Maxbialystock

Pretty good guessing if I do say so myself. I like Farrell's better because JBJ can do a lot of damage in the 7 slot.

Not bad, not bad.

I think you've twisted things a little. Overall our three best this year are Sale, Price, and Rodriguez. Right now Pom is our 2d best because of recent starts, but he lacks the repertoire to be a real #2. Wherever you put POM, I don't think many would say the Sox are a World Series team right now. Bullpen is good enough, but the rotation and hitting are not. Infield fielding is suspect. Baserunning is suspect. But other teams have flaws too, so the Sox are definitely playoff contenders.

My mistake. Thanks for clarifying. I think it's probably good to have "roles," but also that sometimes the manager needs to be flexible based on game situations.

Porcello's problem is pretty obvious--losusy command of his pitches. Someone else wrote something that might also be true--maybe he's throwing too hard. He needs to be able to use his changeup, curve, etc and to hit his spots and especially to keep the ball low. Angels are going with a 27 year old rookie whose ERA for his last six games was 1.91. I'm guessing the lineup will be: Betts Pedey Bogaerts Moreland Beni jbj HanRam or Young Leon Rutledge That's 4 lefty bats, which is usually the most Farrell goes with these days especially with Pablo on the DL again. The Sox are rested to a degree but now play 17 straight--7 at Fenway and 10 on the road--before the ASG. So Farrell isn't going to pull Porcello at the first sign of trouble at least not before the 5th or 6th and/or 7 runs. Sox are now 8th in the AL in runs scored and 4th in ERA and LA is worse in both.

I think a valid case can be made for using Kelly and Kimbrel more in the final KC game, but that does not mean there was no case for using the guys who did go out there, especially when using those guys--and not over-relying on Kelly and Kimbrel--had been working like gang busters. So herewith a tiny factoid. Kelly the wunderkind was actually struggling in that game. He came in with 1 out and 2 men on and got the fly out, then walked a guy, and finally got the final out on a very hard hit ball to right field. We already know what Barnes and Scott did--they stunk it up. So that's three bullpen regulars, including one of our two bullpen aces, who were ineffective or barely effective Wednesday night. Given the above, I find it very hard to blame Wed night's debacle on the manager when it seems obvious that the bullpen just had a bad night, and by that I mean 3 straight guys, all three with normal, key roles in the late innings who overall have been successful this year.

I believe Kelly had already pitched in the 7th, getting 2 outs. Indeed, he got sent in because Pomeranz had 1 or 2 guys on base in the 7th.

I agree Pomeranz has been remarkably good lately--basically since he made a scene after being taken out after 4 innings. My concern remains, however, that he basically has just 2 pitches, knuckle curve and fast ball, which means he really has to have control. Based on repertoire--at least three good pitches--and control, I think the rankings should be Sale, Price, ERod, Pom, and Porcello. The bigger point, however, is that, when ERod returns, that's a pretty good rotation, especially if Pom can stay at this new level and if Porcello can somehow get his command back. I agree with all the compliments for the bullpen and with moonslav's interesting stats.

Where is it written that good managers bring their closers in early for 4, 5, and even 6 out saves? Nowhere. I thought Farrell did fine last year, especially in September when the Sox actually made their big run to win the AL East, by keeping Kimbrel for just the 9th inning. And let's not forget that Kimbrel was less reliable last year than he has been this year. And no way, no how can anyone convince me that somehow Francona outmanaged Farrell in the ALDS. The Sox blew that series because Price and Porcello were terrible and Buch wasn't much better. Kimbrel was never a factor in the ALDS.

How does Pomeranz look aside from the 2 runs?

2d best record in AL also feels good. Ditto good road trip. Despite injuries to Pedey, HanRam, Moreland, and possibly someone else. I don't count Pablo ear infection. Also ERod and Wright and Thornberg.

ERod last start was June 1. Didn't FO say 3-4 weeks to rest knee?

Sox on pace now to win 91 games, not so great. But injuries and loss of Ortiz explain some of that. And how bad can 2 d best record in AL be? ERod last start June 1. When does he return? Didn't FO say 3-4 weeks to rest knee? And wasn't knee injury Farrell's fault for insisting ERod warm up before his start?

Finally, a good answer. Thanks.

Also a new topic. Houston hit two of our guys back to back--Betts, then Pedroia--and both were hurt temporarily. It turns out Pedey was hurt enough to miss a couple of games. So my question is why was there no outcry on the game thread or since? To me what the Astros pitcher did was malicious or vindictive or both. I do not think those HBP's were accidental.

Last time out, Velazquez filled in for Johnson and only went 3.1 innings and 50 pitches. Last night he went 5.1 and 77 pitches. Anyone want to guess his average innings per start--he had 9--at Pawtucket this year? Answer is 5.1. Besides, The Sox got thru the 6th inning without giving up any runs. The problem was the 7th inning with Boyer on the mound. I would have been fine with leaving Velazquez in, but I fail to see a persuasive argument that taking him out after 5.1 innings was such a huge blunder or even that it cost anything. So, naysayers, please 'splain to me how last night's loss was all about not letting Velazquez pitch a bunch more innings or whatever and not about the dearth of hitting because frankly I'm not seeing it.

I checked the game thread right after both Betts and Pedroia were HBP back to back and was astonished to see no outcry on talksox. I say this because the replays suggest both HBP's were intentional, but especially the one to Pedroia who was in fact injured.

