oldtimer

Eovaldi was great although not backed up by good 3rd base defense. Brasier also looked great tonight. Barnes with a 6 run lead walked the first batter. Why do that? Kelly did his job and E-Rod got more valuable PO experience and threw mainly strikes. Our maligned Bullpen is getting it done. On to game 4 with a Porcello who has been pitching very well. He goes in with a BP that is rested and ready. Barnes, Kelly and even Brasier can be used again as well as Price if need be.

JBJ, I will never again question your value to the team. Two games in a row you have gotten the key hit to win the game. Great win by the Sox. As others have said, this masks a weak spot of the team, which is 3rd base defense.

I agree, both nunez and now Devers letting his pitcher down.

If I read you right, you are saying that you should only pay a pitcher big money and give him an extended contract if he has consistently shown elite pitching over a long time frame. I am not trying to put words in your mouth but that is what I think you are implying. The problem with pitchers who have shown consistency over a long period is they also have a lot of innings under their belt and may be starting into decline. Perhaps Price is an example of that.

I like your humor. To be effective in multi-innning stints, Kimbrel would need more in his arsenal than a four seamer that moves and a knuckle curve. If he has trouble locating either of those, the hitters can sit on the other. The Astros as smart hitters and make Kimbrel less effective.

I'll wait for the season to play out before making further suggestions for the follow on, but I will point out that Porcello has been a quality pitcher, an inning eater, and doesn't seem to get injured. Hate to lose his presence.

Maybe if we drive out the lefty. If Kinsler doesn't hit again today, I hope Cora uses that point to keep him out of further starting assignments. Velocity is not his friend and perhaps todays starter doesn't have that velocity. I do have trust in Cora's judgment. I would have started Holt and Devers but Cora is in the best position to determine that.

Eovaldi does have elite stuff. What he needs is consistent command and he could be considered an elite starter. He hasw been very good for the Sox and his value could soar as teams will be interested. A younger version of Verlander? Not yet, but with that kind of potential.

Yes, I see that. Kinsler needs to up his game and it probably makes sense for Nunez to be in but we need him to stay focused. Can't afford dead wood in the lineup.

So after watching 2 games and noting performances of pitchers and in field players, how would you stack the lineup? I assume Moreland is still not available, except for pinch hitting. The pitching we face has been and will be very hard to hit so don't hold it against our guys for not going 2 for 4 or something, but recognize the overmatched situations. My lineup is pretty much as it has been and I think Cora is doing a good job: Betts in RF is out best overall player. Fielding, running and hitting have createdd a problem for the Astros. Beni in LF has been good in the post season. Decent fielding, good speed on the bases and often makes contact while infrequently swinging at bad pitches. Best things happen when he pulls. Matinez at DH is dangerous and a pro hitter. He needs to adjust to the sliders that have been getting him out. He will and may well give us a big hit tonight. Bogaerts at SS is genrally good in the field, has decent speed and is a dangerous hitter. Good protection in the lineup for JDM. Pearce at 1st has made a number of pro plays at 1st despite not being a geat fielder. Has hit well and is a solid presence lengthening the lineup. Devers at 3rd. While he may well botch a throw in a critical situation, Nunez may also and Devers may well run into one. A decent bat who may get hot and hit a mistake out. Holt at 2nd. Holt is not as good defensively as KInsler but Kinsler just looked totally overmatched against velocity. Nunez is a liability there. Holt is the best choice in my book. Vasquez at catcher. He is a decent backstop and at least there is a chance of something offensively. Leon is 2 for 45 which is cold as ice. makes me wonder why we kept Swi on the roster. JBJ in CF. I like him up right before Betts. He is a top level CF and has chipped in with a few hits when it counts. is best when he keeps his head down and eyes on the ball as are all hitters. The only pitcher that I would not use again is Workman, unless in a cleanup role should we be getting blown out.

Ignore their posts. That's what I do now and have gone back to the in-game thread once in a while because people who talk there don't know the outcome. There are still some worthwhile posts although many are not.

I agree that Bogey's try on the ball was not a best effort. Hed has gotten in the habit of taking a little hop before he releases the ball and his throws have been accurate but barely on time. This time that little delay may have cost an out and led to 2 runs. I noticed Bregman on a similar play recognize thed situation and get rid of the ball quickly. The ALCS will need best efforts on every play if we are to win the series.

