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  1. Sprowl

    9/26 Cook the Rays

    The 2023 Red Sox are feckless and unlovable. Why do we stick with them as fans? Well, for one thing, we're still hungry. The only glory left in this miserable season is the chance to cook the Rays and spoil the Orioles. I propose to begin with raie au beurre noisette.
  2. Sprowl

    The new running game

    The Orioles stole five bases in the opening day game, most without a throw from Reese McGuire, the beleaguered catcher. To be sure, it's easier to run when one is leading, and the Red Sox trailed by multiple runs for most of the game, but five steals... damn. Most of the blame goes to the...
  3. Sprowl

    The Once and Future Catchers

    The Red Sox have big decisions to make about their 2023 catchers. Christian Vazquez, once their catcher until Bloom traded him away at the deadline for prospects, is a free agent. Vazquez likes Boston and Cora likes Vazquez, but Bloom's opinion is the one that counts. Should the Red Sox sign...
  4. Sprowl

    Celtics video clips

    In the spirit of Red Sox Defensive gifs, this thread is for brief video clips of the Celtics making improbable plays, such as:
  5. Sprowl

    Irish Backstop

    What is the backstop if Danny Ainge's Big Plan falls through? Assume that Kyrie Irving goes elsewhere, the Pelicans get a better offer for Anthony Davis, Al Horford finds another max elsewhere, and the Celtics lose all the Tankathon coin flips. The the Celtics are left with their young uns and a...
  6. Sprowl

    Great At-Bats, v2

    I couldn't track down the original thread, but Mookie Betts' game-changing marathon that took JA Happ deep meets the criteria: A real contest: a lengthy at-bat featuring great pitching against hitting that's either not quite so good -- or that much better. The pitches aren't quite good enough...
  7. Sprowl

    Workman's way back

    Brandon Workman has been a reconstruction project for years after his effective 2013 playoff relief pitching and his infamous 2013 playoff hitting. Workman has always had a good knuckle curve, but his fastball location and velocity both come and go. The hardest pitch he ever threw in the major...
  8. Sprowl

    Ainge's type

    I don't mean their brain type, but I am interested in the types of player that Ainge (and Stevens) seem to gravitate toward, whom they pursue in free agency or the draft, whom the Celtics pick up on the cheap, or who falls through the draft to Boston. The team likes wings who can do everything...
  9. Sprowl

    All-NBA teams: IT makes the 2nd team

    Paul George didn't make the team and can't get the supermax offer from the Pacers.
  10. Sprowl

    Brian Johnson's stuff, such as it is

    It's hard for me to get enthusiastic about Boston's latest soft-tossing lefty. He doesn't throw hard (not even touching 90), his pitches have movement, but his super-slow curve doesn't miss many bats, and his slider is all over the place. On the bright side, he did manage to carve out a...
  11. Sprowl

    Catching Controversy

    Hurricane Sandy Leon finally dissipated late last summer, and turned into a pumpkin for the playoffs. Blake Swihart has the best hit tool and good athleticism for the position, but can he frame major league pitches and call a major league game? Christian Vazquez is the best defender of the...
  12. Sprowl

    Ziggy's Stardust

    Brad Ziegler's PitchFX dots show traces of Unhittium-2013. He throws a slow fastball (86 mph), a slower changeup (78), and a slowest frisbee slider (76). Like Uehara, he gets it done with location -- always low, usually outside, and never in the wheelhouse. These are too close to take, but...
  13. Sprowl

    Survivor: Bullpen

    The team's top three relievers, Kimbrel, Uehara and Smith, are all on the DL. Here's who survived the epidemic, and their likely roles: Barnes, right-handed generalist -- hitting 98 mph with regularity, Barnes may yet be a Killer B. Barnes has a traditional split in 2016, but a reverse split...
  14. Sprowl

    Edro nobilis

    Eduardo Rodriguez took up his place in the starting rotation without missing a beat. Fastball velocity averaged 93, with most of the pitches in the strike zone (sometimes too much in the strike zone). Edro's fastball and changeup were an excellent combination, with enough contrast and enough...
  15. Sprowl

    Reaching in

    My NBA international subscription shows me more road than home announcing teams for the Celtics, so I hear a lot of otherwise experienced observers who are seeing the Celtics for the first time. Most of them are impressed by the Celtics' defense intensity and their ability to reach in and strip...
  16. Sprowl

    Lester vs Lackey, 7/6/15 Cardinals@Cubs

    This game is a walk down memory lane, watching the 2013 World Series winners in their new NL Central habitat.
  17. Sprowl

    Websites for baseball data, analysis and visualization

    Baseball data have proliferated since the last version of this thread in 2007, so I'd like to update the SoSH portfolio of websites for baseball information. What are your favorite sites for data and visualization? Include a link to the site, and describe a highlight or two -- does the site...
  18. Sprowl

    Relief Ace Ogando

    Ogando has the best stuff and the best velocity in the bullpen, and Farrell turns to him first when the starter tires and the game is close or tied. Against the Blue Jays, Ogando's location was outstanding: he worked the edges both high and low, and gave the batters nothing good to hit.    ...
  19. Sprowl

    21st Century Tiny Archibald?

    Tiny was generously listed at 6'1", but nobody believed that. He was left-handed, had a great handle, unlimited nerve, a monster year in 1973, and a championship in 1981. Isaiah Thomas has a lot of the same game, although he doesn't yet have the body control of Nate at his peak. He certainly...
  20. Sprowl

    The main board is not a game thread

    The main board is for news, analysis, and evidence-based speculation or rebuttal. It is not for chat, pipe dreams or personal discovery. It is for one-liners if they are really, genuinely funny. If in doubt, save it for the game thread. If it gets moved to this thread, it's not funny. If one...
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