manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 15:03:52 GMT -5
Barnes’s fastball looks as good as I’ve seen it. Hard, with life. The bullpen looks like it could develop into a strength in short order. Sawamura looks strong. Whitlock looked great. I have zero faith in Taylor, but he dan just move down the line.
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Apr 4, 2021 15:08:30 GMT -5
I didn’t work for the Rays so this is probably naive, but the offseason acquisitions appear to suck. Starting the year 3 back on the only team you *might* finish ahead of? Not ideal. I get that you're the Chaim pessimist, but you must know how silly that statement reads after 3 games. I'm sure you'd have tempered everyone's excitement had these been 3 blowout wins in our favor. i don't think noting the games or the point in the season is all the relevant. Losing 3 games to this squad, at home, when no game has been particularly close (certainly not well played) needs to stand on its own and be criticized with extreme prejudice. Add: and part of that criticism, along with the players, has to be directed at the FO.
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manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 15:18:01 GMT -5
Barnes’s fastball looks as good as I’ve seen it. Hard, with life. The bullpen looks like it could develop into a strength in short order. Sawamura looks strong. Whitlock looked great. I have zero faith in Taylor, but he dan just move down the line. Damn it! When I say something nice, it is a jinx!
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Apr 4, 2021 15:18:51 GMT -5
i am not gonna lie....these 3 games have me depressed. I will stay the course, but this is a bad feeling.
Better days ahead !!
Late.
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Post by wildsox on Apr 4, 2021 15:33:06 GMT -5
Definitely stay the course it’s still very early. With that being said its tough seeing the worst team in baseball the last few years put up more runs today then we have scored the entire series
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Post by Guidas on Apr 4, 2021 15:38:47 GMT -5
Three games in - albeit against a team many predicted wouldn't win 70 games - looks a lot like a rebuild in, say, the style of the Roman razing, sacking and utter destruction of Carthage, only with nicely trimmed grass.
Maybe Bloom's going for the first pick in next year's draft?
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manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 15:42:44 GMT -5
I would much rather be losing with Duran and Downs than the rent-a-sucks. It is one thing to be bad, but 162 games of watching bad/here for a year... awful. No emotional investment in the Kiké/Marwin/Hunter etc. hive outfield.
I actually preferred last year: a bunch of Bad News Bears pitchers I could toot for just cause it was nice they made it.
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Post by incandenza on Apr 4, 2021 15:46:50 GMT -5
So they got swept. By the Orioles. At home. And facing two lefty starters, who this lineup ought to crush.
I didn't really see anything to alter my expectations about this team (the offense stunk, but it's April weather, and I think they'll be fine; Richards also stunk, but Houck and Whitlock seem real promising). But there's no scenario where this team is good in which they shouldn't win at least 2 games in a series like this, so this start already ought to be enough to reduce whatever your expected win total for this team was by about two games. I predicted 86 before the season, so I guess I'm down to 84 now.
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Post by sarasoxer on Apr 4, 2021 15:48:54 GMT -5
Definitely stay the course it’s still very early. With that being said its tough seeing the worst team in baseball the last few years put up more runs today then we have scored the entire series In the mid 1950s to 1967, Sox fans often wished that our batters could hit against our pitching staff....It could be deja vu all over again.... Whitlock looked very good...and he's the Rule 5 guy! Sawamura...ball, strike, ball, strike. He's probably going to have a high WHIP...dangerous. I suspect that Bloom will be active before the trade deadline....getting more prospects. Loved the way the Orioles tried and did beat the shifts. That was smart baseball...and I wish the Sox players would do more of that. Vazquez is exemplary in that way.
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Post by dirtdog on Apr 4, 2021 16:00:09 GMT -5
Looks like my 75 win projection might be generous. Thoroughly outclassed by a team that many projected at 100 losses. I cant understand why certain guys dont seem to be ready when the season starts, and for the record I am a Cora proponent. The Richards signing I questioned from the word go on health history alone.
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Post by chrisfromnc on Apr 4, 2021 16:01:40 GMT -5
I would much rather be losing with Duran and Downs than the rent-a-sucks. It is one thing to be bad, but 162 games of watching bad/here for a year... awful. No emotional investment in the Kiké/Marwin/Hunter etc. hive outfield. I actually preferred last year: a bunch of Bad News Bears pitchers I could toot for just cause it was nice they made it. The whole reason I am a member here is because I enjoy watching young players come up from the minors and succeed. So I get wanting to see prospects play. But you’re smart enough to know that the Sox would be wasting the service time of Downs for sure and Duran probably if they were on the roster now.
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Post by wildsox on Apr 4, 2021 16:08:10 GMT -5
Definitely stay the course it’s still very early. With that being said its tough seeing the worst team in baseball the last few years put up more runs today then we have scored the entire series In the mid 1950s to 1967, Sox fans often wished that our batters could hit against our pitching staff....It could be deja vu all over again.... Whitlock looked very good...and he's the Rule 5 guy! Sawamura...ball, strike, ball, strike. He's probably going to have a high WHIP...dangerous. I suspect that Bloom will be active before the trade deadline....getting more prospects. Loved the way the Orioles tried and did beat the shifts. That was smart baseball...and I wish the Sox players would do more of that. Vazquez is exemplary in that way. Yes. The Orioles deserve some credit. They came in and did what they needed to do. They put the ball in play on offense and they didn't give up free bases in the field.
