4/25 vs. Baltimore Orioles

[Dipre]

He's making too many errors and other misplays not scored as errors. He has mad a few mental errors too. I'd rather have the guy with less range at 3B but with better hands and a much better baseball head.

 

I'd say what i always say, but i won't. I'll just wait it out and hand out "I told you so's" when the time is right. Wait for it.

[Chamomile]

What is this with "it's April" excuse? They have a whole month of ST to get in game shape. It's 1/6th of the season' date=' 30 some games. Isn't that important when seasons can come down to 1 or 2 games? I just don't understand giving these professional athletes a free pass for a whole month.[/quote']

 

It's not an excuse for them playing badly, it's a matter of sample size. When they're playing badly in April and they're under .500 it looks much worse than when they're playing badly in August and they fall to 20 games over .500.

[a700hitter]

I'd say what i always say' date=' but i won't. I'll just wait it out and hand out "I told you so's" when the time is right. Wait for it.[/quote']I really hope that you are right, but i am not seeing it.

[jacksonianmarch]

You might be waiting awhile Dipre. His defense reminds me of Robby Cano's. Makes the spectacular play, then boots 2 grounders right at him. Remy trying and successfully getting his first error changed to a hit was a joke. The ball hit him in the midsection, that is the definition of a playable ball.

 

That plus his offensive approach. I would teach my kid his approach. He goes up the middle or RCF with almost everything over the plate. But in Boston, he is hitting the ball to the biggest part of the field. And it seems that his power may have started dropping for some reason. He has centered a few balls that sounded good and looked like homers that were caught before the warning track. He might have a big run in him, I dunno. But he is playing hit or miss defense and is currently a singles hitter.

[Dipre]

^In April.

[a700hitter]

The most damaging part about the Beltre acquisition is the logjam and imbalance it creates in the IF. It almost eliminates any first base time for VMart forcing him to catch too many games, thus exposing him for the suckass catcher that he is. Without Beltre, Lowell could play a very oroductive 110 games at third without causing his hio to act up. Vmart could play 50 games at first with Youk moving across the diamond. Everyone would have consistent playing time, resulting in better productivity. The Beltre acquisition was not thought through very well.

[jacksonianmarch]

Being behind the two strongest teams in the league (who happen to be in your Division) by 5 and 6 games in the loss column is never easy to overcome. Just because it's April doesn't mean that they are not digging themselves a very bad hole. The two teams in front of them are very strong and not prone to long slumps. The Sox have not shown any ability to regularly beat either of them. They can't play .500 against them and hope to climb over them. That's the brutal truth. Is it too early to be concerned. No' date=' not at all. They can slip into a very deep hole with one more bad week.[/quote']

 

This is the crux of the problem here. People can say that it is April all week long and be right. You have probably the two most balanced and dominant baseball teams in your division who are currently playing really well.

 

TB has taken care of its business early. They have played Baltimore 6 times (won 5), NY 3 times (won 1), BOS 4 times (won all 4), CWS 3 times (won 2) and Toronto 3 times (won 2). They have 2 home vs Oakland and 4 home vs KC coming up. They are doing exactly what a good team should do, and pound the bad teams and play well vs contenders. Right now, they are 9-3 vs the O's, White Sox and Jays, and 4-2 vs the Yankees and Sox.

 

NYY has had a brutal schedule facing TB 3 times (won 2), BOS 3 times (won 2), TEX 3 times (won all 3), ANA 6 times (won 3), and OAK 3 times (won 2). They are 5-1 vs the non-contenders (TEX and OAK) and 7-5 vs contenders (ANA, BOS, and TB ).

 

Boston, OTOH, has started off slowly. In this division, you cannot do that. They are 6-3 vs the non-contenders (TEX, BAL, KC), but are 2-8 vs contenders (NYY, MIN, TB ). That ain't gonna get the job done.

 

Dipre, in any other season, saying that it is just April is just fine. But you have two WS caliber teams in your division, and a slow start could bury you before the season even started

[Dipre]

Lowell can't play 110 games at third. There's the issue. He was supposed to be unloaded, but Texas balked. If Ortiz wasn't absolutely sucking it up in the DH spot, then Lowell might have been cut or traded for a lesser piece. The imbalance is mostly created by Papi's suck.

[Dipre]

This is the crux of the problem here. People can say that it is April all week long and be right. You have probably the two most balanced and dominant baseball teams in your division who are currently playing really well.

