Maxbialystock

Dalbec! Dalbec!

You seriously didn't think Whitlock could get anyone out?

Whitlock! Whitlock! Best reliever the Sox have. Now let's get some more runs so Cora can pull him out.

As expected, Whitlock for Sale in the 6th inning. I'm guessing he goes at least 1.2--depending on how the game develops of course.

3d time thru the Rangers order and they are fouling off Sale's best pitches. Thus the walk and HBP--and the almost deep fly to CF.

Left that slider up and too close to the middle of the plate--plus it broke in on a lefty hitter. Sale has terrific command, but he ain't poifect. That slider needed to be perfect to work. Worth noting: Sale never shakes off his pitcher, so Vazquez was the one calling for a slider to break into a lefty hitter.

The Sox have guys--Robles comes to mind after last night--who can throw in the high 90's and still get hit hard. What makes Sales' fastball work is where he throws it and how he mixes it in with his slider and changeup.

Amazing first 3 innings--Sale dazzling and Dalbec with a huge 3 run dinger--and a reason for thinking that maybe the Sox were sort of, kind of, turning a corner last night. Houck not so hot, but not that bad as a starter, then a great 5 innings by the bullpen, and finally a terrific comeback by the hitters to tie it with a run in the 7th, another in the 8th, and the great 2 run dinger by Schwarber in the 9th. Plus the 2 runs, 1 earned, in the 10th after Robles had given the game away.

Like you said, seeing is believing. Bogie out tonight, so Kike goes to SS and Arroyo to 2b, Dalbec to 1b, and Duran to CF--plus he is the 4th lefty bat against righty starter Gant.

Gant vs. Sale Advantage to Sale, of course, but the real question is the bullpen. Sale's won twice, but pitched just 5 innings both times, so the bullpen needs to do what they did last night--go 5 innings while giving up 0 runs. I'm thinking Whitlock might get 2 or 3 of those innings. Richards has also been decent from the pen--8 innings, 1 run. Sawamura and Taylor both pitched the last 2 games, so they might not be available. If Schwarber starts at 1B, the Sox will have an awfully good lineup, assuming Kike goes back to CF and Arroyo returns to 2d base. Sox up 1.5 on the A's for the 2d wild card slot, but are steadily losing ground to the streaking Yankees (11 straight) and implacable Rays, 8-2 in their last 10 and hands down the best team in the AL. Need this as a confidence booster. Then three at Cleveland (playing .500 ball) followed by four at Tampa.

Me too, but what's wrong with both if Schwarber can handle 1B? I just hate giving JDM $$$$ to play elsewhere. Indeed, the real issue just might be whether JDM has in fact declined enough to justify letting him go.

Could be right. I think closer is over-rated--thus my example of Kimbrel in the 2018 postseason--but Barnes has had a bunch of terrific outings this season, and his teammates all watched him do it.

FWIW, I wish Cora had sent Richards out. Robles is the closer and already has one Sox save, but Richards has looked awfully good in the bullpen. This season for the Sox seems to be moving into what seems a "wild and crazy" phase, so sending in Richards can't be any wilder than sending Schwarber to 1B. In the movie 12 O'Clock High, the Gregory Peck character takes over a bomber wing (that bombs Germany and thereby loses planes and pilots) that needs to get better. One technique he uses is to put his worst (albeit experienced) pilot in charge of the "leper colony," which is crewmen who have screwed up. And they still have to go on bombing runs and after awhile prove themselves. Richards and Perez have joined what just might be a leper colony consisting of what--12 relievers so far?--who all want to show they can get guys out. A big caveat to that last paragraph. There still are some pretty good pitchers in the Sox bullpen: Ottavino, Whitlock (who's been better than Barnes all season long), Sawamura, Taylor, Hernandez (due back in September), and probably Richards too. Valdez has been good this year.

His first game--at DH--was August 13. His first game in LF was 10 days later and 3 days ago. I'd say they have proceeded with all possible speed.

So I take it that in this argument you are officially punting?

