Maxbialystock

Really? Pretty neat, actually. Thanks. I like Hanley when he is hitting, but I hate it when he doesn't hustle. Unfortunately, right now we do need his bat. It helps that he can play a decent 1B as well as DH and that JDM can DH or play RF or LF. Right now the Sox have seven pretty good bats: Betts, Beni, Hanley, JDM, Bogie, Devers, and Moreland. When JBJ plays CF, that number goes to six.

How bad is our lineup right now? I'll tell you how bad. The Sox currently are 29th out of 30 MLB teams for worst offense. If Cora doesn't do what jacksonianmarch recommends, the Sox could quickly find themselves mired in 30th place--and free jacksonianmarch's Yankees from that never to be endured cellar. Oh the shame of it. All those runs scored. Awful.

All Bill James says is that WAR isn't a perfect stat, and everybody knew that. The article does point out that the MVP lately, since 2012, has the highest WAR from fangraphs. I like WAR, but I don't think it's perfect and would never follow it slavishly as the MVP voters seem to be doing. And what I like about WAR is that it at least tries to combine all the attributes--offense and defense and baserunning--of a lineup player. I also like Ken Pomeroy's NCAA basketball statistics because they are pretty good. But Pomeroy is always tinkering with them based on new information and insights. One hopes that fangraphs has the same approach because combining attributes is tricky business. On talksox, for example, we have a strong contingent of folks who believe that defense, especially "up the middle defense," which basically means catcher, 2b, SS, and CF, is so important that offensive skills at those positions are secondary if the defensive skills are roughly gold glove (or what gold glove should be). Me, I'm pretty much the opposite. I think "weak bat, good glove" is automatically a utility guy, with the possible exception of catcher. I say that, not so much because Leon and Vazquez ain't hitting much these days, but because Saltamacchia was the polar opposite--good bat, weak glove. He was our starting catcher in the wildly successful 2013 season, and the Sox flat let him go the next year by not making him a qualifying offer.

Wha does that mean?

To remind: Hanley took away one run when he failed to take off on that two out double. As it turned out, that would have been the winning run. He is not a professional despite that salary he gets.

Almost merciful ending because our offense just didn’t have it tonight. Our last run was appropriately unearned.

I honestly don’t remember those comparisons and agree they would have been out of line.

Exactly. Holt with the single! Credit to you.

You don't do yourself justice. You are not only the most negative Redsox fan here, but the one most often dead wrong. For example, the Red Sox currently have the best record in MLB. But, judging by your usual commentary, they have one of the worst teams in MLB.

What overblown? I have never read anything on talksox suggesting that he is great or even near great. I think most of us would be happy with good, maybe very good. As I said earlier, he's only 23 and last year, his rookie year, he was second on the team in rbi's and total bases. If we have a great player on this team, it's Mookie Betts and no one else.

Are you really unaware that this offense is the 2d best in MLB and way better than last year? You are making it sound as though no one can hit. At all. Ever. Lighten up, francis.

He's 23 and last year as a rookie he was 2d on the team in rbi's and total bases--oh, and stolen bases. This year with a much better lineup--2d best in MLB--he is only 5th in total bases and 6th in rbi's, but is 2d in runs scored and leads in stolen bases. Tonight he has been terrific on the basepaths--getting extra bases and even stealing one. He is a pretty fair leftfielder who can also play CF. The coaches all say he has a good swing. He is not only playing for about $500K a year, but is under Sox control for years to come.

Just when did we make him out to be a perennial all star or anything like it? Last year he was second on the team in rbi's and total bases, so I have to ask you why you seem to think he's just a tad better than a bum.

OK, let's see if the jerk can at least try to redeem himself.

Great steal by Mookie because that throw was just about perfect.

I don't think they do what I like. I also don't know for sure what their tagging habits are. You could be right.

He is indeed. Cora wants to win this one. So does Kimbrel. Not sure about Hanley, however. That was an unforgivable slowdown.

Meh. I like them to go for whatever is closest to where the ball hits the glove.

Seriously? If so, good for him. But this would be 3 straight days/games.

Helluva throw by Holt.

Wow. I thought he was safe, but I'll take it.

Not fine with me, but I certainly understand why.

True. I'm jumping to conclusions, but with some justification. Kimbel is probably unavailable. Whoops. Sale is out to pitch the 9th with over 100 pitches. So Cora seems to agree with me.

You're right. My boxscore on ATBAT was screwed up.

So far the Jays bullpen is way, way better than ours. Four straight arms just mowing us down. We have two earned runs and one from a real fiasco.