Maxbialystock

Meh. To me the bigger point is that jacksonianmarch is broadcasting old news. The AL East has been the beast of the American League almost from the outset this season. The Yankees are a big part of that, but three of the other AL East teams have winning records and the lowly Orioles @ .463 are almost respectable. The one key point jacksonianmarch pounced on not long ago is that the postseason format dampens the Yankees prospects for winning the WS in 2022. Absolutely no question they have been great his year. But last year's WS champs, the Braves, won just 88 games in the regular season. Other 2021 postseason teams included the Rays (100 wins), the Red Sox and Yankees (92 wins each), the White Sox (93 wins), the Astros (95 wins), the Brewers (95 wins), the Cardinals (90 wins), the Giants (107 wins), and the Dodgers (106 wins).

It's a brave new world. Seabold went 4.2 vs. the Jays and gave up 7 runs, then 4.0 vs. the Cubs and 1 run. Winckowski pitched 3 vs. the Orioles in April for 4 runs. June: 3 starts, 17 innings, ERA 2.12. July: 6 innings, 1 run. Crawford has had three good outings (3 IP, 0 runs vs the Rays, 5 IP, 0 runs vs Seattle and 5.1 IP, 0 runs vs. the Rays), and 8 others that brought his season ERA to 5.04. All in all, not too shabby by the rookies. Now comes Bello, age 23, with 14 starts, 85 IP, and an ERA of 2.33 this year in AA and AAA.

That has definitely been the trend this season for the Sox. We can only hope that Wacha will recover the use of his arm for ordinary living tasks.

Agree with bellhorn04, but these are just terrific stats.

Attendance last night was 31K, not too shabby. The Sox are currently ranked 9th in MLB attendance with 31,695 per game.

JDM's current (July 6, 2022) WAR is 3d best in MLB among DH's. Bogey's WAR of 3.1 is also 3d best--among shortstops--in MLB. Mookie Betts has a gargantuan contract/salary, and his WAR is 3.0. I have griped about those two as well, but perspective is needed. I agree their departures after this season are likely, but do think they will be missed. Bogey was part of the 2013 and 2018 WS teams, JDM the 2018 (his first season with Boston). However, I also think the John Henry will not want to meet their salary demands.

Agree.

That beaning was accidental, maybe caused by the rain, and the Sox reacted appropriately. A huge contrast to when the Jays completely over-reacted to an inside pitch by Pivetta which hit Kirk, who was 1 for 6 in that series.

Meh. Disappointed with the 2/12 with RISP, but the simple fact is that Pivetta had a tough game, giving up 7 runs, which against the Rays pitching usually means a loss. Thank goodness for those batting helmets!!!

Three terrible, terrible at bats by Bogey, Vazquez, and Story--with men on 2d and 3d and no one out. Plus the Rays score a man from 2d base on a grounder to SS because Bogey wasn't alert and neither was Dalbec.

hmmmmmm

Cora announced today he expects Wacha to avoid the IL. However, pitching being what it is, he could still go on the IL.

Duran CF (WAR .4) Refsnyder LF (.6) JDM DH (1.3) Bogey SS (3.0) Vazquez C (1.1) Story 2B (2.0) Cordero RF (.2) Arroyo 3B (-.2) Dalbec 1B (-.5)

Sox pitchers gave up 6 hits, 10 BB's, and a WP (by Diekman, to bring in the winning run) in game 1. Cubs pitchers have up 2 BB's and no WP's--and induced two GIDP's (to the Cubs one). Here's a small grabber for game 2 in Chicago. The Cubs were 0 for 9 with RISP and scored 6 runs. They also hit 2 doubles, a triple, and a dinger.

I apologize for misreading you. I like the bullpen start, especially the way the Rays use it. Sometimes that bullpen start is used to mask the real starter. Neat--when it works. But I also like a good rotation, which the Sox have sort of had this year until all those injuries. As has been pointed out, one option is to bring guys up to get a spot start or more. Winckowski has worked out, and is way better than a series of bullpen starts. Seabold might be OK. And now comes Bello tomorrow night. Crawford, who was so great yesterday, is also a rookie who has started 3 games (1 last year, 2 this year) and did 5.1 in brilliant relief yesterday.

Not on the IL yet. Apparently no structural damage detected.

Back to the bullpen. Yesterday it was fantastic, and, except for that awful 6th inning of game 1, was pretty good in Chicago. When Whitlock returns (a week?), Cora will have Schreiber, Davis, Houck, Whitlock, Diekman, Sawamura, Crawford, and some combination of Danish, Strahm, Valdez, et al. If Winckowski stays in the rotation, Hill could join the bullpen once Sale, Eovaldi, and Wacha have returned--and all are due back before Hill.

