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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Works for RP'ers because they only face hitters once in game. Whitlock has a much better assortment of pitches than Houck.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Just tuned in to see Houck stink it up in the 3d. He seems to be a 2 pitch wonder--fastball and slider--or have I missed his excellent curve and/or outstanding changeup and/or devastating splitter?
  3. Maxbialystock
    I have never been against shifting players to a new position, but I do trust management--you know, the guys who have won 4 WS after the 86 year drought--to make those decisions. And guess what? Devers has owned 3b since 2017 and Bogey SS since 2014. As for Crawford, he plays for the Giants, is 34 to Bogey's 29, and isn't nearly the hitter Bogey is--and probably isn't the hitter Dalbec (who is 10 years younger and a whole lot cheaper) is.
  4. Maxbialystock
    And that's the way it is, Wednesday, September 15, 2021 with the Sox in a 3 way tie for the 2 AL wild card slots. With Seattle starting lefty Gonzalez, Schwarber gets the nod over Verdugo, who has really struggled against lefties this year. As for the defense, right now I think Dalbec is as good at 1b as anyone else on the Sox and certainly better than Schwarber. Actually, I think this is as good a defensive infield as the Sox have had this season, but LF and RF are clearly suspect even though Renfroe has that rifle arm which very, very recently won a game for the Sox by getting 2 outfield assists, one of which was one of the best throws any of us have seen.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Completely agree the defense goes up and down just like hitting and pitching although I would argue that hitting and pitching are much harder to master and more likely to incur slumps. That said, my point remains: this is still the same motley crew the Sox started the season with. Preferred outfield was and is Verdugo, Kike, and Renfroe--with their collective strengths and weaknesses--and the preferred infield is Bogey and Devers on the left side, now mostly Dalbec at 1b, and almost anyone at 2b. I would argue quite strenuously that Dalbec has actually improved at 1b, which I thought was inevitable given he came up as a third baseman.
  6. Maxbialystock
    Oh, practice!! Why didn't you say so? Of course that's the problem. Not. Are you nuts? Baseball in its current form requires the longest apprenticeship, which goes back at least to little league if not T ball, of any major sport in the world. They do nothing but practice for 15 or more years before finally getting to MLB. That said, however, this particular Sox team has had to do a lot of shifting around to get the best bats and not necessarily the best gloves in the lineup--thus Dalbec/Schwarber at 1b, JDM/Schwarber in LF, etc. 87 different guys have played 2b--or was it 88? So, while I strenuously disagree about lack or practice, I do not disagree about the lack of continuity in key Sox positions.
  7. Maxbialystock
    If the Sox had better defense, chances are the hitting would suck, which is why these John Henry Sox, the most successful in Sox history, recruit hitters first and fielders a distant second. Bogey, one of your favorite targets, has the highest overall WAR on the team.
  8. Maxbialystock
    The fact remains that the Sox defense has been mediocre the entire season and that what went downhill was the rotation, then the bullpen, and then the hitting. Moreover, none of you has addressed the simple fact that, with this horrendously lousy defense--and there we do agree--the Sox have definitely exceeded expectations this year. And they have exceeded expectations primarily because--wait for it--they have the 3d best team OPS in MLB and the 4th most runs scored. By the way, the team that dazzles me this season is the Rays because they have good pitching and good defense--and also find ways to score runs (most in MLB!!!!!!!) without a bunch of big bats in their lineup. So I am absolutely not opposed to good defense because it's obvious good D makes the Rays better. Yet even they are dependent on a pretty darn good offense to have that 9 game lead.
  9. Maxbialystock
    This is one of the all time great non-sequiturs.
  10. Maxbialystock
    If the Sox had better defense, chances are their good their hitting would suck, or have you never heard the expression, "good field, no hit," which is the label pinned on minor leaguers who can't make it to the majors?
