Maxbialystock

Pedey has a track record in previous seasons of playing hurt beyond when it made sense. He is a gamer--one of the best the Sox have ever had. If he ain't playing, it's either because he really cannot or because Farrell put his foot down (and listened to the trainers/doctors).

Are you being facetious (as I often am)? I ask because right now Pedroia has the 4th best OWAR (1.9) on the Sox, and, despite fewer games, higher than those Beni, HanRam, and Moreland. So, right there, I would put him ahead of any of them in the lineup were it not for the fact the Beni needs to stay in LF. But I would definitely put Pedroia at DH over HanRam, Young, et al. The three higher OWAR's belong to Betts, Bogie, and JBJ, and none of them play 2b or is used as the DH. I would also play him ahead of Nunez at 2b and move Nunez to SS or wherever there is a weak bat--or have Nunez DH when Pedey is at 2b. The only thing not good about Pedey this year is that darn knee (or knees). Based on past years when he showed an overabundance of zeal to play hurt, it is very unlikely he is malingering this year as some want to believe. Remember that season when Ellsbury had the rib issues and barely played? That was the year Pedey was taking infield practice on his knees because that's all the trainers would allow. And it was dumb even though it was vintage Pedey. Pedey is just about the only veteran Sox regular who runs out every grounder full tilt. He plays a good 2b and used to be a great 2b. He is tough on pitchers when the Sox need a good at bat or just someone to get things started. He's banged up and 33, but his OPS this year of .791 is just below his career OPS of .809. Are you kidding me?

I read somewhere that he's actually faking it. Same goes for anyone else who seems to have fire and desire--its acting. The best way to determine real fire and desire is to look at the won-lost record with respect to fan expectations. The 2013 team, for example, didn't seem to have all that much until after they won the WS (a complete surprise). Today everyone believes they saw it right after that horrific bombing on Patriot's Day and that, of course, Farrell had nothing to do with it. Consequently, when just about everybody but Ellsbury came back for 2014, they bombed because Farrell just doesn't like fire and desire. Xanax, maybe. Plus he looked carefully at the guys he thought were faking fire and desire a tad too much and asked Cherington to dump them. Since then the Sox have lacked fire and desire--except for the guys who like to fake it just to irritate the manager.

Sox are 2-1 in games Nunez has been available but not played, hardly a disaster. Pedey would play more if he and Farrell thought he was up to it. He could DH more, but I'm guessing Farrell generally prefers HanRam, maybe for his higher slugging percentage. I like both Nunez and Pedroia in any lineup but trust Farrell on when to use them.

Come on, guys. Bogaerts went to 3b almost immediately when he was brought up in 2013 because we had Drew and Iglesias, which then became Drew for the final two months and in the postseason. Bogaerts only played in 18 games. The next year Bogaerts was the starting SS for the entire season except the June and July when Drew was re-signed and then traded before the August 1 deadline. 2014 was also Bogaerts worst DWAR season and 2015 his best. 2016 and 2017 have been at -.2 and -.4. Injuries could be a factor this year, but the Sox and Bogaerts,practicing good OPSEC,ain't saying.

Back to the lineups. My no doubt simplistic view if this year's lineup(s) is that nobody has enough slugging power to make a real difference in the 3, 4, or 5 slots. Last year the Sox top three in slugging percentage were ranked 1st (Ortiz), 16th (Betts), and 33d (HanRam) among all MLB regulars. This year our top two are Nunez at 95th and Moreland at 97th, and that 95th for Nunez was mostly earned with the Giants, not Sox. Of equal interest to me is the Betts prospered last year batting leadoff with an OPS of .896: he led the team in runs with 122 and was second in rbi's with 113. Furthermore that team led the AL in runs scored with 100 more than the #2.

Mostly wins and losses, yes. Farrell is still here in part because of 2013 and despite finishing last in 2014 and 2015. So, while wins and losses are important--and I think they are especially so this year in his 5th year with the Sox--clearly management thinks other factors are in play and think they are right (to a point). Valentine lasted 1 year, so John Henry would appear to have low tolerance for what he sees as ineptitude. And didn't Grady Little get the boot mostly because of the 2003 ALCS? Francona lasted 8 years in large part because of 2004 and 2007. Some have said he deserved to stay despite the 2011 September collapse, but I was not one of them. And I could have been wrong given how well he has done in Cleveland.

You're darn right I want to fire him--at least, on those days when I get really mad. The rest of the time I think, "meh, the manager can only do so much, and that does not include making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If your hitting stinks with pretty much the same guys (less Ortiz, who retired) as the year before, the manager can't fix that by changing lineups, especially when their OPS's are gravitating toward a mean of .750." I also remain relatively untroubled by the presumed endless boneheaded plays which I think are given far too much credit for games lost, which to me is the real bottom line for any manager." So, yes, definitely flip-flopping, which includes last year and maybe 2015. So, while I defend Farrell on many specifics, I do not feel at this point he has proven he should be brought back in 2018. Win the AL East, probably. Win the ALDS, for sure.

