CentralChamps21

If the key pitchers are going to get significant rest, it's going to take both Lopez and Wright to cover the innings. One option is to leave Hamilton or Engel on the IL into mid-September in order to delay the roster crunch as long as possible.

So in order to help themselves, the Red Sox also have to help the Yankees. That must be a bit torturous for their fans.

8/30: Magic number is 23 Cleveland came back from 4-0 down to beat Boston last night, so the Sox lead over Cleveland holds at 10 games. Tampa Bay has a 6 game lead over New York and 8 over Boston. Houston now has a 5.5 game lead over Oakland and 7.5 over Seattle. Yankees now lead the Wild Card race by 2 games over Boston. Oakland is 2.5 games out of the 2nd WC spot, Seattle 4.5 out. Tampa leads the playoff seeding race by 5 over Houston and 7 over the Sox. In the NL, San Francisco's division lead over the Dodgers is at 2.5 games, and Cincinnati has a 1.5 game lead over San Diego for the 2nd WC spot.

Narrator: He was, in fact, still leaving everything up.

Is there any possible way to fool Abreu into believing that every month is August?

I'm really not going to get into it. If your opinion is different, it's different. I'm not interested in arguing it.

I didn't say that was his only problem.

1 World Series > 0 World Series

You mentioned Moneyball and buying high in the same sentence. I responded. The book was written by a guy who was advancing Beane's theories. Michael Lewis didn't develop any of his own.

I'm trying to say that we shouldn't accept any sort of axiom just because of what he's said or done. Most overrated baseball executive of this century.

Michael Lewis wasn't the architect of Moneyball. He was the mouthpiece.

You mentioned that Moneyball proved that buying high on releivers was bad. The architect of Moneyball is a failure. If buying high on relievers is bad, it's because it's bad and not because that loser said so.

It's going to be interesting to see how this roster crunch plays out. There are currently 3 guys on the IL: Hamilton, Marshall and Engel We expect that Collins will come back up at some point. That's 4 guys to add to the roster and only 2 slots open up on Sept 1. Lamb being DFA figures to be one move. I don't see how that gets avoided at this point. The second move will be interesting. Wright and Ruiz are the least necessary as far as the postseason goes, but neither have options and I think the Sox are going to want them to eat some innings as starters get skipped or work shorter outings. Plus, neither have options. Lopez would have been the one to send down but he's earned his stay. I actually think the second move might be Crochet. Can live without him for a few weeks in September, and as long as he's sent down after 9/1 he's still eligible for the postseason.

Buying high may be stupid, but it has nothing to do with what that abject failure of a human in Oakland has said or done.

Oakland has advanced past the division series all of once since 1993, so maybe that theory of not buying high on relievers works great for the regular season but doesn't help you win playoff games.

You have to be either on the active roster or on the IL on 8/31 to be eligible for the playoffs, so if they are deciding between Lamb and Sheets for a lefty bat, they have to decide soon.

It's pretty clear at this point that the Sox have decided that keeping players rested and healthy is 100% the priority over chasing home field, so as long as the lead over Cleveland hangs around the 10 game mark we're going to continue to see these lineups. Expect the full 'A' lineup only about twice per week. Honestly, on any day that Lynn/Rodon/Giolito/Cease are pitching, my #1 concern is their health and how they look and any other performance is secondary. We'll find out in October whether or not this was the best plan. If the Sox lose game 5 of the ALDS at Houston there will be lots of second guessing.

Good sign that Grandal is catching the second time in 3 days and in the lineup all 3 days.

My lineup prediction: Robert 8 Hernandez 4 Abreu 3 Grandal DH Vaughn 7 Goodwin 9 Garcia 6 Lamb 5 Zavala 2

8/29: Cleveland lost last night, so the Sox lead over Cleveland holds at 10 games, 12.5 over Detroit, with a magic number of 24. Tampa Bay has a 5 game lead over New York and 7 over Boston. Houston now has a 6.5 game lead over Oakland and 8.5 over Seattle. Yankees now lead the Wild Card race by 2 games over Boston. Oakland is 3.5 games out of the 2nd WC spot, Seattle 5.5 out. Tampa leads the playoff seeding race by 4 over Houston and 7 over the Sox. The #1 seed is pretty much out of reach now, so it's just a matter of trying to get past Houston to get home field in the ALDS. In the NL, San Francisco's division lead over the Dodgers is at 2.5 games, and Cincinnati has a 2 game lead over San Diego for the 2nd WC spot.

Evacuation orders are just a form of government tyranny. Just take some livestock dewormer and everything will be fine.

On paper the Sox but this has been such a bizarre series I wouldn't bet on anything.

Anderson/Moncada/Abreu/Jimenez/Grandal/Vaughn are a combined 2-16, but yeah, Goodwin is why this game was lost 7-0.

So Reynaldo Lopez and Jose Ruiz can string together scoreless innings against the Cubs but nobody else can. Sometimes baseball is weird.

If the Sox don't get it with 3-4 by the end of the 5th, get Leury and Lamb in the game and get a couple guys off their feet so maybe there's no Sunday lineup tomorrow.