GAME #92, SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2019, L.A. DODGERS @ BOSTON RED SOX

[longgame]

So much for laying the blame on Vaz. Perhaps now media and fans alike will understand that its 100% on Sale.Sick of hearing all the crap of where the hell is Leon.

Leon was catching and it didn’t help any.  Vas has to be in the lineup the way he’s been hitting, the strikeout the last time notwithstanding.

[longgame]

Sox score a run, the bullpen gives up more.  Wright brings gasoline to the fire.

[Schloicka]

Sox score a run, the bullpen gives up more.  Wright brings gasoline to the fire.

Wrights pitches were bobbing when they should of been weaving.

[SeaBeachFred]

Chavis out, Vazquez at 1st, Leon catch, Holt at 2nd ……………. iono iono iono

Not sure why the shoulder shrug with the lineup? Sale wants to pitch to Leon so you catch him or tell Sale don't worry about who's catching just go out and do your job. No problem with Holt playing and Vazquez needs to be in the lineup so putting him at 1st in place of Chavis is no big deal. Vazquez is hitting better than Chavis anyway.

That's it right there. Get the hot bats in the game. They're not giving up much on defense with Vaz in over Chavis.

CONCUR, but I do like Chavis !!!  GO SOX, one at a time !!

I like Chavis too. I think he does a fine job. Just with Sale wanting his catcher and Vaz hitting well someone had to be the odd man out. This looks to be the easiest way to handle it.

Well that now had become shits for the birds.  Sale is not pitching worth shit no matter who catches him and Leon is one big puss ball at the plate.  We need to put our nine best hitters in the lineup and that's that---and that means that Chavis plays wit his 15 homers and Leon with his 185 average sits his ass on the be nch/

[Schloicka]

Chavis out, Vazquez at 1st, Leon catch, Holt at 2nd ……………. iono iono iono

Not sure why the shoulder shrug with the lineup? Sale wants to pitch to Leon so you catch him or tell Sale don't worry about who's catching just go out and do your job. No problem with Holt playing and Vazquez needs to be in the lineup so putting him at 1st in place of Chavis is no big deal. Vazquez is hitting better than Chavis anyway.

That's it right there. Get the hot bats in the game. They're not giving up much on defense with Vaz in over Chavis.

CONCUR, but I do like Chavis !!!  GO SOX, one at a time !!

I like Chavis too. I think he does a fine job. Just with Sale wanting his catcher and Vaz hitting well someone had to be the odd man out. This looks to be the easiest way to handle it.

Well that now had become shits for the birds.  Sale is not pitching worth shit no matter who catches him and Leon is one big puss ball at the plate.  We need to put our nine best hitters in the lineup and that's that---and that means that Chavis plays wit his 15 homers and Leon with his 185 average sits his ass on the be nch/

Well Vaz isn't going to catch 5-7 games in a row so what does it matter if he catches Sale every 5 days? When a pitchers era is over 7 his last 4 games the answer isn't to hope his team scores 8 runs a game! It means the pitcher is having problems. His era tonight was over 9!

[SeaBeachFred]

Sox score a run, the bullpen gives up more.  Wright brings gasoline to the fire.

Notice Cora once again pinched hit Nunez for Holt after Brock got two more hits and for the fourth time Nunez failed to get a hit.  Hey Cora how is Holt going to hit lefties if you don't give him a chance to do it you dumb son of a bitch.  Holt is now hitting 330, Nunez 232.  As for Sale, shit on his demanding a 180 hitter like Leon catch him.  It has made no difference and besides, Sale has pitched shitty no matter who catches him and we don't need Leon in that lineup if Chavis or Vazquez has to sit.  A shitty game tonight and once again  the RedSox could not take advantage of making any hay.  Hey David, it is up to you to get us that rubber game  tomorrow and to finally prove to all of us that we can beat a solid team in a series.

[elktonnick]

Ok the sox got clobbered.  I hope that the manager's playing Vazquez at first doesn't have serious longstanding ill effects.  Let's face it Vazquez is not suited for first base.  He was clearly uncomfortable playing there.  This discomfort may have adversely affected his hitting.  I just hope he can shake off this as a one off. 

[Murph]

Cashner has gone seven innings in each of his past two starts and at least six innings in each of his last five, posting a 1.41 ERA since the start of June. On the season, Cashner has held left-handed hitters to a .182 batting average, a .499 OPS and only one home run.
If I heard right the Sox are only paying him around 1.8 m  along with the two 17-year-old pups.

[Sea Dog 23]

 There's a caveat to the Sox second half run as the Boston press is exclamating this weekend.  Winners of six in a row until last night.  The network guys were pumping JDM batting .430 in his last 10 games. That is one example of getting scouted by better teams  this year. But he is hitless in the two games with LA .  Beni, JBJ, Vaz also hitless last night.  Mookie has got two hits in the series. 

Sox play Tampa and NYYin 9 of the next 20 games. IMO  the lack of consistent pitching and clutch hitting is going to short circuit our season unless Cora, Lavangie and the hitting coach have answers.  Today Ryu, one of MLBs best this year, 0.91 WHIP, will be another tall task for everybody not named Devers. 

[Bill-806]

Chavis out, Vazquez at 1st, Leon catch, Holt at 2nd ……………. iono iono iono

Not sure why the shoulder shrug with the lineup? Sale wants to pitch to Leon so you catch him or tell Sale don't worry about who's catching just go out and do your job. No problem with Holt playing and Vazquez needs to be in the lineup so putting him at 1st in place of Chavis is no big deal. Vazquez is hitting better than Chavis anyway.

