vegasbob

Kind of saw that Rich Hill wasn't as sharp as last time out and thought this would become the bullpen burner that plagues this team. Maybe that's why we are under .500, overall and at Fenway. Or is it because Chaim "Cheapo" Bloom wouldn't hire a closer ? ( sarcasm)

Rhetorically, how does this team have a losing record (31-34) at Fenway ? One possibility is too many LH hitters who don't work on going to left or even just left side vs the overshift. Then again, many of the Rede Sox all-timers ( Williams, Yaz, Ortiz, Boggs, Ruth) were LH hitters. Must be an eye test thing

Big questions, can Taylor get over his back issues and be effective? Actually same question for Houck who is not ok. Barnes is under a relatively big contract, so he will be there ( not a tradable asset) . Pivetta is still under control (via arb), i believe, so he will be there. Paxton poses a really hard choice. If the Sox opt him in, it is significant money. They should try a renegotiate with lots of performance based upside potential

kaleb ort to be our #1 reliever when we need a pick up.

Schreiber better than most in the Sox BP but he's no shutdown expert. It has been evident over his last few appearances that he has trouble drumming strikes when he needs some

You could almost tell that Rich hill was struggling to spot the ball like he did the other night. Need to stop the situation with a DP ball

Big money, long term contracts anyone? Semien and Seager haven't helped the Strangers at all. Worse record than Boston in a weak division.

Odd how game situations can shift over next to nothing happening. Hill had 2 outs on 6 pitches, when Lowe worked him to a 3-2 walk after several fouls, and then Garcia takes him to 22 pitches before a 3-2 called third strike. Nothing much happened but Hill spent a lot of energy on the last out. May eventually affect the BP inning needs.

Agreed on the strike zone being for the benefit of the hitter to force throws into his strike zone. It then begs the debate on the quality of the umpire's judgement as to that zone. But considering that the umpire has to judge elevation, width , foul tips, catcher's interference, wild pitches, passed balls, and be forced to judge about 250-300 pitches in a 9 inning game, they do well. The third paragraph is because game threads should be mostly for fun, not fact driven analytics. Always enjoy seeing your takes on matters at hand

Note, I have never said and wouldn't to DFA or trade, or dump Rafael. Not unlike Matt Barnes's mental confidence issues, my point is that someone needs to help Devers clear his mind because in a month's time he has been unable to self correct. Give him a Xanax and chill for a day or two. Constructively, someone like an Ortiz could get him to relax, talking about hanging in all the friendly Dominican bars during the off season. Maybe Millar could but for the language matter. Here is a serious point. Devers will be here next year in the lineup at 3B , in a contract year. He is looking at incredible , generational money. Whether he gets that from the Sox or the soon departing Arte Moreno matters not. The kid needs to show he can adjust/adapt to tough situations , if he is asking for 8-10 year money, and stay focused on his job. His recent rare struggles have compressed his hitting mind to the size of a pea, sort of like Matt's confidence.

A few other things about hitting that stand out to me. Golfers and tennis players make me laugh heartily with their need for silence and no background distractions when putting their balls into play ( intentional pun) . Yet a baseball hitter must focus with 30,000+ unwashed yellers screaming for a hot dog and cold one , with the stupid wave swirling around the park. God bless them that the baseball player can see through that mess and still hit the ball. Second, the pitcher is throwing downhill with leverage not present in most other sports , exacerbating the movement and angle of attack/contact with the ball. The ball itself has two different surface , the leather skin (92% of the surface) and the slightly raised stitching . The reaction off the bat varies with what element makes contact. Humidity affects the ball and pitcher's grip so there can be a subtle difference between the first inning and the ninth as to a similar pitch' s line of travel. Third, if the ball hits you when batting, you are awarded first base. If the ball hits you anywhere on the base paths, you are out . The foul pole is considered fair territory . 75% of the earth's surface ( land and water) is in foul territory which why a .250 hitter is about a 1.0 f or b WAR .

