Franklin Morales

[SCM33]

Had to know this was coming, just glad I made the knee jerk thread before Dojji!!!

 

Kidding aside, there were no other threads about him other than him being picked up a couple years back.

 

A couple of items of discussion:

 

1. He looked remarkably strong. He hit 96 MPH in the 5th inning.

2. He has a pretty good breaking ball, after realizing that hitters were zoned in to his 1 and 2 combination, he started throwing a changeup.

3. His changeup was pretty good. Location was a bit off....but when you are throwing 94-95 and you can take almost 10 MPH off your fastball, location doesnt really matter because the differential and timing is way off.

4. His fastball had explosive life up in the zone. Part of the reason why his changeup was so effective was that his location for his fastball and changeup were in the same place. It looked like the same pitch leaving his hand. Papelbon was the last pitcher I remember getting that many swings and misses that high in the zone.

 

Granted, it was the Cubs.......but he has shown prior the ability to throw 2,3,4+ innings. I think hes earned another start. The BP has been on fire, and with Morales potentially in the rotation it opens up a spot for Bard in the pen.

 

If this type of transition works, it could be a season altering move. It could be their deadline deal SP they were looking for.

[Palodios]

Morales doesn't exactly have a great track record as a starter. He's going to be very good against lineups with several lefthanded hitters, but he still will get creamed against good righties-- like Castro with his three hits last night.

 

Also, he struck out the pitcher twice, so I would look to last night as a 7 strikeout game, rather than a 9 strikeout game.

 

I'm cautiously optimitic about this one. Let's hope he can hold the fort till Beckett returns from his owie.

[Palodios]

Morales doesn't exactly have a great track record as a starter. He's going to be very good against lineups with several lefthanded hitters, but he still will get creamed against good righties-- like Castro with his three hits last night.

 

Also, he struck out the pitcher twice, so I would look to last night as a 7 strikeout game, rather than a 9 strikeout game.

 

I'm cautiously optimitic about this one. Let's hope he can hold the fort till Beckett returns from his owie.

[Dojji]

I'm cautiously intrigued. I remember when we tried the experiment with Julian Tavarez, and that looked really intriguing at the time with his sinker stuff. It even worked in our favor -- for awhile. Bought Lester time to recover from his cancer. If we get the same results we got from Tavarez before Julian's arm played out in late June (4-5, 4.50, 5 2/3 IP per start) then that at least replaces what we had been getting from Bard before he fell apart. Worth a shot.

[jung]

Worth a shot for sure.

 

Here are some of my concerns:

- Morales still does struggle with righties

- He is not stretched out and may not be able to give us even five innings reliably

- He won't get away with that change if he is up in the zone like that. Guys won't crush it but good hitters should find it is an easy pitch to hit for base hits even if they are fooled by the pitch

[mvp 78]

His problem has been lack of control. He had pinpoint accuracy last night. We'll see how long it lasts.

[SCM33]

A changeup certainly helps against RH'ers. He figured that out pretty early last night.

[mvp 78]

Coincided with BV's trip to the mound. He was fantastic last night for sure.

[jacksonianmarch]

He was very good. He faced a terrible lineup and he had his command. Remember when the sox faced the Rox in the WS, Morales was a fixture in their rotation at the time and was very solid. The problem was, his control betrayed him and he fell apart. It's just a matter of time before he starts walking the park, but he definitely did you guys solid last night

[a700hitter]

I put him right into the rotation. His multi-inning outings have been nothing short of outstanding. If he is still shooting the lights out when Beckett is ready, Dice K goes to the pen or a 6 man rotation.

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I think it's worth a try to see what he can do as a SP. I really hope Bard goes back to the pen when he returns.

[SoxSport]

Morales has gone largely under the radar. He simply didn't fit in their starter plans. They were googly-eyed over Bard starting, and they have wet their pants over Miller for so long .... (you fill it in). The other thing they did was a sign a ton of retread pitchers in ST--none of whom had enough time to show anything. You shop in Filene's basement pinching pennies for pitchers, you wind up in the basement.

 

Morales has shown good stuff and some heat coming out of the bullpen. Location has been a problem at times. But maybe regular work as a starter might solve that. He was a stud starter in Colorado as a rookie, then got hurt and lost his way. Maybe he's found it back.

[SCM33]

Morales is slated to start on Saturday vs. the Braves.

[mvp 78]

Ace of the staff at the moment.

