oldtimer

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.

Here we are going into the ALCS and havinng a conversation about next year and beyond. I am guilty of the same type of thinking, but really would rather talkk about the next week and the current team until we either win it all or fall out along the way. We have an interesting team now so I will avoid the temptation to prognosticate further on where we go after this year plays out.

Perhaps you and I are two of the older fans here yet we have different opinions on using technology to get the ball and strike calls right. Too darned many wrong calls and too much variabillity between umpires. I would keep the ump behind the plate as there are many other reasons for him there. Just feed him or her the ball and strike calls electronically. What happens if the World Series was determined due to a strike call on a pitch 2 inches off the plate? My view is lets get the call right rather than stick with tradition.

Then don't complaiin about balls and strikes.

What makes me cringe is the thought of Billy Buckner letting a grounder dribble through his legs in game 6 of the 1986 world series. Kimbrel losing last night would have equalled that.

The era of robo umps is coming. The calls will be consistent and agree with strike zone rules. No more bitching needed. Should start trying it out in the minors.

The Yankees Robertson is a FA. He is a smallish guy and 32 years old but was impressive against us. He is currently also earning $13 mil so probably out of reach. Would be nice to weaken the Yankees and they are picking up our guys. I do like Eovaldi and ho Good pe we at least try and keep him in the fold. Is he durable? Good question to ask but is anyone throwing close to 100 mph that durable. Not many Nolan Ryans around.

Just think, the Yankees have Stanton locked in for $30 mil a year. That will cramp their style getting lots of new players. Stanton is not worth 1/2 of what Martinez is getting.