Red Sox Series III

[Sports Guy]

I’m glad we somehow avoided the sweep.

[Getz]

The streak lives on!

[Jim'sKid26]

So the bullpen goes 3 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 W and 4 Ks. Nice to see in Fenway. Impressive.

[24fps]

It's great to beat the Red Sox, but there's something particularly enjoyable about dominating them.  Great win tonight.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

12 minutes ago, Jim'sKid26 said:

So the bullpen goes 3 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 W and 4 Ks. Nice to see in Fenway. Impressive.

Fenway is one of those stadiums where no lead feels safe, but the bullpen was money tonight. 

[scottbbfm]

Effectively stuck a fork in their season tonight.  They are now 6 games out of the WC. 

[kidrock]

Looking at the OPS + and ERA+ of the Sox,they seem like a very solid team to me.  Pretty surprised at their record.  What am I missing?

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, kidrock said:

Looking at the OPS + and ERA+ of the Sox,they seem like a very solid team to me.  Pretty surprised at their record.  What am I missing?

I’d say the main thing you’re missing is defense.  Rtot has them -22 runs (12th in the AL), Rdrs has them -23 (13th), Fangrapghs defense has them at -32.1 (last) and OAA has them -51 outs (last).  They lead the AL in errors (95; average is 72; O’s are at 53).

[kidrock]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’d say the main thing you’re missing is defense.  Rtot has them -22 runs (12th in the AL), Rdrs has them -23 (13th), Fangrapghs defense has them at -32.1 (last) and OAA has them -51 outs (last).  They lead the AL in errors (95; average is 72; O’s are at 53).

Always insightful, very helpful thanks

[Frobby]

13 minutes ago, kidrock said:

Always insightful, very helpful thanks

You are welcome.  Watching the O’s and their opponents this year, I am often struck by how much better we execute on defense compared to most of our opponents.  It’s a part of the game that often gets lost in the discussions about hitting and pitching.   Take tonight.  Gunnar and McKenna both made great plays and Adley blocked a bunch of breaking pitches that Bradish buried.  Meanwhile, Devers picked up a Urias grounder that was likely to go foul, Verdugo kicked a ball around in RF, and Wong let a pitch get under his glove with a runner on 3B leading to a run (scored a wild pitch but definitely blockable).  It kind of gets lost in the discussion of Bradish’s brilliant outing and the offensive outburst, but those plays are meaningful.  

[Aristotelian]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

You are welcome.  Watching the O’s and their opponents this year, I am often struck by how much better we execute on defense compared to most of our opponents.  It’s a part of the game that often gets lost in the discussions about hitting and pitching.   Take tonight.  Gunnar and McKenna both made great plays and Adley blocked a bunch of breaking pitches that Bradish buried.  Meanwhile, Devers picked up a Urias grounder that was likely to go foul, Verdugo kicked a ball around in RF, and Wong let a pitch get under his glove with a runner on 3B leading to a run (scored a wild pitch but definitely blockable).  It kind of gets lost in the discussion of Bradish’s brilliant outing and the offensive outburst, but those plays are meaningful.  

Adley has gotten some scrutiny here for his blocking but last night was very good. He had some big blocks when the game was close, while the Sox catcher gifted us a run. Adley is up to 5 BAA, just outside the top 10 on the Statcast leaderboard. Pretty sure that is an improvement from earlier in the year.

[dystopia]

On 9/7/2023 at 12:41 PM, Frobby said:

 

If it comes down to the bullpens, Boston's is about league average at 4.24 ERA, while the O's are 3rd in the league at 3.53.  Despite their average ERA, the Sox have the best save rate in the AL, at 75%.  So, it's a more effective bullpen than many of the ones we have faced recently.

 

 

 

Pretty amazing considering all the gnashing of teeth over our bullpen from many posters, myself included. We're now tied for 2nd-best with Atlanta.

[LA2]

2 hours ago, dystopia said:

Pretty amazing considering all the gnashing of teeth over our bullpen from many posters, myself included. We're now tied for 2nd-best with Atlanta.

A laugher yes, but it should not be lost that last night's shut-down crew was Webb, Hall, and Lopez: two late-season pick-ups and a minor leaguer. Doff of the cap to the management.

Edited September 9, 2023 by LA2

[LA2]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

You are welcome.  Watching the O’s and their opponents this year, I am often struck by how much better we execute on defense compared to most of our opponents.  It’s a part of the game that often gets lost in the discussions about hitting and pitching.   Take tonight.  Gunnar and McKenna both made great plays and Adley blocked a bunch of breaking pitches that Bradish buried.  Meanwhile, Devers picked up a Urias grounder that was likely to go foul, Verdugo kicked a ball around in RF, and Wong let a pitch get under his glove with a runner on 3B leading to a run (scored a wild pitch but definitely blockable).  It kind of gets lost in the discussion of Bradish’s brilliant outing and the offensive outburst, but those plays are meaningful.  

The NESN announcers mentioned no less than 4-5 times during their telecast the importance of the Orioles defensive play, always citing its high standing in the league-wide stats.

[Just Regular]

8 hours ago, kidrock said:

Looking at the OPS + and ERA+ of the Sox,they seem like a very solid team to me.  Pretty surprised at their record.  What am I missing?

The Curse of the Mookie.     Ownership broke faith with a collection of the world's greatest baseball players for non-baseball reasons.

Rafael Devers career is for me kind of on intermission until the rest of the Marcelo Mayer-Roman Anthony crew bubbles up around Bello and Rafaela.    Everyone else is just mercenaries cashing their checks.     Alex Verdugo is really popular.