BaconOnAStick

gotta be 2B E8 right?

Its more what cant I do in other cities that I can do in Dallas, there is not a whole lot. Same applies to Houston. SA has a little more character. Austin is maybe my least favorite 1m+ city in the USA... god I hate Austin.

Tim Anderson for Masahiro Tanaka.

The Mariners are winning because the middle of their order is a bunch of bangers who are launching the ball out of the park. Also Iwakuma, Walker and Kearns are good enough even if Felix falls apart. M's are good, very under the radar right now.

The Red Sox #3 is Wright. Buchholz and Owens are clinging to rotation spots right now.

Thank god. I love me some donuts but yeesh it can be painful to watch him catch. Offense will take a step back without him though.

At the very least he's an option you'd like to see explored before the Sox are forced to acquire a LH bat.

Prince Fielder alone is responsible for that. The Rangers have a much more dangerous lineup top-to-bottom than the Sox.

If you're looking for an authentic Texas experience I contend that you'll find it in greater purity and abundance in places like Amarillo, Lubbock and Wichita Falls than Dallas or Houston. But hey that's just me. I think the only real interesting parts of Texas are the desolate western plains and the Mexico/Texas hybrid cities in the south.

Boston? You dont really think David Price is going to keep sucking like this (he wont, all his peripherals suggest a big correction). Wright isn't great, but he's not bad either. Porcello has bounced back after a s***ty 2015. Buchholz sucks, I know, but the Red Sox at least have an average pitching staff. I would say the Mariners and Indians fall into that category as well, though their offenses arent on Toronto or Boston's level.

The Sox have a hole at #3 starter, not at #5. This is a common misconception brought on by those who count "1 Sale...2 Quintana...3 Rodon...4 Latos....5....OH MY G-", and that is a trick of the mind. Rodon is more like 4th (perhaps a 5th if he doesn't get his s*** together) at this early point in his career. Can Rodon develop into a 3? YES, Rodon can feasibly develop into a 1, but he's nowhere near either of those levels right now. Latos, OTOH is pitching almost like a 1 (really more like a 2), but nobody expects that to last and that he'll settle down into something more resembling at very good 4th or 5th starter. Sale and Q are both aces and the envy of the entire league. And, truth be told, most teams (even playoff contenders) would be over-the-moon to have Latos and Rodon as their 4/5. But the Sox aren't most teams. Scoring is a bit of an issue for this offense. The Sox can bring a run home if they need one, but they are not going to go toe-to-toe with any AL contender in a slugfest and win. The Sox are not the Toronto Blue Jays. That's fine, they are made to overcome offensive shortcomings with outstanding pitching and defense and they'll continue to win at this clip as long both the pitching and defense are outstanding. The defense looks for real and I doubt it regresses much. The pitching though, eh there's some worry of those performances falling back a bit. The Sox have gotten away with not having a #3 because a #4/5 starter has pitched like a #3... when that magic runs out there will be noticeable dropoff. Dont ask me how to fix it but unless the Sox resign themselves to the idea that Tim Anderson and (probably) Carson Fulmer will be out that door I can tell you it probably wont be fixed.

I've been to Dallas... its a wasteland. Even the dreariest Chicago sleeper community has twice as much going on as the cultural backbone of DFW.

Its not my thing, but hey the if Sox want to be showered with D then that's their decision and I respect.

14 runners stranded by Ryan Zimmerman ALONE today

What'd he do? Other than Ricketts, Joe is the person involved with the Cubs I love to hate the most.

D E F E N S E

BANG. NATE.

And the one guy on the Twins I dont want to face as the go-ahead run.

I like Donuts a lot as a player, but I'm ready for Avila to come back.

The 7th

I doubt he comes back out for the 8th. 7 IP 1 ER 6 H 1 BB 5 K.... another great performance.

Listening on radio.... what happened?

Good time for a 9 pitch inning, bring him out for the 7th

Alright Q, there's your support. Hold em another inning or two.

Avi doing big things.