Maxbialystock

I don't know about golden--an expression I love, by the way--but I do like the insight that he needs a clean first. Good start to the game thread.

One time I want my stupid prophecy to be wrong and it's right. Time to move Pedroia and Ramirez down in the order?

I think you are forgetting a new rule this year for the Sox: try not to get too many hits to support your ace. So far our guys are helping Estrada look like an ace+

Estrada seems to be throwing a lot of hard--which ain't that hard--stuff and getting our guys out easily.

Bogaerts looked at three straight strikes after three straight balls. I hate that.

I believe JBJ and Betts both have stronger arms than Benintendi. We can be pretty sure that, while JBJ is slower than either of the other two, he has fantastic instincts to go where the ball is hit. All in all, a pretty darn good outfield because all three can also hit.

While I'm mad as heck at those two errors--by Sandoval and Moreland--I am also very impressed with the guts Porcello showed on the mound afterward--7 innings (actually, 23 outs) and 0 earned runs. I have to say this because I badmouthed him a lot after his last start of the 4 dingers and 8 runs. Funny thing, but we had five full-time, all-righty hitters in the lineup--Pedroia, Betts, Ramirez, Bogaerts, and Young--and together they were 2 for 19 against a lefty starter (for 5.1 innings anyway). The espn guy who covers the Sox says that Sandoval's defense is definitely an issue. However, his OPS is now at .706 and is probably on the rise, and he is tied for the team lead in rbi's with 10 and leads in dingers with 3. If Porcello is back and Pomeranz can be decent--ditto ERod--then the Sox now have a pretty good rotation because Sale is terrific and Wright seems to have gotten his good knuckler back. Barmes slipped Tues, but the bullpen has been good. I cited Casey Stengel on the early Mets to categorize how the Sox played in this game, not this season. Those errors by Moreland and Sandoval were right out of the early Mets playbook. I believe their first baseman was Marvelous Marv Throneberry, whose other nick name was "stone hands" because he committed 17 errors at 1B in 1962 when the Mets set the record for losses with 120. If you look him up, you will also find out that he hit a triple in one game, but was called out when the opposing SS got the ball and tagged 2B, meaning Marv had failed to touch that base. When Casey went out to protest, the umpire said, "don't bother me because he also failed to touch first base."

I admit that's pretty harsh, but right now our guys do remind me of the not yet amazin Mets. So far we're seeing weak hitting, weak fielding, and pitching that may or may not be effective.

What's that line attributed to Casey Stengal after watching the Mets their first season? "Can't anyone here play this game?"

That's three unearned runs so far.

Sandoval and Moreland have just done their best to destroy the starting pitcher. Those were easy plays for both players. Plus it takes a lot more pitches to get thru a five out inning.

Where is it written that, while righty hitters are expected to hit righty pitchers, we don't dare let lefty hitters attempt the impossible task of hitting lefty pitchers? Me, I want JBJ back in the 7 or 8 slot whoever is on the mound. Same for Sandoval even though he is better against righty pitchers. As for catcher, I am find with both of them whoever is pitching for the other team.

Today is the real Patriot's Day, the 242d anniversary of the "shot heard round the world," the battles of Lexington and Concord followed by the British retreat to Boston. It was that battle that directly led to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia creating the Continental Army on June 14, 1775, a long year before they could screw their courage to the sticking point and write and sign the Declaration of Independence. While there were American patriots throughout the Colonies, I think it is fair to say the American Revolution truly began right here in the vicinity of Boston. In June of 1775 there were some settlers who created what amounted to a campsite in Kentucky. They had heard about the "shot heard round the world" and decided to name their campsite Lexington, now the 2d largest city in Kentucky. Two years later something similar happened in the western part of Virginia and today the home of VMI and Washington&Lee University. In fact, the name Lexington is all over the United States. The Canadians, meanwhile, stayed firmly on the British side. So I say beat the heck out of those Canadians even though Toronto's a pretty nice city. But the people? Way too polite, which is why they never threw tea into the Great Lakes. Tonight would be a good night for our Cy Young--vice our Sigh Young--pitcher to re-appear. Meanwhile, that lineup just seems to get nastier and nastier, even without the dingers.

On another thread I redefined quality starts for this year's Sox rotation, and this was definitely a quality start by Johnson.

Wrong. Those 3 runs off Johnson are only semi-earned because JBJ isn't in CF tonight.

Like Pomeranz, Brian Johnson feels the need to keep the other team in the game.

Overall I have no complaints about the lineup this year. In fact, I think it could end up even better than last year's, and that's saying a whole lot because Big Papi was amazing last year. I think Moreland is over his head and that everyone else without exception can hit better than they have so far. Forget 1 thru 5 too because I'm really talking about 6 thru 9--Bogaerts, Sandoval, Young/Bradley, and Leon/Vazquez. I think those four slots have the potential to be just plain mean. As it is, Sandoval in the 7 slot with a paltry OPS of .577 is tied for the team lead in rbi's with 9. If we divide the team into four arbitrary categories--hitting, starting pitching, relief pitching, and fielding--I would say that so far the bullpen has been by far the best. Then maybe hitting, then fielding, and last the rotation. I always expected hitting to be the best of the four, but was encouraged by the acquisition of Sale, the Cy Young last year for Porcello, the obvious potential last year of Wright, and the departure of Buchholz. I had no real expectations for the bullpen. And I only mention fielding because you can't ignore something that depends on all 8 players out there backing up the pitcher. Given our team stats to date and the fact that we--they--are 8-5, it is really hard not to believe in this team. As moonslav and others keep insisting, the rotation should right itself.

Could be, but, if memory serves, Papelbon basically had 1 effective pitch--his fastball-- most of the time he was here. Last year Kimbrel still had 31 saves with an erratic knuckle curve but a very good fastball. And didn't Mariano Rivera excel with basically one pitch? But your principal is still valid because starters normally face hitters at least twice and usually 3 or 4 times per game. So they probably need 3 pitches.

I don't mind saying it was a heckuva projection. Memorable.

I have done more than my share of whining about the rotation, but I can't say enough about how well the bullpen has been. They did 4.2 scoreless innings yesterday and another 3 today. If memory serves, it was the bullpen that was so great during last year's September run. Not to single him out because others have contributed mightily, but to me the difference between Kimbrel in 2016 and in 2017 is that he has command of his breaking stuff this year. Apparently, it only takes two good pitches to thrive in the bullpen. Uehara had that nasty splitter and the slow boat to china fastball--88 mph tops--but he had great control and confidence.

I dodged a bullet by not jumping on this thread in the early innings. Wright did indeed settle down and pitch a pretty commendable game given his last start.

Not semantics because I entirely agree with they have stunk but just might not stink right now. Today, for example, your genius prediction almost came true. You said Wright would go 7 and give up 2, but he only went 6 and might be responsible for 3 if Ross can't stop this rally.

I see Pomeranz as keeping the Rays in the game. After he left the game the Rays went 4.2 innings without scoring another run. The Sox hitters kept the Sox in the game until the bullpen went to work.

We owe them nothing. There is a strong statistical correlation between pitchers who stink right now and games that are lost. Spring training is over, and these games count. Time for the rotation to man up.

What social media? Nobody comes here. right now pomeranz stinks, simple as that-- he gave up 5 runs, all earned, in 4.1 innings.