Maxbialystock

Agree. RF at Fenway is much tougher than LF, but he seems to handle it well. Plus apparently he's got a decent arm.

Well, I have to admit that you and moonslav have made some persuasive arguments for robo-umps. So well done--and I do mean that. But to me it goes back to the simple fact that the strike zone is the least real thing on the field of play. All other calls are based on did a player catch the ball or not, touch the bag or not, get tagged before he touched the bag or not, hit a fair ball or a foul ball, hit a double or a home run, balk or not balk, etc, etc. In other words, something you can see. Balls and strikes, on the other hand are called based on the width of the plate, and an interpretation of the top of the strike zone and the bottom of it, based on the physique of the batter, which, I hasten to add, can vary during an at bat. To make it even more complicated, the pitch itself changes trajectories and must intersect the strike zone, I believe, at the front of the plate. In other words, it's entirely possible the camera/computer have the wrong strike zone for a given hitter, but we accept it because its based on technology which dominates our lives in 2022. I recently saw a large photo of at least 100 people walking up and down stairs some wide outdoor stairs (I think at least 30 stairs), and every single one of them was fixated on her/his cell phones. So, pardon me for saying so, but, if the batter and the pitcher are humans doing their best to pitch or hit (or not swing at) those pitches which not even technology can be trusted to get right, I want a no-baloney fallible human umpire giving his best shot at whether the pitch was a ball or a strike. It's worked for 150 years. I have yet to read a quote from any retired player, HOF'er or not, blaming the umpires for preventing him from being all he could be. And I look forward to continued griping by hitters, catchers, pitchers, managers, coaches, and bench jockeys because griping is good for the soul. Done by the best, griping can even be entertaining.

The difference, as I keep saying, is who makes the calls. The referee and the linesmen make them. And the video officials are available for any issues. That's exactly the same as those guys in NYC monitoring MLB games. They make the final ruling after a challenge. What roboumps will do is simply eliminated umpires from any say in balls and strikes, which, as I keep reminding every, are central to the game of baseball because the confrontation between hitter and pitcher is central. Why else does a MLB team normally carry 12 or even 13 pitchers on a 25 man roster? The Sox right now have a box of rocks for their pitching staff, but 14 of 28 roster players are pitchers. And why else do most teams fill their lineups with hitters who can hopefully field vs. great fielders who can hopefully hit? Indeed, one can make an argument that the shifts developed by computers were intended to optimize pitching effectiveness while minimizing the need for great defense.

The lineup was about as good as the Sox have fielded this year. They had 9 hits, including a dinger and 2 doubles, and 4 free passes. But they were 1 for 10 with RISP and of course had two GIDP's. Thus did they score 2 measly runs. Cora started a promising rookie, Bello, who pitched 5 shutout innings and who started the 6th with a K. Then the roof fell in and suddenly the bases were loaded on a grounder single and 2 walks. All 3 of them scored. Ort had a WP and gave up a single and a walk. He was charged with zero runs while getting 2 outs. The Orioles finished the game with 3 runs--by any measure a well-pitched game by the Sox.

You must be talking about timing races. But you are not talking about officiating soccer/football, basketball, hockey, water polo, field hockey, etc. All those are competitive team events analogous to MLB baseball. And might I add that the single most popular sport in the whole world is what we call soccer and everyone else calls football. It has always had one freaking referee to make the calls on a huge field with 11 players on each side. Plus of course the linesmen who help with offsides and out of bounds calls. You are mixing apples and oranges.

What a crock. Seriously. In every other sport the referee or umpire or whoever makes the freaking call, not the freaking cameras. Only after the call is a coach or whoever allowed to challenge the call. Plus, and I can't emphasize this too strongly, the players and pitchers cannot see or even take advantage of the microscopic differences between balls and strikes that cameras/computer see and put on our screens.

