Maxbialystock

Actually, it was a long while, like the first 100 games or so. I think/guess that the biggest problem for them--and certainly Barnes--is adapting to the new rule about not doctoring up the ball.

There can no longer be any question that the bullpen stinks.

It's mental only because he knows his stuff is no longer effective, especially the knuckle curve which used to break big and get him K's. Now it doesn't, and his fast ball is slower and clearly easier to hit.

Cora clearly wants 4 lefty bats, so Schwarber goes to LF, Verdugo to CF, Kike to 2b yet again, and Arroyo to sit for now with lefty bat Devers at 3b as always and Shaw gets 1b. Shaw vs. a righty starter allows Cora to wait a tad longer before putting Schwarber at 1b. Plus Shaw, last night's game notwithstanding, is a better fielder than Dalbec. Duran goes back to AAA because of hitting and no good reason to put a weak bat in the outfield. As it is, Kike keeps getting sent to 2B so Schwarber or JDM can play in the outfield and the other can DH.

Meh. Richards has his new role--long reliever. He isn't ready for prime time and doesn't need to be. In late and close situations, go with Barnes, Ottavino, Sawamura, Taylor, Hernandez, Robles, Davis, et al. Whitlock is hands down the best pitcher in the bullpen for any situation, but right now I like Cora's preference to use him for 2 or more innings at a crack.

Actually, I too am guilty of second-guessing Cora on pulling his starter, Eovaldi especially. Sooner, or later, however, Cora has to find out whether Ottavino and Barnes are still usable, especially in late and close games. And right now I'd used Sawamura before either of them. I also think we are watching the continuing saga of the Sox pitchers adapting to not being able to doctor up the baseball. Barnes knuckle curve is not nearly as good as it was earlier this year.

Watch the games and remember. Richards has been good in relief precisely because they use him in long relief. He's gone 8 innings giving up 1 run out of the bullpen. For now, anyway, no way do they send him into a situation like the one Whitlock faced in the 9th last night. Season to date, the Sox starters have averaged about 4 innings per start, so a guy like Richards could be useful if he can keep getting guys out. Lately, Barnes looks awful, Ottavino only a tad better, Taylor the same, and lefty Hernandez is still on the IL. Sawamura has been steady, and Whitlock has been brilliant, last night being a great example. Two reliables aren't enough, so those other guys, even Perez and certainly Richards, are going to get opportunities.

Richards has done better in the bullpen than as a starter and is a good option for long relief. He's given up 1 run in 8 innings in relief. Even if Eovaldi pitches the 8th, Barnes gets to close with his so-so knuckle curve and so-so fastball.

Agree. Devers does have those 18 errors, but no question he has improved at 3b and is better there than Bogie is at SS.

Well said. Prescient, in fact. A report in today's Globe says Schwarber will start at 1b vs. the Twins. And why not? The Sox don't need an outfielder nor a DH--at least, not nearly as much as a good bat at 1b. Plus Schwarber came up as a catcher.

Of course. The producers and director get to decide what story to tell and what words to be said, and they are going to keep it simple for movie-goers. To their credit, they did parrot sabermetrics pretty well.

This has been a roller coaster season and, because the Sox have been in contention since April, a fascinating study in adjustments made by Cora and Bloom--as well as the players. Starters Richards and Perez are now in the bullpen and just might contribute there--and have been replaced by Sale and Houck, both improvements. Season to date, the starters have averaged 4 innings per start, so the bullpen has been crucial and reminds me of what a former manager once said: a manager is brilliant or awful depending on how good his bullpen is. This year Cora has been mostly brilliant because the bullpen was so great at holding the line long enough for the lineup to score runs, come from behind, etc. But now the bullpen is suspect, and so are the hitters. See especially the recent sweep (5-3, 2-0, and 5-2) by the Yankees, the very team the Sox almost swept (5-4, 6-2, 3-4, and 5-4) less than a month ago. Lately, Toronto and Tampa Bay have also hammered the Sox. Tonight starts 3 vs. the Twins followed by 3 at Cleveland and a chance to get some wins. This to me is an excellent time to try out Shwarber at 1b and Arroyo back again at 2b with the "good" outfield and JDM back at DH. The Sox with their new lineup should take 4 of 6, even with our scary bullpen. But then comes that 4 game series at Tampa where the Rays love to murder our bullpen.

