Maxbialystock

Our lefty bats kind of stink against lefty pitchers.

Umps make a big deal out of those face mask shots. They should. Scary every time.

That's nothing. After giving up the dinger on a fastball down the middle, Chapman unveils a devastating splitter which I don't recall seeing before. Why did he, the catcher, the pitching coach, and the manager keep that pitch on the shelf?

Fascinating. No Bregman and no Anthony. 5 righty bats and 4 lefty. Rafaela at 2b, Mayer at 3b, Ref in LF, Duran in CF. Narvaez catching his 4th game in 4 days.

2021 was a weird season coming the year after covid arrived--fans were reluctant to come to games. Sox averaged 21,300. Sox payroll was 5th highest. The Sox had absolutely no problem playing both Schwarber, who often played 1b, and JDM who occasionally played in the OF. They surprised the heck out of everyone by getting to the ALCS, largely because they had the highest team OPS, .827. Their team ERA was 4.68, however, and the Sox had no closer. And the defense stunk. Verdugo's DWAR was -0.1, Renfroe -0.5, Schwarber -0.5, JDM -0.9, Devers -0.9, and Dalbec -1.4. The Sox lost to Houston in the ALCS because the Astros pitching shut them down in games 4, 5, and 6: 9-2, 9-1, and 5-0. I believe John Henry made the final decision on Schwarber and DD was almost certainly the reason why the Phillies signed him. In 2022 the Phillies payroll was 4th and the Sox 6th. However, thanks to Price and Sale, the Sox active payroll for 2022 was 12th. The Phillies, 87-75, made the postseason and the Sox did not. The Phillies have been competitive ever since and the Sox not. This season the Phillies payroll is 4th and the Sox 13th.

Well, I deserve that because I completely forgot about Minnesota, no doubt because I became fixated on the three Division leaders.

They sure do--but with the understanding that in 5 games the Sox have faced some awfully good starters.

Last night the Sox win with platooning--and a great start by Buehler--if Narvaez doesn't have that passed ball, which was run #2 for the Phillies. At the end of 9 innings, the score should have been Sox 2, Phillies 1--against the best righty starter in MLB.

True.

Ain't it the truth.

It's 9 games, not 12, and nobody said they would define the season. Nor should they have when all 9 games are against NL Division leaders, and the first six on the road where the Cubs and Phillies both win 2/3 of their games. In all 5 games the Cubs and Phillies have had excellent starters. Last night and tonight the Phillies started pitchers with ERA's under 2.5. That's like back to back Crochets. And the Sox would have won the first one (last night) if Narvaez, an otherwise excellent catcher, had not had that passed ball. The Sox have played 5 of the 9 games and are 1-4. If you mean 12, you really mean 13, including the 4 games vs the Rays, who in fact have a winning record so far this season. The Sox won all 4 of those games. What these 9 games could do is inform Breslow about when moves he wants to make o/a 31 July.

He didn't have all that great a track record, so a great sign by the Phillies.

No doubt. When you're as good as he is, your pitching speaks for you.

1. Both games the Sox started righties. Phillies started a righty and then a lefty, both with ERA's under 2.5. 2. Philly scored exactly 5 ER in 2 games, well below their season average runs per game and they did it against the Sox 4 and 5 starters. 3. You really don't know what the heck you are writing about.

Yep

Almost all comments and questions are allowed on talksox. Indeed, the rarity this season is anything positive. I seem to be the exception. I do agree that managers are hired to be fired, but I also appreciate the complexity of what Cora has had to deal with this season--his expected rotation hit hard by injuries, missing his two best hitters, Bregman and Devers out each out for half of the season, starting 4 rookies, one of whom couldn't handle 2b and is back at Worcester, a less than reliable bullpen, plus right now he has 4 pretty good outfielders and just 3 positions to put them in. As for cult, they have a name--it's John Henry, who has fired 5 managers, 2 of them after watching them for 1 season each. He fired Farrell after he won the 2013 and immediately after he managed the Sox to AL East Division titles in 2016 and 2017. But he rehired Cora after he was thrown out of MLB for one year because of the sign stealing by the Astros. JH also makes the final decisions on how much to spend on players, which has an effect on the quality of the players. For DD, JH spent like a drunken sailor. For CB and now Breslow, not so much. This year's Sox payroll is 12th.

Cora does like to keep Anthony near the top of the order, but tonight, lefty vs lefty, he looks awful. Both Sox hits so far are by righty bats. Unfortunately, Narvaez's righty bat has turned to wiffle.

"Symmetry and expectations" are meaningless. Baseball is quintessentially a team sport played by individuals. Thus the central part of very game is pitcher vs batter. Last night's lineup worked pretty well against the best righty starter in MLB, but tonight's starter for Philly is a very good lefty, ERA 2.44, who is really hitting the corners. So Cora is loading up with righty bats (7) and leading off with Ref instead of Duran. Why is that such a conundrum for you? Ref, 2d time up, hits a dinger, which no doubt disappoints you.

Exactly what I think of course. Plus all 4 Philly runs have been earned. Tonight is still another example of the Sox being completely outclassed on the mound. Last night was a terrific surprise because Buehler was great and the Sox should have won but for Narvaez's passed ball.

All what weaknesses? Tonight Fitts doesn't have it--obviously as the 5th starter--and Sanchez definitely does. Same goes for the first 3 games @ Cubs. They had much better pitching in games 1 and 2 and the Sox did in game 3. I've asked this before and received no response: can you name another MLB team that played 9 straight games against all 3 NL division leaders, including 6 on the road? I don't just mean this year, I mean any year. Narvaez hurt last night with the PB, which cost the game. But he is the best defensive catcher in MLB or so the stats say.

Agree. Cora should have started Chapman or Whitlock.

As I stated above, that was one very weird catcher interference call because neither the batter nor the baserunner was interfered with. Narvaez still has the best DWAR among MLB catchers. Both Philly runs were earned because the guy on 3b did in fact steal home and the batter given 1b did not score. The essential nature of this game so far is that the Phillies can hit Fitts and the Sox can't hit Sanchez. That's exactly what we thought would happen last night, but it didn't.

That was one weird catcher interference. In no way did Narvaez interfere with the batter or with the runner coming from 3b--the plate was wide open for him. If he was running from the backstop to home plate, definitely interference. Gonzalez seems to be reverting to norm--rapidly. The Phillies starter so far has shown uncanny command.

I'm sure of that.