Agree it's early, but not that his minor league career is irrelevant, and 90 years of MLB history--since Branch Rickey first created a minor league development system for the Cardinals--say I'm right. I do not disagree that it's still a leap from AAA to the majors. However, in Casas case, he graduated a year early from high school to get to the minors one year sooner, 2018. When he did so, he was a first round pick and paid a bonus of $2.6M. I don't disagree that sometimes those bonuses are wasted, but the fact that they exist suggests that MLB teams agree you can see potential before it proves itself with a great rookie season in MLB. At 22 Casas is pretty young to get to the big club, especially when he basically missed 2020 because of the pandemic.

Definitely. Just 5 freaking games. And he's 22. All the write-ups say he has a ton of potential--he can hit, especially dingers, has soft hands at 1b, etc. Slow runner, but smart. DD and crew picked him the first round of 2018 and gave him a $2.6M bonus, which he has more than lived up to so far. The one concern would be his weight. At 6'4" he is not the tallest guy on the 28 man roster, but at 252 lbs he is certainly the heaviest--and the youngest.

True, but those are evaluative purposes, including feedback for the umps to improve their calls. They've been doing that for a long time, even for spring training games. I just want a human calling balls and strikes. If it's played by humans, the calls should be made by humans. If MLB goes to robo umps, it will be the only sport in the world that is essentially officiated by cameras and computer programs. I say that because the pitcher-catcher confrontation is central to every single game. I'm guessing 250 pitches are thrown in a game and maybe 70 (15 hits by each team plus 20 playable balls that result in outs) result in a hit ball that is playable. Provide your own numbers, but don't try to say that even half of pitched balls result in playable hits or outs.

Fully rested bullpen doesn't mean that much when it stinks to high heaven and means still less when whoever you send in has a freaking 2 run lead with the bases loaded and one out. It's basically Schreiber or nobody because he's the only Sox reliever who has gone in with the bases loaded and gotten 3 outs with no runs scored. But he did that against the loser Rangers. These Orioles are pretty decent, especially at Camden Yards where they are 41-28. And the last time Schreiber faced the Orioles he gave up 2 runs while getting no one out. Or put it this way. By any reasonable measure this was a good game for the Sox pitching. The lineup, not so good. 9 hits plus free passes, but yet again hit with RISP disease: 1 for freaking 10, Devers especially.

Game over. Cora simply put the wrong lineup in the game, I guess. Or maybe he shouldn't have started Bello. Or maybe pulled him after the 5th inning?

The players are not giving themselves the best chance to win. All the big guns are in the lineup and they can't hit spit. Two freaking runs in 8 freaking innings. The pitching has given up just 3 runs despite Bello, who had an excellent start, leaving with the bases full and 1 out in the 6th. All 3 of those runners scored and are charged to Bello. None of that is Bello's fault of course. Nor is it Ort's.

Rays stole a couple off of Wong. I don't disagree that some catchers have a quicker releases and better arms than other catchers. But some pitchers are better than others at preventing SB's.

These changes all make sense to me. Speeding up the game is long overdue, as are ending as much as possible all those little stalling tactics engaged in by both hitters and pitchers. As for those computer-driven shifts, I think they are intrusive and, just as bad, unfairly help the defense--and the pitcher--at a time when hitters are struggling. To remind: hitting a round ball with a round bat squarely is tough enough without having a computer telling the pitcher what to throw and fielders where they should ideally be positioned. That said, my insistence that baseball is all about human skills--vice human-developed computer programs--seems to run counter what my fellow boob-tube watchers also seem to want. Robo-umps. And they want them because they believe that little rectangle we see on our tv screens is real even though it is literally invisible to the hitters, pitchers, and umpires. That's right, we now insist on pitch-calling accuracy which nobody on the field can actually see. Why? Because we can see it on our TV screens and therefore it is more real than the umpires, who are on the verge of obsolescence.

Story was not bargain at $22M x 6, but I think he was a good acquisition because 2d base has been weak since Pedey got nailed by Machado. Plus he's a good SS. Plus maybe Bogey would settle for 6 X $25M.

