The Starting Rotation's Start

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judyb

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Pomeranz did make 2 minor league rehab starts, one each with Portland and Pawtucket, maybe he should have gotten more, but it's not like he didn't go to the minors for rehab at all.
 

simplicio

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Wright will get the start Tuesday against the Tigers. Radio broadcast tonight speculating Swihart may catch him.
 

BaseballJones

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It's been 17 days since the Red Sox won a Chris Sale start. Here are the games he's pitched in where either he's gotten a ND or the Sox have lost:

G1 at TB: 6.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 9 k (ND, Sox lost 6-4)
G6 at Mia: 5.0 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 6 k (ND, Sox won 4-2)
G15 vs Bal: 5.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 8 k (ND, Sox won 3-1)
G20 at Oak: 7.0 ip, 6 h, 3 r, 3 er, 1 bb, 10 k (L, Sox lost 3-0 and were no-hit)
G29 vs KC: 7.0 ip, 5 h, 2 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 6 k (ND, Sox lost 7-6)
G38 at Tor: 9.0 ip, 6 h, 3 r, 3 er, 0 bb, 15 k (ND, Sox lost 5-3)
G53 vs Atl: 4.1 ip, 5 h, 6 r, 6 er, 3 bb, 8 k (L, Sox lost 7-1)
G58 at Hou: 6.0 ip, 6 h, 4 r, 4 er, 1 bb, 6 k (L, Sox lost 7-3)
G64 vs ChW: 8.0 ip, 6 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 10 k (L, Sox lost 1-0)

So in these nine games, the Sox have averaged 2.6 runs a game. Sale's composite line:

57.1 ip, 42 h, 21 r, 20 er, 13 bb, 78 k, 3.14 era, 0.92 whip, 12.2 k/9

He easily could have another 8 wins (all except the Atl game). He's had what I would consider to be two very unlucky losses (vs Oak and vs ChW), where he pitched very well and lost anyway. And he's had five unlucky no decisions, where he pitched very well and didn't get a W or L.

In these nine games, with Sale putting up an era of 3.14, the Sox are 2-7. That's just incredible.
 

rhswanzey

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22.2 IP into the Steven Wright scoreless IP streak, I think I'm going to abandon wondering if we could sneak the guy through waivers.
 

tonyarmasjr

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22.2 IP into the Steven Wright scoreless IP streak, I think I'm going to abandon wondering if we could sneak the guy through waivers.
That's all well and good, but can we survive with a patchwork of Wright/Velazquez/etc as the 5th starter? I mean, he barely pitched half the game last night. We need a single starter who can eat those innings, regardless of how mediocre or bad they may be...



Wright/Velazquez/Johnson/Beeks as starters: 4-1 in 6 GS, 2.62 ERA, 5 2/3 IP/start
 

Average Reds

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That's all well and good, but can we survive with a patchwork of Wright/Velazquez/etc as the 5th starter? I mean, he barely pitched half the game last night. We need a single starter who can eat those innings, regardless of how mediocre or bad they may be...
The bolded makes zero sense. He pitched 6 and 2/3 scoreless innings. But you'd have rather he was hit around and lost the game so long as he could get through 8 innings?

Maybe my sarcasm detector needs tuning, but this is baffling to me.


Wright/Velazquez/Johnson/Beeks as starters: 4-1 in 6 GS, 2.62 ERA, 5 2/3 IP/start
Again, I'm not seeing the problem here, especially if the either Wright or Velasquez is in the pen as a long man.
 

Average Game James

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That's all well and good, but can we survive with a patchwork of Wright/Velazquez/etc as the 5th starter? I mean, he barely pitched half the game last night. We need a single starter who can eat those innings, regardless of how mediocre or bad they may be...



