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oldtimer

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Everything posted by oldtimer

  1. oldtimer
    Finally. While there a good umpires, there are those who make bad calls which change games. With the technology adjusted calls, the players with good sense of the strike zone will be rewarded.
  2. oldtimer
    Yes, we have had a lot of injuries and so have others. I remember the many one run games we lost and how at the time many were pointing out moves we could have made to win some of those. It takes the end of the season to highlight that we are on the knife edge of making the playoffs and those early losses were indeed meaningful. Strange that good hitting from lowe and Yoshida is where the offense comes from.
  3. oldtimer
    Cora is confident the Sox will handle the Rays in this series, but I lack confidence in Cora's statements. The Sox need a hard ass who will make the necessary choices about players. The Sox need decisive management who will use our young talented players and get rid of those who can't contribute. You cite Yoshida as an example and most on here agree with you. The disposition of Rafaela and Casas are more difficult questions. We need to bring in a legitimate power bat. We only have one player this year who will eclipse 25 home runs.
  4. oldtimer
    They didn't develop Password and he would be a wild card if he could perform. He may have a higher potential, but it be a surprise if he was ready. Campbell has more experience but was a questionable defensive. Cora doesn't have many options, but this is four years of frustration now for the fans. New leadership is called for.
  5. oldtimer
    Back from 2 weeks traveling in Canada. I followed the Sox when possible. I still have questions about the Sox management and decision making. Decision making surfaced again in the game where Cora removed Early, but I'm thinking more in terms of long term decisions. Failure to add a big bat when we needed one. Failure to bring Anthony up early and then failure to develop Password who was another potential big bat. The Sox offense looks anemic and could and should have been bolstered. The Sox has suffered numerous injuries but so have other teams. One run losses too often. They may well bite us. If we fail to make the playoff again, i would recommend replacement of Cora.
  6. oldtimer
    Going tomorrow for close to 2 weeks to the Canadian Maritimes. I am concerned with Cora's leadership abilities and choices. He favors versatility and ML experience over performance and tends to rest players at key moments. There is no room for anything but a win now approach. I hope I'm wrong but I lack confidence in Cora.
  7. oldtimer
    Cora brought Sogard up based on his versatility. That gives us seven infielders with Rafaela potentially our eighth in a pinch. Eaton, Hamilton and Sogard are versatile but all are weak hitters. Cora didn't have a wide range of options. Campbell would be the main option and his performance is questionable. Password had insufficient time to acclimatize to the majors and would be a stretch, although our outfield is more limited now, even with Abreu coming back. He possibly has more thump in his bat but we will have to await 2026 to see him.
  8. oldtimer
    We need some thump in the lineup. Too many weak hitters, Too bad Password didn't get more of a look when he was brought up. He has the potential to help but not the experience.
  9. oldtimer
    That's how I interpret it. This sucks for the team and the fans.
  10. oldtimer
    Pitt just beat the Dodgers and had another big scoring night. We would have had to hit better to win the series. I believe some of the guys were tired and underperformed, Bregman is one example. A little home cooking and rest should right the ship. It of course was worrisome since the wild card race is tight this year. The Mariners lost last night so at least that was a positive development.
  11. oldtimer
    Devers awful defense at 3rd continuing season after season lost him the 3rd base job. He had a valuable, if somewhat inconsistent bat, so enter Bregman and move Raffy to DH. It made some sense, even though we were overpaying him to play the position. He thought the Sox as you say, Jacked him around, when they asked him to fill an urgent need. No doubt he became a distraction in the club house. I don't think Raffy was going to earn his money going forward so we were better off removing a $250 million liability and looking elsewhere. Lowe is in at 1st and has been a positive addition. Yoshida at DH is another story, but the options for the Sox are not good.
  12. oldtimer
    It wasn't a shock to see us lose to one of the best pitchers in baseball and there were good signs with Tolle and Slaten doing well. It's the end of August, and after a road trip and the daily grind of the dog days. I wouldn't be surprised if some of our players, particularly the older like Bregman and Story are dragging. Bregman for instance is sporting a 182 avg with 4 hits, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored in the last 7 days. There wasn't a lot to work with for Cora last night, with Abreu still out and Lowe on paternity leave and even Password sent down. I didn't like Cora's options for pinch hitting late. Why we had two weak hitting 2nd basemen on the roster for the game eludes me. At any rate, things are soon returning to a norm with assets getting back and opponents pitching being more favorable. I doubt if our regulars will go into prolonged slumps. Things are looking bright.
  13. oldtimer
    With 27 games remaining, we now need 15 wins to get to 90 this season. 90 wins would be a very impressive result for this team.
