Nick

ERA for relievers are meaningless. I doubt Brasier would say he did his job. "It wasn't my fault" ....i"d guess y'd buy that excuse.

Braiser came in and didn't get the job done. It wasn't charged him so yep he pitched well.

Nothing like praising a starter that took us to a 1-4 deficit. Way to lower the standard.

Kluber is nothing more than a knuckle ball pitcher. You watch him throw then keep your fingers crossed.

Not when Pivetta is getting a start also.

Bloom better have a meeting about Kluber. This tean can't afford to pitch him every 5th game. That means we will need to win 3 out of 4 other games to have a winning record. Not doable.

I am encouraged by this group. Sale looks to be healthy. Paxton may force s starter to the pen which will lengthen it. Waiting anxiously for Whitlock and Kutter to return.

Kike is simply out of control. The game should have been tied 3-3. He is playing like a 12year old mentally.

That seems to be the likely 13. Rodriguez will relace Bleier. A lefty for another lefty. I think they like Bernardino and will keep him in AAA. At least one starter will go to the pen and knock out Brasier.

Casas has an OPS above 1.000 for the month of May. We have to stay with this kid. Hell, bat him in the 9th. His ceiling is too high He needs a long leash.

We just need to get Whitlock back healthy. The same goes for Crawford (we miss him). Rodriguez is to be activated on Monday. This is what our staff may look like soon. I don't see how Brasier stays on......but on paper this can be a decent staff, if we can fix the starting rotation. There's depth in the pen if for example we move Houck and Whitlock (definitely NOT advocating this). 1 Sale 2 Paxton 3 Kluber 4 Pivetta 5 Whitlock 6 Houck 7 Bello 8 Kutter 9 Winckowski 10 Schreiber 11 Martin 12 Jansen 13 Rodrigues 14 Bernardino 15 Bleier 16 Brasier

Some updates on IL players 1. Rodriquez maybe activated Monday game vs Mariners. 2. Withlock to start for AAA affiliate on Tuesday. Cora thinks he'll need at least two starts. 3. Kutter is expected to return on May 19th when the Sox travels to San Diego. We really need this guy. It's not stated as such but looks like Trevor Story is ahead of Mondesi. I don't get the feeling Mondesi will return in June.

Do you continue to think Houck belongs in the bullpen? I'm a Whitlock fan but Houck has better stats. Game 7 of the World Series, would you pick Pivetta over Houck? If not, I don't see your logic here. Isn't the whole idea as Sox management, fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to put out there your top 5 starters? Don't they owe it to the fans? But especially to the position players? This has been a difficult year for the starters particularly with all the injuries. With Paxton returning, things should get clearer. If this was the Rays, they'd trade Pivetta in July.

Intra Division Play - rest of May We have chance to gain some grounds. Sox (0)....NONE Rays (8)....@Yankees (4), Jays (4) Jays (11)....Yankees (4), Orioles (3), @ Rays (4) Orioles (6).......@Jays (3), @Yankees(3) Yankees (11).....Rays (4), @Jays (4), Orioles (3)

I seriously doubt that Sox will spend additional $100M for 2024. With the tax payroll limit increase of $4M, accounting for bump in the contractual obligation to Devers ($11.6M), letting Kike ($10M) and Duvall ($7M) go to free agency, and not accounting for other arbitration raises (mainly Verdugo and Pivetta), I only see $50M available. Now the Sox may break the first thresh hold (set at $257M) for additional $20M, I doubt they would go another $20M (set at $277M), bringing the spending increase to $90M. You are correct about much of payroll burden coming off the books for 2025. We can even alleviate that somewhat by trading away Story if a suitable replacement can be found. We may not be released 100% of his obligation but with Mayer, Yorke and others on the horizon, it maybe something Sox will think about. He's not at 10 year and I don't see a no trade clause in his contract. It pays to have short term deals and developing young players. Bloom can target couple of expensive replacements.

https://www.overthemonster.com/2023/5/10/23717980/an-open-letter-to-nick-pivetta-red-sox This is a very good read. An Open Letter To Nick Pivetta Couple of my favorite passages "I’ll still always be on your side because you are my favorite player after all and I’m just loyal like that, but I really would appreciate it if you stopped having a Hard Hit % of over 50 on three out of four of your main pitches." "Still, you’ve got time! Sure, you have a 6.09 ERA in your last 24 starts, but hey man, I know what you can do." My last words on Nick Pivetta.....HELL I WANT HIM TO BE AN ALL-STAR. I'm a Red Sox fan. I never root against a Sox player. I may not like a player, but would never root against him.

Obviously he has to do it over a longer period. But, I love his hard contacts right now. He must be seen the ball better or something. Cora had to move him to #5, similar spot as Duvall. He has handled the pressure well so far....last night's single turned double was fun to watch. PS I just wished someone can help Dalbec.....I just like him.

A must see TV when Bello pitches. Great to see positive contribtions from Duran and Casas. This team is fun to watch.

I prefer Sale's approach. "I SUCKED". 6 innings, 2 runs, a quality start. What is Bello going to learn pitching in AAA? “And it's not only my decision, it’s the organization’s decision of what we’re going to do, putting everything on balance and seeing what benefits us now and in the future.".....My guess is this is why Bello, Whitlock and Houck are all in the mix. Pivetta is under team control only through 2024.

6 innings, 2 runs. A quality start. What is Bello going to learn in AAA? I'm listening.

Moon I suggest you read Cora's comments. I'm just surprised Pivetta doesn't think he's part of 'auditioning'.

Here's Cora's comment per MLB.com There could be a lot of deliberating in the coming days. “There's a lot of stuff that comes into play,” said Cora. “And it's not only my decision, it’s the organization’s decision of what we’re going to do, putting everything on balance and seeing what benefits us now and in the future. We'll all sit down, we’ll talk about it. There’s going to be people that are thrilled they're going to be in the rotation, and others are going to be upset. “At the same time, you’ve got a job to do, and you’ve got to get people out and you’ve got to contribute for us to get to where we want to go. So that's part of this.” I'm not trying to be an ass.....this is a business.

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2023/05/nick-pivetta-doesnt-want-move-to-bullpen-but-red-sox-likely-considering-it.html I've been off the computer ever since I alluded to this article. My point was that it appears to me Pivetta thinks he's owed a spot in the starting rotation. But I disagree. He has to show it on the field. The team is fighting for a playoff spot. I get it that we're only at the beginning of this journey. Based on last year and with our injury situation, Cora and his team collected multiple starting arms. Paxton will start this Friday and Whitlock should return soon. That gives us seven starters. We didn't sign Kluber to NOT to start. The same goes for Paxton. I'm as anxious as Cora to see what we have in Paxton. I doubt either goes to the pen, at least not now. They would have to pitch themselves to the pen by faltering as a starter. I think Pivetta is very close to that. My guess is things will work itself out but Pivetta should be more concerned about his own performance. Right now, Houck has better stats. Sox will NOT give up on Whitlock until it's proven he can't do it. Bello maybe sent down but won't be if he's pitching better than Pivetta. It's all about the team and I don't give a damn what Pivetta thinks. Like the article says, he's been very mediocre for almost a year now. JUST f***IN PITCH BETTER.

So Pivetta thinks there should be no consequence for pitching poorly? Not a big fan of him. I hope we can do better.

Thanks to Pivetta, this thread is only 4 pages long. Everyone decided not to hang around.