[Cocos Disciples]

11 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 17 K.

 

Very good so far.

[SCM33]

What happens with him?

 

Hes definitely earned an opportunity to start. Do we go with a 6 man rotation for a couple weeks and see what happens?

[mvp 78]

Nope. He stays.

 

Morales 1st inning > DiceK 1st inning

[SCM33]

Pete Abraham ‏@PeteAbe

Will Franklin Morales get another start for the #RedSox? "Yes. Most assuredly," says Bobby V.

[redsoxbeatz]

Pete Abraham ‏@PeteAbe

Will Franklin Morales get another start for the #RedSox? "Yes. Most assuredly," says Bobby V.

 

Great news!!!!

[a700hitter]

I put him right into the rotation. His multi-inning outings have been nothing short of outstanding. If he is still shooting the lights out when Beckett is ready' date=' Dice K goes to the pen or a 6 man rotation.[/quote']Let me repeat myself from his last outing.^

[Dojji]

As long as he keeps pitching like this it's a no-brainer as long as the FO doesn't overthink.

[Bellhorn04]

So does Epstein get any credit for getting Morales for nothing, or did the franchise-crippling blind squirrel merely stumble on another acorn.

[jacksonianmarch]

Morales is a guy you ride while hot because he is locating. It is a matter of time before the location goes out the window and when it does, you move him back

[SoxSport]

Morales threw 86 pitches last night. He was strong and could have gone another inning.

 

Oswalt threw 110 pitches in his first start of the year in Texas yesterday.

 

I don't think that would have been possible in Boston. They would have pussied him with 80 pitches.

 

The Sox have an underachieving bunch of starters who aren't consistent. Maybe they just don't throw enough pitches. I read they are carrying 13 pitchers right now. Too much bullpen.

[BornToRun]

Probably not a great idea to force Oswalt into throwing over 100 with his injury history and it being his first start but Ron Washington strikes me as a jackass so I can't say I'm surprised. Franklins pitch count has been just fine in his 2 starts.

[Rdsxmbnt]

Loving what I'm seeing out of Morales so far. Hard to argue with his arsenal, 95 MPH FB that he maintained all the way through his outing, change up at 84 (over 10 MPH difference), and good looking curve ball. Definitely a starters repertoire, just a matter of him being able to control.

 

Notably his strike% has consistently been going up the last 3-4 years all the way up to 66% this year up from 55% when he was taken out of his starting role in COL. He was also only given 7 starts in the majors after his solid rookie campaign as a 21 year old before I believe becoming injured and being converted to MR.

 

He was also a former top 10 prospect and obviously the Red Sox would be hard pressed to find a LHP with his type of stuff that could start. Plus he's only 26 so age is on his side. I remain cautiously optimistic but hopefully we've found a diamond in the rough here.

[a700hitter]

Probably not a great idea to force Oswalt into throwing over 100 with his injury history and it being his first start but Ron Washington strikes me as a jackass so I can't say I'm surprised. Franklins pitch count has been just fine in his 2 starts.

But for Crackhead Washington, there would be a World Championship banner for 2011 in Texas.

[FredLynn]

His problem has been lack of control. He had pinpoint accuracy last night. We'll see how long it lasts.

 

That is exactly correct. When he has control his ERA reflects dominance. Here are the details of his K/BB and how they relate to his ERA:

 

2007: 26/14 ERA: 3.43

2008: 8/17 ERA: 6.39

2009: 41/23 ERA: 4.50

2010: 27/24 ERA: 6.28

2011: 42/19 ERA: 3.69

2012: 37/9 ERA: 3.12

 

I am not saying that Morales is the only pitcher in the world where his success correlates so directly with his K/BB ratio, but the above statistics do show that when he can limit his walks, he is always dominant with ERAs less than 4 when his ratio is near 2:1. He is certainly worth a shot at stretching him out so he can replace DiceK in the rotation.

[FredLynn]

Morales is a guy you ride while hot because he is locating. It is a matter of time before the location goes out the window and when it does' date=' you move him back[/quote']

 

Maybe; maybe not Jacko. I realize that as a Yankee fan that is what you would hope for (and I would hope for all the Yankee pitchers to be busts too). On the other hand this could be the start of something very good for us.

[FredLynn]

Great news!!!!

 

He didn't say when though. Morales needs to pitch every fifth day. Matsusaka needs to return to the DL or be jettisoned. I have seen enough of him and I know I am not alone.