That's it right there. Get the hot bats in the game. They're not giving up much on defense with Vaz in over Chavis.

CONCUR, but I do like Chavis !!!  GO SOX, one at a time !!

I like Chavis too. I think he does a fine job. Just with Sale wanting his catcher and Vaz hitting well someone had to be the odd man out. This looks to be the easiest way to handle it.

Well that now had become shits for the birds.  Sale is not pitching worth shit no matter who catches him and Leon is one big puss ball at the plate.  We need to put our nine best hitters in the lineup and that's that---and that means that Chavis plays wit his 15 homers and Leon with his 185 average sits his ass on the be nch/

Well Vaz isn't going to catch 5-7 games in a row so what does it matter if he catches Sale every 5 days? When a pitchers era is over 7 his last 4 games the answer isn't to hope his team scores 8 runs a game! It means the pitcher is having problems. His era tonight was over 9!

In the 7th inning, the throw (PLAY) from VAZ to DEVERS on the run was telling...…  The infield of Devers & VAZ at the corners did not make me comfortable ??? iono iono iono

[elktonnick]

Devers has come around defensively, putting Vaz at first was an interesting experiment which I hope is not repeated.  Manager Neuman seems to think players are fungible, they can play anywhere.  They are only if you don't care about the results.

[Murph]

Five Red Sox Takes: Chris Sale loses at Fenway Park again
Chris Mason 11 hrs ago
It's been over a year since Chris Sale won a game at Fenway Park. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Michael Dwyer
     
BOSTON â€" This isn't the history the Red Sox had in mind when they inked Chris Sale to a five year, $145 million extension.

With last night's 11-2 loss to the Dodgers, Sale became the first pitcher ever to go 13 straight starts without picking up a regular season win at Fenway Park. His last home victory came on July 11, 2018.

Here are five takes from a Red Sox regression:

1. Sale looks lost

If Sale can't figure his issues out, this team isn't going anywhere.

The lefty was tagged for runs in the first and third inning, and when he got into more trouble and fell behind 5-1 in the fifth, Alex Cora was so uninspired that he lifted his No. 1 starter at 92 pitches. He just can't command his fastball right now.

It was the 10th time this season that Sale was tagged for at least four runs and the Red Sox fell to 6-13 when their ace takes the mound.

2. He can say goodbye to Sandy

Alex Cora seemed irked that he needed to find a new spot for the white-hot Christian Vazquez because Sale usually throws better to Sandy Leon. But the manager stuck Vazquez at first base â€" that didn't go particularly well â€" to see if he could get Sale going.

"I hate the whole personal catcher thing," Cora said beforehand. "But I felt like today, we’re going with Sandy and Chris, see where it takes us."

It took them to the same place; last night was the fourth straight start Sale had been tagged for at least four runs, and Leon was behind the plate for three of them.

3. Wright gets rocked

Steven Wright's knuckleball wasn't knuckling last night.

Tabbed as a new bullpen improvement hours earlier by Dave Dombrowski, Wright was shelled by the Dodgers. He gave up bombs to Cody Bellinger and A.J. Pollock, and later left the game when he was struck on the foot with a comebacker.

Fortunately, x-rays were negative, but it was quite an uninspiring outing.

4. Bogey brings the bat

Xander Bogaerts was the only Red Sox hitter that did any damage on Saturday night.

The shortstop hit a solo homer into the Monster Seats in the fourth inning, his 19th of the season, and laced an opposite-field single to plate Boston's other run. More than half of Boston's starters went hitless in the loss.

5. Dave makes a deal

The No. 5 spot in the Red Sox rotation is finally getting a jolt of adrenaline.

Dombrowski sent two low-level prospects to the Orioles for Andrew Cashner, a veteran starter in the midst of his best season since 2014.

"Definitely gives us the improvement in that fifth spot, which we’ve scuffled for such a long time this year," Dombrowski said. "He’s a guy that’s taken the ball and given six, seven innings on a consistent basis so we like a lot of the things about him. We think he makes us better.”

A right-hander, Cashner boasts a 9-3 record despite being lampooned on a terrible Orioles team, and his 3.83 ERA will actually rank second among Red Sox starters.

[Murph]

Devers has come around defensively, putting Vaz at first was an interesting experiment which I hope is not repeated.  Manager Neuman seems to think players are fungible, they can play anywhere.  They are only if you don't care about the results.

Devers is turning quickly into a complete player. Once a total nightmare with the glove is no more a worry . Last 2 months only 3 errors. Coaching dedication and IMHO his loss of weight is the big key making him more mobile and quicker.

[Bill-806]

The hitters know that SALE is always around the plate...…. Forego a FEW STRIKEOUTS and KEEP the HITTERS off the PLATE, hit a couple ??? thumb_u iono iono

[longgame]

Devers has turned it around incredibly on defense.  It's now a matter of where you get excited when its hit to him because you expect him to make the big play.  The opposite is Benitendi who just keeps misplaying balls, diving for ones he can't get and not really getting it done at the plate.  I like the kid, but he's become a liability this season. 

But it's all going to begin and end with Chris Sale, the elephant in the room.  Can there be much question that Dana Lavangie has the opposite of the Midas touch?  Turning a great pitcher into a nothing in a couple of years.  I'm really down on this guy as it seems like an easy fix - get any one of the 100s of pitching coaches across baseball at all levels who were major league pitchers.

The bullpen still shows no sign of relief, pun intended, especially with Wright as a big part of the fix.  But hey, Eovaldi will be ready to blow saves in a few weeks.