Me, I was astounded when the Guardians took 3 straight, but you can never convince me momentum had anything whatsoever to do with that. Price then Porcello, our two best starters, were simply outmatched by the Guardians first two starters. Their problem wasn't momentum, it was postseason ineptitude of the first order. Polar opposite of, say, Lester and Lackey in 2013 or the bloody sock guy in 2004 or Beckett in 2007. Buccholz went 4 giving up 2 in the "stay alive" final game, but then Pom gave up 2 more. We lost because our pitching stunk, simple as that. As for now, I agree the hot streak doesn't necessarily carry over, but good pitching almost certainly will. Indeed, the Guardians overall defense, including pitching, is the dominant stat in the AL this season. Between pitching and defense, the Guardians have given up a total of 515 runs. The next best AL team (us) has given up 588 runs. That's .5 runs per game difference. The Astros have given up 644. Defense and pitching tend to hold up a whole lot better than hitting. Cleveland doesn't need momentum to beat the socks off anyone in the ALDS or ALCS. The Dodgers, if anyone is interested, have given up 513 runs this season. So my money is on those two teams getting to the WS.

I am looking right now at the slugging percentages for the top 8 Sox this year in total bases and at bats. Bogaerts is indeed dead last, but his .391 ain't that far below the top, Betts, at .435. Last year Betts slugging percentage was .534 and Ortiz's was .620 and HanRam's was .505. I say again, we don't have any sluggers this year, not when our very best is just .044 better than our worst. I sure can't buy that our run scoring and overall OPS's got worse because of Bogaerts. On the other hand, there was the 16-4 run in August when it sure looked like two guys, Nunez and Devers, were making a difference. We lost Ortiz, simple as that, and evidence for that being the core of our scoring problems is overwhelming. But Bogaerts batting 3d? Heck, Kimmi claims it's like the 5th most important slot behind 1st, 2d, 4th, and 5th--according to a book she read I think.

Ahem. I believe you are the one who has documented that our top 8 regulars this year are not only worse (except for Vazquez) than last year but somehow are all gravitating toward a mean OPS of about .750. Right now our top 8 in at bats and total bases are Betts, Bogaerts, Beni, Moreland, HanRam, Vazquez, Pedroia, and JBJ. Of those 8, the highest is .791 and the lowest is .722. That's a difference but not an overwhelming one. Bogaerts OPS in April was .731, in May .949, June .763. On this team, not all that shabby for #3 hitter. As for power, we have no power hitters this year. We are dead last in the AL in dingers and 28th in MLB. Ortiz was a power hitter, but nobody on this team is this year. Given the distinct absence of power which no doubt has affected the run-producing middle of our batting order, my guess is that putting some speed in there wasn't all bad. More to the point, given all those guys gathered around that mean, I really don't care about those lineups. Last year HanRam had a great year, now clearly because Ortiz was in the lineup, and drove in 111 runs. Good. Solid. But batting leadoff the entire season Betts drove in 113 and still scored the most runs, 122, on the team. Oh, and they scored 100 more runs than anyone else in the AL.

Doesn't count. Only boneheaded plays count when talking about aggressive baserunning.

Frank Robinson did that with the Orioles the year after he came from Cincy. One reason why he later became a manager.

Completely true and me definitely included. Plus I agree the bullpen and the lineup were the real culprits. I'm being hard on Porcello only because I honestly did not see the starter we will need down the road. And you can certainly feel free to disagree with that.

Fair enough. Not however, a quality start because he only went 5. Indeed the 4th and 5th innings were both scary because Porcello had started throw lots of fat pitches. We are thrilled because he didn't absolutely blow the game up. In my opinion--just that--he has not turned a corner. I freely grant however that the bullpen and lineup were both worse. The box score says they lost it, and the box is right.

An interesting contrast is that the Rays brought in a lefty reliever with 2 on and no one out. No sweat: two grounds, including a GIDP, inning over. Scott gets the same number of outs as dingers--1 each.

Bogaers, Betts, Moreland, and Devers all hitless after 8 innings. Farrell rarely has 6 lefty bats, but today he did. Not much help against Cobb, who I thought pitched very well.

Bad as Porcello was, he only gave up 2 in 5 innings and handed over 2-1 game, which Workman and Scott quickly made 4-1 with 2 dingers. That means that for the last 3 innings of the game, getting 1 run to tie won't help. Big edge and help to the Bays bullpen which is pretty good anyway. Not happy with the lineup, obviously, but they did their part in the last 4 wins.

Good at bat by Mookie. Yes, he should have nailed that very fat fastball, but he still go the BB and made Cobb throw a lot of pitches.

Sox have 3 singles in this game because Cobb is pitching great--lots of pitches down in the zone but also in or near the strike zone. He's got several good breaking pitches.

Was Travis running full bore on that grounder?

He won the CY last year and he's being paid $20M this year. Almost every inning--except for the lucky ones--he pitches must be torture for Farrell No one would use him were it not for those bucks and last season. All other starters know how to win games and what it takes, but not Porcello. He likes his fastball and he generally likes to throw pitches up.

He just threw nine straight fastballs to morrison to load the bases on a walk. He is not a pitcher. He is a thrower.

Exactly. He has been lucky so far. He has done what he can to give up a three run dinger, but the Rays wouldn't cooperate.

Finally the fat pitches got Porcello. He absolutely, positively gives in to batters and will always throw a fastball when he is trouble. Always. Fastballs aren't all bad, but are dangerous when the are fat and expected.