Maxbialystock

I would love to blame this one on Price, but I blame 2 of his 3 runs on Bogaerts, first for the two errors causing an unearned run, then for the runner who advanced from 2d to 3d (and later scored) on a grounder to Bogaerts when he had a good play at 3b to nab him. The other problem is the Angels starter had good stuff, fast ball 95-98 mph, excellent slider he used a lot and to good effect, and a curve and changeup he used now and then. I think Price for all his faults could have gone 7 innings last night--without Bogie's 2 errors and mistaken play that allowed those 2 runs and which would have saved Price some extra pitches--giving up just 1 run. Assuming a 1-1 tie, I like our bullpen against theirs with Kelly in the 8th and maybe the 9th, Kimbrel in the 9th or 10th, etc. At the beginning of the game the Fox announcers said one key for the Sox was simply scoring 4 runs because the Sox were/are 37-10 in games in which they score 4 or more runs. We are getting close to the midway point, 81 games, in this season and it is becoming more and more evident that this team will continue to rely much more on its pitching, which is actually pretty good despite all of my (and others) whining, than on its hitting. I think the biggest problem with the hitting is the absence of a big bat in the middle of the order and the weakness of the 8th and 9th slots which more and more opposing teams have come to rely on as a ready source of outs.

Well said.

The announcers say he did indeed balk and the umpires got it right.

What hurt? He threw 103 pitches, plenty for him these days especially with the Sox down 3-1. Of course, then Abad comes in and gives up 2, but whatever.

I don't blame Farrell for getting mad, but I also think this game is over and that Abad was awful and that guy would have scored anyway.

Meh. Ortiz did that and more and no one seemed to mind. Actually, I hate it when anyone does it. My MLB rule would be that, the hitter can step out of the batter's box any time he wants to, but the pitcher can still throw the ball. There are no timeouts for a hitter short of an injury. Also, once a pitcher puts his foot on that rubber, he must throw a pitch or throw to a base. No stepping off. I would also keep a clock on the pitcher once he puts his foot on the rubber--15 or 20 seconds to pitch or throw to a base.

Another thing. All three of the pitches to Moreland, batting lefty against a righty pitcher, were low in the strike zone. That's another thing our pitchers are piss poor at.

Two curves into Moreland's lefty wheelhouse and he is completely helpless. Why can't Sox pitchers master the curve, slider, and/or changeup? They all seem to love the damn fastball.

Good for Pedey to swing at the first pitch fast ball, but he only fouled it. Then the slider got him to pop out. That slider has done a lot of damage tonight because it works so well in tandem with the fast ball which ain't too shabby, 95-98. Just did it to Bogie--fast ball down the middle, no swing, then fouled off the slider and another slider. Then a weak grounder off the fast ball inside.

Finally, a Sox hit off that damn slider which has killed us tonight--this one was a little up in the zone.

Maybe. But 2 of the 3 runs are on Bogie, not Price. First the two errors, then failing to get the lead runner on an easy grounder.

I've criticized Price endlessly, but tonight he has shown some heart. Two of those runs are the direct result of boneheaded plays by Bogaerts. First the two errors, then not throwing to 3b to get the lead runner. It wasn't even a hard play.

Wow. Just wow. Price gets the swinging strike on the high fastball, then comes back with a fastball in the dead center of the strike zone. For a double of course.

Too bad you aren't allowed to watch the game or you wouldn't be saying that. Tonight JC Ramirez is anything but average. Except for the dinger by Moreland and double by Beni--who never scored despite getting the double with no one out--he has made our guys look like weak sisters. He's got a good fastball and good secondary pitches.

Just out of curiosity, is anyone voting for any of our non-pitchers to be in the All Star Game? I certainly am not. I heard or read Mookie is like 6th in the outfield voting, and that sounds about right to me.

The Fox announcers were saying they could read Farrell's lips after the first inning--he was telling Vazquez to stop calling for so many fast balls. So maybe I need to back off of Price a little and ask why is Vazquez so f***ing dumb?

Whoa! Price just a threw a knuckle curve for a strike on the first pitch. If that guy could command his breaking stuff, he would be tough. He gets into trouble when hitters can sit on his fast ball and/or, at least in one case to Pujols, he threw a changeup that barely moved right in the geometric center of the strike zone.

I think "average pitcher" only applies if you don't look at what he is throwing. First and foremost, he throws strikes on just about every first pitch because the Sox have been drilled not to swing at the first pitch. He also has a 95-97 mph fast ball which he spots pretty well and a slider and a curve. I'm not sure about a changeup. The point is that most of the time he has our guys guessing. On a 3-2 count he threw one over the middle and caught Betts looking. In fact, he has 3 k's and 0 walks. If that's average, I wish our guys could be average. Whoops, just K'd HanRam with a 98 fast ball--just average, of course.

Price appears to have little command of his changeup, knuckle curve, and I think slider. that's why he throws all those fastballs. At the same time, Bogaerts makes two errors in one inning to ensure an unearned run. And, as stated above, the hitters ain't hitting. Was it the 2d inning when Moreland led off with a dinger followed by Beni's double? Then HanRam strikes out looking, JBJ is HBP, and Vazquez and Marrero ground out weakly. A terrible game so far.

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.