September 16th @ New York

[a700hitter]

No Papi PHing here for Tek?

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

I'm suprised Papi didnt find his way somehow into this game so far.

[Jon_Papelboner]

wonder if the yanks can clinch before the mets.

[riverside sluggers]

I didnt see the post-game interview with Tito. Did he give a f***ing lame-ass excuse why he didnt pinch hit Ortiz in the 9th inning?

[riverside sluggers]

With Youk's average falling to the low .280's I don't think he should be a lock to return as the starting 1B. His 13 HRs are very underwhelming for a corner guy.

 

Its all about patience, something you cant be able to sustain. It was his first full season in the majors as a starter

[ORS]

Its all about patience' date=' something you cant be able to sustain. It was his first full season in the majors as a starter[/quote']

It's a valid point. I like Youk as a ballplayer, but he won't ever be a prototype corner IF because I doubt he ever hits more than 25 dingers in a season. He'll hit in the high .200's with about 15-20 HRs a year. His marketable talent will be his ability to get on base and play solid defense.

[a700hitter]

Its all about patience' date=' something you cant be able to sustain. It was his first full season in the majors as a starter[/quote']It has nothing to do with patience. It has to do with evaluating his ability. He's 27 years old. It's not like he's a 21 year old kid. How much time do you give him to develop 25 homer power? We criticized Millar, but do a comparison. Youk is not that much better offensively, and he hits more HRs per AB. Youk's advantage over Millar is the price tag, and he's a better firelder. However, Millar definitely brought something to the clubhouse that Youk doesn't bring, and you'd never hear him criticizing the fans the way Youk did. I'm not advocating to get Millar back. I don't want him back. I just think Youk is a cheaper, better fielding version of Millar with less power. He's only a slight upgrade. Youk's biggest contribution may have been that he played every day and stayed healthy. I like his OBP and number of pitches per AB, but he doesn't have the 1st to 3rd and 2nd to home speed you want from a leadoff hitter. Crisp has the speed but not the OBP and # of pitches per AB you want from a leadoff hitter. It's not that easy to find the combination, which is why Damon makes a ton of dough. Youk is not a good #5 hitter, because he doesn't have the power threat. He seems to have warning track power. I can't remember a HR that he really crushed.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I didnt see the post-game interview with Tito. Did he give a f***ing lame-ass excuse why he didnt pinch hit Ortiz in the 9th inning?

 

In the Hartford Courant, he said he didnt PH Ortiz because if he had homered to tie it, the bullpen would be further strained. He wanted to try and win outright.

 

"Probably under any other circumstances we would hit him to tie the game. But with 18 innings of pitching, its hard not to hit David and lose. I thought we needed to try to win. We tie it, were looking at more pitching. I just didnt think it was our best chance to win. It was very hard not to hit him"

[a700hitter]

In the Hartford Courant, he said he didnt PH Ortiz because if he had homered to tie it, the bullpen would be further strained. He wanted to try and win outright.

 

"Probably under any other circumstances we would hit him to tie the game. But with 18 innings of pitching, its hard not to hit David and lose. I thought we needed to try to win. We tie it, were looking at more pitching. I just didnt think it was our best chance to win. It was very hard not to hit him"

His explanations are really straining the bounds of logic down the stretch.

[Youk Of The Nation]

It has nothing to do with patience. It has to do with evaluating his ability. He's 27 years old. It's not like he's a 21 year old kid. How much time do you give him to develop 25 homer power? We criticized Millar' date=' but do a comparison. Youk is not that much better offensively, and he hits more HRs per AB. Youk's advantage over Millar is the price tag, and he's a better firelder. However, Millar definitely brought something to the clubhouse that Youk doesn't bring, and you'd never hear him criticizing the fans the way Youk did. I'm not advocating to get Millar back. I don't want him back. I just think Youk is a cheaper, better fielding version of Millar with less power. He's only a slight upgrade. Youk's biggest contribution may have been that he played every day and stayed healthy. I like his OBP and number of pitches per AB, but he doesn't have the 1st to 3rd and 2nd to home speed you want from a leadoff hitter. Crisp has the speed but not the OBP and # of pitches per AB you want from a leadoff hitter. It's not that easy to find the combination, which is why Damon makes a ton of dough. Youk is not a good #5 hitter, because he doesn't have the power threat. He seems to have warning track power. I can't remember a HR that he really crushed.[/quote']

 

His first two of the season were into the Monster Seats.

