Maxbialystock

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.

WEEI guys said before the game Pivetta pitches better on the road than at Fenway. It's also possible the heat was affecting his command. He threw some fat pitches. All that is of course contradicted by the success of the bullpen, especially Barnes, who struck out all 3 batters he faced in the 9th.

5 straight by the indomitable mvp78!!! He only needed a little help from the Sox.

3 K's, and one gigantic save by Barnes, to say nothing of a win and holds by the amazing Sox bullpen!

WEEI guys have talked a lot about the heat and humidity, which caused the players to minimize their time on the field before the game. Makes sense. Pick on JDM again for running into that out at 2b.

On second thought, at 10 pitches per inning, he should be good for at least 3 more innings.

I think you mean "at the very most."

WEEI guys exclaiming about horrible baserunning, first JDM and now Dalbec. They are right.

Home plate umpire is kind of piling on there.

Dr Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

Sure looks like the Royals love his fastball.

This team may not be rolling, but it has performed way beyond any reasonable expectations. Every time they seem to be doing a nosedive--like losing 4 of 6 last week to the Royals and Rays--they also bounce back. Our rotation ain't so great, but even ERod, who has struggled, and Richards, who looked dead in the water before last night, have battled. So right now I'm happy with the battlers and await the return of Chris Sale. The hitting is actually pretty good so far. 3d most runs scored in MLB, also the 3d best OPS, and Arroyo, currently on the IL, has been part of that, whereas Duran has yet to see a MLB pitch at a time when the divide between minors and majors is bigger than ever. Most of all, however, I like how Bloom and Cora have worked together to create a competitive team when none was expected. It they are slow to bring up Houck or Duran, fine with me. Same applies if both show up tonight or tomorrow.

Before the ERod vs. Cole caper of 2 nights ago, I opined the Sox were underdogs, and moonslav said, au contraire, it's often the mismatches that provide the surprises. And that proved to be the case. The Sox stomped on Cole, and ERod pitched tough. Tonight Pivetta--and his 6.2 innings of no-hitter last time out--goes against Keller, ERA 6.39. Here's to no surprises.

I think you're right, but am surprised. I know the WEEI guys regularly dun slow pitchers. They also point out that Rays team policy is for their pitchers to slow things down. And there are other teams or just individual players who believe that it's advantageous to keep stepping out of the batter's box if the pitcher is pitching both quickly and effectively.

Finally, an advocate for letting pitchers continue to doctor up the ball any way and as often as they want to.

That would seem to settle that. Good sources.

Sox are 48-31, ditto the Astros, but the Giants are 50-28. Devers has the highest WAR, 2.9, on the Sox, but I see the team more than the individuals. I think Cora has the biggest effect on wins.

A very timely winning streak, but aren't they all? This one, however, comes after going 2-4 vs. the Royals and Rays and during the brand new enforcement of not allowing pitcher to doctor up the ball.

Beyond question Sale is the man based on his track record in the past and spot reports on his recovery this year.

Meh. I think Bloom and Cora both would counter with, "slow down. This team is a work in progress." Yes, the hitting is good and could be better with Arroyo and Duran, but for now I like Hernandez leading off and playing CF. Plus we don't know Duran at Worcester will hit that well at Boston. These days that gap is larger than ever. Rotation has been way better than expected, but 1-3 it has not been. Team ERA is ranked 15th in MLB, mostly because of the rotation. I given Cora and his pitching coach a ton of credit for how they have managed/coached the pitching staff. However, what should make all of us nervous is the Commish's dictum banning foreign substances on the ball. It clearly has affected Richards, and I think Barnes as well. Probably Perez. Probably not Eovaldi, Pivetta, and ERod who who just maybe weren't "using" much anyway.

Exactly.

I think Girardi over-reacted and had to pay the price of looking like a fool. I was delighted to learn that his target, who has in fact been very effective getting hitters out and being paid handsomely to do so, either wasn't using foreign substances or learned very quickly how to pitch without spotrac or whatever. Or put it this way. The Commish gave everyone fair warning he was going to do this, and then he did what he said he would do--via inspections by the umpires. So far, it sure looks like a problem solved in an efficacious manner. But not effectively enough for one manager. He challenged not only the pitcher, but also the umpires and the Commish--and lost.

Completely disagree. The Commish warned everyone in spring training this was going to happen. And there is no effective way to check pitchers for foreign substances without physically inspecting cap, glove, belt, whatever on the field of play. Indeed, the reason why pitchers flouted the rule all this time is they weren't being checked. I thought the umpires were going to catch a bunch of guys, but so far it looks as though: 1) almost all pitchers are abiding by the rule; 2) most of them are discovering they can still get hitters out without spotrac or whatever it's call. Even the worst of the worst, Garrett Richards, went 4.1 shutout innings last night after getting hammered for 5 runs in the first 1.1 innings. Plus, I don't know about anyone else, but I kind of liked how Joe Girardi went completely ape trying to get Kershaw--who had to submit to three inspections--nailed for using foreign substances and failed completely and got thrown out of the game.

Agree on Cora--of course. Everyone agrees he is a difference maker. But I think you give him too little credit on his decision-making, both during games and in terms of who plays on which days. Last night he stayed with Richards, who delivered 4.1 innings of shut out ball after giving up that final dinger by the Royals to give them the 5-0 lead with 1 out in the 2d inning. But Friday against the Yankees he pulled Perez after 3.2 innings when he had only given up 3 runs. In that game he decided he was going all in for the win. Last night, down 5-0, he stuck with Richards both to save his bullpen (worked hard recently) and to give Garrett an opportunity to show he can still pitch. He got two wins because both times he used his bullpen just the right amount. Oh, and he pulled Pivetta when he had a no-hitter going, another good decision that secured a win in a game in which Pivetta was very unlikely to be able to go 9. In fact, Pivetta, was smiling when he came off the mound. You have cited experts who say that run differential is a vital stat in determining the overall talent/worth of a team, which means the Houston Astros are absolute world-beaters, talent-wise, because theirs is an amazing +140. Next best are the Dodgers at +104. Meanwhile, the Sox are at a meager +43. Yet they are just 1/2 game behind the Astros. The experts say that just shows the Sox are lucky, but I'm thinking just maybe Cora knows what he is doing. Or he is what Napoleon used to say he preferred--a lucky general rather than a smart one. I can say all this now because of course the proof of the pudding is the postseason. As you have said, the big run differential teams tend to do better then.