Maxbialystock

Why was everyone clamoring to move Devers up higher in the batting order? His best positions season to date have been 6th, 7th, and 9th where his combined OPS is 1.222. Batting 5th his OPS is .769 and dropping as I write. Chances are good he will go hitless again tonight--his fourth straight game batting 5th and going hitless.

And no question that MRI has to be done in Boston not Cleveland.

Actually, I'm seeing positive signs in all five starters. Sale is Sale. Pomeranz is a miracle. Porcello is much better since the all-star break. E-Rod has twice started badly--especially the 2d inning--and then settled down. When he is pitching the way he is capable of, he can be tough. Fister is almost as big a surprise as Pomeranz. He doesn't have great stuff, but is effective when he commands his pitches and keeps the ball low (not all the time of course). It's also interesting that 3 and sometimes 4 of our starters are lefties in a righty-hitter universe.

Honestly, I fine it hard to believe they are playing Holt mostly to see if he is a keeper. Not in a pennant race in the middle of August and not against the Yankees--whom we lead by 4.5 for the AL East--or the Guardians, whom we lead by 2.5 for the second best record in the AL. For now Holt serves a useful purpose because of his versatility, especially when Farrell is carrying 13 pitchers and has infielders who are out (Pedroia) or hurting. I agree he is master of none of the positions he plays and that his hitting this year is very subpar. Nevertheless I disagree that he is a liability when he is on the field. Here's why. Since he resumed playing on July 16, he has played in 29 games during which the Sox were 18-11, a winning percentage of .620 vs. the .576 the Sox have for the season to date. I also looked at his game log for those 29 games and specifically at the losses by 1 or 2 runs when one can presume a single hitter could have made a real difference. There have been six games the Sox lost by 1 or 2 runs in which Holt played. Of those six, he actually contributed to the offense with one or more hits or rbi's, or he had 0 at bats and was probably a pinch runner or defender. The single game when it is fair to say Holt had an adverse effect on the outcome was Monday's 5-4 loss in which he was 0 for 4 and committed that error (which I also think was a tough play). I did not charge him with the 4-3 loss to the Yankees when he was a pinch runner and was caught stealing on a 2-0 count with JBJ at the plate because I believe Farrell had called for a hit and run--2-0 count is ideal for that--that JBJ missed. Plus it was a close play even though Holt is not that good a base stealer. I agree completely with what you said about our not knowing what is being decided behind closed doors and that all we can offer is our opinion, and I certainly respect yours. But I also disagree for the reasons stated above. DFA might be a consideration, but in August in a pennant race there has to be a better reason for playing Holt. Interestingly, he only missed one game in the 16 games he was active for in July. In August, he has not played in 5 of 18 games. This is mostly because Devers and Nunez have been added to the roster, both are infielder, and both can hit.

Well said. And I myself am occasionally guilty of hammering and hammering a point beyond what is needed. Sometimes we simply need to agree to respectfully disagree.

Actually, 5th might be too high. Check it out. He has 40 at bats batting 5th and 40 at bats batting 6th, 7th, and 9th combined. His OPS when batting 5th is .861 and in the three lower slots combined 1.225. He is hitless in the three games since he returned to batting 5th.

indeed it would.

I'm not sure I follow you, specifically on identifying who exactly the "best horses" are for the late innings. Kimbrel, absolutely. Did you want to bring him him to pitch the 8th and 9th innings the night after finishing against the Yankees? As for Reed, his ERA with the Sox is 5.63. Last four games were great, but the one before that cost us a game. Plus he pitched Sunday and 1.2 innings the Friday before that. Why mention Kelly for the 8th when we needed him to finish the 6th and all of the 7th? You appear to have promoted him out of the "shmucks" so maybe you have forgotten that, before last night and Saturday, Kelly gave up 3 runs, 1 run, and 1 run in the three games prior. And how can you be so sure Workman was the best choice for the 8th when he gave up the leadoff double in the 9th? My take on what happened last night is that Cleveland had the better bullpen, simple as that and despite the fact that one of their best, Miller, had to leave the game after giving up the walk. Why no mention of Scott who stopped the bleeding in the 8th? I'll tell you why--because he did a good job and that does fit into your neat scenario that once again Farrell is clueless in Cleveland.

Tough play on that error. Holt moved in quickly and in fact fielded the bunt headed straight toward Workman. But he either hesitated or mishandled it which gave him little chance to get that runner. Without that mistake and the resulting bad AND rushed throw, he had a good chance of getting the runner out even though a tag was required. Runner to 1b was unimportant given tie game, bottom of 9th. HanRam can play 1b, but I'm not sure he makes that play. His OPS at 1b is .611, but .804 as a DH. Since you surmise HanRam would have been flawless on that play, maybe I can surmise he would not have hit that crucial dinger if he were playing 1b. I get that you don't like Holt. I'm no fan either. All I'm saying is that replacing the injured Moreland with Holt and leaving HRam as the DH was not as irrational as you claim. Your assertion about going back to 12 pitchers makes sense, but who do you bring up and how confident are you that the extra bullpen arm is not needed?

No comment.

And they remain hitless.

Nunez and Betts hitless tonight.

Yeah. Vazquez was slow to first thinking he had hit it out.

On a 3-0 pitch, he threw a great 4th pitch for a called strike. Turned that whole at bat around and got the grounder on the next pitch.

I like that first pitch slider even when it's well inside the zone.

He is night and day from those first two innings (he was lucky in the 1st). I mean he is burning those corners.

Now let's see if ERod can stay tough. Pitched well in the 3d and 4th innings.

The Sox have now hit several balls pretty hard and right to Cleveland infielders.

Great at bat by HanRam. Waited him out for his pitch and then hammered it--it was right down the middle.

Tough call for the 2b ump--luckily he was wrong.

Oh, I agree with what you say about not touching the bag. I'm saying it never should have been that close. He was very slow off the mound. I don't know about that pitch, but sometimes he has a little extra finish on a pitch that causes him to turn or twist to the right.

So far, that dinger by Beni is huge. Sox are in this if they can only get some hits.

Now that is troubling. Add ERod to the list of Sox pitchers who are not serious about going to first on grounders hit to the right.

Terrible at bat by Nunez. That fourth pitch, a fastball right in the middle of the zone, was the third fastball in that at bat.

Last two starts, including this one, by Rodriguez suggest that he is not fully ready in the first two innings and tends to over-rely on his fastball and more importantly to throw a lot of pitches well inside the strike zone and up. Last time 4 runs in the 2d, this time 3. Then suddenly he looks pretty good in the next inning(s).