Wright/Velazquez/Johnson/Beeks as starters: 4-1 in 6 GS, 2.62 ERA, 5 2/3 IP/start
What the Sox really need is a healthy Pomeranz, but absent that they’ve been incredibly fortunate with the results they’ve gotten from Wright, Velazquez, et al. Wright and Velazquez both with xFIPs in the 4.50 area and strand rates >90% scream regression is coming...
 

joe dokes

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What the Sox really need is a healthy Pomeranz, but absent that they’ve been incredibly fortunate with the results they’ve gotten from Wright, Velazquez, et al. Wright and Velazquez both with xFIPs in the 4.50 area and strand rates >90% scream regression is coming...
OTOH--They could regress at Mach 3 and still be better than any other team's 6th and 7th starters, and probably still be better than most teams' 5th best starter.
 

Average Game James

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OTOH--They could regress at Mach 3 and still be better than any other team's 6th and 7th starters, and probably still be better than most teams' 5th best starter.
Absolutely agree - my point was simply the Sox have been incredibly fortunate with the results they’ve gotten out of the back end of the rotation. Unfortunately for the Sox, the bar they need to clear is “better than the NYY.” Regression from the back end of the rotation should be a concern, as having 6th/7th starters better than most of the league’s 5th starters will be cold comfort in a wild card play-in game... Admittedly, regression works both ways and they should start winning more Sale starts than they have been as well...
 

Cesar Crespo

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That's all well and good, but can we survive with a patchwork of Wright/Velazquez/etc as the 5th starter? I mean, he barely pitched half the game last night. We need a single starter who can eat those innings, regardless of how mediocre or bad they may be...



Wright/Velazquez/Johnson/Beeks as starters: 4-1 in 6 GS, 2.62 ERA, 5 2/3 IP/start

Barely half the game? He went 6 2/3 innings. Wright has now pitched started 2 games, one where he went 7 and last night where he went 6 2/3.

Also, why are you lumping everyone together? The last 3 pitchers on that list are very different than Wright, and not because of the knuckle ball. I'm not a Wright believer, but he has 3 times more IP than the other 3 guys combined. Velazquez and Johnson have about 60 ip in their career, Beeks 4.

edit: 74.1% of the game is barely half and definitely not closer to 3/4 of the game. At least when you are building a shitty narrative.
 
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Byrdbrain

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I believe you have him confused with TonyPena who made assertions along those lines and about the Sox needing a 5th starter in the "Trade Targets" thread.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Barely half the game? He went 6 2/3 innings. Wright has now pitched started 2 games, one where he went 7 and last night where he went 6 2/3.

Also, why are you lumping everyone together? The last 3 pitchers on that list are very different than Wright, and not because of the knuckle ball. I'm not a Wright believer, but he has 3 times more IP than the other 3 guys combined. Velazquez and Johnson have about 60 ip in their career, Beeks 4.

edit: 74.1% of the game is barely half and definitely not closer to 3/4 of the game. At least when you are building a shitty narrative.
I cannot believe half the board cannot recognize sarcasm when it bites them in the butt. LOL I guess we all take every post so seriously or maybe it says something about the group when a clearly sarcastic post is taken as a serious analysis.[emoji4]
Edit.. Yes the previous poster did confuse tony armas arguments with tony pena's post. Too many tonys...[emoji3]
 

grimshaw

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Hard to see Pom getting his rotation spot back right away unless there is another injury.
Maybe they take their sweet ass time and give him at least two rehab starts to see if he can figure things out.

Even in the pen no one really deserves to go. Everyone is doing their respective jobs well. He'd be an upgrade over Johnson, but then you have to move Johnson.
 

uk_sox_fan

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Just as long as we don't have another round of Tony Clark - 2002 was enough. Tony Perez was decent for us though maybe just a shadow of his self from the BRM years.

Any angst out there on Mookie OPSing a miserable 400 for June?
 

nvalvo

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What the Sox really need is a healthy Pomeranz, but absent that they’ve been incredibly fortunate with the results they’ve gotten from Wright, Velazquez, et al. Wright and Velazquez both with xFIPs in the 4.50 area and strand rates >90% scream regression is coming...
xFIP isn't going to love a knuckleballer, though. Wright's BB/9 is higher than his H/9.
 

