SpringfieldFan

Dear Tony, But keeping regulars out of the lineup every freaking day so they won't get hurt *still* gets you a lineup that sucks.

Ironically I recall TLR's lineup being pretty regular after moving Fisk up in the lineup early in the season. Result: 99 wins (ok maybe they weren't rested enough by the time the played Baltimore in the ALCS)

Yep, just like his 2006 St. Louis Lightning-in-a-Bottles.

True point, but I should give my TV a rest as well. Gotta be careful not to burn it out watching a couple hours of Mendick.

Well those are going to be 8 runs I guess I'm not gonna see then. All the rest of you enjoy the Goodwin, Mendick & Lamb show. You're better fans than me.

So with a Sunday lineup today do we get a Sunday lineup on Sunday as well?

Yeah no kidding. I think it's time the FO realized it's time to quit shooting its wad chasing some sort of bullpen nirvana. Relievers are just too schizophrenic.

This is not a wish but a you-heard-it-here-first prediction. For the Sox in 2022 we will see: 1) Rodon - Gone 2) Lopez - 5th starter 3) Kopech - High leverage middle relief Prove me wrong. Please.

I'm surprised the players union doesn't have a problem with this wink and nod policy. If you are a player wouldn't you or your agent chafe at essentially giving management unauthorized power to pull you out of the lineup with no consequence? Or are they just more than happy to collect a paycheck without having to work?

A couple years ago I predicted after winning a batting title he could be the 2020 MVP and got laughed off the thread. I might have just been a bit premature. His stats might need to bump a bit but he just has *it*.

I was at 2005 game 2. When someone mentions that game, Konerko's slam is the image that first comes into my mind. The momentum of the game was against us and I was steeling myself for how I would handle what looked like would be a sure loss that I would have to bear on the long drive home. Then Paulie turned the momentum around 180 degrees. So much was just righted with that swing. Pods' walkoff was amazing, but even that sweet moment already had Konerko's slam baked into the cake. I can't compare TA's walkoff to Konerko's one way or the other. That walkoff last night was qualitatively different, completely its own thing. It stands apart from any postseason home run and really, apart than any other regular season home run as well.

Lolol, the amount of takes it would have taken just to script the TA homerun alone.

Thanks for an awesome, unbelievably thrilling game guys! ...Don't ever do that to me again.

This is the ideal Leury though. Used as a necessary sub in the 8th and 9th rather than in the 1st thru 9th nearly every game

Well the HRs are up now with the big guys returning but we are still sitting at 6 or 7 hits a game. Gonna be a lot of fun when that improves - which is just a matter of time.

I think its the same for all teams, because as has been said, the pitchers are now going at "max effort" (a confusing term to me since it implies that before now pitchers didn't "try their best", but I guess its more about physical exertion). That means a quality start, typically 100 pitches, comes after only 5 innings rather than 7 or more. Apparently going all out means less pitching to contact, so there are more pitches per at bat and that 100 pitch limit comes a lot earlier. I have thought about extinction too, but in terms not of baseball pitchers in general, but starting pitchers in particular. I predict that the only distinction between pitchers will be between closers and everyone else. Until the last inning, any pitcher could be interchangeable at any point during the game, but likely never go more than three innings or so. Those pitchers will be elite max-effort guys that only need to see a lineup one time through. That's all just my opinion, and comes not from expertise so much as what I seem to be observing.

fair point

I have to wonder, would the Sox be better served adding guys in the mold of Buerhle or Maddux rather than a Ryan or Strasburg? Or do such pitchers even exist out there anymore?

Consider too that Kopech is 25 now. These next handful of seasons are his prime and its disappointing to see some of them needing to be spent getting him eased into full utilization.

I remember Crede doing it once to pull a very inside pitch for a HR inside the LF foul pole. Don't recall if it was local or national commentators but they slo-mo analysed it.

Eloy doing his impression of those Tatis exploits that make the national media's pants get tight.

Tim and Eloy better be careful with the production. They are going to play themselves into having Leury sub for them.

I wonder if this is a conscious adjustment he has made or if it is just a matter of how his hands work when everything is clicking and he has his timing down. IOW, the opposite of when a hitter starts pressing and his swing starts getting long and his head can start moving without him even knowing. Maybe AV is just now more comfortable and in his groove and things are just "quieter" with his swing now as a matter of course? The lower hands are interesting to me. Ted Williams loaded with his hands near belt level. I wonder why we don't see more hitters doing that?

Well yes, they'd be zero. I'm just saying that if he really desires to play in the field and doesn't get the opportunity then if another team promises the opportunity he is likely to choose a different jersey. It may be worth it to be willing to let him go if it came to that. It's not my call and I'm not smart enough to know the answer. All I know is that if I were I'd be driving a way nicer car.

This is true but then you have the matter of what his choice will be once that contract expires.