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Post by voiceofreason on Apr 14, 2018 14:23:52 GMT -5
What are the chances the Sox break the record for doubles in a season by a team? Texas hit 376 in 2008. Sox are on pace for about 460 or so, yes SSS and real early but they have a lot of that type of hitter. If they do it you heard it here first!
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Post by kingofthetrill on Apr 14, 2018 14:24:57 GMT -5
What are the chances the Sox break the record for doubles in a season by a team? Texas hit 376 in 2008. Sox are on pace for about 460 or so, yes SSS and real early but they have a lot of that type of hitter. If they do it you heard it here first! They certainly have the right ballpark for it.
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Post by kingofthetrill on Apr 14, 2018 14:28:31 GMT -5
I do wish that we'd use relievers for more than one inning when possible. I'd rather a pitcher go 2 innings in 1 day than 1 inning on multiple days.
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Post by jimed14 on Apr 14, 2018 14:30:37 GMT -5
What are the chances the Sox break the record for doubles in a season by a team? Texas hit 376 in 2008. Sox are on pace for about 460 or so, yes SSS and real early but they have a lot of that type of hitter. If they do it you heard it here first! I seem to recall this happens every year and then it gets hot and the balls start going out instead of just being doubles. Poor us.
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Post by kingofthetrill on Apr 14, 2018 14:31:32 GMT -5
What are the chances the Sox break the record for doubles in a season by a team? Texas hit 376 in 2008. Sox are on pace for about 460 or so, yes SSS and real early but they have a lot of that type of hitter. If they do it you heard it here first! I seem to recall this happens every year and then it gets hot and the balls start going out instead of just being doubles. Poor us. Sometimes that even happens to us when we're batting.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Apr 14, 2018 14:35:51 GMT -5
Lol Walden threw a cutter on the corner 4 pitches ago and got called a ball on it. He comes back with the same pitch a inch further outside and gets the strike call. Umpires are so inconsistent.
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Post by rjp313jr on Apr 14, 2018 14:55:30 GMT -5
We're lucky to watch JBJ play defense on a daily basis lads! Wouldn’t mind seeing him on the bench a few games here and let Swithart get regular ABs playing left.
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Post by jdb on Apr 14, 2018 15:01:40 GMT -5
I’d like to see Swihart get some time behind the plate in blowouts like this. 2-3 innings here and there would be good for him.
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Post by kingofthetrill on Apr 14, 2018 15:08:43 GMT -5
My favorite kind of save.
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Post by soxfansince67 on Apr 14, 2018 15:21:03 GMT -5
I’m not alone, but I’ve earned this. From 1975 (when I was a new 10 year old Sox fan) until 2003 I absolutely earned a crapload of easy wins. It just doesn't feel right. lol But I hear ya! By the way, there are at least 3 of us older Red Sox fans in NC here including you now. Old (kinda - 62) Red Sox fan in NC saying hey! Started watching them in 1967 when I was 11. Good year to start!
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Post by voiceofreason on Apr 14, 2018 15:21:28 GMT -5
I’d like to see Swihart get some time behind the plate in blowouts like this. 2-3 innings here and there would be good for him. And good for Leon and CV with less wear and tear.
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Post by h11233 on Apr 14, 2018 15:28:17 GMT -5
It's a long season, blah blah blah... But:
After today's win, if the Sox play .500 ball the rest of the year, they'll win 86 games.
The Twins made the playoffs last year with 85 wins.
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ianrs
Veteran
Posts: 2,446
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Post by ianrs on Apr 14, 2018 15:43:26 GMT -5
Pretty amazing thing about this already amazing team: we are still without Xander, Pedroia, and (potentially) a return-to-form Thornburg. Not to mention Pomeranz and Wright. And could still add one more strong reliever at the deadline. This might not even have to be done if you reinforce the bullpen with Pomeranz/Johnson/Wright/Thornburg.
Also it cannot be overstated how awesome Cora is. He has the guys playing loose, having fun, and buying in. And he generally makes the right decisions around the margins.
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Post by jimed14 on Apr 14, 2018 15:49:02 GMT -5
This is kind of what I expected from the team last year. They are all playing the way they are capable of. The difference is not just adding JDM.
Of course it's easy to be like this when they're 12-2. You don't notice the 12-2 as much when it happens in the middle of the season. But for now it's great while it lasts.
