Maxbialystock

No rule like that although suckees have definitely started for the Sox and every other MLB team. The issue is why Duran doesn't just start but starts the 3d most games on the team. And my answer is that he ain't all bad and that his hitting, while infrequent, is sometimes timely. Last night he stunk to high heaven until the 9th when he led off with a double in a 2-1 game and against a closer with heat, 25 saves, and an ERA of 1.31. I say again, he is 3d in dingers, 4th in rbi's, 4th in total bases, and 2d in stolen bases. He also K's way more than anyone else but nevertheless has an OPS of .832 with RISP. I don't think we are going to reach common ground on this because I also think it was smart of Breslow not to dump Duran last winter. Remember all the brouhaha about 4 outfielders being 1 too many? Well this year Anthony has played in 30 games--17 as DH--and Duran in 111 of 118. Both Cora and Tracy have played Duran a ton despite his season to date OPS of .614. So three different honchos--Breslow, Cora, and Tracy--have agreed that Mr. Suckee is playable. In a season which includes a 35 game stretch now claimed to be the best in MLB history. If Mr Suckee's job was to drag the Sox down and keep them in mediocrity, he did a lousy job of it.

Certainly.

Sloppy annd hitless beyond question. Not sure about the "back" part. When was the last time we saw the Sox not know how many outs there were with both baserunners acting upon it. I'd fine the Sox 1b and 3b coaches.

So is the defense and the baserunning was embarrasing.

Really good at bat by Sogard. Bad game by the Sox and 3 straight losses

Note to moonslav. We just saw why Duran isn't a total loser.

Sometimes you are so spot on it's painful. The Sox ain't even AA tonight except for Gray.

Wow squared.

Darn straight it's significant.

Tonight he sucks and that's true of many games. I'm just explaining why he plays. He sucks, but he's our suckee. Actually, tonight so far the whole freaking team sucks except for Gray who gave it his all despite horrible defensive support and world class stupid baserunning. I'm glad the Sox got that run back thanks to the error on the scoreboard (2 outs), but players and coaches are supposed to be constantly reminding each other of how many outs.

Back to "A Realistic View, Part Deux"-- The Sox just lost 2 straight to the woebegone A's. However, their winning percentage, .547, is still the 3d best of 15 teams in the AL. If they up it just a smidgen to .549, they win 90 games. Their strength is good pitching backed up by good D. Right now I think 1b, 2b, and SS are the only weak spots on defense. However, Contreras WAR is 3.9 and Manasterio's is 1.3 because their OPS's are .927 and .779. Contreras' DWAR is a terrible -0.7, but he has just 4 errors in 879 chances and a .995 Fielding Percentage. Plus right now I'm starting to like Monasterio at SS. Agree with those who worry about the pitching holding up. On the other hand, Bello is helping, the bullpen overall has been pretty good, and Crochet and other won't stay on the IL forever. Speaking of which, the hitting will be helped when/if Anthony and Mead return. Meanwhile, the OPS's in July and August have been pretty good already. Plus Rutschman is due back this week--think Toronto. Overall, it sure looks as though the Sox are back, but different from the big bats and high payrolls of the past. In their last homestand the Sox averaged over 37,000 attendance.

😀

I hope one day you will realize you have been barking up the wrong tree. Yes, Duran's having a bad year, but what you refuse to see is that two very different managers have played him in 110 games with only Abreu with 114 and Rafaela with 113 playing in more games. All I'm trying to do is explore the stats wo explain why he's played in 110 games. Remember Anthony, the Sox highly prized left fielder? He played in 30 games but only 17 in LF because they also used him as DH. Thus my mention of his rbi's (tied for 3d), dingers (3d), total bases (4th), runs scored (4th), and SB's (2d). Here's a new one. Season to date, Duran's total bases with RISP is 3d best and his OPS with RISP is freaking .823. In LF he has 1 error and 7 assists and is tied for the 5th best DWAR in MLB among left fielders.

Maybe next year. I think the Sox can still use a super long reliever, especially when his non-starter ERA is absolutely lights out. Too bad Miller had to pitch the first inning and completely screw it up on a stupid and lousy throw to 1b. That run killed us just as much as Whitlock's in the 8th and Chapman's in the 9th. I'm I the only one who remembers Daniel Bard who was a great reliever, a lousy starter, and then a reliever who couldn't find the strike zone? How bad was that? He was out of MLB from 2014 through 2019. Then the Rockies brought him back up in covid 2020 with just 25 IP and an ERA of 3.65. Two seasons later he peaked at 60 IP and an ERA of 1.79.

Duran is off he is off the charts bad.

Point well taken.

This game is a reminder of the simplest of MLB stats. The Sox, rounding up, are winning 6 of 10 games. The A's, also rounding up, are winning 4 of 10 games. So we should not be shocked that the A's look to win today even though they are going nowhere this season, and the Sox sure look to be playoff bound.

Darn good. He hit a ton of corners plus the combo of his fastball and slider was brutal. Bennett was not nearly as sharp. And of course Slaten and Burgos both stink today. Everybody looked great last night and almost no one does today. Given the 12 innings and 4 hours night before last, that's forgivable. Meanwhile the Yankees take 2 straight from the Braves and go up 1.5 games on the Sox.

Historically, Sox DH's have hit a lot better than he has.

Great paragraph! As a Sox fan since 1949, I would put it differently. John Henry was the 2d coming after the 86 year drought and he spoiled us rotten with 4 WS titles in 17 or 18 seasons. Then came 2019, the highest payroll in MLB, and no postseason, so out goes Drombowski and in comes Chaim Bloom with his Rays credentials. Forget 2020. 2021 was actually a good season, getting to the ALCS game after beating the Yankees and Rays in the postseason. JH, however, was determined to tighten the payroll belt somewhat--Sox payroll is curretly ranked 10t. Chaim Bloom struggled with that and the Sox struggled for 3 straight seasons which caused a lot of pain and misery in the fan base. Then came Breslow who is think is is very different from his predecessors, none of whom knew as much pitching or liked it as much as Breslow. Fenway is a hitters park. In all 4 WS seasons the hitting was paramount (although there were some good starters and closers). Now pitching is. The team ERA of 3.49 is 3d best in MLB and maybe the best ever for the Sox. The defense has also improved. Right now the Sox have given up 27 unearned runs in 113 games. Last seaon it was 80 unearned runs in 162 games. Season to date, the Sox hitting is their worst in a long time, but it's still good enough to enable the Sox to be the hottest team in MLB since June 23 when they were 32-46. Now they are 62-51 or 30-5 since June 23. That just might the hottest 35 games in Sox history. To me this is Moneyball turned upside down. in the movie Billy Beane never talks to any of his pitchers because his version of sabermetrics is all about offense. One of the ironies of that movie is that at the end John Henry swears everlasting fealty to sabermetrics and winning more with less payroll--but he in fact spent big time to get the Sox those 4 WS.

If you can hit, you get to play, even at SS.

All good points. His post-ASG OPS is a nifty 1.021 in 15 games (of 19 total).

All good and timely points. Completely agree Breslow is the architect of this astounding season.

Rutschman was a good get even if he isn't what he was his first two seasons. Did you notice the Orioles used him a ton as DH his 2d and 3d years? This year, his 5th, his OPS is a very credible .764 in just 67 games. For a 3 time All-Star, his $7.25M salary is very reasonable. No doubt the Sox will keep careful track of Tolle and Bennett, but the Sox also seem to have an almost endles supply of SP's. But I also think your point is well taken in that pitching (and good D) are crucial to this team.

Me too.