GAME #148 - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 - BOSTON RED SOX @ SEATTLE MARINERS

[markj]

So Perez manages to only give up one run. Sox win 9-4.

[elktonnick]

The Sox win but Perez adds needless drama.

[markj]

Blue Jays won and the Yanks will most likely win, so status quo in the WC chase.

[Schloicka]

The Sox win but Perez adds needless drama.

What drama? Looked like an easy inning.

[SeaBeachFred]

This is what I am talking about.  The sox are in the shift.  So Houck throws pitches to the outside corner and three hits to the opposite field for hits.  If you are going to shift it makes little sense to have pitchers throwing to the outer edge repeatedly.

Save your breath Elk.  The only ones who hear you are your friends on this board who might have more grey matter going for them than our esteemed coaching staff.  I always seem to see other teams use the shift and am amazed how often it works for them.  Equally amazed that it doesn't seem to work very  for us at all. Perhaps the whole edifice of brain trust needs a refresher course on Baseball Fundamentals 101 this winter because that along with our defense smells pretty bad right now.  OTOH, it was a very stirring victory for us today with that big six run tenth inning and Perez only gave one of them back.  We won the series and we needed to do that so I would think for the most part we should all be pleased when all is taken into account.  Amazingly we are still in the hunt.

[elktonnick]

Fred even when they win they play fundamental unsound stupid baseball.  When has anyone last seen a pitcher drop a ball for a balk in extra innings, yet.

[Sea Dog 23]

Well, it’s the game of baseball.  I think the Sox got 1 hit over the last 6 or 7 innings after getting the lead.  Then the luck to salvage a win with a crooked number in extras.  Like no other sport we see.

[elktonnick]

I have calculated between, MLB, the minor leagues and NCAA baseball I have probably watched near 3500 baseball games since 2000 and I have never seen a pitcher drop the ball for a balk.  In fact prior to 2000 I had never seen that kind of balk. Has anyone else?

[longgame]

I certainly didn't see and am just now hearing about this balk.  The Sox find interesting ways to keep the other team alive.  I've never seen anything like this season in terms of the defensive side of the ball.  Not to mention the inconsistency of the heart of the order.

But a late win is still a win and they did what they had to do, win this series and effectively knock Seattle out.  Now sweep the Orioles please.

Speaking of which, apparently in the 9th with the Yankees rallying, the Baltimore ground crew was sitting on the tarp ready to roll it out for an approaching storm.  Being the 9th inning and having the infield in, the ump wanted them off the field and "ejected" them!  Game continued, the Yankees rallied and the rains came as the game ended.

[Sea Dog 23]

I missed the balk in the 10th. But I’ll attribute that to our staff being somewhat in tatters being up and down in the covid fire drill.  And also considering Perez is a firebrand type of guy, you just don’t know what he’s got in store.  I will say over the last week, with the exception of Brasier and a bad Whitlock outing, our bullpen has been a strong suit in the penant chase.

[MongoLikeSox]

There is a rather significant advantage to not having a runner on 2nd, as everyone knows. With a sizeable lead, give that runner 3rd allows the pitcher to bare down on the hitter sans worrying about relaying pitch location and steeling catcher's signals. if we got a 5 run lead and a runner is on second, I have no problem with him getting a runner out of his head so that he can focus on a batter. Might backfire, of course, but it also might increase the pitcher's effectiveness. I think Cash had someone do that last week. I've read about the Dodgers doing it. Maybe Jansen, IIRC.

When one thinks about it, it's no different than a closer with a 4 run lead giving up a hit and forgetting that runner's existence so that the tying run remains in the dugout for the next two hitters. I've even seen Greg Maddox do it back in the Braves' happier times. It backfired on him.  ;D 

I think we know when it's not done on purpose by the look of horror that does not overcome the pitcher's face directly afterwards.

[markj]

Yankees blow a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th on the last O's batter with a wild pitch that allowed a runner on 3rd to come home. Then the O's ended it with a run in the 10th. So the Yanks are now a half game out of the WC race.

Note to Red Sox: The O's aren't going away quietly.

[longgame]

Yankees blow a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th on the last O's batter with a wild pitch that allowed a runner on 3rd to come home. Then the O's ended it with a run in the 10th. So the Yanks are now a half game out of the WC race.

Note to Red Sox: The O's aren't going away quietly.

Watched the last couple of innings of that game which was fun.  The O's have some players and can pitch, it's just tough for them to pull it all together consistently.  Sox need to sweep them both times.

[elktonnick]

We also caught the last couple innings.  To be fair the Yankees defense and pitching lapses cost them that game.  Any manager who keeps Sanchez behind the plate in a close game in the late innings is asking for trouble.

[longgame]

We also caught the last couple innings.  To be fair the Yankees defense and pitching lapses cost them that game.  Any manager who keeps Sanchez behind the plate in a close game in the late innings is asking for trouble.

Yes, they were Red Sox-esque.  Another team with a lot of talent that doesn't work well together.