Maxbialystock

Boy, I'm glad you said that because I strongly disagree. While I agree that statistically you want to put certain batters in certain slots, I think the difference that makes is pretty small. I think we agree that the loss of Ortiz has hurt, but should not have caused all the lower OPS's we have seen. As for Bogaerts in the third slot, Kimmi, who does think slots matter, says that statistics show the 3d spot is less important than 1, 2, 4, or 5, so there. Me, I like slotting hitters when that works and changing lineups when a set lineup doesn't. Plus platooning. But at the end of the day it really boils down to whether the guys are hitting or not. Thus I can never buy the adjective "idiotic" when referring to slotting a particular player in the lineup. More. You like Farrell changing lineups now, and so do I. But the real reason why that's working is that Nunez and Devers gave this lineup a shot in the arm when it was really needed. Changing lineups might have helped a little and certainly did not harm, but a couple of good new bats is what really makes a difference.

You've been saying that for awhile, and I've come around to your view, but sometimes it's still fun--self indulgent-- to whine.

Good stuff--better than what I wrote.

Heck, I get pretty negative myself, mostly because I've been a fan since 1949. I agree completely that hitting is an issue this year. But I also think that just maybe we can get by with just enough hitting vs. the best hitting in MLB as was the case last year. I have ranted about how our guys can't seem to hit a slider and how most of our pitchers can't throw a good one (Sale is the big exception). I get mad when most of our hitters routinely take the first pitch which is often a fast ball right down the middle. When they finally getting around to swinging at a pitch, it's a slider on the corner or a fast ball above the strike zone or whatever. Nunez and Devers, on the other hand, seem to have made a difference. Nunez has played in 11 games, 9 of which the Sox have won, often with his help. Smarter heads than mine argue that Nunez can't keep it up, but the hope is he will do so long enough to enable the other bats to come alive. For sure he made us not miss Pedroia's bat, which was pretty good before the knee acted up. Interestingly, Farrell has taken to changing the lineup for just about every game. Nothing is set. So far, I don't think that has hurt and it might even have helped. But the big fix was by the front office in bringing up Devers and acquiring Nunez.

Judging by the comments on this page, one would think the Sox had just lost 8 in a row because of lousy hitting. But they actually scored 44 runs, an average of 5.5 runs per game. That's a small sample size, of course, but it has had enormous consequences, specifically, bringing the Sox back from the almost dead to a 4 game lead in the AL East and second best winning percentage in the AL.

Pretty neat stop by Bogie, who got down so the grounder (the hop) was at eye level.

7 run rule normally applies early in the game and you are behind. It never applies in the 7th when you are ahead--for any manager in MLB. So I'm guessing you're being facetious.

That second dinger was on an inside pitch not in the strike zone. Looks to me as though the Sox book on Miller is wrong.

That was a heckuva at bat by Betts his last time up--tough inside pitch and he smacked it hard into CF to drive in a run.

Bone-headed running by Beni, trying to score from 2d on an error at 1b. When will he learn you cannot be aggressive on the basepaths?

This ump has a liberal strike zone except on pitches low in the zone.

Let me tell you what an expert I am. I was confident that the acquisition of Nunez was a desperation move that would have zero value. This is why I read but avoid engaging in discussions about players on other teams--with a few exceptions of course. So far Nunez has impressed me with his ability to hit what the pitcher serves up, whatever it is. He is a smart batter who is hard to fool.

I believe managers should be evaluated solely on the W-L record and whether, in the judgment of the front office, the team over- or under-performed. Thus about a month ago or maybe less I unleashed a tirade against Farrell. All that said, I believe the manager can only do so much with the hitting. Clearly, Nunez and Devers, new last month, are making a difference. I think Farrell is doing a decent job of using those additions to improve the hitting overall, but truly believe most of it is up the players. The pitching, I think, is a little different. Managers have a whole lot of say on how long a starter stays in, what relievers to use and in what order, how long, etc. Again, Farrell was greatly helped when DD went out and got Sale. On the other hand, Price has been on and off and on the DL, so has ERod, who has also been inconsistent, Porcello has been awful, Fister was awful until he got better the last two games (but had already cost us some losses), etc. The bullpen, the manager's most important tool, has been pretty darn good this year, and this has certainly helped Farrell. Of course, just maybe--perish the thought--he gets a little credit for the way he uses his relievers. Back to my first point. I find it very difficult to climb on the "fire Farrell" bandwagon when the Sox are on a 7 game winning streak and 4 games up on the Yankees, 3 games on the Guardians, 6.5 on both the Rays and the Royals, etc. On the other hand, one thing that bothers me sometimes is weak fundamentals--are so they seem to me. My favorite is the number of times Sox pitchers have failed to cover first on a grounder to the right side. These guys are all veterans. More to the point, Sale is great on the fundamentals, and he sure as heck wasn't trained by Farrell or his coaching staff. I agree the baserunning can be bad, but, guess what, every other team in MLB does the same things. Last night JBJ ran all the way to 3b on a deep fly ball, caught easily, to left field and was doubled off of first base. Terrible. But at almost the same time Cleveland had a man on first and one man out. The batter hit a popup in the vicinity of the mound. The thirdbaseman and the pitcher let it drop between them onto the mound. The thirdbaseman grabbed it, fumbled it, and finally got the runner going to 2b. Then the SS threw the ball to first and beat the batter who had between 2 and 3 hours to get to first base safely and could not be bothered.

I'm sure you're right and I admit I was cheating (knowing Sale is 6'6").

Once again, the 7, 8, and 9 slots are lefty bats against a righty starter. But Devers is out, Moreland moved up to 5th, and Holt is back in at 2b and batting 7th. Nunez still 1st, Beni moved up to 2d and Mookie up to 3d, and HanRAm is back in the lineup as cleanup. Bogie still 6th. While I realize batting JBJ 9th is a travesty, a crime against nature, I kind of like that he gets rbi's way down there in the pit of despair. I checked his splits, and he has 230 at bats--almost two thirds of his 352--at the 7th and 8th positions, which are also where he hits the best, with the 7th being slightly better.

Oh, that's good.

You got it.

About Sale. My high point last night wasn't the 13 K's or the 8 innings of shutout ball. It was leaping to snare that high hopper to get an out. This guy comes to play and to win. I doubt that Pedro, Roger, or Cy would make that play. Sale is a complete player.

With 49 games to go and a 4 game lead, I'm only optimistic about and certainly not sure we will win the AL East. Once in the playoffs, I agree the Sox pitching staff is as good as any or better in the AL. The Dodgers staff is clearly better, but our pitching could well get us to the WS with just some hitting (and scoring of course). The Sox 2013 postseason is instructive on this point. Chris Sale is the 8th wonder of the world, but he is not invincible. More to the point, you want him pitching on short rest when the available evidence says he gets better with an extra day of rest. Nevertheless, I applaud your optimism and your use of stats, which is why this is a great thread.

And 6 1/2 over the Rays.

And I am glad to see Kimbrel nail down that save after I griped about him.

I don't. If you want to, blame it on Farrell because he wants his baserunners aggressive and I think that includes his 3d base coach. What happened to JBJ, however, was simple inattention or misjudgment.

Don't they have a lousy bullpen this year?

I have to be honest and say that right now I'm not as comfortable with Kimbrel getting the save as I once was. Lately he still gets the K's, but he is also hittable.

How do you know he didn't do that? I did not see a replay showing the 3d base coach.