Maxbialystock

ERod is pitching the 2d inning completely differently from the first. Now he's mixing his pitches and keeping the hitters off guard, which is why he was successful in his last start.

Understood. However, most pitchers actually like to induce grounders, which is what Verdugo hit, especially with a man on 1b. As for those dinky balls by the Angels, that also what hitters like to do, hit over the defense (if you can't hit it out of the park).

60 games and no fans constitute a nonseason, which means the postseason was also a joke even though it made Dodger fans happy and slightly ameliorated the Astros earlier WS win.

Watched most of the game, but not as closely as usual. Ohtani as advertised, the real deal.

On TV he is a wisp of a lad. No passed balls and almost no wild pitches when he is behind the plate. Last night he did cost Eovaldi a strike by the way he caught a pitch on the outside corner--he lurched for it.

Nice. I think he's a heckuva catcher.

JDM comes thru big time. 3-2 in the 6th.

Looks like the Sox lineup is going to have to get to Ohtani, as hard as that is, because otherwise he is going to go the distance.

Thanks.

Listening to Ray Charles singing It's Crying Time Again. And watching the denouement of Saving Private Ryan when Hanks and his guys mostly get blown away by the Germans.

Andriese.

So much for the pitcher's duel.

This isn't the 1st inning, it's the 10th.

Ohtani ain't afraid to throw strikes.

Game starts with a bang! Hernandez double, grounder to move him to 3d and long fly to score Hernandez.

On the other hand, right now Devers has the highest WAR on the Sox at 3.4, part of which is DWAR of +.4. Bogaerts WAR is 2d highest at 2.7, including a DWAR of -.7. So, if WAR and DWAR have any meaning, you can make a good case Bogie's defense isn't that big a problem.

I said it was insane and unworkable--in your words, unrealistic. However, you have said in the not too distant past that SS (and possibly CF) are so important they can affect the pitching. In the case of SS, it's not just errors, but ground ball singles that could/should have been outs and groundouts that could/should have been GIDP's. I never said "trade the world" for a SS, but have to admit that might be what it takes.

I don't see them moving him either. I'm only saying a great fielding SS would help this team more than another arm, unrealistic as that may be.

2020 was not a season, no matter what the record books say.

Could be a great game tonight. Hernandez CF Verdugo LF JD Martzinez DH Bogey SS Devers 3B Renfroe RF Arroyo 2B Santana 1B Wong C

Sorry about the back. Been there.

Like this whole discussion.

Barking up the wrong tree. I already said it was insane and explained why. And I'm not against getting another reliever, which seems the logical move at this point. But I disagree on giving up the prospect, depending, of course, on which prospect it is. Why am I reluctant to up a good prospect to help this team? The Sox are past the halfway point of this season, so it would seem they are the real deal. Heck, you can make a decent argument that they already have three good starters--Sale, Eovaldi, and Pivetta--for the postseason when the off days make it easier to exploit that strength and to use your best relievers more often than in the regular season--like now when they are playing their 15th game in 15 days. With Arroyo back and Hernandez leading off better than any other Sox this season, the Sox 1 thru 6 look pretty good. Heck, JDM, Bogie, and Devers are 9th, 8th, and 4th in the AL in OPS. And now the bottom three (Arroyo, Vazquez/whoever, and Dalbec/whoever) ain't too shabby. To me the only real weakness on this team is infield defense, and even that has not prevented winning 54 of their first 86 games, 2d best in MLB. I will of course be fine with any move Bloom makes.

I was always in favor of the ownership decision to offer only so much (whether $200M or $220M) because I think no player can be productive enough to justify $30M/year or more. Thus I love to point out that the Nationals ownership decided that Bryce Harper was not worth keeping and off he went to the Phillies. The following season, with Harper, the Phillies won one more game than the year before without him. And the Nationals? Without Harper they won the WS. However, the Phillies attendance also increased that first year, 2019, with Harper. So maybe he was/is worth it. As for Betts, he joins a team that always leads MLB in attendance, just as the Sox tend to fill Fenway (or almost fill it) regardless of the number of high-priced stars they have. Ditto the Yankees and Cubs and Cardinals (yes, the Cardinals, whose city is pretty small).

Also well said. Indeed, that's why even the absolute best teams in MLB--like the 2018 Sox (108 wins = .667 winning percentage)--lose 1/3 of the time. This year the best teams--Sox (.628), Astros (.612), Giants (.631), and Dodgers (.624)--actually win just a tad better than 6 of 10 games. Why is that so? Three reasons: 1) hitting a round ball with a round bat squarely is the most difficult skill in sports; 2) pitching at the MLB level is a close second and also fraught with peril; 3) even well hit balls can be outs and poorly hit balls can get thru. I think this is why moonslav says that the most one sided pitching/hitting matchups can produce surprises.