Can't disagree. Reportedly, he's been working hard in practice, and he is a former catcher, but seeing is believing. On the other hand, why not try this? Dalbec and even old pro Shaw have looked lousy at 1b, so how much worse could Schwarber be? Moreover, if this works, the Sox don't have to go hunting for a first baseman next year. And this year they get to send Kike back to CF to anchor that outfield as only he can do--plus Arroyo goes back to 2b and the Sox have a heckuva lineup.

Last night to me was the opposite of seeing a team punt. Houck was so-so, giving up 4 runs, 3 earned, but not for lack of trying. Then the bullpen, which lately has stunk--see the night before--pitched 5 innings, giving up 0 runs. Just like they did earlier this season. And the lineup came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, 4-4. Then and only then did Robles roll over and play dead, giving up a 2 run dinger, then getting 2 outs, then giving up a 3 run dinger for 5 run Texas lead. However, in the bottom of the 10th Dalbec singled to lead off. If Vazquez gets a single instead of a GIDP, that dinger by Kike makes the game interesting.

I disagree. If Schwarber can handle first base tonight, the Sox are going to have an excellent lineup and improved outfield defense: Kike, CF (OPS .813) ; Schwarber, 1B (1.100); Bogaerts, SS (.881); Devers, 3B (.897); JDM, DH (.868); Renfroe, RF (.817), Verdugo, LF (.791), Arroyo, 2B (.787), and Vazquez, C (.650). I also don't see any of the starters slacking off, ditto the bullpen. That does not mean they will all pitch great, only that they aren't punting. If anything, I see players putting a lot of pressure on themselves.

This is neat. The starters own the 1st inning and clearly need to do a better job there. My impression is that most, if not all, Sox starters very much prefer fastballs in the 1st inning, no doubt thinking it's either an extension of their pregame warmup or an opportunity to establish their authority. The 6th OPS might be high because that's when the Sox starters are sure to be going through the opposing lineup for the dreaded 3d time. The low 9th OPS might be because of Barnes and Cora's belief that only your best reliever should get the 9th in a close game.

I'm with you and have always thought those first 8 innings were bunch of horsehockey. It's the 9th and only the 9th where the game is won or lost.

Finally!!! One other talksoxer who realizes that Colome actually caused Verdugo to strike out. Everyone else has implied or inferred that Verdugo should instantly recognize where every pitch is going and swing only when he gets a fastball right down the middle--also that Verdugo can do that regardless of who is pitching and how well they are pitching. Indeed, it's because Colone got 2 outs after giving up the tying home run that he deserves some credit. And it's because Robles kept making the same stupid pitches right down the middle that he deserves censure.

Neat, thanks. I was close and better than I thought I would be.

I think you have it. Ideally, a good bullpen can "lock down" the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, which means facing every hitter on the opposing team. So that good bullpen should probably have several pitchers who, if asked, could close because they are that good. For those who believe the closer is the key to winning, please don't forget Craig Kimbrel, the Sox great closer who wasn't so great, at least not in the 2018 postseason when his ERA blew up to 5.91. In game 1 vs. the Yankees, Kimbrel gave up 1 run to make the score 5-4, and got a save. In game 4 vs the Yankees, he gave up 2 runs and got another save. His 3d postseason save, vs. Houston, was again after giving up a run--the Sox won 7-5. Another run, another save in an 8-6 win over the Astros. Finally, his 5th save--again vs. the Astros--included no runs score and a final score of 4-1--and in his 6th save vs. the Dodgers, he again gave up no runs in a 4-2 win. In the 2018 postseason, the ace reliever for the Sox was beyond question Joe Kelly, who gave up 1 run in 11.1 innings. Eovaldi was also magnificent in relief. Barnes went 8.2 innings--against three really good hitting teams--giving up 1 run, and so did Brasier. So, all in all, I think the mystique about the necessity of THE GREAT CLOSER is mostly a bunch of hooey.

I disagree. I think the 1st inning overall has been a bigger problem for the Sox this year than the 9th.

Perhaps. We'd have to ask moonslav to tell us who was available in late July who could have really helped and was reasonably available. My gut says that Cora would have stayed with Barnes no matter what and that the Sox would have lost the same games. They didn't lose the one 3 days ago when Barnes blew yet another save because Whitlock was great and the Sox won it in the 11th.