Boston RedSox 2010 performance/post game reaction thread.

[Dipre]

Is he feeling the pressure of his contract? He played in Boston before with the pressure of replacing Manny Rameriz in left field' date=' so I don't think that is an excuse. Moving from Fenway to Citi Field has to effect his power numbers. Then of course just playing for the Mets has a detrimental effect for its players haha[/quote']

 

Not the same thing playing for big money than getting the big money. And while Citi has to affect him, what about the road?

 

If you'll notice, guys who play in awful stadiums usually have solid road track records, including Bay himself when he was in Pittsburgh.

 

So why's he sucking so bad on the road this year?

 

In fact, interesting thing to note:

 

Jason Bay home/road splits:

 

Home: .982 OPS.

 

Road: .585 OPS.

 

What the f***?

[SoxSport]

What a difference with Dice-K tonite from his last start. You could tell in the first couple of innings, the way he was mixing his pitches and getting them in the strike zone. His previous start, he was throwing only fastballs and missing the strike zone.

Rollins was overheard early in the game in the Phillies dugout saying just wait him out, they'll take him out after 100 pitches. So that's the book on the Red Sox. 100 pitches and out. The downside of pitch counts.

[Palodios]

What a difference with Dice-K tonite from his last start. You could tell in the first couple of innings, the way he was mixing his pitches and getting them in the strike zone. His previous start, he was throwing only fastballs and missing the strike zone.

Rollins was overheard early in the game in the Phillies dugout saying just wait him out, they'll take him out after 100 pitches. So that's the book on the Red Sox. 100 pitches and out. The downside of pitch counts.

 

That's not quite right-- two starts ago, the time he dominated, he was using mostly fastballs, and mixed in his other pitches, and it worked him just fine.

[Dojji]

Note the velocity -- Daisuke was up into the mid 90's several times last night. Looks like his shoulder woes are behind him.

[Dipre]

I wanted to address this in full, since Mr. Bias couldn't back up his position, and got pissed when confronted about it:

 

Couple of points:

 

Baseball Reference categorizes pitchers by three echelons "Power", "Average", and "Finesse".

 

Power pitchers are guys who are in the upper echelon of Walks + K's, average are, well, average, and Finesse rank near the bottom.

 

Usually, by these standards, power pitchers consist of the upper echelon of pitchers, and so forth, and while the rankings aren't perfect, the following is the Red Sox' performance against each type of pitcher:

 

Power: .777 OPS, 121 sOPS+

 

Average: .740 OPS, 102 sOPS+

 

Finesse: .870 OPS, 130 sOPS+

 

(sOPS+ is used to measure OPS in relation to league OPS instead of individual OPS, in which case, stats against Average and Power pitching would come out below league average.)

 

 

Also, when looking at the Game Logs, i found that the Sox had hammered the following pitchers who were in the upper third of the league in ERA (at the time):

 

CC Sabathia

AJ Burnett

Zack Greinke

Phil Hughes

Francisco Liriano.

 

As well as performed "well" against several others:

 

James Shields

Brian Matusz

Colby Lewis.

 

 

The Sox have performed well offensive in basically every situation presented to them this year. The offense started out inconsistent but has really clicked since late April. Saying they "lie down consistently" against good pitching is a flat-out lie. Cue backpedal and sidewinding.

 

Hung a 7-spot (6 earned) on Halladay today. This team can hit. Even on the road.

[SoxSport]

Well, they made their first mistake in their sudden resurgence--DFAd McDonald. This was a stupid decision, created by their fetish for one reliever an inning. Now they want 12 pitchers! A starter goes 6 innings and 100+ pitches. Then bring on the crappy bullpen loaded with 50 cent relievers.

 

Was it Buchholz who went 6 innings, threw 108 pitches and was taken out with a 6-1 lead yesterday? That sucks. The guy should have pitched the 7th inning. He was cruising. Any starter worth his salt should be able to go 120 pitches.

