Maxbialystock

That knuckle curve is so lethal it's outlawed in 35 states.

Did Plawecki really pinch hit for Arroyo? And is Vazquez at 2B?

I'll be honest and say I thought Porcello had a complete repertoire of pitches. The problem was that none of them was especially good, nor was his command. He never, ever mastered the art of pitching low in the zone.

He was fearless with the 85 mph fastball.

If Cora had an ounce of sense, he'd send Ottavino out to pitch the 8th and have him throw a lot of breaking stuff.

Good memory. Agree.

Zoweeee!!!! Just maybe JDM's best dinger this year. Badly, badly needed. Tie game, and a brand new day.

I do think Cora has been outmanaged tonight. He was late pulling Perez, and his former boss seems to be making all the right moves.

Dalbec continues to be one of the most consistent batters on the Sox. Consistently bad. American League fans love their DH because pitchers are so awful at the plate. And I'm here to tell you the Sox have at least two pitchers--Dalbec and Cordero--regularly in the lineup.

You and several others on talksox are under the illusion that starting pitching is irrelevant. But tonight we have seen--so far, anyway--how the difference between starting pitchers can be decisive. The Sox have simply been unable to hit Mize. Their one run was obtained without a hit, and they have 3 singles, period.

Whining is analogous to griping, a wonderfully versatile verb. I usually don't gripe about umps or the weather, but often do about almost anything or anyone during games. I've tried to restrain myself this season because to date the Sox have been way better than expected.

NOAA map shows a lot of rain around Boston, but clearing by 7 or 8 at the latest.

Cinco De Mayo sure makes sense for these Sox. It also occurs to me that the MLBPA should celebrate Curt Flood's birthday.

If what you are doing is whining, I sure hope you keep it up because I'm the worst whiner and the scardest cat on talksox. ChickenLittle-like.

Your overall point is fair. That said, terrible in MLB is way different from terrible in the NBA or NFL or, I suspect, the NHL, which I don't follow. Why? Because the worst MLB teams can still win games. Right now the Tigers win a little better than 2.5 out of 10 games, which is pretty awful. The Sox have the 2d best winning percentage in MLB and win 6 out of 10 games. Odds are good that the Tigers can take 1 of 3 games vs. the Sox if only because the Sox cannot consistently win even 2 out of 3 games. Thus the Tigers had a shot last night when our BP imploded. Indeed, the Sox needed two minor miracles to win. Cabrera needed to hit into two GIDP's, the 2d one with the bases loaded and 1 out, and Barnes needed to get a super save with 5 straight outs and no runs scored--including Cabrera's GIDP in the top of the 8th. The numbers say Pivetta is so far one of the Sox three best pitchers, but he could also fade faster than a Chris Sale in August. I don't like Dalbec, but his success at U. Arizona, Portland (AA), Pawtucket (AAA), and Boston (one month last year) say I'm wrong. The bullpen is beginning to look like the Disney version of Night On Bald Mountain. Scary.

I remember it. I also remember when he got to the Majors.

Don't want to talk about it. And, in case you have forgotten, JDM and his team-leading OPS, RBI's, and total bases, did exactly the same thing to the Sox in the 4th game at Texas. Cabrera is 38 this year. When Ted Williams was 39, he hit .388 (OPS 1.257) and lost the batting title because he only played in 132 games with 420 at bats, 119 walks, and 547 plate appearances. When he was 42, he played in 113 games with 29 dingers and an OPS of 1.096. Williams finished his career with a total of 2654 hits and 521 dingers. Cabrera is being paid $30M this year as he has been for the past 3 years. For $30M/year for 4 years, his OPS's were/are .843, .744, .746, and .405. This is his 14th season in Detroit, during which he has been paid over $320M to play baseball. By a team in a city which has been losing population and experiencing urban decay throughout those 14 years. This is madness. Cabrera is not the culprit, but MLB and the MLBPA certainly are.

I would argue that Pivetta is a minor miracle. He is tied with Eovaldi and Barnes for the highest WAR, +.8, on the pitching staff. Last night I saw three pitches: fastball, slider, and curve. He can be hit when he goes with just the first two, but was effective when he used all three last night. Bullpen killer? He and Eovaldi both have 6 starts. Eovaldi has pitched 34.2 innings and Pivetta 30.2, which means Eovaldi is worth 2 more outs per start than Pivetta. ERod has 5 starts and 28 innings, so he too is worth 2 more outs per start than Pivetta. Perez and Richards are both under 5 innings per start.

You're right. I saw that last night. It's his SLG that is slipping and currently .328. His overall WAR, however is -1.0, worst on the team. When he and Devers are both in the lineup, Dalbec's -1.0 cancels Devers' +1.0. That is, if you accept the premises for WAR.

I think he's taken a page from Kimbrel's book and gone to just two pitches, knuckle curve and fast ball. Luckily, he also avoids all the posing on mound Kimbrel used to relish.

Key to Detroit ain't so sweet. Population has dropped steadily from 1,849,568 in 1950 to an estimated 670,000 today, resulting in massive areas of urban decay. Better than a key would be bus, train, or plane ticket out of town.

Bobby Dalbec could well be proof that the peter principle--being promoted to your level of incompetence--even applies to baseball. He was very good at U. Arizona and at Portland (AA) and Pawtucket (AAA), but so far this year he is tied for the MLB lead in errors--4--at 1b and with just a little effort could get his OPS, currently approaching .300, down below the Mendoza line.

Pivetta could go 6, amazingly enough.

Am I wrong or is Pivetta only throwing fastball and slider? Saw plenty of knuckle curves in the 3d. Also a clean inning. Hmmm.

1, 2, and 3 go hitless, and 3 tries to kill the rally with his patented GIDP, and 6, 7, and 8 (Gonzalez, Arroyo, and Renfroe) all get clean singles. Dalbec then K's. Nice grab by the mom in dark blue.