Maxbialystock

Here's the funny thing. The Jays pitcher has also thrown a lot of fastballs, but gets away with them. Just now he threw two balls two HanRam, the put a one right down the middle, which to a toronto hitter would have meant one off the wall or over it, but to HanRam mean a very easy GIDP ball--not too hard and not too soft but just right. Here's something else. On espn they just showed the Yankees ERA for July--5.09. But against this Sox team they gave up 9 runs in 4 games and 1 run the the middle two games which went a total of 9 + 16 = 23 innings. This team has serious hitting issues, bad enough to think that buying someone like Frazier to play 3B is going to fix the problem because it absolutely will not when Moreland, HanRam, Bogaerts, et al continue to swing the bat so poorly. Tonight is the perfect night for ERod to work on getting back in the groove and not worry about giving up runs. That 2-run double in the 1st was enough for the Jays to win this game unless their bullpen is a disaster.

Gotta appreciate a winner who wastes no time starting the next game thread. Holt's up and Lin's down, so there's Holt batting 9th: Betts Pedroia Bogaerts Moreland Ramirez Benintendi Bradley Vazquez Holt Sox scored 6 and beat Stroman in April, but that was when we could still hit.

Right now the Sox have the best pitching staff in the AL and a mediocre lineup. If ERod pitches to his capability tonight, that makes Porcello our 4th or 5th best starter. I thought his changeup on Saturday looked pretty lousy. Funny thing is that almost all our starters and most of our relievers have one thing in common: they all love their fastballs. Even Pom, who certainly doesn't have a great fastball, uses it a lot.

Price is back from earlier this year and certainly from last year when he stunk.

Funny you should mention Curt Gowdy because he's one of the reasons I became a Sox fan--while my dad was overseas 1953-54, both summers, I listened the Curt Gowdy for just about every game and was hooked. Then we left West Springfield never to return except for short visits--and with that no more Sox games on the radio. Overall I like radio announcers more than TV because the good ones have a gift for telling you what's going on and making it interesting. One of the things I truly dislike about Sox tv announcers are the guests who have little or no interest in the game or telling us about it, but there they are. Also the clowning around that sometimes goes on in the announcers booth.

You had to be happy with last night's win for the series tie. Our hitting stinks, but our pitching, especially starters, is pretty darn good and has the lowest ERA in the AL. Average attendance for the 4 games was around 37,000--above for Friday night and Sunday afternoon, below 37,000 for Sat at 4 and Sunday night. Going forward I just don't see the value of going after a big trade because I have yet to read about any possibility that I think would make a big difference. If you go by the WAR (wins above replacement) stat, the Sox have an average team. 15 teams in the AL means that an average team would have 7 players in the top 105 as ranked by WAR and that's what we've got. To really fix the offense, we need studs at DH, 3b, and 1b. I do buy the argument that 1b/Moreland and DH/Ramirez are playing hurt, which to me means you stay with them. Plus Travis and Devers seem to me to be pretty good hedges for all 3 positions--1b, 3b, and DH. Meanwhile, that rotation is the best in the AL. Bogaerts is a defensive liability, but his overall WAR at SS is 5th best in the AL.

Lefty vs. lefty tonight. Vs. Montgomery Farrell is putting up 8 righty bats: Betts Pedroia Bogaerts Ramirez Young Bradley Travis Vazquez Marrero No Lin, no Beni, no Moreland.

I'm pretty opposed to pitcher MVP's myself. They already have the Cy Young award which position players are ineligible for. Plus they only pitch/play every 5th day. Plus, on the days they pitch, they don't have to hit or run the bases or, really, field very much. If they make an error, it even helps their ERA. But to me the biggest factor is that pitchers don't have to put up with the meat grinder that a 162 game season has become, especially with games lasting longer and longer. This is also why I don't believe in DH as MVP's. I don't mind admitting that in its purest sense "most valuable player" can apply to a pitcher or a DH. My complaint is that neither pays his dues by going out there and manning a position game after game after game. They may be talented and valuable, but they aren't real baseball players.

Typical. Sensible. I'm against going after our 13th or is it 14th thirdbaseman, but you do a good job of explaining why that might still happen. Thanks.

