moonslav59

100% I'm not so sure the part about saving him for possible use on Tuesday out of the pen was a factor, but I think Cora knows what he's doing. So many of his choices that were criticized over the year ended up working out well.

Playing vs a righty, I'm going to project this line-up: NOT the official line-up: 1. Kike 2B 2. Schwarber LF 3. Bogey SS 4. Devers 3B 5. JD RF 6. Renfroe CF 7. Dalbec 1B 8. Vazquez C 9. Sale P One alternate might be Verdugo in LF, Schwaber at 1B and Dalec on the bench.

I thought I was a contrarian. You'd rather we play them at NY?

No doubt, some pitchers just feel more comfortable with catcher A vs catcher B. While I would caution these are small sample sizes, I've never been one to say one catcher does better with every pitcher, and I've never proclaimed to know why some pitchers just do way better with A vs B, and some it doesn't seem to matter. I'm not sure we should decide to keep Vaz solely on the fact that he does better with two of our youngest pitchers, but it should count for something. Both Houck and Whitlock may get many more innings, next year, if we choose to use them both as starters. Either way, we have just one year of team control on Vaz, and the option is $7M. Keep him. Refuse the option Refuse the option and sign his for less or lose him. Give the option and trade him. All four options have merit.

His numbers look pretty good, but I've never seen him in person. He's Rule 5 eligible, so we may have to protect or lose him. soxprospects.com has this... Physical Description: Tall, sturdy frame. Minimal remaining projection. Looks the part. Solid athlete. Mechanics: Throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot. Varies mound position and arm slot depending on the handedness of the hitter. Starts on the first base side against right-handed hitters and third base side against left-handed hitters. Does not use a wind-up. Medium leg kick. Repeats delivery well. Short, stiff arm action with a stab in the back. Solid-average arm speed. Hides the ball. Fastball: 92-94 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Will work 94-96 mph in short bursts, but sits 92-94 for the majority of starts. Good control, but fastball command is fringe-average at present. Command should get to at least average at peak. Pitch lacks movement and does not miss as many bats as you would expect given its velocity. Will also show a sinker. Looks to keep the ball down and generate weak contact early in counts. Potential solid-average offering with refined command. Slider: 84-86 mph. Pitch will show hard, late break at its best. Advanced feel and confidence. Will throw in any count to hitters from both sides of the plate. Will vary shape, some are more vertical with longer break and some more horizontal with tilt. Has shown bat-missing ability in the minor leagues. Potential above-average offering. Changeup: 88-91 mph. On the firm side and lacks separation from his fastball. On occasion, will show fade and late drop. Flashes average potential. Split-Finger Fastball: Reportedly started throwing at the 2020 Fall Instructional League, but hard to separate from changeup at times. Career Notes: Grew up in the Ft. Myers area. Acquired by the Red Sox from the Mets as a part of the three-team Andrew Benintendi trade in February 2021. Mets acquired him from the Blue Jays in January 2021 as part of a trade for Steven Matz. Signed away from a commitment to Florida Southwestern State. Spent three seasons in short-season and another in Low-A, while still being relatively young for his level, as he climbed the ladder. Missed time in 2019 with a finger injury that lingered and impacted his stuff throughout the year. Was left unprotected and went unselected in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. Summation: Potential spot starter and bulk relief type. Ceiling of a back-end starting pitcher. Could be very effective in a bulk role where his lack of strikeout potential with his fastball would not be as much of an issue. Has the velocity you look for, but still learning how to pitch and harness his stuff to miss bats. Slider shows the most potential of his secondary pitches and could develop into a bat-missing pitch at the major league level. Needs to refine his arsenal, find consistency with secondary pitches and improve his fastball command to have a chance to remain in the starting rotation.

I don't think some even watch the games. The same with swinging bunt singles, broken bat bloop hits and misplayed balls not counted as errors, and the pitcher is a bum.

Cora has had a lot of very tough decisions to make- many looking like lose-lose. Plus, he has had to look beyong just "today's game," but that pretty much changes, tomorrow. Some clown was saying he hopes the fire Cora for not starting Sale, today, and started Houck, instead. Cora is the number one reason we are where we are, right now. (Bloom is a close second.) The best player would be third.

Jared Walsh with a 3 run job! Angels up 4-3 in the 8th against the M's.

The M's got 2 right back to make it 3-1, but LA has 2 on and 1 out with Stassiup. (6th inning)

She's in a home, because she needs mental healthcare. She developed schizophrenia at age 16. She's 63, now. I hope things work out for you.

The farm has taken a back burner, of course, but here's an update on some good things going on with WOO. Today Gossett 8.1 IP 1H 0ER 1BB 7K Cordero 3-5 w 4 RBI and an HR Arauz 2-2 w 2B, BB Yesterday Winckowski 6IP 2H 1ER 3BB 7K Valdez 0.2 IP 0H 1 ER 4BB 1K Cordero 1-3 w 2B and 3 RBI Ockimey 1-3, 2B, BB Duran 1-4 w BB

SEA up 1-0 early on a Haniger single.

She is Mexican. Yes, she has a sister, but she's in a home.

Sunday's games all start at 3:05 Eastern Time BOS (Sale) @ WSH (Adon) TBR (Wacha) @ NYY (Taillon) BAL (Zimmerman) @ TOR (Ryu) LAA (Detmers) @ SEA (Anderson)

Just win, Baby!

Going against a no name SP'er scares me as much as the ace. We worked hard this season to get to here. Win and we're in. Don't mess this up! Best case scenario, the Yanks lose, and have to play someone before coming to Boston to play us.

I met my wife during the 2004 World Series. She became a Sox and baseball fan, then. She asks about the games and listens when I give her summaries, but she usually only watches a little here and there, until the playoffs come around.

After 161 games... OPS Leaders .956 Schwarber (131 ABs) .892 Iggy (56) .875 Devers .867 Bogey .867 JD M .863 Shaw (41) .823 Renfroe .794 Dalbec .789 Kike .772 Verdugo .765 Arroyo (164) .737 Plawecki .661 Vazquez Pitching Most IP / ERA 182 Eovaldi 3.75 157 ERod 4.77 154 Pivetta 4.56 136 Richards 4.71 113 Perez 4.78 40 Sale 2.90 72 Whitlock 1.99 69 Houck 3.52 62 Ottavino 4.21 55 Barnes 3.79 51 Sawamura 3.16 48 Taylor 3.40 40 DHern 3.38 40 Valdez 5.85 25 Robles 3.70 17 Davis 4.86 12 Brasier 1.50

161 games and we are tied with the Yanks! 1 ahead of the Jays. Maybe 1 ahead of the M's, too, if they win tonight. What a season! I know some of you get upset when you hear a fan say, "I'll still be happy, if we lose," but I won't lie. I'll be upset, for a bit, but this season was very enjoyable- no matter what happens here on out.

We may have to use Eovaldi from the pen, if needed, but I'm hopeful we won't.

I took a break from the game thread and actually got my wife to sit down and watch the game with me. Great game- although a heart attack. We have some guys stepping up. Just win, baby. One at a time!

A snake bite start to this one. Not good.

This SFG team is not the same as one from years back, but that team has a history fo not looking all that good, then once they make the playoffs, they take care of business. The Dodgers do have a play-in game that may mess their pitching up. I'd put the Rays as faves, too. 1. Rays 2. Dodgers 3. Giants 4. Astros 5. Brewers 6. White Sox 7. AL WC winner 8. Braves

One thing has been pretty constant, all year: the Rays are DAMN GOOD!