Maxbialystock

Twins 4 hits and 4 runs, all earned, except the first run in the 10th inning. They struck out 16 times, which in the end didn't make much difference. They also got 4 BB's and 3, that's right, 3 HBP's.

Another thing the Sox don't do that other teams do--when the opportunity arises, take an inside pitch for an HBP instead of jumping backward 3 feet.

1. Moonslav keeps saying the pitching will come around. 2. And the hitting is abysmal--except, of course, they have scored runs.

The swung and missed at low pitches because that splitter is almost as fast as his fastball. A lethal combination.

The Twins Duran is an absolute monster. Reminds me a lot of Ichiro Suzuki, who also threw basically two pitches, fastball and splitter. Only Duran is 10 mph (or more) faster.

Agree. I call it an error, which it was, but that was a tough play.

I hasten to add this Twins pitcher is keeping the ball low--and doing it well. I know of no Sox pitcher who can keep the ball low and still get strikes.

Absolutely amazing. We score only because of the error. But the amazing part is the Sox have to be the only team in MLB that does not even consider bunting with a man on 3b and 1 out in a low-scoring game. And why is that? Because the Sox have decided bunts are passe and so they don't practice them. What they have gotten pretty good at is striking out with men in scoring position.

Just because he struck out 4 times? Boy, are you picky.

Absolutely.

Against the best pitching staff in MLB. After our first three batters, our batting averages, 4 thru 9, are .170, .167, .137, .171, .333 (Duran), and .077. My guess is if you average them out, they are collectively below the Mendoza line. But, yes, it is frustrating to have 8 hits and just 1 run and 2/12 with RISP.

That was deliberate by Correa. He tried to push Devers off the bag.

The difference is command. He hit a lot of corners, including a couple the ump wouldn't give him. Vintage Sale even without the upper 90's fastball. Minnesota lead MLB with the lowest ERA, but they also are near the bottom in scoring runs. And now Winckowski gives up the dinger. But that slider was near the middle of the zone without much break on it.

Verdugo RF Devers 3B Turner DH Yoshida LF Hernandez 2B Casas 1B Wong C Duran CF Chang SS So Wong gets the nod to catch Chris Sale. Five lefty bats with Duran in CF. Kike at 2b for Arroyo.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five: Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. But my wife does--this is our 59th. And don't forget David Hackett Fischer's marvelous book on PR.

RHP Gray vs. LHP Sale, a complete mismatch favoring Minnesota, who are also 10-6 to the Sox 8-9. But this, ladies and gents, is baseball, and anything can happen.

Ivy Leaguer who helped build the Rays system, which dollar for dollar is the best in MLB. Also, it's clear that JH has provided guidance to spend less. Bloom replaced DD, who was given a free hand to buy whatever was needed--starters, a DH, a closer, you name it. Plus, when DD arrived in 2015 the Sox already had some good young players like Mookie, Raffie, Bogey, and Beni--either in Boston or on the way up. JBJ was still hitting (which he barely could in 2014, his first year starting in CF). In 2018 the Sox were the best Sox ever, and the very next season they stunk while JH was still paying a king's ransom for them. So out went DD, and in came Bloom with new guidance. Do more with less. Easier said than done. I cannot refute criticisms of specific trades/deals Bloom has made. Chapter 5 for Whitlock was brilliant. Others not so much. I'd definitely rather have Schwarber than Yoshida. Letting Renfroe go and bringing in JBJ was mindless. The new contract with Barnes in midseason 2021 was ill-advised.

My error. I thought I read he had not. If he did that in Worcester, maybe yesterday's problem was the rain.

Fair enough.

I don't foresee Bello going back to Worcester. All I said was that maybe he, Kluber, and Sale--note the company I've put him with--should start less often. Last week Tampa started a 22 year old rookie, Taj Bradley. His first MLB start, and he looked far more competent and confident that Bello did yesterday--and Bello had 11 MLB starts last year. Before Bello's start yesterday, the message traffic from the Sox was that he has great stuff this year, so good that they didn't even have him start at the AA or AAA level before starting in Boston.

Right now Cora has eight pitchers--Winckowski, Houck, Whitlock, Pivetta, Crawford, Pivetta, Kluber, Bello, and Sale--who are all capable of pitching multiple innings in a game. In my jaundiced view, Kluber, Sale, and Bello are in the "can't be trusted" category. Four others--Houck, Crawford, Whitlock, and Pivetta--are more reliable. Amazingly, all four have almost the same ERA: 4.50, 4.42, 4.50, and 4.50. Winckowski, who has pitched 12 innings in 6 games, has easily the lowest ERA, 1.50. So my thought is that maybe Kluber, Sale, and Bello should start less often and that the four "reliables" should start more often. And Winckowski should be used when Cora thinks a game is winnable (whatever the heck that means).

Meh. Let's see what happens. I too am very down on Sale, but also think he is trying to re-invent himself. He's missed a ton of starts since 2019 and has lost that high heat (upper 90's) he used so much. From what I've seen he does not yet have great stuff and certainly doesn't have great command.

Fair enough. I'm a Bloom supporter, but don't think he's perfect. JBJ for Renfroe was dumb--anyone could see that. I seriously doubt that idea originated with Bloom, but on the other hand it's on him for agreeing with it and making it happen. Same goes for letting Schwarber go and now paying almost as much (and for as long) for Yoshida--although we can't at all be sure we have seen the real Yoshida after such a short time and never having played MLB before.

What a great post!!! Absolutely dead on. I am inclined to defend Bloom, but I do recognize GM's/VP's are hired to be fired and that JH has never hesitated to do that in the past. But my concern this season, more so than in past seasons, is that the Sox system is the problem. They have mostly relied on buying talent developed by other teams, and this has been especially true of pitching. And right now it sure looks as though John Henry hired Chaim Bloom because he doesn't want to spend big every year and would prefer a system like the one the Rays have. In those 4 games in the Trop last week the Rays were thoroughly professional in every phase of the game, and the Sox were not. It's going to take time to develop a good system for identifying, acquiring, and developing talent.

Where is this coming from? We've seen Cora change batting orders regularly throughout his tenure with the Sox. And calling the 4th spot "clean-up" is not supported by statistical evidence. Your best hitters should bat 1st, 2d, or 3d. And the 5th and 6th slots are almost as important as the 4th. Also, as others have pointed out, after Devers, Dugo, and Turner, the Sox lineup could be called, "the return of the Mendoza syndrome" because Kike's hitting, .175, Casas .146, Refsnyder .211, Yoshida .186, Arroyo .160, and Wong . 156. McGuire is hitting a solid .385, but Wong has played in 3 more games and has 6 more at bats because he's better defensively. In fact, right now Wong leads MLB in catcher DWAR with +0.5.