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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    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.
  2. Maxbialystock
    My error. I thought I read he had not. If he did that in Worcester, maybe yesterday's problem was the rain.
  3. Maxbialystock
    Fair enough.
  4. Maxbialystock
    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.
  5. Maxbialystock
    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).
  6. Maxbialystock
    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.
  7. Maxbialystock
    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.
  8. Maxbialystock
    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.
  9. Maxbialystock
    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.
  10. Maxbialystock
    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.
  11. Maxbialystock
    I assume you're joking because Schwarber would have fit nicely in LF, at 1B, or as DH. Verdugo was in LF in 2021, but last year it was clear he was better in RF. And 1b last year was a disaster on offense and defense. In Bloom's defense--and in this case I didn't agree with him--the cost of keeping Schwarber was pretty steep.
  12. Maxbialystock
    Meh. Pitches 4 and 5 were 98 mph and in the strike zone. Pitch 6 was also 97 mph and just up, so an entirely forgivable swing. Agree completely on Yoshida.
  13. Maxbialystock
    A game or two ago I think I said the team average in that game was around .200. The Sox won.
  14. Maxbialystock
    Excellent game, well worth watching despite 3 errors (but no unearned runs) and horrible start by Bello. If he starts again, especially instead of Crawford, the Sox brain trust are disinterested in winning games. I can see Bello starting again at some point, but right now think he can long relieve or something to establish a performance baseline better than the one we saw today.
  15. Maxbialystock
    Bottom 5 of the Sox order not so bad. Arroyo hit ball hard--but right at someone. Duran got the double. McGuire and rbi. Kike an rbi. Casas a hit. However, Casas ain't much help on throws in the dirt. Reminds me of the third baseman in Major League--his contract says no extra calisthenics.
  16. Maxbialystock
    Agree on long relievers, 3 or otherwise, because they can be invaluable. Crawford right now looks good enough to start again. Decent stuff, but excellent command, which is exactly what Bello does not have--command.
  17. Maxbialystock
    What is that stuff the ground crew put on the infield? Duran looked like he had excellent traction rounding first base. Also, I can see every player's breath on close ups. So it is chilly.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Tough. Well hit, right to firstbaseman.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Always good to take a look at the back-ups. Duran K's in 3 pitches, and Tapia in 4. Arroyo comes out to play 2b--good. I remember condemning Crawford to the nether regions a couple of weeks ago. Now look at him--the pro from Dover. Duran, meanwhile, looks lost at bat and in the outfield. He's in Yonkers and the game is being played in Boston.
  20. Maxbialystock
    So, having seen him in person, what's the verdict on Trout? Statistically, I think he's definitely delivered the goods.
  21. Maxbialystock
    I've said this before. I've been a Sox fan since 1949 and have only seen two games at Fenway. Both times I was very disappointed with the sight lines from well back in the RF corner--like looking through the wrong end of the telescope. I've been to games at the Royals ballpark in KC, the old Phillies ballpark, Griffith Stadium in DC, Camden Yards in Baltimore, and the new DC Stadium where the Nationals play, and all were vastly superior to the Fens in terms of sightlines. Fenway Park is very photogenic, but doesn't (in my opinion) deliver for the fans. And the Sox management gets away with it because the park is small and, during the JH era, the Sox have put a good product on the field.
  22. Maxbialystock
    About getting the game. I'm getting it on mlb.com/mlb.tv. I live in North Carolina, so blackout restrictions apply to games against MLB teams who play in this state--specifically, the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals, and the Baltimore Orioles. The presumption is that, by enforcing the blackout restrictions, MLB--actually, those three teams--believe they can force me to periodically drive 250 or more miles to see those games in person. While I can remember looking at Sox box scores in 1949, I really became a Sox fan in 1953-54 when living in West Springfield, MA and getting the Sox games on radio with Curt Gowdy. I loved those games even though the Sox finished 84-69 in 1953 and 69-85 in 1954. 1953 was the Yankees' 5th straight WS win and 1954 was the year the Guardians won like 111 games in the regular season and lost 4 straight to the Giants in the WS.
  23. Maxbialystock
    Good comments.
  24. Maxbialystock
    Also good is Cora's decision to make this a rest day for Dugo, Raffy, Turner, and Kike. No way, no how can the Sox beat the Angels with Bello starting against Ohtani. Later this season, maybe, but right now Bello is demonstrably not MLB-ready. He's a 2-pitch wonder with no command.
  25. Maxbialystock
    Another "Cora is just so stupid" thread. So let me try to explain this weak lineup. First and foremost, as you have pointed out, it's fundamentally a weak lineup which has nevertheless scored a ton of runs this season. Even with Duvall, the Sox have just 4 hitters: Duvall, Dugo, Raffie, and Turner. Somehow they still score runs without Duvall, with Yoshida stinking it up, etc. Second, as I pointed out yesterday and everyone ignored, the Sox are currently in the middle of playing 19 games without a break. And we all know Cora believes in giving his players days off throughout the season. The day off helps them and gives benchers some MLB time. Third, Ohtani is tough to beat. Fourth, the Angels have just lost 3 straight and have their best guys supporting Ohtani so they don't get swept--plus they had a day off April 13, the day before this series began. Fifth, it's freaking raining--another good reason to rest your best players.
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