Nick

So maybe we'll use Sale out of the pen if he comes back Aug/Sept?

Thanks....so it's more of pitch count than the innings, which makes sense

Thanks.....I just can't figure out our bullpen usage....it just seems random...maybe they're searching.

I don't want to put my thinking cap, maybe one of you can. What good is it to have a long reliever if he's shut down almost a week because of pitching multiple inning, say 3? Is it better to use 3 pitchers instead knowing they can come back in 2 days? Why stretch out Whitlock if he's not going to start? Our we better off using him in more high leverage situations knowing he doesn't walk many batters?

I was thinking Darwinzon is high on the list, why waste him in a 9-0 game? To boot he's only one of two left handers and even Cora has acknowledged that Taylor is bit off. This is why I'm not a coach.

I don't understand the strategy of pen usage today. We have our third reliever out today. I'm sure the explanation is 'they need work'. But in few days, we'll hear several guys are unavailable. Isn't it better to have one guy pitch three innings or at least two innings, shut him down for 4 days instead using 3 pitchers and all three are unavailable for 3 games? Pitching gurus, tell me I'm stupid. Why are we throwing Darwinzon? Maybe we'll need him tomorrow. I thought he was one of our better pen guy.

Soooooo, best player in the league can't carry the team.....I think that's a lesson Bloom learned long time ago.

9-0, Darwinzon throws 4 straight balls....what the f*** does he do in the pen warming up?

Despite pitching 5 scoreless innings, Perez has a high pitch count.....how's that?

Up 7-0, lets see what I can complain about.....

Perez threw four strikes on Trout's 2nd walk......Trout is good and he doesn't need help from home plate ump.....I'm all for technology to take over behind the plate.

That's how you get out of 4-59 slump.....good job Cordero.

Not sure why you think Andriese is so high, I don't think he's any better than Witlock. Have you seen Andrese's May numbers?

I'm a Dalbec fan. I'm perfectly happy with him batting 9th all year. I would just leave him alone. His struggles have been magnified due to Cordero and before May, Renfroe. Dalbec hit in 2020 so I'm inclined to give him longer leash. We can always platoon him, too. He's hitting lefties just fine.

Per MasLive Sale in good spirits Cora spoke with left-hander Chris Sale (recovering from Tommy John surgery) earlier this week and said Sale was in good spirits. He continues to work out at Fenway South and threw off the mound for the first time last Tuesday. Cora didn’t disclose what the next steps are for Sale but did note he is throwing aggressive flat ground sessions in preparation for longer bullpens. “He’s feeling good about it,” Cora said. Finally pitched off the mound.

Great point on Whitlock.

Both teams now 23-16. Red Sox with +36 run differential. Athletics with -13 run differential. We're more fun to watch.

A's came into the series with-10 run differential. Unbelievable. This is typical Sox offense. It knows how to pile on.

No comparison between the two. Kim Novak was beautiful. Angie was sexy in her prime.

Not complaining but.. Can someone with pitching background explain to me how the Sox is stretching out Whitlock? He pitched 2 innings on May 7th. He's pitching into 3rd inning tonight. Do you get stretched out throwing in the pen? Two innings every 6 days does not seem to be 'stretching' in my opinion. How do you stretch out a guy? Or is everything about Whitlock being on the team simply because of Rule 5 and the team is just babying him due to his recent injury? I just think he's being under utilized.

Just woke up from a nap.....very good night Chavis with 2 hits Dalbec with a homer Richards pitching strong Whitlock coming out for his second inning Yankees getting beat life is good

It should be noted that Bloom thinks Durran has chance to be great as a center fielder. Bloom is the head of baseball operations.

good summary on Matt Barnes, 2021 version....I posted this on another thread but everyone seems to be here. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/matt-bar...-simple-trick/ Quick Discussion on throwing 1st pitch strike and swinging at 1st pitch strike. "When batters connect, they do more damage, as evidenced by the wOBAcon column (league average hovers around .370 in most years). That offsets the whiffs and fouls, such that the overall run value is slightly in the hitter’s favor. In other words, if you throw a pitch in the strike zone and the batter swings, you’re losing out on the deal. That’s only half the equation, though. When batters don’t swing, well, it’s a celebration. The loss in expected production after a first-pitch strike is massive. It works out to roughly four runs per 100 plate appearances, 10 times better for the pitcher than a first pitch swing is bad. Unless batters are swinging over 90% of the time at strikes, the zone is the place to live on first pitches. Unsurprisingly, batters aren’t swinging over 90% of the time. They’re swinging at 0-0 pitches in the zone 44% of the time so far this year, the highest mark since pitch tracking started in 2008. That development is a step in the right direction on the offensive side, because letting a first pitch strike fly by is disastrous, but hitters would need to swing a lot more before flooding the zone stopped making sense." In essence the article is saying that unless hitters swing at almost every first pitch strike, advantage goes to pitcher throwing the first pitch strike. Good read. Any thoughts from posters with pitching knowledge? How far do you go from offensive perspective? Do you chance a pitcher getting through 3 innings on 9 pitches by swinging at every first pitch strike?

Outstanding!!

I read comment attributed to E Rod how much better he felt pitching last night compared to previous start. The bottom line is he gave up 4 earned runs in six innings, despite nine strike outs and his velocity being up. I'm talking about the future of this ball club. Every half inning we go from offense to defense. On defensive inning, the pitcher controls the game. He knows how much his offense is scoring, he has to match opposition's pitcher. I don't care what E Rod said but he simply failed to keep up with other starting pitcher. Is he our ace? Is he good enough to defeat the Yankees going up against G Cole twice in a five game series? Even with Sale returning somewhat to his former self, long term, we need a better #1. Assignement for Moon who is really good at these things. Select #1 for each team in AL. Where would E Rod rank? How do they fare in close games? Getting 8 run support to me is a meaningless game.