Average Game James

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xFIP isn't going to love a knuckleballer, though. Wright's BB/9 is higher than his H/9.
BABIP against is only .192 this year vs. career average of .278 though, HR/FB at only 4.0%, LOB% 91.5%, etc. I’m in no way arguing he isn’t a high quality back end of the rotation starter, just that he’s very unlikely to continue generating the results he has thus far. Assuming he’s healthy, I still think Pom is the better option for the rotation.
 

BaseballJones

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Price's last 7 starts: 44.1 ip, 32 h, 13 r, 13 er, 14 bb, 47 k, 2.64 era, 1.04 whip, 9.5 k/9

After a bumpy couple of starts, Sale's last two: 14.0 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 2 er, 5 bb, 19 k, 1.29 era, 0.93 whip, 12.2 k/9

Porcello's last 3 starts: 19.0 ip, 15 h, 9 r, 6 er, 7 bb, 15 k, 2.84 era, 1.16 whip, 7.1 k/9

Rodriguez' last 7 starts: 39.1 ip, 38 h, 10 r, 10 er, 10 bb, 42 k, 2.29 era, 1.22 whip, 9.6 k/9

Wright's last starts: 13.2 ip, 6 h, 0 r, 0 er, 6 bb, 11 k, 0.00 era, 0.88 whip, 7.2 k/9

Currently the rotation has an era of 3.64, good for 3rd in the AL. Right now, all five pistons are firing and it's nice to see. Last two times through the rotation, here's what the starters have allowed:

Porcello - 6.1 ip, 3 r, 2 er
Wright - 7.0 ip, 0 r, 0 er
Rodriguez - 5.2 ip, 1 r, 1 er
Beeks - 4.0 ip, 6 r, 6 er
Sale - 8.0 ip, 1 r, 1 er
Price - 6.0 ip, 2 r, 2 er
Porcello - 6.0 ip, 3 r, 2 er
Wright - 6.2 ip, 0 r, 0 er
Rodriguez - 5.2 ip, 2 r, 2 er
Sale - 6.0 ip, 1 r, 1 er
Price - 7.0 ip, 1 r, 1 er

So other than the Beeks start, the last two times through the rotation no starter has given up more than 2 er over fewer than 5.2 ip.
 

BaseballJones

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The Red Sox are 49-25, on pace to win 107 baseball games. Chris Sale has this stat line this year:

2.74 era, 0.94 whip, 12.4 k/9 - clearly CYA type numbers.

And the Red Sox are just 8-8 in his 16 starts. They've lost 4 of his last 5 starts. In the last two games they've lost that he's pitched in, Sale has gone 15.0 ip, 9 h, 3 r, 3 er, 2 bb, 21 k, 1.80 era, 0.73 whip, 12.6 k/9.

It is absolutely incredible that Boston is just 8-8 in his 16 starts. That means that in non-Sale starts, they're 41-17 (.707, which is a pace for 115 wins).
 

capecodjr41

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The Red Sox are 49-25, on pace to win 107 baseball games. Chris Sale has this stat line this year:

2.74 era, 0.94 whip, 12.4 k/9 - clearly CYA type numbers.

And the Red Sox are just 8-8 in his 16 starts. They've lost 4 of his last 5 starts. In the last two games they've lost that he's pitched in, Sale has gone 15.0 ip, 9 h, 3 r, 3 er, 2 bb, 21 k, 1.80 era, 0.73 whip, 12.6 k/9.

It is absolutely incredible that Boston is just 8-8 in his 16 starts. That means that in non-Sale starts, they're 41-17 (.707, which is a pace for 115 wins).
At least we are not the Mets. Jacob Degrom recently had a ten game stretch with a 0.87 ERA and the team went 2-8 in those starts. This came from a Mets fan colleague of mine so the numbers could be slightly off.
 

