being entirely too sensible. I like Wong, I admit it. But I have to be honest and say we are lucky to have McGuire. And I am fine with however Cora uses the two of them.