SoxBlanco

1 inning, 3 ER, 5 hits, 0 BB, 0 K

Basabe with a solo shot.

Yep, I was just about to post this. Very nice 7 pitch inning in the 5th.

Six up, six down with a couple strike outs since your post. 17 of his 21 pitches in those two innings were for strikes. Hopefully he can get into some sort of rhythm before this season is over. He needs to get some confidence back. EDIT: Two RBI single by Collins as I was typing that.

This has me thinking... If we trade Shields for a lottery ticket who turns into a solid regular and Tatis Jr never makes it to the majors for whatever reason (maybe an injury), would the Sox be considered the winners of the original trade with San Diego?

Great start in AA for Flores. Four starts, all but one have been 7 innings (the one before tonight was 6), never more than two runs, and strike outs have increased in each of the four starts.

Brutal. It begs the question: Do we not have our coaches on proper strength and weight training programs? These types of injuries should not happen. And of course it’s one of the top 5 coaches in our system. We may get lucky with some under the radar coaches moving forward, but if we want this rebuild to be successful, we need at least one or two of our highly touted coaches to stay healthy and succeed. Just look at the Cubs and Astros...they knew exactly how to keep their coaches healthy. We should not be subjected to another losing season next year, but these injuries really have me scratching my head.

He’s just trying to have a little fun with a hypothetical. Don’t get so hung up on the details of why it would never happen. The question is simple: Do you want cheap Moncada or expensive Arenado on your team for the next five or six years?

Rivera, Rutherford, and Sheets are a combined 7-14 right now, and all 7 hits are doubles. That’s pretty crazy.

If Omar has his foot on the plate, not a single person would be complaining. In fact, I’m sure we would have seen posts along the lines of...“Smart play by Matt there. Once he realized he didn’t have time for the double play, he got the out at home to cut off the run.” And to address your comments about coaching that play, it would all depend on who you are coaching. In my own experiences, with the guys who weren’t very “baseball smart”, I would give them direct instructions like “just get the out at first if it’s hit to you” or “just throw it home and don’t worry about the double play.” But with players with great baseball instincts, I would just let them make the decision as the play unfolded.

He would have just gotten an out (and kept a run off the board in the process) if Omar is on the plate. You guys are acting like there was no force out.

Would you really categorize throwing home from 95 feet away when it’s a force out a difficult play? If first base was unoccupied, then I would agree 100%. You would just step on first to take the easy out. But a force out is also a very easy out and it keeps a run from scoring.

I would think you’d still have enough time to shift your foot back to the plate when you see Matt didn’t touch first. Obviously he didn’t see that though.

You can’t be a robot on the field. Just because you think about what you’re going to do before the pitch doesn’t mean there is only one option. You have to react to how hard the ball is hit and where you field it.

How is that doubling up on a mental mistake? When it’s hit to you, your first instinct is to get a double play to end the inning. So you start taking steps toward first, which is not a mental mistake. At the exact moment you realize there isn’t enough time for that, you throw home with enough time to get the force. Once again, not a mental mistake. If Omar had his foot on the bag, nobody is questioning that play by Matt.

Did you read anything in the post you quoted? I explained exactly why he took three steps.

But you are going on instincts in that situation. When it’s first hit to you, you think you can get the double play. But as you take steps toward first, you realize the guy is going to score if you don’t throw it, so you gun it home with enough time to get the force.

I don’t think that’s a terrible play by Matt. If he steps on first, there is no chance to get the guy at home. So either way, best case scenario is only getting one out. Throwing home gets the lead guy and nobody scores. I understand that they are up by two runs, but it’s not an awful play if Omar knows it’s a force.

Anybody have a video of that play?

Thanks. Does that push Laz to 2B?

Flores with great start tonight. Should I be excited about him? Seems like he has back end of the rotation potential.

Do we know where Madrigal is expected to play? SS to start?

Is Greg his favorite uncle?

Adams and Parke both settled down nicely after the first inning. Also, has Sheets been heating up? I don’t play close enough attention to the overall numbers, but it seems like he has one or two hits every time I check the box score lately.

Definitely missed his spot, but that’s not terrible pitch selection.