Maxbialystock

Sox #2 hitter has turned into an out machine. Yesterday 3 K's, today 3 outs (1 K). Saturday 0 for 4. Today 0 for 4. So that's 0 for 11 which would have been 0 for 12 except Cora pinch hit for him yesterday in the 8th. Of course.

Valdez's last two pitches were both changeups in the middle of the zone with not much break. One was a single for Guerrero and the other was a line drive to SS for a double play. Lucky Valdez.

Well, Hatch just did about the same thing to Devers, but needed more pitches.

I like that Duran has a good eye for the strike zone, but not that opposing pitchers can throw him fastballs with impunity. Last four at bats, all K's. This at bat was three straight fastballs, two of them right down the middle.

Nope. Tonight is strike avoidance night.

All migraines aren't equal, and some can be very debilitating.

Good stuff. Thanks.

If the recent Yankees series tells us nothing else, it tells us that pitching matchups aren't all the predictive. Cole should have killed the Sox Friday, even more so when ERod left the game with no outs and two on in the 2d freaking inning. Nope. Bring-up Valdez was incredible for 3 innings, and Rios, Whitlock, Hernandez, and yes, even Workman, finished the job--giving up 1 run in 8 innings. Eovaldi had a big edge Saturday night and pitched very well, but Ottavino gave the farm away. Yesterday, I would have given the edge to Perez over part-timer German, but German was fantastic. Fortunately, he could not pitch 9--or even 8-- innings, and the Sox came back huge against Loaisiga. And way back on Thursday, Montgomery should have had edge over Houck and did in fact out-pitch him--slightly. But the Sox won 6-2 despite Ottavino giving up 2 runs in the 8th (as he did again Saturday night).

Interesting.

I disagree, but also recognize Bloom and Cora will be cautious. Yes, certainly, it would be great for Sale to jump in soon and bolster the rotation. On the other hand, these guys have done awfully well without him, and September 1 could both ensure his rehab has worked (he can start a MLB game safely) and bring him in when the pennant race is at its hottest.

Hernandez SS Duran CF JDM DH Devers 3b Renfroe RF Verdugo LF Vazquez C Cordero 1b Chavis 2b Four lefty bats, no Bogie, no Dalbec. In the big 8th inning rally yesterday, Verdugo doubled, Renfroe doubled, Vazquez singled, Cordero singled, and Hernandez doubled. All five are in today's lineup, but so is Duran, who K'd three times and was pinch-hit for (by Plawecki). Hernandez named AL Player of the week. Sale went 3.2 in 2d AA start and gave up 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 HBP, no walks. He threw 64 pitches, 46 strikes (of which Sale said too many were in the center of the zone). He felt/feels strong, but was not happy with his slider or changeup. Fastball topped at 96 mph. So maybe not back by August 1.

ERA was created to accommodate pitchers. Not only do runs caused by errors by the other players not count, but also runs caused by the pitcher's own errors. Indeed, if a pitcher (like ERod) simply doesn't bother to cover 1b on a grounder to the right, it's a single because pitchers shouldn't be required to contribute to the defense. ERA+ simply furthers the process of accommodating pitchers. Nevertheless, I think ERA is the best measurement for pitchers over the long term. That said, I do agree with Kimmi and others who point that there is value in a pitcher who can be relied upon to pitch 5 or more innings every 5 days and to do that season after season after season. In his 5 seasons with the Sox, Porcello started 28, 33, 33, 33, and 32 games. In 2018, the Sox best season ever, Porcello pitched more innings, 191.1, than Price (176) or Sale (158), had 16 quality starts to their 18 (Price) and 17 (Sale), and had the most wins, 17 (while losing 7). He even pitched 15.1 innings in the postseason with an ERA of 3.52. Only Price (26 innings, ERA 3.46) and Eovaldi (22.1 innings, ERA 1.61) were better. I'm not a Porcello fan, but credit is due.

Good reminder.

4 1/2 hours until the first pitch. Pivetta gives us the edge tonight, but the next threes games, all vs. the Jays, have Richards, Houck, and ERod starting. And, as others have pointed out, tomorrow the Yankees begin a 3 game series against the Rays at the Trop, after which the Sox play 3 at the Trop. It feels like September in July. Indeed, the Sox have just 62 games to go.

