vegasbob

Cannot buy a single when it would count big

Duran needs to steal before Tapia Ks, so as to not distract Devers AB Thanks to both of you two, Tapia appears clueless and incapable today

Crawford held the line very well through the 7th. Now we need about 3 runs to eventually get back to Jansen in the 9th

Yoshida, in only his first month of MLB, has crossed the infamous Mendoza line , but regrettably in the wrong direction.

McGuire's has been taking lessons from Wong on nabbing baserunners

Yes , the Sox as a team through 4 innings have only Devers double as a hit.

Tough opportunity to get some runs wasted

Now that Boston is into the Angel bullpen, this game and the sweep are back in contention, although the lower end of the lineup needs to do something as does Tapia ( besides K)

Messy day to pitch , too many ups/downs for the pitchers . Angels will not want to expose Ohtani to a slip/fall and the Sox should let Bello study his performance from the comfort of the clubhouse. This one needs to be a rainout with all stats cancelled

Bello settling in, shows a 75% improvement in runs allowed over the first inning. I can only get the Gameday feed because of MLB.com home/away blackout rules but if the pitch zone is accurate Bello is putting some pitches in the middle/middle zone of the plate. Not good.

Neto gets his first MLB hit !! Bello knows how to make a fellow youngster feel good

If it was any team except the Angels I would be more concerned. The Sox will have it tied up by the 5th inning. Ohtani only looked good getting Devers to foul out on a center cut

Nice pitch to Renfroe who makes him pay , followed by a BB and another hit. One more time that a RS pitcher comes to the mound not ready for 1st inning

The real problem caused by the last 4 guys on your list is that they are the 6-9 hitters most games this season. Kike does appear to have found a bit of bat. Those guys are not on base when the lineup turns over to Dugo & Devers & Turner.

If accurate, Cot's has the 40 man CB Tax calculation for Boston at $216.8 million for '23. Actually , there are not any really bad contracts that will burden FA pursuit over the '23-'24 off season, if Sale stays healthy . Sale's deal expires in '24, with a club option for '25 and a backdoor vesting if Sale is in top 10 AL Cy Young voting for '24. Turner costs $11M for '24 , but he could get moved at some point. Jansen has '24 under contract too. So does Rich Bleier ($3M) and a more costly sore shouldered IL designee Chris Martin ( $7.5M in '24). Devers is locked in from '24-'33 and we'll see how that is wearing in 4-5 years. Yoshida is a gamble at $18M/year and is tied up through 2027 . Let him get through this year to learn American MLB pitching. Garrett Whitlock is a lock through 2026 , with club options for '27 & '28 at low cost ( 4 years @ $18.75 million). Compare that to Paxton , who is yet to pitch for Boston at all in '22 or '23. Rumors are that he's close . The wild card , imo, is Trevor Story who is under contract through 2027, with some complicated option/buyout possibilities for 2028. Story has got some earning to do when he returns in July (?) . The Sox need to get some mileage from this $20M-$25M player . If his elbow fix holds, he does cover either SS or 2nd base needs, both of which are a first half '23 black hole . He would certainly strengthen the RH hitting side of the '23 lineup

Brasier does it and sets Jansen up for possible use tomorrow as Sox go for the sweep. Ryan does have his moments and this was a big one

There will be a HR this inning

And Nevin put Phillips in strictly to run . That will be an ugly clubhouse scene post game

In Bloom's world , Ort is a budget balancer and under club control for years. A perfect situation for the cost concious VP BaseOps. Can he pitch effectively? Who knows?

Ort is a genius. Gives up hit/walks just to set up the rare successful pick off at 2nd base. Pure genius

Poor choice if he blows the lead, plus he extends the Angel lineup for the 9th and you may get to see Trout/Ohtani again. That's now assured.

I can think of a few players in recent years who could have helped the team similarly, but it's a business don't you know

Great work by Whitlock, going 98 pitches on a surgically repaired hip in his second MLB start of '23. Amazing what the Sox can do vs evenly matched opponents. They do need this game with Ohtani pitching tomorrow. He is actually quite good.

Unless we score a few more runs, we may have to find out if Jansen can go 3 days straight, . Surprised Cora brought Whitlock back against the middle of the Angel's lineup, but only need to get Renfroe . Hold your breath

With his contractual situation locked up, Bloom can entertain offers at the deadline that might bring in 2 or even 3 prospects to fill out the Portland roster