moonslav59

Yes, I mentioned no Pom. Kelly is in the pen, so that doesn't affect the rotation. The Pom & Kelly money will go towards arb raises or replacing or keeping Kimbrel. We will also need at least another pen arm beyond a closer. We could maybe try to dump Nunez and Moreland's salary and hope Chavis, Dalbec, Travis or Ockimey can fill at 1B/3B as well as a Pedey return at 2B or a Holt, Hernandez, Quiroz, Lin combo at 2B will be enough. that freed up money could help us get better RP'ers and maybe another 5th starter type. I'd rather wait on a 5th starter until mid season. DD seems to do well with these types of trades (Eovaldi, Pearce, Kinsler...).

Yes, every team has worries. I think other teams have more than we do.

I get the concern. I'm concerned, too. Part of me also feels better about sale this October than I did before last October. Last year, I knew they over-worked him, and he had a long and solid history of declining in August and September. They had him lead the league in Ks with way too many IP'd. This year, he went on the DL and stated he could have kept pitching. he came back from that DL and pitched a great game... maybe his best of the season. yes, he went right back on the DL, and I don't think it was for nothing. He had a sore shoulder, but I also think the extra rest could very well make Sale a better pitcher this October than last October.

With limited resources, we may let Pom & Eovaldi walk and see how it goes. If what we have comes up short, we may look to deal for someone, like we did for Eovaldi and the Yanks did with Happ & Lynn midseason. 1. Sale 2. Price 3. Porcello 4. ERod 5. Wright 6. Johnson 7. Velazquez 8. Cuevas 9. Shawaryn 10. Haley 11. Shepherd/Houck/D Hernandez

How will Cora handle Sale after he has 12 Ks through 6 IP with 95 pitches, 1 ER and 2 BBs? Will he pull him for 2-3 IP from Wright??

Who is hot and who is not going into the PO's. Using Moon's list, which I find pretty close to my expectations: Last 28 days OPS 1. Betts RF Red Hot 1.185 2. Beni LF Warming up but no real power .707/.839 last 14 3. Bogey SS So so .933 4. JD DH So so .806 .996 last 14 days 5. Pearce 1B Hot .845 6. Devers 3B Hot .820 .990 last 14 7. JBJ CF So so .725 8. Kinsler 2B Cool .517 9. Leon (w Sale & Price) Ice Cold .161 10.Vaz (w Porcello & Eovaldi) Cool .566 Bench: Holt 1.128 I might use him at 1B over Moreland vs RHPs. Hot Nunez .667(3B, 2B, OF) Warm (good contact) Swihart .768 (C, PH, 1B, OF) Warm.900 last 14 Moreland .590(1B, PH) I'd think about taking Ice Cold Lin 1.444 over Moreland. I've lost faith in MM. Warm

More from Yogi... "I always thought that record would stand until it was broken." "I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five." "I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house." "Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets." "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." "All pitchers are liars or crybabies." (On the 1973 Mets) "We were overwhelming underdogs." "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?" "So I'm ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face." "In baseball, you don't know nothing." "I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this day necessary." "I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I'd never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field." "Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting." "If you don't catch the ball, you catch the bus home." "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." "A home opener is always exciting, no matter if it's home or on the road." "It ain't the heat, it's the humility." "It gets late early out here." On life: "You can observe a lot by watching." "We're lost but we're making great time!" "The future ain't what it used to be." "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." "Take it with a grin of salt." "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours." "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did." "We made too many wrong mistakes." "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." "I wish I had an answer to that, because I'm tired of answering that question." "We have a good time together, even when we're not together." "If you don't set goals, you can't regret not reaching them." On golf: "Ninety per cent of short putts don't go in." "Eighty per cent of the balls that don't reach the hole don't go in." "I think they just got through marinating the greens." On travel gear: "Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel." "The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase." On naps: "I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four." On "fan" mail: "Never answer an anonymous letter." On his own words: "I never said most of the things I said."

I think Eovaldi should start game 4. I'd bring in Wright for 2-3 innings, maybe longer if needed, in game 1. ERod should be our other long man from the pen. I guess we could use Eovldi in relief for one inning, then start him game 4 in NY or OAK 3 days rest.

I thought for sure Penn State had that game. I was also pulling for the Syracuse upset of Clemson. ND could have leap-frogged those two plus Stanford... maybe more. We have a few more tough games left, but nobody in the top 20. This might be the rankings... 1. Alabama 2. Georgia 3. LSU 4. Ohio State 5. Clemson 6. Notre Dame 7. Oklahoma 8. Auburn 9. West Virginia 10. Washington 11. ICF 12. Michigan 13. Penns State 14. Stanford 15. Kentucky

Interesting article on NL closer turnover this year and who might be available as free agents this winter: Past, Present & Future...