Alex Speier (Globe?) writes that Schwarber is likely to play 1b vs. the Twins. If so, this might be the lineup-- Hernandez, CF (OPS .793) Schwarber, 1B (1.065) JDM, DH (.882) Bogie, SS (.893) Devers, 3B (.900) Renfroe, RF (.800) Arroyo, 2B (.787) Verdugo, LF (.777) Vazquez, C (.646) No question that putting Schwarber at 1b incurs some risk, but on the other hand that's a good hitting lineup, a pretty decent defensive outfield, especially with Kike back in CF, and a pretty good defender at 2b. Devers is actually improving at 3b, and Bogaerts is what he is, steady but with limited range and reflexes. Arroyo pretty good at 2b. And Schwarber hopefully adequate at 1b, which so far this season has been a magnet for poor defensive play and so-so hitting even though Dalbec's OPS is now up to .707 (but still a far cry from Schwarber's 1.065). I think it definitely helps that Schwarber came up as a catcher.

Sensible response. Good field, no hit is the usual description of a minor leaguer, and right now the only Sox player who is good at both is Rike. Renfroe does have 14 outfield assists, but also 8 errors. Sox second basemen, especially Arroyo and Rike, have been OK this year, but not SS or 1b--and, lately, not 3b either. Devers now has 18 errors. Indeed, once Schwarber became available for hitting, Cora moved JDM to the outfield to free up the DH slot. The simple fact is that Sox and a whole lot of other MLB teams want hitters. If you buy the thesis of Moneyball, in which Billy Beane says he doesn't care that Scott Hatteberg's arm is shot because he is great at getting on base, you don't even have to hit. Learning to play 1b, Beane assures Hatteberg, will be easy, With Arroyo back, the Sox problem of getting Schwarber into the lineup just got harder because JDM is the DH, and the outfield of Verdugo, Rike, and Renfroe is pretty decent. Remembering Joe Napoli and other catchers who switched to 1b, I honestly don't think Schwarber should find 1b that hard. He already has experience catching short hops. The problem might be stretching, but I would settle for a short stretch and just catching the dang ball.

Sox are feeling the pressure. They were 23 games over .500 on July 26 and are now 16 over while the Yankees are on a 10 game winning streak but still can't catch the Rays with the best record (29 games over .500) in the AL. Devers now can't stop chewing the largest wad of chewing tobacco seen in years in MLB. Amazingly, Bogie (4.1) and Rike (4.0) now have higher WAR's than Devers (3.6), whom I regard as easily the team MVP.

Good stuff.

Indeed. Our intrepid manager went all in to win yesterday's game when he committed his best reliever to bail out his closer, who had just wrecked a brilliant start by our putative ace Eovaldi. Barnes is getting a tad expensive, and I'm not talking about his salary. I am the opposite of a Richards fan, but he currently has a +.6 WAR, is rested, and against the Yankees went 4 scoreless innings in relief. Before that he did 3 scoreless against the hapless Orioles. He could see action tonight.

Broadly stated, the hitting just might be coming back and the rotation looks pretty good; but the fielding and bullpen are suspect. It boggles the mind that Eovaldi goes 7, gives up no ER's, and the Sox get tied 3-3 in the 9th, which could have been even worse--the Rangers could easily have gone ahead--if Whitlock hadn't come in to clean up Barnes's mess.

Huge win. Is big mo back with the Sox? Ask the bullpen. Tomorrow it's Houck vs. the Twins at Fenway.

Thanks to mvp 78 for starting this thread and to moonslav for keeping the faith no matter what. I'm good and mad at Barnes, but definitely appreciate how and why moonslav defends him. While the grand slam was completely unexpected, I did think the Sox had the upper hand after that excellent bunt by Vazquez and the bad throw by the pitcher.

Great line. Truly.

Dumbest idea and move by any MLB executive this season. Sox don't need Shaw and they sure didn't need that win today.

Game. Justice is absolutely served. Ottavino gets a hold, Barnes gets a blown save, and Whitlock gets a win. And Bloom/Cora are patting each other on the back for bringing back Shaw.

I'll be honest and say I get a little weary about the "pitcher protection society" who argue that every pitcher, no matter how good or bad, is not required to defend his position because his errors don't count against his ERA, and and that he is entitled to the very best defense available--one that not only makes excellent plays but also never makes an error. Plus, in the case of Barnes, he is entitled to his own catcher because, Plawecki, who had no problem catching Eovaldi and then Ottavino for 8 innings, just wasn't good enough for our ace closer with the recent pay raise.

Do I think a better infield than Devers, Bogaerts, Shaw, Arroyo, et al, would have kept the score down below 3 runs? Yep. But Shaw was brought in to play defense, Arroyo is our best choice to play 2b, and Devers and Bogaerts are our best hitters.