 

I see your points though, all valid. I think the simple solution is for the front office to contact some unregistered and unscrupulous international genetic scientists who will do anything for a price, and have them fuse some DNA from Youk and Coco into some kind of high OBP, high SB, 25-30 homer, .310 average, pitch taking baseball machine.

[Youk Of The Nation]

His explanations are really straining the bounds of logic down the stretch.

 

I know. He basically said, 'Ortiz could have tied the game, but I didnt want to stress the pen so I threw in the towel."

[a700hitter]

on the pre-game show, Rice was just discussing Pedroia's swing. He was discussing how it was too long and to much of a power stroke for a little guy. He pointed out that they don't need him to hit HRs because they have other guys to do that. Frankly, I don't think he thinks Pedroia can hit many HRs because he is so small. He thinks Pedroia has to work on getting on top of the ball. Until the kid proves that he can be what the Red Sox need him to be in the # 2 hole, he shouldn't be handed the starting job. If Rice thinks he still has to make adjustments, I have to wonder if he is ready.

[riverside sluggers]

Its kind of obvious Pedroia wont really have that much of a big HR season. Maybe he could have a couple of 10-15 HR seasons

 

23 years old

1 month in the majors

 

Kid, in Boston, you have to really light it up or you'll see how the impatient fans will write you off so quickly.

[riverside sluggers]

It has nothing to do with patience. It has to do with evaluating his ability. He's 27 years old. It's not like he's a 21 year old kid. How much time do you give him to develop 25 homer power? We criticized Millar' date=' but do a comparison. Youk is not that much better offensively, and he hits more HRs per AB. Youk's advantage over Millar is the price tag, and he's a better firelder. However, Millar definitely brought something to the clubhouse that Youk doesn't bring, and you'd never hear him criticizing the fans the way Youk did. I'm not advocating to get Millar back. I don't want him back. I just think Youk is a cheaper, better fielding version of Millar with less power. He's only a slight upgrade. Youk's biggest contribution may have been that he played every day and stayed healthy. I like his OBP and number of pitches per AB, but he doesn't have the 1st to 3rd and 2nd to home speed you want from a leadoff hitter. Crisp has the speed but not the OBP and # of pitches per AB you want from a leadoff hitter. It's not that easy to find the combination, which is why Damon makes a ton of dough. Youk is not a good #5 hitter, because he doesn't have the power threat. He seems to have warning track power. I can't remember a HR that he really crushed.[/quote']

 

Id agree with you about a replacement at 1st base, if Derrek Lee was still set to be a free agent. The Sox FO was all but ready to gun hard to acquire him this offseason, however the Cubs extended him to like a 5 year deal. Unless the Sox are able to acquire a better power hitting 1st baseman thru trade, this is the free agent market for 1st baseman...

 

Sean Casey

Jeff Conine

Erubiel Durazo

Nomar Garciapara

Shea Hillenbrand

Brian Jordan

Travis Lee

Joe McEwing

Doug Mientkiewicz

Kevin Millar

Phil Nevin

Greg Norton

Eduardo Perez

Todd Walker

Daryle Ward

Craig Wilson

Dimitri Young

[riverside sluggers]

In the Hartford Courant, he said he didnt PH Ortiz because if he had homered to tie it, the bullpen would be further strained. He wanted to try and win outright.

 

"Probably under any other circumstances we would hit him to tie the game. But with 18 innings of pitching, its hard not to hit David and lose. I thought we needed to try to win. We tie it, were looking at more pitching. I just didnt think it was our best chance to win. It was very hard not to hit him"

 

He wont last long as Sox manager, pinch hitting decisions isnt the only big flaw he has. Im guessing a new manager by 08