Maxbialystock

Last night I was finishing up around the house to get ready for family joining us this weekend, so I didn't post much. But I would like to report that the early arrivals, my daughter and her husband, showed up during the game which was on espn and while I was still cleaning windows in the living room, so Sarah watched the game with me. And that's when the offense caught hold and scored some runs. So as far as I am concerned, Sarah was the good luck charm that changed everything. Yes, Price pitched tough and went 7 giving 3. Yes, some nice hits, including solo dingers by Betts and Ramirez and a surprising triple (over the rightfielder's head and glove) by Lin. But you need those silent fans from afar to push the team over the top. Also, FWIW, I was cursing the entire team for the first few innings, so it's a good thing I had no time to blog. On to Toronto and a ten game road trip before the ASG break! If the Sox come out of that still in first place, you gotta like our chances in the second half.

Yes, still still tied for first in the AL, but, more realistically, 1 of 12 AL teams with a shot at the playoffs. Only Houston is in the cat bird seat. Everyone else has hopes and concerns, and the Sox are no exception. I believe this is the first Sox team in the John Henry era with such weak hitting and such reliance on the pitching, especially the bullpen.

Last night the Sox were 0 for 10 with RISP and that's what killed us. To me the definitive at bat was Bogie with the bases loaded reaching way out to get a slider well outside the strike zone but nevertheless pulling it to produce a weak groundout to SS. This did bring in a run, but blew a golden opportunity to get more. Bogaerts left 6 guys on last night. I think he has fantastic hand-eye coordination at bat, but still has trouble identifying pitches. In that particular at bat he seemed to come to the plate determined to swing the bat wherever the ball was and to rely on the hand-eye coordination to produce something good. The Sox are still 39-10 when they score 4 or more runs, which also means they are 4-25 when they don't score 4 runs. That the Sox are still "tied" for 1st in the AL East is to the great credit of the pitching staff, especially the bullpen, and the by product is that nobody in the AL East has a very good W-L record this year. Heck, nobody in the AL Central does either. In fact, just one team in the AL, the Astros, has a solid W-L record. Everybody else is in a dog fight. I would say that the biggest danger to the pitching is not another injury--although one to Sale would be huge--but the infield at the 3b, 2b and SS positions. One indicator is that the Sox are 14th in the AL in double plays but of course are 2d in the AL in GIDP. Pedey still still has the good hands but has lost at least a step in range. Some of that, I hasten to add, could be because he is banged up from spikes coming into 2b (Machado), HBP, collision with a firstbaseman, etc. Porcello still struggles with location in my opinion. The 4 runs were almost OK, but he also only went 5 innings. Assuming ERod returns at the same level he was at, Porcello will be our 5th best starter unless, of course, that fingernail hampers Price. If the Sox can't make a deal for solid third baseman or bring Devers up, I would be tempted to move Bogie to 3B and Lin to SS.

Sox 0 for 8 with RISP--an enduring malady this season.

Now JBJ gets two fast fast balls, fouls one off and misses the other.

Not a good start, agreed, but the hitting tonight is worse. Are you watching how our guys just rollover when they come to the plate? With men on 1st and 2d and no one out, Pedroia pops to the infield and Bogaerts and Moreland strike out. Like I said earlier, the Sox are 39-10 this year whenever they score 4 runs. Tonight the hitting is just abysmal at least over the first 5 innings.

Bogaerts two straight fastballs in close to the same spot. He lets the first go for a strike, then hits a weak grounder to 2b on the second. Both balls up in the zone about in the middle and midway between the center point and the outside edge of the plate. This guy ain't that great, our guys are just terrible tonight.

So much for the righty-lefty advantage to the batter. In the first the only hard hit ball we had was by Moreland, lefty vs. lefty, who lined out to the leftfielder. Betts, Pedroia, and Bogaerts all hit the ball just hard enough to be easy outs--even though Bogie got the single when the Twins pitchers forgot to hustle to 1B.

Now Meija comes in throwing nothing but fastballs and our guys just roll over and play dead--pop ups to the outfield.

Interesting. 2 outs, then 2 hard hit double off of fat pitches, then a bloop single off a pitch up in the strike zone. The second double was on I think a 3-1 count when Porcello had been trying to go low in the strike zone, couldn't, then served up a fat curve right in the middle and with not much break.

Betts Pedroia Bogaerts Moreland ! Young LF Bradley Travis (DH) Leon Marrero Like last night except Moreland is indirectly in for Beni and Leon--I'm guessing Porcello asked for him because Leon caught him last time when he went 6.1 giving up 3 earned runs--in for Vazquez. Anyway, 7 righty bats tonight, same number as last night. Farrell simply replaced one lefty bat, Beni, with another, Moreland. My NOAA map also shows no clouds headed toward Boston tonight. A bunch of stuff over the Great Lakes, however.

I thought we "traded" Manny only because he wanted out because the Sox would not give him a ten year ARod-type contract, which would have been insane. I too saw nothing wrong with Valentine and was of course wrong. You do have a pretty darn good grasp of a lot of stats and use them well. Better you than Bill James, I say.

It's in our blood because we are, theoretically anyway, all New Englanders. Think Jonathon Edwards, "sinners in the hands of an angry God," only we get to be God and the players are the sinners.

Max ain't nuttin, but YOTN mojo is everything! Three straight against the best W-L road record in MLB would be sweet.

Exactly.

