6/22 Braves @ Red Sox

[SemperFi Sox]

So frustrating watching Gonzalez. What the hell happened to him.

[Elktonnick]

The good news is he's healthy AND still sucking?

 

I don't think he is healthy. I think he is favoring that hand and he has altered his tempo on his swing. This is why he is not squaring up on the ball and hitting weak grounders. Lou Merloni called it several weeks ago and siad this would happen. It is happening exactly the way Merloni said it would.

[Bellhorn04]

Pedroia did hit a ball to deep right field last night. That was somewhat of a positive sign.

[Bellhorn04]

So frustrating watching Gonzalez. What the hell happened to him.

 

Yeah it is frustrating. My hope is that he's going through the same type of epic slump Ortiz had a few years ago and will come out of it the same way.

[Elktonnick]

Pedroia did hit a ball to deep right field last night. That was somewhat of a positive sign.

 

Wasn't that in the first inning? He needs rest.

[Bellhorn04]

Wasn't that in the first inning? He needs rest.

 

The one I mean was in the 6th inning.

 

I dunno, fellow poster 700 Hitter has put forth a pretty solid argument why Pedroia should stay in the lineup. I think it might be time to move him down in the order until he comes out of this.

[redsoxfan3]

A couple of years ago, I had 60 at-bats, and I was hitting .170, and everyone was ready to kill me, too. And what happened? Laser show. So, relax.

 

An old Dustin Pedroia quote. Dustin Pedroia has struggled at times in his career, he has always managed to bounce back. He is the type of player we need in the lineup. The thumb is probably more of an issue than anyone wants to admit, but he will get things going eventually. He is the type of hitter that can break out at any point. He is a leader in this lineup. When he does not always hit so well, he at least plays well defensively and adds a veteran leader in the lineup. He is bound to have a huge game. Hang in there. Dustin Pedroia will be fine.

[jung]

The problem becomes a bit unmanageable when you have two guys in a row struggling right in the middle of the lineup. Two guys in a row in the spots where Pedey and Agons are is a black hole of offensive fizzle. Got to move one or both down.

 

I am fine with Pedey staying in the lineup as long as the thumb is actually getting better while he is playing. If it is not getting better then there is no real payoff for his current performance level and we are just pushing a DL stint farther into what might be a more critical period for the Sox.

[SemperFi Sox]

I have a hard time believing that the home run derby caused the problems for Gonzo. No reason it should have affected him so far into this season.

[jung]

I find it hard to believe that the HR Derby would still be causing him a physical problem at this point. Maybe the thing got into AGons head somehow and started Agons down a path to the spot where he is now.

 

Agons has not really been battling the same hitting problem all the way through to now. Even if you just take this season, at least from what I saw I thought his problems started with an overemphasis on going the other way, to left field. I think that started him swinging early in counts at anything that looked like a pitch he could take the other way easily. Once he made his approach to plate appearances obvious pitchers started pitching him that way. It became easy to either tempt him farther off the outer edge or tie him up inside.

 

AGons seems to have gotten past that and has been a bit more selective of late. He is not chasing pitches off the outer edge as much and he as at least handled pitches on the inner half a bit better. Now while his plate discipline has gotten better his swing has gone to hell. His shoulder is often flying open and is way out ahead of his hips. I am not sure if this is some reaction of his to his power numbers going to hell or if he has just slipped into this but his swing is off at this point.

 

Hopefully he will pull out of this at some point. Agons would not be the first guy that let that left field wall get into his head...that is for sure.

 

I am sure that he and the professional help he has around him see what is happening to him far better than I can. Hopefully there is nothing more complicated going on here.

 

The only aspect of his problems that are truly inexplicable are the power numbers. Even when he was overly focused on going the other way, he was no longer driving the ball hard enough to get it over the left field wall. He crushed that HR to center field a couple weeks ago but in that case, he was all over that pitch, bat meeting ball at the optimal moment.

 

To be honest I don't think there is anything deep or mystical going on. I think he is just.....well....screwed up. Not to say that hitting problems are easy to clear up just because there is nothing deep or foreboding going on. The golf swing is probably a bit harder to find once it goes off because of the interaction between ground, ball and club face. However, Agons sort of got here progressively I think. So, the road back may be progressive as well.

[a700hitter]

The problem becomes a bit unmanageable when you have two guys in a row struggling right in the middle of the lineup. Two guys in a row in the spots where Pedey and Agons are is a black hole of offensive fizzle. Got to move one or both down.

