Maxbialystock

In this game Wong has 1 more hit than Bregman, Anthony, Yoshida, and Rafaela combined. On the other hand, you gotta like the Sox defense so far. Bello's error could have been costly but Bello bailed him out.

Sox have 4 hits and Wong has 1 of them. I'd call it gutsy pitching with 2 on and 1 out.

Absolutely terrific 5th inning by Bello, who refused to give in to Aranda and got the K in 10 pitches. The Sox hitting, meanwhile, is moribund.

Sox 2 behind Yankees who play the Cubs again today.

True. With Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, and Anthony as outfielders, it would seem inevitable that one will be traded. This is especially true with Yoshida/Ref handling DH. Gonzalez at 1b over Toro, who made that terrific play last night to prevent a Ray from scoring.

Heckuva series. Three 1 run games so far. How should this game be different? Great pitching yesterday by both sides, with Narvaez driving in Anthony--who else?--after his big double and Narvaez with his seeing eye single. Wong catching, Gonzalez at 2b, Rafaela in CF, Bregman at 3b, and Story at SS means Cora is going with 5 righty bats against a righty starter. Wong caught Bello's complete game 5 days ago.

☺️

I don't blame Cora at all. I think he was just being realistic.

Well, we know he spent pretty big on Bregman, Crochet, Chapman, and Buehler. Plus the Sox payroll ($192M) this season is ranked 12th. I do think he wants to improve the attendance, and right now the Sox are a very watchable team.

I read that too. Plus in 2 starts this month Buehler went 11 IP giving up 5 ER vs the Nats and the Rays. Plus there's Fitts. I recite all that because getting a good starter in July can be very pricey.

This is what I said before the game started--in case anyone here thinks I know anything about MLB. Both starters were terrific, but Crochet went 100 pitches, 9 freaking innings, and 0 runs!! I know nothing--except that it was a heckuva game to watch.

Those 2 worst starts were just a function of Cora wanting Houck to pitch more innings in 2 lost causes. That does not mean I am in any way confident about Houck right now. He's been pitching in purgatory for a pretty long spell.

Given some of the 5th starters we've seen for the Sox, he's almost a gem.

Agree completely even though that ACL is the end of Dobbins season.

Agree, especially because moonslav says it's very difficult not to overspend for a good starter in July. Attendance 36,453--high for the season!! The Fenway faithful, bless them, have decided these guys are worth a lot of trouble and money to see.

Bad luck. I sympathize. I hate missing good games, but was lucky today. Crochet is just unreal. Today he was hitting his spots and mixing his pitches. So was the Rays starter.

You could be right if Buehler is in fact coming around. Heck, when was the last time the Sox had 3 pretty good starters like Crochet, Bello, and Giolito? Sox bullpen gets a day of rest before game 4 vs the Rays.

Unbelievable game--and another magnificent start by Crochet. Three straight 1 run wins over the Rays. Toro more than made up for that error last night because that was an amazing play. Oh, wait. I forgot the rules on talksox. We are here to gripe about errors.

FO is actually looking pretty smart. Dumping Devers and his salary has helped the Sox both ways. And nobody was going to give up a front line starter for Devers and his gigantic contract.

Thanks for the corrections on Duran, Rafaela, and Bello!!

Someone quoted Cora saying he would be used there at some point. Also interesting that he is betting 2d instead of 9th.

Just a reminder that I saw this team's potential after Devers left before anyone else. My biggest point was that Devers left when our best hitter and best player, Bregman, was on the IL, so that was a double whammy to the lineup. Nevertheless, I reminded everyone that both Rafaela and Story were hitting better--and they still are--and that bringing up Mayer and Anthony was a positive. Now with both Bregman and Yoshida back, the Sox are knee deep in hitters, so much so that against a righty last night Anthony didn't start. I also said the defense was better than those errors. Plus the rotation was looking better. By no means did I ever think the Sox would win 8 straight, especially the last 2 games, both by 1 run, against a good Rays team. Nor did I think Rafaela would go completely ape at the plate. His July OPS is 1.370. Batting 9th he has 13 rbi's in 9 games. Nor did I think the bullpen was capable of what they pulled off last night. I scoff at all the "good vibes" talk, but am having to rethink that. It's even possible it was made better by the absence of Devers. One last thought. I love the acquisition this year of Crochet, Bregman, Chapman, and Narvaez, but I also think there's a bunch of talent that comes from the much maligned Chaim Bloom era: Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Story, Yoshida, Mayer, Anthony, Bello, Dobbins, Whitlock, Wong, Refsnyder,

Rafaela came on strong in June and now July--too late to really register with the voters. But your stats are compelling.

Bregman's OPS vs righties is .911. Only Yoshida's is better.

Heckuva discussion. Way over my head.