1:10PM Eastern
Red Sox
Tanner Houck (R)
1. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
2. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
5. Alex Verdugo (L) RF
6. Kevin Plawecki (R) C
7. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B
8. Jarren Duran (L) CF
9. Jonathan Arauz (S) 2B
Indians
Eli Morgan (R)
1. Myles Straw (R) CF
2. Amed Rosario (R) SS
3. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
4. Franmil Reyes (R) DH
5. Bradley Zimmer (L) RF
6. Bobby Bradley (L) 1B
7. Wilson Ramos (R) C
8. Daniel Johnson (L) LF
9. Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
Gametime Temp: 87°F
Chance of Precip: 5%
Why can't Cora leave well enough alone? Must he always push the envelope and risk looking like a fool? Devers does not hit well in the No. 2 position; he needs to stay at #5; that's where he is most effective. Duran has a bad day at No. 1 and is dropped to No. 8. Good confidence builder for the youngster and yesterday Schwarber got three hits batting second so why is he batting first today? If this works out and we win today I will backtrack and admit I popped off, but I see this too many times from the manager. For Pete's sake leave well enough alone.
Some type of delay in Cleveland. I don’t think it’s delayed for name change. Probably weather.
T-Storms moving through the area.
On the NESN site, Sox seemed conerned about Houck, having already warmed up, then sitting out. They're thinking in a normal start he would be good for 5 innings. They're unsure how today works out without more pressure on the bullpen.
Radar looks like it did some clearing in the past 1/2 hour. Anyone have any idea if/when?
Boston Globe says 4:20PM Eastern start time.
Quote from: markj on August 29, 2021, 03:08:27 PM
Boston Globe says 4:20PM Eastern start time.
Thanks, MarkJ!
Raffy with a solo dinger on a 3-0 pitch.
For all the watching of videos JDM does, you'd think he'd learn not to swing at crap down and away.
Dalbec with another dinger. Sox up 2-0.
Sox leave 'em loaded. But at least we got a gift run.
Man, this was a young man's mistake. No time to try to man up when the bases are loaded. You're hurt, get outta there. He'll remember that one, I hope.
JD drives in another run. Sox up 4-0.
Runners on 2nd and 3rd and Schwarber K's looking after swinging at dirt the previous pitch.
No lead is safe from this BP.
Raffy with another solo dinger to put the Sox up by 2.
Arroyo tests positive for COVID. Will quarantine with Kike.
Verdugo runs into an out. ("Into an out?" Is that an oxymoron?)
Schwarber should have had that. Maybe he's still not 100%.
Uh-oh. Barnes sighting in the BP.
I figured that 1-run lead wouldn't survive. sigh
Quote from: markj on August 29, 2021, 06:23:00 PM
Uh-oh. Barnes sighting in the BP.
His bullpen mates wont let him come in for a save, they like giving up the lead themselves.
Even if they hold this tie, anyone have confidence that Barnes would hold it.
So much for holding the tie.
Amazing propensity to make giving up leads a full team thing. Freaking interference. And now Barnes.
Oy. Sox continue to find new ways to lose.
Even though it really doesn’t matter, I hate when O’Brien starts going on, as he did in the 7th inning, about ¨how if the Sox win this it will be their 6th season sweep¨ Any baseball player hates the mentions of streaks and statistical anomalies. Just bad luck to mention stuff like that.
Playing Rangers, Twins, Indians to fatten the record. Playing the Rays in four will find out what kind of fight the Sox really have.
Had too many opportunities to score in the early innings
and did not get that big scoring inning.
All home runs were solo shots.
UGHHHHHH - the bullpen.
Enough said . . .
Today is what happens when your manager manages the previous two games as if he had 9 good pitchers in the bullpen.
Kudos to upper management for the Robles trade.
I'm not sure I've ever seen two players screwed with so much as I have with Houck and Chavis.Then again, walk 9 times in 73 games (20/21) and, well - two way street to a large extent. Still, it's not pretty.