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Post by incandenza on Apr 4, 2021 16:10:12 GMT -5
I would much rather be losing with Duran and Downs than the rent-a-sucks. It is one thing to be bad, but 162 games of watching bad/here for a year... awful. No emotional investment in the Kiké/Marwin/Hunter etc. hive outfield. I actually preferred last year: a bunch of Bad News Bears pitchers I could toot for just cause it was nice they made it. The whole reason I am a member here is because I enjoy watching young players come up from the minors and succeed. So I get wanting to see prospects play. But you’re smart enough to know that the Sox would be wasting the service time of Downs for sure and Duran probably if they were on the roster now. And not just wasting their service time - they're just not ready. Duran still needs to work on his defense, and Downs has all of 56 PAs above the high-A level.
The realistic option for having more home-grown talent on the roster would have been to keep Benintendi and Bradley. I'd agree that they'd have been more fun to root for. But it also would have been even more depressing to watch them if were to end up having lousy seasons.
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Post by congusgambler33 on Apr 4, 2021 16:10:53 GMT -5
I remember one fan on this site say"Save these hits for the regular season". He was a prophet.
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Post by Jimmy on Apr 4, 2021 16:33:51 GMT -5
Small sample size. World Series back on tomorrow after they beat the Rays.
Alright maybe not the World Series but I think hitting the panic button on a team projected for 87 wins after 3 bad games to start the season is a quick jump.
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Post by congusgambler33 on Apr 4, 2021 16:43:17 GMT -5
I am thinking that with all the homeruns that were hit in the spring, their eyes were on slamming HR's and trying to pull all the junk stuff that the O's threw at them. i saw a lot of overswinging instead of just trying to build innings by hitting it the other way.
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manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 17:06:12 GMT -5
I am thinking that with all the homeruns that were hit in the spring, their eyes were on slamming HR's and trying to pull all the junk stuff that the O's threw at them. i saw a lot of overswinging instead of just trying to build innings by hitting it the other way. The two may just be two sides of the same coin. You have a bunch of guys who could hit 30 HRs and K 175 times... which means a lot more of the latter than the former. They might score 20 tomorrow if the HRs come in a cluster. But it might also be a case of who you gunna believe, advanced stats or your own lyin’ eyes? Maybe, for example, a guy like Renfroe, who batted .156 last year and .216 the year before ought not surprise us when he can’t get hits? If he goes 2 for his next two, that .222 is not out of line. So... this just may be what they are.
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mobaz
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Post by mobaz on Apr 4, 2021 17:07:59 GMT -5
Whitlock and Houck are not the 6th and 7th best starters on this team.
By what month will they be rotation mainstays, and whom will they replace?
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manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 17:14:08 GMT -5
Whitlock and Houck are not the 6th and 7th best starters on this team. By what month will they be rotation mainstays, and whom will they replace? I would bet they are a bit conservative with Whitlock. He is returning from injury and making a huge leap. He did great today, and I bet his “promotion” is first higher leverage relief appearances. Houck will replace whoever gets hurt next.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Apr 4, 2021 17:23:21 GMT -5
Takeaways...
If JDM returns to form, it would be huge for the team.
The Yankees was robbed.
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Post by unitspin on Apr 4, 2021 18:38:45 GMT -5
Takeaways... If JDM returns to form, it would be huge for the team. The Yankees was robbed. JD is looking like the real deal. Maybe he has two years left in him.
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Post by DesignatedForAssignment on Apr 4, 2021 18:46:12 GMT -5
Verdugo got a break
Xander and Vazquez played the whole game. Monday must be an off day for both
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Post by ericmvan on Apr 4, 2021 19:22:17 GMT -5
I get that you're the Chaim pessimist, but you must know how silly that statement reads after 3 games. I'm sure you'd have tempered everyone's excitement had these been 3 blowout wins in our favor. People say “it is only 3 games.” Well, I guess you assume a 3-game deficit won’t be the difference after 162. Personally, when I have a team already projected to struggle, I view spotting the nearest team to us in the division an immediate 3 game lead as not something to shrug off. And if we won by blowouts, I’d say great! Keep it up! But I’d say the same thing I’m saying as we lose: the Orioles are terrible. Ir sucks that we're two wins behind the pace we expected. We have 159 games left to make up those two.
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manfred
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Post by manfred on Apr 4, 2021 19:26:37 GMT -5
People say “it is only 3 games.” Well, I guess you assume a 3-game deficit won’t be the difference after 162. Personally, when I have a team already projected to struggle, I view spotting the nearest team to us in the division an immediate 3 game lead as not something to shrug off. And if we won by blowouts, I’d say great! Keep it up! But I’d say the same thing I’m saying as we lose: the Orioles are terrible. Ir sucks that we're two wins behind the pace we expected. We have 159 games left to make up those two. These look like just the boys to do it!
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Post by foreverred9 on Apr 4, 2021 19:30:49 GMT -5
That has to be one of the worst performances in a series by a lineup I've ever seen:
Leadoff (Hernandez) - 1/10, 2 BB, SF, 0.331 OPS Second (Verdugo, Franchy PH) - 0/12, 0.000 OPS Clean-up (Xander) - 1/12, 0.167 OPS 5th (Devers/Marwin) - 0/9, 2 BB, 0.222 OPS Renfranchy Platoon - 0/11, 0.000 OPS 9th (Dalbec) - 0/10, 1 BB, 0.091 OPS
Other than Renfranchy and Dalbec, Ks weren't really a problem.
Obviously JDM did well (1.500 OPS), but when your 1st/2nd/4th/5th go 2/43 around him, you're getting swept. I'm not going to overreact to that, as the offense can't be that bad all year, but man I'm not sure if there's anything worse than watching a 500-team middling their way through the season. I sure hope the July-Sept team will be more exciting.
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