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Post by voiceofreason on Apr 14, 2018 16:45:49 GMT -5
What I believed and posted often was that the number of guys who were capable of doing this was the exciting thing. Outside of a few guys the whole team is capable of putting up much better numbers than they did last year. We all have expected more out of every position on the field for the most part and knew they could do it if they could just stay healthy. So many really good players coming into their peak seasons and or ready to break out it's exciting! AND this is the Cora I was hoping for, don't agree with every decision he has made but they are playing loose and developing a chemistry that I think will last. Becoming more bummed by the day that I wasn't able to make the wager, over wins total 91.5
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Post by telson13 on Apr 14, 2018 17:16:25 GMT -5
Hanley F’ing Ramirez.
Apparently, there’s maybe some validity to the TB12 method? Hanley is scorching hot at the plate and actually looks pretty nimble in the field. Vintage Hanley makes this lineup terrifying.
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Post by incandenza on Apr 14, 2018 18:10:29 GMT -5
What I believed and posted often was that the number of guys who were capable of doing this was the exciting thing. Outside of a few guys the whole team is capable of putting up much better numbers than they did last year. We all have expected more out of every position on the field for the most part and knew they could do it if they could just stay healthy. So many really good players coming into their peak seasons and or ready to break out it's exciting! It doesn't even seem like the offense has been fluky either. Like, Benintendi, Martinez, Bradley, Vazquez, and maybe Devers are all probably going to hit better than they have so far.
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ericmvan
Veteran
Supposed to be working on something more important
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Post by ericmvan on Apr 14, 2018 18:20:38 GMT -5
Velazquez now has 38 IP in ML and he's been a solid or good #3 starter. That doesn't mean he's that good in the long run, but the odds of him being a real #4 (or better) are solid and a real #5 or better are very high.
Now, they should be committed to keeping both Johnson and Wright on the roster; along with Velazquez they provide amazing SP depth, and both have more actual value than trade value. That leaves 4 spots in the bullpen for set-up guys.
One spot you'd expect to go to a LHR, and they should be in good shape with a choice between Poyner, Beeks, Jerez, and Scott, the latter three having been the three best pitchers so far at Pawtucket (a fact very admittedly more amusing than meaningful at this point in the season, but I couldn't help myself.)
(Oh, and you know you're going good when a 3-inning save guy with a 5.00 ERA is a more useful option for the last man in the pen than a lefty specialist.)
So that leaves 3 spots for RH setup, when and if no one is on the DL, and they have 3 guys without options and three very viable guys with.
Smith Kelly Hembree ---- Thornburg Barnes Velazquez
Now, there will almost always be room on the roster for the best of the second group, and often room for two or more. The very interesting question is whether, at some point, you deal one of the guys in the first group in order to create a permanent spot for a guy in the second. That's unlikely to happen before Thornburg is ready, but the addition of Velazquez to group 2 makes it much more workable.
And of course the emergence of Buttrey or Shepherd, the re-emergence of Workman, health by Maddox, or ace work from multiple LHR candidates ... all of those would make it easier to deal Hembree (the obvious guy in terms of trade value). It would be great of they could get a solid prospect for him at the deadline just because we have more solid relief than we can use.
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Post by sarasoxer on Apr 14, 2018 18:56:04 GMT -5
It's a long season, blah blah blah... But: After today's win, if the Sox play .500 ball the rest of the year, they'll win 86 games. The Twins made the playoffs last year with 85 wins. So true yet in a vacuum. We had a great spring winning something like 14 of the last 15 and a super easy early schedule against projected bottom dwellers save the underperforming Yankees. Still 12-2 is 12-2. Some caution tho against the too high/too low....and with acknowledgment that streaks follow streaks. Tougher opponents lie ahead and we are going on a road trip. Hopefully Hanley has been resurrected, Xander is not a mirage, Mookie has returned to form, Price is healthy, Porcello is back and the pen holds up..oh yeah...and the creek don't rise.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 14, 2018 19:29:19 GMT -5
The Red Sox played another complete all around game. Velazquez did a good job and the offense was great.
Gotta love what we're seeing. Like I said before this is as talented as a Red Sox team I've seen since I've been watching which is almost 40 years.