Kinsler looked overmatched at the plate. While he is good defensively, I don't see him as that much better than Holt and Holt has a hot bat. I would omit Kinsler from the lineup tomorrow. My wife and I closed up our computers yesterday and drove down to our winter Place in Florida. Just getting back to the threads.

Who determines which people are sensible?

Its Price against Cole, and therefore we are at a disadvantage. Got to hit tonight.

We really should confine discussions to the playoff series as there is much to discuss. Once the season ends, after a reprise, there will be plently of time to rehash the moves we shold make going forward. Those have been discussed already of course, with Moon out front with his facts and figures. There are many opinions, probably as many as there are contributors, but Moon triesd to bring realism to the discussion.

Last night Benintendi took a third strike that was off the plate. Caused a flap and Cora got himself ejected. A robo-ump would have got that call right for ball 4.

Tough sentiments, but I agree with them. I disliked the whining, even when there was some justification. When you take good pitches and swing at bad, you have no business whining about a call. I don't give the Sox pitchers as much credit as you do though. Many of the pitches for balls were no where near the plate. None wanted to throw strikes and none could get ahead in the count. Sale blew up for a while, but so did Verlander.

This is the only place they can use Price as Houston would not work. I agree that Eovaldi is a better choice, since he throws a higher percentage of strikes and gets ahead in the count, but he and Porcello are better suited to Houston.

Last night it was a mechanical issue, not a health issue that bit Sale. I do also think though that long term contracts for pitchers in general are bad bets and when they amount to Price like numbers they become very bad bets. The problem is that teams will still give those kinds of contracts so we either compete or look elsewhere.

Disappointing first game What with Sale starting for us against Verlander, I expected a tough game but hoped the outcome would be better than it turned out, for a lot of reasons. First and foremost was our pitching. Pitching: On a cool and pressure packed evening, Sale lost something in his pitching mechanics and had a devil of a time finding it. He could have gotten better defensive support to prevent his wildness from giving the Astros the early lead, but it wasn't to be. The damage was done and Sales pitch count blew up so he couldn't make it past the 4th inning and that will probably prove to be more damaging to the club than the two runs he gave up. i guess Cora wanted to save him for a potential start in game 4 or maybe just game 5 if it goes that far, especially with Price today. We used all our bridge relievers and used them hard, because no one seemed able to throw strikes and get ahead of the batter. Nine walks and three hit batsmen says it all. Kelly, Barnes, Brasier all used hard and only Kelly gave up a run, so the game continued to be within reach. Workman came in and was also not able to hit his spots. The Astros made him pay and perhaps now we know he can only be used in blowout games where we are already far behind. Bad performance by him. I suppose he was put in rather than Kimbrel because we might have tied the game and needed Kimbrel to close, not a totally wrong decision as some would have. Defense: Nunez has just recently made a very good play at third to help close out the Yankees. nunez can be good and when one considers the alternative it was reasonable to have him in. Nunez is irratic though and did not come up with one ball that would have changed the outcome of the game and outright booted another which cost us another run. What to do? Third base is a weak spot for us. Hitting: We got only 3 hits all night. Betts may have looked best but even he only got one hit. eni looked helpless out there and was called out on one ball off thew plate, but never made solid contact except maybe for a high fly ball to left in the first. He got to get back into the game. Very little from anyone. The Astros pitching is good, so we need to do better to win. It's like the Sox were in lala land to start the series. Got to get it together or face the trip to Houston, down two. We can do it with a good pitching performance, strong defense and a little timely hitting. Will we is to be determined.

Thats a difference between the Astro's and the Sox. Poor defensive options at 3rd for the Sox vs gold glove level for the Astros.

All it takes is blinking at the wrong time. They do the best they can, however, those that score much worse than the rest on a yearly basis should be demoted. The bang bang play is just that. Umpires not only see the play but listen for the ball hitting the glove and the foot hitting the base, when that occurs. When we have real time accurate robo assessment of balls and strikes it is still my contention that it could be easily used as a tool by the HP umpire to get all of his calls correct.

This is a matter of opinion and neither side is right or wrong, we just value different things. I guess being an engineer I find accuracy to be more important than tradition. Not to worry, the umps will continue to be here for a few years anyway, if the change is ever made. By the way, I have been getting the high dose flu shot for years.

We have very good players and have an aggressive style of play thanks to Cora. We do need to get off to a good start but that could also be said of the Astros. Looking forward to a competitive ALCS.