Maxbialystock

Astros had the highest OPS, .843, in the postseason last year and scored 42 runs in 8 game, about 5.4 runs/game. Sox OPS was about 100 points lower.

Agree. All respect to bosoxmal, but this ain't worth a separate thread.

Agree. I would like to agree with CP176 about Sale, but have my doubts right now because he is so dependent upon the fastball and slider, which then puts extra pressure on being able to work the fringes of the strike zone. I would like to see a curve, but would settle for a reliable changeup that he can work the corners with. In any case, I just don't see the bullpen now.

Didn't read the whole thread, but was pleased with the first page where most comments say something similar to--"well, that's baseball." Certainly I blame the starters. But they weren't too shabby last year and in fact have had good years in the past. So I'm inclined to blame the pitching coach even though I recognize there is only so much he can do. Last night was another specific reminder of how Sox starters are different, at least in my eyes. They don't work the corners well, especially at the bottom of the zone, and this exacerbates the fact that three of them--Sale, Price, and ERod--don't have a curve ball, so they rely on fast balls and cut fast balls. ERod has the best changeup, but not that good command. The quintessential ERod first inning is the one we saw vs the Yankees this weekend when he walked I think two guys, gave up the grand slam, and them pitched a very solid 6 innings. Sale and Price, astoundingly, do not have great changeups even though face tons of righty bats. Sale has a darn good slider, but can't always hit his spots, especially down low, plus it breaks in on righty hitters. The bullpen for the most part does not have great stuff or great command. Lately, they seem intimidated by just going to the mound. I see nothing to fix in the hitting. When opposing pitchers prevail, it's usually because they are pitching well--hitting spots, good movement, etc.

Sotomayer, a native of NYC, talking to Aaron Judge. Pretty cool, I gotta admit.

Where in the wide wide world of sports are you hearing that? Go to the Countdown to the Playoffs thread, and on the next to the last page you will read a statement from moonslav59, our eternal optimist, that all he sees is darkness. I will grant you that in the OP I was sort of up beat, but why the hell not? Yes, the Sox are playing crappy right now and the pitching stinks. But there are still 54 games left and the Sox are only 3.5 and 4 games out of the 2d wild card.

Note. The flip side of walking guys, as ERod did in the first, is you get desperate to throw a strike, any strike, which is exactly what Torres was looking for.

Pretty long list of Yankees on the IL. If the Sox had that many, they'd be losing games right and left. Wait a second. They're already losing games right and left, including this one which would make 5 in a row.

Finally, ERod works low in the zone. Great, except everyone single one was a ball--hence the walk. He has never had great control, but in some games it has clearly been good enough.

It absolutely does suck, but I think a big part of the problem is our pitchers are too predictable on top of which none of them has good enough control to keep working the bottom of the zone. They are predictable because for the most part they don't have much variety in their repertoire. Neither Sale nor Price nor ERod has a curveball, for example, and all three depend on fastballs and cut fastballs although Sale does throw a fair number of sliders. He has a very good slider, but is throwing in to righty bats and he is not good at keeping it low.

That 2 run dinger by JDM might have been lucky or an accident because it was a good pitch. Most of Paxton's pitches have been good. Lots of movement and good command. ERod prefers to throw straight fastballs and doesn't have the control to get away with it.

Not a hanger, a fastball on the inside corner about waist high. Not a bad pitch except for one thing. It was exactly what Torres was looking for because everyone knows ERod wants to throw straight hard stuff in the first inning. You know, establish his authority.

I forgot to mention about ERod studying his cap before making his first pitch. A sure sign he is overthinking. The Yankees don't need to look at their caps because everyone on their team knows what everybody else in MLB knows. In the first inning ERod just loves throwing his fastball, which is exactly what Torres looking for. Interestingly, I think the Sox manager or Bill Davis or the hitting coach has told our guys not to swing at first pitches. Too risky, plus the important thing is to get a walk or at least make the pitcher throw more pitches.

Some people think the Sox are laid back or don't care, but I think the opposite. I think they have been playing scared for big chunks of the season. It started of course with that horrendous opening road trip out west from which they have barely recovered. But it also shows in how often our pitchers get themselves intro trouble. Erod has faced three batters and has yet to throw a first pitch strike. He's scared to death of what might happen if he throws any strikes.

Thanks. I have zero heartburn with JBJ in CF and Vazquez catching. This is our best outfield even with JBJ not hitting.

7:05 start time, ERod vs. Paxton, lefty vs. lefty Even though the season ended last night when the Sox fell 3.5 games behind the Rays and .5 behind the A's--with just just 52 games to go and the Yankees fully prepared to deliver the killing blow this weekend--I definitely think this game and this series are winnable. And ERod would definitely be my choice to get a start on some momentum. Here's my lineup prediction: Betts CF Devers 3B Bogaerts SS Martinez RF Vazquez DH Benintendi LF Chavis 2B Travis 1B Leon C The above is driven by a lefty starting for the Yankees, Vazquez's sore knee and good bat and JBJ's bad bat. I am not nearly as sold on Leon's catching prowess as I was earlier this year and all of last year, so I put him in there only to rest Vazquez's knee. JBJ's OPS vs. lefties is 168 below his OPS vs. righties.

The offense is the only reason the Sox are above .500. The pitching is 20th best in MLB, and the offense is 1st in runs scored. The rotation, including Eovaldi who was signed to be a starter, is by far the highest paid segment on the roster, and they are killing us.

In the immortal words of the Slim Pickens, the pilot in Dr Strangelove, "Tell ya somethin’ else. If this thing turns out to be half as important as I figure it just might be, I’d say that you’re all in line for some important promotions an’ personal citations when this thing’s over with.' So go for it.

There's a reason why most teams carry 12 pitchers and this year the Sox have carried 13. Pitching is awfully important, and our pitching stinks. We have a Yankee fan, a very good guy, here in our office and he's always complaining about their rotation, which I agree ain't so hot. But ours is just as bad and we don't have a quality bullpen--far from it, in fact--like the Yankees have. Last weekend we took 3 of 4 against the Yankees only because our 12 angry men--also called our lineup players--scored 19, 10, and 9 runs for the 3 wins, but score an inadequate 6 runs in game 4 when the Yankees scored 9. So moonslav, one of the eternal optimists, is entitled to his now gloomy outlook.

Betts, Bogie, and Beni have 8 hits, both dingers and all 4 rbi’s. The other six have 1 hit and and 10 K’s.

Sox are pathetic.

A half-hearted attempt by Leon to block that curve in the dirt with a man on third.

Leon looked awfully slow getting to that slow roller.

JBJ is the embodiment of this opening passage to Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities-- “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” In short, JBJ drives any sensible Sox fan nuts because of his now legendary ups and downs. My suspicion is that he will never repeat 2016, by far his best (OPS .835) season, but will continue to come close to his career OPS of .723. Right now he's at .717, but that was built on horrendously bad April and May, a stunningly good June, and a subpar July. Nevertheless, I'm glad he wasn't traded and won't mind if he returns next year or if he is traded for someone of value. He helps the Sox claim to have one of the better defensive outfields in MLB and especially allows Mookie to excel in RF.

Ahem. Sale's ERA for the month of July was 5.86. Last year it was 0.36, and in 2017 his July ERA was 1.04. Sale is in real trouble this year, and I don't think a semi-miraculous start 2 weeks ago has fixed that.