Maxbialystock

Right now we are on a rollercoaster. The one maybe sensible thing I said was this team is inexperienced. Last night was a huge huge win, and 6 of the 7 rbi's were from Ortiz and Ramirez. That said, that 9th inning rally had several contributors. And don't forget the bullpen which went 6.2 innings while giving up 0 earned runs--without the benefit of Uehara, Kimbel, or Ziegler. On the other hand, youngster ERod folded like a cheap tent.

I was being sarcastic. To me Ellsbury and ARod are exhibits A and B in demonstrating the downfall of the Yankees. Way too much money for way too little performance.

Meh. What you really mean is that racism is still part of American and especially Boston culture, and no one doubts that. I seriously doubt, however, that the average Sox fan at games in Fenway has a problem with Betts, Bradley, or Young. Some of the animus toward Crawford was because he was overpaid and underperforming--exactly the same situation with Ellsbury and the Yankees right now or for that matter Sandoval with the Sox. As I said in my earlier post, I think there can be no question that Boston fans overall have embraced this team--as they did the one in 2013--whose most iconic player is very dark skinned. The thesis advanced in the OP, however, is that MLB is not only white, but intentionally and deliberately white, and with that I vehemently disagree. I think there are only so many great black athletes and that over time they have mostly gravitated toward football and basketball--sports they pretty much dominate despite being about 15% of our population--because the payoff comes earlier and is often greater. It is no coincidence that the richest athlete in America is Michael Jordan. And, speaking of skin color, a big chunk of his earnings came from that huge contract with Nike, and they ain't paying him because of affirmative actions. Nosiree. Jordan's name and face and personality and basketball skills sell a whole lot of shoes for Nike.

I would have bet any amount of money the Sox were dead, dead, dead and that Hanley would K in that at bat. It is past my bedtime and I might not get to sleep for an hour now. Just stunning. And he did something like that a couple of weeks ago.

Leadoff double with the top of the order coming up, and they can't even get the runner to 3b, let alone home.

Ortiz grounds out on a slider way below the strike zone. That's how he made his last out only it was a fly to LF.

Down 5-1 in the 5th with a 2-0 count and Bogaerts is swinging away.

Tazawa K's 3 after the leadoff double. Not bad. He is a different pitcher when that forkball is working.

Sadly, moonslav's OP has a point. A week ago I was saying this team is in great position, but now they seem to be on the verge of collapse. Three starters have collapsed and a fourth pitched a great game only to lose 1-0. As moonslav pointed out on another thread, the Sox outscored the Orioles by 6 runs and lost the series 2-1. Last night the Sox got 4 singles and 0 runs, tonight so far it's a double, 2 singles, and 1 run in 4 innings.

Back to back fastballs and back to back double and single for another Yankee run. Whoops. Another fastball near the middle and double off the centerfield wall. When our starters lose it, they really lose it.

Thanks.

A whole lot of groundouts.

Actually, he started throwing changeups and sliders in the first inning after giving up three straight hits.

2 innings, 45 pitches--which could be a blessing disguise.

Wasn't ERod the one telegraphing his pitches earlier? He could be doing it again.

Tanaka meanwhile threw one straight pitch in his first 7 pitches--for 2 easy outs--but a lot of sliders, cutters, sinkers, etc.

We are down because the Yankees love ERod's fast ball even more than he does.

Tanaka of course is using his full repertoire, which means that Rodriguez is officially a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

Fastballs, fastballs, and more fastballs. Serve them up you piece of s***.

Yankees love his fastball even more than ERod does--all three hits off that stinking fast ball. Now with the damage done he is throwing breaking balls but none are in the strike zone. Another fastball and a sac fly to CF. This of course also lies at the feet of Leon and the pitching coach. They all love his fastball way too much.

I like Betts in 4th because he is good protection for Ortiz batting 3d. Plus he is second on the team in rbi's with 104 and second in dingers with 30. That said, I would not be opposed to moving him back to the top if it will help him snap out of this slump. Ramirez might be hot, but last night he was had in 3 strikes with men on 1st and 3d.

Don't agree on career because he is so young and is having his breakout year as we speak. The past is irrelevant in my judgment.

Me, I leave Betts in the lineup from here on out and probably keep him batting 4th to protect Ortiz batting 3d. Ortiz had several IBB's earlier in the season, but none since Betts moved to #4. I think Betts is our one and only five tool player. He has 13 assists to 1 error and leads the team by a bunch in SB's and in runs scored. He also leads the team in hits and total bases, is second in home runs with 30 and 2d in rbi's with 104. And he plays smart, focused baseball. Let him work through his slump.

Nope. His OPS's are great (.870 and above) when he bats 6th, 7th,8th, or 9th and are lousy (under .700) when he bats 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, or 5th. Most of his at bats are in the 6th and 9th positions--OPS .872 in 6th and OPS .970 in 9th. JBJ has 30 rbi's in 129 at bats when hitting 9th, 34 rbi's in 199 at bats when hitting 6th. He has 7 rbi's in 87 at bats when hitting 5th.

To me our one big liability right now is youth/inexperience. We have a decent to good rotation--see moonslav's stats for the 2d half of this season--and a bullpen that's rounding into shape. The lineup, while inconsistent, outscored everyone else in MLB this year. Waiting in the wings are both Benintendi and Moncada. In other words, I don't think DD needs to make any great overhaul of the roster this offseason. Of course, we could also try to get the great Jacoby Ellsbury back here to replace JBJ in CF. 3B is an issue, but hardly a disaster.