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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Well, it's unlikely they will do any of those things. So, with Eovaldi going tonight and the Sox being trounced, 9-5, this season could well be over. Indeed, it's entirely possible Bloom and John Henry both knew the season was over when there was no attempt to fix the rotation--for the reasons you stated. JH didn't want to go over the luxury tax amount, and Bloom didn't want to give up a decent prospect. In their defense, I honestly don't think this rotation is fixable. However, I also think your ideas are as close as any I've seen for fixing the rotation.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Six straight sliders, and Renfroe still couldn't figure them out. Horrible at bat.
  3. Maxbialystock
    Actually, I'd settle for a catcher who can, well, catch the dadgum ball, who doesn't run into outs on the base paths, and who can throw out base stealers. He doesn't have to be a great hitter or a genius at working with pitchers to make them as effective as possible.
  4. Maxbialystock
    Well, at least the Sox got Shwarber and his .910 OPS. Too bad he's on the IL and can't play 1b.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Who, however, should have been brought in one batter sooner. Cora wasn't thinking very straight.
  6. Maxbialystock
    On top of which, Cora waited too long before bringing in Taylor. And let's not forget that Arauz did his level best to make Eovaldi's job a lot harder. And Vazquez's pitch-calling wasn't very smart either.
  7. Maxbialystock
    That could well have been a mistake by Cora. I thought Eovaldi had a good mix of pitches, but Franco, batting lefty, had no problem fouling off a bunch of them until he got that splitter up in the zone and nailed it for a triple, scoring the Rays 6th run. Now in comes lefty Taylor, who should have been the one pitching to Franco.
  8. Maxbialystock
    Vazquez K's after a 3-0 count, not because he swung at bad pitches, but because, well, he can't actually hit a fastball or even two straight fastballs in the middle of the zone. Neither can Dalbec, for that matter. So maybe Kitteredge really deserves that ERA of 1.40.
  9. Maxbialystock
    He was joking. No way is Cora going to pull Vazquez in the middle of a game. In the past, despite my animus toward Vazquez, I have in fact given him credit when the pitcher does well because I do honestly believe the catcher is part of a pitcher's success. Tonight, however, I think the two big hits in the 1st inning and the dinger in the 4th were the direct result of Vazquez calling for too many fastballs. Eovaldi is at his best when he is mixing his pitches, throwing fewer fastballs, and using that very good splitter he has. I also don't mind you disagreeing because I think Cora agrees with you: everything Vazquez does is just hunky-dory, which is why he catches 4 out of 5 games (or whatever).
  10. Maxbialystock
    Touche!!!!!
  11. Maxbialystock
    Probably right. With any other Sox catcher, I'd bring him back. But Vazquez is clueless. That dinger in the 4th was the result of Vazquez calling for fastballs and nothing but fastballs--Eovaldi's most hittable pitch.
  12. Maxbialystock
    You do know that Vazquez called for four straight fastballs from a pitcher whose fastball has proven, year after year, to be very hittable?
  13. Maxbialystock
    Clearly Arauz misses Worcester. Mighty fine folks live there who love their AAA team and will welcome Arauz back like their prodigal son.
  14. Maxbialystock
    Sox caught a huge break there. Vazquez didn't try to steal 2b and get thrown out. Maybe Cora told him to knock that stuff off. In any case, a very timely dinger by Dalbec!!!!!!!!!
  15. Maxbialystock
    No bad by you. I was just being a jerk. But we do disagree. I think really good catchers can help pitchers find a way to get batters out when they don't have their best stuff or command, which happens quite often. I also think job one for all catchers is to get the most out of the pitcher actually in the game and not the one they would like to have on the mound. I don't think Vazquez does that--the same way he doesn't prevent wild pitches from getting away and is tied for the lead league in passed balls and runs the bases like an idiot because he thinks he's Jacoby Ellsbury or something.
  16. Maxbialystock
    I have to assume you think Eovaldi is a rotten starter, and I disagree. As for the rest of the rotation, I agree they are all struggling, including Pivetta. And my fix would be to use Vazquez less. There is a fine art to calling for pitches that the pitcher can throw and which can get batters out, especially in games when pitchers don't have their best stuff or best command or both. Computer programs are pretty useless in those circumstances.
  17. Maxbialystock
    I discussed that in an earlier post. There is absolutely no question that Cora likes Vazquez a lot. Last year and earlier this year, he liked his bat so much he played him at other positions. As far as I can tell, he is fine with all those passed balls, preventable wild pitches, stupid baserunning mistakes, weaker hitting (than last year and 2019), and how he calls pitches/games. So, yes, I disagree with Cora on the topic of Vazquez.
  18. Maxbialystock
    With Arauz at 2b and Vazquez behind the plate, Eovaldi will be lucky to go 5 innings and hold the Rays to their current 3 runs.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Against Choi Vazquez called for one splitter, which was fouled off. He called for two curveballs, both of which Choi nailed (one was foul). Vazquez is not a smart catcher.
  20. Maxbialystock
    Arauz is killing Eovaldi and with him the Sox. This is a must win game.
  21. Maxbialystock
    That grounder kind of played Arauz.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Just because I feel like picking on him, this is now two games in a row in which Vazquez has done his level best to help the Rays. Today it was calling for meatballs so the Rays could quickly cut the lead to 3-2. Last night in the middle of a big rally, Vazquez tries to go to 2b on a single and is out by a freaking mile. He runs the bases like he is invisible and the defense can't actually see the dumb things he does.
  23. Maxbialystock
    Once that idiot Vazquez stopped calling for fastball after fastball, what happens? Six straight outs, that's what happens. Cora may think Vazquez is fantastic, but I sure don't.
  24. Maxbialystock
    Don't blame the starter. Blame that idiot Vazquez who kept calling for the fastballs. Finally, after the first two hitters get a double and a dinger, he calls for the splitter. I have never liked Vazquez, but this year find him especially irritating because he does not catch pitchers very well--leads MLB in passed balls and gives up too many wild pitches--because he is constantly gambling on the basepaths and making outs at the wrong time, because he is getting fatter, and because he gets to share in the blame for the lousing pitching recently. Back to those fastballs. Time and again this season we have seen Eovaldi's fastball--even when it comes in at 100 mph--get hammered, which is why he finally started mixing up his pitches, including adding that splitter which works great, and throwing fewer fastballs.
  25. Maxbialystock
    Excellent updates. Thanks.
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