Maxbialystock

No. Someone did say that Farrell was looking in his binder and not watching the game and was about to blow the game. That's about the same as blaming him for Barnes.

Wow. This is a really tough board. First Farrell is denounced summarily for leaving Sale in for the 6th--a dumb move even though Sale pitched a clean 6th and finished with 108 pitches. Now he is dumb because the bullpen just gave up a dinger and 2 walks--and that's not Barnes fault at all. It's Farrell's fault for letting him pitch.

As for Wright being left in, early in the season is the best time to see if he can do anything useful. Turns out he can't, at least not this year. I would have left ERod in for the 7th in Friday's game. He gave up 2 in the first and was sailing until that triple in the 7th. And let's not forget, sports fans, that it was the bullpen that blew Friday's game, not the manager.

HanRam, on the other hand, took 3 strikes looking. What a putz.

Friday night bullpen blew a tie game. Now, thanks to Sale and Leon, they have a 2 run lead to preserve. I like that better. Plus Sale only threw 108 pitches.

Actually, a very good point I have to admit.

Everybody noticed Santana give up the 2 run dinger in the 6th, which prompted the subconscious conclusion that Sale would do the same.

You guys need to listen to ol' Max more often. Sale is 10 times the pitcher Hembree will ever hope to be.

Dumb decision by the Twins manager, however. He should have walked Leon to get to Marrero.

I would send out there in a heartbeat. He pitched well in the 5th but the Twins got lucky. 98 pitches is nothing for him.

screwed by Leon--no surprise--and screwed by the ump. The pitch before the 2 run single was a strike, uncalled.

ERod almost didn't cover 1B on that grounder to the right. Close play that should not have been. This team has weak fundamentals.

Goodness knows I have no right to complain, but why do most of our dingers come with no one on?

ERod could be the right guy--certainly, based on his last two starts.

That's 6 righty bats against a righty starter for the Twins, right?

thanks, wade. i'm not surprised.

Maybe it's time he had a thread of his own. I started one last year primarily to defend his in-game decisions but also to encourage discussion. I did say--several times--that the only sensible criteria for managers are their won-lost record and whether the team was performing to its potential. 2012-2016, the Arizona Diamondbacks, did not have single winning season even though twice they broke even at 81-81. This year they are playing winning ball with a new guy named Lovullo at the helm. For now, anyway, it's probably fair to say that Lovullo is doing a good job. I'm not so sure Farrell is. It's still early in the season, of course, and the Sox are two games above .500 and 3 games out of 1st place in the AL East. If the season ends right now, the Sox would not be in the playoffs, however. That to me is under performance even though it's still early in the season. Last year the pitching was barely adequate. But right now the pitching is 3d best (ERA) in MLB, which is better than it's been in years. Sale is a real ace, and Porcello, Pomeranz, and ERod are doing fine if not great. Price's return--hopefully before this decade is over--will help even more. The bullpen, especially Kimbrel, is good. So to me DD has done his job and given Farrell a pretty good pitching staff. Not so the hitting--which is a big surprise to me. I definitely did not think the absence of Ortiz would have this effect. The Sox right now are 26th in MLB in runs scored and tied with the giants for dead last in dingers. Last year the Sox were 1st in runs scored and 9th in home runs. Oh, and right now we have the second highest GIDP rate in MLB--only Houston is worse. I'm not sure any of the weak hitting is Farrell's fault, however. The Sox are top of the heap in errors with 26, and that doesn't include bonehead plays--like a pitcher not covering 1B on a grounder to the right--when no error is charged. Our outfield has pretty good range, I think, but not the infield. Our DER (whatever that means) is .687, ranked 20th in MLB. And our baserunning is atrocious. 60 or so years ago when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, they had an outfielder named Babe Herman, renowned for his zaniness. One time he hit a gapper with men on first and second, and all three of them ended up on third base together. The story goes that a month or so later a Dodger fan is leaving Ebbets field in the 7th inning and catching a cab to an appointment. The cabbie asks how the "Bums" are doing, to which the fan replies, "great. When I left they had three guys on." To which the cabbie asked, "oh, yeah, which base?" Right now our guys are capable of plays like that. I blame those last two on Farrell because I think it's his job to ensure our guys are good at the fundamentals of fielding the ball, throwing the ball, and running the bases. For those who believe the Sox have been temporarily screwed by a brutal early schedule, let me remind you that right now only 5 teams in the AL have losing records, and 3 of them are out West. We have played two NL teams, the Cubs with a winning record and the Pirates with a losing record. Oh, and the Sox so far have played 18 home games and just 10 on the road. If anything, we have had a soft schedule.

Without Price and Wright the Sox still have a real ace in Sale and 3 pretty decent starters in Porcello, Pomeranz, and ERod. And the bullpen is pretty good, with the result that even after last night's 8 runs the Sox have the 3d best ERA in MLB. That's why we still have a winning record. Unfortunately, everything else stinks. The Sox rank 26th in runs scored, and are dead last of 30 MLB teams in errors. Their base running, if anything, is worse than the hitting and fielding. Given the above, I find it slightly comical that everyone enjoys dumping on Kendrick to reinforce the notion--dumpster-diving, I believe--that the FO is clueless about getting good pitching. If they--and I am no real fan of DD--are clueless, than frankly I wouldn't mind a little more of it. I do think the hitting will come around, but still not be as good as in years past. Probably in the top third of runs scored. On defense the outfield is pretty good although Betts is clearly the only bonafide gold glover because, let's face it, JBJ's arm is strong but erratic. All three have good range. The infield is the problem, especially 3b. But so far Moreland hasn't been remotely like the great fielder we anticipated. Pedroia has lost some range. And Bogaerts, who works hard at his position, will never be a great SS. We like him because he is a good hitting SS. Remember that ERA, 3d best? Well, the operative initial is that E for earned. Thus the Sox have the 3d most earned runs in MLB, 97. But they are like 6th in runs with 110, which means they already have 13 unearned runs.

i do agree with the notion than kendrick ain't MLB caliber, but he was almost the only available choice unless you want to start someone from the bullpen. the sox have two starters on the DL, Price and Wright.

not sure I agree with the notion that taking out a starter in the 4th inning with the score tied at 3 all is the sensible, automatic call some are saying it is. surely the pitcher has some responsibility in all this.

it is just about guaranteed that our guys will not swing at the first pitch, that the opposing pitcher will throw a fastball down the middle, and that our guys, now behind in the count, will swing at the next pitch wherever it is.

the orioles really love kendrick's change up--first a hard double off the wall, then a hard hit dinger over the wall. vazquez should have been calling for more sliders because those were working.

yes, ladies and gents, that was indeed the patented GIDP play by our very own JBJ.

i'm sorry, but i think rutledge's two errors have both been errors in judgment. he tried to get guys out on very tough plays when the smart move was to hold onto the ball. on all the other plays he has looked fine to me,

So far 8 orioles batters, no K's by Kendrick, and not one single solidly hit ball by the bad guys. oh, and 23 pitches in 2 innings. that, ladies and gents, is how you get to the 7th and 8th innings as a starter. of course, the orioles haven't seen him before, so the second time thru the lineup could be tougher.