oldtimer

He hasn't had his command of late and tonight was another bad effort. He needs to work to get it back as he still has decent velocity and knows how to pitch. Without him pitching like a #3 starter at least, this team is hollowed out in the pitching staff. The Sox tonight also looked bad in the field. Devers, Bogaerts, Vaz on a pass ball called a wild pitch. It is one of those games that we shouldn't have but like all teams, they happen.

Looks like we are bringing Walden up for the Texas series as E-Rod will be out on family leave for several days. We certainly could also need someone to replace Johnson, who has not gotten it done.

We have a very tough stretch of away games coming up. Rangers, Yankees and Blue Jays. We need to do something to bolster our BP as Johnson has been awful. Am I wrong in the thinking that if they send him back down, he is out of options and can then be picked up by another team? We have three or 4 guys in Pawtucket who might help us now. Thornberg isn't ready as yet, but I would make a move before getting on the plane to Texas. Can't have enough good relief help and Johnson just cant get it done.

The bottom of the order, who is up before Mookie after the first inning, have not been hitting their weight. I don't expect high average hitters in the 7 through 9 slots, but these guys haven't hit 200. Maybe Holt can give us more but our catchers are very weak hitters, Bradley is also and when we run Lin out there we have three guys who don't put anyone on base for Mookie.

Betts played anyway as the game went to extra innings and so did Nunez. So much for resting them. It might have been just as easy to start them but who knows if the team would have won anyway. Tough for Sale to get another no- decision. Of concern to me is the relief staff. Kimbrel is not a concern. He throws hard and in pressure situations. One missed location and a HR can result. What concerns me is the quality of our relievers. Kelly and Velazquez are doing okay. Smith has a chance of getting perople out. Barnes is a hard thrower and so is Hembree, but neither seems reliable. johnson isn't getting it done. Time to look for inspiration to the 40 man roster. Thornburg probably isn't ready so who can give us help?

Cora's attempt to rest players didn't work out so well this time. The team went to extra innings, Betts and Nunez played anyway and the pitching staff was used for extra inning duty. No guarantee our best lineup would have won the game but this is one to remember, regarding the rest strategy. How this works out in the long run is open for discussion.

Nice to see Beni hit the lefty.

I understand that Cora had a reason to leave Betts out tonight. I have not heard a reason why Lin is in over Nunez. Is Nunez injured?

Interesting. With Betts back tomorrow, how do we set the lineup? Betts RF Beni CF Rameriz DH Martinez LF Moreland 1st Bogaerts SS Devers 3rd Nunez 2nd Leon C (Sale Pitching) Tough lineup but we probably won't see it as JBJ will be in center. Love to see him have his month long hot streak. Now we know Pedey is slated back near the end of May, depending on his getting into playing shape. Holt will probably be back when he comes off the 10 day DL. Lin probably goes down at that time.

Correcting my own, it's 6 in April. Unbelieveable.

I used to look forward to his at bats, but now the kid won't stop chasing. Man on 1st and 3rd, Beni up he hits a fly ball and brings in a run. Devers in the same position takes big cuts at balls out of the strike zone and is gone. The kid has talent but needs guidance.

Whats that, 5 in April to none last year? Baseball is a crazy game.

Smith hasn't looked good at all. Hitters look like they know what is coming.

