oldtimer

We need to givee him pointers on how to pitch?

Is he getting the run support he needs tonight?

The yankees are in the market for Happ. Gray is reason enough for that. Glad we didn't go after Gray.

My dad, bless his soul, went from 1918 (22 yrs old) to his demise in 1978 and hungered for a WS win all that time. He would have had a long wait to 2004 to see one. When you have a chance, you have to jump on it. As fans of the Sox, part of the fun is being able to speculate on ways to improve our chances. This is a different age and time, but we have a real chance this year so there is that excitement.

Probably be Eovaldi against DeGrom.

So far DD hasn't gone over and picked up a pretty good insurance player in Pearse. I believe you also raised the possibility of us trading an existing resource (were you thinking Pomeranz?) to clear some luxury cap space and perhaps pick up a reliever. The idea of getting Gennett is a dream but with the Reds back in it, they will not want to go in that direction. Our need other than possibly 2nd base is another reliever, probably a lefty. I don't believe DD wants to go over the limit so we will soon see how he intends to strengthen the team. The Yankees will probably look for a starter so they will also be trying to strengthen.

Thornburg is on the roster. Will he join the team Friday in KC?

Having 3 regulars out made me nervous, but we still won. Onward we go!

If it is a spasm as reported, it is not a serious injury. We have Pearse to fill in.

Advanced metrics are like past performances in horse racing. They tell what the player/horse did in the past but ar only partially reliable in predicting future performance. That's the best data the FO's have to make their judgment, but I hope they throw in the observations of solid baseball people as an experience factor to avoid repeating the blunders that we have seen the Sox make.

Nice to see some of the top of the order guys have good nights. JD and Bogaerts with HR's and hitting by Mookie and Beni with one hit also hiit the ball hard tonight on more than one AB. Keep it up boys. Holt will be in the lineup tomorrow with Nunez getting a rest.

As Moon has said, the only way we could pay another even modest salary and stay under the luxury tax limit would be to unload one of our existing contracts. Who would that be? As far as trade bait for a guy of Gennett's ability we would no doubt have to throw in young pitchers and other prospects. No doubt he would help us with Pedroia's health remaining questionable. Even more, it would lower the concern about a cliff looking forward. I'm for improving the team but I suspect the real move with involve one or more relief pitchers.

What is the lineup like tonight?

Some of us try to make constructive comments when we see players slumping. Thats part of being a fan. We talk about slumps without defining them, but to me if a player goes for a week or more with both BA and OBP in significant decline, that signifies a slump or at least the beginnings of one. There can be a lot of reasons, like bad luck with hard hit BBIP being caught, facing excellent pitching where the team in general is in decline, opponents finding and taking advantage of some hole in your swing, physical issues, mental concentration issues, being worn out, outside life issues and probably more. Beni is in a slump now in my opinion. Now with JBJ, he is not in a slump but instead, his performance is just at a sustained low level over a long period. I know that the level of pitching, number of relief pitchers, their frequent use, shifts and all have depressed the performance of many hitters (some still are doing very well). Hitting around the shift, bunting, choking up and other options are available, but the money is in swinging for the fences, so that is what so many do these days. I am not for replacing JBJ this year as we well could be left with a worse situation. I am for considering his performance when lining up the team for next season. Doing that risks that he will continue his sub 200 batting average but also gives he all the opportunity to improve and show that he is a ML capable hitter and player.

Remember the first game of the season, when our relievers let us down? Kelly seems to have cycled from excellent back to untrustworthy, especially for the 8 inning protecting a small lead.

When I suggested Beni needs to make some adjustments to get out of his slump, particularly not being able to hit the high fastball, it was treated like I committed a mortal sin. We need him to get back to the tremendous high on base percentage guy he was for more than a month. I know he can do it, but he needs to before he sinks much further. Probably easier pitchers coming and I understand he will get a rest as part of Cora's 1 day rest periods.

I doubt if we do anything with JBJ this year but leave the decision until the 2019 season.

Price isn't going anywhere so don't believe for a minute that can happen. DD made that acquisition and now we have to live with it. There is some value there, just not close to the contract we took on. Just another of our poor acquisitions. Most of us here disliked the contract and were outspoken about it. Kimmi doesn't like long term contracts in general and this one was for a past prime pitcher so worse than most. He will give us innings and probably have good games against weaker teams so we just have to live with it.

Price had an awful game and I had commented on him previously. Beni has cooled off somewhat as well and it is worth a comment whenever anyone in the lineup is beginning to struggle. This is afterall, a team game.

Beni is still somewhat inexperienced so when the pitchers find a way to cool him off, he needs to make an adjustment and he will. I don't count games where the team faces legitimate aces, as the entire team will struggle, but when the team racks up hits and runs and a guy strikes out, then there is something going on that needs adjustment. In Beni's case it seemed to be the high fastball that started to give him trouble.

Sale would then pitch the wild card game which would make him available for 2 games max in the playoffs. With one real ace, winning the division gives us the best chance to move forward.

We knew it would be tough facing Severino followed by the Yankee BP. Our hitters are more than struggling and I only remember one hit and that was by Beni. Our hope was that Price could hold the Yankees down. The game is lost so please don't use quality pitching tonight. On to Washington tomorrow to face another Ace. We will wind up essentially tied for 1st so we aren't in any dire situation. It des remind me that we should pull out the sstops to win the games where we have the advantage because there will be games where we will be at a big disadvantage, like this one.

I was given a lot of guff when I said the other day that I really didn't like Price's contract and that I thought he was a 3rd starter type at best. Well, not to pile on a guy that had a bad game, but he has mainly a fastball, cutter and changeup. The fastball location was bad tonight and the Yankees destroyed it. He is the kind of pitcher that can give us a lot of innings and can prevail against the weaker teams with run support, but I can't see him winning in the playoffs. I just hope we don't wind up giving another older ex-ace pitcher a huge long term contract. It doesn't end well.

Exactly. In this game, it should be swing away.

They always seem to develop pitching. Wish we could do as well with pitcher development.