  11. Maxbialystock
    We are about to get into a chicken and the egg argument because I'm a believer that Sox teams win because they go after good hitters. Good fielders, including the two key positions, CF and SS, are secondary. Thus was Iglesias traded and earlier Gonzalez (or have you forgotten him?). Ellbury stuck in CF mostly because of his offense and speed. He improved his fielding, but always had a weak arm. In 2014 JBJ inherited the CF position after Ellsbury went to the Yankees. Brilliant though he was on defense, JBJ was up in Boston and then back down to Pawtucket like a yo-yo because he could not hit a lick. Finally, finally he started hitting in August and stuck even though his OPS for 2014 was .531. And, I'm sorry, but you can't claim 9 more wins with good defense because, guess what, when you get good fielders at all your positions, you also get their hitting--or have you forgotten about that?
  12. Maxbialystock
    Actually, you're wrong because the defense has been the same all season long, including when the Sox led the AL in wins back in July. What went downhill was the rotation, which finally forced Cora to send Richards and Perez to the bullpen, which has also struggled. Indeed, so has the hitting. Let's not forget that in the 2d half the Sox have been hit hard by COVID, which has had it's biggest effect on pitching and hitting, not defense. Indeed, right now with Iglesias at 2b so that Verdugo can play LF, Kike CF, and Renfroe RF, the defense is possibly better than earlier in the season. Even Dalbec has shown signs of mastering 1b--but, sadly, not Schwarber.
  13. Maxbialystock
    A question. Why are the Sox currently tied with the Jays and Yankees--both teams predicted to do well this season--for the 2 wild card slots on September 15? This thread is currently dominated by complaints about the defense, which in fact just might be the worst Sox defense ever. If defense is so all-fired important, why aren't the Sox mired down there with the Orioles? Relatedly, if Bogey is such a disaster at SS, why did the Sox dump Iglesias (to get Jake Peavy) in 2013 (when the Sox won the WS), install Bogey at SS in 2014, and then have their best season ever in 2018 with Bogey at SS and Devers at 3b? Oh, and why does Bogey, the presumed disaster at SS, currently have the highest WAR on the Sox?
  14. Maxbialystock
    Good move by Cora to pinch hit lefty Shaw for righty Dalbec last night. Also, despite his mini-slump (5 games, 0 for 16, 9 K's), pinch-hitting Schwarber for Plawecki. The headline on my mlb.com app--Red Sox news--goes "Schwarber, Sox forge 3-way Wild Card tie." It's September 15th, 147 games into the 2021 season, and the Sox, who were supposed to go nowhere this year, are still very much in it.
  15. Maxbialystock
    Could not agree more. Yes, by the rules, all three of those Seattle runs in the 7th were unearned, but an error by Schwarber should not be a license for Brasier to give up a single followed by that dinger. That said, I'm not sure Cora has a lot of great options with his current bullpen.
  16. Maxbialystock
    Renfroe's error also cost an unearned run. Last night only 1 Seattle run was earned.
  17. Maxbialystock
    I respectfully disagree. For big chunks of this season, granted, Dalbec has looked awful at 1b. However, he has been a third baseman and should have been able to pick up this new position. I think that has finally happened and that he is better defensively than other options like Schwarber, Arroyo, etc. Meanwhile, including this game, Schwarber is 0 for his last 16 at bats with 9 K's. His September OPS (for 12 games) is .606.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Cora erred in starting schwarber, who was in a slump before tonight and Dalbec has the hotter bat and has played well at 1b recently.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Schwarber has become an unmitigated liability. He can’t field and he has stopped hitting.
  20. Maxbialystock
    Well, I guess that's progress. On his third at bat vs Gilbert, Schwarber did not K. Instead, a lazy pop to left field.
  21. Maxbialystock
    A lucky single, and I'm still going ape. Iggy ties it with persistance!!!!! Time for the top of the Sox order to do something besides punt.
  22. Maxbialystock
    FWIW, that 3d strike against Renfroe was on hanging slider that he should have killed.
  23. Maxbialystock
    I remain astounded at how rotten Schwarber, Bogey, and Devers looks against Gilbert vs. Iglesias, Verdugo, and now Vazquez.
  24. Maxbialystock
    I do not. If, however, he hits a double and brings Verdugo home, I will go ape.
  25. Maxbialystock
    How can Verdugo hit easily what Devers and Schwarber simply cannot hit? Leadoff man on!!!
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