Maxbialystock

I'll take Houck over Porcello all day long, every day of the week, and twice on Sundays. Besides, Porcello was just one of a zillion starters the Sox have acquired (and not developed in the Sox system) over the years, and he doesn't come close to the good ones. His career ERA is 4.40, for crying out loud, and in the 5 seasons with the Sox his ERA's were 4.92, 3.15, 4.65, 4.28, and 5.52. His cumulative WAR in 12 seasons is a tiny 20.2, but his cumulative salary is sizable $127M.

0-3 doesn't bother me one bit. It's just great to have one of us at the game(s). I do not consider last night's win to have been lucky. Houck pitched great: 8 K's, 2 BB's, hits, and 1 unearned run in 4.2 innings, including in the rain. The bullpen, except for Ottavino, did well too: 3.1 innings, 0 runs. The unearned run was thanks to Vazquez's 9th passed ball, most in MLB. The hitting stunk--the first run was unearned and off a barely adequate SF--but the bottom of the order kept hitting, which finally paid off in the 9th when Verdugo got his 3d single, Dalbec got his 2d, and Hernandez got that 2 run double off the green monster. That's what good teams do. Granted, the 10th was kind of a joke what with Kriske's 4 wild pitches, but again that's because the Yankees ran out of bullpen, plus their catcher maybe should have blocked at least a couple of them and/or told Kriske to stay with the fastballs (with which Kriske K'd JDM). My point is last night's Sox were the same guys we've been cheering for--and grumbling about--all season long. True, they're only a game up on the pesky Rays, but guess what? The Sox have the best record and most wins in the AL and the second best record in MLB. Please give us your report(s) during or after the game.

Best thing going for the Sox is having moonslav, the eternal optimist, starting the gamethread. I think these Sox have to live with the fielding errors and those on the basepaths and make up for them with good pitching and timely hitting. Agree ERod is looking much better: better command, better mix of pitches.

Truculent might be the right word. I am certainly fed up with the sanctification of closers in an era when the best starters in MLB only average 6.6 innings per start and a reasonably good starter like Rich Hill can average 5 innings per start. Indeed, the trend for some time now has been to build deep bullpens. I think Barnes is having a great year, but I think what makes our bullpen so good is that he is backed up by Whitlock (who has a higher WAR), Ottavino, Sawamura, Taylor, Hernandez, et al.

Nope. When the Sox fail to rally, as indeed they seemed to be doing continually last night, no one on talksox says, "oh, golly, gee, what bad luck." Nosiree. The cry immediately goes forth, "why can't these bums hit, for crying out loud." As I just said, Verdugo and Dalbec were already getting hits before the 9th inning last night. The problem was with the top of the order until Hernandez finally came through, but I think you will have to agree that, as hot as he has been recently, by the 9th inning he was due. And, if you want to bring luck into it, I would argue that Ottavino, who has been terrific, had bad luck in the 8th. Even Kriske in the 10th was not bad luck for the Yankees, no more than Andriese was for the Sox three weeks ago in the 12th inning at Oakland.

His DWAR this year so far is -.6 and he has more at bats than Dalbec, but only 1 more dinger and 1 fewer rbi's.

Love Beaty. Such potential. Only thing is, his cumulative WAR after 3 seasons is -.3. That's better than Dalbec's cumulative (after 2 seasons) of -.5, but not by much.

That's dirty pool. Seriously. Did you have to bring out those stats when the very name Rizzo has such poetry in it?

Thanks for saying that. You yourself have said repeatedly that this year all the contenders have weaknesses. And right now, as you point out, Cora is not without options/alternatives at 1b. That said, Nelson Cruz, age 41, to the Rays was a good move. On the other hand, we already have a terrific DH (who can also play the outfield), and finding a really good first baseman who won't break the bank or the prospects ain't easy.

By all means, do so. My memory stinks.

Closing, shmosing. Ottavino almost gave the game away last night in the 8th inning right after the Sox tied it on the weak sac fly, and Ottavino is a very experienced and well paid reliever who overall has been good for the Sox bullpen this year. My version of the 9th is that the Sox hitting, led by the bottom of the order, finally came through. Verdugo, Dalbec, and Chavis combined for 6 of the Sox 10 hits, and both Verdugo and Dalbec singled in the 9th. However, Green also K'd Vazquez (of course) and got Plawecki on a line out to Gardner in left. When Hernandez, the Sox hottest hitter right now, came to bat the Sox had two on and two out, and Hernandez simply hammered that fastball off the wall--which Gardner couldn't handle so Duran, pinch-running, was able to score from 1b. So, me, I think the Sox earned that tie in the 9th and Green didn't fold. As for Kriske, he was in there for the same reason Andriese pitched the 12th with a 2 run lead three weeks ago at Oakland. The four wild pitches weren't just because he was nervous, they were also the result of a catcher who couldn't field them and a catcher and manager and pitching coach who allowed Kriske to keep throwing those curves despite the fact that he K'd JDM on fastballs. Back to my point. I think the 7th and 8th innings are often just as important as the 9th or 10th in terms of game outcomes, and that's why winning teams usually have well-stocked bullpens. Goodness knows that, as good as Barnes has been this year, there have many games in which the earlier Sox relievers laid the groundwork for Barnes to get his save. Indeed, last night Taylor, Hernandez, and Rios combined for 3.1 scoreless innings. Only Ottavino stumbled, maybe because this was his 3d appearance in 3 games in 3 days.