 

TB has taken care of its business early. They have played Baltimore 6 times (won 5), NY 3 times (won 1), BOS 4 times (won all 4), CWS 3 times (won 2) and Toronto 3 times (won 2). They have 2 home vs Oakland and 4 home vs KC coming up. They are doing exactly what a good team should do, and pound the bad teams and play well vs contenders. Right now, they are 9-3 vs the O's, White Sox and Jays, and 4-2 vs the Yankees and Sox.

 

NYY has had a brutal schedule facing TB 3 times (won 2), BOS 3 times (won 2), TEX 3 times (won all 3), ANA 6 times (won 3), and OAK 3 times (won 2). They are 5-1 vs the non-contenders (TEX and OAK) and 7-5 vs contenders (ANA, BOS, and TB ).

 

Boston, OTOH, has started off slowly. In this division, you cannot do that. They are 6-3 vs the non-contenders (TEX, BAL, KC), but are 2-8 vs contenders (NYY, MIN, TB ). That ain't gonna get the job done.

Dipre, in any other season, saying that it is just April is just fine. But you have two WS caliber teams in your division, and a slow start could bury you before the season even started

 

It can work for the Yankees, but it can't work for the Red Sox.

 

I see.

[jacksonianmarch]

The Yankees were a much better team than everyone last yr, and benefitted from slow starts from TB and Boston. I dont think the Red Sox are on par with NY or TB in terms of talent and need a lot of things to go right for them to win the division or make the playoffs.

[Dipre]

The Yankees were a much better team than everyone last yr' date=' and benefitted from slow starts from TB and Boston. I dont think the Red Sox are on par with NY or TB in terms of talent and need a lot of things to go right for them to win the division or make the playoffs.[/quote']

 

You don't say.

 

I'll just say what i usually say. No team is as bad as it looks when it's slumping, or as good as it looks when it's streaking. This things even themselves out, which is an argument you used yourself last year when the Yankees were sucking ass in April. Oh well, it is what it is, and you can have your opinion, of course, it simply isn't objective in the least.

 

The games have to be played. Wait and see, i say.

[jacksonianmarch]

Objectivity is understanding that things changed last yr. The Yankees are classically a second half team. A hot start from them spells doom for most anyone around. Plus, they got immensely better by all accounts in 2009 with their acquisitions. It was a matter of time. The sox are classically a first half team and their acquisitions coming into this yr may or may not have improved them, and on paper probably did not on the whole. Sometimes, your team just isnt that good.

[a700hitter]

Tampa wasn't as good last year. Price is coming into his own and lat year they had no closer.

 

Also, back to Lowell. If you don't think he could handle 110 games at 3rd, he could have handled 90 or 80. Either way, it would have been better than the current imbalance. You are out on a limb on Beltre, but his performance aside, his existence on the roster screws things up, because VMart has to catch all the time. The Sox were never going to salary dump Lowell and Ortiz and eat $25 million. That's just unrealistic. They were going to keep one of them, thus causing the logjam.

[Dipre]

Objectivity is understanding that things changed last yr. The Yankees are classically a second half team. A hot start from them spells doom for most anyone around. Plus' date=' they got immensely better by all accounts in 2009 with their acquisitions. It was a matter of time. The sox are classically a first half team and their acquisitions coming into this yr may or may not have improved them, and on paper probably did not on the whole. Sometimes, your team just isnt that good.[/quote']

 

The Yankees are classically a second half team that started well off the gate. The Red Sox are clasically a first-half team that started slow off the gate.

 

You can use the "The Yankees got better argument" and so-so-so, but that's not the point. The point is that the Sox are playing well below their potential and the Yankees are streaking. At some point the Red Sox will streak and the Yankees will slump. I'm not saying the Sox will win the division, but they're a much better team than they're showing. It's the nature of the beast, and you're just going your usual route of disparaging the Sox every chance you get. Sorry, not buying.

[Dipre]

Tampa wasn't as good last year. Price is coming into his own and lat year they had no closer.

 

Also, back to Lowell. If you don't think he could handle 110 games at 3rd, he could have handled 90 or 80. Either way, it would have been better than the current imbalance. You are out on a limb on Beltre, but his performance aside, his existence on the roster screws things up, because VMart has to catch all the time. The Sox were never going to salary dump Lowell and Ortiz and eat $25 million. That's just unrealistic. They were going to keep one of them, thus causing the logjam.

 

The one they should have gotten rid off was Lowell. In fact, they did get rid of him, technically.

[a700hitter]

Getting rid of Lowell still wouldn't cure the problem that VMart has to catch too much. Beltre is not willing to be a part time player, so there will be no first base time for VMart. He is a terrible liability at catcher and too much catching affects his offense.

[yankees228]

It can work for the Yankees, but it can't work for the Red Sox.

 

I see.

