Maxbialystock

High today in Arlington is supposed to be 88.

Good point in the OP: I forgot how fast Fister works. My memory is he doesn't have great stuff but hits his spots well and mixes his pitches. Moreland for JBJ worked last night, so Cora might do it again. Sale and Fister are both tall. Right now is almost like a pennant race with the Sox and Yankees neck and neck. Way early, but both were picked in the preseason to get to the postseason, have excellent hitting, and have above average pitching. Funny thing that Hamels last night and Fister today are both 34 and rely on mixing up their stuff and keeping the ball low. Sox hit righties a whole lot better than lefties so far this year.

It was a great idea earlier in the season. Hanley was pushing toward a .900 OPS. Lately, he has regressed however.

This was Hanley's 5th rbi in 18 games. The great move was starting Moreland and benching JBJ. I agreed with sending Hembree back out for the 8th, but it was almost a disaster. Still, Cora left him in there to get the K. Then an IBB, then in comes Kelly for two K's.

Great win. Still 1 game up on the Yankees. This is almost like September in May. But the rotation must improve. Great bullpen, however.

Gotta give him credit. He definitely came thru.

The Sox are trying to stay ahead of the Yankees with a rotation that is nowhere near as good as the one that got the Sox to 17-2.

Careful what you say. SoxHop might object.

Way too much fantasy baseball stuff. There is a real season being played out right now and with the Yankees hot on our tail. JBJ's bat is a liability, especially when Moreland has a very hot bat, which means JD goes to LF and Beni to CF like tonight. To me it's a no-brainer to play Moreland more and JBJ less. We would not have a prayer of winning tonight if JBJ were in the lineup he is that bad against lefty pitchers as Moreland clearly is not.

RAre, very rare, that a Sox reliever can keep the ball low in the zone the way Hembree just did. Some pretty good pitches in there.

Too bad Cora chose not to play JBJ tonight. I'm sure he would have caught at least one of those Texas dingers. That' right. I'm saying the guy is that good in the outfield. Plus I'll bet who could have a 2 run dinger off lefty Hamels the way his replacement Moreland did because, you know, he was due. It is irrelevant that his OPS vs. lefties is .202 this year because no sample of less that 10,000 at bats is worth talking about.

HanRam has 3 rbi's in the last 17 games and is following the pattern tonight yet again.

A note to all the JBJ fans on this thread. Tonight Cora went with Moreland at 1b, HanRam DH, JD in left, Beni in CF, and JBJ in reserve. My question is: how many of those Texas dingers, which drove in 4 runs, would JBJ have caught? My second is: how likely is it that JBJ would have gotten a 2 run dinger off lefty Hamel? The answers are of course none and almost impossible these days. That's not a cheap shot. Because in the previous game thread there were several comments about what a huge difference JBJ made in that game with that one grab as if no one else on the planet could make it and as if the pitchers and other guys in the lineup were the supporting cast. Editor's note: OK, I agree with others that I am beating a dead horse, especially when there is an entire thread devoted to him and it is 75 pages long.

Yankees won. Need this.

If the pitching holds up, the Sox are on par with the Yankees. The opening 17-2 streak was mostly because of the pitching. Price is a big concern, but Pom and ERod have also had their issues. What's neat is that both Sale and Porcello have been pretty solid, and Velazquez has to be the best 6th starter in MLB. I do give the Yankees the edge in the bullpen.

Promises, promises.

