Maxbialystock

Watch the game. It was a double steal. I say again, double steal. Toronto should have nailed Nunez but they blew the rundown badly. given our dearth of scoring opportunities and our weak hitting, it was a smart gamble.

Finally a little justice with that cheap run. Jays seem to me to be even more capable of boneheaded plays than some teams. Bautista badly misplayed that single/double to RF. The run down was absolutely the worst I can remember. Farrell had every right to argue interference by donaldson deliberatedly falling on Nunez, but it's still a tough call.

After 5 innings, Sale has thrown 80 pitches and Anderson 65. Sox have hit several balls hard right to someone but Toronto not so much. Both starters have 3 K's and no BB's.

In last 7 starts the Sox have scored 6, 3, 3, 2, 12, 4, and 6 runs. Throw out the 12 and the 2, and it's still 22 runs, 4.5 runs per game. Keep them and it's over 5 runs per game. Not great, but not that bad either. It was earlier in the season when he got terrible support.

Oh, that was sweet! He got Bautista looking at a fastball in the geometric center of the strike zone. Like a bullfighter standing in front of the bull and dropping his cape.

In Sale's defense, he is clearly determined not to repeat last time, so he is working carefully, trying to get those corners vs. challenging hitters. This takes more pitches, but it's probably right.

In fact, despite 1 hit off Sale and 3 off Anderson, I'd say Anderson is more masterful tonight. Sale's throwing more than normal breaking balls, especially changeups and sliders, but he really wants to throw hard stuff. Plus his slider and changeup don't seem to be as sharp as Anderson's.

Anderson is a classic junk ball pitcher feeding us a lot of sliders, changeups, and curves and just the occasional fastball. Young got one of those right where he wanted it and grounded out easily to 3b. Our team as a whole does not read breaking balls well, plus making solid with one adds to the problem. It's also slightly possible some the guys looked at Anderson's ERA and decided tonight would be easy. Maybe the hitting coach did too and maybe they simply weren't prepared properly. But what do I know?

Nunez took the outside line from the get go, then tried to go back inside and basically stopped for the easy tag. Bautista has a great arm, but this was a 2 man out, man on 2d situation that begged for him going all they way. I don't think he got the jump he should have, not do I think he took the right track going to home. The next batter, had Nunez stayed at 3b, would have been Bogaerts, who promptly struck out badly to lead of the 2d inning.

Don't forget Beni is also a hot bat.

Wild applause, a real eye opener. OPS is imperfect, but at least we know what's in it, and OBP and Slugging are a good start. 28 days is basically August, our best month, and neither Nunez nor Devers are in the top 5--they're 6th and 7th. I have given them credit for reviving the lineup, and that's probably still true, but maybe the greater truth is that it still boils down to the whole lineup. They revived the other players, and that's even better than doing it all themselves.

I'm fine with Davis in for Holt, but leading off? You pointed out on the other thread that Betts and Moreland now have the same OPS, and Betts spent the great majority of his at bats leading off this year. Could it be leading off is just plan hard to do so now Farrell is giving Nunez a break? I think Beni and Devers sticking at 3d and 6th against lefty should work. Devers has just 115 at bats this year, 27 against lefties, but his OPS against them is 1.113, almost 300 points higher than against righties. Beni is better against righties than lefties, but not but a whole lot. I would not have been as bold as you with Young and am fine with slotting him 8th. The big surprise is HanRam is still batting 7th, against a lefty. Overall just two lefty bats in this lineup, assuming Leon bats righty.