This sir, is a rant. I recognize the form because I indulge in it regularly. I don't think many if any MLB teams have gone to 11 position players, which I agree would make no sense. I think 13 pitchers and 12 position players can work because 3 position players usually means 1 or more position players who don't play much. I might add that right now Plawecki only plays 1 of 4 games although he did pinch hit last night. I disagree on the ills of expansion. Would you have MLB go back to 8 in the NL, 8 in the AL, and just a WS and no other playoffs. Of course, these days MLB is competing with other major sports for talented athletes, but on the other hand little league baseball is pervasive, not only in the USA, but in other countries. Plus in our hemisphere baseball has become the sport for hispanic athletes from other countries to hope for big bucks. So I think the talent is good enough. Agree on speeding up the game, but there seem to be forces--commercials, MLBPA, whatever--which are averse to shorter games. Three batters per reliever is I think an experiment, just like starting each extra half inning with a man on 2b and no one out. In the last two games between the Sox and Yankees, we acquired empirical evidence that facing three batters can be fraught with peril and completely change the tenor of a game. Saturday Cora pulled Eovaldi, who had a great game, and Ottavino destroyed it. Yesterday German was, astoundingly, almost as good for the Yankees as Eovaldi had been for the Sox. But Loaisiga came in with a 4-0 lead and a man on 2b with no outs and gave up 5 runs, one of them charged to German. I do not agree MLB is in peril because of these rules or MLB teams' preference for pitching. The bigger peril is COVID 19, because it is apparently not going away (as we believed 3 months ago).

Agree on Houck. I do think he can start, but think shoring up the bullpen is more important, especially with Sale returning. However, ERod's migraine is concerning--will he go on the IL???--and Richards and Perez are problematical. In any case, it was smart to call Houck up. Overall, I am now inclined to agree that Bloom going after pitching makes sense. Sad to say, but this could also apply to going after a first baseman.

Agree, but the tricky part with him is his salary.

Good magic today, not so good last night. But definitely a great season so far. What scandal? The Astros stealing signals? The Toronto Blue Jays certainly weren't bothered when they offered him that big contract. As for the stutter, it seems he owns it far more than it owns him--he talks about it in public speeches. I had a boss like that 30 years ago.

However you want to describe or define today's game, it was still a terrific and needed win. And, in case no one else has mentioned it, I will remind one and all that this fantastic rally was very much the product of the much maligned bottom of the Sox order. Verdugo doubled, Renfroe doubled, Vazquez singled, and Cordero singled. All four of them scored runs that tied the game. Finally, Hernandez at the top of the order doubled, but then Plawecki (pinch-hitting for Duran who had K'd all three times) ground out (allowing Cordero to score the tying run), Bogie flied out (scoring Hernandez with the go ahead run), and Devers ground out.

I like Cora better, but Francona has won two WS and done really well with the Guardians.

I would love to agree with you, but I now think Boone made the right move--as did Cora last night. In both cases the starters had vastly exceeded any reasonable expectation, especially in an era when bullpens have become so important, stocked, and used.

I agree. I left for a family dinner, but thought about my thesis and now agree both managers, Cora last night with Eovaldi and Boone today with German made the right call when they brought in Ottavino last night and Loaisiga tonight. Indeed I can remember commending Cora when he pulled Pivetta out when he was pitching a no-hitter and in fact pointed out that Eovaldi was more than happy to be pulled in that earlier game. In both cases--as well as the earlier game--the managers had good options in the bullpen. I also emphatically agree that today German had already exceeded what Boone had hoped he could do. And to his credit this year Cora has given his starters more innings/outs/pitches to his starters than other managers might have. I brought this topic up today mostly because of the example of a WS manager not long ago who pulled his starter after a terrific. scoreless 6 innings, after which his bullpen lost the game. After the game that manager said he had decided before the game that 6 innings would be his starters limit-about which I railed endlessly. On the other hand, I like others have pointed out in some games that the third time through the batting order does seem to carry considerable risks (as the statistics demonstrate). What last night and today demonstrated is that baseball has a special capacity to surprise us. Both Eovaldi and German were fantastic, but you still gotta play 9 innings--unless you're in a downpour at Yankee Stadium.

Well, I'm delighted that Boone was right after all because the Sox sure needed this win. And I guess that means Cora was right last night pulling Eovaldi because, well, the Sox just didn't deserve to win that one. And it certainly meant nothing that in his previous outing Ottavino gave up another 2 runs.

A fair point. I'm one of the culprits because I slam-dunked Porcello, which raised a lot of hackles. As for the pennant race, it's definitely a doozy, and I for one don't want Bloom to sign Porcello. Sale should be starting within 2 weeks. ERod may or may not come back, but right now Houck can fill in for him. I don't like Richards or Perez, but the Sox have certainly had worse starters. If Ottavino doesn't bounce back, that's a lot of pressure on the bullpen.

That's a good point, similar to bkzwhitestrican's The sad truth for the Yankees, however, is that Germain staying in was a much better option than bringing in Loaisiga.