Maxbialystock

I do like the pitch clock, but I also like your point. Like you, I'm used to a different game rhythm. That said, I used to hate all the stalling by both pitchers and batters.

Nice at bat by Casas. 14 pitches and BB. Now a stolen base by the speed merchant Turner--on what I think was a play called from the bench.

Yep. Ain't it weird that our 3, 4, and 5 hitters (Turner, Yoshida, and Duvall) were/are all brand new? About which, this: a bunch of folks keep referring to Yoshida as the "clean-up" hitter, as if to say he should already have driven in 50 or 60 runs. But, from what I've read, your best hitters are higher in the lineup. Plus the 5th and 6th hitters can be very valuable. So the 4th batter is just one of your 6 best. Right now he really isn't one of our 6 best, but this is his first look at American MLB pitching. And it would have been insulting to bat him 9th--or not at all if I interpret some of the nastier remarks correctly.

1. Thanks, vegasbob, for starting the game thread. Gutsy. 2. Yes, the Rays are beating the Sox, but they are also undefeated in 12 games so far this season and going for a record. ' 3. As we have seen, the Rays are good at everything--hitting, pitching, defense, and baserunning. 4. The Sox are weak defensively and pretty much clueless on the basepaths. Hitting comes and goes. But I think the pitching really is pretty decent. 5. You have to be blind today not to see what an ace this guy Springs is. He has excellent stuff and can really paint those corners. That's mostly true of all the Rays starters. The kid last night looked pretty good and he's just 22. When was the last time the Sox had a 22 year old starter that good? 6. If you aren't blind and can admit that this year the Rays are definitely better than the Sox in every aspect of the game, then you should see this series as kind of measurement of where the Sox are. 7. And my no doubt ignorant opinion about that is: not so bad. Pivetta was great in game 1 when the Sox held the Rays to one freaking run--toughest game the Rays have had this season. Too bad Devers struck out looking at a sweet fastball with the bases loaded. Game 2, Rays won 7-2 because Whitlock was getting his first start and clearly ain't there yet. Game 3 the Sox score 7 freaking runs but still lose, mostly because vastly overpaid--and DD buy/holdover--Chris Sale started and now has an ERA of 11+. Today it's 1-1 in the 4th despite missing both Duvall and Devers in the lineup. In fact it's a nothing lineup. So take that and smoke it in your pipe awhile.

Intelligible means understandable, not intelligent. Sox players are by and large intelligible--in some cases, given a translator--but they play stupid ball most of the time. Maybe not stupid, just uncoached.

Plus, watching these two teams in action it's obvious the Rays are much better coached. In fact, I would go so far as to say this Sox team looks uncoached, period.

Yes, an egregious error by Dalbec that led to an unearned run. But the villain of this game is the vastly overpaid Chris Sale.

Wasn't anywhere near him. Bad throw by Verdugo.

Tampa starter, Bradley, is 22 and so far looks way more professional than Sale.

Looks like Sale might be hittable.

The defense stinks, I agree, but right now I kind of like the pitching. Yes, Whitlock stunk last night, but it was against the highest scoring offense in MLB. For reference, Klubar and Sale also stunk their first times out--against teams that don't hit/score as well as Tampa. And the night before Pivetta, with his reworked breaking ball, which I hesitate to call a curve, held the Rays scoreless for 5 innings. Then the bullpen gave up the solo dinger in the 8th for the only run in the game. Pretty doggone good pitching by the Sox. In two games and 18 innings against the best offense in MLB, Whitlock gave up 5 runs in 5 innings, and everybody else (Pivetta and the bullpen) gave up 2 earned runs in 11 innings. With a lousy defense backing them up. Tonight Sale gets a shot, and let's hope he has good stuff. Last time out was a big improvement over his first start, but he still threw a very hittable fastball. If he throws a lot of fastballs tonight, he's dead meat. He needs to use that slider, changeup (the good one, not that lousy one that sometimes shows up), and what looks like a new pitch this season, a cut fastball. As for the hitting, I'm getting a little tired of the "they're using lefties" excuse. The real problem is that the Rays pitchers are all professionals with good stuff and good command. Plus we already saw the Pirates cut the Sox hitters down to size--at Fenway and with Duvall in the lineup. My assessment right now is that the Sox pitching is their strength. Defense and baserunning are nonexistent. And the hitting is suspect. Thus did our best hitter, our $315M man, look at a called 3d strike with the bases loaded in the 8th inning of game 1 in Tampa. I do think the Sox lineup can hit bad pitching.

Only JH has the answer to that question.

