*Official* 7/24 Pleading the Fifth Postgamer

[thomas35forever]

As messy as the fifth inning was, the bats have gone cold again. It didn't help that they were facing one of baseball's best this year, but still.

[Lipman 1]

Guys please...on Sunday...try not to get swept...yet again...by a good team...on the road.

This is becoming embarrassing.

Good thing for them the Indians keep losing.

[HomeFish]

I like Eloy, Robert, and Grandal as much as the next guy, but I don't think they would have hit 6 homers today.

[thomas35forever]

Guys please...on Sunday...try not to get swept...yet again...by a good team...on the road.

This is becoming embarrassing.

Good thing for them the Indians keep losing.

We're missing half of our starting lineup and were facing a Cy Young candidate tonight. What did you expect? If it's still like this when the aforementioned injured players come back, we can panic.

Also worth noting that with the Indians' latest loss, the Sox are the only AL Central team above .500. That being the case as well as having a sizable division lead, the need to make a panic move bedore the deadline practically is nonexistent.

[Lipman 1]

We're missing half of our starting lineup and were facing a Cy Young candidate tonight. What did you expect? If it's still like this when the aforementioned injured players come back, we can panic.

Also worth noting that with the Indians' latest loss, the Sox are the only AL Central team above .500. That being the case as well as having a sizable division lead, the need to make a panic move before the deadline practically is nonexistent.

So who is panicking Thomas?

It's not just the poor play, it is the boneheaded mistakes, the physical errors, Moncada having a cranial-rectal inversion, TLR based on his postgame comments saying he thought you weren't allowed to do what the Brewers did but the umpires after checking told him they could. (Granted an obscure rule but a rule none-the-less). That has nothing to do with who is missing. That's simple fundamental baseball.

This team has enough talent in my opinion even with the injuries, to play competitively in large part because of the starting pitching.

The fact that they are now 0-9 on the road against the Yankees, Houston and Milwaukee is plain bizarre. This team is better than that, injuries or not.

And as I've pointed out the difference between the way this team plays at home vs. on the road is worth noting come October when you aren't playing the Minnesota's, Kansas City's, Baltimore's et al. Home-field advantage.

We'll see if that changes when the injured guys come back, the Sox better hope so.

Milwaukee has played well the past two games but the Sox have also given them a basket full of help too. (And I haven't even mentioned the bullpen...oh I guess I just did...)

[FielderJones]

Tim Anderson is 0-for-Milwaukee. We shouldn't be surprised that the rest of the offense has gone to sleep.

[LITTLE NELL]

National TV game tonight, good time to break out of the blahs.

[berwyn]

So who is panicking Thomas?

It's not just the poor play, it is the boneheaded mistakes, the physical errors, Moncada having a cranial-rectal inversion, TLR based on his postgame comments saying he thought you weren't allowed to do what the Brewers did but the umpires after checking told him they could. (Granted an obscure rule but a rule none-the-less). That has nothing to do with who is missing. That's simple fundamental baseball.

This team has enough talent in my opinion even with the injuries, to play competitively in large part because of the starting pitching.

The fact that they are now 0-9 on the road against the Yankees, Houston and Milwaukee is plain bizarre. This team is better than that, injuries or not.

And as I've pointed out the difference between the way this team plays at home vs. on the road is worth noting come October when you aren't playing the Minnesota's, Kansas City's, Baltimore's et al. Home-field advantage.

We'll see if that changes when the injured guys come back, the Sox better hope so.

Milwaukee has played well the past two games but the Sox have also given them a basket full of help too. (And I haven't even mentioned the bullpen...oh I guess I just did...)

One or two or three of the guys coming back have been known to make a boneheaded mistake of their own from time to time. Look, we got shut down by great pitching. No big revelation there. Our pitching didn't match it. Happens. Next time it might be the other way around. Take a deep breath.

[longtimefan]

The truth is the Brewers are playing better than us (at this point in time). Things can/will change. However, dumb mistakes must stop. This is not the first time Moncada has demonstrated a lack of brain power and I suspect, it will not be the last. Things like missing home plate by six inches and not even realizing it, like trying to advance to 3B from 2B on a ball hit to the SS, and on and on can't be tolerated if you want to be a WS champion.

[Mohoney]

National TV game tonight, good time to break out of the blahs.

We will be getting plenty of blahs from awful ARod.

[fungo bat]

The truth is the Brewers are playing better than us (at this point in time). Things can/will change. However, dumb mistakes must stop. This is not the first time Moncada has demonstrated a lack of brain power and I suspect, it will not be the last. Things like missing home plate by six inches and not even realizing it, like trying to advance to 3B from 2B on a ball hit to the SS, and on and on can't be tolerated if you want to be a WS champion.

This. How can a guy miss home plate by that much and not make an effort to back track and touch it? It looked like he was in shock in the dugout, as if he thought he actually touched home. That is brutal.

Mistakes like this along with poor defensive execution (Abreu's throw home should have nailed the runner - instead it was up the third base line and Collins couldn't make the tag) and lack of timely hitting have hurt the Sox all year long. I know we were facing a premier pitcher last night. And it's obvious we need some help in the pen. Ruiz did a credible job last night, but the game was pretty much over at that point.

Let's hope they show better tonight in front of a national audience. Lynn is on the bump, so we have a chance to salvage one game out of the series.

[blurry]

0-9 in the last 9 games against teams over .500 on the road. I get that we have good players out but with Abreu, TA, Moncada, and also Vaughn and Engel, that should not be happening. The hitters have to step up, the bullpen has to stop being hot garbage. Can’t rely on the starting staff to have the hot hand every game.

Also can’t rely on Robert, Eloy, and Grandal saving the lineup when they get back. The current allstars have to play like allstars

[kingpin_rcs]

Moncada did miss the plate, yes, but the umpire did call him safe. Also, there was a lot of confusion as the ball hit Moncada and then the umpire. It's still ultimately up to him to make sure he hits the plate (and I believe he has learned a lesson) but I'll cut him a little slack given the crazy circumstances.

[BigKlu59]

We will be getting plenty of blahs from awful ARod.

You can bet the farm on that one Nell. As Rodney D proclaimed “Can’t get no respect!” ARod won’t waste any air time having the opportunity to guano on the Sox when he starts flapping his yap.

[BigKlu59]

Moncada did miss the plate, yes, but the umpire did call him safe. Also, there was a lot of confusion as the ball hit Moncada and then the umpire. It's still ultimately up to him to make sure he hits the plate (and I believe he has learned a lesson) but I'll cut him a little slack given the crazy circumstances.

Cutting slack is for T- Ballers and dandelion picking right fielders. Million dollar “professionals” not so much.