A good question. My view is that talking about Middlebrooks makes as much sense as talking about making a trade or whatever to bring in our 13th or is it 14th 3d baseman this year? By my count we've seen Holt, Sandoval, Rutledge, Marrero, Lin, and at least one other I've forgotten. We also have Devers hitting up a storm at AA Portland where Lin was until about a month ago. Now I would be in favor of getting Beltre or any of the other guys being mentioned provided he was cheap (salary and trade value) and we could be sure he would hit at least 30 dingers and drive in at least 75 runs over the remainder of the season. Otherwise, I frankly see no point in that excursion. To me the real problem is at DH, but I see no way to replace HanRam. Meanwhile the rest of the positions--C, 1b, 2b, SS, LF, RF, CF--look decent to very good to me. Heck, even 3B with Lin/Marrero verges on decent. It's possible we have the best pitching staff in the AL especially if ERod returns to form and no one else gets injured. They will simply have to make up for the fact that our hitting ain't that great this year.

Good for you, and I concur in wishing him well. He is a good manager and a good guy.

Sensible, as always (or almost always).

And I agree with both of you. I am fine with Lin/Marrero at 3b and absolutely do not see the value in making another dumb deal for someone another team is more than happy to unload. Enough with the fantasy baseball, already.

Maybe you need to watch the game more closely or at least have better situational awareness. I would have been fine with going with JBJ instead of Young, but let's get a few things straight on why Young wasn't such a bad choice. First and foremost, the bases were loaded, so the Sox did not need a hard hit ball to tie the game. What they needed was a smart hitter--Young, not JBJ--who just might draw that critical walk to tie the game. Even a dinky single would have won the game. Young did in fact have a pretty smart at bat, but the ump gave Colome the benefit of the doubt on that first pitch which was below the zone and also on the two pitches on the inside corner (but callable as strikes). Second, JBJ would have been coming into the game cold as a pinch hitter, a role he has been used very sparingly in. Moreland got that double on his 4th at bat. Young was also on his 4th at bat. Third, Young hits righties better than JBJ and hits Tampa pitching better than JBJ. Plus, as I've already said, I think he is a smarter hitter and more likely to draw a walk. Fourth, the Sox had a grand total of 3 hits and 27 outs in that game, so to me it's kind of silly to say, "boy, if only JBJ got to the plate, he was sure to get a hit because everyone knows, "lefties rule." Did I forget to mention that Beni and Lin were also hitless Saturday? Or that 2 of the Sox three hits in that game were by righties, Bogaerts and Betts? So, I say again, I would have been fine with JBJ hitting, but I sure as heck don't see a grievous error by Farrell for sending Young up there. To the contrary, I see excellent situational awareness and real thought.

I'm frustrated too and was way, way frustrated yesterday and took out most of it on HanRam who had one of the most wretched at bats--totally mindless--at bats I can remember. Just stupid. I am also the first person--I think--to point out that our hitters refuse to swing at first pitch fastballs down the middle, game after game. And I have pointed out ad nauseum that the Sox are something like 43-10 when scoring 4 runs (or more). All that said, I am inclined to agree with moonslav to the extent that right now I do think we have a pretty good team. 3b is no longer the liability it was for at least two months--fielding is way better and hitting is somewhat better especially with Lin hitting from the left side. I still despise HanRam for being so oblivious to what is going on during the game--on the basepaths and by opposing pitchers. Is the exact opposite of what used to be termed "a student of the game." Granted, you can think to much at bat, but you need to be aware of the pitcher's trends in that particular game and, before the game, of that particular starter. Funny thing is, I think he does have good hand-eye coordination at bat, but he seems to make no effort to make himself a smarter hitter. The hitting this year is not nearly as good as the hitting last year with Ortiz, but it is still decent, and the pitching overall is way better and maybe the best of any Sox team in the John Henry era. With Marrero/Lin at 3b, the infield defense is decent if not great, and the outfield defense is excellent. Catching is good at throwing runners out, less good at blocking pitches. In other words, the fact--not surmise, fact--that the Sox currently have the 2d best record in AL and are leading the AL East by 3.5 games is no fluke. So, yes, it's fun whine about the hitting--as I myself like to do--but my suspicion is that it is good enough. Remember the miracle of 2013? That team's ERA in the postseason was 2.00 and this pitching staff is capable of that.

Meh. I thought Young had a pretty good at bat but was screwed by the first pitch strike on one that was below the zone and below at least five that Porcello threw down there that were called balls. Colome was helped by the ump on that bat and by HanRam--who else?--on his at bat, swinging at balls in the dirt. Season to date, as I said in the game thread, Young has hit righties better than JBJ and has hit Tampa pitching better than JBJ. And we did not need a home run in that situation. A walk would have tied the game and a single would have likely won it.

