Maxbialystock

I always worry about tipping pitches.

Yes. 11 am started in 2012.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Drive safely too--especially moonslav.

Nice win, nice series. Best the Yankees can do is stay 1 back. Sox retain best record in MLB more than halfway thru the season. Porcello and ERod both looking good vs. the Nats. But especially ERod.

ERod stunningly good today, and we definitely needed him to be. Trust me when I say it is really hot out there and we are coming up on 3 hours.

Thanks for the hydration reminder, S5Dewey. I'm a 72 oz/day guy mostly because I have to be--made a little easier by doing 24 oz on the way to work and 24 oz on the way home. Today taking a son and daughter and their spouses to visit their grandparents at ANC, which is getting crowded but is still beautiful and overlooks the National Mall, from which you can also see ANC--across the Potomac and Memorial Bridge. That link and that Mall are reminders that America does not forget our veterans because we are, in the end, a nation made by wars. I hope that I am anti-war. I do believe that the Declaration of Independence was and is far less important than the Constitution written and passed 11 years later in 1787 and finally ratified in 1789. Since that date all veterans have sworn, upon entry into our armed services, to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America." And, quite honestly, I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 4th than by attending and/or watching our national pastime. Whether true or not, I like the Walt Whitman maybe-quote in Bull Durham: "I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us."

You got me pegged. Still working at 77.

Done. Probably too much so, but it feels like a loquacious 4th.

101 years ago today LTC Charles E. Stanton, an aide to GEN Pershing, visited the tomb of Lafayette in Paris and said, "Lafayette, we are here!" American women served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, primarily as contract nurses, but none took an oath of allegiance and of course none were allowed to vote. 155 years ago today the Union forces under George Meade and Confederate forces under Lee had just completed the bloodiest battle in American history at Gettysburg. The same day Confederate forces at Vicksburg surrendered to Grant's Union forces. 243 years ago today George Washington was settling in at Boston, the headquarters of the fledgling Continental Army he now commanded. The Declaration of Independence was still a year away. 8 years from today the United States will celebrate our 250th 4th of July.

Eduardo Rodriguez, lefty vs. Erick Fedde, righty Start time of 11:05 (they started this in 2012) because a lot of people will want to get into DC today for the 4th--so happy Independence Day, everyone! I myself will be going to Arlington National Cemetery--thus the early start to this thread. Game time temp is supposed to be 86. Chances are ERod will continue to rely on his fastball and cut fastball and struggle as he has his last two times. Fedde meanwhile got his first career win last time out. Sox can't possibly win this game and Cora should negotiate surrender terms at the pregame meeting with the umps. A shout out to moonslav59 who drove 14 hours yesterday from TX to KY and is headed for Montreal (and NC and ME and NYC and FL and New Orleans) and 5 weeks of traveling vacation.

I believe he was the catcher by default in 2015. And my guess is that, while he could hit and is a good athlete, there were doubts about his catching which continue to this day.

You’re just full of great ideas and clearly a better manager than Cora.

Makes no difference Nunez got the 3 run dinger of course.

I forgot to mention the Sox only have a putrid 1 game lead over the Yankees. The most wins and best record in MLB mean little if you can't hit Severino and have to rely on your pitcher for crying out loud to deliver the crucial bases loaded double against Scherzer. What a sham that was.

Johnson, lefty vs. Roark, righty 2d straight start for Johnson with Wright on DL. Five days ago he went 4, gave up 1, and Velazquez got the win after going 2 innings. I'm guessing both will go again tonight because we beat the Angels 4-2 five days ago. Nevertheless, as was the case last night, I think our pitching is vastly over matched. I'm hoping JDM will be back in the lineup and maybe get a single, which would be nice. Nobody else will be able to hit Roark. And you can bet the farm that Bryce Harper will nail the first fastball he gets from Johnson. NOTE THE 6 PM START TIME TONIGHT. And the temp should still be in the 90's by then, plus humidity of course. Not good.

Back to the rotation. One month ago I thought we had the second best rotation in MLB after the Astros. Now I have my doubts. Sale is still great. The new Porcello ain't great, but is a decent to good #3. Price, however, seems to be slipping and ERod is slipping even faster. Wright has been fantastic except for his last start, but he is on the DL.

Didn't read the Boswell article, but what you say makes sense. I frankly think pitching is just plain hard to do well on the best of days. You are using your arm to close to the limit of what it's capable of--to the degree that you can only do it every five days to avoid serious injury. On top of that you need to impart various spins to the ball and hit a very small target--smaller than any reputable knife thrower would even consider given the distance (66 feet). Kelly is a great example fresh in our minds. He actually has a pretty darn good repertoire, especially for a reliever: blazing fastball, curve, slider, and changeup. In other stints this year he has been pretty darn good. But last night once again his 99-100 fastball got hammered (for a solo dinger by Harper to cut the lead to 4-3), and he had to rely on his breaking stuff and did get 2 outs, but was pulled--justifiably--after giving up the walk. In comes super closer Kimbrel, who struggles to get the final 4 outs, the last one on a very hard hit ball that went straight to Benintendi. Now flash back to the first six innings last night when Porcello had to face that same lineup not once but three times and you begin to understand just how hard it is to be a good starter in MLB and why the best ones get paid so much.

Right you are. Against really good pitchers like Severino and Scherzer, the best offense is a good defense. Price failed miserably at Yankee Stadium, and Porcello was tough last night at Nationals Park, plus he got that astounding double with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 2d inning.

A prophet in this modern day and age.

Good stuff. Thanks. Some surprises.

Stole is the right word. Today I’m just fine with that and the 1 GAME lead and the best record in MLB. Well done, Porcello. And Betts.

A win, but not exactly encouraging. Lineup stunk again, and for good measure so did the bullpen. Barnes tried to give up a run, Kelly wanted very much to give up the second dinger--before Cora took him out--and Kimbrel needed like a thousand pitches to get a four out save, maybe to signal Cora he still doesn't like doing windows. He pitches the 9th, and he usually does that pretty well, and he does not care to do anything else. Porcello did go 6 and give up just 2 and absolutely got the hit of the game.

About right. Except Wright, of course. That knuckler is mostly unhittable.

Nothing wrong with that. Pom should never be allowed back unless and until he develops a good changeup, which he apparently is determined not to do. He loves his big old knuckle curve and his s***** fastball, and that's about it. On top of that he takes forever between pitches and gives every sign he is terrified of making the next pitch.

Good point about time between pitches. Yes, they need to be like Sale.