The argument was about having an extra pitcher or bench player.
One major point for carrying a bench player was that if a pitcher was ever needed, you could have one there in 2 hours. That's not the case, if we were in Seattle, but I added that if we were on a long west coast stretch, which we were not, we could have brought along an extra pitcher (not on the 26 man roster) in case we needed to add one after having a 19 inning game the night before.
Setting the opening day roster does not preclude additions and subtractions just a few days into the season, if needed.
The other point was about us having to play 4 games in a 48 hour period, and that is precisely an example that adding a pitcher before that stretch would make sense and is entirely possible and easy to do.
(BTW, I was not "griping." I was defending the position that we never needed that extra pitcher, and if we did, we'd know enough beforehand to add one- or two in the case of the doubleheader.)
The fact that you can add a player to the 26 man roster for a double header also eases that strain on the pen during that 48 hour stretch- not to mention the fact that we had a day off to rest the entire pen before that 48 hour stretch.
Last edited by moonslav59; 04-18-2021 at 12:17 PM.
Sox 4 Ever
In Cora we trust. If he feels like we're in a better position with 14 pitchers, then that's good enough for me.
Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.
4-12 COL
5-10 NYY
6-10 AZ
6-10 DET
5-9 WSH
6-9 Cubs
Sox 4 Ever
In terms of run differential, the Red Sox are currently the class of the league.