hogan873

Gotta figure Giolito was tipping his changeup against Boston…or they were stealing signs.

#Grandout

This shouldn't even be a story. I despise this misinformation and ridiculousness getting attention because someone writes an article about a couple morons in Florida. If you read the article, which I don't recommend, it reads like a right-wing, aliens-are-coming-to-get-you, vaccines-are-tracking-devices lunatic shit that it is. Get the damn vaccine.

If you look at the chart for the US and then charts for individual states, you can see the pattern is pretty consistent across the US. There was a bit of a bump in cases in late March/early April, and now we're seeing cases drop off again. Hopefully that trend continues. Although nothing definitive is known, I have read that the vaccines are certainly making an impact and are likely combating the new strains coupled with relaxed restrictions. If there were no new strains, we'd probably be seeing a bigger impact from the vaccines. It is interesting to look at some states that have relaxed or even stopped restrictions and see that there haven't been any spikes. Texas has pretty much flattened out at 3000 or so a day since mid-March. Even Florida, where people acted like COVID didn't exist, has been pretty flat. Granted, their cases per day are about twice as many as Illinois (and Texas!), but there has been no recent spike. Apparently, new mask guidelines are going to be released today, and the speculation is it'll be around wearing masks in outdoor spaces. There seems to be enough evidence the COVID does not spread easily at all outdoors. I also saw quite a few articles yesterday latching on to a study that showed the 6-foot rule inside doesn't really make a difference in the virus' ability to spread. Of course the article titles were sensationalized and worded to grab your attention. But of you read about the study, it still came down to the number of people in an indoor space. So, the distancing guidelines still make sense if you think about how you'd space out X number of people in one space.

Kris Bryant would be a perfect fit on this team. I just don't see a deal happening like that between the Sox and Cubs, and I would view acquiring Bryant to include re-signing him, which I'm not sure this team would do. However, the Cubs are most likely going to trade one or more of Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez. The asking prices for all three will be high.

This has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads. It is believed that the Sox are working with him on control and development of other pitches. That, coupled with the injury during the playoff game, has contributed to his fastball being in the mid to upper 90s vs. upper 90s to 100. His fastball at 96 is not nearly as effective as his fastball at 100 because it's pretty straight. Look at Kopech's 94-97 mph fastballs that have a lot of movement as a recipe for success. A 96 mph fastball that is straight as an arrow can be hit a long way. I think Crochet will get some speed back. But he'll need to continue to work on his secondary pitches so that his fastball is more effective, even at 96.

It was a fun game to watch. I was concerned when Steiver came in and couldn't get an out, but Crochet looked pretty good (aside from the ultra-slow throw to 1st) and stopped the Rangers' momentum. Kopech looked fantastic. He was fooling batters with his fastball at 93-96. I don't think he throws a 4-seamer that goes straight. Everything has movement. His off-speed and breaking stuff looked good, too. Best of all, he looks completely confident and in control on the mound. The offense did what they needed to do. Madrigal continues to get better. Streaky early season Abreu had a strong game. Six walks was really nice to see. This team can be frustrating, but when they're good, they're one of the best in the AL. Consistency moving forward will be the key.

Fuck.

Nice play by Vaughn.

Nice change.

Yikes.

Strike zone is optional.

Moncada looking good tonight.

TA is just so damn good.

Cease and Dunning were polar opposites this game. Cease couldn’t throw strikes, and Dunning threw too many over the plate.

Cease may not get a decision at all this season.

Evan Marshall is a big dude.

Lost his control again.

That was a nice inning. Time for Cease to keep the Rangers down.

I’m not sure anyone would have predicted Dunning being chased from the game before Cease.

I love Yermin.

Robert’s approach has been so good lately.

Going to need more than 3 runs to feel comfortable.

Moncada smoked that ball.

That wild pitch was huge now.