Maxbialystock

meh. our ineptitude is more sustained.

don't say that. It's too true.

oh do I love that! bonehead plays by orioles infield. soft single by bogie leads to 2 big runs.

So we just saw a great fielding thirdbaseman try to run in and get Betts out, but the throw, which was good, was late. I hope Rutledge and Farrell were paying attention. Sometime the smart move is to hang only the ball.

OK, enough of my longwinded bs signifying nothing. Great top of the first by Kendrick! He had every reason to lose his composure but refused to do so. On top of getting around men on 2d and 3d with 1 out, he only threw 12 pitches.

I did. Machado did say it was his normal slide. The catcher did say the loss of Gausman in the 2d inning because of a bad judgment by the umpire would have long term effects on the pitching staff for at least 7 or 8 days. No one, however, called Sale an assassin. Machado and others however kept saying how Sale's location--low--endangered Machado's very fragile knees, etc. Machado also said he felt justified going after Boston's cowardly pitchers with a bat but doesn't want to be suspended for a year. I did not exaggerate that practically everyone in Baltimore and on espn think the fact the Gausman pitch was just 77 mph basically makes it a nonissue. ESPN and the Orioles also seem to agree that MLB should never have intervened nor had a verbal meeting with the two managers yesterday afternoon nor given the umpires guidance to be especially alert for maverick pitches. Today the Orioles announcers are repeating a story line from last night that the strike called by the umpire against Jones--a somewhat delayed call--was just completely unwarranted and unduly provocative toward Jones and caused him to react the way he did. It is probably my interpretation that the fact that Sale threw 98 mph--even though it missed Machado and clearly was intended to miss him--was a vicious act and basically justified any kind of retaliation by the Orioles. I think they believe that but didn't say it quite that way. I also think the consensus is that Barnes and Sale are vicious and that Farrell is incompetent. Machado is completely innocent and being unfairly singled out by Barnes and Sale and Farrell. Gausman and the other Orioles pitcher who hit Betts are just good solid folk doing their jobs. Showalter is just a good manager doing his job. The injury to Pedroia and his missed games are hardly mentioned and certainly not an issue for anyone with any sense--kind of like when JBJ tripped going around 1B. The racist comments/actions by a few Sox fans are there in the background in case anyone thinks the Sox or fenway or boston has any redeeming value.

apropos of nothing, I visited the Baltimore Sun and related sites to read their opinions. Oh, the injustice of it all. Machado is quoted as saying his slide into Pedroia was completely normal, exactly the way he always goes into 2B. Sale, who deliberately and accurately missed Machado with one fastball and then promptly struck him out is being billed as the great assassin and fully deserving of Machado going after him with a bat. Their catcher says the horrible decision by the umpire to toss Gausman will have long term effects--7 or 8 days, maybe longer--on the pitching staff. I also checked espn and they too seem to be on the side of the Orioles. In that article you can see the genius of hitting Bogaerts with a 77 mph curve ball that didn't curve. Why? Because hitting someone at just 77 mph isn't hitting them at all. It's a non-event that should have been ignored by the umpire. Heck, maybe he should have called a strike as a reward for being so solicitous of Bogaerts' health--as opposed to the complete viciousness of Sale throwing 98 mph behind Machado (but not actually, well, hitting him).

I looked up Devers on sox prospects who say he is 20, potentially a very good hitter, but also a lard ass who can't run the bases (think slower than Mike Lowell) and who doesn't have good mechanics fielding or throwing. Think Saltalamacchia, but not as fast and probably a better hitter. I thought Rutledge made some good plays last night. The error was almost identical to the one Machado made--gambling they could get someone out despite having to charge the ball and throw cross body. In both cases, the smart move was not to throw.

Won't Farrell ask DD or someone to give Hernandez a small bonus for voluntarily taking himself out of the lineup? If his absence also leads to a nice little winning streak of, say, 6-8 games, they can increase the bonus. I mean, this guy was trying to become the first player in MLB history to have more errors than hits.

A lot of good insights above. Thanks.

Right now I'm anti-Wright like a lot of others are. But I think moonslav's cautionary note is valid. It is indeed possible that the good Wright--the right Wright--could return. What would bug me is if the Sox let him go for a song and somebody else's pitching coach straightens him out or he does it himself.

nice. finally.

the difference between chris sale and all other sox pitchers is that chris sees a 0-2 count as an opportunity to get the batter out. all our other pitchers consider anything other than a borderline wild pitch (on an 0-2 count) to be very, very risky. heck, most of them won't throw another strike until at least a 2-2 count.

you got nothing on me. i whine incessantly.

nice steal of 2b, hwoever.

when betts hurts himself getting back to 1b like that, he reconfirms how weak our baseball sense is on the basepaths. we anticipate nothing and everything is a surprise out there.

hard to second guess a firstbaseman when he catches a ball on the bounce.

orioles announcers have said repeatedly this game is all about the home plate umpire and have ignored the fact that the orioles hitting and fielding have been weak, whereas the orioles pitching has been pretty good, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings.

orioles feed just showed barnes throwing behind machado. again. and again.

vazquez with the hot bat--not.

this has to be one of the worst baserunning teams in mlb history.

orioles announcers are both back on their hobby horse complaining about the earlier call throwing gausman out.

has anyone noticed either pitcher--pomeranz with 78 pitches and bleier with 46 pitches, come anywhere near hitting a batter?

was that the world renowned but little seen changeup by pomeranz???

wow. 4 runs on 2 hits by theSox.