Maxbialystock

Interesting. Overall, I'm not all that interested in all these random thoughts about "clutch," but I do like yours. It takes a special athlete to focus in pressure situations and to make the most of them. That said, hitter vs. pitcher is complicated, especially if the pitcher is a bonafide ace--good stuff and good command--and the hitter is also extremely good. Statistically, the odds definitely favor the pitcher--unless he makes a mistake and throws a meatball. And even then we need to remember Ted Williams's comment about how difficult it is to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely.

They shouldn't be. The clear response to your OP has been to discuss it seriously. That is, now that the Sox seem to be hitting, let's nail down the optimum lineup with guys like Story, Duvall, et al even though we don't know when they will return or how good they will be.

Gausman is just 2-2, but he is unquestionably their ace this year and has the 12th best ERA--among starters--in MLB.

Agree, but to me the giant message for this season is that it has been way better than expected--especially if you read all the doom and gloom on talksox before the season started. And I believed it because I voted the Sox would have a losing season. They still could, but right now it's hard not to be hopeful. Thus your point is telling: the Sox aren't just 18-14, but 18-14 against some pretty good teams.

Silly thread. What has transformed this Sox team this season is the discovery of a whole lot more hitting than anyone on talksox previously believed was possible. So a little reminder. Three years ago that idiot Chaim Bloom--backed by an even dumber John Henry--let Mookie Betts, the greatest baseball player to ever don a Sox uniform, go to the Dodgers. Then last year we lost Bogaerts to the Padres, but kept Devers, about whom more later. Bloom also dumped JDM, now with the Dodgers, and failed to grab Kyle Schwarber (a temp who hit well late in 2021 and in the playoffs), now with the Phillies. To replace all that great hitting talent, Bloom has signed what has been characterized on talksox as the dregs of MLB. Like Trevor Story, who has underperformed, in part because he can't stay off the IL. Like Masataka Yoshida, a spindly (5'8", 176 lbs) leftfielder with no arm, not much speed, and a swing that everyone on talksox seemed to believe was, well, not quite MLB quality. Like Adam Duvall who was terrific for 8 freaking games and is now on the IL until June or later. Like Justin Turner, who brims with health and can DH or play 1b but whose OPS is .749 and rbi's total 10 in 32 games. So why oh why are the Sox currently ranked 3d in MLB in runs scored with 184 and 3d in MLB in team OPS with .800? A giant clue. Not because of any of the guys--Betts, Bogaerts, JDM, Shwarber, Story, Duvall--who are either gone or on the IL. Another clue: also not because of our one true hitting star, Rafael Devers, whom Bloom and Henry decided to keep. The Sox have just won 5 straight from a decent Cleveland team and presumably stud Toronto team while Devers has plunged deeper into a slump. His OPS of .804 is lower than 2017's .819 when Devers was 20 and just brought up to Boston. His OBP of .279 is his lowest ever. And he plays every game in the heart of the Sox lineup, a fact which opposing pitching staffs have lately come to love. Instead of the names the Sox no longer have, have but can't play because they're on the IL, or have but who are in a slump, this third best lineup in MLB is composed of no names. Take Verdugo, please (old henny youngman joke). We know him pretty well, but in the pantheon of MLB stars he is absolutely a no-name, especially when compared to the guy who used to play RF for the Sox--Mookie freaking Betts. FWIW, Dugo's OPS is 1.4. Mookie's (to date) is 1.0. How about Yoshida, the much-too-expensive guy Bloom brought from Japan? After a slow start, his OPS is now .906 with 21 rbi's. Compare that to the Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr's .905 with 18 rbi's. And then there's Wong, Duran, Chang (now on the IL), Tapiz, Valdez, McGuire, Refsnyder, Kike Arroyo, and even Triston freaking Casas, who almost looked like a real hitter last night. Before this season, none of those guys was on anyone's "can't wait to seem him come to bat" list. Wong: good field, never hit. Duran: can't field, can't hit, but can run. Chang, Tapiz, Valdez: fuhgeddaboudit. Arroyo and Kike: maybe, but probably not. Casas: showed promise last year, showed his ass this year (until last night). Reese McGuire: backup catcher, not much of a hitter (career OPS .688). So, me, I'm not so sure I want to wait for Story and Duvall to come back because I like seeing a lineup that's kind of like Forest Gump's box of chocolates.

