Not pointing a finger at you, this thought has been raised a few times between the game thread and here.(snip) I'm not surprised he stayed away from Poyer making his MLB debut in a high leverage situation. I'm also not surprised that he chose Kelly over Smith given that Smith has only pitched 9 innings over the last two seasons and it's reasonable to expect that Kelly wouldn't cough up a four run lead.
Are you familiar with the strategy of easing in starting pitchers and Sales workload plans specifically?Chris Sale walked 3 and only lasted 6 innings. Is he a tree that fell in the forest?
I think there would be a lot less panic if the Yankees didn’t have such a great game today, with Stanton picking up right where he left off. It’s a long season, I’m not ready to write off Carson just yet. But god I hope Thornburg comes back healthy and good so joe Kelly never pitches an eight inning againSo, if Spann hit a liner to Betts, does this thread happen?
If the strike zone was consistent, does this thread happen?
Chris Sale walked 3 and only lasted 6 innings. Is he a tree that fell in the forest?
Nunez hit an inside the Parker. Betts smashed the first pitch. I had fun watching.
Let’s give the bullpen a couple of weeks before freaking. It seems like every opening day since Bill Campbell that the bullpen has blown a lead.
I made the trip over as well (sat right behind the Sox bullpen too). Brutal and frustrating game out of Cora, but overall I'm willing to give him the very first meaningful look pass on wanting to trust his guy/s.I was there, at the Trop. It was brutally obvious that Joe Kelly had no clue how to throw stikes. It took Cora way too long to accept this fact, When he finally went to Carson Smith, while Smith imploded Cora had no one warming up. If Cora's MO is going to be a painfully slow hook, 2018 is going to be Grady Little redux.
Not pointing a finger at you, this thought has been raised a few times between the game thread and here.
Isn't it management's job to have a competent lefty in the pen? If they haven't any confidence in Poyner, shouldn't they have had someone available that they did trust? And if they trust Poyner, why not put him out there? Sure, opening days attract attention - heck, they even sold out in Montreal - but seriously, wtf with 'he's okay to be in the bullpen, but we need to find a different lefty-needed situation to bring him into'?
Kelly struck out the 2nd hitter with 3 strikes looking after ball 2. Probably no reason to get anyone up just yet. Didn't Smith get up after the double? Seems about right. Smith also struck out his second guy on 3 pitches. I thought he had gotten it together at that point. Why should someone be warming up there?I was there, at the Trop. It was brutally obvious that Joe Kelly had no clue how to throw stikes. It took Cora way too long to accept this fact, When he finally went to Carson Smith, while Smith imploded Cora had no one warming up. If Cora's MO is going to be a painfully slow hook, 2018 is going to be Grady Little redux.
I'd like to see the pitch f/x but it sure looked like Kelly threw a lot more strikes than what he was credited for. I mean that may completely change things if the ump calls balls and strikes in the bottom of the 8th like he had all game long.
The Astros' #3 and #8 prospects.So who’s getting traded for Zach Britton in July?
What about 2003 at the Trop? The death stroke of the "closer by committee" experiment before it ever really got off the ground.In the game thread I whined about how many times it seems the bullpen has blown an opening day game. I particularly recalled Soup Campbell's blown save.
So, I walked myself through every opening day from 1977 on. Here's the list of pain that some of us can share:
BLOWN SAVES OR LOSSES - Opening Day
1977 Campbell
1978 Drago
1980 Drago
1981 Stanley
1984 Stanley
1988 Lee Smith
1989 Stanley
then some nice calm interludes, until...
2011 Bard
2012 Melancon
Those 12 years from 77 to 89 were remarkable. 7 opening day bullpen blow ups.
I was at that game and game 2 that went 16 before Millar homered. It’s remarkable how that season was bookended by spectacular bullpen failures. Was it Chad Fox that Crawford walked off?What about 2003 at the Trop? The death stroke of the "closer by committee" experiment before it ever really got off the ground.
I'm convinced that the trauma inflicted by that game on Grady Little is what ultimately led to his gaffe in Game 7. And by trauma, I mean panicked overreaction to one game and one bad outing.
At least it was double elimination.Just wait, if we lose tonight the season will be over.
I think you meant “2003 World Champion Florida Marlins Closer Chad Fox.” And yes, it was him.I was at that game and game 2 that went 16 before Millar homered. It’s remarkable how that season was bookended by spectacular bullpen failures. Was it Chad Fox that Crawford walked off?
