Maxbialystock

August 11, 2019 will go down in infamy as the day Cora started Owings at 2d base, leading off. Marco was at Pawtucket.

Smart pitch. Irresistible.

That’s a cheap shot with which I entirely agree. Batting him lead off was about as stupid.

Meh. The problem isn’t with Barnes, but with this execrable rotation. The bullpen entered in the 2 d inning and that dinger in the 8th was the first run off them. Cashner was the only bad pitcher in this game, and he was awful.

I’ll take Workman’s arm over any of the starters, this year, anyway.

True. But when he leaves the game, there is a bad odor left by that ERA of 5.67.

Seriously. What was Cora thinking?

Prophetic. Owings has no business wearing a MLB uniform, with the possible exception of bat boy. Sadly, the Angels knew this before Cora did.

Perhaps. I think the primary fault is with the rotation, which has been awful, top to bottom, whereas last year they were solid until late in the season. That said, just about everyone on talksox scoffed at how last year the Rays used their bullpen so much. Sometimes a reliever would start, and so on. Well, last night Johnson, who has started before, was pulled in the 3d inning and the Sox behind 3-0. In came Walden to finish the 3d and pitch the 4th and 5th, followed by Eovaldi for 2 more innings and giving up the 4th run, which by then was almost meaningless although they GIDP sure came in handy. Then there's the Yankees rotation, which is almost as bad as ours, but they have an excellent bullpen which makes a real difference. Cora compensates slightly for his mediocre bullpen by carrying 13 pitchers vs. last year when he carried 12-- and 11 in the postseason. We all know that decades ago starters often pitched complete games, but now it's a rarity. Let's not forget that in the interim MLB lowered the mound and this year the seams on the baseball, both with the express purpose of generating more offense under the assumption that's what brings the fans to games. The point is that the lines between starters and relievers are increasingly blurred. Last year the large investment in the rotation, including the addition of Eovaldi, seemed justified. This year, not--but the investment was already made. Thus, I think DD did it about right even though I agree the bullpen hasn't been so hot. By not adding bullpen help on 31 July, he was telling our high-price rotation to earn their pay, which they certainly have not done this year.

Home plate ump gave those 3 runs to LA when he called a clear strike 3 ball 4. I apologize for commenting on the game.

I don't see it. In the last 6 seasons, 2014 thru 2019, Sale has pitched against LAA exactly 3 times--this year, superb, 2017, pretty darn good (6 innings, 0 runs), and 2014, not so hot (7 innings 5 runs, 4 earned). 3 games is a miniscule sample vs the 24 games he started this year alone. He had one other great game this year, June, against the KC, when he pitched a shutout. June overall was a good month, ERA 2.79. But July and August have been pretty awful until last night. Also, FWIW, this year's Angels are 12th in MLB in runs scored. 2 years ago when he shut the Angels out for 6 innings, they were 22d in runs scored. The only think I will grant Jung is that Sale has been so bad this year, it's really hard to claim this one game is proof he has turned things around. So of course we have to see some more. If he has turned it around, I can only add it couldn't happen to a better guy.

I did watch the game--a dazzling, vintage Sale performance with lots of fastballs, 13 K's, 2 hits, 0 runs in 8 innings and 93 pitches, all of which suggest that maybe his problem was telegraphing his pitches. He did have his changeup and slider working, but I think 2/3 of his pitches were fast balls. I've advocating he learn how to throw a curve--which shows how much I know about what works for Chris Sale. Also a modicum of redemption for Sandy Leon--also good because the Sox need two viable MLB catchers. Sox are 5 games above .500, still have a losing record at Fenway, and are 5.5 back of the Rays and 5 back of the A's for the second wild card slot. So, in the immortal words of Billy Crystal in the Princess Bride, the Sox are only mostly dead. Still too soon to look for loose change in their pockets.

Yup

Best player in MLB may or may not have opportunities to shine. I'm fine with watching the game, at least for awhile. I'll repeat something I said on the other thread. I think a big part of this year's Sox pitching problem is that they have not adjusted to the semi-seamless baseball. In addition, Sale has lost steam on his fast ball.

Really? Last year started with a hot streak that barely let up--thus 108 wins. This year started with a terrible road trip, after which the Sox struggled to get above .500. My guess, only that, is that fans are going to games this year partly because of the 108 and the WS last year. Plus the hitting is good. Plus some people like to watch train wrecks. The Sox have now played 58 games at home with 23 to go, so there is still time for attendance to drop below last year's. However-- 2012, losing season, attendance 37,567 per game 2013, WS win, attendance 34,979 per game. 2014, a losing season, it was 36,494. 2015, another losing season, 35,564. 2016, an ALDS season, 36,486. 2017, also ALDS, 36,020. 2018, greatest Sox season ever, 35,747 2019, disappointing season, so far 36,074.

Attendance this year is higher than last year. I don't know about NESN viewership of course.

Ahem. Consider your source. The simple reality is that Sale, Price, ERod, Eovaldi, and even sometimes Porcello have thrown a lot of fastballs throughout their careers. I think that fixation on the fastball is exacerbated by the seams being smoother--which makes breaking balls less effective--and by the fact that three of them are lefties who apparently never mastered the curve ball which breaks toward righty batters. Also, there can be no question that Sale's fastball has lost something. I think he has a great slider, but it breaks in on righties. I do agree the pitching staff has not adjusted to the semi-seamless baseball this year. Both the rotation and the bullpen.

A recent article on the downfall of Tanaka says the new smoother seams on baseballs have affected his splitter. This current Sox team has easily the worst ERA in the John Henry era, 4.82. Last year with basically the same pitching staff the team ERA was 3.75. For those pining for Kimbrel, his ERA this year is 5.68. Kelly's is 4.97. I am exonerating no one, but would say that some pitchers have clearly adjusted to the new ball better than others. I think it is also reasonable to assume that the Sox pitching coach hasn't helped much. Sox lineup meanwhile is scoring even more runs than last year when they led MLB in scoring.

AGon was great in 2011, which however ended disastrously. So sending him to LA in 2012 made sense. JD Drew never made sense to me because, while he seemed to be the proverbial five tool player, he spent too much time on the DL and never came close to his career year of 2004. Very good defender and on the WS winners in 2007. JDM made a huge difference last year. Like Ortiz, he made the whole lineup better. Plus I kind of like that he is more than willing to play LF or RF when needed. Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, on the other hand, were bad acquisitions.

I think deer in the headlights can happen to almost any pitcher because the demands are so great: you have to be able to throw the ball pretty hard, hopefully put some spin on it, and hit your spots. Most pitchers can throw strikes 2/3 of the time, but it's hard to keep hitting spots while getting strikes 2/3 of the time. Barnes has a pretty good fastball and curve--and other pitches--but his command comes and goes. Last year Kelly was the embodiment of a pitcher whose command was suspect and he drove most of us nuts during the regular season, but in the postseason he was terrific. ERod is an even better example. See especially his last start against the Yankees. He didn't have it in the 1st inning, gave up 2 walks and a hit, and then, with the pressure on, threw a fat pitch that became a grand slam. He then pitched 6 innings of shut out baseball despite giving up 4 more walks.

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.