I was definitely on that bandwagon, but fell off after the 2019 season--and pretty much stayed off. But right now he sure looks like the great competitor he was the day he arrived in Boston. Was I the only one who noticed that in the sixth inning of his latest start Verdugo fielded a single to RF cleanly and decided to uncork the greatest throw home ever--except that it went way over Wong's glove and caught cleanly by Sale who was doing what professional pitchers do, backing up the catcher on hits to the outfield.

Without the lows, one cannot fully appreciate the highs.

There is no A lineup. This year the Sox have a lot of lefty bats and aren't half bad against righties. But tonight they faced a very good lefty and scored 6 runs off him. They coulda scored more if they had given Devers a rest day.

Everything is relative. Those 27 WS wins are the Yankees signature. It's plastered everywhere. It sets them apart from all other MLB teams and all other American professional sports franchises. So, when the Yankees go from from 2001 thru 2022 with just one WS, it's kind of a big deal for them.

Nope. Gotta have 2 catchers.

Devers has been Kikuchi's best friend in this game--every time he needs an out, Devers delivers. When was the last time a manager, seeing his starter was on his last legs, has left him in because Devers was coming to bat? As soon as Devers provided the out, in comes a reliever.

What is it with Wong? He's not too bad at getting on base, but seems unable to score any runs. He needs to focus on scoring. Hitting is the easy part.

Ump definitely helped Yoshida on that dinger--by calling two strikes balls. Yoshida may be slow on the bases and not much in the outfield, but that's a pretty good swing.

Tapia in for Duran a small surprise, but otherwise a pretty inevitable lineup--including Kike at SS and Arroyo at 2b. I'm surprised the Sox have scored 2 runs already because I'm impressed with Kikuchi's repertoire, which works well against Devers, but not so much Dugo, Arroyo, Wong, and Yoshida. Houck is going great guns. Until Varsho gets the double. Got the groundout for his 12th out and a scoreless 4 innings.

Meh. Jacksonianmarch usually has pretty good insights. Plus we should be kind to him--given that the Yankees have unquestionably fallen on hard times going back at least 20 years. They won three straight, 1998-2000, but have won just once, 2009, in the John Henry era.

The Red Sox have repeatedly demonstrated a preference for SS's who can hit first, field 2d. As soon as they realize they are playing a SS who is a superb fielder, they dump him. This has actually worked well in the John Henry era.

I'm higher on Sale than you because I think he was tipping his pitches or whatever in Baltimore. I think he's back and probably our ace. Then it's just a bunch of decent but not terrific starters--in order, Houck, Pivetta, Bello, Kluber, and Paxton. Including Sale, that's 6 starters. I would start Crawford over a couple of those guys--and certainly over Whitlock--but the real point is that Winckowski, Crawford, and now Whitlock can give Cora some long relief options, depending on game situations. That's exactly when he did with Schreiber when he sent him back out to pitch the 9th last night after that disastrous 8th inning in which Kike tried to sabotage the game. Or put it this way. The bullpen is the strength of this pitching staff. However, to win consistently, the rotation must avoid what Kluber and Sale were doing earlier in the season. What Kluber did last night, especially against the Jays, was just right. That game was won until Kike decided to help the Jays back into it. I see absolutely no need to bring Whitlock back to the rotation.

As unlikely as that is. On the other hand, I have high hopes for this current Jays series although their lefty starter tonight, Kikuchi, looks pretty tough. That means that Casas will probably sit, Turner move to 1b, and Refsnyder or Yoshida will be DH. Wong bats righty, so he fits. It's possible both Arroyo and Kike will start in the infield. The four lefty bats staying in tonight's lineup have to be Verdugo, Devers, Yoshida, and Duran. The point is that you and Thunder have identified that this year's Sox allow us to hope a little. The hitting is the big surprise, but the bullpen has also been pretty good. Rotation and defense, not so hot.

Wow. I had completely forgotten.

Let's not forget that, despite all the jibes from talksoxers, Kluber had a pretty decent start and Wright had a pretty decent night behind the plate. I'm a big fan of Connor Wong, but see absolutely nothing bad in having two good catchers. No one has been more anti-Kluber than I, so could not be happier to see him have two back to back good starts. Credit, once again, to Cora for letting Kluber go 5.1 innings and for bringing Winckowski back for the 9th inning. Also for sending Tapia in to run for Kike.

A good reminder, especially for gripers like me. Huge walk.

But they sure said he's an idiot at 2b. One more time: that was a tough play at 2b on a ball hit into the LF corner at Fenway. It was not a routine tag. Also, as much as I dislike like Casas, I do like it when he gets yet another BB.

An embarrassment.

Because you're stupid.

Casas is such a loser. He does not have potential written all over him. Maybe something like, "no compete."