I'm wondering who the starters will be in the Yankee-A's game Wednesday night (10/3). One might think that starter might be ready for Game 3 of the ALDS (at home). If the Yankees win with Severino, could it look like this? 1. Sale vs Happ 2. Price vs Tanaka 3. Porcello vs Severino 4. Eovaldi vs Sabathia 5. Sale vs Happ Or, will the Yanks go with Tanaka in the WC game? many feel Happ will start the WC game. That looks like good news for the Sox, as they would only have to face Happ once. 1. Sale vs Severino (assuming he doesn't start Sunday) 2. Price vs Tanaka 3. Porcello vs Happ 4. Eovaldi vs Sabathia 5. Sale vs Severino

Sounds like his normal "mad" self.

I seriously doubt Moreland is left off the ALDS roster, but he's been slumping for a very long time. Hard to imagine Mitch was at .905 on June 28th. (Even then, he was at .714 in his previous 20 games as he went from 1.001 to .905.) He's been at .577 since June 28th (57 games/209 PAs). .189 BA .282 OBP .294 SLG 4 HRs I wouldn't add Lin over Moreland, because he has hit well recently. I don't expect Lin to hit, but he should be better than .577 and he adds a nice defensive replacement and PR'er for late game needs. BTW, since June 6th, Moreland has been at .616 (77 games and 289 PAs).

I know, right. This is... Chris Freakin' Sale!

Yes, and we appear to have both.

I think I'd go with this... Game 1: Sale (H) Game 2: Price (H) Game 3: Porcello (A) Game 4: Eovaldi (A) if needed Game 5: Sale (H) if needed Long relief: ERod & Wright Set-up: Barnes, Brasier, Poyner & Workman (maybe Kelly or Hembree instead of Workman) Closer: Kimbrel 1. Betts RF 2. Beni LF 3. Bogey SS 4. JD DH 5. Pearce 1B 6. Devers 3B 7. JBJ CF 8. Kinsler 2B 9. Leon (w Sale & Price)/ Vaz (w Porcello & Eovaldi) Bench: Holt (PH, 2B, 1B, 3B, SS, OF) I might use him at 1B over Moreland vs RHPs. Nunez (3B, 2B, OF) Swihart (C, PH, 1B, OF) Moreland (1B, PH) I'd think about taking Lin over Moreland. I've lost faith in MM.

NY beats Oakland. BOS 3-1 over Yanks HOU 3-2 over CLE BOS 4-2 over HOU BOS 4-2 over Cubs

Pearce has been a monster. (.832 second half) Beni & Bogey are both over .285 and an .825 OPS. Go ahead and walk Betts and JD to let these guys beat you. All this talk of 2nd half meaning everything then if that's so, why neglect JBJ? He has an .816 OPS second half. Devers is .809 second half. We have a pretty balanced line-up. Yes, our catchers are black holes, but we can PH for them twice a game.

If all you ever look at is a team's most recent record or performance level, then you'd be a bad gambler. Trust me, I tried that theory out and lost big time. We have a top 3-4 offense, defense, and pitching. Our base running has dramatically improved and our manager is light years better than NY's. The only area we look weaker in is with the pen, but it's not like NY's has been great in recent weeks- you choice of time frame to judge by. I don't need a big spleef to see the writing on the wall. I feel bad for fans that are so pessimistic. This isn't the Sox team of the 70's and 80's. Other teams have way more players struggling or dealing with recovering from injuries, but you only focus on ours. Maybe you need a couple bong hits of some primo green bud.

Even if we get blown out early, I seriously doubt we do anything wild. Our window goes through 2019 and maybe 2020, depending on Henry's willingness to spend, so he's not going to allow DD to blow it all up or do anything major, in terms of subtracting players that under perform in the playoffs.

Workman hasn’t been very good lately, either. Not many have "looked good" lately, but Workman has looked less sucky than others, lately. If it is down to Kelly or Workman, I think I take Kelly. While he is inconsistent, when he’s on, he’s unhittable. When Workman is on, he's not as good. It comes down to “higher ceiling vs higher floor.” Kelly has the higher ceiling but Workman has the higher floor. You have a good point, but we've been waiting for Kelly to look good again for a long long time. I just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Furthermore, this is Kelly's contract year. He has shown that when the pressure was on, he wilted. After the first two months, he was looking at a huge contract this winter. Maybe that went to his head- maybe not. I've always liked Workman, and it seems like injuries have kept him down. He looks healthy now. I go with Workman and Poynder, but I can see Cora taking Kelly or Hembree. I would hope Poyner makes it... Me, too. I think Cora agrees.

He does have good stuff, but so do other struggling Sox pitchers seemingly working their way towards not being chosen for the playoff roster. Cuevas did not look good before his 5+ inning gem in relief. He looked awful this past game. I'm not sure about the "wasn't just one game" argument, since he only had one good game all yeaar with the Sox.

I won't but don't over estimate just second half numbers.

Or game 5.

Rumors of Sale's demise have been greatly exaggerated.