NWINFan

Billy plays his ass off. And he has fun. You gotta have fun out there. I enjoy watching him. Ozzie, for once, said something insightful on the post-game show. The Sox are getting unexpected contributions from unexpected sources. Billy is one of those guys. He has been a great addition to this team. No superstar, just a player who contributes in his own way. You're right, He has be used in the correct manner.

I am reading a book about hitting coaches, and it was written that Walker was open to new ideas and really cared about his players. It was too bad his career was cut short. He had one beautiful swing and should've been a real hitting star.

I never thought I'd be a Billy Hamilton fan, but I am a Billy Hamilton fan.

They are already finished. Then again, there is nothing wrong in pounding them into submission. This is a two-team race.

Cub fans are saying Arrietta has nothing left in the tank and this is what happens when you trying to fill a hole with a waiver pick-up.

The first real question centers on what impact they will have when they return this season. So many are counting on them turning this sad-sack offense around. But they will be coming off injuries and a long layoff. We can only speculate on how they will perform. The season doesn't look so bright now. In the long run, they should do well. Each has a load of talent, and other players have rebounded from injuries. But this does hurt their short-term development. They can't grow as major leaguers sitting on the IL.

Surely, you jest. Okay, I won't call you surely.

This makes sense. Stop the macho stuff. If an injury is hampering play, it is time for the player to sit for a time. All we are getting from Jose right now are weak grounders to short. He's not helping, and he's killing innings with DPs. Sit down and talk with the man and tell him being tough is one thing, being foolish is another.

Firing him would be a good start.

They can't wait until Eloy and Robert come back. They have to do something by the deadline. The offense is depleted, and the bullpen, well, the bullpen is the bullpen.

Frank is much better in the booth than on the idiot post-game show. If he replaced Stone, that would be fine with me.

How about this instead? Tell Moncada to stop playing back in bunting situations. Also remind your clean-up hitter he can't do it by himself no matter how important he thinks he is.

Don't be surprised if Chase De Jong has only thrown 80 pitches by the end of the seventh.

I never saw Frank Thomas swing at a bad pitch. He had an eye like no one else. I don't expect that from most current Sox players. There is only one Frank Thomas, and we haven't seen anyone like him since he retired. But it is tough to see this offense have one three-up, three down one inning after another. They don't make pitchers work. The Pirates lead off hitter saw something like 24 pitches in three at-bats. That was one reason Giolito wasn't coming out for the seventh. He already had thrown a ton of pitches.

And he sounded he knew something about hitting. Pointed out how Abreu was trying to pull everything instead of going with the pitches. Hey, Tony, why don't you tell him to stop trying do more than the opposition is giving him? Hey, Tony, are you out there somewhere?

They showed a graphic that had Adam Engel with three homers in June and there is one Sox player ahead of him. Adam Engel is one of your leading power hitters?

Along with some more players. This seventh has been horrible.

My god, did they need that homer.

If I was Tyler Anderson, I wouldn't be intimidated by this lineup, Except for Giolito of course.

Pitching wins a lot of games, and I do think the rotation will keep the Sox in many games. But I think a move needs to be made sooner rather than later. There is no need for panic because of the Houston series, but the team got exposed somewhat. You're right. The players you mentioned aren't going to help much. Merely hoping for the best is not the answer.

I don't think we can can count on either one.

What a great division the NL Central is. The Brewers lose to the Diamondbacks, and the Reds lose to the Twins. As far as help regarding Cleveland, you won't get it from the Cubs. And the Sox shouldn't expect it from anyone else either.

I think that you're right in that the Astros were familiar with Keuchel. Otherwise, this was just an example of a pitcher struggling with his command. Any player can have an off day. The Sox are not as bad as this series seemed to show, but their performance raised some red flags. The division race will be close.

The season isn't over because of a four-game sweep, but the team didn't look like it was ready to play. And the possibility that the Sox won't win this division has to be considered. And if it doesn't, what will be the response of the FO? The rebuild has come a long way, but it hasn't produced anything yet.

That's because nothing was going on in the game. Unless you were an Astros fan.