Here's a switch: Sox are going with righty Porcello and Twins with lefty Mejia Youth wants to know: can Porcello pitch a second decent game in a row and can our hitting score 4 or more runs for our third game in a row? Stay tuned. Barring another rain delay, this game is five hours away, plenty of time to continue the conversation in the 6/27 game thread about this series, the upcoming road trip, the bullpen, the rotation, the hitting, and where this season is going for the Sox. The good news right now is the Sox are 1 game in front of the Yankees for the AL East title. The less good news is that our winning percentage of .558 means 90 wins for the season and that the Yankees, Orioles, and even the dadgum Rays could beat us out because all four teams are at .500 or better. I just checked a stat I heard on Fox. To date the Sox are 39-10 in games in which they score 4 or more runs. So, I don't know about anyone else, but I think 4 stinking runs is a pretty low bar for our lineup. Heck, it might be even lower against the Twins who have scored all of 14 runs in 5 games vs. the Sox this year. Farrell is sure to bring out the righty bats again tonight--last night they had 9 of our 10 hits (JBJ had the 10th, a single). Travis at 1B I think. Vazquez catching. Young DH. Marrero--one of the great righty bats of this era--at 3b of course. He doubled last night. Eckersley and others had a discussion on the pregame show last night or the night before about pitching adjustments when guys are getting hit hard. So maybe Porcello has made one or two.

I would be dishonest if I didn't admit that I too have excoriated our players during the game and in the heat of the moment. What I really like about talksox, however, is that there are usually a lot of very thoughtful comments in the postgame part of game threads. See, for example, all the comments above on the Sox situation in the pennant race. I think you can make a solid case for pessimism or for optimism this year--take your pick. But what I really like about this season is that to me it is different. We are prevailing despite the loss of Ortiz and because the pitching has been so good. We have some new guys too and maybe more to come.

Our optimist, but I happen to agree that being 1 game up on the Yankees is a good thing. While I agree with the possibility of the team--primarily the hitting--taking off, I am less sure that will happen than you are. On the other hand, I also think injuries have affected the hitting. Not the crew at 3B of course, but HanRam and maybe Betts and maybe Pedroia. Our .558 winning percentage projects to 90 wins, so better hitting would be most welcome even though that .558 is actually the 2d best percentage in the AL. .558 also means that NY, Tampa, and Baltimore (now at .500) are close behind. Any one of them might also get hot.

A nice win. Pomeranz once again proves you can be an effective starter with just two pitches--fast ball and knuckle curve--and decent command. It's hard to maintain my skepticism in the face of his undeniable success. These game threads have a strong tendency toward excoriating anything our players do wrong and almost ignoring what they do right. Pedroia was 3 for 3 with an rbi and 2 runs scored last night, but the only comment was about his terrible baserunning--"worst in baseball"--for trying to stretch a single off the green monster into a double. The attack on Pedroia occurred during a game whose outcome after the Vazquez 2 run dinger was never in doubt, rare as that is these days. The game started late because of the rain and then had a lengthy delay near the end of the 2d inning, yet Pomeranz hung in there to go 5 innings, giving up 1 run--but a couple of people complained he didn't go 6 innings and that this unduly stressed the bullpen. Meanwhile, the Sox, who just lost 2 of 3 to the .500 Angels, have now taken 2 straight from the Twins who only have the best road record (but might not after this series) in MLB. I've said this at least twice before but it bears repeating. The Sox are something like 40-10 this year when they score 4 or more runs. The hitting is way off from the usual Sox standard, but the pitching has been pretty darn good--especially the bullpen--and should be even better after the ASG when Rodriguez (one can only hope) returns.

Burke, VA here.

First, I apologize for the longwindedness in the OP, but that's just the way i am. T Second, some good short comments from everyone else. I'm as anti-Pomeranz as anyone, but have to admit he is proving me wrong and i couldn't be happier that he is. Third, mlb.com says the Sox will go with this lineup Betts Pedey Bogie Young (DH) JBJ Travis (1b) Beni Vazquez Marrero By my count that's two lefties and 7 righties.

Two lefties, Santiago vs. Pomeranz Huge win last night with a solid start by Sale, great GIDP by Hembree in the 7th, solid 8th by Barnes, ditto Kimbrel in the 9th--and some good hitting by Moreland, Pedey, and even Betts for a change. vs. a Twins lefty, maybe we see Vazquez catching and Marrero (really?) at 3b and Young in RF tonight. I'm fine with any lineup. About 3 games or so ago the Fox announcers said the Sox are 37-10 when the score 4 or more runs, which was exactly the case last night. In other words, unlike almost all other Sox teams in the John Henry era, this team needs solid pitching to win consistently. Solid hitting would also be nice, but some hitting might do it. Still "tied" with the Yankees, the Sox are now 3 up on Tampa and 4.5 on the Orioles and tied with the Yankees for #1 wild card. #2 wild card right now is, guess who, sports fans, the Twins, who have easily the best road record, 23-10, in MLB. So no cakewalk tonight. We need solid work again by our starter and bullpen--and just enough hitting. Some good D would also be nice.

I'm fine with Kelly in the 8th, but I also like that he can be thrown in there earlier when trouble might be brewing. I think he's already done that at least a couple of times. It's like when Farrell brings Kimbrel in to pitch the 8th with men already on base. Kimbrel and Kelly have easily the best pitching WAR ratings among the Sox relievers--and it isn't even close with respect to the others. But just maybe Kelly is the wild card up Farrell's sleeve.

Is it safe for me to rejoin the thread? I had to suspend things because I was washing windows tonight and got the whole upstairs. But I had the ipad on and could listen and occasionally watch. Gutsy game by Sale, fantastic GIDP by Hembree, three great K's in a row by Barnes, and of course typically letter perfect managing by Farrell both on the lineup--Lin in for a cast of thousands--and the bullpen. Solid all around game by everyone even though Bogie does chase a lot of breaking stuff away.

SHame on Bogie for the GIDP, but all else was fine in the 1st. Sox have had 2 hard hit balls that were outs so far. Ump ain't calling the corners for either pitcher.