Maxbialystock

My quarrel with 13 and 13 is that there doesn't seem to be much advantage in carrying 4 extra position players. You basically only need 3--a spare catcher and two infielders/outfielders. This is especially true in the AL where pitchers don't hit, so all good bats get into the lineup and don't ride the pine so they can pinch hit for the pitcher. On the other hand, given the new standard for starting pitchers--just give us 5 innings, please--you can always use another reliever. Relievers, unlike spare infielders/outfielders, can win or lose the ball game in just that one inning (or three batters). I think most of us agree that our bullpen looked much better than expected for most of April, but seemed to be tired in May.

Moreland has great wheels to prevent that GIDP.

She's gorgeous of course, but she also does a good job with both parts.

Renfroe with two excellent throws. On the first one the A's runner decided not to go, but Renfroe hit the cut off man perfectly so the guy on first couldn't advance. On the 2d, he also hit the relay man perfectly, and Arauz made a great throw hom. Sox look great all around tonight--pitching, hitting, baserunning, and defense. That said, the first 7 runs were all off the starter--2 IP--and in the succeeding 5 innings by the bullpen the Sox have scored 1 unearned run. So, one more time, I have to say: the Sox are better than other teams at hitting mistakes, but not so good at hitting good pitching. This win is very timely.

Pretty good, but long. When it came out, critics and fans didn't much care for it. Now it's highly rated.

So maybe the bats are back!

Chavis hustles up a double and scores!!

Great stretch double by Chavis. Also great non DP.

Nice.

Tough row to hoe tonight. A's love the road, and the Sox are losers at Fenway. Manaea looks like another good A's starter, and the Sox have scored 4 runs in the last 3 games. Richards' ERA at Fenway is 13.50. And, even if he pitches well, the bridge from him to Barnes is like the Bridge over San Luis Rey. Interesting Sox lineup with Chavis at 2B leading off, Bogey 4th at DH, JDM 3d in LF, the great Bobby D at 1b batting in the coveted 8th spot, and Arauz at SS. Whatever Renfroe does at bat, it's still nice to have that arm in RF. I will watch this game intently.

Agree I confused last night with the night before. But the fact remains that good pitching beats good hitting and that's what has caused the 3 straight losses, along with so-so (but not terrible) pitching by the Sox staff. When they showed replays of Gonzalez's out I thought Verdugo was right in not trying to get to 3b because he could easily have become part of a double play. You're probably right about Bogaerts, but I think he and Devers both like to be aggressive, especially when the Sox aren't hitting, which they have not been for 3 straight games. I looked up "zoned out," and it means "your brain has switched over to autopilot." And, frankly, I think these Sox are anything but on autopilot. They are frustrated because they can't hit what the Orioles dished up in game 4--which ended a 4 game winning streak--and the A's in games 1 and 2. And the pitching staff is also struggling although not as much as the hitting. The central act of every baseball game is the confrontation between batter and pitcher which happens at least 200 times (including both teams) per game. Given how difficult it is to pitch and hit at the MLB level, I think "zoned out" is impossible for the pitcher or the hitter because both required a very special kind of concentration. It's possible for either to lose focus for a pitch or two or three, but not for an inning or a game--and especially not in low-scoring games.

This remains one of the best posts all season.

True. The rotation has been better than I expected. So was the bullpen until recently. Renfroe's terrific throw notwithstanding, the defense has been lousy all year.

Meh. Sometimes our guys are making contact and outs. But in the 4th Orioles game--the one we lost 4-1--the Orioles pitchers had 11 k's and 0 walks.l Watching him, I thought Lopez pitched a solid game despite his season ERA (5.63). Plus--and everyone commented on this part--the Orioles bullpen went 3.1 innings giving up nothing, zero, zilch, no hits, no walks--nothing but outs, 6 of which were K's. Ditto yesterday and today by the A's. It would be different if in any of those 3 games we were seeing the Sox hitting a lot of liners that were caught, long flies that were caught, red hot grounders that were caught, etc. Au contraire, tonight we saw Devers get a double on a very weak fly to right that they were slow to get to. We also saw men on 1st and 3d with no one out on a GIDP that Bassitt threw into centerfield--and which the Sox utterly failed to capitalize on. Plus our one run tonight came when Verdugo singled and got to 3b on two wild pitches followed by a sac fly/liner by JDM before Bassitt settled down.

Then we disagree. I think when a big chunk of the lineup is "slumping" at the same time, it kind of makes sense to--I'm going way out on a limb here--maybe give some credit to the other team's pitchers. I was impressed with the A's pitchers command, especially working the bottom of the zone, and the pitch calling by their catcher. And since when does the world owe JDM a "decent pitch to hit????!!!!" Every team practically down to little league has computer programs that tell all catchers and pitchers what pitches not to throw to guys like JDM.

Meh. I will grant you and the entire talksox board the simple truth. Despite my moaning and groaning, the Sox, while looking pitiful vs. the A's so far, are still 22-16, which is way better than I expected. Somehow I keep forgetting the simple truth. Also, FWIW, I think ERod got tagged because his changeup was not working--the A's first four hits were off changeups. So he had to throw more fastballs and cutters. I am also beginning to agree with the incessant drumbeat to try to improve the bottom of the order--Cordero has to go--and the bullpen.

The only pattern I see right now is that the A's are just better than the Sox--better hitting and very definitely better pitching. And probably better defense. The Sox had I think 3 really good opportunities tonight to score and blew them because the A's pitched them tough every time. In both games the Sox simply were not hitting the ball hard. When the A's had opportunities, they took advantage because our bullpen stunk last night and ERod tonight--remembering, of course, that the scores were 3-2 and 4-1. Tomorrow it's Manaea vs. Richards, which looks like a sweep to me.

If we assume 5-4 instead of the 9-0 in the winning streak, the Sox are 18 and 19--a losing team.

Slumping???? This isn't slumping. This is being overmatched by good pitching. Slumping is when you get to hit off a T and still and still make outs. SplendidSplinter has it right. The great hitters hit mistakes more often than average hitters. But good pitching always beats good hitting.

These first two games vs. the A's would seem to demonstrate how truly flawed these Sox are. When the pressure is on, they fold. Pitchers can't get guys out and hitters can't bring guys home.

ERod pitching with a lot of guts. He likes his changeup but all 4 A's hits were off it. So he's throwing a lot fastballs. Good for/by him. Incredible play by Renfroe. And the hitting so far sucks.

Horrible bottom of the first. Had him on the ropes with bases full, no one out, and 4, 5, and 6 hitters coming to bat. Bogaerts looked awful and Devers worse. And Vazquez got lucky with the BB. Renfroe pathetic of course.

Franchy Cordero performs a valuable public service. He is so bad, both now and in the past, that every other player on the Sox roster--and maybe even the entire Sox system--can point to him and say, "yeah, but at least I'm better than that guy." Mendoza, wherever he is, must have a smile on his face. Plus now he has his own thread.

Somebody already used the same line about Franchy (note spelling) Cordero. He's awful this year (OPS .412), but his career OPS was over .700 before this year. This thread is so lame.

Dead ball or high seam ball? Pitches seem to be breaking more this year.