oldtimer

Arroyo was playing well. It's a shame about the hamstring. A severe hammy takes 6 weeks to heal. Let's hope it isn't that bad.

Santana had a really nice game. HR and double, but also a sharply hit ball and a 9 pitch at bat where he finally struck out.

Good by Cora to get sawamura into the the game. Two pitches is all it took

Another Jays pitcher with 33. That makes 5 in the game and 4 with 30 or more and 3 innings to go.

Cora will likely go with him again in the 5th. Hope he can settle in.

Pivetta's big mistake was to walk Guerro when he had a 1 and 2 count. Better to give up a hr then a walk with a 12 run lead.

The3e Jays have already used 3 pitchers with 36, 50 and 30 pitches respectively. Clearly they won't be using their best guys in this game but they still have to use guys for 6 more innings and may use up another 2 or 3 guys who won't be available in this series.

Not after tonight

The trade deadline might determine if some of those guys are even here to call up. It's only a little over a week and by then first base may be filled through trade.We have bigger problems in that quite a few of our core offensive players have gone cold.

The Yankees grossly overpaid and got burned.

It's important to understand why we are having a rough period so attention can be directed to those areas. Based on the past few series, we have failed to produce runs more often than not. Players we rely on have not produced and that is a worry. JDM has looked out of whack at the plate, taking multiple good pitches and chasing bad. Verdugo is pressing and not getting results, Renfroe is having a tough time with breaking balls and of course Dalbec is just not hitting. Losing Arroyo to injury hurts while Duran is too new to evaluate. Defense remains a problem for the Sox. Dalbec has made several misplays recently and Devers and Bogie have their issues as well Our starting pitching went through a spell of giving up runs early. With our lack of run production, we have recently have had problems catching up. The Sox can be helped with a better hitter at first base and perhaps also improve the defense. Rafi and Bogie are going no where so we have to live with their defense. Starting pitching that can make a difference is expensive and hard to find. I wonder if the Sox will attempt anything before the trade deadline or just hope that Sale and Houck can lift them.

Didn't he have more than 70 stolen bases one year?

In truth, the Sox hitting was missing for all three Yankee games although in the first there were several shots to the wall that were caught. Verdugo and JDM are both struggling as is Renfroe. Dalbec just isn't hitting at all and with Arroyo injured, we lost a guy who was giving us some good AB's. Duran being a newbie is an unknown at this point. Was the Yankee pitching that good? There are a lot of question marks now so it certainly can inform Bloom about how to move forward in the trade market. Certainly a left handed first baseman is needed. Beyond that, Sox management needs to decide if this team is capable of a major run or not, and act accordingly in the trade market.

The home plate umpire last night had a particularly wide strike zone after a very narrow one the night before. I can understand strikes on balls which nearly touch the strike zone being called strikes but those a couple of inches off have to frustrate hitters. It's particularly tough when a hitter gets rung up on a clear ball in a critical situation. I am still a proponent of technology assisted calling of balls and strikes. I also thought the game should have been delayed last night after the 5th inning as conditions were getting dangerous. I know its an umpire's call, but they appear to have gotten this one wrong.

JD Martinez seemed to be off his game. I thought the same last night and then he hit a HR. It seemed to be more than just the pitching as some other right handers at least made contact. Take the good pitches and then weak check swings called strikes against balls off the plate. Maybe the AS break has thrown him off.

This stopped being baseball after the 5th inning. After that it became a freak show.

What will they say if the Yankees lose with their Ace on the mound?

Houck answered some questions tonight. He showed a good fastball with life and a good slider. It looks like Cora does intend to use him in long relief and possibly in spot starts. The good news tonight, Houck and E-Rod pitched to all except one batter. The BP should be fresh as we continue on a stretch of very tough games. Takes some pressure off looking for pitching in the trade market. Other good news was Arroyo's continued very good AB's. This kid could prove to be a steal for us. Also Rafi put together outstanding AB's. I did notice both Renfroe and Dalbec have trouble recognizing the curve ball.

Dalbec has enormous power, which is something to develop. The question is can he at least hit left handers well enough to justify keeping him. My early watching of his plate approach was that he was taking a lot of hittable pitches and then chasing when down on the count. Was he coached to take these pitches or was his recognition that bad so he didn't see them as strikes? I don't know but he has to modify his approach to have any chance of sticking long term. Casas is a ways from making it to the big leagues but already seems to recognize pitches better than Dalbec. If Casas comes up, I doubt if we see him until as a cameo in Sept. next season. Until then we have no regular first baseman unless we trade for one.

Has anyone yet seen what transactions have occurred to the 40 man to allow Duran to come up ad Houck to be added to the active roster?

Duran is the fastest player now on the active roster. All kidding aside, it is probably best to use him in a position where speed matters.

Thanks for your kind words. As you probably know from my posts I am over 80 now but still play ball fairly well (softball) year round. I could never hit at even the minor league level but like to think all these years of watching have given me an appreciation of this ever changing game. The complexities interest me and I must say I still love the game just as my father (born in 1896) did going back so many years. We probably never will sit together at a game bu many of the posts.t can share opinions here and that is enjoyable to me. I value your thoughtful analysis, even if I do rag on you once in a while. I also respect many other posters here for their knowledge and interest. This site is a good one because of the quality of many of the posts.

Your correct that Duran is an experiment at this point. Can he add some spark to the team with hitting and speed on the base paths? He will be the fastest player on the team, that we know. It has to be stay tuned for now.

Pretty reasonable assessment of how Cora will handle position play unless the Sox pickup a lefthanded first baseman to platoon with Dalbec.

Here we are at the 2nd half of the season and I have a comment/thought. There has been a great deal or work by Moon and others to provide stats to support lineups, trade values and targets for acquisitions. The stats are essential in those discussions but I am from the old school. I like to watch the game closely for how individual players approach hitting, fielding and base running. I also like to see how pitchers attempt to get batters out. I'm interested in managers strategies and player adjustment but seldom are those things discussed? I know there is the game day thread which but I don't find a lot in that either. I know there are many knowledgeable fans on the site so am surprised that the details of the game are so rarely discussed.