I've never seen a Red Sox team win 100 games. This team has the ability to. Don't know if they'll stay healthy enough. They seem to have a lot of close calls in the health dept where you're kind of holding your breath - with Betts being the latest after Hanley - and so far they've kind of skated.
I think that this team will ultimately need middle relief help, but beyond that every piece of the puzzle is there. Xander is blossoming. Hanley is healthy and mashing and Moreland is useful insurance. Betts is elite. JD is starting to heat up and his presence is a difference maker in the lineup. Eventually I'd expect Devers to heat up a bit, too, along with Benintendi. Kimbrel is an elite closer. Price and Porcello are pitching as hoped or even better beind Sale. And they get Pomeranz and Pedroia back eventually. This team is stacked.
I'm starting to wonder - once the Sox get their starters healthy, and hopefully it stays that way for a bit, maybe Velazquez can become a viable higher leverage relief option down the road? If he's not needed? I'm talking once the Sox have Sale/Price/Porcello/Pomeranz/E-Rod as their starting 5 and have Johnson and Wright in the pen as the next starting options in line?
Velazquez has done nothing to deserve to be optioned at any point although he could get squeezed out if the Sox pitchers stay mostly healthy. Just a thought. The Sox could definitely use middle relief help if Smith doesn't turn it around, Thornburg doesn't come back the way he was and Barnes and Kelly continue to be inconsistent. I assume they'll acquire somebody but perhaps whether it's in July or October Velazquez can get some key 8th inning outs down the road?
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Post by sarasoxer on Apr 14, 2018 19:48:38 GMT -5
Lol Walden threw a cutter on the corner 4 pitches ago and got called a ball on it. He comes back with the same pitch a inch further outside and gets the strike call. Umpires are so inconsistent. Boy if you can judge an inch here or there from 60 feet you have a long career as an umpire and perhaps induction into the HOF. I think both pitches were very close to the zone. I'd prefer to think that the umpire was subject to human imperfection given the different calls or perhaps felt he missed the first one.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Apr 14, 2018 19:56:20 GMT -5
Lol Walden threw a cutter on the corner 4 pitches ago and got called a ball on it. He comes back with the same pitch a inch further outside and gets the strike call. Umpires are so inconsistent. Boy if you can judge an inch here or there from 60 feet you have a long career as an umpire and perhaps induction into the HOF. I think both pitches were very close to the zone. I'd prefer to think that the umpire was subject to human imperfection given the different calls or perhaps felt he missed the first one. Strikes shouldn't be missed in general. I agree with the premise that the game needs automated strikezones.
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Post by sarasoxer on Apr 14, 2018 20:05:20 GMT -5
AI will dominate our future...good or bad???
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dd
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Posts: 979
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Post by dd on Apr 14, 2018 21:01:52 GMT -5
Boy if you can judge an inch here or there from 60 feet you have a long career as an umpire and perhaps induction into the HOF. I think both pitches were very close to the zone. I'd prefer to think that the umpire was subject to human imperfection given the different calls or perhaps felt he missed the first one. Strikes shouldn't be missed in general. I agree with the premise that the game needs automated strikezones. Bingo! SS and Pedro are both right IMO. It's clear to me that when a large group of people spend their lives trying to do something properly and they still seem "inconsistent", the problem is not the people. The problem is that the task is nearly impossible for humans to do consistently well. Umps making the calls are fine at lower levels. Where the big bucks and big audiences are on the line it ought to be done right. It really needs to be automated. One argument I've heard against that goes something like "That's baseball". That seems to me to be an argument that getting things wrong is fundamental to the game in some way. I grant that I don't know a third as much about stats & scouting & such as many here, but there are very few here who have been baseball fans longer than I (because I'm {bleep}'n old!), and I just don't get that argument. Wrong calls in any sport are not fundamental to the sport. They are flaws in the sport. This one, in my opinion, can be, and therefore should be, fixed, at least at the major league level. I'll now try not to hurt myself climbing down off this soap box.
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Post by wildsox on Apr 15, 2018 0:49:31 GMT -5
Hanley F’ing Ramirez. Apparently, there’s maybe some validity to the TB12 method? Hanley is scorching hot at the plate and actually looks pretty nimble in the field. Vintage Hanley makes this lineup terrifying. I’ve said this before. I honestly think Hanley needs to be playing in the field to stay engaged. He’s a high energy guy that looked like the DH role put him to sleep
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