JBJ was our starting centerfielder in 127 games in 2014 but he ended up in Pawtucket because his OPS was .531. Today it's .545. What keeps JBJ on the field is the top 5 or 6 in the Sox lineup. The Yankees have a new murderers row this year and lead MLB in runs scored with 185, but the Sox are second with 180 and our current top 6--Betts, Beni, Ramirez, JD, Bogaerts, and Devers--are better than theirs. The Yankees bottom third of the lineup is way better than ours. The 2014 team could not afford to keep JBJ in the lineup, but this team can. And it isn't just JBJ, it's also our two catchers and Nunez/Lin/Holt. When Moreland with is OPS of .984 plays 1b, JD goes to LF, HanRam to DH, and Beni replaces JBJ, the lineup gets even better because Devers drops to 7th. But so far Cora hasn't done that very often because the lineup has been so productive despite that bottom third whose best bat currently is Nunez with an OPS of .646. His DWAR, it should be noted, is -.4. Back to JBJ. I do agree with you that it makes sense to give JBJ more time to get his swing back to something near 2016 when his OPS was .865, Ortiz was anchoring the lineup, and a bunch of guys had good years they didn't have last year, 2017. You in fact predicted the lineup would bounce back this year and not just because of JD, and you were right. So there is hope for JBJ.

It's really not a choice between JD and JBJ. It's about how many good bats do you need in the lineup, and so far this season the answer to that has been 5 or 6. That means that the lineup can include not only JBJ but either of Leon or Vazquez plus Lin now and then. Right now the two best offenses in MLB are the Yankees and Red Sox with 185 and 180 runs scored respectively. As much as the Yankees new murderers row should be respected, our top six are probably better than theirs, but their bottom third of the lineup is way better than ours. But make no mistake. So far this is a down year for JBJ. He was just as good a fielder in 2014 as he is this year and he was the starting centerfielder on opening day. He played in 127 games but ended up in Pawtucket because his OPS was .531 and Boston wasn't scoring like that are now. Today JBJ's OPS is .545 but he is tied for 2d most games played this year on this team. Cora clearly values his defense even though his overall WAR is -.3. Plus I'm sure Cora hopes his hitting will improve. In 2016 his OPS was .865.

Even when the Sox ran out to a 17-2 record, plenty of commentators were still picking the Yankees to win the AL East. Yes, the Sox have been a good team, but only because the pitching was exceptional. Now the hitting is there, but the pitching had faltered in the last 12 games before tonight. The ERA basically doubled the ERA in the first 19 games. The Yankees now appear to have good pitching to go with their best in MLB hitting (Sox are 2d.) There are supposedly four good AL teams this year: us, Yankees, Guardians, and Astros. The Yankees just took 3 of 4 from Houston and their first game against the Guardians. I hate having this argument because I sure as heck ain't rooting for the Yankees. I've been a Sox fan longer than you, and that basically means that I've learned it is never too early to start worrying. Funny thing is, I do like this Sox team. The bottom of the order stinks. The infield defense overall is probably below average. But this team can hit--boy can they hit--and the rotation has been better than I expected except for Price. Heck, I think our 6th starter Velazquez is better than Pom, heretical as that sounds. Plus, and this is corny, I think these guys have heart, and that's what it takes to beat the dam Yankees.

I saw JD make almost that exact same catch JBJ did tonight, only he was playing RF and made the catch in right centerfield, I think at Fenway. I don't however think JD could make the one Beni made in LF tonight. As I've said already, I trust Cora's judgment, and he wants JBJ out there. But you better believe that judgment is helped by having a terrific top six in the order.

Great pitching!!!! I'm really glad Cora brought Poyner back, but I also liked the jobs Kelly and Barnes did. One more quality start by Porcello: I think he has 6 out of 7 quality starts. He remains our most reliable starter. Top six in the lineup are tough: 4 dingers and all five rbi's. Yankee freight train remains 1 back despite giving up 6 runs to Cleveland. Yankees won on a run in the bottom of the 9th with two men out. ERod tomorrow. Hopefully the warm weather will get him back in a groove. His ERA of 4.78 is rotten, but he has three quality starts in five overall.

Meh. JBJ gets to keep his job because the top six in the lineup are hitting so well and even though the bottom third isn't it. This is his 30th game, 2d most by any Sox player, which means Cora wants him out there, and I trust Cora. That said, you know the mendoza line? That's a batting average below .200. Against lefty pitchers so far this year, JBJ's OPS is .202. Now that's low.

Guardians tie NYY in the 8th. 5-5

Great grab by Beni, a play JD does not make.

Porcello is pitching a gem even with a lot of pitches.