 

I am fine with Pedey staying in the lineup as long as the thumb is actually getting better while he is playing. If it is not getting better then there is no real payoff for his current performance level and we are just pushing a DL stint farther into what might be a more critical period for the Sox.

The f***ing hitting genius, Agon is killing us. On the national broadcasts, they keep talking about his knowledge about hitting etc. You would think that he would have had figured this out by now. Some f***ing hitting genius!

[redsoxbeatz]

So frustrating watching Gonzalez. What the hell happened to him.

 

He's a f***ing bust.

[Elktonnick]

The f***ing hitting genius' date=' Agon is killing us. On the national broadcasts, they keep talking about his knowledge about hitting etc. You would think that he would have had figured this out by now. Some f***ing hitting genius![/quote']

 

I think he is hurt. I feel better if they had taken an MRI of his shoulder. I just don't see the bat speed of last spring.

[jung]

Boy I don't know...the shoulder is a big joint. If Agons shoulder was hurting I would think even he would be asking for some help. Now it might be weaker. That might explain some of the power drop. That HR to center that he hit was absolutely crushed so if anything that one made me feel like he can drive the ball under the right circumstances. I think his swing has flattened out for one thing contributing to his no longer getting the ball over the left field wall.

 

Like I said I do think this has been progressive in AGons case and while I did not add it to my post above at about the same time this year that he really started focusing on going the other way, he really did flatten out that swing of his.

[a700hitter]

Boy I don't know...the shoulder is a big joint. If Agons shoulder was hurting I would think even he would be asking for some help. Now it might be weaker. That might explain some of the power drop. That HR to center that he hit was absolutely crushed so if anything that one made me feel like he can drive the ball under the right circumstances. I think his swing has flattened out for one thing contributing to his no longer getting the ball over the left field wall.

 

Like I said I do think this has been progressive in AGons case and while I did not add it to my post above at about the same time this year that he really started focusing on going the other way, he really did flatten out that swing of his.

This is the second year of an 8 year deal. This was supposed to be the part of the contract where the team got the big returns. I think there is always a big concern about the back end of such a long contract, but to fall off a cliff in the second season is more than a bit concerning. We are running Youkilis out of town, but his OBP is .311 while Gonzo's is only .313. WTF are we mad at Youk about? We have this guy Gonzo tying us up with a huge contract for 6 more seasons.

[redsoxrules]

This is the second year of an 8 year deal. This was supposed to be the part of the contract where the team got the big returns. I think there is always a big concern about the back end of such a long contract' date=' but to fall off a cliff in the second season is more than a bit concerning. We are running Youkilis out of town, but his OBP is .311 while Gonzo's is only .313. [b']WTF are we mad at Youk about? We have this guy Gonzo tying us up with a huge contract for 6 more seasons[/b].

 

There not mad at Youk but there's WMB who's playing better ball.

also, Gonzo has a much better shot at turning it around than Youk at this stage of their careers.

 

Last time that Gonzo was this bad is when he was a rookie so there's a good chance he'll turn it around considering he's only 30

[jung]

Unfortunately for Youk I think he is catching flak because people really want WMB to play and blame Youk for the time WMB is not getting at 3rd. Makes no sense but I think that is why Youk is catching so much flak.

 

If the point you are making 700 is why is there such an effort to trade him when we are going to have to eat his salary...I kinda' hear you on that one. The "experts" have been treating the idea of keeping Youk while playing WMB as an absolute crime. "Youk will be a distraction". "You don't keep seasoned pros on the bench. You either play them or trade them." I guess I can understand that. But the whole effort as far as dealing with Youk and WMB seems so strained mainly because of the insistence that in order to play WMB the Sox must trade Youk even getting nothing for him and paying his salary wherever he goes.

 

The young guys have been commenting that Youk has been nothing but helpful even given the strains of his current situation. So, I think the calls to get Youk outta' here are kinds overdone. If the Sox are going to have to pay every bit of his salary getting nothing in return, even after making the effort to move him would it be such a crime to keep him here? Is everybody that positive that Youk will throw a fit and be a complete disaster if he is no longer an everyday player going out the year here?

 

Can you just see ding-dong McCarver during the ALCS commenting as Youk strides to the plate "this was the guy that the Sox were trying desperately to move in order to make room for the now injured Middlebrooks. Youk has been hitting .330 with a 910 OPS since the beginning of the post season."

 

Can't you just see that? Does that not sound like typical baseball gods having their way with us s***? Obviously I am having some fun with this but is it that far fetched?