Maxbialystock

Fister with 1 out in the 3d, 5 runs in, 66 pitches thrown with a man on 3b. Bullpen must be at the ready.

Nervous 3d. Fister again struggling against the top of the order. He does not seem able to throw strikes low in the zone. Nice curve, but in the dirt to Lowrie, who has now seen 10 pitches. Fister at 62. That was bad--double of the monster by Lowrie on an excellent changeup that he saw perfectly. Did JBJ miss the relay man?

wow. 23 pitches by Cotton thru 2 innings. HanRam pops on a first pitch fastball, which normally I like seeing. Devers pops on a 4th pitch changeup--tough pitch. Leon nails a liner straight to Cotton on a fast ball down and away.

I think so. On the other hand, maybe those aggressive at bats just show that these guys finally have that fire they seem to be lacking. Can't wait to swing those bats. To heck with Bill James.

Wow. Sox bats in the first very aggressive. Only Beni took Cotton to 6 pitches--and got the only double. Moreland hit the 2d pitch, Betts the first, Pedey the 3d, and Bogey the 2d.

Why would Betts swing at a first pitch slider low in the zone? Answer: he doesn't read sliders well, not at all.

Fister has consistently not been a good first inning guy, but usually gets better. I honestly expect that tonight. I never saw him throw a changeup against Lowrie or Olson, both lefty bats who got the big hits--a dinger and a triple. That has to change.

I'd love to say bad luck on those 4 runs, but three of those balls were hard hit--two on fastballs and one a curve that was little up in the zone and breaking toward a lefty hitter who clearly saw it well.

When oh when is that Betts guy going to show some fire out there in RF? I am being facetious of course because was trying to make the only play that could keep the guy on 1st from scoring--and diving toward that right field wall was a little risky.

Three very hittable 91 mph fastballs, which Semien finally hammered to rf for a single. Typical 1st inning for Fister, who regularly give up a run in the first.

Game is on espn and the camera shows lots and lots of empty seats for an important game about to begin. Correction. New camera shots show lots of fans and a good crowd.

that's where I got mind, stubhub. Over $100 apiece for seats down the right field line that were like watching the game through the wrong end of a telescope. Twice. I have not been back to Fenway in this decade. Maybe the first decade of the 21st century was the wrong one for getting decent seats there.

OK. That's the right one. Three of the first four have pretty good speed. On a good day--not so much this season--all four can also hit and two with power. 5th and 6th are Moreland and HanRam, probably about right. Good to see Pedey in his second straight start at 2b, especially with Nunez out.

those are the seats I inevitably get. How do you get so close on the spur of the moment?

There are definitely some plays when we all can agree someone was a bonehead. Forgetting the number of outs is clearly one--but also rare. Same goes for not knowing what to do with the bases loaded, 1 out, and a pop up on the fringe between OF and IF and therefore not called "infield fly rule" by the ump. When Leon was thrown out at home, JBJ did not realize he still could be forced out at 3b and was. This too is rare. The problem comes, I think, on some of those other plays, especially those that result in outs, when a degree of subjectivity comes into play. The purists--my label,which might be unfair--would argue that stretching a single at the wrong time, going to 3b at the wrong time, trying to get home at the wrong time was simply bad baseball, even boneheaded. Even on defense some plays I don't consider boneheaded have been labelled so--thus Holt's hesitation and then bad throw on a force out at 3b from a bunt he fielded from 1b was to me simply a mistake, even a tough play. Others strongly disagree and say he should not have hesitated and, when he did, he should not have thrown to 3b. Me, I underwrite any mistake made when time is so short--less than a second--and the decision is pressure-filled (game was on the line). Also, we seem to have no capacity to state that aggressiveness actually made a positive difference in any game,that Leon, for example, took a heck of a chance going home, which looked even worse when the throw actually beat him home--but he made a great "slide" and just got the plate without being tagged.

No one wants to face the Guardians right now. How do the Yankees play the Astros? Don't they have to win the AL East to do that?

Is that the lineup? It's got five lefty bats, about right. But Bogie leading off? Last three of Devers, Leon, and JBJ is something he has done before and makes the bottom of the order potentially tough.

Tonight we got Fister, so I like our chances. Rookie Cotton, a righty, is 7-10 with a 5.82 ERA.

Yankees just beat Tampa (in NYC of course) 3-2. Girardi used the heck out of his bullpen, 4 guys who went 4.1 and gave up 1 runs (by Betances). Chapman got the save, Green the win.

