Maxbialystock

Fister just threw a fastball on the inside corner, first pitch-nailed for a single. Our guys simple cannot do that. I'm making excuses for Fister of course, because clearly he has control issues tonight over and above any missed calls. So let's see if he Hembree can stop the bleeding. Even if he does, I have little confidence our guys can come back.

We were down 3-0 with no one out in the 2d. You seriously want to spend half your bullpen trying to keep it close for 8 innings when our guys aren't hitting? no manager would do that.

My gosh. The only hitter with half a brain is a 20 year old rookie. Everyone else is jus flailing away.

Difference to me is the Oriole's can hit and we can't. Fister hit some corners, got no calls, so he is forced to throw hittable stuff. But the Baltimore starter did that from the outset. Before Betts struck out he had two very hittable pitches.

Our bullpen ain't that good.

Sox are getting pitches to hit but just can't hit them.

Betts again passes on good pitches to go after slider down and way away.

Except for Beckham, Orioles swinging early and often.

Crappy defense. Again. No way runner gets to 3b if Beni fields that cleanly.

Davis to me is a pinch runner and back up outfielder. DH only if desperate.

Abysmal top of the 1st.

Love Pedey at 2b and Betts back in RF. Vazquez at DH also good with Swihart to back up Leon.

I give us the edge in pitching but am nervous about the hitting if Betts can't play. Just one guy, but Nunez also out and Pedey is 0 for his last 12. Nice to know Kimbrel and Reed should both be available tonight. I think we need to win 2 of 3 to maintain that 3 game lead over the Yankees, and also think the team can do it. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games. Orioles are struggling these days, but they have been a pain all year.

Generally true. However, ERod also struck out the last guy in the 5th and got the first two guys out in the 6th before giving up that dinger to Sucre, who came to bat when ERod was at 106 pitches. In his last two starts, ERod threw 109 and 107 pitches. Would I vastly prefer to have had Price go out there to pitch the 6th and 7th and keep that 2-2 score? Sure I would. But to me we still had two problems if that happened. The first is the bullpen could not use Kimbrel or Reed for the 8th or 9th or extra innings. The second is that the Sox, except for that semi-miraculous dinger by JBJ (after a walk to Holt, of all people), weren't hitting. We had three innings to tie the game and never came close.

Too true. Multiple arms are great when you have a good lead or the other team has one early in the game. This was a 2-2 game in the 6th. Normally, that's when you go with your best arms. In Farrell's judgment, his best arm, based on the 5 previous innings, was ERod's, at least for that inning. And he did get the first two batters out. That's also why I made the point that Kimbrel and Reed were not available.

Too true. And painful. Badly need Betts in Baltimore.

The nice thing about that 3 game lead is it keeps getting bigger. If the Sox go 7-6, the Yankees must go 10-3 to tie. In our next 3 games in Baltimore, we go with Fister, who has been excellent overall from July 31 to now, 8 of 10 quality starts, and Pomeranz and Sale our two best for the season. The Yankees at home play three against the Twins, who are good on the road, 39-32, and are putting up their two best starters, Santana and Berrios, in games 1 and 2. If we take 2 of 3 and the Yankees do the same, we noose is that much tighter. But you gotta play the games and the Oriole's have been a pain this year.

Funny thing, but I've been right where you are--about three starts ago by Porcello when Farrell left him in and I was furious and went on an on (my thing). Plus you will recall I agreed with you when you suggested Price be used in the 6th. But in the event I didn't think ERod was all that bad a choice given his overall game and especially the first 5 innings (and striking out the last guy in the 5th). Plus my impression was that the Sox hitting was almost moribund throughout the game except for that miracle dinger--after Odorizzi walked Holt, of all people--by JBJ. Call me a fatalist, but I did not want to see another extra inning game--if we even get there without Reed and Kimbrel--on the eve of 3 in Baltimore. I tend to forgive and forget when the Sox overall are playing good ball by whatever means. I can be pretty rotten when the chips are down, which is when I often say it's time to fire Farrell.

Pretty good prediction in that last line. I agree.

Since the blind stupid luck of winning 22 straight games, the Guardians have won 2 of 3, and the loss was by 4-3. It's hard for me to see Cleveland collapsing or even playing below .500 in their few remaining games. The have given up 528 runs in 149 games, and the second lowest is 608 runs in 148 games--our guys. That's over .5 runs per game. The Yankees and Astros have given up 613 and 663 runs, also in 148 games. Defense, pitching and fielding, tends to hold up better than hitting. The Astros only have 1 more loss than the Guardians, so they could definitely catch them. They've won 4 in a row, but are 5-5 in their last 10. Their last 7 games are on the road against the Rangers and the Sox. Houston is a little like us last year--great hitting, easily the best in MLB (runs scored and team OPS)--but somewhat suspect pitching. Plus hitting, sadly, can come and go even with the best of teams. I believe I am correct that we are 2-1 against Houston (all games in Houston, 1st half of season) and 4-3 vs. Cleveland (all 2d half of the season).

Love the expiration date, nice metaphor. However, in his two previous starts ERod threw 109 and 107 pitches in 6 innings each, so it's kind of hard to see 110 as that big a gamble, especially when ERod had thrown just 106 pitches when Sucre came to bat. My guess is Farrell had him on a short string in the 6th, but knew he had pitched well until then--1 earned run, 7 K's, 1 walk, and 6 singles thru 5 innings. Plus he fanned the last guy he faced in the 5th. Plus no Kimbrel or Reed to handle the 8th and 9th innings. Given the paucity of Sox hitting, this game had all the earmarks of extra innings. Hence the slight gamble of using Price straight off the DL with almost no bullpen experience.

Me, I'll take the typical game by what I regard as one of the grittiest Sox teams in recent memory. Good but not great pitching. OK hitting, but bereft of power, which during the John Henry era (and until Ortiz retired) was a given for a Sox team.

Excuse me. But if Price had gone four or five scoreless innings--which he would not have--the Sox still needed another run. Before you lay this one on Farrell, take a close look that box score. Except for that miracle dinger in the 6th by JBJ, we had 2 lousy singles. Everyone but Beni and JBJ was hitless. As I said early in the game, we had six guys starting who also played all of the 23 innings played Friday and Saturday nights. Pedey was rested, but went 0 for 12 at Tampa. Holt the presumed loser scored one of our two runs on a walk--a huge mistake by Odorizzi, as was the fastball to JBJ when the splitter had JBJ swinging blindly. On top of everything else, Davis had to go in for our best hitter in the series, Betts. When ERod gave up the dinger, he had already gotten the first two guys out in the 6th (one on a liner, the other on a groundout) and the guy who hit it had 5 dingers season to date. Spin all the theories you want to, but the evidence suggests you want to blame Farrell for a game basically lost by the lineup with their two errors (costing ERod an unearned run and a long first inning) and three hits, one of which was borderline miraculous given the prior walk to Holt and the stupid fastball by Odorizzi. And, while we are on the subject, who do you think persuaded Price he could contribute in the bullpen, the tooth fairy? I personally forgive all errors and the weak hitting by the lineup because they have played with a lot of grit in this series.

Ok. A700hitter predicted that. Just wow. Stupid fastball by Odorizzi when the splitter was working.

A base runner!! Holt the indomitable procurer of passes.