  14. oldtimer
    I don't have those examples as my friend just made the statement without backup. It does make some sense, as a player has likely seen a large variety of pitchers, both home and away and has gone through adjustment cycles, as his weaknesses were exposed. Perhaps failing at first can become an impetus to make changes that are positive. Also, being influenced by a new hitting coach or a veteran player can change people. Rules of thumb are not universally true but general in nature. I hope Rafaela makes adjustments from being an okay hitter to a good hitter for the Sox.
  15. oldtimer
    I have 3 other octogenarians on my softball team in NC who are also long term Red Sox fans. One of them claims it takes 600 AB's to determine the type of hitter a player will turn into. He is pretty astute so i take his input seriously. Rafaela has 1076 while Anthony has over 270. Rafaela has been a 246 average hitter who lacks plate discipline. He's okay if his defensive prowess is linked with his offense. Anthony has been exceptional so far but is likely to have his difficulties as pitchers seek his weaknesses, but he looks like a star in the making. What do think of my friend's rule of thumb?
  16. oldtimer
    Well said. When a hitter gets hosed and is struck out on a pitch 2 inches off the plate, it stays with them for the game. Same with a pitcher who makes a perfect pitch but has it called a ball. With the technology assisted strike zone, catcher framing would not be beneficial either.
  17. oldtimer
    A few thoughts: This game was an advertisement for technology assisted strike zone calls. Duran seemed totally overmatched at the plate. Kept his bat on his shoulder 3 times with 2 on base and then swung at terrible pitches the next at bat. Lowe has a major league bat and should be in the lineup. Buehler may help us in relief.
  18. oldtimer
    Lowe is a big improvement over Toro.
  19. oldtimer
    You're saying Cora has no input on roster decisions? I don't believe that is the case or should be. I'm for at least getting to the playoffs this year, not in a few years. When I see decisions and moves that don't help the team reach that goal, I start wondering why. Results have to count. How many years have we waited and been fed the line, wait until next year. Add another unfortunate loss last night to the frustration. Toro's still in the lineup and went 0 for 6. C'mor choose files...on Brez and Cora. No more excuses,
  20. oldtimer
    And Boston, who lost 2 one run games to the Padres, Lost a game while leading in the 7th and last night lost to the Orioles, with the bottom of the order 0 for. How much is attributable to the players, how much the manager and how much to the GM as directed by ownership? I still look at the inaction at the trade deadline as a lost opportunity. Also, is Cora a winner? I have serious doubts. Our players are competitive with most of the American league as you point out, but Cora needs to take action more quickly to get poorly performing players off the active roster.
  21. oldtimer
    Whatever you think happened, we wasted a gem by Crochet. Our BP failed today.
  22. oldtimer
    Last night the Sox ran into especially good pitching. It happens, and one can't be too upset when that happens. What bothered me more is two if the earlier games where the Sox took two one run losses, Going back to the lack of action at the trade deadline, possibly we could have brought at least one of those games home. The dog fight you speak of is real and the possibilities of getting to the playoffs could hinge on a margin of a couple of wins. Too late now, but it seems that year to year, the Sox don't seem to learn their lessons. Will we need yet another change in management to push this club forward?
  23. oldtimer
    Good hitters need to remain unpredictable. If a hitter almost always takes the first pitch, guess what the pitcher will throw. Fastball over the plate is a good guess. If a hitter almost always swings at the first pitch on the other hand, he's likely to get a slider or cutter off the plate. In both cases, the hitter winds up in the hole, and his BA falls. Anthony takes most first pitches while Rafaela swings at most. Both have a lot of capability but should consider being less transparent. They are young and are our future so I hope they get good advice.
  24. oldtimer
    Toro is a below average hitter and an okay first baseman. There were other teams who made the trade we could have made. If the reason for not doing so is that we have Casas back next year, I still don't get it, as we have a real chance at a wild card. If the reason was we were ready to bring Campbell back, then why haven't we? As far as Yoshida is concerned, I was all for trading him, even if we had to pay half his remaining salary. He is not a terrible player but he isn't a good fit on our team. We have a surplus of outfielders, including one in AAA we should bring up. Yoshida is not a capable defensive outfielder, hasn't a lot of power or growth potential. We could easily fill the DH role from players we want to keep on the roster.
  25. oldtimer
    Speaking of hitting, had we picked up a better hitting first baseman at the trade deadline, would we have been in a better position to win a game like the 10 inning loss to the Padres? I see losses like that one as a cost of inaction by our GM, perhaps as informed by ownership. As far as hitting goes, I'm not a fan of chasing outside the zone. On the other hand, I hate to see a hitter take a third strike fastball down the center of the plate. I am for allowing the batter to swing when they see a pitch they think they can handle, unless the manager has a play on. Anthony has a great sense of the strike zone, however he seems to be constrained from swing at the first pitch and I have seen him take third strike fastballs down the middle and wondered why. I know it is not easy up there but hitters have to give themselves a chance to succeed.
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