Could not agree more.

I'm no big fan of Pomeranz because I think he doesn't have much of a repertoire--fast ball, knuckle curve, and the occasional cut fast ball, but almost never a changeup which should be lethal for a lefty starter in a universe of righty bats--and really not that great control. Season to date, you're right, his numbers ain't so hot, especially innings per start (5.1) and quality starts (8 in 17 starts). But he is 9-4 and in his last 5 starts has given up a total of 6 earned runs while averaging 6 innings per start. In his last 5 starts our stud Sale has averaged 7 innings per start but given up 9 runs. Price has given up 11 runs and averaged 6 innings in his last 5 starts. Porcello has given up 17 runs in his last 5 starts. The simple fact is that we badly needed that 4th/5th starter this season especially with the injuries to Price, Wright, and Eduardo Rodriguez. So, really, it's kind of hard to gripe about a 9-4 pitcher in a 50-38 season to date even if he did cost us Espinosa. We are also missing the great Moncada, who cost us that guy Sale.

I apologize for the first sentence because the mention of JBJ by others was not really blaming the manager for the loss--it was just a criticism. I did think Cobb pitched a heckuva game and also thought Colome gave us an opportunity in the 9th. I also thought that Young had a smart at bat--the exact opposite of HanRam's--and might have gotten a "pitch to hit" if the ump had not given Colome that gift strike on I think the first pitch. I'm not at all sure JBJ would have done better as a pinch hitter. Whoever suggested JBJ as the DH has a point--he would certainly have been better than HanRam. I criticized Betts for swinging on a 3-0 pitch in the 8th with a man on, but now think he was right and I was wrong. It was definitely a hittable fastball and a double would have probably tied the game. In other words, good for Betts--and shame on me. After the first game or maybe before it I said I would be happy with a 2-2 split. The Rays are better at home and we are worse on the road and the Rays have to be motivated. I mean, look at the roaring crowds! The capacity of the Trop is around 31,000 and they usually get 14,900, but so far in this series they are averaging 24,000. I'm surprised we aren't reading about huge traffic jams in the Tampa-St Pete area if not all over Florida.

I am not that much of a Farrell fan, but I have to say it always amazes me how after a loss one or more of us will unerringly want to blame the loss on the manager. The fault today clearly lay with the lineup, but especially on that idiot HanRam who once again demonstrated he is normally oblivious to what is going on out there during the game. With men on 2d and 3d and 1 out, that was a terrible, terrible at bat and demonstrated conclusively he paid no attention to the previous at bats in that inning. We had 3 singles and a double because Cobb was throwing a lot of good pitches. I give Farrell a lot of credit for leaving him in there to pitch the 8th, which was clean.

I would probably have batted JBJ myself, but I also would have started him. This year so far Young is hitting righties better than JBJ, hitting Tampa pitching better than JBJ, and JBJ is hitless as a pinch hitter. Young actually had a decent at bat against Colome but was screwed by the early strike call on a low pitch in a game in which Porcello had thrown I'd guess at least 5 pitches higher in the zone that were called balls.

Hanley Ramirez is either the dumbest or the most unaware Sox player I can remember. Everyone else could see what Colome was doing--throwing the ball down or below the zone, but only HanRam the idiot swung every single time. Kimmi defends him and says he's a serious player who is giving his best, but I just don't see it. He is terrible on the basepaths. When he swings, more often than not he swings as hard as he possibly can as though he is at the plate to get some exercises. He demonstrably does not, repeat, does not study pitchers before the game, and it's a pretty good bet he doesn't pay much attention to the pitchers during the game when he is not at bat.

Beaneater, you really need to see him pitch a few times. It's true, he does not have masterful control and he sure as heck doesn't have a great repertoire. But he's now gone 5 innings and given up 2 runs against the same lineup that scored 4 off of Sale last night. Somehow that combo of knuckle curve and fast ball seems to work.

After last night, I'm very impressed with the way the lineup bounced back tonight, especially after Odorizzi looked so tough in the first 2 innings. Last night Farrell had three righty bats in a row and four lefties in a row, but tonight it's right left right left all the way through the lineup.

This story could well be apocryphal, but here it is. It's spring training or later and a reporter is doing an interview. He asks Conley how hard it is to go from NBA basketball to baseball. Conley responds with: "it's really hard, I have to admit. It take me at least a couple of months to get out of shape so I can play baseball."