 

So now they lose McDonald for a crappy reliever. A guy who has had some big hits and played a decent CF. Certainly a better ballplayer than Bill Hall. And then you have Ellsbury, Cameron and Drew--all of whom are prone to injuries, or just coming off injuries.

 

A dumb move they will probably regret. If you took Youks and Pedroia away, this team would collapse like a house of cards.

[YeAuldBroade]

MacDonald did well for us while he was here. I hope someone picks him up as a 4th OF but he wasn't a permanent solution for the Sox.

[Dipre]

 

Was it Buchholz who went 6 innings, threw 108 pitches and was taken out with a 6-1 lead yesterday? That sucks. The guy should have pitched the 7th inning. He was cruising. Any starter worth his salt should be able to go 120 pitches.

 

 

What?

 

Bucholz is still a kid. That's an arm they need to protect. This is a different game of baseball than it used to be.

[a700hitter]

What?

 

Bucholz is still a kid. That's an arm they need to protect. This is a different game of baseball than it used to be.

He's 25. Time to turn him loose.

[Dipre]

He's 25. Time to turn him loose.

 

Turning him loose doesn't mean trotting him out there for another inning 108 pitches. You let him finish his inning if he hit the 110-115 mark during said inning, but "Turning young pitchers loose" like that creates the Mark Priors and Kerry Woods of the world.

[Dojji]

Take a look at Anibal Sanchez.

 

It took two YEARS for him to recover from the damage the Marlins did to his arm by trotting him out there and abusing him in a failed effort to make the playoffs in 2006.

 

Sign me up to not do that to Clay Buchholz. kthxbai.

[TheMino007]

You can't go crazy with giving Clay innings, regardless of age, if an arm hasn't handled over 200 innings in a season, you can't go crazy and let the kid throw 220 innings. With a new sense of confidence, great pitch selection, and awesome results, the last thing Clay needs right now is arm problems to hamper his progress.

 

As a side, Delcarmen appears to have gotten his velocity back as seen over his last several appearances.

[Dipre]

Hung a 7-spot (6 earned) on Halladay today. This team can hit. Even on the road.

 

Hung a 6-spot on Matt Garza in just 5 IP. On the road.

 

Waiting for updates on team stats to post offensive ranks.

[Dipre]

Hung a 6-spot on Matt Garza in just 5 IP. On the road.

 

Waiting for updates on team stats to post offensive ranks.

 

So the Sox are now second in the Major Leagues in runs scored with 252, ahead of the Yankees, Rays and Phillies. Second in HR's with 65 (Holy s*** the Blue Jays have 79) ,third in doubles, third in OBP. But entering the season, this team lacked power, and OBP.

 

I will admit they're probably playing above their heads, but what happens when V-Mart starts hitting, and Ellsbury and Cameron get healthy?

 

I guess in the end, creating a very strong bench is an integral part of a team's offensive performance.

 

By the way, the Sox are on pace to score 842 runs, which in the end, will probably even out to around 820 runs, which is exactly the number i predicted in the off-season, not below 800 like some biased Yankee fans tried to point out in numerous occasions.

 

I love logic.

[TheMino007]

So, out of the 4 big signings this offseason, 3 of them have been a bust so far, great.

[Dipre]

So' date=' out of the 4 big signings this offseason, 3 of them have been a bust so far, great.[/quote']

 

Scutaro has been a bust?

[Palodios]

So' date=' out of the 4 big signings this offseason, 3 of them have been a bust so far, great.[/quote']

 

Beltre is hitting big, and fielding like he should.

Scutaro is bringing average fielding and has been as advertised at the plate.

Lackey is 6-3, and while his ERA is high, he usually has a tough april/may.

 

So, you're right, 3/4, but in the opposite direction.

[TheMino007]

He's one I've been on the fence about, b/c I don't really expect much out of him to begin with, his batting average, obp, slugging, ops, and all his offense where I thought it would be, but his defense hasn't been that great and I've noticed that going to his right his range just doesn't seem to be very good. Granted I didn't want Scutaro to begin with, but I think most people feel that he is slightly under performing for what he is getting paid

[Dipre]

Scutaro has been exactly as advertised. He's an average offensive player and average defender. His range is good to both his left and right, what isn't good is his arm.