Holding back Story and Kike strengthens the bench for extra innings. And I do have to mention that a day or two off for a truly struggling hitter has been used from time to time to let them work in the cage without the game pressure being on them. Devers early in his August slump tried to carry the team at each At Bat with 6 run homer swings to no avail. I do believe he would benefit from a working-rest this time. Let him PH when it counts in a couple games to force moves on the opponent.

60'-6" , with the release point often being in the 53'-55' range . Less than 3/5's of a second from the pitcher's hand to the plate at typical speeds. MLB hitters have incredible eye-hand coordination , eyesight acuity, and fast twitch muscles to be able to adjust to a moving, twisting ball and hit a round ball with a round bat on a line drive. Why the hell Devers and JDM have any problems with this is beyond me .

You are certainly welcome and entitled to continue voicing your opinions. I think that AC going out to my fav Matt Barnes last night and getting all up in him with energy and advice was one of the first times Alex showed his stuff . It was more than welcome, and displayed some competitive attitude. I think many of the negative comments this season have emanated from the TV images of Cora hanging on the dugout rail as if he 85 years old, the nonchalant reactions to incredibly poor plays by his guys and the tired responses in interviews of "We have to get better". Well, no kidding AC, but show some fire about it like you did with Barnes. A player's manager surrounded by capable veterans ( 2018?) is a different personality than one with a rookie laden, patchwork injury team. And yes, I know the preferred method of "counseling" towards better performance is to do it in private behind closed doors. Occasionally, you need to show the guys a serious rip session to get their attention, particularly when many here have consigned the rest of the season to the draft dumpster upgrade.

I do appreciate your reasoned replies and rational debate. Here is one thing I do remember : Chris Sale has not done one useful thing for this team since he struck out Manny Machado in a sympathy appearance in the wonderful , Cora led 2018 season. This money burner better show up ready to pitch effectively in 2023 . I actually do have some sympathy for Matt Barnes. He has had confidence and execution issues for over a year. You noted that he looked scared. He was sweating bullets, but a win/save is just that no matter how achieved. It's a results business. They print it in the paper and on-line every day.

No, if Cora was his father , his name would be MaZbialystokZ

Max, give a baseball explanation as to why Devers cannot adjust his approach at the plate to actually hit the f'ing ball . This has been a full month of misery for him and the team wherein he looks foolish. Does he not respond to coaching ? Is he stupid? Is he the definition of insanity .....you know ?? Talking to yourself at the plate when you continually mess up does not lead to big paydays, except from fools like Arte Moreno, who is now selling anyway. Devers has an issue and needs to be coached out of it whether that includes sitting for a week or getting his mind clear. He will not fix this on his own, that's clear. Slumps for 2 -3 weeks happen but a month of garbage AB's hurts everyone, none more than Raffy.

I'm glad the team won and retract nothing about Barnes

Love it !

Even if Barnes does somehow magically pull this out, i want to be on record as saying, I never liked nor respected him, he is soft, has no courage, no cojones, sweats a lot and cannot throw a strike. He truly sucks and I hope he and his wife enjoy next year's millions. he should donate it to the Jimmy Fund to help kids who are tougher than him. There you have it. It's been contained for awhile but Matt Barnes is not my guy, regardless of outcome

That bouncer by Celestino is the kind of luck guys like Matt Barnes have. Dribblers, errors and walks/HBP destroy them.. Get the DP now, but not a Barnes type play

Barnes to close,, shades of second half '21 and first half '22. I hope he can do it, but have little faith in Matt Barnes.

Does AC have a bench coach to even suggest things to him? That non-move is clear proof that the nerds aren't calling the dugout with "suggestions"

Cora has an amazing affinity for guys with a Z in their names . Includes Kike Hernandez who is a hack. How did Alex ever allow Vaz to get traded. It wasn't his call

A WP or PB would have to go to the 3rd row for JD to score