Middle Buffalo

I thought One Battle was really good. Leo is good. Sean Penn, too. There will definitely be several Oscar noms. It has a Tarantino vibe where stuff just keeps happening. And then another thing. And another. It reminded me a little of Anora in that aspect. Recommend it. Only negative is it’s 3 hours. I’m not a fan of long movies.

Well, you’re going to win 162 games and lose 162 games. It’s what you do in the other 162 games that matters…

Probably true long term, but short term it’s not like the Sox have much better options than him to play LF regularly.

They need to stick him in one place (probably LF) so he can get comfortable defensively. He’s not good enough anywhere defensively to be moved around so much at this point, but he has a live bat. Maybe after he becomes proficient in LF, the transition to the other outfield spots will be easier. I’m more confident in him doing something offensively than I was with Sheets or Vaughn, and they got tons of opportunities in the outfield.

C / C- 19 game improvement with mostly 1st and 2nd year players. There are some nice building pieces. Still a long way to go. I’d be surprised if we sign any difference makers in the offseason due to the labor questions. Unfortunately, next years success will be greatly dependent on continued improvement of the young players.

Taylor’s throw to the plate didn’t even make it to second base. He has to dive in that situation.

MAT should never pinch hit.

Totally agree, but it’s not like they’ll sign any premium FA’s.

It’s also unlikely they’ll spend big money. JR isn’t going to lock into a big contract (surprise) not knowing how the financial landscape will change going forward. One year contracts will probably be the play, so we’re looking at the scrap heap again. Have to hope for internal improvements and some luck with whoever we sign. .500ish isn’t out of the question, and, as was said, that’s on the border of the last wildcard. So, we might be deadline buyers rather than sellers for a change. As I’ve said in other threads, I’d rather watch these young guys try and fail than the players from the last rebuild go through the motions again. This has been an enjoyable second half. I’ve watched way more than I expected.

Insane stat.

The enforcement of the balk on the infraction Davis had is really inconsistent - much like all umpiring, I guess. I’ve noticed guys are always double pumping their front foot, and I figured I didn’t remember what a balk was. Stone said you can get away with it if you do it all the time. Davis did it on the next pitch after the balk.😔

We used to call it “just the tip.”

In case anyone missed Eloy, Chase did a fair imitation of him running to first.

Gentlemen’s agreement. The Cubs are letting Civale throw one more game for the Sox to keep us from 50 wins and top spot in the sports section tomorrow.

Michael Taylor is the only position player that I have zero desire to see play. Benintendi is borderline because he at least gives a professional at bat, but I hate to see him take ABs from Baldwin.