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On August 1st we had a thread that asked "Is This Rock Bottom ? " On August 19th a thread told us "Michael Kopech called up . " Now 4 of our 5 starting pitchers are all key pieces to the rebuild . Can we honestly keep rooting for losses when these guys pitch ? We can't think we can get good pitching and lose enough to continue tanking can we ? Now next year Eloy will be here full time along with some young bullpen arms. Yes the position players are all still pretty much disasters Maybe Abreu , Anderson and Moncada will be here still . In Abreu's case who knows ? Right now we are a team full of DH's and utility players and guys on the cusp of being non tendered or jettisoned in some other fashion. So what's the plan moving forward this off season ? CF looks bleak in free agency and there's not much there for 3rd base either our 2 weakest positions. Machado is presumably a SS . He and Harper don't seem likely but there are still plenty of talented players out there. I think the key might be who is going to get a qualifying offer among the remaining free agents. Until the new CBA it's possible the owners keep the contracts offered to aging players low. If there is a lack of QO's then perhaps the Sox take a bigger plunge into free agency then we might otherwise think. The off season should be very very interesting. Is it worth it to try to give out smaller contracts to guys who can bridge the gap for another year or continue to search for diamonds in the rough? That didn't work out real well this season and I don't expect much help from anyone on Charlotte outside of relief pitchers, With so many holes offensively and defensively even good luck with trades or FA probably doesn't mean the playoffs next year. But with so many holes some have to be plugged right ? It's all not just going to happen overnight and relying on the 2020 free agent class could be a disaster if the Sox strike out there.

Benetti is so good. I love him with a rejuvenated Stone. It will be a blessing to never hear blow-hard Hawk again after this season.

I luv Kopech day

My new favorite announcer is Mute Sound.

Alan Trammel wasn't even that good.

I think your statistics will depend on the quality of the pitchers as well though. A generalization of "pitchers struggle facing a lineup the third time through" is a no brainer. The pitcher will be tired and the hitters will have seen what he has. The true question is, is there enough quality in the bullpen to regularly take a pitcher out in the 4th or 5th inning? Teams may have two or three good ones but will they have the depth to cover 4 to 5 innings 3 out of 5 nights. This wouldn't include the top starters when they have an off night and they need to make up those innings.

Eloy 3-4, triple, double, single. Sadly, still hasn’t checked the “hit for the cycle” box.

“I know it sounds silly to say that in my second start in the big leagues, I didn't have my best stuff," Kopech said. "But I didn't have my best stuff today, and it was one of those outings where I had to grind through it. I'm fortunate to know that now, when I do have to grind through it, I know that my stuff is good enough to still get big league hitters out."

A minor detail

I don;t understand the whole argument of wanting him to stay in the 7th. He had a rough 6th came out of it almost unscathed. Saw comments about bringing him in for 1 more innings or one more batter for various reasons. But he ended his day on a very positive note. What does one more batter or inning accomplish ? All the reasons I saw for keeping him in were things he can do later when he's not at a career high innings pitched, He had already done well getting out of some high stress innings. Injuries can happen at any time but probably more likely when arm is fatigued. I understand trying to uphold your end of the debate but whats done is done and for sound reasons.

He wasn't at 75 pitches and it wasn't a shut out. There is 0 reason to take risks with his arm. He is on pace to pitch the most innings of his career. He had a great start, he has the rest of his career ahead of him. I'm sure the sox have a predetermined amount of innings. Maybe pulling him today means 1 more start.

i don't know. I don't follow the NBA. However, I would think the fans of a given team will cheer more for the player if he is on their favorite team as opposed to another team. Maybe I'm old and wrong but while I don't wish ill will for any player (well almost any) I sure don't actively root for players on the other team, in general. Exceptions would be for a rare achievement such as a no hitter, hitting for the cycle etc.

I'm in IL-06 and I've been involved during the whole process. For anyone that despises Trump, Roskam has voted with him on 98% of issues. Roskam voted for the Tax Bill when his constituency was among the hardest hit in the COUNTRY. On my political To Do list, helping defeat Peter Roskam is #1.

How is it pushing it with a pitch count in the 80s

We'll see if this pitch to contact philosophy works with Kopech, but this is what I was afraid of when he came up. Coop fucking with him.

If he swung at that pitch, there would’ve been a lot of “WHY IS HE SWINGING FIRST PITCH AFTER 3 STRAIGHT BALLS?!?!?!”

The pitcher had just walked in a bases loaded run on a WP, too, maybe he wanted pitcher to show him he could.

Looks like Kopech isn't coming out...

Palka walked which is good, but was hoping to use this great phrase: More like Smolka

Like another poster said, I’d let Kopech back out there for perhaps 1 more inning and pull him after the first baserunner if that should happen.

You don't let Kopech come back out. Let his day end on a real positive note. Confidence is everything to these young pitchers.

My pleasure.

The young man taking his lumps right now. This is all part of learning how to pitch in the big leagues.

What negative remarks will you continue to make if he isn’t?

Where is fathom to comment on that 94 MPH fastball? ?

I disagree. I think it helps for fans to identify with teams and players. Obviously, it's better for the players to increase their salaries.

Kopech is now The Light Eloy will be The Truth.

It's my Let there be Light Thread of course.

If Engel could hit .260, steal some bags and play good D I'm good with him sticking around hitting 9th

Calm down pal

Mikie Mahtook sucks, I have zero idea why he is such a hard out for Sox pitchers.

