Jump to content
Red Sox and Jays, join our game thread! ×
Talk Sox
  • Create Account

Maxbialystock

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    21,039

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

 Content Type 

Profiles

Boston Red Sox Videos

2026 Boston Red Sox Top Prospects Ranking

Boston Red Sox Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2025 Boston Red Sox Draft Pick Tracker

News

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Target hit. I deserved that.
  2. Maxbialystock
    Speaking of Houston, I've visited there several times. Way too hot for me and one of the few cities I've been in where they make an effort to enable people to avoid walking outside in the summer sun--exactly what they do in cities like Montreal where they make an effort to keep people inside to avoid the winter cold. Nevertheless, Houston's growth rate has been astronomical. I lived in Oklahoma a couple of times and the only MLB team I could get on radio was the Astros, way back when Joe Morgan was their star hitter and 2d baseman before going to the Reds.
  3. Maxbialystock
    Last night my relentless claim was that the Astros were stealing pitch signals. I thought so because early on they looked very comfortable hitting against Pivetta--no swings and misses, no checked swings, etc. But Pivetta just got better, so I've had to abandon that theory. Indeed, in games 2 and 3 the Sox pitching only gave up a total of 5 earned runs, which ain't bad against the team ranked 2d in MLB in runs scored and 2d in team OPS. And in game 1 the Astros simply feasted on the struggling ERod and then the inimitable Brewer.
  4. Maxbialystock
    Season to date, Astros have a run diff of +62. Only the White Sox are better at +79. Before the Sox came to town, the Astros were at +48.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Good lineup.
  6. Maxbialystock
    ERod is obviously my choice to put on the IL or whatever because right now he is hurting the team. He did not, however, hurt the Sox in Houston because in those three games the hitting has stunk. Moonslav and others are right in saying there is still plenty of time before any adjustments are made to bring Sale back to the big club. He might even be a great choice for a late reliever--as moonslav points out--but I don't see that because I have doubts about ERod. The other four starters, on the other hand, are all doing better than I expected--for now.
  7. Maxbialystock
    Meh. Easiest thing in the world is to cry out for truth, justice, and fixing the lineup. The Sox have to be one of the few AL teams who like playing in a NL park because they can send JD Martinez to the outfield and strengthen what essentially becomes an 8 man lineup (with the assumption that all pitchers are lousy hitters). Cora, on the other hand, has to balance that notion with the other imperative to develop players who the FO thinks/thought were ready for this level. A third factor this year is that the pitching seems especially good, and good pitching usually beats good hitting. For big chunks of this year the Sox led MLB in runs scored and team OPS, but are now 6th and 4th in those categories in part because @ Houston they have scored 4 runs in 3 games and their four best hitters--Verdugo, JDM, Bogie, and Devers--have combined for 6 weak-ass singles in those 3 games.
  8. Maxbialystock
    This morning's stats say the five best Sox pitchers, WAR-wise, are-- Eovaldi and Pivetta @ 1.1, Barnes @ 1.0, and Richards, Perez, and--wait for it--Whitlock @ .9.
  9. Maxbialystock
    Agree those games are especially important this year.
  10. Maxbialystock
    Yankee Stadium is a hitters park. All the more reason to credit their pitching staff.
  11. Maxbialystock
    Stuff, mentality, and command. But I do like mentality. And, frankly, even in a good year, I think ERod never has all three.
  12. Maxbialystock
    Sox scored their only run in the 1st and fell asleep when you did.
  13. Maxbialystock
    So you were the problem. Not pulling for the good guys. Now we know. To remind: tomorrow's 4th game starts at 2:10 with Perez (3.55) going against Odorizzi (6.75).
  14. Maxbialystock
    The Rays would be my candidate for being the first team with a player whose name matched theirs.
  15. Maxbialystock
