Maxbialystock

Finally. A 3 pitch out.

Classic Eovaldi. 0-2, and it takes him 5 more pitches to get the out.

Bassitt seems to have our guys mesmerized. The Bogaerts K was classic. After 4 innings, he's thrown 43 pitches to Eovaldi's 70 pitches.

Good at bat by Verdugo despite the out.

Each team has 1 hit and 1 run.

Nice DP!!! Eovaldi took his time on the throw to 2b, which makes sense.

Ahem. The Sox have exactly 1 hit. And now, so do the Athletics, and the game is tied, 1-1.

Sometimes, astonishingly enough, it's because the other team's pitcher has both command and good stuff. Except for those two awful wild pitches in the 1st, Bassitt has looked tougher than Eovaldi, who seems to be out there for the exercise.

I think Eovaldi has shown five pitches tonight: fastball, cutter, slider, curve, and splitter. And, whoops, there goes another rubber tree plant, by which I mean another walk.

Tonight the cutter is working better than the fast ball--it seems to have a little extra bite. Curve looks good too. But at this rate he's need 104 pitches to go 6 innings.

Eovaldi is a master of the long pitch count. If he ever gets a no-hitter, he will need 180 pitches.

Why all the freaking fast balls?

It would be nice if Richards observed the way Eovaldi covered 1b well ahead of the runner.

yup

Did Cora get tossed? If so, dumb move by him.

I understand Cora's frustration, but I'm pretty sure that's the right call.

mlb.com, but you have to pay. Season ticket is around $100 or so, and blackout restrictions will apply if you live in another team's zone. I only listened to the Orioles series, which will also be true when the Sox play the Nationals and the Braves.

Great kid who sure deserves that day off. Heck, maybe even a week off.

Good pitcher, professional. And an idiot.

Ruth was probably the best Sox pitcher ever--except that he only had 3 prime years, 1915-17, ages 20-22. ERA's were 2.44, 1.75, and 2.01 and innings pitched were 217, 323, and 326. After that He started less and hit more in 1918 and 1919 when his ERA's were 2.97 and 4.50 and IP were 166 and 133. Then 15 years with the Yankees.

His contract, $147M for 8 seasons, was a bargain, "Manny being Manny" notwithstanding. Definitely a big deal in 2004, less so in 2007. The 2004 team led MLB in scoring, but the pitching was 8th in ERA. In 2007, however, the team scoring was 3d in MLG and the Sox team ERA was 2d. Indeed, of the four WS-winning seasons (2004, 2007, 2013, and 2018), the 2007 team had the best pitching. Last time I checked, Manny Ramirez didn't throw a single pitch in the entire 2007 season and postseason. Plus 2007 was a down year for Manny in the regular season. The Sox hitting stars were David Ortiz and Mike Lowell. In the postseason Manny hit the game-winning dinger in game 2 vs. the Angels, but the Sox pitching held the Angels to 4 runs in 3 games. In the 8 wins against the Guardians and and Rockies, Manny's hitting wasn't a factor either because the winning margins were huge or because Manny didn't contribute in the two close games, 2-1 and 4-3, against Colorado. As for 2004, Ortiz had the big bat in the postseason, especially in the crucial extra-inning games 4 and 5 vs the Yankees in the historic come from behind ALCS. Plus don't forget the bloody sock guy.

Yes--that shmuck with the Phillies, Bryce Harper. Attendance jumped when he came on the scene.

But an enduring truth behind it. Winning in baseball takes a couple of squads more than a superstar. The very best starter only pitches 1 in 5 games--and these days rarely averages 7 innings per game--the best reliever 1 of 9 innings, the best hitter 1 of 9 positions in the batting order. And that's why spending a quarter of a billion dollars or more for one player, no matter how good, makes no sense to me.

Good discussion on the pitching, which to me has been better than expected. But, as you all seem to agree, can it hold up, especially the rotation? Meanwhile the bullpen is leaking runs almost every game. Every year, or almost every year, the hitting seems to be good, the pitching less so--and this year more than ever. Hitting is #1 in MLB and pitching is #14.

Ah, youth. You had to be born in 1984 or sooner. 1983 is the 5th losing season pre-JH, counting back. During JH, the Sox have had 4 (2020, 2015, 2014, and 2012), which also happens to be the same number of years the Sox won the WS. 1959-1966, the Sox had 8 straight losing seasons.