Maxbialystock
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Everything posted by Maxbialystock
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No matter what the advocates for a pure strike zone--enforced by technology, not humans--say, what they really want is more calls going our way for both pitchers and hitters. We are now on page 39 of this thread, and one would be hard pressed to find a specific complaint about a call that went our way. I am of the firm belief that, were all those balls and strikes called perfectly, it would help neither our pitchers nor our hitters.
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Whoa, Nellie. Just what do you think Swihart can do? Catch? Vazquez doesn't hit so well, but he is worlds better behind the plate. Left field? Young is doing fine out there on defense and his OPS is over .900. Pinch hit? Doubtful. Besides, any baseball team that relies on its bench must have a weak lineup, which the Sox do not have, not when they are leading MLB in runs scored and OPS. The simple fact is that Tillman was terrific last night, especially with RISP, and that fireballer who got the 5 out save wasn't half bad either.
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Pathetic 9th, but should not have been a surprise. That rbi single by HanRam was pretty darn good after Ortiz, our rbi leader, K'd on pitches even this ump would have called balls.
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Shaw beats out a slow roller!
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Hey, turkey. Bradley just made it a one run game.
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Heart of the order--Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz--K looking, weak ground out, K swinging. And this is the third time through the lineup. But it's the 6th inning and Tillman has 104 pitches, so maybe there is hope. How good is the Orioles bullpen?
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Pedroia K looking. Tillman is tough.
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Shaw has been awful lately, granted. I'm down on him too. But he's also batting 8th. I can live with Vazquez at bat because he is good defensively.
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Hey, Max. Quit your whining. Our guys are still playing for 1st place. And Tillman is a good pitcher, especially against the Sox.
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3 at bats and 3 easy outs by Betts.
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I saw that pitch and completely agree it could have been called a ball. But it was just one pitch. Bogaerts hit the next pitch hard, but right to Machado for the GIDP. The simple fact is that Tillman has been really tough with men on base. I wish our guys would be so tough.
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We have 3 hits, the Orioles two hits. That changeup was made to order for Shaw, who these days couldn't get a hit on an outside pitch to save his life.
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Complaints about the ump are laughable. The simple fact is that Tillman shuts our guys down whenever there is an RISP. Men on first and second, and Bradley strikes out looking then Young swinging at the 3d strike. Later Ortiz comes up with Pedroia on 2B and strikes out swinging. Bradley has struck out twice and could easily strike out a couple more times. Price, on the other, has pitched very well except that, the one time he gets a man on, he immediately throws a gopher ball to, wait for it, Machado. So far the Orioles, especially Tillman, look tough, and our guys look like babes in the woods. Umpire, my aunt fanny--that complaint is the last refuge of fans of losers (in this game, anyway).
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Orioles lost 3 straight at home against the Jays, but they have been giving our guys a hard time for a long time. Tonight 6 lefties and 3 righties go against the Orioles righty Tillman: Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz, Ramirez, Bradley, Young, Shaw (batting 8th!), Vazquez. This is the first game of a 10 game home stand against the Orioles, Mariners, and White Sox--3, 3, and 4 games. Then no travel day to play at the Rangers and Rays home parks A total of 16 straight days of baseball to finish up the month of June with June 30 being an off day. Good to have Price going tonight, but Tillman is pretty darn good too.
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Definitely worth mentioning. To date an insanely good year. But I think he's actually gaining weight in season.
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I like Bogey sliding into first base, but I'm very afraid you are right as rain. He shouldn't.
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Bogaerts is human and therefore subject to error, but he is anything but lackadaisacal. This is a guy who slides into 1B when he thinks it will help. A guy who, on a sure GIDP by Ortiz, overran 2b and took 3B because he realized the shift made the Twins vulnerable to that play. You want lackadaiscal, go somewhere else.
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I said marginalized if not eliminated and I still think that. Calling balls and strikes is central to the game of baseball.
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Possibly. My guess is Farrell was saving him for the save once the Sox scored. If Farrell had used Kimbrel in the 10th and someone else in the 11th--let's say to save a 1 run lead--and that guy had blown the save, there would be an outcry that Kimbrell was wasted in the 10th. The other day in San Francisco, Farrell used Ortiz to pinch-hit for Young, for which there was an outcry that he went in too soon. My guess, only that, at the time was he wanted to be sure to get Ortiz in the game when the score was close, it was late, and there were men on base. If he had waited and let Young bat and Young hit into a GIDP, the outcry would have been, "why in the world didn't he get Ortiz in there?" I don't think Farrell is a genius or perfect, just that, like all managers, he almost certainly has good reasons for making the moves he does. I am simply inclined to give all managers the benefit of the doubt unless it's something egregious.
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Meh. His defense at 1B didn't surprise me because he is an infielder. His hitting however has been a disappointment, so I agree Hanley has been a surprise, just not a good one. Also, what is with his dramatic wave of the glove after getting a throw on the short hop? Is that necessary? Today it sure looked as though he cost a couple of runs even though the error was given to Bogaerts. That ball was flat in his glove and came out as a result of the big motion.
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Heck, this team is full of surprises, mostly good, but some bad. Wright is a good choice, but so is Ortiz, likewise Pedroia. To me the big surprise is Bogaerts. Forget the hitting and maybe even, finally, the dingers. What I love to see is his enthusiasm, some of which I think comes from Pedroia. The kid just wants to play the game well--all of it--and almost seems to enjoy a straightforward defensive play as much as a big hit. Heck, he is even running the bases with elan. Today, June 11, he prevented a double play and took 3b by simply being aware that the big shift left the Twins vulnerable if Bogaerts just ran thru 2B and on to 3b.
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How Long Does JF Go With Hanley in the 5 Hole?
Maxbialystock replied to bosoxmal's topic in Boston Red Sox Talk
What a super idea. Finally, finally, a way out of the hitting and scoring woes for the Sox this year. Hanley batting 5th must explain why the Sox lead MLB in scoring--oh, wait, that wasn't your point was it? -
Shaw is batting 8th today against a righty with Young moved up to 7th. I think HanRam is one hole in the lineup and of course whoever is catching. Shaw might be.
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Young moves up to 7th and Shaw to 8th against a righty. Probably because shaw clearly has trouble with outside pitches.
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This season, which is what this thread is presumably about, has its own allure. Can anyone remember the last time when four of the top ten AL players--measured by WAR--were Red Sox and that #1 was/is Bogaerts? The other three are Ortiz, Betts, and JBJ. Two more, Pedroia and Shaw, are in the top 20. The Sox also have one pitcher, Wright, in the top ten, but after that #51 and #60 are Porcello and Kimbrell, then Tazawa at #80.