If Arauze is injured - Munoz (OF'er by trade), Shaw (couple years ago when the Brewers traded for Mustokas) and , um, Santana? Wong played a game there and only had 3 errors. Marwin just signed with the Astros yesterday, so he's not even available for re-hire. Santana has a couple dozen games at 2b. Duran played there in college, but no way they'd do that. Maybe they can sign Sawamura's interpreter to a deal. He's a young man (not Sawamura) and ...... kidding, of course.
Quote from: longgame on August 29, 2021, 06:35:37 PM
Even though it really doesn’t matter, I hate when O’Brien starts going on, as he did in the 7th inning, about ¨how if the Sox win this it will be their 6th season sweep¨ Any baseball player hates the mentions of streaks and statistical anomalies. Just bad luck to mention stuff like that.
I hate when O'Brien goes on period. I find him intensely annoying even when the Sox are winning. When they are losing he is insufferable.
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on August 29, 2021, 07:48:20 PM
Today is what happens when your manager manages the previous two games as if he had 9 good pitchers in the bullpen.
Kudos to upper management for the Robles trade.
I'm not sure I've ever seen two players screwed with so much as I have with Houck and Chavis.Then again, walk 9 times in 73 games (20/21) and, well - two way street to a large extent. Still, it's not pretty.
If Arauze is injured - Munoz (OF'er by trade), Shaw (couple years ago when the Brewers traded for Mustokas) and , um, Santana? Wong played a game there and only had 3 errors. Marwin just signed with the Astros yesterday, so he's not even available for re-hire. Santana has a couple dozen games at 2b. Duran played there in college, but no way they'd do that. Maybe they can sign Sawamura's interpreter to a deal. He's a young man (not Sawamura) and ...... kidding, of course.
Cora's handling of the bullpen has always been his weakest link. What I can not understand is how Red Sox relievers can consistently walk the leadoff batter. It defies the law of averages.
Another blown 4 run lead ?????? PITCHING & MANAGEMENT are at the ROOT CAUSE !!! thumb_d thumb_d iono iono sigh sigh sigh sigh
Quote from: elktonnick on August 29, 2021, 08:38:00 PM
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on August 29, 2021, 07:48:20 PM
Today is what happens when your manager manages the previous two games as if he had 9 good pitchers in the bullpen.
Kudos to upper management for the Robles trade.
I'm not sure I've ever seen two players screwed with so much as I have with Houck and Chavis.Then again, walk 9 times in 73 games (20/21) and, well - two way street to a large extent. Still, it's not pretty.
If Arauze is injured - Munoz (OF'er by trade), Shaw (couple years ago when the Brewers traded for Mustokas) and , um, Santana? Wong played a game there and only had 3 errors. Marwin just signed with the Astros yesterday, so he's not even available for re-hire. Santana has a couple dozen games at 2b. Duran played there in college, but no way they'd do that. Maybe they can sign Sawamura's interpreter to a deal. He's a young man (not Sawamura) and ...... kidding, of course.
Cora's handling of the bullpen has always been his weakest link. What I can not understand is how Red Sox relievers can consistently walk the leadoff batter. It defies the law of averages.
I can't help but think what a better hitting team would have done to us over the weekend.
There are still key holes showing up on this team, it would take an HR whiz to keep track. I saw a good observation, the bullpen has a group of pitchers who are handicapped as far as can’t pitch on consecutive days, and (2) can’t pitch multiple innings. That is a lethal combination when the starters are out of gas in the 5th inning in every game.
I'm really struggling with the idea that a guy can be called a "starter" and get paid big bucks to throw 5 innings on a good day. This has become pathetic across the league but especially on the Sox. Houck was great, until the third time through and they lit him up like a switch had been flipped and he turned into Martin Perez. The bullpen is just bad. I used to always say that these guys that weren't good enough to be starters. With the bar so low on starters, why would you expect a reliever to be able to get anyone out or go for more than three batters? On a related note, I haven't noticed but does anyone think the three batter requirement has hurt the Sox with their poor relief options.
We also have talked a ton about the walks by relievers. For years. I just don't get it. There is not a single reliever in that pen who I feel good about. Not one.
So last chance to make a run at first place and I doubt they'll sweep two series from the Rays. In fact, I'd be surprised if we didn't get swept in each of those. The Rays are good, the Sox are not.