I'm just long-winded. That doesn't make me a better Sox fan. You have a great balance between statistical insights and appreciating the game for what it is, especially as played by the Sox. I taught gunnery and still remember parts of the tabulated firing tables, so I love numbers, and yours are the best I've seen because there is a brain and an appreciation of baseball behind them. The above is just one more great example. I can remember checking Red Sox box scores in the summer of 1949 when I was overseas and we only got the Stars and Stripes. I remember listening to Curt Gowdy call games in the summers of 1953-54. But I was really just a sometime fan from 1954 until pretty close to 2004. I was overseas and remember nothing of the 1967 season, for example. I discovered blog sites maybe 5 or so years ago, about 5 years after I starting getting Sox games on TV regularly (here in N. Virginia), which means that I'm truly a johnny come lately. You've been doing this a whole lot longer, as have a lot of other people on talksox. Back to your numbers above about OPS's. Wow. Vaz over Bogie and Moreland even with Betts. It's a new world. Maybe there is something in a distributed lineup that can bat you in different places and ways. We all love to hammer Moreland, so that tie is a shocker.

Big win. A lot of guys contributed, not just Vazquez. Even got thru a semi-disastrous 9th by Kimbrel. I am still impressed with the way Pom battled all six innings. He walked guys, he got hit, he loaded the bases twice, but he mostly got outs when he really needed them and got thru 6 innings, 3 runs, a quality start. Reed looked pretty darn good. So even though moonslav still disagree on some points, I have to say I finally answered the call to stop focusing so much on the 4 losses. All this is good, but it's still a tough road ahead and a tight race for AL East and for 2d best record in the AL. Our next three starters--Sale, Porcello, and ERod--are all three the ones who had disastrous starts last time out. I thought Pom showed some grit tonight and Fister certainly did yesterday. Now these three need to man up. It's time. Despite my back and forth with moonslav, I actually am fine with almost any lineup. I like mine for the reasons stated, but think a bunch of other options could work, including his. The point--his point--is that this is a team worth rooting for.

Nice. I'm smiling again.

You're kidding, right?

I was fine with whenever they called him up. After played a little at AAA and came up then, I said that was fine. My numbers on 6-9 slots were much bigger than you suggest. Yes, still a small sample size, but that's all we have and it's late August, not April or May, so you make decisions on less than optimal data. When making big decisions, one of the key factors is how much time is available to make it. Farrell made the right decision and at the right time. Simply put, I was dead right about dropping Devers down in the order and no one else even suggested it. Maybe I was lucky, but at least I had a rationale for suggesting the move.

Since I'm the only one who said this and said it in the game thread and before the game started, this is me being boastful. I was dead right on both main points. But, to be honest, it was probably blind stupid luck, which is what I have often relied upon.

Neat. Bottom of the order comes thru at just the right time. That's why I love a distributed lineup that can hurt you from the top, middle and bottom. Well, except for Holt of course.

Wow. 6 innings, 3 runs, quality start, but about as brutal a one as I can remember. Two incredible escapes, but neither was luck. Really smart play by Devers on the grounder in the 5th with 3 on. He first checked the hitter to see if a GIDP was possible after touching 3B. No. So he thru a strike to force out the guy going home.

Good. But you ignored the last part. Would you agree they were actually good plays for which the manager gets some credit?

Two great sliders to strike out Devers looking. Just found the outside of the plate, and they were sharp breaking too. I think we have hit a couple or so extra liners tonight right to Jays outfielders. Now just two, but two extra because we've hit a lot of balls hard.

OK. Here's me back on my hobby horse. Subject is managerial and baserunning blunders. I feel certain that, had Vazquez been out going to 2b, this would have been brought up by several is simply gambling and not even with a chance of success. All Farrell's fault of course. The second is the bottom of the 5th. Left Pom in with the bases loaded and 1 out. I guarantee, had the Jays scored, this would have led to a discussion about how Farrell doesn't have a brain in his head. Everyone knows Pom was through. Farrell needs a brain wave check. And here's the best part. No one, but no one--except me--will actually say that in both instances Farrell actually deserves some credit. But doing that is virtually forbidden on talksox. Off my soapbox, now.

Pom also kind find the corners. Most of those hits by theJays are in the middle of the zone.

Down 3-2 after 4 12. Both teams with 6 hits, but the Jays better are grouping theirs. Middle--Beni, Betts, Moreland, Devers--of the order is hitless. Toronto pitcher has at least 3 pretty good pitches, including a changeup and a slider. Plus fastball, of course. Pom is battling.