Maxbialystock

The downside of the delay is the Sox have to fly to Tampa after the game. The upside is that with Houck starting and the bullpen a tad overstretched a shortened game should favor the Sox. Last update from NESN is an hour ago. They reported it actually did rain hard at the ballpark.

Hey, fella. There's an entire state between you and Cleveland. How would you know the weather. Now me, I'm just a tad south of Cleveland plus I've got the terrific, authoritative NOAA map, which says the Cleveland team is playing games with the start time because almost all of the rain is going south of Cleveland.

The Cleveland team makes the call, not the umps. Once the game starts, the umps take over on further delays, postponement, whatever.

NESN says the pitchers had already warmed up when the delay was announced.

Don't forget it's the home team, not MLB and not the umpires, who decides when the game will start.

That's also what nesn is reporting. Didn't we do this once already with the Yankees?

Agree. I think Cora now has two good long relievers, Whitlock and Richards, but lately he's plugging them in in the late innings.

Are they going to play this game?

Makes sense. Dalbec, Duran, and Arauz--newbies to the rear.

Wow. I glossed over your answer and now think you have a good point. Thanks. I still don't like Perez, but agree Cora did have some hope he could do the job.

Houck starts: 24 Aug, 4.2 inning 17 Aug, 4 12 Aug, 5 7 Aug, 3.2 28 Jul, 4 22 July, 4.2 3 April, 5 7 starts, 31 innings= 4 innings + 1 1/2 outs per start. In August--the month we're in right now and the one that's most important--he has 4 starts, 17.1 innings, and an average of 4.1 innings per start. Also in August, Houck's pitchers per start are: 24 Aug, 90; 17 Aug, 58; 12 Aug, 89; and 7 Aug, 74--an overall average of 311 and an average of 78 pitches per August start. My assessment is that he has good stuff, but not staying power, which is understandable given his season. However, because he has averaged 4.1 innings per start this month, he has been a drain on the bullpen.

Houck vs. Morgan. Game is at 1:10 pm Both righties, ERA edge to Houck, 3.43 to 5.98. Houck averages about 4 innings per start, so once again the bullpen will be needed big time. Best fix is for the lineup to hammer Morgan, et al, and make it easy on the pitching staff. As for bullpen, Ottavino and Sawamura are likely unavailable. Barnes and Robles are rested. I think Richards, Whitlock, Taylor, and Davis can be available. What makes today harder is that tomorrow begins a 4 game series at Tampa, a team that is sure to test our pitching and hitting. Renfroe should be back today, so I think Cora will choose between Dalbec at 1b with Schwarber in LF vs. Duran in CF and Schwarber at 1B. Arauz keeps 2b because Arroyo and Kike are both out. Vazquez has caught 5 straight games, so Plawecki should be catching Houck today. His OBP of .361 suggests he could even lead off.

Winner!

A fair point. With Renfroe out and Kike both out, Cora has to send JDM or Schwarber to the OF and the other to DH. This also explains why last night's lineup was downright weird. Nevertheless, there were plenty of us--unthinking as we no doubt were--who would have been happy with another day of "rest" for JDM.

Your numbers are flawed. Richards in relief appearances has been way better than Richards the starter. In 6 appearances and 10.1 innings he's given up 1 run, 7 hits, and 3 walks. 10 days ago against the red hot Yankees he pitched 4 innings and gave up a walk and 0 runs and had 5 K's. Last night he was flawless pitching the 8th when the Sox had that 1 run lead. Today he got the last out in the 8th in a tie game. Indeed, since he only threw 4 pitches in the 8th, I would have been tempted to send him out for the 9th.

Put this way, I pretty much agree although it will never be a save situation a night. If it's 1 in 3 games, then probably 2 or 3 guys will be closers. What I dislike about this thread is the asinine assumption that only closers count when in fact every closer relies heavily on the other relievers to hold the line to make a save possible. Today's game is a case in point. Eovaldi went 5.1 innings and left a tie game. Taylor, Sawamura, Davis, Richards, and Whitlock held Cleveland scoreless for the next 3.2 innings. Then came JDM's 3 run dinger, followed by Perez for the save except he walked one batter, hit the next, and got one out before being relieved by Ottavino who faced bases loaded and one out but still got the save. It is unarguable that in this game any run scored against any of those 4 early relievers would have cost the Sox a win.

Does anyone know what Cora said in the postgame about why he sent Perez out to pitch the 10th?

My thesaurus says a handful of MLB teams is 8. What does yours say?

Words to conjure with. moonslav the magician has pulled still another rabbit--JDM 3 for 5 today with a game-winning 3 run dinger to the opposite field--out of his hat.

You didn't have to identify anything. The situation--sending in Perez to close in the 10th--and your exaggerated tone made it obvious you disapproved of Cora. I too thought it was a dumb move, but went on to mention some good decisions Cora made today. Despite the Perez blunder, he's still a terrific manager.

Good win, good 3 in a row--hitting and pitching. Defense hasn't hurt, nor has the baserunning. Schwarber has clearly made a difference. He's no one man band, but his presence in the lineup makes others better. Rotation is far from perfect--Houck has not won this year because he can't go 5 innings and Pivetta is erratic (but very good when he is on)--but good enough. ERod now has 4 good starts in his last 5 and Eovaldi and Sale are solid. With Barnes no longer closing, the bullpen is bouncing back--see the last 4 games, including today's. The Sox confidence is back even though the goal for now is the wild card game. One game at a time.

Eovaldi was OK, the bullpen was better until Cora mistakenly let Perez close. Bogey is struggling, but almost everyone has at some point this year. You could be right about his wrist.

Committee is pejorative and also a stupid word. There is no committee that meets and decides who should pitch which inning. There is, however, a pretty competent bullpen which--and this will no doubt come as a surprise to you--has to pitch more than one inning to enable the Sox to win games. The 10th tonight was a big deal only because Cora foolishly sent his worst reliever out to close with a 3 run lead. There are at least three guys I would trust right now to close--Ottavino (experienced closer), Whitlock (best reliever all season and definitely better than Barnes), and Richards, who has undergone a transformation since joining the bullpen. He's pitched 10.1 innings in 5 games, given up 1 run, and twice (last night and today) pitched--seamlessly-- in the 8th inning in a close game. The point is--and I think I need to repeat myself here--the bullpen succeeds only if it keeps the Sox in the game before the 9th inning rolls around. Indeed, you can almost make a case that Perez got to pitch the 10th because six better pitchers, including starter Eovaldi, held the Guardians to 2 runs for 9 innings.

Forget it. Your sarcasm is as subtle as a sledgehammer. Most sarcasm is. If it's somewhat subtle, it's called irony.

Yeah, well, you and Kimmi love those theories/analyses that argue the batting 3d is no big deal. And maybe you're right. But today the #3 hitter won this game.