This is still a pretty good thread now on page 37, but I gotta say I'm surprised at the number of people who say we can fix the hitting by dumping Pablo. What's to dump? The guy has played in just 30 of 69 games to date, what with injuries and other things. And of those 30 games at least a couple were as DH. I am as anti-Sandoval as the next guy, but he is a significant investment, he's still only 30, he was pretty good on the West Coast, and just maybe he needs more at bats. Meanwhile Farrell has other remedies--Marrero, Rutledge, et al. This current road trip has me thinking that Kimmi just might be right, that this lineup absent Ortiz just might be able to repair itself. I mean, was that great last night when Betts, Pedey, and Bogie came out swinging or was that great? To hell with Bill James and the philosophy of "take as many pitches as possible." The guy who pisses me off is Hanley. He basically no longer has to play 1B, but his hitting is down and his baserunning is getting worse and worse. When he is at bat, he looks like a guy trying to get exercise as much as someone trying to make solid contact with the ball. For all of his apparent flakiness in the field, Manny Ramirez was a focused pro at the plate who knew what to look for and what to do about it. HanRam looks borderline oblivious at the plate. What did John Daly say? Grip it and rip it? I think he is hitting some especially long dingers this year, apparently in the belief that you get double credit for any that go 425 feet or more. Meanwhile, there's a bunch of guys who have their ups and downs but overall are pretty darn good (but could be better of course): Betts, Pedey, Bogie, Beni, Moreland, JBJ, and now and then Leon or Vazquez. I can live with one problem at 3b but not with a second problem at DH.

Fine. Try this. Right now the rotation sucks and the bullpen is saving our asses. Or this. We lost three straight to the Guardians in the ALDS last year because Price and Porcello gave the first two games away and Buchholz wasn't much better. But we got to the ALDS in September because the bullpen was great time and time again. I'll tell you why I don't buy that bs about all the advantages the bullpen has. When they come out there, they must deliver from the first pitch. Starters get to make mistakes and especially have bad first innings because we all accept that and hope that in the 2d or 3d inning they will "hit their stride." Sometimes relievers are sent out there with the bases loaded, but starters only encounter that by loading the bases all by themselves. Lots of lefties are sent out to get just one guy out. If you told a starter to do that, he would laugh in your face. Starters get all the money because they have great stuff and the good ones can regularly go 7 and 8 innings--good innings--but they only have to do that every five games or days. I think the hardest thing for a starter--and it is hard--is going thru the lineup 2, 3, and even 4 times. Relievers rarely have to do that.

Tonight is the Sox 14th straight game without a break, so the bullpen has been huge. Sox are 10-7 in June, and 12 of those 17 games were on the road. Older fans will remember the expression "june swoon" was regularly used to describe our season. Heck, I think you can say that about last year. But something seems to be happening to the team as whole. They are finding ways to win, even on the road. I'm anti-Pomeranz, but he won one game in June, lost another, and pitched well enough to win in his 3d game, a game we won, 2-1, after he left. Pomeranz is almost compensating for the wreck Porcello has become, largely because of control issues. Sale is back. Price is almost back but doesn't quite command his breaking stuff. And somehow Johnson/Velazquez/whoever are adequate for the 5 slot. ERod should return in our lifetimes, like after the All-Star break. Hitting is still well below John Henry era norms, but it is coming back enough to justify kimmi and others' optimism. Infield lacks range on defense, and the outfield is the opposite--not only excellent range, but good, accurate arms. 12 games to 81 and more than that to the All-Star game. Indeed, the last 10 games before the ASG are all on the road. If the current trend holds up, the bullpen should get most of the credit. In the game thread on the 2-1 win over Houston, I remember writing that I was pleased with how things were going even though it was a 0-0 game. I liked how Pom was pitching, but I also liked that Sox hitters with RISP at least hit the ball hard even though it was right to someone. Last night Betts, Pedroia, and Bogaerts came out swinging and not trying to get a walk and all three hit the ball hard, but only Bogie hit it out.

Huge win on the road against the best W-L record in the AL. Gave us a 2-1 series win and a semi-tie with the Yankees for 1st in the AL East. Price had real trouble commanding his breaking stuff, especially his changeup, but he still held a good Astros lineup to 3 runs in 5+ innings. I read the complaints about sending Price back out for the 6th, and I personally would probably not have. But this was the 13th consecutive game for the Sox without a break and included a ton of innings, including two extra inning games in Philly, by the bullpen. Price had already gotten Marisnick out twice, including a K, so it was not unreasonable to bring Price back out. And did no one else that the guy, Hembree, who replaced Price, also gave up a dinger? Huge night for Bogie. Huge. Great throw by Beni. This lineup clearly misses Ortiz, but kimmi could be right that they still have potential, which is what we saw last night. Moreland has recently been hot, but last night he struck out 4 times in the cleanup slot, and the Sox still scored 6 runs, twice as many as in their first two games in Houston combined.

another line drive right to someone.

Price has shown a lot of grit getting thru 4 innings with just 1 run. Good for him. Gotta root for a guy who is really working hard. Plus the opposing pitcher got some real breaks on hard hit balls by us.

Price has a changeup, he just can't throw one for a strike.

On the other hand, Vazquez looked awful on that at bat. All three of those strikes were hittable.