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Maxbialystock

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Everything posted by Maxbialystock

  1. Maxbialystock
    Love the 10 straight wins, but agree the next 9 games are a better test of the Sox hitting and pitching. To me what's different about this Sox team from, say, a month ago, is the greater depth of the hitting and the emergence of starters Giolito and Bello. The NL may well be better than the AL, but the toughest division in MLB, based on W-L records, is still the AL East.
  2. Maxbialystock
    He's the backup catcher, starting 1 game in 3. He's good defensively and he knows the Sox pitching staff. He caught Bello in his last two starts, together possibly the two best back to back starts in Bello's career. He has had 0 passed balls. He nabs 24% of baserunners attempting to steal to Narvaez 28%. His lifetime OPS is .685.
  3. Maxbialystock
    All pretty much true. But when he left he was just a DH and so was/is Yoshida. That's $48M/year for a DH. Meanwhile, the Sox hitting has improved since Devers left and they have roared back into postseason contention. The Giants are 11-14 since Devers and his now .656 OPS arrived. Your commentary jibes perfectly with the consensus view when Devers went to the Giants--great for them, terrible for the Sox. Smart Giants, dumb Sox.
  4. Maxbialystock
    Of course he didn't take the switch to DH well. He was repeatedly promised 3b would stay his. However, when he embraced DH as Cora said he should, he was pretty good at it--OPS .905 plus he didn't miss a game. I do not understand the furor over replacing Casas, who was having a horrible season. Toro/Gonzalez have been way better than Casas. What I do understand is that keeping Devers at DH was like paying double because Yoshida can only DH. So that's $30M + $18M for a DH. On top of that has been the emergence of Anthony, maybe or maybe not Mayer, Story, Narvaez, and Rafaela at the plate. The Sox are in fact hitting better without Devers than they did with him. Plus let's not forget that pitching has been the biggest issue with the Sox. So the emergence of Giolito and Bello as pretty good starters has made a world of difference and also reduces the "pain" of losing Devers. I'm not mad at Devers, but am mad at the commentary that says the Sox were stupid to let him go. It was the smart move.
  5. Maxbialystock
    Not sure what you mean by management kool-aid. I loved Devers as the DH, plus I think he was lied to about keeping 3b. However, to quote Cora, "players are traded all the time. It's part of baseball. End of story." When Devers was traded the Sox were on a hot streak, not because of anything Devers did, but because the pitching was terrific for 6 straight games. Since he left, the Sox hitting is better without Devers and the Giant hitting is worse with him. The Sox have been winning while the Giants have been losing.
  6. Maxbialystock
    I'm with you. Wong is a good defensive catcher and knows this pitching staff well. With him behind the plate, in his last 2 starts Bello has been sharp. Plus hitting is not exactly a weak suit for the Sox right now.
  7. Maxbialystock
    You mean that? You really, really that? Well, if you do, I'll just have to write it down--and throw it away. Nobody but nobody on talksox right now is guaranteeing anything with respect to the postseason. Some of us are hopeful, me probably longer than anyone else. By the way, just out of curiosity. When starters do well for 4 weeks are we supposed to say, "means absolutely nothing because their elbows or something else could go bad, or they could just stop pitching well?"
  8. Maxbialystock
    Great compilation of stats, mvp78. Thanks. So point one is that the Sox ain't "el foldos" so much as having to endure a tough 2d half schedule. Point two is that the AL East again has the best W-L record in MLB and the Sox still have a bunch of those games to play. Plus of course the three NL division leaders in the next 9 games. Point three, however, is that these Sox are deep in good lineup players. You know that's true when practically the entire Talksox board wants a better hitting backup catcher. Everyone pretty much likes the primary catcher and the other 8 lineup position players. I took a quick peek at the total WAR's for the 2021 Sox lineup players and they are just a tad higher than the ones for the 2025 Sox who have played just 95 games. Point four are the three pretty good starters in Crochet, Bello, and Giolito, who are worlds better than Eovaldi, ERod, and Pivetta in 2021, who also finished the season without a closer. Plus Buehler and Fitts aren't awful. My conclusion from the above is that these Sox have a real shot despite the tough schedule, so stay tuned.
  9. Maxbialystock
    Well reasoned.
  10. Maxbialystock
    I like your version more than mine.
  11. Maxbialystock
    I'm sure Rafaela wakes up in the middle of the night asking himself, "when oh when will I win FredLynn's trust?" So allow me to go to the opposite extreme. He can hit, hit with power, field, catch, and run the bases and kind of reminds me of Willie Mays who was also 5'10" and had the same five tools. Willie was a ton better of course, especially in his first 13 seasons after returning from service in the US Army. On the other hand, Willie couldn't play the infield the way Ceddanne can. Ceddanne is in his 2d full season, so I find it hard to buy that this current run is blind stupid luck. We'll see.
  12. Maxbialystock
    Forget tbd. Not gonna happen by 31 July. When was the last time the Sox had 3 starters as good as Crochet, Bello, and Giglio? They already have 31 quality starts in 49 starts and ERA's of 2.23, 3.14, and 3.36.
  13. Maxbialystock
    I think the Sox already have a good enough rotation, lineup, and even bullpen for the playoffs. So job 1 is to get to get there. The 2011 Sox were pretty good, but couldn't do it after they collapsed in September. This team still has 67 games to play, and a lot can happen.
  14. Maxbialystock
  15. Maxbialystock
    All good choices.
  16. Maxbialystock
    He is or he isn't recovered. The docs say he is. While it's great to have Bregman back, this winning streak did not need him.
  17. Maxbialystock
    The Fantastic Three might be looking askance at the Emerging One. Next up, @ the Cubs and the @ the Phillies. Both are tough at home. Cubs are good hit, so-so pitch, and the Phillies are the reverse. Dodgers are also good hit, so-so pitch. Those 9 games will be an excellent gauge of where this Sox team is--which will no doubt affect Breslow's decision-making. Sox 1 game behind Yankees.
  18. Maxbialystock
    Agree completely. I also love to see Bello thanking the defense as they came off the field. Plus he tipped his hat to the fans.
  19. Maxbialystock
    Indeed. His WAR to date is now almost double Devers. What we are really seeing--that is only tied indirectly to trading Devers--is the blossoming of a really good lineup and a not too shabby rotation. As moonslav predicted Yoshida/Ref ain't too shabby as the DH. Plus, with 4 outfielders, now and then one of them can DH--or play 2b. Wilson gets the last 2 outs in top of 7th! Sox still up, 4-1.
  20. Maxbialystock
    I loved Devers as the DH, but I also thought trading him made sense. Right now the Sox seem to be knee deep in bats, and most of them can play defense too. Yoshida has yet to make an error.
  21. Maxbialystock
    I like him low. And I absolutely trust Cora lineups.
  22. Maxbialystock
    Absolutely no one on talksox--and probably not in the entire Sox organization--have been patient with/about Story. He has simply been untradeable/undealable.
  23. Maxbialystock
    Good grief!! Rafaela is nuts, and Story almost is. Both can field too.
  24. Maxbialystock
    Story da man!!!
  25. Maxbialystock
    Ok, big double by Anthony!
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