*OFFICIAL* 5.22.21 Sox bats Cole as ice.

[LITTLE NELL]

Didn't expect much today with the guys in a slump and Cole on the bump.
Hope they wake up tomorrow.

[Lipman 1]

Can't say I'm surprised today with Cole pitching.

Offense has gone right down the toilet the last three games (almost four if you count the fact they scored early Tuesday and that was it for the game)

As Joe Maddon would say, "Try not to suck Sunday guys and not get swept."

I remember there were a lot of media and fans criticizing whom the Yankees signed / acquired to be their starting pitchers.

Don't think those folks are laughing now. I think that's one run allowed in the last four games.

[thomas35forever]

Gotta hope and pray that tomorrow goes better. Today simply wasn't their day.

[Noneck]

The Sox are now 2 games under .500 vs. .500+ teams. Bottom feeding is good but in order to compete for a world series,you have to do better than that.

[Paulwny]

Grandal now leads the majors in pb's, hes not hitting, it's time to see if Collins can hit mlb pitching.

[Lipman 1]

The Sox are now 2 games under .500 vs. .500+ teams. Bottom feeding is good but in order to compete for a world series, you have to do better than that.

Sort of like last year isn't it? Where the Sox got 21 of their 35 wins against the rancid Royals, putrid Pirates and terrible Tigers.

Honestly unless Rick swings some big deals come July, or either Eloy and / or Robert returns, in a stacked A.L., it's going to be really, really hard to get to the World Series.

[voodoochile]

The Sox are now 2 games under .500 vs. .500+ teams. Bottom feeding is good but in order to compete for a world series,you have to do better than that.

Sort of like last year isn't it? Where the Sox got 21 of their 35 wins against the rancid Royals, putrid Pirates and terrible Tigers.

Honestly unless Rick swings some big deals come July, or either Eloy and / or Robert returns, in a stacked A.L., it's going to be really, really hard to get to the World Series.

Just want to dig a bit into this concept. The Sox just lost two in a row to a team over .500. Which means on Thursday they were .500. Two losses in a row is not a trend. Not even when they suck extra hard, and making grand sweeping generalizations off of a two game losing stream is just silly...

[Noneck]

Just want to dig a bit into this concept. The Sox just lost two in a row to a team over .500. Which means on Thursday they were .500. Two losses in a row is not a trend. Not even when they suck extra hard, and making grand sweeping generalizations off of a two game losing stream is just silly...

Is it ok to have the best mlb record and .500 vs. .500 teams. Maybe we should revisit this on Thursday.

[BigKlu59]

Didn't expect much today with the guys in a slump and Cole on the bump.
Hope they wake up tomorrow.

I find playing these guys so deja vu. Seems to follow a pattern. Usually a heartbreak loss after a hell of a pitching performance by our Ace, them going all Bronx Bomber in one of the games and us scratching out a game thru shear grit. I hate them Damn Yankees.

BK59

[Lipman 1]

Just want to dig a bit into this concept. The Sox just lost two in a row to a team over .500. Which means on Thursday they were .500. Two losses in a row is not a trend. Not even when they suck extra hard, and making grand sweeping generalizations off of a two game losing stream is just silly...

I'm not making grand sweeping generalizations sir. 21 of their 35 wins last year were against awful teams, that's a fact.

The A.L. is a man's league...seven other teams not counting the Sox are "good" in my opinion (Boston, surprisingly; Tampa; the Yankees, Toronto, Cleveland, Houston and Oakland) This is a loaded league. The Sox starting pitching is excellent, the bullpen has been a disappointment and is "iffy", the hitting is inconsistent because of the injuries; guys are being asked to do more than they should and they are being exploited by opponents. I think today the Sox had four guys in the lineup with an OPS of under 700. Five guys were hitting under .250.

Those numbers if they continue make getting to a World Series, in this league, damn hard, that's not an exaggeration. The N.L. is a different story, very few good teams there and most are in one division.

Could things change?

Absolutely.

But as I said either Rick is going to have to pull the trigger on some deals, bringing in some top players or Robert and/or Eloy are going to have to make a return. Robert more likely in August. Even if Eloy comes back in September I don't know if he'll be able to make an impact in that short amount of time remaining to the season.

Will have to wait and see.

[Noneck]

Sort of like last year isn't it? Where the Sox got 21 of their 35 wins against the rancid Royals, putrid Pirates and terrible Tigers.

Honestly unless Rick swings some big deals come July, or either Eloy and / or Robert returns, in a stacked A.L., it's going to be really, really hard to get to the World Series.

It’s going to be very difficult to swing major deals when the Sox don’t have much they can afford to give up and aren’t the type of team that will take on salary.

[Domeshot17]

Vaughn just isn’t ready, Collins Mendick and Garcia are not major leaguers, Grandal has been terrible, Eaton looks done. So when the 4 competent hitters in the lineup struggle, the game is over. I’m a Hahn guy but he continues to really struggle in free agency.

[Domeshot17]

The team also has been brutal since TLR decided to wage a media war about a home run.

[longtimefan]

Vaughn just isn’t ready, Collins Mendick and Garcia are not major leaguers, Grandal has been terrible, Eaton looks done. So when the 4 competent hitters in the lineup struggle, the game is over. I’m a Hahn guy but he continues to really struggle in free agency.

Garcia is a major leaguer but not an everyday player. He should be filling in on occasion. I can't figure out Grandal. What happen to him? Engel hopefully can replace Eaton soon.
I wonder how much Hahn's struggles in FA is due to the budget he's given by Reinsdorf. This season started off sour when Reinsdorf forced TLR on Hahn. Then the Jimenez/Robert injuries compounded the problems. We're still a winning team (the good news) but not WS caliber at this point.

[Dick Allen]

Garcia is a major leaguer but not an everyday player. He should be filling in on occasion. I can't figure out Grandal. What happen to him? Engel hopefully can replace Eaton soon.
I wonder how much Hahn's struggles in FA is due to the budget he's given by Reinsdorf. This season started off sour when Reinsdorf forced TLR on Hahn. Then the Jimenez/Robert injuries compounded the problems. We're still a winning team (the good news) but not WS caliber at this point.

Chairman Cheapskate is definitely at fault here. He cried poor after the Hendriks signing and would not pay to add an extra bat, which most of us knew was needed. They took the cheap route by elevating Vaughn to the big league roster, though I agree with those who feel he isn’t ready yet. He hadn’t yet played above high A.