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With the Yankee bullpen, a “5IP Pitcher” like Ray wouldn’t be a big detriment. But AZ is still in the thick of the WC hunt, so you have to give up enough to make them walk away. Or take Greinke or Tomas from them to make it worth their while...

K So... you’re saying the Sox should acquire Addison Russell? (Hey if you’re stirring up crap...)

The most practical solution is to use the two internal pitchers coming off injury in the bullpen in Eovaldi and Wright, to get more IP from the starters, and to stop using the back end of the bullpen in the rotation. It doesn’t look like either Wright or Eovaldi are going to be capable of handling starter duty this year anyway, so the bullpen is the best and really only option for them. Both can certainly be very effective pitchers picking up about maybe 60-80 IP combined in relief. This would mitigate th need for using the largely questionable Brasier in high leverage situations and mitigate using Barnes in innings only started by the better hitters in each lineup as well as in consecutive games. But the onus of improvement needs to rest with the rotation. If this rotation doesn’t do their job, then the entire bullpen would need an overhaul top to bottoms for multiple reasons. If Eovaldi closes, I’m not worried. Closers largely come in for clean ninth inning work nowadays. Eovaldi is an established veteran MLB pitcher with some excellent pitches who should be able to give the Sox 1 IP without issue. The biggest fear with flame-throwing closers is always overthrowing themselves into injury, which Eovaldi has done a few times in his career, but always as a starter. Wright has some issues, but also has a better track record for success than the entire Sox pen already and at the very least represents a solid change of pace. But getting a fifth starter is paramount here as opposed to using the bullpen to handle all 9 IP every fifth day after 4 straight games of pitching 3-4 IP. That is just begging for issues in August...

Braves, Brewers and Yankees are also interested. If it comes down to a bidding war, the Sox ain’t winning it.

So the Sox have no pitchers capable of holding a lead, and the solution is a closer (for the 4 ninth inning leads the team hast lost this year) and relying on the other team’s bullpen to suck?

I don’t think that’s intentional...

If the other pitchers are not capable of getting a hold as you say, getting a closer won’t help...

If they need that much, maybe selling is in order...

That it didn’t exist for a couple of millennia after he passed away might be a contributing factor...

He also goes on the IL every time he sneezes...

Back when they used to give MLB Comparisons, they were notably extremely generous. Lars Anderson just never lived up to being the next Justin Morneau. On the other hand, sometimes other sites do like some of the Sox other players better than Soxprospects. Fangraphs, for example, thought Cole Sturgeon could have an MLB career as a bench player, going so far as to call him a “poor man’s David DeJesus.” Soxprospects usually just labels him as a player who can continue to play minor league ball for as long as he wants...

The only admission to the bullpen issues that matters is Dombrowski’s...

Which makes it essentially the same deal Anibal Sanchez got last year. Sanchez is nearly 5 years older and lacks Porcello’s durability, and while Sanchez certainly has his seasons of effectiveness, it’s not like he’s reliable in that regard. Despite a recent slump, Porcello could and should do better. If the Sox have AAV concerts (they do), they used to circumvent these with player options at reduced values, ensuring their refusal. Not sure if the current CBA still allows this...

I guess that depends on your definition of a fun party...

But as for now, it looks like the two “new” relievers fans are clamoring for are Eovaldi and Wright. Unless Eovaldi just absolutely crushes it as a reliever, I expect him back in the rotation next year...

At the very least a bench player. But he’s had like 3 good games!! He’s the future!!!

Because pitchers were dominating. They still are, just not as much. It’s not like anyone is hitting .500. Or even .400. But it’s still a pitcher’s game...

The changes in the game that’s effect statistics are astronomical and have hit . EVERY ASPECT of the game. From players (more teams, more races) to fields (foul poles, grounds rules, ground rule doubles, lowering mounds) to equipment changes discussed above. Oh and rules, too!!

That would have the opposite effect. But there has been some discussion of lowering the mound in the next couple seasons...

I’m ok with bringing up Darwinzon. Just limit his IP per appearance...

Walden’s demotion comes when Eovaldi returns...

A 4 game overage halfway they the season isn’t uncommon. It might erase itself over the next half...

It is funny how the worse he pitches, the more some people think he’ll be attractive to other teams...

Pythagorean for baseball is based on the exact same criteria as run differential...

I wouldn’t call it a conspiracy, either. MLB is trying to compete for the fandom f low attention span millennials like Thunder, and noticing how they gravitate to quick-snip streaming video packages of segments of games that contain actual action such as the one the NBA released a few years back and was a mega hit. Baseball is not conducive to this type of viewer or medium as it stands. But more important in the evolution of the game, jung’s diatribe was more of the “the way it was yesterday is the way it always was” viewpoint. This isn’t the first time the ball has changed. Heck they even named “The Live Ball Era” after a previous change it what had to be the worst ever attempt to disguise it. The ball will probably change again. Ditto the bat. (Attempts made and failed to switch to maple, for example.) The gloves (which are already radically different from predecessors) and batting helmets (now with new cranial protection feature!!). This is just evolution. And it’s not stopping here either...