[Palodios]

He's one I've been on the fence about' date=' b/c I don't really expect much out of him to begin with, his batting average, obp, slugging, ops, and all his offense where I thought it would be, but his defense hasn't been that great and I've noticed that going to his right his range just doesn't seem to be very good. Granted I didn't want Scutaro to begin with, but I think most people feel that he is slightly under performing for what he is getting paid[/quote']

 

He's a shortstop. In Boston. Just because of that, he's playing above and beyond anyone should have expected.

[TheMino007]

Well, the Sox should have just brought back Gonzo, but w/e.

[Dipre]

Well' date=' the Sox should have just brought back Gonzo, but w/e.[/quote']

 

That's something i actually agree with you on, since Scutaro is not in the same universe as Gonzales defensively, but the "not make outs" philosophy would have been seriously compromised with both Beltre and Gonzales in the lineup. At least that's the way i see it.

[TheMino007]

As a side, both Gonzalez and Scuataro are both considered stop gap solutions, well how long is it until Iglesias will be major league ready? I feel like Gonzo would have been the ultimate stop gap, you have him for a year and then have him optioned for a second year if need be. Instead the Sox are locked into Scutaro (who is no spring chicken) for 3 years. I assume Iglesias won't be on the major league roster until the final year of that Scutaro deal, so perhaps it will work out. Regardless, Gonzo>Scutaro

[Dipre]

As a side' date=' both Gonzalez and Scuataro are both considered stop gap solutions, well how long is it until Iglesias will be major league ready? I feel like Gonzo would have been the ultimate stop gap, you have him for a year and then have him optioned for a second year if need be. Instead the Sox are locked into Scutaro (who is no spring chicken) for 3 years. I assume Iglesias won't be on the major league roster until the final year of that Scutaro deal, so perhaps it will work out. Regardless, Gonzo>Scutaro[/quote']

 

Scutaro's third year is an option which the Sox can buy out, so they're locked to him for two years, not three, and Iglesias' ETA is exactly 2012.

[Palodios]

As a side' date=' both Gonzalez and Scuataro are both considered stop gap solutions, well how long is it until Iglesias will be major league ready? I feel like Gonzo would have been the ultimate stop gap, you have him for a year and then have him optioned for a second year if need be. Instead the Sox are locked into Scutaro (who is no spring chicken) for 3 years. I assume Iglesias won't be on the major league roster until the final year of that Scutaro deal, so perhaps it will work out. Regardless, Gonzo>Scutaro[/quote']

 

If Scutaro takes the 3 million dollar player option in 2012, that is an acceptable price for a backup middle infielder. Remember, he used to be a utility guy, and he has played several positions over his career.

[TheMino007]

I'm hoping that is what he will be in 2012

[Dipre]

If Scutaro takes the 3 million dollar player option in 2012' date=' that is an acceptable price for a backup middle infielder. Remember, he used to be a utility guy, and he has played several positions over his career.[/quote']

 

Sox can still buy him out for 1.5 mil.

[Palodios]

1.5 million for nothing, or 3 million for a pretty solid backup. He'll be 37, so I can see him coming back.

[Dipre]

After last night's performance, the Red Sox are second in MLB with 303 runs scored, on pace for 876 runs, second in HR with 77, second in OBP with .350, second in XBH with 215, and tied for the league lead in OPS with an .817 mark.

 

But wait! Not only that, the team that was supposed to "decidedly struggle" hitting outside of Fenway boasts the following home/away splits:

 

Home: .819 OPS

 

Away: .814 OPS

 

Hey Jacko, how about those "Fearless predictions" that the Red Sox offense was going to flat out suck on the road, and that it wasn't a top five offense in the AL, let alone the Major Leagues?

 

It's funny how things look decidedly different when you look at everything without the bias glasses.

[Palodios]

In all fairness, no one could have predicted all this.