Quote from: longgame on August 30, 2021, 08:09:06 AM
I'm really struggling with the idea that a guy can be called a "starter" and get paid big bucks to throw 5 innings on a good day. This has become pathetic across the league but especially on the Sox. Houck was great, until the third time through and they lit him up like a switch had been flipped and he turned into Martin Perez. The bullpen is just bad. I used to always say that these guys that weren't good enough to be starters. With the bar so low on starters, why would you expect a reliever to be able to get anyone out or go for more than three batters? On a related note, I haven't noticed but does anyone think the three batter requirement has hurt the Sox with their poor relief options.
We also have talked a ton about the walks by relievers. For years. I just don't get it. There is not a single reliever in that pen who I feel good about. Not one.
So last chance to make a run at first place and I doubt they'll sweep two series from the Rays. In fact, I'd be surprised if we didn't get swept in each of those. The Rays are good, the Sox are not.
Tampa Bay Rays have done very well without the "TRADITIONAL STARTER " !!! Matter a fact , they make it look easy ??? iono iono
We've been chatting about the basic problems with the game that's happened the past 5-10 years due to the previous 20 years. The marathon aspect of the pitching staff has changed. The roster sizes and freedom of movement up and down from the Minors and the joke of a 10-day IL puts far less emphasis on game to game duration of a starting pitcher. If you've got 5 out of 9 pitchers in your pen ready for that day, your starter throw as hard and as nasty as he can for 4 innings. Screw pitching to contact.
Then days like yesterday happen when those available in the pen are not the good ones, and you've made zero - and I mean ZERO effort to lengthen the starting pitcher to that he can go 105 pitches on his last start in August. There was no way yesterday does not happen.
All of that hard throwing inning by inning may reduce innings and all, but it is not reducing injuries. Look at all the TJ surgeries being done nowadays. I suggest that it's a result in how nasty you have to be for each and every inning. It's not reaching back for that gas or the nasty pitch when you need it. It's doing that each and every time.
And that's the same mentality that has some super-stud swinging so hard that he's dislocating his shoulder many times per year. On a related note, anyone see oblique injuries like we see now 20 years ago?
Basically, a lot of rules allowing this all to happen combined with a system that encourages zero self discipline. Force the game back into the game. (think about it)
Quote from: MongoLikeSox on August 30, 2021, 11:53:26 AM
We've been chatting about the basic problems with the game that's happened the past 5-10 years due to the previous 20 years. The marathon aspect of the pitching staff has changed. The roster sizes and freedom of movement up and down from the Minors and the joke of a 10-day IL puts far less emphasis on game to game duration of a starting pitcher. If you've got 5 out of 9 pitchers in your pen ready for that day, your starter throw as hard and as nasty as he can for 4 innings. Screw pitching to contact.
Then days like yesterday happen when those available in the pen are not the good ones, and you've made zero - and I mean ZERO effort to lengthen the starting pitcher to that he can go 105 pitches on his last start in August. There was no way yesterday does not happen.
All of that hard throwing inning by inning may reduce innings and all, but it is not reducing injuries. Look at all the TJ surgeries being done nowadays. I suggest that it's a result in how nasty you have to be for each and every inning. It's not reaching back for that gas or the nasty pitch when you need it. It's doing that each and every time.
And that's the same mentality that has some super-stud swinging so hard that he's dislocating his shoulder many times per year. On a related note, anyone see oblique injuries like we see now 20 years ago?
Basically, a lot of rules allowing this all to happen combined with a system that encourages zero self discipline. Force the game back into the game. (think about it)
It will be interesting to see what the CBA negotiations will be this off-season. There was progress in theCOVID protocol, but I have a feeling nothing advantageous to pitchers was done this year as it would be changed during CBA.
Of course the players would never go for it, but even something as small as making a 6 inning requirement for a win would be a good start. These guys are ego driven and they'll insist on finding a way through a rotation a third time (horrors). Another thing is get rid of these freaking flash cards. If you can't remember what to throw a guy, then maybe you aren't major league material. Heck at this point I'd go for 3 ball walks.