Maxbialystock

Sox have a winning record without Betts and he is having just as good a year as Machado. I prefer to look at the bright side. JDM and Mookie are both back in the lineup, and we know this team can hit and score runs--2d most runs scored in MLB and second highest OPS. At the same time the rotation right now is looking awfully good to me, and the bullpen too. Sox history tells us that need good hitting to win, but they also need good pitching. Heck, I even like the defense right now.

Finally, someone noticed the great pitching by our guys. Of course, it's impossible that the Orioles might have pitched well. They're cellar dwellers and can do nothing right, so we must have had the wrong lineup out there because we sure weren't hitting. Devers belongs in Pawtucket. Nunez is worthless, but is still better than Vazquez or JBJ. Holt should have been in the lineup. We really need a trade, at least one more good bat. Is it too late to bring Hanley back?

So true. We are just stuck with a dumb manager. If he had only stuck him in there in place of JDM or Moreland who together struck out 6 times and were hitless while leaving 8 guys on base.

It's certainly not a strategy. It's just the nature of baseball. Top five or six have carried a big load this season, but the bottom 3, 4, or 5 have chimed in now and then. Thus the biggest hit by far of the game was Devers double, so of course he was the guy getting most of the brick bats on this game thread. I think the favorite theme was to send him back to Pawtucket. I honestly thought the Orioles pitching was pretty good, what with our top four getting K'd 7 times vs. the other five getting K'd 5 times. Another indicator was that huge K of Moreland in the 11th with the bases loaded. In Moreland's defense, I thought he got K'd by circumstances and one really good pitch. Givens threw three straight balls to make it 3-0, then a strike on the outside corner which Moreland should have taken, then a more centered strike which he also should have taken--a walk gives the Sox the lead with Kimbrel available to close. But that last pitch was a fastball, 95 or 96 mph, on the low inside corner which Moreland had to swing at and did and missed.

Top of the order craps out and bottom five hitters produce 2 runs.

4 very nice outs by Kelly and before him 20 very nice outs by Wright. Plus pretty good defense. The perfect game in which to have both. The offense has done zilch, but this game is still very winnable.

Too true. No hits and 3 K's among them. Of course, Betts, JDM, and Moreland tonight have no hits and 4 K's among them.

An honest man.

With JDM and Betts both back in the lineup and a grand total of 3 singles in this game, we are blaming Cora for using a bad lineup and giving zero credit to Bundy? None so blind as though who refuse to see. Of course, as I recall, a lot of folks thought Manaea was just plain lucky on that no-hitter earlier this year in Oakland.

Like I said, one very exciting game. Kelly comes in with the bases loaded and wham, gets the 3d out on a K.

Yup. You nailed it. Holt would have been the difference maker tonight and fixed the hitlessness of Betts, JDM, and Moreland. Cora is such an idiot.

Well they are in good company tonight. I've seen no hits from Betts, JDM, or Moreland. Or did I miss one? Did you see some hits by those three? Is it remotely possible--and this is a stretch--that Bundy is pitching effectively? Nah. Couldn't be.

Hah. Talksox would disapprove vehemently. Our rule is "take no chances on the basepaths. Be cautious. No extra bases if there is the remotest chance you won't make it. We must eliminate wasted outs at all costs."

Sorry gang, but I just don't see what all the whiners see. Sox hit Bundy early, but mostly right at someone. Now he is pitching well even though it's basically the slider (which can break sharply but not always) and the fast ball. Occasional changeup. Wright is matching him with the knuckler and occasional curve and fast ball. Very exciting game to watch. I'm glad our starter is having a great night and our defense is also good when our guys can't seem to score. Interesting that right now we have 3 singles--all by the 2 of the 3 youngest guys on the team. But others have hit the ball hard for outs.

Really stupid announcers for the Orioles.

2011 was his career year and it was with the Sox. He was never that good before or after--and still wasn't good enough for Sox fans. But he's happy because he got that big contract at $22M/yr of which I think 2018 is the last year.