 

I agree with your general point, but I don't think you can draw a parallel between the starts for the 2009 Yankees and the 2010 Red Sox. The Yankees, like the Red Sox, were hurt by slow starts from key players. However, for the first twenty eight games of the season, the Yankees were without their most important player. It was a unique situation.

[ORS]

Right, but for 28 games, they got replacement level production from their best player's position. The Sox are getting replacement level, or worse, production from a few players who should be productive over the whole season. Where the replacement level production is coming from, whether it be the replacement player or the actual player, is immaterial.

[yankees228]

Right' date=' but for 28 games, they got replacement level production from their best player's position. The Sox are getting replacement level, or worse, production from a few players who should be productive over the whole season. Where the replacement level production is coming from, whether it be the replacement player or the actual player, is immaterial.[/quote']

 

I agree with this, which is why I mentioned that the Yankees also were dealing with struggles from notable positions, including first base, center field, and what were supposed to be their top two pitchers going into the season. Maybe the Red Sox have more players struggling right now than the Yankees did, but when you couple the guys on the Yankees who struggled at the beginning of the year, with the absence of their best player (whose performance, for whatever reason, seems to directly correlate with the team's success more than any other Yankee I've ever seen), I'm inclined to believe that they were dealing with things that aren't parallel to what the Red Sox are dealing with now.

[jacksonianmarch]

Right' date=' but for 28 games, they got replacement level production from their best player's position. The Sox are getting replacement level, or worse, production from a few players who should be productive over the whole season. Where the replacement level production is coming from, whether it be the replacement player or the actual player, is immaterial.[/quote']

 

We got replacement player production? Let me show you the great production in April at 3b by players not named Alex Rodriguez

 

Cody Ransom 9/50 4R 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 walks 15K

Ramiro Pena 7/26 2R 1 double, 3BB, 4K

Angel Berroa 2/8 2R

 

That is a total of....

 

18 for 84, 8R 6 doubles, 1 triple, 6 walks, 19K. For a line of .214/.267/.310. They had an OPS of .577. That is not even close to replacement level

[Chamomile]

Even the best teams in baseball have a stretch where they play below .500. What does it matter whether we get off to a slow start or struggle in the middle of the season? If we're going to struggle, I'd much rather struggle in April than October.

[ORS]

We got replacement player production? Let me show you the great production in April at 3b by players not named Alex Rodriguez

 

Cody Ransom 9/50 4R 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 walks 15K

Ramiro Pena 7/26 2R 1 double, 3BB, 4K

Angel Berroa 2/8 2R

 

That is a total of....

 

18 for 84, 8R 6 doubles, 1 triple, 6 walks, 19K. For a line of .214/.267/.310. They had an OPS of .577. That is not even close to replacement level

Whether it was at or below is semantics to the point I am making. So it was below. When there is a reasonable assumption that production will get better, be it through the better player returning or through improvement from a slump, then the team benefits. Currently, there are 4 hitters that have reasonable expectations of being good offensive players (Drew, Martinez, Youkilis, and Ortiz), who are just barely playing at replacement level or are worse (Drew and Ortiz). When they start playing better, it will be no different than if they weren't playing and a scrub was filling in.

[Dipre]

Even the best teams in baseball have a stretch where they play below .500. What does it matter whether we get off to a slow start or struggle in the middle of the season? If we're going to struggle' date=' I'd much rather struggle in April than October.[/quote']

 

This.

 

Whether it was at or below is semantics to the point I am making. So it was below. When there is a reasonable assumption that production will get better' date=' be it through the better player returning or through improvement from a slump, then the team benefits. Currently, there are 4 hitters that have reasonable expectations of being good offensive players (Drew, Martinez, Youkilis, and Ortiz), who are just barely playing at replacement level or are worse (Drew and Ortiz). When they start playing better, it will be no different than if they weren't playing and a scrub was filling in.[/quote']

 

This x2.

 

And what about the pitching aspect? Beckett and Lester have also pitched below league average innings. Thats going to correct itself as well.

[Dipre]

Getting rid of Lowell still wouldn't cure the problem that VMart has to catch too much. Beltre is not willing to be a part time player' date=' so there will be no first base time for VMart. He is a terrible liability at catcher and too much catching affects his offense.[/quote']

 

If Ortiz keeps sucking it up, he will have plenty of DH time.

[a700hitter]

If Ortiz keeps sucking it up' date=' he will have plenty of DH time.[/quote']VMart isn't exactly tearing it up either.

[Dipre]

VMart isn't exactly tearing it up either.

 

Hes been looking better, and hes simply a better option than Ortiz right now until Papi proves otherwise.