moonslav59

Agreed. All I was trying to say is that we might not have the 29th worst pitching staff. I don't watch every pitch of every other team's games. I only watch the Sox. Maybe we actually have the worst staff. I provided other numbers that seem to indicate while we are still bad, in comparison, maybe we are not as bad as 29th. I know our D is worse than most teams. I know our park is viewed as a hitter's park. I'm pretty sure our opponents have better offenses than most team's pitchers have faced, but I'm not sure on that. Saying we not not be 29th is not saying we don't still suck in that area. IMO, we have sucked, up to now, anyway.

I do wonder, just how much our crappy D is responsible for our poor pitching, but my eye test tells me other teams have bad D's, too, at least vs us.

Health is just half of the equation, and that is why I am more skeptical than you and others on Nate. I'm not trying to diss him. He was a big hero in 2018 and was our true ace in 2021. I'll never forget that or stop appreciating what he did for us. To me, it was not just the missed starts (about 30%.) Maybe, needing him to be our ace made me feel worse about what he gave us in 2019, 2020 and 2022 than I should have. He was not signed to ace money. I've never been big on FIP, and he was very good in that area, for us (3.73 vs a 4.05 ERA.) I probably let 2019 sour me, too much. He was not alone in his massive downturn. He pitched pretty well in 2020 and 2022, when healthy, but in the last 4 years he... Was hurt in 3 of them. Pitched poorly in one (2019), Okay to good in 2022, and well in 2020 (9 GS) and 2021. He's 33, now. I'd certainly prefer him to Kluber, even with the higher cost, but I'd have preferred someone else. I liked Wacha. It looks like Eflin would have been better. Not sure about Senga. I was against overpaying for Rodon.

I'll just put the baitor on ignore and spare you all the grief. Sorry for taking the bait.

Yes, for the first quarter of the year. All teams have had injuries. Some teams have guys out all year. We may be fortunate to get all ours back.

Maybe they should have rested him longer, or put him on the 10 day, a few days back. Lat injuries can be tricky. He is a key to our pen. Maybe Houck can take his slot, as soon as Whitlock or Crawford are called up.

I'm very concerned about the near future, too. I feel better longer term, due mainly to expected returning, better players. If there is one thing we know about this team is that they often win when we don't expect it (like having a winning record vs >.500 teams) and lose when we think they should win- like vs STL.

You'll never convince me that what happened in the last game, last 2 games or last week just has to continue. If baseball has taught me anything, it is to expect the unexpected. Our pen has been a strength, almost all year. It has sucked, recently and may or may not continue to suck for a few days more, or for the rest of the season. I think our pen will be okay, but who knows? We no longer have Brasier dragging us down, and I am hopeful Joely will be a big bump up from Brasier. When Whitlock and Crawford return, we should see Bleier and Bernardino demoted or DFA'd. That should really help the pen, too. Waiting for Mondesi and Story to improve the D is too long a wait. I hope we are still in it, by the time they return. I think we will be, but certainly, we may not be.

Like you know just how good every other teams' pitching is. Come on, be wholly truthful. These are rankings. Our pitching sucks. I have never said otherwise. My eye test agrees. My point was that we might not be 29th as the ERA stat shows. Hell, maybe we're 30th. I'm just trying to show the whole truth and let people decide, but only facts that back up your eyes count as being truthful, it appears.

I stopped posting? And please, stop trying to tell people to live like you do- like it is better than the way others live.

So, when I posted the standing a few days ago that showed us as a WC team, that was not being wholly truthful. Got it. LMAO

Not only should the pitching staff improve with Joely, Whitlock and Crawford back, our defense should improve with the return of Story and Mondesi, and our offense can get even better with the return of Story and Duvall. That is assuming no major secondary losses, along the way. We can also add at the deadline, if we are still in it by then. We have some budget space to add salary.

Just dno't call it "baiting." That would not be wholly truthful.

Maybe not, but he looks to have been worth a hefty counter-offer- not that I thought so at the time.

Our pitching has been bad, but I think we are slightly better than 27th. 25th in ERA- at 112 (just passed by STL) 23rd in WHIP 18th in xFIP 15th K-BB% 14th in SIERA

"I don’t care about the scoreboard, or the standings this early in the season, but you said you, and others do, so I want to keep Everyone informed." Doesn't change the point I made, at all.

True, for now. After that half season in 2018, he was up and down for us. He was an essential component of that 2021 team, for sure. Last 4 years: 4.15 ERA 1.27 WHIP 73 GS out of a possible 110 That's not bad, but not great, either.

Let's wait on anointing Nate the "one that got away."

I still think we can get to 90. I'm less optimistic than a week ago, but I'm more optimistic than I was before the 8 game win streak. The rotation is starting to take shape. I had wished we'd be further along with the shape-building after a quarter of the season, but we are still close enough to have hopes. The next step is finding starter #4 and maybe fixing the pen by adding Houck to it.

Post #8881: So to sum it all up in the moment, and at the moment the Red Sox are a last place in the Div team, and out of a wildcard spot with a tough road trip looming. Post $8885: I don’t care about the scoreboard, or the standings this early in the season... Post #8887: Facts are facts, which are indisputable at the moment that the Red Sox are on a 1-6 stretch, and in last place in the Div, and out of the wildcard. Facts are facts, yes, but it's hard to see your "whole truth," when you flip and flop like a fish out of water.

I'm glad you have started to admit some things about your shortcomings. It's the first step to all recovery programs.

It does seem to hurt more when you get outbid by the Rays, and then the guy goes on to be exactly what we needed. On the flip side, I'm glad HOU outbid us for Abreu.

It's really been a yo-yo year, and it's hard to get a read on this team. They seem to have energy and grit, but fall so flat, sometimes, that I have to wonder if this will be an ongoing trend. It's interesting that 10 of the 15 AL teams have winning records, while the last WC slot in the NL would go to either MIA or PHI at 20-21. The ALE and ALW both have 4 of 5 teams with winning records. In the NL, 2 divisions have 2 winning teams and the NLE is like the ALC, both having just one winning team. We are a quarter of the way through a long season, and there is plenty of time for teams to make serious moves, in either direction. I'm still optimistic about our chances, but certainly less than I was a week ago. The bright spot is that we might finally have 3 SP'ers we look forward to starting. The dark spot is we have no clue on who to go with for the other 2 slots, and not the pen is starting to crack.

Houston has now passed us in the WC standings. I mentioned a few days ago, how I was in more fear of the two teams behind us (NYY & HOU) than he 2 in front (TOR & BAL), and now we have 2 of those 4 to pass to win a WC slot. +3 BAL +1 TOR - NYY -1.0 HOU -1.5 BOS -1.5 LAA -2.0 SEA Now, we are letting SEA into the mix. It's time to knock them down a notch or two. This is the time we need to win, as the ALE teams are playing each other, a lot, and one will lose on those nights.

Grapes of Wrath is more like it.