Maxbialystock

It's possible. In the summer of 1972 someone like that visited Cooperstown after spending some time abroad, but he never had time to be a fan. Too busy.

Of course it came across that way, and there absolutely must be room for everybody's opinion. That's what we are here for.

So here we are on Labor Day and on the one talksox thread that is all about "a realistic view at 2017." So what is our realistic view today? Mine is that the Yankees series did more damage than just losing 3 of 4 to the only team that can beat us for the AL East title. It is also a terrible reminder of just how regressive our hitting has become since the 16-4 streak moonslav likes to talk about. Last night was the 10th straight game--with Friday night being a wonderful and most welcome exception--when our hitters have been unable to get to the starters of three different teams (Orioles, Jays, and Yankees). We won all 3 Jays games because their bullpen is horrendous, but we never got to their 3 starters who each gave up just 1 run. At the same time the Yankees were able to get to three of our four starters--ERod (who actually pitched well for 5 innings), Pom (ditto), and Sale (who now has 1 quality start in his last 4 starts). Season to date, the Sox lead the AL in quality starts with 77. Our rotation has been our oasis in the scoring desert of this season, and our bullpen has been pretty good too. They are why we are still 1st in the AL East. They will likely still be good enough to get us there because we have a weak schedule in the remaining 25 games or so. But right now I have my doubts about them in the playoffs. Think of this now concluded Yankees series as a preview of the ALDS. Think the Guardians instead of the Yankees. Remember last year. Scary, isn't it? A sidebar on the manager. If the Sox don't deliver this year, he is gone, and that will be fair. But consider this. The four best teams (most wins) in the AL are the Astros, Guardians, Red Sox, and Yankees in that order. The other three teams have, in the same order, scored 162, 179, and 137 runs more than their opponents in the roughly 136 games played to date by each team. The Sox have scored 81 runs more than their opponents. Those are of course very rough numbers and can no doubt be interpreted many ways, but my take is that they at least suggest the admittedly very slim possibility that Farrell has done more with less than the other three managers.

Honestly, oldtimer, my strong impression right now is that too many of our hitters aren't sure what they heck they are doing, and that especially applies to last year's two studs, Betts and Bogaerts. My favorite hitting style is probably Pedroia's. He is pretty aggressive but smart enough to take the walk when it is there. You and I have both commented on the importance of the first pitch. Almost all other teams we face will have a few hitters if not most who will swing at a fat first pitch. We almost never do. I could be wrong, but I think this becomes a big problem when other teams pitchers feel confident they can go up in the count from the get go. All that pitcher then has to do is get one more strike to force our hitters to swing at bad pitches or pitches they can't make good contact with.

I have never found moonslav to be authoritarian. He often just throws stats and numbers out there with a smidgen of commentary. If I, on the other hand, find a number or two that support what I think, I use it as a cudgel and the smaller the statistical sample the better. Take Benintendi (please), for example. moonslav says he is weak on those fundamentals he thinks are important and which I generally categorize as smart baseball. Whereas I think Benintendi is fundamentally sound in almost all respects. He can hit and hit with power--best on the team so far this year. He can field and is probably a better centerfielder than leftfielder with a decent arm (he can throw). And he can run pretty well actually. So let me say that again: Benintendi is fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game, with his sweet swing being the soundest--and that's what we need him to be the best at--then his fielding (including his speed), then his baserunning, and then his arm. The problem I see is that he is the least experienced regular we have seen in a while. He was drafted in 2015 and the very next year he was in a pennant race in Boston, and this year he has been asked to be our mainstay, our David Ortiz (that is an insane exaggeration of course) in another hot pennant race but one in which hitting on this team is at a premium, meaning we don't got much hitting. At the same time his manager, looking at the worst Sox slugging percentage in the 15 or so years of the John Henry era, has thrown caution and Bill James to the winds, and encouraged his guys to run, run, run. That is not Red Sox baseball, not as long as the home field has the green monster. Benintendi has therefore been encouraged to use his speed as well as his bat to help the team score in a season when scoring runs has been a problem. Unfortunately for Beni, almost all of his baseball training was at the amateur level. Remember, MLB is unique among major sports in America that has an elaborate apprenticeship apparatus designed to hone all baseball skills. Last year, Beni really wasn't that long at AA before he skipped AAA entirely and moved directly to MLB, about which many talksox contributors have said the defense is just a whole lot better in no small part because the great majority of the guys on the field are experienced professionals at the highest level of baseball. Interestingly, Beni has stolen 18 of 22 bases so far, a better ratio than Mookie--who is masterful on the bases--in his first full year at Boston. So, I'm sorry, moon, but you simply can't say Beni is a bad baserunner. Yes, absolutely, he has run into outs, but I would argue that's because of his inexperience with MLB arms and skill at nailing intemperate baserunners combined with a manager who has told everyone with any speed to gamble a little. My gosh, Vazquez has 7 stolen bases, and dogs are living with cats. I say again, Beni gets a pass on rookie mistakes because he deserves it. He is fundamentally sound in everything except MLB experience.

