caulfield12

Did he get hurt filming that reggaeton dance video, too? Yankees about to fall to 4 games under...just not hitting.

Collins isn’t swinging aggressively again. More sweeping at or feeling for the ball.

Great, now Moncada’s hurt again...

Frankly, the Pirates and Indians are even more upsetting. The problem is all these guys like Tom Hicks (Rangers/EPL) and Ricketts who are so over-leveraged in other off-the-field endeavors that they’re using the baseball team as a cash cow. The McCourts in LA trying to get access to that massive broadcasting rights money. The Red Sox increasingly become more corporate and less like a family-run endeavor, see the Braves, for example. Otoh, there’s those consistent success stories like the Rays, Brewers and A’s, not to mention the teams in our own division that can manage to do more with less resources. Have never understood why we didn’t hire more front office people from those cost-efficient teams, the Indians/Twins, or even the Cardinals/Astros. Probably a combination of the JR loyalty/stubbornness.

Yeah, really wasn’t thinking through all the transactions that closely. It’s pretty remarkable. Forgot about Charlie Morton, too.

The Mariners are in first...for now. But so are the Royals. The problem is that only the Orioles, Rangers and Tigers look non-competitive, and even the Orioles swept the Red Sox to start the season. There’s a ton of parity in the Al right now, but definitely no super teams. Heck, the Pirates and Reds are showing the ability to play better teams decently...would have said before the year you definitely would be better off avoiding the East and West in the NL. Well, there’s always the Cubs to get us properly charged up.

The Dodgers start 8 hitters at 947 ops or better, and then Cody Bellinger, an MVP-caliber player when healthy. Their pitching might be even better than their offense if they get the good Kenley back to close. But listening to the Yankees’ game now, and seeing what happened yesterday with pissed off fans in NYC, it’s all about expectations. The White Sox have typically had their best seasons (1983, 2000, 2005, 2008...even 2010/12/16 start) when nothing much was projected for them as the season started. Only the 1993-94 and 2006 teams came close to living up to the preseason hype. That’s Sox history for nearly forty years...and all the history 85% of SoxTalk posters are familiar with.

Not sure who is more polarizing, Grandal, Madrigal or Dylan Cease...

The Twins and Indians are unlikely to pull away, but yeah, so frustrating. Hey, at least we didn’t trade Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows for Chris Archer, right? Taillon, Cole, Glasnow and Musgrove would run away with the NL Central if they still had Starling Marte and 2019 Josh Bell. We’re raw enough about Montas, Bassitt and Dunning...

Tatis is really forcing things defensively...he made a really exceptional stop in the hole, then threw it away trying to get a putout at second base and it led from a 2-2 tie quickly becoming a 4-2 deficit. Sometimes, you just have to put it in your pocket. But, when you have one of the best SS arms in baseball, these things tend to happen. The other error was being in too much of a hurry to complete a DP. He was one of the best statistically on defense last year, this looks like 2019 all over again. Ultimately, he end up in CF when Abrams is ready...but being out of the action will drive him crazy. By the way, Cronenworth as recently as the last couple of years was considered a legit two way player like Brendan McKay. Quite a nit of legit pitching experience. Very rare the Rays make a mistake trading such a valuable utility guy...that can even hit third in a loaded lineup like that.

Asking price rises by the day...

Tatis is on pace for 54 homers and 189 errors...for this year at least, the Dodgers are just too good, and they’re even playing without Bellinger. It’s going to take Lamet, Clevinger and Gore all pitching at peak in 2022. For the time being, it has to be LA versus the rest of MLB for the 2021 World Series title to get anything resembling a fair bet unless one of Bauer, Buehler or Kershaw gets hurt.

Yermin and Giolito after the most obvious two...

And that’s also due to cleaning up his mechanics and using his strong lower body to alleviate stress on his arm/shoulder/elbow. They’re interrelated, clearly. It’s also why he was able to hit 99 his last inning, as he has never been known for having great stamina in the big leagues due to high early pitch counts.

What about Yerminators?

Back today off the 10 day DL. Hitting second in highly anticipated rematch with the Dodgers. First seven hitters for the Dodgers range from 974 ops all the way up to Turner’s 1.321...crazy.

We need a new thread about how we almost signed Ronald Acuna, Jr. That guy is in a stratosphere of his own right now.

Also, keep in mind Fenway has one of the lowest by actual numbers allowed attendance so pushing it back into later in the season when we’re in NY, Balt or possibly TOR wouldn’t be completely unheard of. Otoh, they’re not going to be any hotter than winning 9/10...perhaps depends on who their DH pitching options are as well.

Feel like we say this about Collins every year because of his walk rates. That said, they’re not in the same stratosphere as hitting prospects. Or, if they are, we’re in just a bit of trouble.

KyYLe?

Quintana was amazing for most of 2012 and helped carry their unexpected charge at the Tigers. He was one of the best #2/3 starters in baseball until 2017, when things started to go south. Arguably, on some bottom 10 teams, he would have been the ace or best pitcher. But a solid #2, definitely. His weak points were not always going long in games (past the 5th or 6th, especially near the end of his Sox career), and not being able to put away hitters because he lacked one true "plus" strikeout pitch that he could always call forth in pressure situations. Always overlooked because he was never a dominant stuff pitcher, but got by on guile, location and was in many ways similar to Mark Buehrle (or a Glavine with less control), except for sometimes slowing down the game a bit more with runners on base.

Uh-oh. Sox losses always lead to conflagrations, it's almost getting to be more entertaining than the games themselves.

https://medium.com/curious/cancel-them-all-the-world-would-do-just-fine-with-fewer-influencers-22bcb8ac99b8 For the Millennials on the board to read/discuss. Those of us in the over 50 crowd (albeit barely) are not quite getting this whole self-absorbed phenomenon which grows by the day. How long before they add this major at credible universities? Or it's considered a legitimate career aspiration to proudly announce to one's parents?

I can't imagine Eloy not making any of those plays in the no-hit game, although he might have had the "deer in the headlights" initial reaction to the Jose Ramirez liner and let it get over his head somehow.

Warren Buffett would always argue you should do the opposite of the madding crowd...