vegasbob

The London games will be on artificial turf so there could be some odd plays and the catchers/1B/3B will be chasing some fould balls in the generous foul areas. I would say there is a good chance that the field itself will come into discussion as a condition that affects the outcome. Hopefully the British umpires have a better strike zone recognition than the MLB guys.

Cannot argue with your point of the potential difference one more Matt Barnes statistical twin would have made in the current record. That hypothetical pitcher plus Barnes in the 7th inning when a comeback is still possible, plus Workman could have salvaged a few more wins, maybe several since the others would be less used. Hembree may have been trending that way, and I suspect his loss for however long was somewhat a nail in DD/Cora's coffin re the BP. That and not one guy from Pawtucket who you can say made a real difference either by effective inning count or results. I'll give Mike Shawaryn a pass on some decent numbers to date but only over 11.1 innings, but no decisions, no saves, not any real late and close PA's, looking at Moon's table above. yet

This was well noted by Terry Smith and Mark Langston of the Angels radio team as well recently.

No argument that the premium pay DH on a high performing team is overall posting numbers that would be the envy of a lot of players. But if you want to look at numbers , just try the last 24 games/ 105 AB's +10 walks. JDM's BA in those 24 games is .257/ OPS .836. OBP .322. His 14 rbi's are equal to JBJr's and Beni, exceeding Brock Holt by 1 and 33% behind Bogaert's 21. His K rate is over 27%. His 6 hr's (tied with Bogie)during the period are keeping the OPS up . The point is not to run down JDM who delivered incredibly last year, maybe setting the bar too high . It is to acknowledge what is visible to the eye. This hitman is not performing as well as his capabilities. Is it a slump or physical problem or whatever. But this team needs more than Bogey in the 1-4 slots to be playing to at least their career averages . Of course, if you want to see Mookie Betts last 132 PA's, you get a .209/.768 with 11 rbi's. His OBP is at .341 due to 22 walks among the 132 PA . By comparison , in the same period, Beni is smoking and glad for him. I think many of us appreciate the in depth work and analysis that many of the advanced stats bring, but you know as well as I do that by selecting certain periods in a streaky game, you can support a lot of inferences. My inference is that JDM and certainly Betts are in slumps over about a month that are impacting the team's results.

Nice write up Moon and oldtimer. I believe that we saw the retention of most of the 2018 team for two reasons, in DD , Cora and ownerships eyes: No chance they wouldn't win 100 and be challenging the Yankees for ALEast. The BP gamble was dangerous and is the cause of much consternation but the stats say they are not awful in comparison to the league, forget the Yankees. The untimely hitting (LOB/RISP performance) is the equivalent of the BP's blown saves/losses. Second, the WS allowed a quiet reset of sorts for 2020 . There will be 6 to 8 changes in the roster for 2020., even if no tradeline moves are made. These may include a JDM opt out (doubt it, if he is in fact hurting), Nunez & Pearce(past their "Best by" dates; Thornburg ( C. Smith already gone); Brian Johnson or H. Velazquez (too limited to keep both); Weber ; Pedroia (no longer a factor); Josh Smith (overage/underskilled) along other Pawsox perennials (Sam Travis, Brentz, TzuWei Lin, Poyner ). The big deal question marks include Sandy Leon ( probably still Sale's caddy), JBJr (costing $9million?); Benintendi (trade bait?); Moreland (50% season active ); Holt (trade bait ?). Then Dombrowski's own contract comes up in the summer or end of 2020 (based on August 2015 signing date). you better believe the bean will be on him to be much better positioned budget wise and talent wise for 2020.

Ty Buttrey and Noe Ramirez are also key BP pieces for the Angels , who just joined the second WC race by getting 1 game over .500 . Former Sox all over the MLB.

Thank you for getting this up, Moon. A clean start to a more productive second half . The Yankee games in London will count like all others , but don't miss the fact that the very strong Dodgers will be at Fenway for 3 starting July 12 . Cleaned their clocks in the 2018 WS, but they will be looking to give some minor payback. BTW Joe Kelly is back on some sort of upswing since Rick Honeycutt is holding him to just 2 pitches, rather than the 5 he was trying to throw as he blew up earlier. 2 seam FB and change up is all he is allowed to throw.

Those guys could be "had" , certainly not desired by any GM. The "super package" concept is when some like a Benintendi, or better is the key player and DD forces out another player as part of the package.

Key point missing was the "lowest BA/OPS's" . Sorry . The second point is not related, since the first point is pretty irrelevant to anything significant.

Although the back can be a factor, what is much more concerning is the chasing of the low away sliders . You would think if the back really hurt, he would be more reluctant to swing, and not chase. Plus the "book" on pitching him breaking balls , low and away has been so obvious the last month, combined with inside bat shattering jam shots that have eaten him up. Maybe he is expecting to reach for the outside corner, and getting pitched inside when he starts to lean in. Anyway, the result is very frustating when you know that JD is capable of hitting some all-time rockets with jung's slick ball.

Wouldn't be too surprising to see a Chavis/Moreland platoon at first base but Mitch has once again shown himself to be unreliable physically to get more than a half season played. At $6+ million, I don't think he'll be in high demand, and should take a cut in pay to stay.

Not related to anything important, but the Pawsox have had 25 guys get AB's this year. Of those 25, the lowest (#21, 22, 23, 24th) were achieved by the following ( beware SSS) : Pedroia, Pearce, Nunez, Leon. No wonder our farm system is bereft of talent.

I think Thornburg, Johnson and Pearce are definitly the ones at risk for their careers in Boston, and maybe anywhere. Hernandez can be given a legit shot next ST, when Pedey can't answer the bell for good, Lin is a classic AAAA'er hole plugger, going nowhere, as is Sam Travis. Nunez does seem to have a strange 9 lives, especially with Cora, so I suspect he sticks around for thr remainder of 2019. Any of the above could be had in a multi-player trade, and if DD tried to put together a "super package" for a primo pitcher (starter or relief, he may force one or two of these guys on some other team. Pearce's salary offload could pay for a reliever.

Moon is the leadoff hitter in this lineup.

When does Part 2 start ? Now , after 81 games and a crushing blow up for a loss, or later after the trade deadline? Part 1 is worn out from the lack of hot stove action, the listless ST, the opening 11 gamer on the road, and the general underperformance by a few key hitters, and one Ace who is more like a deuce. Time for a new thread here, this one did not solve the issues confronting the Red Sox

Gravy is normally used to cover up some cheap cut of meat or dried out fowl. Don't live in 2018, but embrace the diversity that 2019 is giving us.

For the London games , we should defer to the King (of Sox Talk). I'm over Barnes, he is a non-entity to me and his proper name will never be mentioned again by me. There are plenty of nicknames available, so you will know to whom I refer.

An incredible loss by the horse faced loser

Very true, otherwise it would have been a 3run jack

3 f***ing hits, including an HR and one out. Nice effort .

Brilliant effort by my fav--Matt Barnes. I do not make this s*** up. Anyone who relies totally on the stats is looking at the history of what happened, not what is about to happen. You could see Abreu getting ready , pitch after pitch. If you can't get them in 20 pitches, find a new line of work. Cora has to see this too.

Note the absence of an OUT pitch to end this AB

He's just not that good and has hyperactive fight or flight responses

Vaz has saved asswipe once, now he's up to 17 pitches and has one out. If he goes over 20, watch out.

Bogaerts kisses him on the cheek with his glove. Better stay OUT.