Maxbialystock

Mookie just hit the Mendoza line. Could anything be more appropriate? He has his head up his ass on the basepaths and in the outfield, so why not at the plate?

I got part of that right. Just three lefty bats (Nunez is out tonight, as is Beni)-- Betts Bogie JDM Pearce Moreland Pedey Devers Vazquez JBJ

It all starts with the pitching, especially the starters. Cora has said that out loud because it's so obvious. One presumes Cora will go with some righty bats vs. lefty Happ, who was pretty tough against us last year (until the ALCS). One presumes Beni will rest another day, so my guess is JDM will be back in LF, JBJ in CF, and Mookie in RF. I see Devers at 3B (but it could be Nunez), Bogie at SS, Pedey (or Nunez) at 2B. and Pearce and Moreland at 1b and DH or vice versa. Vazquez catching. So, if Devers sits for Nunez (unlikely), we could see as many as 7 right bats. But, honestly, I believe the winning card is a700hitter transmitting vital bulletins from enemy territory.

Agree with you and Kimmi. Cora is young and can learn from this.

I'm with you. As ST progressed and we saw more and more of the regulars, including starters, the team looked worse and worse, including the losses. I'm not absolutely sure the completely lackluster ST was/is to blame, but it's pretty hard to ignore. I also recall a chorus saying that the MLB schedulers were/are a bunch of meanies and virtually guaranteed the Sox would get off to a bad start because, horror or horrors, they started out on the dreaded west cost. Unfair, unfair came the cries from TalkSoxers. Then the return to Fenway and a 3-3 home stand against the dregs of the AL East--the very teams the Sox destroyed last season. Finally, last night's debacle with our ace getting pounded by a Yankees lineup weakened by injury and a shutout by a pitching staff that has also struggled. So far, in fact, the Boston Red Sox right now are welcomed by every ballpark in America because they bring with them sure victories for the home team. The Orioles split 4 immediately after losing 4 straight on the road, so maybe the Sox won't be quite so welcome at Fenway.

I think there can be no question Cora was a genius last year. Practically everything he tried worked, and it was maybe the best season in Sox history if you skip over 2004 which ended the 86 year curse. Nevertheless, I have always believed that managers are judged on team wins and losses and whether those comport with what the front office expected or can live with. While I like most others am mad at the whole team, the rotation is clearly the biggest problem. Those five players and their salaries are easily the biggest investment DD and John Henry have made in a year when the Sox again lead MLB in payroll. It's quite possible Cora gets the blame for the easy ST for the rotation, which clearly has resulted in a bunch of starters who were/are demonstrably not ready.

This from the most upbeat fan of all of us.

Well said.

Here’s the good news if that is possible. This game thread was started by, you know, one of those guys. Seriously.

Mookie, compared to 2018 Mookie, does too.

Like a baby on a nipple.

Agreed.

It’s pretty close to the lineup that won 11 of 14 in the postseason last year. Only Beni is missing.

Meh. Yawkey wasn’t much worse than the very racist city in which his team played. With Bill Russell starring, the Celtics had an incredible run of championships, but never could fill up Boston Garden. Ever wonder why Russell loved his coach and teammates but despised Boston for literally decades? I am not exonerating or defending Yawkey, but am saying he had lots of company.

Can there be any doubt at all that the Sox stink in basically every aspect of the game?

The Dodgers and Walter O’Malley integrated MLB a year before President Truman integrated the armed services. So it was historically significant even though MLB itself normally isn’t. Jackie Robinson himself was an officer in that segregated Army and was court-martialed (but acquitted) because he refused to sit at the back of a bus on Fort Hood, TX.

Sale is fast running out of excuses. With his favorite catcher he still stinks. Come to think of it, maybe Cora and especially DD are running out of excuses. John Henry is shelling out big bucks and not getting much ROI.

No command.

We have 1 hit in 4 innings. Only Bogaerts doesn’t stink.

Guess who loves Sales fastball more than you? The Yankees.

Leon and Sale both forgot that the point is to get guys out, not show the fastball is back. One very stupid inning, mostly on Leon.

Why this love affair with the fastball? 2 runs in from hittable fastballs.

Lousy pitch calling by Leon. That fastball was in the right place and fast enough—but also very hittable. For a run.

That's not completely true. Swihart started about 84 games in 2015 because of injuries, and I think that experience is why he caught so few games after 2015. Last season he was on the active roster the entire season and didn't get to catch a game until Leon or Vazquez (I forget which one) went on the DL. I honestly wouldn't know a good defensive catcher if he bit me in the ankle, but the indicators from a managerial/coaching point of view suggest they doubted his ability as a catcher after 2015 and still feel that way. FWIW, last year his catching DWAR was -0.4, which is the same DWAR he had as a catcher in 2015 (when the Sox team ERA was 4.31, 25th in MLB).

Absolutely fascinating thread because we are reacting to a recent DD move having to do with pitching and catching. All pertinent topics. I am not a big Swihart fan, but I also don’t think he is to blame for the rotation’s horrible start. The Sox have pitched 2 shutouts this season, Swihart caught one of them. Nevertheless, we know the rotation is the problem and that Leon is more likely to bring them back than Swihart.