BaseballJones

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At least we are not the Mets. Jacob Degrom recently had a ten game stretch with a 0.87 ERA and the team went 2-8 in those starts. This came from a Mets fan colleague of mine so the numbers could be slightly off.
Had to look that up. It's even worse. Over an 11-game stretch from Apr 16-June 13, DeGrom put up a line of 1.16 era, 0.98 whip, and 12.3 k/9. But the Mets went 2-9 over that stretch. Unreal. They scored 25 runs in those 11 games.
 

soxhop411

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Chris sale has a 0.94 ERA, 78 K, and 10 BB in his last 7 starts:

Chris Sale was stellar in Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers, continuing a season-long trend that has been particularly noticeable in his recent performance. So much so that Sale stands alone in Major League Baseball folklore with his results in the last five games. The Sox southpaw tossed his fifth straight outing with at least 12 strikeouts and one walk or less Wednesday, something no MLB pitcher has ever done.

Read more at: https://nesn.com/2018/07/red-sox-notes-chris-sale-makes-mlb-history-with-recent-dominance/
 
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SouthernBoSox

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Insane.
I hope he can keep it up. Give him all of the money.
I don't understand the velocity. It's like 10 starts ago he tells himself "screw it I'm just gonna throw harder now." His sitting 97-100 the entire game now. That's not something he's done in the past.

I mean just look at this damn chart
 

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koufax32

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I don't understand the velocity. It's like 10 starts ago he tops himself "screw it I'm just gonna throw harder now." His sitting 97-100 the entire game now. That's not something he's done in the past.
I might be making this up but did I hear Remy and DoB talking about him tinkering with mechanics a couple of starts ago?
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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He energized the crowd like no one since Pedro. Guy is fucking electric! I do worry about his 2nd half.... if there’s any way to get him a break, I’m all for it
 

joe dokes

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I might be making this up but did I hear Remy and DoB talking about him tinkering with mechanics a couple of starts ago?
I heard or read it from Cora, so you probably did hear it. I had been tagging it to the extra rest during 6-man rotation week, but maybe that's not it. Or maybe he used the extra time to tinker.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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I heard or read it from Cora, so you probably did hear it. I had been tagging it to the extra rest during 6-man rotation week, but maybe that's not it. Or maybe he used the extra time to tinker.
I think Remy was talking about how he's gone back to his old mechanics of facing the batter to start his windup, as opposed to almost starting from the stretch every pitch.
 

BaseballJones

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Sale's last 7 starts:

8.0 ip, 6 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 10 k
6.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 4 bb, 9 k
7.0 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 11 k
7.0 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 13 k
7.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 11 k
6.0 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 12 k
7.0 ip, 6 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 12 k
TOT: 48.0 ip, 27 h, 5 r, 5 er, 10 bb, 78 k, 0.94 era, 0.77 whip, 14.6 k/9

Here's how that compares to Pedro's best stretches:

Pedro 1999:

8.0 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 15 k
6.0 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 11 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 15 k
9.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 17 k (best start I ever saw - vs. Yankees)
7.0 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 14 k
9.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 12 k
8.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 12 k
TOT: 55.0 ip, 28 h, 7 r, 5 er, 8 bb, 96 k, 0.82 era, 0.65 whip, 15.7 k/9

Pedro 2002 (8 games):

8.0 ip, 7 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 14 k
5.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 8 k
6.0 ip, 5 h, 3 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 8 k
7.1 ip, 5 h, 2 r, 2 er, 3 bb, 9 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 11 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 9 k
7.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 10 k
8.0 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 8 k
TOT: 57.1 ip, 29 h, 5 r, 3 er, 10 bb, 77 k, 0.47 era, 0.68 whip, 12.1 k/9

