7:05PM Eastern
Red Sox
Chris Sale (L)
1. Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
2. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF
3. Rafael Devers (L) 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
5. J.D. Martinez (R) DH
6. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
7. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B
8. Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
9. Christian Vazquez (R) C
Orioles
Bruce Zimmermann (L)
1. Cedric Mullins (L) CF
2. Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
3. Austin Hays (R) RF
4. Trey Mancini (R) DH
5. Pedro Severino (R) C
6. Ryan McKenna (R) LF
7. Pat Valaika (R) SS
8. Jahmai Jones (R) 2B
9. Kelvin Gutierrez (R) 3B
Gametime Temp: 75°F
Chance of Precip: 11%
This is an ongoing saga it appears, every game. The way they are handling Sale, he's good for 5 or 6 innings, then they turn it over to the bullpen. Again, what in the world could happen there?
Maybe a brighter day ahead, Whitlock is feeling almost up to par, and could see action out of the pen again Wed or THurs.
Then again, Taylor to the DL. The real problem here is that even with decent starts this bullpen has been in disarray following Barnes' disintegration. No roles, nobody good at whatever role they get placed in.
This is interesting:
If the Blue Jays take 2 of 3 from the Yankees and sweep the O’s, the Yankees take 2 of 3 from the Rays, and the Red Sox win 4 of 6 against Baltimore and Washington, there will be a three-way tie for two AL wild card spots.
There's actually a scenario where we could have a 5 way tie with Seattle and Oakland in the mix too. Could be a lot of play-in games to make it to one playoff game!
Quote from: longgame on September 28, 2021, 08:28:46 AM
This is interesting:
If the Blue Jays take 2 of 3 from the Yankees and sweep the O’s, the Yankees take 2 of 3 from the Rays, and the Red Sox win 4 of 6 against Baltimore and Washington, there will be a three-way tie for two AL wild card spots.
There's actually a scenario where we could have a 5 way tie with Seattle and Oakland in the mix too. Could be a lot of play-in games to make it to one playoff game!
Yes, far away on the west coast, Seattle has been on a roll. Now the hottest team in the AL, having won 8 of last 10 (I think one of the losses was to Boston?). After the current series with the A's, they finish up with the Angels. They are only 1 1/2 games behind Boston for the second wild card spot. One certainty, the Rays would not welcome a coming series with Mariners. They have not won a game with Mariners all year, either 0-5 or 0-6.
Like Ted says, it could be a tangle of teams after the next 5-6 games.
Quite a pickle when it comes to 2B. They simply have to play Iglesias as he's the better player, but they also need Arroyo ready for any postseason activity.
Sale pitching a good one. In the 5th, 0 runs, 1 hit, 64 pitches. But the Sox have provided him only one run on two hits, a Schwarber homer.
Sox need to stop relying on an HR as their only goal at every AB. Two solo dingers tonight. Get some base runners and stop swinging for the fences all the time.
Sale gives up a 2-run dinger. Game tied. That's what happens when you have base runners.
Sale's having himself a hissy fit on the mound.
Sox are just pathetic. Raffy with a blown throw to first prolongs the inning, and the O's take advantage. Sox down 4-2. It's like they just want to play out the string and go golfing.
I just keep thinking how we’ll be talking about The Epic Collapse of 2021 for a long time. Win three games and the worst case is you gain 2 games on one of the teams in the race and 1 on the other.
As we heard Sunday night repeatedly, the guys are ¨relaxed¨. I hope they had time to make tee times for next week. Maybe they need to wake up.
What a sorry performance.
On the bright side, if they blow the WC, at least they won't get embarrassed by getting their butts kicked in a one-game playoff.
TO ME IT IS THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE OF GETTING CORA AND HIS HORSE DUNG OVER MANAGING FIRED. HE NEEDS TO GO. THIS COLLAPSE MAY DO IT. And this is a collapse that will rank a little below that of 2011. We have disgraced ourselves and heads must roll. This is now very shitty team and if Prune Face is not going to open up his friggin wallet he should sell the team and hand it over to someone who will spend the money it takes to get the winning type players that will restore our respect. And as Isaid the other day we do not deserve to make the playoffs.
Yikes. Seattle wins again. Just 1/2 game out of the second wild card with both Sox and Jays losing.
Quote from: markj on September 28, 2021, 08:37:18 PM
Sox are just pathetic. Raffy with a blown throw to first prolongs the inning, and the O's take advantage. Sox down 4-2. It's like they just want to play out the string and go golfing.
THE "ALL WORLD " 3RD BASEMAN !!! TAKE " A DEEP BREATH" !!! CHANGES COMING, NOW GRASSHOPPER !!!! thumb_d iono sigh sigh sigh
Quote from: SeaBeachFred on September 28, 2021, 09:11:30 PM
TO ME IT IS THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE OF GETTING CORA AND HIS HORSE DUNG OVER MANAGING FIRED. HE NEEDS TO GO. THIS COLLAPSE MAY DO IT. And this is a collapse that will rank a little below that of 2011. We have disgraced ourselves and heads must roll. This is now very shitty team and if Prune Face is not going to open up his friggin wallet he should sell the team and hand it over to someone who will spend the money it takes to get the winning type players that will restore our respect. And as Isaid the other day we do not deserve to make the playoffs.
NOW GRASSHOPPER !!!!! JASON VERITEK , MANAGER !!!!! CLEAN UP THAT MESS !!! thumb_u iono iono
I'd be surprised if they dumped Cora but not overly so. I think they have their player targets and will move on those. Clearly they need to give any manager a lineup of guys who have played the position before and not with 17 outfielders. Secondly they need to address the dismal pitching performances that seem to go in streaks from the rotation to the bullpen.
I'm just tired of these Red Sox collapses. The good news is now that every few years they put it together and make it work as opposed to merely coming close as they did pre-2004. But time after time I've seen the Red Sox in good shape, only to collapse in the stretch. Too many late season losses to the Yankees in those years. Missing every opportunity to put teams behind them. A four game losing streak in the last week of the season is not acceptable for an alleged contender.
Our "best" bet may be to root for the Yankees to knock out Toronto and hope to beat the Yankees in a playoff game, but that would require a) hitting and b) not throwing hangers out over the plate to Stanton.
The Sox seem to have lost all confidence they can win. Maybe they can beat losing teams like Balty and Nats, but when they have to match up with a contender or a team with a winning record, things go badly. I think in Sept the Sox are something like 6-13 vs teams with winning records. That means in those games they must solve a quality pitcher, face a team that can defend and doesn't make stupid decisions/errors and then when they come to bat have some big bats we have to pitch to.
Meanwhile teams are streaking near the playoffs, NYY 7-straight, the Cardinals 17-straight, the Mariners 9 of 10. The Sox are streaking in the wrong direction of course. There is no Ortiz in the dugout to settle these nervous nellies down, I doubt Sale is striking a calm tone after last nights collapse, if he is the one the guys are looking up to.
Good to know my friends on the board are getting the message loud and clear. I didn't think Cora's worthless platitudes and our dismal standing tall as a team would fool he people here. Cora is a rotten cheater and who knows if the God sof Fate aren't punishing him for his rotten conduct and Prune Face for being a cheap bastard. It will be interesting to see if the owner will finally open his wallet let the mouths out and get us some real pitching, a leader or two instead of pretending that choker Bogaerts is one---which he most certainly isn't and never will be. As we used to say long ago in Brooklyn, wait till next year----maybe.