I'm very anti-Porcello myself. But I like him so far this year, a big improvement over last year. For a while he was our ace. He has a good mixture of pitches, but none of them is really good, so he has to be careful about hitting his spots. The other four starters--Sale, Price, ERod, and Wright--have better stuff. He got hurt by Devers's error yesterday, also by how he fell down covering 1B (on an out),which allowed that guy to score from 2b on a ground out. If I gotta pick sides, I go with kimmi and moonslav.

The Orioles radio announcers aren't bad--seriously. They stay focused on the game. They favor the Orioles but overall are pretty objective. I don't hate Showalter, but I don't like him either. I used to like Joe Maddon, now of the Cubs, but now I don't like him either.

I was thinking of you in a post on another thread--and your zero tolerance policy with respect to Cora's lineups. I've been anti-Holt most of the year, but this year I like his defense and his hitting. For me a big surprise. But I like Cora and his judgment even more.

Betts RF Beni LF JDM DH Moreland 1B Bogie SS Devers 3B Nunez 2B Vazquez C JBJ CF I would prefer Holt at 2B against a right starter, but that's a quibble. No Pawtucket game for Mookie, who must feel the batting cage was enough. Somebody did, anyway.

My suggestion to moonslav is that he change the name of this thread because it's clearly no longer "A Realistic view of 2018" but rather "A Pessimistic bordering despairing Look at 2018" or maybe "A Realistic View of 2018 Sox Hitting Because We All Know Pitching is Unimportant." Despite the gloom and doom on this thread, the Sox still the second best hitting in MLB and should improve when Mookie returns. That is fantastic! But not to TalkSoxers. Nosiree. We prefer to dwell on the failures. And the pitching? With Pom on the DL, the Sox probably have the second best rotation (after Houston) in MLB with Sale, Price, Porcello, ERod, and Wright. So I have to ask: why isn't that both a good thing and something to be celebrated?

Bradley is a completely different case--a lot older and a lot more struggles in the past than Devers. We have every reason to doubt JBJ. Devers is 21 and looked pretty good with the Sox last year.

Even the Japanese attack on December 7 wasn't under the brand new radar on Oahu. They were seen and reported but were then disregarded. After the last two seasons, Porcello should be under the radar but isn't--he is second in innings pitched on the Sox and leads in wins with 8. Even I have been impressed even though I'd written him off. He has a good repertoire which works when he mixes his pitches and generally keeps the ball low and throws strikes. I think the other four--Sale, Price, ERod, and Wright--have better stuff, but this year Porcello was pretty much our ace for a couple of weeks or so and overall so far are 2d best starter. I do think Thunder starting his second straight game thread is a good omen at the right time. Tomorrow begins a 10 game road trip thru Baltimore, Seattle, and Minnesota before returning to play Seattle and then the Angels at Fenway. No better time to show what this team is made of with Mookie likely to return soon and, one hopes, for good.

A little too early to write the Sox off I think. I am stunned you don't like Sox hitting. Literally stunned. 2d in MLB in runs, dingers, and OPS. Our five best hitters so far are Betts, JDM, Beni, Bogie, and Moreland--and three of them have only played 80% of the games to date. Devers so far is languishing, but has potential written over over him. You gotta stop following the game threads where some talksoxers actually enjoy hammering the lineup or any other miscue. On some threads they would have us believe our baserunning is below little league level. I'm serious. Oh, and the lineups are almost never optimal and Cora overall slightly below average as a manager. And so on and so on. I do think the Yankees hitting is better, but not by much, and that to me is astounding because I think they are loaded this year. Meanwhile I think are pitching is definitely better now that Pom is on the DL and Wright looks like the 2016 version, Porcello almost 2016, ERod maybe his best year to date, and two potential aces in Sale and Price. Time will tell, but I just don't see the Yankees rotation being as good as ours.

Really? I thought they took him out in the 8th last night because of back spasms. As for the day of rest thing, it's worked pretty well so far.