caulfield12

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:57 PM) The pitching finally stopped the bleeding and then the hitters went and died. It sucks, I wanted this be a fun year and instead the Sox are gonna collapse before they could even get started. Meanwhile TT and Semien haunt us. Who would you be playing at 3rd base? It's hard for me to buy that without Frazier and TT playing CF that our overall record would be any better...and probably a couple of games worse.

I would say the match-up with Rodon vs. all their LH hitters looks encouraging but it doesn't matter what things APPEAR to be on paper at this point in the slump... Clearly, nobody's getting traded anytime soon. But they have to do SOMETHING to shake things up. What's crazy is Ventura has gone from surefire AL Manager of the Year to being a bit in the hot seat again with no contract for next season and Renteria's presence on the bench as manager in waiting. Meanwhile, 8 K's for Gonzalez...who has solidified his hold on the 5th spot for now. Erik Johnson vs. that red-hot Indians' line-up is a disaster waiting to happen. Seems Johnson can't catch a break with match-ups every time he's given an opportunity.

If I trusted Hahn to evaluate talent, they could get a BOATLOAD of young talent for Eaton/Quintana/Sale/Frazier/Robertson. Obviously, it's incredible to even think that way after the high of Frazier's GS in extras and STILL being in 1st place by 1 1/2 games near the end of May. It was still less than 2 weeks ago we had a surefire playoff team. Cain homer, high change-up? Sigh. Guess it was a running fastball that Cain leaned back on it and got extended.

Hopefully Joe Kelly lowers his current 9.35 ERA against the Indians. He did pitch well in his last AAA start, but the Cleveland offense has been on fire every since they started their gift "rivalry" series with the Reds. LOL. I'm not sure if Abreu has any trade value right now...this is getting ridiculous. Other than Konerko, I can't think of a single hitter who had sustained excellence for three consecutive years, and he threw in a couple of clunkers in the middle of his prime...but that was mostly due to nagging injuries he tried to play through.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:40 PM) Got dominated once again by a starting pitcher Not to mention we are probably contributing to Duffy getting on a roll being reinserted back into the rotation from the pen...somehow, he'll end up having another season like 2014 where he looked like a future All-Star. Dillon Gee, seems like everyone they throw out there works out, Blanton for a stretch last year and Chris Young as well. Madson returning from injuries, etc. Even when they don't work (Young/Medlen), they can cover for it.

Yost pulling Duffy with 63 pitches. This is where we have to score...now or probably in the 6th inning with our best hitters (theoretically) coming up.

Hahn boxed himself in by not trading Shark at the deadline last July and pretty clearly telegraphing he was holding onto that draft pick come hell or high water. He also pretty much said Alex Gordon (or potentially Upton, who never showed an interest) was the only big bat they'd consider surrendering the pick for. Cespedes, it was all about the money with no draft pick since he was traded at mid-season to the Mets.

QUOTE (Deadpool @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:31 PM) $100,000,000 payroll. Yep, they're cheap. Not cheap, but we're a 3rd quartile payroll in a huge media market. The Tigers and Royals are WAY ahead of the Sox, especially Detroit. The best way to put it is that we've spent a TON of money inefficiently or evaluated talent quite poorly....wasting money on guys like Keppinger, LaRoche, Duke, Bonifacio, Kelly Downs, Beckham, the money all adds up even with the contracts at $5 million or less.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:29 PM) I watched Jackson the last few years in Detroit and Seattle fairly closely. He's a .5 to 1 WAR player. The only good thing signing him did is push everyone else down the defensive spectrum. He got hot last year at the end to salvage an otherwise brutal year at the plate where he was this bad or even worse for long stretches. The real argument is why they didn't go after either Span (no draft pick) or Ian Desmond, because Fowler was never coming to the Sox.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:24 PM) I thought we got rid of Flowers? Austin Jackson's line after that AB: 220/284/305. Should have f***ing signed Fowler. I told a lot of you that it was a pointless upgrade. I guess it allowed Eaton to move to RF but Jackson's bat is toast. You really think 1) he wanted to play here, and 2) he was going to get the same 3 year contract the Orioles SUPPOSEDLY offered him from us? Also, they weren't going to give a one year contract and surrender a draft pick as well, along with paying him almost $15 million. It wasn't pointless because Eaton has saved 15-16 runs single-handedly in RF and the rest of the team's at -19 DRS. Do you really think Fowler would have the same numbers for the Sox?