I forgot that. Indeed, Bloom's unwillingness to dump Devers or Bogey on 1 August suggests he and JH haven't given up on either one.

Agree.

I hope you realize my own druthers are to find a way to keep Bogey and Devers and to fix the pitching. And the pitching is complicated by the fact that Sale, Wacha, Pivetta, and Bello just might be a good start on a rotation next year. If that comes to fruition--and you have mentioned that possibility-- the Sox should be looking for relievers.

Do not disagree about the dangers of a long term contract--nor, I suspect, do Bloom and Henry. They did, however, just give Story 6 years, and might offer Bogey, whose the same age, six years, which would run to age 36, by which he might have gone back to 3b even though others have stayed at SS at that age. Devers, 4 years younger, probably wants 12 years, but maybe the Sox can get him for 10, depending on total amount. You are right about the pitching, of course. But, if the Sox have learned nothing else recently, it's the absolute folly of paying "market value"--which means lots of money for lots of years--for an ace. See Price, Sale, Cole, et al. Compared to them, re-signing Bogey and Devers looks like a freaking bargain. I exaggerate of course. Thus I go back to moonslav's stream of charts that suggest how Bloom can spend the freed-up payroll expected in 2023. None of them are simple and none assume big bucks for long years for anyone. In other words, no easy fixes.

Could not agree more. I like both of them a ton, and they have been good for the franchise and us fans. But I just looked at MLB pitching, season to date. These are the teams with the best ERA's-- 1. Dodgers, running away with the NL with 92 wins. 2. Astros, 87 wins, most in AL. 3. Rays, 75 wins, but could catch the Yankees despite so-so hitting. 4. Yankees, 81 wins, AL East lead. 5. Braves, 84 wins, right behind the Mets for NL East. 6. Mariners, 76-59, in the wild card despite 21st in MLB in runs scored. 7. Mets, 85 wins, NL East lead 8. Guardians, 69-64, AL Central lead. 9. Cardinals, 79-56, NL Central lead. 10. Angels, 59-76. 11. Orioles, 71-64, their best season in a long time. 12. Jays, 75-59, their hitting is better 13. Brewers, 71-63, 2 games out of wild card. 14. Padres, 74-62, in the wild card for now. 25. Red Sox, 67-69 thanks to 8th in MLB in scoring and 9th in team OPS--and good managing

Their combined WAR to date is -0.6. To me the problem with the Sox lineup in 2023 is simple. JDM, who has helped a lot but not so much this year, is probably gone. Devers and Bogey, who have been at least as useful, hitting-wise, want long-term contracts which JH and CB might be reluctant to offer. Funny thing about those dingers everyone seems to crave. In their four WS seasons, the Sox were ranked 18th in MLB in dingers in 2007, 5th in 2004, 6th in 2013, and 10th in 2018. In those same seasons, the Sox team ERA was 11th in 2004, 2d (!!!!) in 2007, 14th in 2013 (but it was an outstanding 1st in the postseason, 2.59!!), and 8th in 2018.

I'm fine with Story at 2b. You are no doubt right about Dugo too, but I've seen him make more good plays in RF than in LF. Yes, he badly misplayed that carom off the right field wall in Fenway and had to run 40 years, but then he made a terrific no bounce throw to 3b to nail that guy--a huge play. Also at Fenway, he caught that fly/liner in deep right center that looked like it was going out.

Feet first is a legitimate slide, always has been. But I don't like the Ty Cobb way which was usually spikes up with intent to maim. That's how Machado ended Pedey's career although Pedey insisted it was a clean play--and apparently the umps agreed. On that slide last night, I agree Verdugo was just trying to get to 2d base as quickly as possible with a feet first slide. I also agree infielders should not get away with blocking.

Yes, that's what's going on and therefore it is normal to gripe. Indeed, I'm on another blog site for college basketball and during the games the criticism is frequent and scathing--and far worse than on talksox.

I cannot and do not refute your impression because I've never been there. The idiosyncracies of the playing field and roof affect the players, but, then, Fenway has its idiosyncracies too.