Maxbialystock

Nice play by Perez! ERod never, ever makes a play like that because he finishes his pitches falling toward 3b. He has been known to be late getting to 1B.

The WEEI broadcast team does not have access to the TV version of the strike zone that we have. So they regularly make bad calls on where the ball went. They also say that Keller is getting the corners because Perez frames the pitches so well. But to me Perez is getting as many calls as Keller.

Right you are.

What is it with these very hard swings by Devers? At least once he swung so hard he went to his knee or would have gone all the way down

Evidence of this game notwithstanding. I think he is lucky to have lasted to the 5th and sure wouldn't want someone with a 6.37 ERA as the Sox ace. You may, but not me.

WEEI team is saying Santana looks completely overmatched. Hard to disagree with that.

Terrific at bat by Hernandez.

Nice 360 and then throw by Devers.

Santana is a dipstick. That ball was an easy catch for Renfroe, but Santana just had to turn it into something hard.

What's with Devers? He used to swing hard at the ball, but today he looks almost like he wants to bunt. Two very, very easy back to back innings for Keller.

Strangely enough, I agree with you. Right now I'm not at all sure the Commish's dictum is having any effect.

Meh. Blame the Commish and Cora reinforcing the message: no doctoring the baseball.

At first I thought it was an example of the Commissioner of MLB laying down the law--specifically, telling pitchers they will get a 10-day suspension if they apply a foreign substance to a baseball before pitching it. Now I think it could be a great example of the dynamics of MLB. The Sox manager, Alex Cora, takes it very seriously and has told his pitchers they should avoid the ignominy, which he himself endured, of being publicly suspended. So too did a bunch of MLB pitchers who went public and said this dictum from the commish is bs, high-handed, draconian, and possibly the end of life as we know it. One pitcher said outlawing foreign substances was tantamount to allowing MLB batters to hit off of a T. Another said he ruined his arm trying to adapt to this foolish and completely unfair new emphasis on an old rule. And, sure enough, over the past week or so we have seen, especially by the Sox, examples of Sox pitchers being pummeled and Sox hitters pummeling other teams' pitchers. Now, however, I am beginning to wonder. For example, not one pitcher has yet been nailed for doctoring a baseball. No manager has blown the whistle on an opposing pitcher, nor has any umpire. Here are the scores from yesterday/last night: 1-0, 11-10, 7-1, 5-3, 9-1, 7-5, 10-2, 5-3, 2-1, 6-5, 11-3, 3-0, 5-3, 8-2, 5-1. One game, Pirates over Guardians 11-10, can be called a slugfest. But Nats over Mets, 1-0, was a pitching duel, ditto Astros over ChiSox, 2-1, and Dodgers over Diamondbacks, 3-0. In 12 of those games at least one team scored 3 runs or fewer. Like most everyone else on talksox, I watched last night's game, pretty much expecting Pivetta, who earlier was so good, to get hammered again as he was June 12 by the Jays (6 runs in 5 innings). Instead I saw him throwing what I thought were some pretty good sliders and knuckle curves. He gave up 3 runs on a 3 run dinger off a fat fastball near the center of the zone. The next 2 runs by the Royals were off of Andriese, who Cora has used sparingly this year because he stinks. The Royals pitching, on the other hand, had no problem holding the Sox 3d best offense in MLB (3d best OPS, 3d most runs scored) to 3 runs. So, me, I'm beginning to think the Commish ain't really running the show. He may be right that MLB-wide batting averages are the lowest in 50 years and that one reason for that is pitchers habitually doctoring the baseball to get the right spin rate or whatever. I would add those computer-generated defensive formations have played a role, as have hitters inclinations to swing more upward to hit over those same defensive formations.

I sort of understand letting Andriese pitch the 6th, but the 7th as well? Score goes from down 1 to down 3.

Santana, aided by his catcher, absolutely owned Rafael in that at bat. Owned him. I have seen little evidence so far in this game that the pitchers are hurting because they can't doctor up the ball. So either they are doing it and not getting caught or they ain't doing it and still pitching well. Pivetta gave up that dinger because he threw a fat pitch, a fast ball down the middle. Pivetta's slider and knuckle curve have worked very well.

Why do people say Vazquez frames a pitch well? To me he consistently jerks his glove back toward the strike zone, the opposite of "framing."

WEEI guys are talking about the heat. 97 degrees at game time.

That Zimmer slider was deadly.

FYI, an assumption is not a fact. Indeed, in most cases it's called a "working assumption," something that still has to be proven. Given all the caterwauling from the pitchers and the sudden rise in scoring and hitting, I think it's a good one. But, like everyone else, I look forward to determining how valid it is. And, even if it's valid, I look forward to seeing how pitchers, especially ours, adjust.

Is it not obvious the spin rates dropped precipitously? The pitchers who are vocal are all saying they have been screwed royally, that the 10 day suspension for doctoring the ball is tantamount to allowing the batters to hit off of a T. One has claimed he ruined his arm trying to adjust to this draconian dictum from the Commish. I think you are kidding yourself that it's just a suspicion. To me it's the only assumption that makes sense, especially coming almost 3 months into the season when the pitchers have to make major adjustments on the fly.

Why is everyone assuming--incorrectly, in my view--that the threat of a 10 game suspension (for applying foreign substances to the baseball before pitching it) is having no effect on our pitchers? Or, for that matter on our hitters.

I think moonslav was one of the characters in Tom Wolfe's book about Ken Kesey and knows no boundaries in his quests for Sox wins.

moonslav to the rescue once again. That the current win streak is so improbable makes it all that much sweeter. Royals have a nice ball park. I used to catch 2-3 games a year when I lived about 45 minutes away in Kansas. But it could also get really hot in the summer, and today's high is supposed to be 99 degrees. Love all the stats being cited. I think MLB is having a mini-sea-change with the 10 day suspension caper. Beyond question it has affected the Sox pitching and very likely helped the Sox hitting.

I too agree and would add that Mookie Betts and Willie Mays are about the same size and both are bonafide five tool players: hit, hit with power, field, throw, and run the bases. It amazes me that both have/had great throwing arms. Almost as amazing was having great speed as well as real home run power although Mays hit more dingers than Mookie will. I don't think the Sox let Mookie go because they thought he would wear out, but simply because they thought he was overpriced.

I missed Wednesday's game because of a family reunion, and I definitely still think good pitching beats good hitting. But forget me, MLB believes that same thing so emphatically the Commish put out a decree telling pitchers they will be suspended for 10 days if they are caught using a foreign substance or whatever on the ball they are pitching. Apparently, this decree is, according to one pitcher, tantamount to letting batters hit off a tee, so dependent have pitchers been on doctoring up the baseball before they pitch it. This year, until the decree, MLB batting averages were the lowest in 50 years. Hence enforcement of a rule that's been on the books for longer than 50 years. And thus are the current batch of pitchers outraged. Cora has warned Sox pitchers they do not want to be suspended--the shame of it--with the result that they are struggling. Me, I like good pitching, but admit I was surprised when I learned that almost every MLB pitchers feels free to doctor up that ball before pitching it even though that has been against the rules for a very long time.