    I'm not saying OBP is irrelevant to the leadoff hitter, but would remind that in most games he only leads off an inning once. I believe Ellsbury led off in 2011 and had 105 rbi's, and let's not forget about Betts leading off and getting rbi's.
  16. Maxbialystock
    It was also supposed to be a down year for the Rays, who are in 1st place, so methinks it's not a down year until the players make it one. These guys started the season with three straight losses to the Orioles, who are currently 19-37, but then bounced back with 9 in a row. The lineup, despite these three games, has been pretty good even with the holes (leadoff, etc). The starting pitching, except for ERod, has been way better than I expected. The bullpen has also been better than I expected. Having lost 3 in a row, the Sox are still just 2 games out of 1st place in the AL East and would be a wild card in the postseason if it started tomorrow. In short, so far they have over-performed, and I think they can keep it going despite all my whining.
  17. Maxbialystock
    Gutsy start by Pivetta who did not receive much hitting or defensive support--Dalbec should have at least stopped that grounder that got by through him for a double. Sox have scored 4 runs in 3 games in Houston, which pretty much let's the Sox pitching off the hook. Our big four (Verdugo, JDM, Bogie, and Devers) had a total of 6 hits, all singles, in 3 games and 0 rbi's.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Well, if IP's don't count, Buchholz was our best starter in the John Henry era with his 16 starts and 1.74 ERA in 2013. As for Sale, I think he's the most professional pitcher I've seen in a Sox uniform, but the fact remains he stunk in the 2017 postseason, pitched a short 2018 season (27 starts, but a terrific 2.11 ERA), and had no quality starts in 3 postseason starts in 2018. Price, Eovaldi, and even Porcello all had better ERA's in the 2018 postseason. Pedro was definitely an ace in 2003, first year of the JH era.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Meh. Aces, especially for the Sox are few and far between. Becket one year, 2007. Schilling in 2004. Lester one year. Sale one year until it became clear he was no good from August on. Price never. ERod stood out in 2019 because everyone else was so bad, plus ERod, for the first time and maybe the only time in his life, started 34 games. So, you're right. No aces on this team, but that's irrelevant because ERod is so horribly bad anyone would be better. His ERA is 5.64, and his WAR is -.1. The next worst starter is Eovaldi with an ERA of 4.01 and a WAR of 1.2. Richards has an ERA of 3.75 and a WAR of 1.0. Pivetta's ERA is 3.77 and his WAR is 1.2. And Perez's ERA is 3.55 and WAR .9.
  20. Maxbialystock
    I do remember a changeup that looked pretty decent. But guess what? This is THE YEAR for pitchers to throw good breaking stuff, whether it be a slider, cut fast ball, or "rising" fast ball. If ERod can't throw a ball with spin on it this year, it's likely he won't bring back 2019.
  21. Maxbialystock
    You think I didn't watch ERod in 2019? I'm telling you Pivetta is better this year than ERod was in 2019. So is the guy pitching for the Astros.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Come to think of it, could you please tell me what real Erod looks like? I ask because no less than the NY Yankees thought the real Ellsbury was the guy they saw in 2011 when he had much more than a career year, what with the 32 dingers, 105 rbi's 39 SB's, and the .928 OPS. He was never close to those numbers before or after. In 2019 ERod started 34 games and pitched 203 innings with an ERA of 3.81 and WAR of 6.1. His 2d most IP were 137 in 2017 and 3d most were 129 in 2018. But the bigger problem is that he doesn't have good breaking stuff and has to rely way too much on his fastball, which ain't that great. Plus there have games and occasions when ERod couldn't be bothered to cover 1b on a grounder to the right.
  23. Maxbialystock
    He had one good year year, not a great year, and in all the other years as a starter he's been deemed as "promising." Beyond question his one "strength" as a pitcher is the run support he has gotten.
  24. Maxbialystock
    Three fat pitches to Verdugo, all swung on and missed.
  25. Maxbialystock
    Then why in the wide, wide world of sports has he been touted as the ace and is still a very definite part of the rotation?
×
×
  • Create New...