I agree that getting a professional hitter to bolster the lineup was a great move and one that is helping the sox to get off to such a nice start. The only caveat I see is his durability. If he can give us 135 games I will be thrilled. Ad for Betts, he has bounced back so far and is showing to be even better than before. Experience and encouragement to be aggressive has helped him, along with getting over a nagging injury. Bogaerts is in a different category. He not only regained his health and changed his plate approach to be move aggressive, he has aalso changed his swing dynamics and is hitting with the power I suspected he had. As for Hanley, he is off to a good start, maybe encouraged by those around him. I have noticed, and others can check me on this, he is getting a steady diet of fast balls. Many more than others in the lineup. Do pitchers see something to exploit? Devers is a very aggressive hitter who will probably hit for decent power but with a lower batting average until he stops chasing pitches out of the zone. He seems to have excellent hand/eye coordination and bat speed so he good improve his contact rate with experience. Nunez is another professsional hitter. Maybe he will suffer from not getting into the game on a regular basis when Pedroia returns. Beni is a little bit of an enigma to me at this time. He has a nice swing and very good plate discipline. He gained 10 to 15 pounds and should have added some power, but not much of a sign of that so far. I'm hoping he will emerge to be at least a 280 hitter this year and hold his own in the lineup. Moreland is also a professional baseball hitter type but at a little lower level than Nunez. He is a good guy to have availlable to add depth and to rest Hbutanley at times. I don't see the rest of our hitters as being much threat. JBJ has had years to develop but still is not there. Leon has fallen back to not ht his weight. I had hopes ov Vaz being better but not so far. Lin has a nice swing and plate discipline but his swing and miss rate is too high. Swihart doesn't get into the lineup enough to judge. There is hope that Pedey will add another good bat to this lineup and his glove is superior to any we have for that position. We have a formidable lineup this year except if you went back over the month of April, there have been few times it has been played together due to injuries and Cora's approach to resting players. Can't comment on that as the results will only be known over a long season.

Smith has been very shaky so far. Maybe he is tipping his pitches, but he definitely is getting hit hard. We were kind of counting on more from him. Hembree and Barnes don't have a solid history. Both throw hard but their command is an issue. Starting pitching has not been that strong either. Price worries me the most. Gopher balls to the Rays?

Yes, and Bogey is being rested today having played two games after a long layoff. Could be there is something that we don't know, but resting Bogey when Betts is out of the lineup is inviting a weaker offensive day. Don't get it.

Being an old guy playing softball competitively 2 or 3 days a week, year round, I see quite a few hamstring injuries but haven't had one myself. Typical the injury occurs when taking the first step from the plate or when stretching out of the last step to beat a throw. One is accelerating quickly and the other is an awkward movement.

Wonder why Bogaerts isn't in. Two days back after more than two weeks off and he gets a rest? Hope his leg isn't bothering him. Seriously, with Betts out with a sore hamstring you would think arguably our best hitter should be in.

Pitching is only getting worse. Turn out the lights, the party's over my friend. Who will we get to pitch a decent game?

Now its Betts leaving the game with a tight hamstring. I doubt if he is out of shape.Will we ever miss him if he has to sit out. Come to think of it, he has rested already this season.

If Price gets 30 starts this year, today we saw a million dollar effort. Don't get much for your money these days.

Last night they were facing a tough lefty so Cora chose to leave Beni and Devers out but left Lin in. Moreland was in since he has been hot. I cant fault Cora for those moves and then when the right handed closer came in he tried to use his leftys as pinch hitters. The problem right now is we aren't getting much from our left handed hitters right now and guys like Betts, JDM and Bogaerts have to carry the club. I notice Hanley is getting a ton of fast balls, so they must think his swing is late. Hanley has been hitting up well, but his last hit came on a changeup. No question, we need Hanley, Nunez, Beni and JBJ to give us more. If a lineup change can help with that, why not? Some folks might think running up 4 right handed hitters in a row isn't the best idea, so that is a consideration.

From the reporting, it was hamstring tightness, whatever that means. Hamstrings are extemely hard to get over when they tear. Hope Holt doesn't have a tear as that would sideline him for the time being. In the meanwhile, I can't imagine him playing again soon as they will want to be very careful that whatever his condition is doesn't progress into a full tear. Typically, baseball players don't overdevelop their legs like running backs and they do a lot of stretching but these injuries do crop up from time to time, even in the adult leagues.

nice to have Kimbrel too. He is worth what we are paying him. Two of three from a division opponent in their home park after a long road trip. Excellent results, and yes it is good to have some home run power. I was looking at the lineup tonight and noticed we had power in a number of positions. Only one had hit the long ball on successive nights but tonight we had Betts Hanley JDM Moreland Dever Nunez All of them can be power threats. Nice not to give the opponents pitching much breathing room.