greg775

Good thread. I'd let the game go 11 innings then put runners on second and third for the 12th. There will be urgency to win before that 12th frame. Game will be almost assured of ending no later than 12 innings. Fans will stay cause that 12th frame will be EXCITING stuff.

Tim Anderson is out. Eloy is out.

And old school managing. Glad Tony left him in. I know you generally leave a guy in with a shutout, but this early in the season in the parade of relievers generation ... I could have seen him yanking him after 7 or something. Sox are off to a decent start at 3-4 on the road and 1-0 at home.

That would suck, but the small sample size has been so impressive I'd give him a long slump before I bench him. I guess the pitchers will adjust but he attacks the ball. Sox need this surprise production with Eloy out IMO.

I'm so glad Tony is playing Yermin daily. I've seen enough. I want him in there six of every seven games. I want to enjoy this guy. As long as we are in an era of hitters either hitting a HR or striking out, I wanna see my Yermin. My gosh that was a blast today!! Keep playing him, Tony. Sox have had a ton of busts that were supposed to be great through the years. Let's see if Yermin is the real deal. Thanx Tony so far, keep playing him please!

I'm not worried about Madrigal yet. Quite frankly, I don't have my "hate" radar focused on any Sox player yet. Usually it comes out and strikes me hard the moment I start to dislike a player. The experts say the Sox are here to stay so I'm just going to try to enjoy the ride. Frankly with Eloy and Anderson out, the team is not going to have many winning road trips. As far as when to demote Madrigal, it would only be if his defense stinks through June 1. If he's a lousy defender that's not acceptable at 2B. I think the team will improve soon. 3-4 isn't that bad. Let's see how the team fares in division play. Obviously team won't win it if the injuries pile up. I see in the future steady improvement in the pitching and hoping on the hitting.

Bad at bat. I thought Vaughn had one cookie for sure and that last pitch was not one to take. Just my opinion.

Rutherford, baby!

Time for Soxtalk to get behind Collins 100 percent. The guy passes the eye test. The guy belongs, baby. Let him stink some nights just as a stud like Grandal will stink some nights. Zack is home grown and ready, baby.

I love Zack Collins. That.Is.All.

I think most can agree the Sox deserve a D for that first series, considering all the things mentioned in this thread. Moving forward, I hope the Sox can split the 4-game road series and still win 2 of 3 in three-game series in which they play especially bad baseball. That first series was rotten; see if improvement comes in Series No. 2.

Hubert Davis should be the choice. He's only 50. He's been a UNC assistant a long time. He's a part of the Carolina "family" and their AD would be crazy to go outside the family when that's been the Carolina way for so long. Unless Few wants it (no way, he's a legend already with the Zags, especially if he wins tonight) or Brad Stevens (is Brad Stevens that great?) it has to go to UNC family member Davis. ... I will say if Few went anywhere else it'd be UNC I bet. He and Roy Williams are very close.

Not pushing the panic button but I think I jinxed the team by predicting Sox pitching staff might really be the surprise of baseball. I know baseball has changed (oh, has it changed, lift and pull and K and BB) but it wasn't TOO long ago a baseball cliche was that the pitching was way ahead of the hitting early in the season. Not being overly negative, but I think we can agree the Sox pitching deserved a D at best for the opening series. Looking for improvement once the Sox get home. Yes, for some weird reason, the road continues to bother the Sox even without a ton of fans. Sox could have won 3 of those games easily but squandered them away. I'm not despondent, just a bit sad the Sox got smoked, losing 3 of 4.

Five hits is insane. Wonder what Sox player last went 5 for 5. Nice win. Angels are pretty good.

I like the top 7 in this lineup. Let's score some runs. Are we gonna win tonight? I'm sick of teams that struggle winning on the road. Also I didn't watch closely last night. How did Tony do in his first game in a while? Close game so there had to be some strategy involved. Was he masterful or was he the same as RR?

Some fans don't like their baseball mixed with politics. For instance I know NOTHING about the issue at hand here. I'm sick of politics and trying to ignore all politics for a while. Too bad for Atlanta. Move the game to Chicago, the greatest city in the world.

Great post. Fans are who they are. That's why I like the Randy Quaid character in Major League so much. I do wish we had Eloy's bat in the lineup. We are noticeably weaker without his lumber.

I got a bad feeling late in that game and was tired and turned it off and went to bed. Thought we were in good shape when Eaton homered

Sorry to hear this, Dick Allen. Best wishes for your wife. ... This all just sucks. If we get COVID we could be screwed. The vaccine obviously is risky as well. I haven't gotten my shots yet cause Kansas must be hopeless. I'm all signed up everywhere in Lawrence and no vaccines yet. I sure hope for the best for everybody but I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned.

1.) Zack Collins proves worthy of being a No. 10 overall pick. (It sure would be nice if he got off to a nice start. I'm rooting for him. Glad he made the team). 2.) Sox pitching staff actually fares very well and Tony masterfully figures roles in the bullpen quickly. 3.) Jose Abreu shows slight decline from last year but still produces well. Should be at the stage of his career he's the veteran face of the franchise and people forgive a slight decline. 4.) Anderson/Moncada/Robert carry the team hitting-wise. 5.) Loss of Eloy which really saddens me actually improves Sox defense considerably. As much as I hate to say it, he's a mess out in left field. This last injury proves when he comes back he either moves to first base or is DH forever. If he won't DH it may require a trade of either Eloy or my fave, Abreu. I don't think Jose wants to DH either.

Interesting take on bad trades in Sox lore. The Rutherford deal doesn't get talked about much. .... This isn't about trades but I'm intrigued by the guy I've blasted on here in the past, Jake Burger. I assume he's headed to Double A to start this season.

That about sums it up. I tried to sign up today and there are no spots in Lawrence. Weird how they have the shot in Topeka in full supply but not Lawrence. I want to get the shots here. I will get the shots. I will say this. Out of all the people I know, except for crazy family types, nobody has had any hesitancy at all. I'm the only one. And I haven't really expressed concern to anybody I talk to in real life.

I thought of Beckham today when Carson Fulmer and Nicky Delmonico entered the game for the Reds. Baseball is one, cruel game. It ain't easy to play the game of baseball on the MLB level. Can't believe Beckham's career wound up being so blah. At least he made some good money and gets the pension.

Not taking a pot shot at Eloy. It's a true pleasure to watch him hit. But I don't know if I've ever seen a taller, bigger injury-waiting-to-happen than Eloy out there in the field. This could be construed as one of those "stuff happens" moments in him trying to jump so high and put his arm in a weird spot in spring training game. Or it could be an error by our coaching staff not having some sitdowns with Eloy discussing outfield play. It's very disappointing news that he's out so long. I know Sox and Sox fans want to get another year out of Vaughn, but I'd make sure his bat is in the opening day lineup now that Eloy is gone. I will conclude by saying I'm not mad at Eloy for trying to make the catch, just sad that he's out this long. Stoney had an interesting call on the play.

You make good points. I figure as much time as these guys have on their hands in the offseason they could learn to beat the shift in the offseason with half swings and bunts. But it isn't meant to be. Some people are OK with everything that naturally happens to the great game of baseball. I guess the shifts don't bother the vast majority of fans, 80 percent or more, but I don't like them. So far the things I hate about baseball haven't made me want to give up my fandom or anything.