oldtimer

We don't seem to have a separate thread to talk about the last days/nights game, so I will use this thread. Last night we saw the good in that we got a win against the Yankees in their home ball park. It was good that we have the bats to make a pitcher pay when they made mistakes across the middle as Moreland, Rameriz and beni were able to do. We also saw a lot of hard hitting from Bradley even though he hits into hard luck still. Farrell used his pitching staff pretty well to win the one in hand. Lets worry about tomorrow when that comes suited me. We have an outstanding closer, maybe the best in baseball at this time. Even Pablo fielded his position well last night. On the not so good side, our pitchers are nibblers and the Yankees, like us, make you throw strikes. We had 3 and 2 counts over and over again, so Pomeranz only lasted 5 good innings and we had to use the strength of our bull pen, probably limiting what can happen today. Also, when we go to our defensive infield, we have Rutledge and Marrerro in the lineup and neither cann hit solid relief pitching. Still, we needed to make that move and the hope is Pedey will relief that situation when coming back on Friday. With Sabbathia on the mound tonight, maybe it will be a good time to use Young and Sam Travis. If not against a tough leftie starter, then when?

However the red sox do it, they need to retain all three of their young nucleus players who have years more good baseball in them. Some of the mistaken big contracts of the past will begin to clear and give cap space for offering our young players what they are worth.

Last night, Farrell used his bull pen to get the win with a game in hand. I think he made smart moves and we got the win. One star for Farrell.

I see e-Rod has been told to rest his aching knee for from 3 to 4 weeks as part of the rehab. That throws a monkey wrench into our starting rotation and who knows how long after the rest that he can become an effective starter again.

I remember him well. He had a lot of talent but was really a little crazy. He often got into fights or into controversial behavior. I remember he won a gold glove in 1958 in cf. His most memorable stunt is whe he hit his 100th HR he ran around the bases backward. That makes bat flipping seem trite, doesn't it? I think that stunt occurred after he left the Sox and might have been with the Yankees. I still liked him as a player and he played with outfield with the likes of Ted Williams.

Yes, but Sandoval is a liability at 3rd.

He made a first attempt to breakout of the slump today and then some. He went 3 for 4 with 2 HRs and a single with a walk to boot, all off of 3 different pitchers, including a lefty. He scored 3 times, drove in 3 and stole a base. that waqs a great day and neither of his HR's were cheap. In fact it was the killer B's today that did most of the damage. We did get hits from Moreland and I think Sandoval, but then Sandoval made a poor throw on a ball that cost us. Great to come away from Baltimore with a split after going down on the first 2 of the series.

I agree. He needs to have a change which could ossibly wake him up.

We got a fine pitchiing performance from Price and this time we didn't waste it. Rutledge sat and Marrero played second with Pablo at third. Beni got a hit but is really still not back to the level of confidence he came in with. Young might help us with an appearance. Moreland is swinging at high strikes and they elevate on him and he still swings out of the strike zone. I hope he is getting coaching as they must see what is going on. Hard to put a guy in the middle of the lineup who is slumping. Maybe a day off with Sam Travis in would be worth a try. The other good news is Hanley hit tonight. We know he can be streaky. I still think he has been nursing a sore shoulder that they don't like to talk about. The Orioles have some pop in their lineup but their BAs aren't that good. We are tied in league standing with them and have a good enough team to play better in the next month. Now for finding that big bat somewhere. Devers or outside.

Great news tonight with Price looking like the guy we had hoped for. It was better than I expected and may give up a leg up on the competition going forward.

If I was sending someone down it would be Rutledge upon the return of Pedey. If we lose him so be it.

I think the kid will eventually hit 280 or better this year and hit at least 15 HR. This slump won't last much longer.

If performance is rewarded, Vaz shoulld remain the #1 catcher but Leon is still a valuable guy to come in and give Vaz a rest, especially against some tough right handers.

