Maxbialystock

Mostly agree, but would point out that Betts is hitless today, as is Devers. HanRam has left 3 on and Devers 2. Holt has been on the bench lately, but his start today has not adversely affected the Sox.

Now the announcers are raving about that catch when in actuality he simply misjudged it.

Bad swing, Betts. That fastball was very hittable.

Have we collectively decided yet whether Holt was going to 2b in the 9th last night because the hit and run was on? It was a 2-0 count, ideal for the hit and run, but the pitch turned out to be outside and perfect for a throw to 2b.

I could be wrong, but I think Yankees step out of the box way more than our guys. For shame, Holt! Don't you know you're a worthless piece of crap? Now start acting lack one and cut out that single bs.

Leon is slow as molasses and his throw to 2b these days ain't what it was earlier. But he is way better than Vazquez at stopping--often catching--pitches in the dirt. My guess is he frames pitches better too, but I can't be sure.

Nicely done, Porcello! Love it.

Porcello is mixing his pitches well because of Leon or someone on the bench.

That changeup was both up in the zone and almost straight--hardly broke down.

Gray is definitely pitching to the corners and just missing. Not sure JBJ should have swung at that curve down low with a 2-0 count, but a small price to pay if he is back in a grooved.

All 2 and 4 seam fastballs to Bogaerts. 7 pitches to ground out. Gray now with 76 pitches in the 4th inning. Looks like a battle of the bullpens coming up.

Wow. Just like that the Sox are down 3-2 because of those two walks and that dinger to left, right, or center field. Or maybe not. 80 pitches in 4 innings is a lot, but I sure like the 0 runs. And the lead.

Porcello does not have great stuff, but can be effective when he is hitting his spots and mixing his pitches. I think he is trying emulate Sale in pitching more quickly.

You could be right. Only noticed on the closed captions and rarely check them.

What hindsight? I have no complaints about JBJ batting 9th these days. He does not flourish way up in the order. 6th or 7th might be best for him if he is back on a groove.

Sure is. JBJ only got two rbi's off the triple. If he had batted lead off, he would have had none. But thanks for your insights.

Stupid announcer is saying the throw to 1b was too high. It wasn't. It was to the left side of the bag, which made it hard for Moreland to make a quick tag.

Really dumb batting JBJ 9th. Think of all the rbi's he'd have today if he batted 3d after Bolt and Betts.

Two righties for a change, with Gray favored. Our lineup with two surprises (Holt leading off at 2b, Nunez in reserve)-- Holt 2b Betts RF Benintendi LF Ramirez DH Devers 3b Bogaerts SS Moreland 1b Leon C Bradley CF To date Holt's OBP is .281, .111 for the last seven days, which suggests Farrell is doing this on a hunch or simply doesn't want to make anyone else lead off or perhaps he sees Holt as his reconnaissance element, the man charged with finding out what kind of stuff Gray has today.

Actually, I agree. I cite the 7 positions as evidence of why the Sox have kept him, despite the fact that his a jack of all trades and master of none. Right now, for example, Farrell is going with 13 pitchers, including 8 relievers--sadly, with some justification. That leaves 3 guys on the bench, one of whom is a catcher and normally not usable as a pinch hitter, etc. The Sox are officially carrying just 4 infielders--Devers, Nunez, Bogaerts, and Moreland. Holt is the only backup for 2b, SS, and 3b. Last night the three benchers were Vazquez, Moreland, and Holt (largely, as you say, because of his abysmal OPS). Of those three, Holt was also the best choice to pinch run, which he did after Leon got to first on a wild pitch third strike. FWIW, I'm beginning to think that last night's caught stealing was partly the result of a missed hit and run sign (or Holt read hit and run and it wasn't on). I say this because it was a 2-0 count, which definitely favors the hitter. Plus Betances, even with that 3-0 count to JBJ, was throwing strikes--9 of 14 for the game. Interestingly, on a 2-0 count with Betances more than capable of throwing a strike, that third pitch was outside, perfect to set Sanchez up for an accurate throw to 2b.

The count was 2-0. How do we know the hit and run wasn't on?

2-0 count, and that third pitch was also a ball. It's possible JBJ missed a hit and run signal, but I think we would have heard that by now.

Speaking of Bogaerts, this is his fourth full year with the Sox, and his WAR ratings for those four seasons are .2, 4.6, 3.7, and 1.0 (so far). Only part of that 1.0 can be explained by his OPS drop from .802 in 2016 to .736 now. The bigger part is his defensive rating/ranking--pretty close to last among full-time SS's in MLB. So what gives with Bogie? Injuries?

Mostly agree. Sale's first dinger (3 runs) was a mistake, but the second was a low slider that might have been called a ball it was so low. That was just a heckuva swing. But Sale was also helped by the terrific grab by JBJ, who timed that leap perfectly. Otherwise, a good bet for a triple. The top six in the order were 2 for 22 with 1 run scored, so they collectively were our biggest problem. Goat of the game has to be Bogaerts, 0-3 with 2 K's, including one on three pitches with the bases loaded in the 8th. He has a tough time with sliders. I would switch him and Devers were it not that, with 1 or 2 men on, Devers will get walked to get to Bogie, depending on the pitcher.

Great notes, especially the third one. Those are the 5 who are also struggling right now. Three of the top 4 are in the top of the lineup. The first, Devers, has batted 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th. In addition to a great swing, I think he is good at reading pitches and maybe being further down in the order gives him more pitches to watch before he bats. He has 33 at bats batting 5th with an OPS of 1.018 and 40 at bats combined at 6th, 7th, and 9th with a combined OPS of 1.225--200 points higher than batting 5th. Just a theory with a very small sample size.