Kopech’s first inning: 11 pitches / 9 strikes / 2 balls 10 fastballs / 1 slider 3 swinging strikes

That pitch to Yolmer was one of the worst called strikes I've ever seen. Even worse than those on Yoan this year. If Kopech gets that pitch as a called strike, he's unhittable

I'm 6'2". Haven't been able to dunk in 5 years haha. I'm 32 right now so dunking might be over for me haha.

Wait so potential pieces to the future pen like Burr, Covey, Vieira, Fry and anyone I am forgetting you want them to suck ?I'm not sure if you really mean what you said about losing all but 3 games. What would that accomplish ? First it's not going to happen. Let's say realistically the worst the Sox can do is win another 10ish games . AT this point the Sox probably are stuck right were they are as far as our draft status . We could pass Detroit and lose a spot but it's pretty unlikely we catch the Oriole or Royals . Are we gaining on anyone else we could lose another spot in the draft to besides Detroit ?

I'd like to clarify how I erroneously came up with a 39% strike out rate. I used "at bats" rather than plate appearances. Since I was relating it to batting average, I thought that made sense. If I were relating it to on base %, I would have used plate appearances. At the time of my calculation, he had struck out 179 times in 459 at bats, which is 39%. If a hitter strikes out 4 times in every 10 at bats, that leaves 6 at bats, for him to accumulate hits, applied to his average. If he has a BABIP of .400, on those 6 at bats, he would get 2.4 hits. That would produce a batting average of .240 for the total 10 at bats (2.4 hits, in 10 at bats). It's not plausible to expect him to have a .400 BABIP, and even then. it would only produce a .240 Average. That was my point. I understand that the game has changed and that these very high strike out rates are becoming much more common, and for some, acceptable. It just seems to me that a hitter is going to have to hit a lot of home runs, to justify that kind of strike out rate. That said, I am hopeful that he will get that strike out issue under control. The encouraging thing is that he has taken an awful lot of called 3RD strikes, many on bad umpire calls. Once he learns to swing at those close pitches, when he is in a 2 strike count, that should reduce the strike outs.

I said it a week ago in the “16-16 since July 10” thread, the worst of the rebuild is certainly behind us. Let the fun begin ?

I hope the Sox finish outside the top five picks for next year's draft. That would mean some young players played some good baseball and I'm fine with that. Time to start learning how to win.

I too see the light. The tipping point has been reached. Interesting times ahead... as we’ve all known for many days. It’s just that now... the days are numbered.

It's also a meatheaded analysis to compare his struggles at age 23 to a guy like Altuve. The two players are absolutely nothing alike. Altuve has proven he is one of the best in the game. Moncada hasn't proven anything yet. Also, following that logic, why would the Sox give up on a guy like Carson Fulmer as a starter already? Look at his first 13 games started compared to John Smoltz's. Smoltz turned into a great pitcher. Fulmer most certainly can as well, right?

Great outing by Gio. Nice of the Sox to give me a win on my birthday...always a welcomed present.

That’s very true, but acting like Moncada has been so bad that he could be out of baseball within 3 years is still just woefully meatheaded analysis, and the type of talk that might be expected from an impatient 12 year old.

giolito 7/10 starts have been quality starts.

Trump's cult lol.... So if you voted for him...you're in a cult? Geezus...idiocy like that is what got him elected in the first place. But glad we went off the rails here.

Nobody is pretending anything....but to chastise a kid who was 17 and said some stupid crap is laughable. And if people want to hang him in judgement...knock yourselves out. I find it pathetic. Good luck in your ivory tower. But you are right...there are consequences. Last election should have told you that. Maybe read up on David...he wasn't a saint by any means...but he was still a favorite of the son of man (if you believe any of that stuff). There's a good lesson in there. There's laws...then there's morality. One is absolute. The other is subjective depending on what side of the road you stand on. I'm the last person that should be judging anybody...I wish more would look in the mirror and think the same thing. As for the Confederate thing...I find it strange that after a 150+ years all of a sudden....NOW it's considered offensive to some. People in the south will always disagree with you. Just because they embrace their past...people want to deem them at racists. Some still are I'm sure...but it's idiotic to try and wipe out history like that. But whatev...just my 2¢.

Who decides what is OK? The mob? There are some words that should never be uttered for obvious reasons but for others it's not so simple. I don't want the mob deciding what I can and cannot say but more importantly I don't want them trying to prevent me from saying it. Why is it even their business how I speak to others. Who gave them the moral authority to judge someone else? Do SJW get some sort of moral badge when they join twitter? You mentioned earlier that a large majority of the country refuses to evolve isn't that their own business? It's partly why Trump got elected the silent majority got tired of other people sticking their nose in their business and being told of what they could and couldn;t say. Don't get me wrong I'm not defending what was said but I won't defend the outrage either. To me those people are 10x worse then Kopech. For most of them it isn't even about the cause it's more some sort of weird 21st century preening and ego stroking some sort of here look at me I'm so 'evolved'. Meanwhile if you saw an old lady would you help her cross the street? Open the door for them? Help them struggle with groceries?Do you donate to the local foodbank? Sick kids? Do you give your time and help your neighbor by plowing their laneway? Do you help take care of your family disabled child noone else wants? Those are the type of things that actually matter like the other poster mentioned it earlier. As James 2:18 says: But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

The founding fathers were huge fans of 3D printers.