Sick. Absolutely sick.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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I know about 95% of the board here still hates David Price. I still love the guy and am really fucking happy with how he knuckled down after a shitty first. That was gutsy. I think most other pitchers with the last two starts like his under his belt could have imploded.
Yeah... he's not worth the cost, but it's done. Please support the damn guy. After the 1st he put up 5 and 2/3 scoreless innings in a pretty important game. I'm impressed and hoping it'll be the start to another stretch of good pitching (hopefully $30M worth of good pitching) but I'll take somewhere in between Sale and EdRod/Porcello)
 

sean1562

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how exactly is a game against the blue jays in july a "pretty important game"? Even this game was not that great, Porcello has been far better, and probably will be a much better pitcher over their tenures on this team. Why does a 6.2 inning 3 ER start get a post imploring the board appreciate Price when a 7 inning 3 ER start by Porcello gets no comment? Price is clearly the number three guy here and will always be an overpriced starter while he plays with the sox.

He won't be loved or appreciated until he dominates in the playoffs. If he doesnt do that ever, he deserves all the vitriol he gets.

edit: Price gets all of the attention bc of his contract. he is probably the least likable member of the rotation. why do we spend so much time hating him and not glorifying the great contributions of the other guys that have made us the best team in MLB so far? He is an overpaid former ace and that is all he will ever be. We should just accept that fact and expect him to be a solid 3/4 guy
 

TeeJayOrTj

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how exactly is a game against the blue jays in july a "pretty important game"? Even this game was not that great, Porcello has been far better, and probably will be a much better pitcher over their tenures on this team. Why does a 6.2 inning 3 ER start get a post imploring the board appreciate Price when a 7 inning 3 ER start by Porcello gets no comment? Price is clearly the number three guy here and will always be an overpriced starter while he plays with the sox.

He won't be loved or appreciated until he dominates in the playoffs. If he doesnt do that ever, he deserves all the vitriol he gets.

edit: Price gets all of the attention bc of his contract. he is probably the least likable member of the rotation. why do we spend so much time hating him and not glorifying the great contributions of the other guys that have made us the best team in MLB so far? He is an overpaid former ace and that is all he will ever be. We should just accept that fact and expect him to be a solid 3/4 guy
So I assume if Sale struggles in the playoffs again this year you will be out there booing and arguing for the Sox not to back up the brinks truck for him? I also assume you think Bumgarner has always been better than Kershaw. Price gets legit hate because Chris Sale came in and dominated his first year and Price didn't. But Chris Sale is legit the best pitcher in baseball. Price is what he is. A good pitcher who got paid a ton of money because he was a free agent during a period where salaries were rapidly increasing. He was never a top 10SP in a per inning basis. He was an ace because of the volume of innings he would eat up. Which is exactly what he did in 2016.

I get how last year and this year could be viewed as a disappointment. It just sucks that injuries are a part of the equation. But this has to be somewhat expected when you give a 30 year old SP 7/217
 

Rasputin

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Sale's last 7 starts:

8.0 ip, 6 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 10 k
6.0 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 4 bb, 9 k
7.0 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 11 k
7.0 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 13 k
7.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 11 k
6.0 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 12 k
7.0 ip, 6 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 12 k
TOT: 48.0 ip, 27 h, 5 r, 5 er, 10 bb, 78 k, 0.94 era, 0.77 whip, 14.6 k/9

Here's how that compares to Pedro's best stretches:

Pedro 1999:

8.0 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 15 k
6.0 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 11 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 15 k
9.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 17 k (best start I ever saw - vs. Yankees)
7.0 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 14 k
9.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 12 k
8.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 1 er, 0 bb, 12 k
TOT: 55.0 ip, 28 h, 7 r, 5 er, 8 bb, 96 k, 0.82 era, 0.65 whip, 15.7 k/9

Pedro 2002 (8 games):

8.0 ip, 7 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 14 k
5.0 ip, 1 h, 0 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 8 k
6.0 ip, 5 h, 3 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 8 k
7.1 ip, 5 h, 2 r, 2 er, 3 bb, 9 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 11 k
8.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 9 k
7.0 ip, 3 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 10 k
8.0 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 0 er, 0 bb, 8 k
TOT: 57.1 ip, 29 h, 5 r, 3 er, 10 bb, 77 k, 0.47 era, 0.68 whip, 12.1 k/9

Sick. Absolutely sick.
Conclusion: He's almost as good as Pedro.

