Maxbialystock

That makes sense. But before this game Bello was having his best season ever.

Heck, he IS the Sox second best starter. Before this game his June ERA was 2.49.

Am I wrong about Bello's changeup? Isn't it one of his best pitches? Why hasn't it been called for more often? That replay shows that Wong's play was pretty easy for the 3d out.

Jays have 7 hits, all singles. It's usually the extra base hits that cause the biggest concern. Nice play by Wong for the 3d out. Whoever said the Jays could sweep has a point. They have hitting and pitching, and the Sox have neither.

Thanks. My goodness. Maybe Sogard can deliver.

This ain't on Cora. 2 runs is not the ball game, and he absolutely needs to get as many IP out of Bello as the can because the bullpen has struggled recently.

Both hits by lefty batters Abreu and and Mayer. Story, Wong, and Rafaela are hitless plus Rafaela has the GIDP. Story k'd with Anthony on 2b. Berrios has thrown 22 pitches in 2 IP with 17 strikes.; Anyone know why lefty bat Mayer ain't at 3b?

I could be wrong, but I think that first pitch groundout was off Bello's first changeup today. So maybe part of the problem is with whoever is calling the pitches. The biggest problem is obviously command. 52 pitches, 30 strikes. After 2 innings, he has faced the Jays top 3 hitters twice.

I think so too. Very poised at the plate.

There was basically no play on that single, but he in fact made one. He not only made a great play on the ball, but threw on a line to home plate. It was just a tad too far to the right, but it was supposed to be to the right of home plate. Given the nature of the play--charging the ball, catching the hop cleanly on the run, quickly throwing home, and throwing it at exactly the right height makes it a good throw. Don't forget the baserunner was going on contact, so beating him to home plate was daunting.

His issue has always been control.

If you're not being facetious, you're wrong. That was a fantastic play by Rafaela to charge that ball, catch the bounce on the dead run, and make a great throw home, but a little too far up the line.

Great play by Rafaela, but the throw was just a tad too far up the line. Throwing all those low pitches to Kirk did not pay off because he fouled a bunch of them off. Finally a 3d out with 2 on. But 30 pitches and just 17 strikes.

Exactly. And better stated than my explanations.

He needs the platoons because of the difference in how some players hit righties vs righties. But platooning only ameliorates the greater and grimmer fact that this lineup is without both Bregman and Devers. You don't think he likes having Rafaela in CF, Abreu in RF, Narvaez behind the plate, Story at SS, and Mayer/Bregman at 3b? I beg to differ. Every team's first line of defense is their pitching, and our first line ain't so hot. Moreover, the first skill a position player must have is hitting. I think Campbell and his many errors would have stuck had not his OPS dropped to .668. Rafaela sticks because of his super defense in CF, but also because his June OPS is .837. Breslow and Cora would have been ecstatic with Devers defense at 1b, no matter how bad it might have been, because of his hitting. Duran with his lousy fielding stays in LF because of last year's OPS and the hope he can get back there. Cora didn't shirk, or so I believe. My take on Devers is that he was headed out the day Bregman was announced as the Sox thirdbaseman, a position Raffy had held for 8 years, which he took great pride in, and which he had been promised he would keep. Cora persuaded him to embrace DH, which Raffy did with great success. Then Breslow asked him to play 1b, which to Raffy was the last straw. The great irony of that is that now the Sox have neither Bregman nor Raffy, and it hurts. Since Bregman's quad was also bad in 2021 and also cost him 2 months on the IL, one has to wonder whether he is worth all that money and the loss of Devers.

Agree completely that you do not in fact think. You opine. So do I.

Good points about the importance of the CBO. But I think JH is just as important. His ownership is the best in Sox history--4 WS wins which both ended the 86 year curse and produced more WS than any other MLB in the same timeframe (2002-2024). DD succeeded because he's good--we can agree on that--and because JH supported him with the highest payroll in MLB. But then 2019 happened--still the biggest payroll, but no postseason. Worse, DD was going to need more than the highest payroll in MLB to fix what went wrong--primarily pitching--in 2019, to say nothing of competing with the Dodgers (who have a lot more money) for Mookie. So JH changed course and signified that by hiring Chaim Bloom of the Rays, who have consistently built competitive teams with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. If you recall the movie Moneyball, you know JH wanted to hire Billy Beane as his GM/CBO after the 2002 season. What that meant for Chaim Bloom is that his budget was limited, and that trend continues this season, in which the Sox payroll is ranked 12th in MLB. Even worse, spotrac says the the Sox effective payroll (players on on the active roster) is $105M, ranked 19th in MLB.

To me the rest days always did 2 things. They allowed Cora to play one of his benchers and provided both physical and mental relief from the unbelievable stress of playing 6 games a week for 6 months. When he started it in 2018, it seemed to work, especially because back then the games went lasted forever. What the heck do you mean by "demands?" The games make the demands. The pitchers make demands on hitters and vice versa. Defenders have no choice but to defend as well as they are able and baserunners get around the bases as well as they are able. Before every game every player drills on defense, hitting, and pitching--162 games per season. If Cora wanted to sabotage this Sox team by demanding absolutely nothing of his players, he couldn't. Forget all the repetitive pitching, hitting, and defending drills before every game. Players want to excel because of the money, because everything they do is scrutinized by the fans, and because they are in The Show. Oh, and don't forget the huge number of stats and computer programs now in use. Despite all that, Campbell couldn't stick, but you better believe that wasn't on Cora. MLB has by far the longest apprenticeship of any sport. Once a player gets to The Show, he can expect more drills than any player of any other sport.

Honestly, I think Devers was gone the day Bregman was announced as the new third baseman, a position Devers had played for 8 seasons and which he had been promised he would keep. DH was a great interim fit thanks to Cora convincing Raffy to embrace it. When Casas went down, Breslow saw the value in moving Devers to 1b so Yoshida, who is paid $18.5M and can only DH, could replace him as DH. That all made sense to Breslow does to most of Talksox, but I think Cora realized the move to 3b was a bridge too far. In fact, playing 1b did not make sense to Devers because he had been lied to about 3b, agreed to be DH where he was flourishing, and now was being asked to play a position he'd never played before. Raffy has yet to play 1b for the Giants, but no doubt inevitably will. In 9 home games with the Giants his OPS is .836 and the Giants are 3-6. That's the same record as the Sox, 3-6, but they have been on the road for all 9 games and without both Raffy and Bregman. Short sample sizes, I agree.

Heckuva point. Thanks. In 2016 the Sox lost to Cleveland, 3 games to none.

We mostly agree. When we don't, it's usually because I'm looking for something to argue about.

Love it. I mean you're just dead wrong, but this is a great conversation starter.

Agree--of course. Love all your specifics. I can only add that right now spotrac says the Sox payroll is ranked 12th and the usable payroll--players who are on the active roster--is ranked 19th in MLB.

I agree it was anything but simple after Devers had been promised he would keep 3b. Cora got him to embrace DH, which worked like gangbusters. Moving again--to 1b and during the season--was just a bridge too far and Raffy dug his feet in. To me the great irony of hiring Bregman, who was having a terrific season, his best since 2019, is that right now the Sox don't have Bregman or Devers. That's called subtraction by addition.