Second Guesser's Club - Eau de Toilette

[absintheofmalaise]

Game 1: 7:05 MLBN
Game 2: 7:15 Fox
Game 3: 8:05 ESPN
 
[tablegrid= Probable Starters ] W L G GS IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% GB% HR/FB ERA FIP xFIP Brandon Workman RHP 1 0 8 5 34.1 7.34 3.15 0.52 0.223 75.30% 41.50% 5.90% 2.88 3.36 3.88 Vidal Nuno LHP 1 4 15 12 67.1 6.68 2.94 2 0.296 65.40% 38.80% 16.30% 5.88 5.53 4.4                                 Jon Lester LHP 8 7 16 16 106 9.25 2.29 0.68 0.321 70.70% 38.90% 7.30% 3.14 2.84 3.19 Mashahiro Tanaka RHP 11 2 15 15 106.2 10.04 1.43 0.93 0.277 85.90% 46.50% 13.80% 2.11 2.77 2.4                                 John Lackey RHP 8 5 16 16 107 7.82 1.77 0.76 0.309 72.80% 46.10% 8.80% 3.45 3.04 3.18 Chase Whitley RHP 3 1 8 8 42 6 1.5 0.43 0.321 70.70% 44.30% 4.00% 4.07 3.17 4.09 [/tablegrid]

 

[Plympton91]

I like the pitching match ups for Boston. This is their chance to stake a claim to still being in the AL East race. Taking at least 2 out of 3 is imperative, losing a sweep should start the selling process in earnest.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Tonight's line up:
 
Holt RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Gomes LF
Pierzynski C
Bogaerts 3B
Drew SS
Bradley Jr. CF
Workman RHP

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Surely they can generate some offense with these guys tonight.
 
Holt RF
Nava LF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Drew SS
Bogaerts 3B
Bradley Jr. CF
Ross C
Lester LHP

 

[Rasputin]

I like winning games nobody thinks we can win. We beat Chase Whitley tomorrow and I might almost be not pissed at losing to that other chump.

 

[Plympton91]

That was a nice win; another one please.

I still don't think Lester should have faced the top of the lineup again in the 8th. That was risk that didn't need to be taken.

Great win though.

 

[JMDurron]

Not to be overly negative, but that win reminded me of the recent Twins series.  The Red Sox won the game, but won it in a way that still illustrated how completely inept the offense is, and gives me zero confidence that they are capable of putting together a string of wins.  I can't give Tanaka a ton of credit for just being awesome, given how pathetic a similar lineup was against the chump from the night before.  
 
At this point, I'd actually feel significantly better about a 8-7 win than a 2-1 or 1-0 win.  This team won't do anything sustainable without the offense figuring out how not to be horrible going forward.  

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The Sox have scored 3 runs or less in 12 of their last 14 games.

That's not good.

 

[BosRedSox5]

Holt 3B
Nava LF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Pierzynski C
Drew SS
Betts RF
Bradley Jr. CF
 
More defensive flexibility being shown by Holt. Betts gets a start in RF. I'm excited.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

Holt has played 23 games at 3B so far this season. Him playing the other positions has showed how flexible he is defensively.

 

[joyofsox]

The Sox have scored 3 runs or less in 12 of their last 14 games.

 
And 2 runs or fewer in 13 of their last 18 games.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

 
And 2 runs or fewer in 13 of their last 18 games.

 
Naah. In the expression "X runs or less", "X runs" is not a set of countable items, but a marker on a scale below or above which results can fall. "Or less" is far more idiomatic for that kind of expression. Changing it to "or fewer" adds no clarity; it's just fussy.

 

[joyofsox]

Note: I did not bold that to point out the use of "less". I bolded it to show that the Sox's weak run-scoring ability was actually weaker than indicated,
 
Anyway, I thought "fewer" is used for numbers and modified plural nouns (like runs) and "less" is used for matters of degree (less paint in that can).
 
 

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Note: I did not bold that to point out the use of "less". I bolded it to show that the Sox's weak run-scoring ability was actually weaker than indicated,
 
Anyway, I thought "fewer" is used for numbers and modified plural nouns (like runs) and "less" is used for matters of degree (less paint in that can).

 
Sorry for the misreading and the digression. (Your take on "less" and "fewer" is basically right, but there are situations where "less" is better even though you're referring to countable items, and this is one of them.)

 

[Rasputin]

 
Sorry for the misreading and the digression. (Your take on "less" and "fewer" is basically right, but there are situations where "less" is better even though you're referring to countable items, and this is one of them.)

In what way is less better than fewer in this case?

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

In what way is less better than fewer in this case?

 
When it's used to describe your division rivals instead of you.