That's high praise.
 

BaseballJones

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Conclusion: He's almost as good as Pedro.

That's high praise.
Well considering that peak Pedro is the greatest pitcher who ever lived, yes, for Sale to be reasonably compared to him is high praise indeed.

Keep in mind that these are the raw numbers - they aren't contextualized. This is an era in baseball that is lower scoring than it was in Pedro's prime, with a lot more strikeouts. So to compare...

Pedro's 2003 ERA: 2.22
Pedro's 2003 ERA+: 211

Sale's 2018 ERA: 2.23
Sale's 2018 ERA+: 194

I mean, 194 is still out of this world, but it's significantly worse than Pedro's 211. With virtually the same exact ERA.

Strikeouts....

Pedro's 1999 K/9: 13.2
MLB 1999 K/game: 6.41

Sale's 2018 K/9: 13.1
MLB 2018 K/game: 8.52

So when you contextualize the two pitchers, Pedro still grades out a good ways ahead. But still, it's pretty incredible what Sale is doing.
 

uk_sox_fan

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Price is far more valuable than people recognise here because he has the ability to dial it up and be an ace. He’s done it before and he’s shown stretches of it this season.

In fact he has posted game scores of 50+ in 13 of his 19 starts this year including the two highest scores (79) of anyone on the staff not named Sale (Sale’s 3 best are 85, 81 and 78). The Sox are 13-6 in games he’s started (tied 2nd with Porcello to ERod’s 15-3 and better than Sale’s 12-8)

Yes, he’s had two absolute stinkers for starts, one against the Yankees (if you want to add the other Yankee start where he pitched 1 inning and left with his Fortnite injury, fine, but I tend not to hold injury starts against people) but I think the bad has been far outweighed by the good this season. It seems like he has to put together 8 straight good-to-great starts for people to start to acknowledge his value and then it evaporates immediately with one stinker and to me that’s short-sighted and unfair.

After Severino he’s been better than every one of the Yankee starters this year. Think about that.
 

uk_sox_fan

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How about this then? You bury your negative feelings for him and start pulling for him to do well. Really well. You support him when he does and sing his praises to the point that he puts up lights-out ace-like numbers the rest of the way.

Then things get so good that he believes he’s getting short-changed on his paltry $30m pa and opts out. Win-win, right?
 

tims4wins

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I go to like 1-2 games a year. If he pitches when I go, I will cheer if he pitches well, and boo if he doesn't. Unless you think I need to be more positive on SoSH because he is lurking.
 

Devizier

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How about this then? You bury your negative feelings for him and start pulling for him to do well. Really well.
I'm pulling for Price to excel. I'd like him to stay on board for a Verlander-esque renaissance. I'm worried about his age, his injury history, his increasing walk and home run rates. All of these are pretty big red flags going forward.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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how exactly is a game against the blue jays in july a "pretty important game"? Even this game was not that great, Porcello has been far better, and probably will be a much better pitcher over their tenures on this team. Why does a 6.2 inning 3 ER start get a post imploring the board appreciate Price when a 7 inning 3 ER start by Porcello gets no comment? Price is clearly the number three guy here and will always be an overpriced starter while he plays with the sox.

He won't be loved or appreciated until he dominates in the playoffs. If he doesnt do that ever, he deserves all the vitriol he gets.

edit: Price gets all of the attention bc of his contract. he is probably the least likable member of the rotation. why do we spend so much time hating him and not glorifying the great contributions of the other guys that have made us the best team in MLB so far? He is an overpaid former ace and that is all he will ever be. We should just accept that fact and expect him to be a solid 3/4 guy
Should have specified. Important game for Price. If he continued to collapse after that shitty first inning, I think it would have had a horrible effect on the whole team
 
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