Not quite. I really liked Pivetta and never liked Perez. As for ERod, I have always had my doubts about him because I did not think he was dedicated to his profession, which is incredibly demanding--kind of the polar opposite of Chris Sale. He has to be, for example, one of the worst fielding pitchers in MLB and one who almost refuses to cover 1b on grounders to the right (his left). Moonslav59, however, reminded me this year that ERod missed all of last year because of COVID and its effect on his heart. Then I took another look at what ERod was doing and decided he was probably one of the few MLB pitchers who was not doctoring the baseball. Moreover, this year, his command has improved, ditto his changeup and his mix of pitches. However, he still has that horrendous ERA (5.19). So right now I put him ahead of Perez and Richards and after Eovaldi, Pivetta, and now Houck.

I'm not so sure. Yes, certainly, a lot of bitter fireworks on this game thread about how the hitting stinks, how Vazquez leads MLB in passed balls, etc.--but that 9th inning rally was absolutely not luck. The bottom of the order was getting singles, none of them lucky, all night long, and Hernandez, the Sox hottest hitter right now, ended up with 3 of the Sox 4 rbi's--including the 2 (off a double) that tied the game. So no luck there. As for the 10th, yes, those WP's were lucky for us, but beyond question a demonstration of how screwed up the Yankees bullpen and catcher are. When Andriese gave up 3 runs in the 12th at Oakland 3 weeks ago, no one on talksox said that was bad luck. We correctly agreed Andriese stinks and then argued about whether Cora had any other options (he didn't).

That's not what those numbers (from mvp 78) tell me. Duran is faster than Dalbec, but by a tiny margin--and Dalbec, who took off at the crack of the bat and never slowed down, was out by a mile because all the SS had to do was make an easy throw home after a grounder he fielded cleanly. Plus Dalbec, for whatever reason, got two clean singles last night which contributed to the first unearned run and the two in the bottom of the 9th. Indeed, the bottom of the Sox order--Verdugo, Dalbec, and Chavis--had 6 of the Sox 10 hits last night, which is why our leadoff batter, Hernandez, had 3 rbi's (the other one going to Renfroe on that short sac fly) last night. Devers, Bogie, and JDM crapped out in the rbi department and Renfroe tried his darndest to crap out.

I should think the answer to that is an emphatic 100%. However, Perez is paid $6M and Richards $8.5M (or is it $10M?) to be starters, so maybe Bloom will want to get Henry's money's worth out of them. In this latest bring-up, Houck has been dazzling good in 3 innings and then 4.2 innings--and given up 0 earned runs. He has a regular fastball and one that breaks down, and a very good slider and, occasionally (once last night?), a splitter. We saw last night he can even pitch in the freaking rain. Frankly, I don't like Richards or Perez, moonslav's skillful defense of them notwithstanding. But the real point is that Houck is a great addition to the pitching staff however he is used, and he has a manager who will use him wisely.

Give it a shot by all means. I envy your access to replay

That’s why iortiz is so great! Cora certainly never saw the value of sending Duran in to pinch hit and then to pinch run in the 7th. Genius—and never tried before.

Not Dalbec's mistake, but the third base coach's. And no way does Duran score from 2b on a grounder the SS caught.

Welcome to the club. Everyone--almost everyone--on talksox was ready to fire Cora before the Sox tied it in the 9th. And exactly where were you when Cora sent Andriese out to close in the 12th with a 2 run lead, which was not enough to prevent him from a blown save and a loss?

No, no, no. Duran does not score in 7th if he pinch runs for Dalbec. The Yankees SS caught the freaking grounder and would have thrown Duran--trying to score from 2b on a grounder--out with ease. Much better was what Cora did in the 7th--not sending Duran in--and in the 9th--sending Duran in to score the crucial tying run.

And you absolutely were the only one who reminded us of all the other comebacks. Plus this is another game-winning thread started by you.

Funny how we all love eating crow.

Please note my 2d bullet after listing the opposing pitchers and their ERA's. That said, I did not at all expect both Montgomery and Houck to be so good. Neither gave up an earned run. Our good reliever Ottavino gave up 2, as did their good reliever Green. We still had Barnes for the 10th, and the Yankees had Kriske and his 4 wild pitches.

Hey, where's the guy who said he wanted Duran to pinch run in the 7th inning when it would have done no good. Tonight he scored the tying run from 1b on a double off the green monster. On the topic of the one and only greatest Sox manager ever, I will continue to be incorrigible. Cora is right even when you or I or anyone thinks he is wrong.

JDM fails utterly. And Renfroe drives in the winning run on the 1st pitch, an expected fast ball!!!