the 2018 boston red sox are now 16-2

Don't mean to come off as naive--maybe I should have factored that in. I'm looking at this from a) the memory of how phenomenally popular he was during his short Toronto stay, and, probably, b) an assumption that post-Ortiz that wasn't something than needed to be factored in.

The call-in guys said it had a lot to do with how poorly he pitches against the Yankees. I looked at his Yankee starts the past three years, and yeah, wow: except for one great start last July, they absolutely murder him.

I guess this has been commented upon lots the past three seasons, but I didn't know anything about it.

One great start against the Yankees: 8 IP, 7 H, 8 K, no walks or runs.
His eight other starts against NY: 39 IP, 67 H, 12 BB, 25 K, 44 earned runs, 10.15 ERA.

he was also bad in his lone playoff start for boston

all that -- and the racism -- aside, fans are pretty attuned to contracts these days, and while he's certainly been serviceable, expectations run high when the team signs someone for $31m a year

MOOKIE

Second excellent start in a row for Price. I know it's cherry-picking, but eliminate his two horrible starts against the Yankees and he's having quite a good year.

steve pearce

love this guy

i was at this game. the first homer Pearce hit, over the monster, he hit on such a beeline i actually didn't think it was a homer. he absolutely smoked it. just full on the screws. seemed destined to smack off the wall. but it kept rising. i honestly think it was still going up when it went over. and of course the second homer, it was just bedlam. what a night. my kids both said they started to feel bad for the Yankees. feeling bad for the yankees! can you imagine??

no, but i am no longer innocent.

I will spend many hours w/in a mile of Fenway this weekend, but will get away fast from the hordes whenever i see them.

we're missing each other by mere minutes morbs - we're out of here tomorrow a.m.

well, i'll be drinking in Cambridge tonight with Fangraphs ppl!

I'd like to thank the Red Sox for scoring 15 runs tonight so that I had a legitimate excuse to play David Bowie's "TVC 15" at the end of the game.

— Josh Kantor (@jtkantor) August 3, 2018

porcello on some maddux shit tonight, 86-pitch complete game 1-hitter.

90 Game Score is tied for 7th on this season's best pitching performances.

prick orcello tho

Would love to see Price have a great start against the Yankees at home--I would think that'd mend a lot of fences.

1st inning was a squeaker but he looks good now

Price is looking great out there (even with the umpire squeezing him a bit). His half-season here made me a lifetime fan.

that was a good inning

I like Arod's commentary.

I check periodically to see where they sit in relation to the 2001 Mariners (116-46). They're running three games behind right now: the Red Sox are 79-34, the Mariner were 82-31. The '98 Yankees (114-48) were even better: 84-29.

Tuned in to see Mookie's last AB and whether he could do it, and what do you know, he did it--hit for the cycle (plus a walk).

so crazy. the night i was at Fenway he went 4-4 with two walks! the dude gets. on. base

32-11 will match the 2001 Mariners' win record

running the sims

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-red-sox-shot-at-the-win-record/

Interesting to note that not a single post-1961 team outperformed their Aug. 1st projection.

Stands to reason, though: laws of gravity, plus you've got a huge lead and you're probably regularly resting players through September for the post-season. The Dodgers last year were a whole other freakish case...I'd completely forgotten they were in the same place as the Red Sox.

yankees went 6-1 this week and gained no ground

I was at the game in Toronto when Mookie hit for the cycle, about 10 feet away from the guy who caught two homeruns (no, he's not that Youtube guy who has made a career out of it).

I hadn't been to Toronto since the stadium opened - it's nice but, boy, were the Blue Jays fans scarce (and quiet). I'm sure Benintendi heard me cheering for him it was that chill.

jalen beeks' revenge

Welcome back, Brandon Phillips.

However you feel about the Red Sox, everyone loves Mookie Betts, right? Would hate for this to be anything:

http://www.mlb.com/news/mookie-betts-exits-with-apparent-injury/c-294849778

Pulling for Betts as MVP, but after an 0-4 night and a 3-3 from Martinez, Martinez is close again for a Triple Crown. He's three points behind Betts in BA, 2 HR behind Davis, and comfortably ahead in RBI.

meanwhile trout just hit a 435 footer

9:00PM and it’s the 4th inning :)

sox radio guy tim neverett is out and WEEI is apparently turning game broadcasts into a 'talk-show format'

i guess this is what happens when you are by definition unable to pivot to video

A barrage of pro-Trout tweets to follow.

http://nesn.com/2019/01/red-soxs-mookie-betts-says-he-wont-attend-teams-white-house-visit/

i'm sensing a pattern in who's going and who's not.. what could it be