Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
If managers gave up on players as quickly as some of you guys do, there'd be almost nobody left to play, including Devers, JD, Verdugo and Bogey.
.416 last 9 games Bogey (.377 last 7 games)
.571 first 7 games Verdugo
.626 first 6 games Devers
.703 last 10 games JD
ERod
3.82 ERA first 6 starts (team went 5-1)
8.69 ERA last 4 starts (team went 0-4)
You can make the sample size his last 6 games with a 7.28 ERA, but I think ERod has earned the respect to not be judged so harshly over 4 to 6 games.
I'm not saying his leash is long, at this point. Obviously, something is not right, but as of now, I'm not sure we have many other options.
We could move him to the pen and start who?
We could put him on the IL and start who?
Houck is hurt.
Seabold is hurt.
Whitlock's "stretching" out has been a joke. (BTW, the opponent's OPS against has been .907 vs Whitlock in his last 7 games.)
Andriese or a "pen game?"
No minor league starter in on the 40 man roster, unless they are also on the IL.
Would you DFA someone, so we can add...
Raynel Espinal
Daniel Gossett
Ryan Weber
Kyle Hart
Stephen Gonsalvez
ERod will get at least one or two more starts, before they even think about benching or demoting him. The IL may be the only thing open, but with no easy replacement, we may just leave him out there- struggling or not, as long as he feels okay, physically.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Interesting. As you know, I am no ERod fan, but that does not mean I'm prepared to drop him from the rotation. His ERA is pretty high (5.64) and his WAR -.2, but I can remember 5th starters for the Sox whom I liked less, especially--as you keep insisting--given his past performances in 2018 and 2019.
Indeed, it can be argued that ERod is a member of a cast of players who have already given us our fair share of ups and downs this season. ERod himself, as you also remind us, was pretty fair in April--4 starts, 23 innings, and an ERA of 3.52. But, except for 5 innings vs. the Orioles in which he got a win, he was terrible in May.
And now it's June, and one can hope he and the pitching coach are making adjustments. It is therefore fortunate that the two of them, with very little effort, could access the excellent insights and advice afforded to all readers of Talksox.
Last edited by Maxbialystock; 06-05-2021 at 10:11 AM.
The guy was a solid #2or #3 for 57 starts in 2018 and 2019, He was a decent #3-4 before that, despite his high pitch counts.
The team went 45-12 in his starts from 2018-2019. I know wins are team numbers, but the guy must have done something right for that to happen.
No #4 or 5 starter did that, and in fact almost no aces did that- maybe none.
Then the team starts off 4-0 and 5-1 in his first 4 or 6 starts, this year, and after a 4-6 game bad stretch, he's hardly worth being called a 5th starter, anymore?
Man, you guys are brutal. 49-12, then 1-5 and he's a bum?
No doubt, the guy has sucked for his last 4 starts and 5 of is last 6, but they guy is coming off a serious heart condition. Maybe, he's toast. Maybe he'll never do well again.
He deserves a longer look than 4 or 5 starts.
If the guy had lost 2-3 mph off his fastball, maybe he should be on the IL as of yesterday. If he can't spin the ball like he used to, then the same thing. I'm sure all of that is being watched by the club.
If he can't get back on track, real soon, they'll IL him, and give him a rest and a chance in rehab to show he can come back- or not.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?