I don't need to look those schedules up because I already have and can confirm you are right. It does not help that right now, with Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Wacha, and Hill all out, the Sox are in the midst of playing 17 games in 17 days vs. the Cubs (3 games), Rays (7), and Yankees (7). This puts a lot of pressure on the bullpen and also requires the call-ups of Winckowski, Seabold, and now Bello. Thus, after the ignominious trip to Wrigley Field, yesterday's "bullpen" start and win was a nice surprise. That's baseball.

Meh. The Sox hitting sucked in Chicago. In three games, their one big rally, in the 2d inning of game 1, was the result of a single, a HBP, a BB, and JBJ's double. Three big runs, and just 1 for the next 7 innings. 1 run in game 2. And the 2 winning runs in the 11th were the result of a humungous throwing error by the Cubs pitcher. Despite the absence of Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, and now Wacha and Hill, the Sox pitching has been surprisingly good. I'd like to give Cora a little credit, but apparently allowing Robles to pitch at all has consigned him to the trash heap of manager history.

In the event, Davis pitched 2 innings yesterday, Crawford 5.1, and Schreiber 1.2 for a shutout and 4-0 win. Pivetta goes tonight, and Bello goes Wed night. Given that going into yesterday's game the Sox were playing lousy ball (and were lucky to get the one win vs the lowly Cubs) and the Rays had taken 3 straight in Toronto, I kind of like what Cora patched together. And Bello still gets to start vs. the Rays. In short, your criticism of Cora has proven to be dead wrong. Also, FWIW, both Winckowski and Seabold got hit hard in their first starts for Boston this year.

I'm practically the polar opposite of moon, but he has used one game at a time in his streaks. Yesterday was to me a spectacular win given the weak play of the Sox vs. the Cubs and the strong play of the Rays in their last 3 games ( 6-2, 11-5, 7-3) @ Toronto. But the one game at a time also signifies that each game, despite the incredible length of the MLB season, can be relished (or despaired of) by itself. Also, in the Sox case, a lot of talent--Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Wacha, Hill, Kike, Bogey--is on the IL or day to day. I think five of those seven will return to duty before the ASG. The question then is "when?" Tonight's game figures to be a pitching duel--as yesterday's to my surprise proved to be--so of course I'm worried about the Sox lineup's continuing slump. That could end quickly, but the Rays pitching doesn't give away much.

When Whitlock returns--I'm hoping for this weekend vs. the Yankees--the Sox will have a pretty good bullpen with Schreiber, Houck, Whitlock, Davis, Sawamura, Diekman, and possibly Brasier/Danish/Strahm. Of course, the Yankees lineup leads the AL in runs scored and is 2d in OPS. For this Rays series and this weekend's 4 games vs. the Yankees, the rotation will continue to be patchwork: tonight Pivetta, tomorrow Bello, Thursday Winckowski, Friday Seabold, Saturday Wacha/Crawford, Sunday Pivetta, and Monday Bello again. For the final 7 games (4 at @ Tampa, 3 @ NYC), however, it's possible we will see Sale Eovaldi, and Wacha--Plus Whitlock in the bullpen.

Springs (L) vs Pivetta ® One game at a time.

Just about everyone on talksox keeps ignoring one stunning reality. Right now Sale, Eovaldi, Whitlock, Wacha, and Hill are on the IL and only Sale seems close to returning. That's a lot of pitching/starter talent currently unavailable to an excellent manager. So my assertion on July 4 is Bloom would be stupid to rush to judgment on this team. Let's get some of those guys back, and sooner is better. Unfortunately, none are due back soon and the need is now with the Sox playing the Rays and Yankees for the next 13 games. Sale could conceivably start this weekend vs. the Yankees. Whitlock could be back soon after that, and I think that will solidify the bullpen who already have Schreiber, Houck, Sawamura, Davis, Diekman, and even Brasier and Danish. Meanwhile, Cora has a rotation of Pivetta, rookie Winckowski, rookie Seabold, and players to be named later. We need both Sale and Eovaldi back in the rotation before the ASG, not after. Meanwhile, the lineup has been helped by some unlikely guys like Duran, Cordero, Refsnyder, Arroyo (but only, it seems, when he starts at SS), and Vazquez (hitting again but not running).

Perhaps. He has pitched well enough in the past to merit a salary of $2.5M. In his first 9 games this season, he went 9.2 innings (vs. NYY twice, vs. Jays 3 times, vs. Rays twice) and gave up 1 run. His velocity is still there, but his breaking stuff right now isn't sharp.