Middle Buffalo

I feel like Keith was really bad tonight. He looks slow and was bad with the puck. He was a step late on the first three goals, and I’m pretty sure he was on the ice for all four goals against.

With 50 Cardinals rental cars in the lot, he probably left early to beat the postgame traffic. My Dad used to go the same thing.

Well, the arrow is pointing to the outfield for the Sox hitters, too. So, it could be positively construed. Or, who gives a shit. It’s advertising.

I just checked on the mlb app, and Miami, Houston, Blue Jays, Minnesota and the Cubs all have advertising on the mound. The Cubs also have advertisements painted in the grass between the dugouts and 1st and 3rd baselines. Someone the Sox played earlier this season had a logo on the mound, too.

It would be nice to get a win today. Hawks played well yesterday but failed to capitalize on some chances. That post hit by Kane was a killer.

At least he’s seeing more than one pitch per at bat. ?Always look on the bright side of life...?

Maata and Toews. 2-1 after 1 period.

Not quite the same.

I don’t understand how guys can make it to MLB and not know how to slide.

Hawks looked terrible. Sloppy all around.

Wouldn’t late July/early August have been when Rodin was slated to return anyway?

I hope the Sox are still involved next year. Probably smart to cancel it this year. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to play a game like this if the stadium is empty.

I’d guess the plan is to play until the last date scheduled, and then they’ll go by win percentage. They won’t extend the season to have an even number of games played. The owners make money in the playoffs.

Historically, a week in Schaumburg is what it takes to be MLB ready.

I don’t know if/how it matters, but Madrigal’s warm up swing looks very stiff. It’s like he’s reminding himself to keep his shoulder in a certain position. I have a friend who took golf lessons and would do the me thing before tee off. He would slowly go through the swing he was taught, but when he actually swung the club, he didn’t just let it rip. He kept the same mechanic and had zero power.

Crazy to think he was 50-ish when he filmed Cocoon and The Natural. He looked and acted like someone in his mid-60s at best.

Keuchel: (note to self) make them hit it to the right side.

Reminds me of watching Roberto Hernandez.

Watching this with the sound off on my phone, it seemed like they didn’t know they won the game. I thought for a second Abreu came off the bag based on the la k of reaction by the team.

Positive - Luis Robert. He looks to be for real. I’m sure he’ll struggle at times, but it is going to be hard for him to miss. Going back to Spring Training, the vibe of this team had me as excited about the Sox as I’ve been in 10+ years. Then COVID hit. I was fine without it - felt no need to rush back. The warm up games had me ready and anticipating good things. I don’t live and die daily with every game like some fans, but this has been really a depressing start to this sprint of a season. Starting pitching has been abysmal.

They can personalize it though. I’m hoping someone in the Sox production department is combing through the archives and pulling some sound that’s unique to the Sox. That’s why I mentioned Nancy Faust, etc. The murmur of the crowd and ballpark sounds was always very apparent on Sox radio broadcasts.

I saw him for the first time in 2019 Spring Training. I was sitting down the 3rd base line and saw him trot to his spot in LF. Clumsy is an understatement. I didn’t know anything about him defensively, and I knew we were in trouble just based on seeing him run.

Enforcement of any mask mandate is the issue. If a store has a mask policy, and a customer refuses to comply, how is a private company supposed to react? A teller or stocker or store greeter approaches the customer? If/when the customer resists, what then? Even if it’s a federal mandate, enough people will refuse because they believe their individual rights > the common good. We have a deeply ingrained sense of entitlement as a society that makes a situation like this near impossible to manage.

Mendick’s number and ‘stache a nod toward Jerry Dybzinski in the ‘83 unis. I like it. Might as well lean into it.

I watched parts of the games this week on ESPN and the mlb app, and I think the games benefit from the background noise. I hope the Sox pull some actual sound from the past to mix in (Nancy Faust playing the organ, Andy the Clown, vendors, etc) to give it a little more character. Right now it’s just a steady hum or buzz.