I wrote this on last night's game thread. I think the Guardians aren't just hot--which they certainly are right now. They also have the best overall defense in MLB--including pitching and fielding--and not only the best in the AL, but the best by a sizable margin. Pitching and defense are more reliable--in my opinion--gauges of postseason success than good hitting. Thus I think we have a better chance of beating the Astros in the ALDS than the Guardians. And it's possible we just might be the only ones with a real shot against the Guardians in the ALCS. Yes, Kluber is probably better than Sale, but Sale ain't no slouch and, despite recent outings vs. the Guardians, he is first and foremost a competitor who has been working hard on throwing more breaking balls and keeping they low in the zone--with just enough of those fastballs. I'm thinking he will rise to the occasion. We beat their #2 Carrasco last time out--badly, 9-1--and our guy was none other than the great Fister. After those two, we still have the possibility (only that) of Price and, if not him, Pom or ERod. Both throw way too many pitches, but lately ERod seems to be getting better and has now had 2 straight quality starts, both going 6 and giving up 1 run. Pom has had his moments too and actually has the second best pitching WAR on the Sox and the 12th best in the AL. All that said, one reality endures. Even great pitching can't win if you don't score any runs. In the ALCS of 2013, Detroit beat us 1-0 in game one despite Lester's sterling performance. Lackey beat Verlander 1-0 in game 3 because he threw a shutout (with bullpen help), but we still needed that dinger in the 7th by Mike Napoli. That 2013 team had easily the best offense--run scoring--in the AL, but nevertheless won the WS mostly because of great pitching. This year our hitting and run scoring are suspect. What gives me hope even there is a few games back in August when-- August 12 we beat Severino and the Yankees 10-5 August 20 Gray and the Yankees, 5-1 August 22 and 23 the Guardians Carrasco and Kluber, 9-1 and 6-1. The only problem with those excellent wins is they may have been because we were stealing signs illegally.

We beat some pretty good pitchers, 12-23 Aug. Was that by means of the apple watches?

I'm probably the lone voice saying this, but I would not be inclined to dump any of our current regulars next year, by whom I mean: Betts Benintendi Bogaerts Bradley Pedroia Devers Vazquez/Leon Ramirez I don't like Ramirez, but think we are stuck with him. Plus last year he had a very good OPS of .866. And he can play 1b when Moreland leaves. Bogey similarly had a good overall WAR last year and in 2015. JBJ same deal--last year, anyway. Plus that great D. I would want to keep Nunez if only as insurance against Pedey knee issues. Make him the new Holt,maybe. Leon/Vazquez are both under 30 and are a pretty good twosome in a position that absolutely demands two capable people. I like everyone else would love a big bat but am reluctant to trade away a bunch of regulars for him. Besides, Devers might become that big bat. And this. In a down year for almost everyone except Vazquez, the Sox are hardly broke. I mean, with the lousy hitting and all aren't they headed for 92 or more wins and the AL East? Isn't it even possible guys like Betts, Bogie, JBJ, and HanRam can get back to their 2016 numbers or at least get closer than they are this year?

I think we are all comfortable with the notion that bigfoot and lochness monster are fiction. I think most of us agree that the boneheaded plays are real, not imaginary. Where we differ is on how many are truly boneheaded and, after that, how they affect game outcomes. I freely admit I am less critical of even the most boneheaded plays because I just take them as part of the game, which is played by humans with varying capacities to stay focused. And I emphasis focus because I believe those interminable 3.5 hour games with maybe 15 minutes of real action, would test anyone's ability to stay focused (even including coaches, whose entire job is to stay focused and keep baserunners focused). That view, I have to admit, doesn't make sense when looking at JBJ, the guy who has twice lost track of the number of outs or the actual game situation he is a part of (on the basepaths). That's the same guy who should be bored to tears out there in CF while our pitchers go through their little kabuki dances and in some cases pitch endless half innings. But JBJ is nothing if not alert at the crack of the bat, and he also knows what to do with the ball when he gets to it. In the outfield, he stays focused despite spending on average 1.75 hours out there with maybe 3 minutes of real activity. I would also be less than honest if I didn't admit that very knowledgeable people on talksox are truly outraged or offended by the boneheadedness. moonslav has plenty of allies when he says this is not the way the game should be played. He blames Farrell and his coaches,which he is certainly entitled to do.

well said