For you, but not for me. Anyway, enjoy your football season. I did too when I was n college,

Is it really just the 8th inning?

Because we are lousy hitters. Or simply intimidated. Take your pick.

I do not want to anger anyone, but I actually got something out of this game. It is absolutely the first time I have thought bad umpiring affected a game. I still think the Yankees win 3-1 or something because the Sox lineup once again stunk it up, so the jerk behind the plate did not give this game to the Yankees.. they deserve the win. But it grates because as I said after we scored, I thought I saw a faint pulse in the lineup.

Ok, bad night in black rock. What we all need now is for moonslav and Kimmi to get in here and reinflate our hopes for this season. Where are you guys?

Then you simply aren't paying attention. Have you so soon forgotten the Guardians went to the WS last year, which means, unlike us, they are both and confident in the postseason. Right now the Guardians are better than the Astros, especially in the playoffs, because they have better pitching.

I didn't want Scott when he went in and said so, but most managers would have brought in a lefty with 2 lefty batters coming up. Scott simply did not man up. Forget the single to Ellsbury. He had an 0-2 count to Gardner and threw 4 straight balls, none of which were close.

I always thought the Yankees were good for the wild card. Are you confident that can't take the AL East? Are you fine with the Sox as a wild card?

You're the one who is not looking. We know the Sox still have the lead, but the Yankees are now back in it when all we had to do was split. Worse, our pitching now looks suspect, and our hitting remains so. Some of us actually thought the good guys would get past the ALDS This year. Do you think that right now?

Wilted my ass. He had the third out or at least a 1-2 count if the umpire calls those balls strikes, which they were. That would have ended the inning with no runs scored. Don't believe me, the announcers agree those were both bad calls. The message from the ump was clear as crystal. Throw in the middle of the zone or expect a ball to be called. That one at bat was a travesty and proof that bad ball and strike calls can change a game. I think the Yankees probably win without those bad calls, but it still grates and I almost always defend umps. What torques me is that Reed pitched great in a very tough situatuion, and the ump took his strong suit--the ability to hit corners with the bases loaded--away from. It wasn't just once, it was twice.

Welcome back. Care to defend your favorite umpire now or haven't you been watching?

That Yankee hit and 4thnrun are directly attributable to a lousy home plate umpire.

The espn announcers agree with Farrell and Leon.

All due respect to our ump defenders, but Leon and Farrell are right.

Thank you Leon for speaking up. That was a great slider by Reed--ball 1.

This is a big game and time for the real Sox baseball players to show up. Like Reed.

Scott has nerves of putty. He is not a man for tough times whatever his ERA. He walked Gardner after going ahead 0-2 and none of those 4 balls were even close.

I told you.

Just turn the sound off. Mine is.

I would leave Kelly in. He's actually pitching well, and to me Scott ain't that reliable.