Maxbialystock

Verdugo's lugging his share of necklaces around. A guy isn't a guy unless he wears one, I guess.

Just 4 hits for the Sox, but three are dingers, and Santana's--yes, Santana's--was with 2 on.

YeahValdi! 3 K's in 5 innings is nothing for him, but no runs in 5 innings and 64 pitches is like a breakthrough. Now in his 3d time through the Royals lineup.

Bubic was pitching good ball until that changeup didn't actually change much. It broke left a little, but needed to drop some. Another dinger for JDM. 2-0 Sox, which is way, way better than 1-0.

Eovaldi is a different pitcher with that curve and splitter going for him. Wong behind the plate ain't hurting either. 4 innings, 0 runs, 0 walks, and just 45 pitches.

mlb channel on cable says they are showing either this game or the Yankees and Angels, who are rained out. However, they decided to show the Jays and Mariners instead--playing I think at Buffalo.

I also voted for Devers--of course--and also Bogey even though his DWAR says he is the worst SS in the history of baseball.

I voted for Guerroro at 1b and Ohtani at DH. Sorry, JDM, you are having a terrific year, but his is better and in a weaker lineup.

Great sports coat Wakefield is wearing. That color works.

Pretty good first three innings by Eovaldi. Yes, 4 hits, but no runs, no walks, and just 37 pitches.

OK, that's bs. I mean it. Kike may think those leadoff homers mean something and that he can keep his job, but I've been reading the other threads and now realize that potential and a new face are what this team badly needs. Bloom and Cora need to agree to bring Duran up ASAP and put this showoff on the bench where he belongs. While they're at it, I'd like to see Cordero back on the big club. Yes, he's crap in MLB with an OPS this year of .501, but I've been reading he's studying to be a firstbaseman and bats from the left side, which pretty much guarantees that he will kill MLB pitching even though he never has.

Definitely over the top, for which I do apologize. Somewhere on this thread,however, is a laydown by moonslav explaining why the Sox don't need to make bold moves right now, and that includes bowing to the pressure to bring up guys from Worcester. Returning Arroyo, a competent infielder who has demonstrated his MLB hitting prowess this season and is on the IL, is not in that category. Yet suddenly comes this cry to promote Cordero, whose OPS this year is .501, who never impressed anyone at San Diego or KC, and who has never played first base. Am I the only one who noticed that Bobby Dalbec's lousy OPS vs. righties is .558 in 77 plate appearances, is in fact better than Cordero's .516 in 83 plate appearances, also against righties? The club is doing great without Arroyo, who should be brought back when he is healthy, so why this cry to promote Cordero and, even worse, force him into the infield? I do have heartburn about Dalbec's rotten DWAR, -1.1, but believe that has to improve given his experience at 3b. Plus Cora and Bloom believe he has real hitting potential. He currently is 5th on the Sox in RBI's and dingers.

Astute.

I would like to say that with Eovaldi on the mound the Sox have the advantage, but I said that before Pivetta's last start. So here's hoping that horrible, unreliable Eovaldi can somehow pitch adequately and not give up 20 runs in the first inning.

NOAA map show an almost endless line of rain clouds extending from Oklahoma to Massachusetts. But there are some gaps, especially at the eastern end.

And Cordero is the answer!!!!!?????? He played 3 years, 2017-2019, for the Padres but never more than 40 games in a season, which says a lot. He's played 34 games with the Sox and an OPS of .501. Cordero has never played 1b or hit well enough in 5 seasons in the Majors to become a regular. Bobby Dalbec has promise, but so far has been terrible fielding at 1b and erratic at bat. With those two alternating at first base, the Sox could also apply for a clown license. When the umps insist on playing in the rain, one or both of them could sit on the mound and pretend to row with a couple of bats.

Devers is the 10th ranked thirdbaseman in MLB in terms of DWAR. His is + .4. If Dalbec can't handle 1b, which is a much easier position, I sure wouldn't trust him at 3b.

Six in a row and 50 wins in 81 games! mvp 78 is well named.

Appropriately, the Orioles are on a 3 game winning streak.

so true

One more time, the case for bringing up Duran ASAP is weak because-- He's an outfielder, and the Sox outfield of Verdugo, Hernandez, and Renfroe is playing well both at bat and in the field. The Sox have the 2d best record in MLB, the 2d most runs scored, and the 3d best team OPS. They are flourishing without Duran, who has yet to face MLB pitching. Why mess with success?

The Sox rotation has entered a brave new world, not only the Commish's dictum against foreign substances on the ball, but also starting for a winning team with higher expectations than at the beginning of the season. There is no real ace on this team, but there 5 pitchers who have each started 15 or 16 games with from 3 to 6 quality starts by each of them and ERA's ranging from 3.67 to 5.83. Since we are almost halfway thru the season, that's lot of starts by just 5 guys. Lately, just about every Sox starter seems to be on a roller-coaster. Richards looked awful last week and night before last until something clicked with 1 out in the 2d inning: after giving up 5 runs, he pitched 4.1 innings of shutout ball. Pivetta pitched 6.2 innings of no-hit, shutout ball 6 days ago and gave up 6 runs in 4.2 innings last night. And so on. Meanwhile, it does not help that the Sox defense leads MLB in errors, to say nothing of hits that might have been outs. The bullpen and the hitting--and the occasional good defensive play-- are key to all those come from behind wins. Kimmi has said that a team that wins a lot but does not have a big run differential is, according to the experts, in peril. And that's our Sox with their 49-21 (.613) record, best in the AL and 2d only to the Giants, but a run differential of + 44, which is lower than the Rays +84, Jays +84, White Sox +82, Astros +130, Giants + 97, Dodgers +106, and Padres +78. The experts say a team like ours is just lucky, but most of us who might agree with that also point out that we have a heckuva manager, particularly with respect to his sometimes erratic pitchers. Without question Cora, like all other managers these days, relies heavily on computer data, but, unlike a lot of managers, he also has fingerspitzengefuhl, a long word meaning a finger tip feel for the game as it is being played and in the context of that series, that part of the season, and the season as a whole.

Fine.

Once again the nattering nabob of negativism. Scratch that. Insert cockeyed optimist--as always. I frankly don't see 100 wins, but then, back in early April I barely saw 80 wins.

Let's assume everyone else agrees with every point you have raised, but especially the desirability of getting both Arroyo and Duran onto the big club. Given that, wouldn't it be worthwhile to explore why Bloom and Cora, who have been monumentally successful retooling this team this season, have chosen not to do so? I am very possibly the least expert contributor to talksox, but even I can identify a couple. One is that these Sox are on a five game winning streak and have the highest winning percentage in the AL and 2d highest in MLB. Don't mess with success. And they are doing this despite some issues with the rotation, which neither Duran nor Arroyo can fix. I also don't see other one improving the sometimes spotty defense significantly. That leaves hitting, and right now the Sox the Sox are 2d in MLB in scoring and 3d in OPS. That said, I too would probably rather see Duran or Arroyo in the batting order than, say, Santana or Gonzalez or even Chavis. And my guess is that Arroyo is a good bet to return when he is healthy and ready. As for Duran, however, I kind of like the outfield of Verdugo, Hernandez, and Renfroe, whose WAR's, in order, are 1.6, 1.4, and 1.5. In a very small sample of 3 games, Hernandez just might have solved the leadoff problem--he's 6 for 12 with a walk. None of the above is intended to say Arroyo and Duran should not get to Boston this season, but only that waiting a while longer doesn't look very risky. I leave to others the larger considerations of salaries and other GM-related issues.