Alexander, Flynn, Moylan (37 years old) and C-M Wang the four pitchers that will have to cover 5th inning if they have to pull Duffy. Now they're saying he could go up to 70 pitches.

Of course. We just had to completely fall apart as a team when we started playing our divisional rivals. Lovely timing. Get off to our best start in a decade and then lose whatever that "it" was in a heartbeat.

Jackson just needs to take a nice and easy swing here. Seems like he's trying to hit a homer or double instead. With Duffy's velocity, you don't need to muscle up and take an exaggerated swing.

Unfortunately, only a double. Missed by less than 2 feet. Duffy thought it should have been caught by Gordon for some reason. I guess because they're so used to homers being robbed at the fenceline in this stadium. Can we actually get a hit with RISP again? Lawrie rockets a ball at Moustakas. Bad luck continues.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 21, 2016 -> 01:14 PM) Gonzalez is pitching well minus the 1st inning The ball Cain hit, fwiw, was just good hitting and a pitcher's pitch low and away...not like he got clobbered. Both hits there were to the opposite field. The only mistake was elevating a pitch to Hosmer that allowed the sac fly.

Well, the reason to get to their bullpen is you get Wang or an inexperienced rookie lefty. Soria sucks this year...they need one of Hochevar/Soria to cover the 6th and 7th. From the 8th inning on, yeah, it's a nightmare to manufacture more than 1 run against Herrera or Davis.

Lawrie needs to show his usual patience and not be swinging so early when they've got a good chance to get Chien Min Wing out there in the 4th or 5th inning if they can push up the pitch count every inning. Otherwise, he'll get 4 or maybe even through 5.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ May 21, 2016 -> 12:37 PM) So they played together Benetti was right. Didn't realize Dyson had been playing in the big leagues (small role) since all the way back in 2010. Seems like he's a lot younger than 31 years old with his energy level.

Yeah, the Orioles aren't dumb. Well, maybe with Arrieta. But they let Chen go to the Marlins and still didn't bother to keep Gonzalez around. That said, still more confident in him than, say, Erik Johnson.

QUOTE (Deadpool @ May 21, 2016 -> 12:31 PM) I have to do more research, but I don't think the 4 hole is where you want your best hitters anyway. Edit: Sorry, it's the 3 hole where teams put their best hitters and that's wrong. Well, yeah, all the simulation programs will say to bat your best hitter 1st or most likely 2nd in the line-up to get him more plate appearances over the course of a season. Makes a not insignificant difference getting that 5th at-bat in the 9th inning more frequently.

Dyson and Cabrera never played together...his one year with KC was back in 2011.

Was that Crede/Frank Thomas with that flare to RF, or Abreu? At least Jerry Sands has been hitting...but the 4 hole? Working for now. 39 more pitches to go for Duffy. Cabrera just not as dangerous from the RH side, but at least making Duffy work a bit so far. Still can't buy many hits with RISP anymore.

They don't take many pitches...and they almost never walk. But they make contact about as well as any team in baseball. That's their schtick. Duffy has a great arm and still hasn't learned how to pitch. Always has had command/walk and pitch count problems. 60 pitch count limit today.

Except you're asking for Jacob Turner with that experiment ending. Be careful what you wish for. At least Gonzalez has a 628 OPS against with current KC hitters.

Well, that was quick. KC not trying to do much, taking what Gonzalez was giving them. Elevated pitch for Hosmer to put in play into the OF.