vegasbob

Here are the possibilities: Sox go 0-3, 2 behind NY Sox go 1-2, Dead tie for AL East, NY with 4 more games yet to play , probably worth 1 to 1 1/2 game gain. Sox go 2-1, NY would be 2 up , Yankee's 4 games to play can only tie at best Sox sweep'em at 3-0. NY 4 back and the 4 games don't close the gap. Note---there is no way for the Sox to be 3 up after Sunday. Conclusion, a sweep is the most effective way of flushing the Yankees into the Bronx sewer system. It would be epic.

Nor Kelly, so Hembree and Barnes are your studs with neither Johnson nor Velazquez available for long relief after 5 inning E-rod gives you his best shot. But at the end of the season a win vs the Angels counts exactly as much as a win vs. the NYY crowd. Just not as enjoyable emotionally.

Could not agree more. Oh , and Joe Kelly keeps auditioning for the role as the next ass clown in the bullpen. If you are Cora , how much confidence can Joe bring after those 2 Angel appearances ? Beni totally saved his butt on the play in LF.

Let's see Jackie hold .200 for a week before voting him an All-Star. I hope does go on his streak and if he will go with pitches to left field he may well have it figured out. But only if he could bunt too

Angels self destruct yearly with pitching staff DL's. They seriously need a whole different strength, conditioning and flexibility coach. BoSox need to continue crushing them like a used soda can to teach them the error of their ways.

A starter may not appear to be the biggest need, and I agree would #3 on a list of 3, BUT Sale, Price and Porcello are a reasonably predictable trio. Eduardo Rodriguez is not as highly dependable and rarely goes deep in a game. Wright can be great or totally blow up . Pomeranz is a zero this year and not someone I would rely on in a playoff situation. There are still over 50% of the season left say 83 starts to fill. Sale has tended to burn out in Sept and will need to space a couple skips in his starts. Price may play to much Fortnite one week. Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez do give spot start capabilities but not for the playoffs. I stick with the idea that a team doesn't get too many chances to go deep in the playoffs so load up this year when you know you will be a WC at the minimum. Budgets and luxury tax be damned. If the Yankees and Red Sox go down to the wire, Cora will be hard pressed to roll Sale out there as much as possible including the end of Sept to get 1st place. Don't over estimate the depth of veteran pitching needed to get past the ALDS. The same key guys have failed 2 years in a row.

Rich Hill dealing with lots of blister problems and DL time in LA. He's no game changer. Buchholz on the other hand is just unintelligent and unconfident in his own skin.

Angels in the midst of a 4-10 slide, and losing at KC today through 7, 1-0 Skaggs is worth missing in the Angels depleted rotation

You, sir are correct, as the Red Sox showed the Mariners yesterday when Mr. Sale finally got his shutout , and reasonable run support.

Looking ahead at the end of June-July-Aug 1 schedule, a total of 29 games interrupted by the A-S break, the Sox have only 9 of those games against teams playing over .500 right now ( Yankees, Nationals , Phillies) At 52-27 now, I would expect the Sox to be 70-38 minimum going into August 2. If they get on a roll it could be 74-34 an incredible 40 games over .500. in early August. The momentum (or lack of it) by late July will have bearing on DD's decisions to make moves. I still think he trust a play-in WC game to get this team over the top and a WS berth. A potential 100+ win team is rare enough, but I think he needs to go all out and win the season you are playing, not 2019, 2020 or 2021. Go for it with this team now. So that could mean anything from a veteran starting pitcher, LH reliever, or 2Bman. It will also lead to the resolution of the Swihart role on this team.

And losing again today to the Rays. Maybe need to send the Rays one of our relievers to help out.

I knew the palyers would be following this thread on their Ipads in the dugout, take great offense at the trashing I gave them and responded accordingly, mostly in the bottom half of the lineup, which is a good thing. Maybe Jackie is getting hot.

Another POS performance by the hitters in support of Sale. Cora may need to put Sale in the bullpen to avoid having shutouts thrown at him every 5 days. This team is not the powerhouse some people are writing about daily.

With Jeremy Lin back on the roster (goodbye Robby, thanks for the set up work), expect Nunez to get some time of his feet. Also expect Bogaerts to miss more than one game. Expect Pedey to miss most of 2018, he's obviously not keeping the inflammation out of his knee and that can usually be cured day to day with steroidal medicines. So Holt will remain in the lineup as a virtual regular for awhile. For those desiring a disposition of Swihart, I think you still have a month to wait. DD will not trash this possible throw-in asset by DFA'ing him until the trade deadline. Dave will try to get some notional value in a multi-player deal, focused on second base play. JBJr will be kept through the season , unless he is part of a bigger deal, not a one for one trade. I'd see him go next winter. Leon and Vazquez are your catchers , and that's how they roll.

Keep in mind as a fan, you can affect nothing of what is going on, so try to enjoy it for what it is. Look in your mail tomorrow and chances are you won't find a check from Fenway Park rewarding you for your highly concerned fandom or advice. Great win tonight and Yankee loss, should make all concerned feel really good.

And don't lose sight of that on a night the Sox went down 4-0 , then coughed it up to 10 after a partial comeback. One of the few times this team has rebounded to an early inning beatdown. Screw Matt LeBlanc and hit change of pace crap.

I think I know the answer, but it would be interesting to bring the JK'er back for the 9th only because he was bringing it hard and can bean Cruz to lead off the 9th. But I'm sure we will need to endure Mr Kimbrel with too big a lead.

BTW, can anyone on this team slide without f***ing up their hands , knees, ankles, etc ?

Some like to knock Nunez as if he is a failed case at 2B. He has outdone what the Sox were looking for in a utility/bench player, when the main guy just can't heal 8 months after his procedure. EN is giving the moneysworth. Cannot wait to see how Kelly deals with this situation. Anything short of shutdown and he will be a major disappointment. And kimbrel needs to go in the 9th to se what he is made of.

Now what will Cora and his bullpen do with a 2 run (min) lead ? This mess is now won if anyone has some guts and skill. Saved the bacon?? You decide.

If the grew up a "baseball man" you can be assured the vast majority are , in fact, illiterate defectives

What does his contract have to do with someone actually playing the position and contributing. The contract is fine, but at this stage, it's more like Coach Pedey. He may still be back with some capacity but DD/Cora cannot count on it this year, maybe 2019 and then for 110-120 games. Which is what Nunez was hired for, Hold down April/May, then Pedey can play. As Mike Tyson said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth !".

Following the idea that if the season ended right now, and the Red Sox were, in fact, a wild card, who would pitch that game ? Assume the rotation the last week allowed you free choice of anyone on the staff. If you say Sale, I feel bad for the fans and team, because they will lose 1-0. Best shot in a one game playoff. Start Brian Johnson for 2 innings followed by Wright, Workman, Velazquez, Barnes, Kelly and Kimbrel.

Looked back to May 1, almost 2 full months, and the Sox have won 4 games in a row 4 times since then but never 5 or more . While it would be great to win 4 of 5 consistently , that hasn't happened. So they find themselves 2 down in the standings , being all 4 games in the loss column. The home schedule surplus needs to be taken advantage of.

You would think it will become an advantage, as would winning 6 or 7 in a row, while the Yankees lose 2 of 3 but neither of those are happening right now. They just finished spanking the Mariners in NY. So for comparison check the results of Mariners-Red Sox series Sunday evening.