Just watched the Yankees pound the Blue Jays 7 to 0. They hit 4 home runs in one inning off of Grilli. Lots of action in their dugout. These guys are having fun and have a lot of guys who can hit with power. The alternative is our guys who seem to get up, make a quiet out and go back to the dugout with their tails between their legs. Farrell seems to lack emotion as well. Comeon guys, play with some fire and spirit.

Last night we faced a pitcher who was clobbered last time out by Houston, while we didn't hit him well at all. Well, Moreland goes for high fastballs and doesn't get them. He saw those last night. Leon doesn't do well on outside fastballs and he got those. Marrero is a light hitter, Rutledge is a light hitter at best, Rameriz is off, perhaps due to a sore shoulder and Beni is slumping badly, taking good pitches and missing too often for him. That puts great pressure on Bogaerts, Betts and Bradley. Sandoval hit a homerun, but he is a free swinger and is not likely to get on base that often. With Pedey out temporarily, we need to put guys in that are hot. Travis sat last night when one big hit might have helped. Young never got in either. I know there is no magic elixer but please use the tools we do have to give us more of a chance. There is a real quandry now with both 2nd and 3rd in the hands of light hitters. We can't get relief from d'Arnaud (why did we pick him up in the first place?). I'm for making a move, whether it is Devers up and Rutledge down, or a pickup from outside. Maybe it's all the unfortunate high salaries the Sox are carrying, but the FO seems unable to make moves to improve the team.

Pablo did hit a home run tonight and made a fielding play. To me he looks like he has gained back a little weight, which is also something to watch with him. I feel the same way about Moreland. He is no long term solution and maybe Travis will be.

Another loss to Baltimore against a pitcher who got torched by Houston. It's the hitting or lack there of that is the problem. Too many are just holes in the lineup right now, and it is hard to win with only a couple of guys hiitting. I guess it was hard to use Young and Travis but at least they might make contact. The time to act is here.

The way hanley has been hitting, Pablo could platoon as DH with him. His first game back in that role was encouraging. Hard to swallow we would tie up $40 mil a year for the DH/pinch hitting role. If we find ourselves in the middle of the pack at the all star break, I would think the club would bring up our best young players and let them play. Devers and Travis along with our other youth. That way we could get a feel for what we may need next year.

Yes, he twisted a knee while getting ready last night. It may explain why he got hit as hard as he did.

Yes, and we had hopes for Beni, which haven't materialized in the past month but may still come back shortly. Farrell has to put players where they can succeed defensively and then has to find a way to work his hotter bats into the lineup.

We just haven't had the club hitting well together. It has been and either/or thing. Beni and Hanley have both been missing of late. Travis has been hot and should be kept in the lineup, giving are colder hitters time to sit. Maybe sitting Hanley for a game or two to get his shoulder time to get better would help in the long run.

Yes third base has been a position where we have chronnically underachieved. Marrero has been solid defensively, something we couldn't claim for any of the other 5. The team problems appear to go deeper. Hanley appears to be injured to some degree and in a slump. Beni, who we expected to be a consistent on base guy appears to have lost his mojo temporarily. So where will the runs come from? Tonight Miley seems to have befuddled everyone other than Travis. Its coming back to the Sox need some reliable bats. Something needs to stir up this group of players. Miley isn't that good.

Well said. The manager should also impart a positive attitude instead of just being impassive in the dugout.

We are winning with the happy circumstance that our rotation is coming along and seems somewhat set for the time being. Yes, we still need to strengthen the relief, especially in the bridge to Kimbrel but we are holding our own on the road. A problem area is developing with Beni, who I had expected to hit close to 300 is in a slump along with Handley. Pablo had a good night DHing so is it possible we could have a $40 million DH this season? The good news is jbJ has been getting some important hits and Bogaerts looks like an all star. NO worry about Betts either.

Bradley is struggling but he is a great defensive outfielder and we could not get a replacement as good. I agree, concentrate on fixing our main weaknesses.