The Sox are projected to outspend the NYY by $55m this year, and I don't think you can completely hang the reason DD didn't decide to improve the bullpen on those Sandoval/Ramirez contracts when there was money still being spent in other areas. It's not like we concluded the winter positioned even remotely comfortable under a looming second tier LT concern either.Yea Kelly is an ok 7th inning guy but no more than that. I’d love to blame the yanks success on their ability to outspend everyone but cash man has just outgmed us. Those Sandoval and Ramirez signings really hamstrung our ability to go get bp help. Here is hoping that price returns to form, a lot of our future depends on him
Perhaps Kelly is taking the concept of a "walk year" far too literally.Kelly in particular was called out by more then a few posters here over the winter as a step up in responsibility disappointment waiting to happen.
You do realize DD didn't have a gun to his on every financial decision he made this winter, and that the staying under the second tier LT possibility over a full season while already sitting at a projected $235m+ (COTS) is probably looking like a bad bet in reality at this point, right?It's also laughable that to declare that the Sandoval contract didn't handcuff Dombrowski this year. If it wasn't for that contract, the 2nd paragraph of this post would not have applied at all.
Kelly needs to stop focusing on being the team clown and worry about how to get hitters out first.Well the Cardinals just signed Holland for $14mil this morning. So he's off the board. Is that a price DD would have been willing to spend? I don't know for sure. But we also don't know if he would have won yesterday's game. There's 161 games left, so everyone should pump the brakes a bit. Kelly was probably a bit nervous yesterday, so we can only hope that he turns it around.
Right, that's what he's focusing on.Kelly needs to stop focusing on being the team clown and worry about how to get hitters out first.
So you believe that while on the mound, he disregards the situation and batter, and throws poorly because his mind is on future clownery he may engage in?Kelly needs to stop focusing on being the team clown and worry about how to get hitters out first.
His stats looked good or he passed the eye test? I didn't catch any ST games, so I'm looking for a silver lining here after his blow up last night.. He looked really good this spring (as did Kelly), so let's give him more than one appearance before declaring the Carson Smith experiment a failure.
Silver lining?His stats looked good or he passed the eye test? I didn't catch any ST games, so I'm looking for a silver lining here after his blow up last night.
Good point. Its hard to get a good push off the rubber with those floppy shoes.Kelly needs to stop focusing on being the team clown and worry about how to get hitters out first.
And your overreaction to one appearance while ignoring the context of the situation isn't doing much for me.The entirety of his MLB career is 91 innings. 91. The fact that he was great three years ago and one TJ surgery ago really isn't doing much for me.
Sorry for asking for a report on how he looked during ST on a baseball message board. If he was hitting his spots with his fastball and snapping off nasty sliders then great. If he was dominating ST fodder with slop then that's a different story, no? Yeesh.
While I agree with your general point that there is a gross overreaction to 1 game happening here, I think this one post is not an example of such.And your overreaction to one appearance while ignoring the context of the situation isn't doing much for me.
Sorry for telling you that one appearance doesn't matter on a baseball message board. Yeesh.
Yes, DD is hamstrung by contracts he didn't sign, but he also made his choice on how to spend what he did have. For what Mitch Moreland is making this year, the Sox could have signed Tony Watson and Lucas Duda (Moreland got 2/$13M, Watson 2/$6.5M plus a $2.5M player option, and Duda 1/$3.5M).I can also tell you that a huge majority of the posters here would be upset of the Sox jumped the LT threshold just to bring in a middle reliever. And it is DD 's job to manage both the present and the future, and so I can see where he made the assessment that none of the relievers on the market were worth sacrificing draft picks and bonus pool money over.
It's also laughable that to declare that the Sandoval contract didn't handcuff Dombrowski this year. If it wasn't for that contract, the 2nd paragraph of this post would not have applied at all.
That's TMI to the press. How about talking to the player before you tell the media.?
Ian BrowneVerified account @IanMBrowne
Alex Cora said he will soon advance the discussion with Craig Kimbrel on more non-traditional usage patterns.
5:24 PM - 30 Mar 2018
He mentioned it before earlier in spring training. Not 100% sure with Kimbrel, but I would doubt it hasn't been communicated to him.That's TMI to the press. How about talking to the player before you tell the media.?