How about those RED SOX! Part Deux

[Goondal]

This team is not very good right now

[pantherphan96]

CGSO from Brian Johnson in 3rd career start. Great story for a guy who has been thru a lot. Hope to finish off the homestand undefeated.

[Goondal]

Was just looking at the schedule.  Beginning last Monday with the White Sox the Sox have a twenty-four day stretch with five games at Fenway and only one off day (spent on the road Monday between Baltimore and New York).

The stretch includes road series with Baltimore (already 0-1), New York and Houston.

Then we have an off day followed by a seventeen day stretch with a seven day home stand and then ten straight on the road, then a ASB.

That is six weeks with only twelve games at Fenway and another two off.  That is a bunch of road games.  

If my math is correct we will have played fifty road contests to only thirty-nine at home by the break.  Just staying within three games until that point will have me very confident going into the second half.

[Goondal]

In first place to start a ten game road trip (three Toronto and Texas, four Tampa) that will take us into the break.  I really like recent the acquisition of Fister and Peralta is a nice lottery ticket I suppose, but I doubt he is the answer.

The bullpen has been very strong, especially considering Thornburg is gone for the year and Smith has yet to appear.  Hopefully the latter can come in a lock down the eighth because as good as the pen has been I still do not feel completely comfortable.  I just get this bad feeling that at some point in October we will be unable to get to Kimbrel when we need to.

The rotation is still missing something, which is very frustrating at this point.  Sale is outstanding, he is the second or third best pitcher in the game.  We are still missing that solid #2 starter though.  My boy Eduardo seemed to be ready to fill that role but the poor guy cannot catch a break.  I never felt Porcello was as bad as he was two years back or as good as last year, he was somewhere in the middle, which makes him a great three, he is pitching like a four though.  Pom is fine for a five but cannot get the innings.  Finally, bleep Price.

There is talk of our interest in Sonny Gray.  I really hope not.  He has not been great in awhile and gets hurt a lot.  Not worth whatever it will cost.  Also talk that we will be in the market for a 3B, which obviously we all saw coming, so I suspect we will be making a deal.  I really hope Dombrowski does not give up Devers though.  I have no problem giving up a prospect for someone like Sale, but Dombrowski has a history of trading prospects for guys that are not worth it and I am afraid the need at 3B in the short term could cost us a long term answer.

[pantherphan96]

I really hope we don't make any major deals cause I'd really like to keep Devers, Swihart, and Groome. 3B will continue to be a problem, my hope is Holt can come back sometime soon and fill in. Sale has been fantastic and Pomeranz has been good lately even if he throws like 120 pitches thru 6 innings. Hopefully Price will find the form he had in the 2nd half of last season and Porcello can at least have some positive regression to the mean.

I think the key is Hanley. We really need him to start hitting. JBJ has been on fire recently and the rest of the lineup (besides 3B) carries their weight as well.

[Kevin Greene]

n/m

 

[Goondal]

Hanley has definitely been a disappointment and one that I was worried about.  He does not hav the mentality to be a DH and it showed when he struggled in the OF.  He needs to be more involved to keep his head in the game.

That being said, I love Moreland.  I was excited about his signing and he has not disappointed.

[pantherphan96]

There's some hope Hanley is starting to heat up again like he did last year. Raised his batting average 18 points from mid-June. Other good news, Brian Johnson made a rehab start and Holt DH'd a game in Pawtucket.

Yankees coming back down to earth, they will go as far as their hitting can take them with no pitching depth. Rays are slugging their way to barely above .500 while the Orioles and Blue Jays are slowly imploding

[Goondal]

Six game winning streak including two victories from Price.  Maybe he is starting to find himself.  It is really important that he is so that Dombrowski is not tempted to dump big prospects on SP.  We do not need new SP, just for the guys we have to get healthy (Eduardo) and do what they are capable of (Price, Porcello).  If Price can keep building on this then it will be big.

Our ten game road trip to close the first half is also off to a good start (4-0)

I am not really worried about anybody in our division to be honest.  None of them are major threats.  I am more concerned about October.  Hopefully the Tribe will have to settle for a WC, then we can get KC or Minny in the LDS and find our footing before going facing that juggernaut in Houston.

8-2 L10 and three games up in the loss column.  I like it. =)

[Goondal]

Was disappointed with the final series and the 1-4 finish to the first half, no idea why we suck so bad against that awful franchise.  Still, it was a successful first half..

23-17 record during the stretch I meantioned six weeks ago and lead the division by 3.5 (only two in the loss column on NY, four on TB) at the break.

Second half will have forty-two games at home with only thirty-one away from Fenway.  In addition, we pulled our road record to .500 (25-25).  Only three teams in the AL having winning records on the road, Houston of course as well as Cleveland and Kansas City (oddly both have losing home records).

New York has played forty-three games at home and on the road Tampa has played forty-six at home and forty-four on the road so it is a definite advantage.

Seventeen of our twenty-three games coming out of the break are at home (with only one off day) so our home/road breakdown will be even in a few weeks.  That is followed by five each road and home.  In those thirty-three games we play the Yankees nine times (six home, three road).

The other twenty-four games include sixteen games against teams with losing records, Toronto and the White Sox for four, Anaheim and Seattle for three and St. Louis for two.  The Anaheim/Seattle swing is a west coast swing which sometimes is tough but it is a favorable stretch.

The other eight games include three each at home against Kansas City and Cleveland and two on the road in Tampa.

One oddity is that we have twenty-three games in twenty-four days followed by ten games in fourteen days (two five game weeks).  Figured they would break off days up better than that.

These thirty three games are our time.  The goal should be to push the lead to six or seven games by the end of it.

[cookinwithgas]

I think I am going to go to see them the last Saturday of the regular season when my son and I go up to see Pats/Panthers. Can't wait, it's been a few years since I've been at Fenway. Never been in the fall, it's always super hot when I've been there....

[Goondal]

That is awesome man, I have not been in a decade myself, need to make it back

[cookinwithgas]

From 2008 - went with a buddy who is a Mets fan but supported the Red Sox that weekend. 12 innings with a rain delay and a walk off Youk HR to beat the Cards, doesn't get too much better

 

[pantherphan96]

Bad way to enter the break, should have at least split that series with the Rays. If we can go at least 6-3 against the Yankees in those 9 games I'll be very confident about winning the division. Even more so if we make a move for another bat at 3B.