Meh. Building a good farm system takes time. And that's a cheap shot on the Mookie trade. He went because John Henry knew he was going to demand a gigantic salary, one JH was unwilling to pay. So off Mookie went to the Dodgers along with deadbeat, expensive David Price (so bad the Sox had to pay half his salary with the Dodgers). This was exactly the kind of trade the Sox made after I think the 2014 season when the Sox sent AGon, Beckett, and Lackey to the Dodgers. Sox team salaries are now 14th highest in MLB--which is the lowest in the John Henry era. You think Bloom is behind this, but clearly it's John Henry. I think David Dombrowski soured him on the "spend big" approach. Speaking of which, the Dodgers and Yankees continue to be near the top of MLB team salaries, year after year after year, simply because they both have huge fan bases and can afford to spend big. During the John Henry era in Boston, 2002-present, the Yankees have won 1 WS (2009), and the Dodgers 1 (the phony-baloney WS of 2020, which was/is a complete joke). The Sox have also spent big for almost all of the JH era, but the four WS titles suggest they also spent smart--even including the guy I don't like, DD. That 2018 Sox team was the Sox best team ever--and then stunk it up in 2019, after which DD left and Bloom was hired, clearly with the JH intent of wanting to try a different approach.

To be honest, I can't prove you're wrong. In fact, Tampa has been especially good since Bloom left after the 2019 season. However, I think his situation is different from previous VP's/GM's under JH, who right now seems determined to keep spending less and less on players. This year's payroll is the lowest in the John Henry era.

I'd love to say you're overstating what happened, but I completely agree with you. Plus let's not forget that our catcher Wong had a passed ball on a third strike that was inside the strike zone, hit his glove and bounced to his right front--but Wong was still not quick enough to get the batter out at first.

They also have a payroll of $74M, less than half of the Sox payroll. Indeed, Bogey's new contract gets him $280M and Raffie's $310M. Raffie might be usable for 10 more years, but not Bogey (whose contract is for 11). So let's say Bogey is a $28M/year man and Raffie $31M/year--combined they are paid $59M/year or over 1/3 of the entire Rays team. Nowhere on espn or any of the sports websites or networks will you read or hear commentators commending Rays management. Nosiree. ESPN and others have bought into higher pay for MLB players and especially for the highest paid ones. The bigger the contract, the better the story. And that's because, they say/think the rich owners can afford to pay those salaries. Absolutely untrue. All owners, including our own John Henry, want their teams to make a profit. And that means the fans are paying for those salaries and not, emphatically not, the owners.

It's early days, and right now the Rays are hands down the best team in MLB. Last night's game was their toughest win of what looks like 11 straight so far this season. They definitely have the best pitching, so it should be no surprise the Sox have struggled to score because about a week or so ago the Sox scored just 3 runs in the final 26 innings of the series vs. Pittsburgh--and that was with Duvall.

Absolutely true--and very insightful. Careful construction of the batting order is what makes ordinary hitters better.

Good point. Same logic applies to keeping Devers batting 2d. He's a lefty bat facing mostly lefty pitchers and should have been dropped in the order. But there he was last night, batting 2d as usual, with the bases loaded with two out in the top of the 8th inning of a scoreless game. And what does he do with that golden opportunity? He strikes out looking at a pitch well within the strike zone. The key to good managing is putting the hitters in the right spots. If only Cora knew how to do that, the Sox would be sweeping the Rays in Tampa.

I agree they've been stinking it up, but I'm not sure the Sox have hitters who can do appreciably better. Raffie is hitless and absolutely stunk it up last night with the bases loaded. Move Dalbec up from 8th?

Agree completely it's a better lineup with Duvall in it. I just think the dominant Rays pitching this year is hard to score on. Tonight I thought we saw McClanahan throw great stuff and shut down the Sox for 5 innings despite the walks. Last night same deal. Indeed, last night, our absolute best hitter, Devers, came up with the bases loaded and 2 outs and struck out looking at a fastball well inside the strike zone.

You need to reread that because to me you're agreeing that Bloom helped build a great system for identifying and developing good players, especially pitchers, for a minimum amount of money. That unique--no other MLB team comes remotely close--Rays system continues to flourish, but it took a while to build it. If Bloom was hired to do something similar for the Sox, it won't happen quickly. The Great Dombrowski inherited a bunch of good young hitters, so all he had to do was go out and buy a good DH, JDM, and a basketful of pitchers--of whom only Sale is still around (and not for the good). My guess is you want Dombrowski back and spending megabucks for pitchers who won't last long.

I'm afraid that's true. He just doesn't have the strong repertoire--especially not that fast ball-- and especially the command to be a starter.

Actually, it was the bottom of the order who got 2 on last night right before Devers came up with the bases loaded and looked at a called 3d strike well inside the strike zone. Why is it so difficult on talksox to acknowledge that the Rays pitching is tough? Nobody on the Sox staff comes remotely close to the stuff McClanahan is throwing. And our man Whitlock keeps throwing gopher balls. Talk about a guy who wasn't ready to pitch tonight.

Duvall would have struggled against this year's Rays pitching. That inflated OPS is against lousy pitching. '