SS/3B Not Producing

[wyo-sox]

How long can the manager get away with Drew and Middlebrooks producing nothing with their bats? Think these guys will turn it around?

[BOSOX11]

The season is still young. Be patient.

[BSN07]

Same worries happened with Pedroia. Drew is behind when it comes to hitting after missing a lot of AB's in ST and the beginning of the season. I think Middlebrooks is trying to do too much. Seems to be pressing. I'm confident he will get locked in at some point. If he's hitting under .200 in late June, I will be more concerned.

[redsoxbeatz]

Will Middlebrooks is the starting third basemen of the Boston Red Sox. I don't hink they are going to go away from him anytime soon. He may suck right now but whatever shred of confidence he has to bring to the plate shouldnt be stripped away by the FO deciding to bench him for nobody.

[Lord Snow]

Simply put, there is nobody to replace Middlebrooks.

 

I've got confidence in him. He already has 4 home runs! He's just in a bit of an early-season funk.

 

I don't expect anything out of Stephen Drew. That was a bad signing and that will be more apparent as the season goes on.

 

Our best bet at short is either that Jose Iglesias returns and is productive, or Xander Bogaerts becomes MLB ready by mid-season.

[Station 13]

Until Middlebrooks learn the strikezone better, pitchers will keep the ball down and away. He swung at the first pitch in like all his PA last night. That's not helping.

[Dojji]

Alright, I'm gonna be the doof to say it.

 

Kevin Youkilis should have been brought back in the offseason. Our 3B was young and we spent most of the offseason with a hole at first base. Youk can play both positions and is a better option than Napoli if they're both healthy and he's proving it this year.

[User Name]

Yet he's already injured, which was the reason they got tired of him in the first place.

[User Name]

 

I don't expect anything out of Stephen Drew. That was a bad signing and that will be more apparent as the season goes on.

 

Our best bet at short is either that Jose Iglesias returns and is productive, or Xander Bogaerts becomes MLB ready by mid-season.

 

Can i borrow your crystal ball? There are some lottery numbers i need to check out.

[seabeachfred]

Wow guys, is a little panic setting in? I'm normally on the ledge but this time let me be a calming influence if I might. Middlebrooks is pressing; perhaps in his own mind he feels he needs to be hitting up a storm in lieu of others not doing their job. When he settles in and stops swinging at bad pitches and realizes you can climb out of a hole with one swing he will settle down. It is going to take Drew a little while to get his timing back. He is no doubt pressing himself but I notice his defense has been pretty good so he is not taking his hitting out to the field with him. A few good games and I think they will be back in form. My worry is at catcher. Salty does not hit nearly well enough to cover for his strikeouts and sub-par defense and Ross is good with the glove but miserable with the bat. That and the backend of our rotation might be the difference for us this season in my opinion.

[BSN07]

lol when fred tells you you're reacting too quick on something it should set off warning bells in your head

[seabeachfred]

How long can the manager get away with Drew and Middlebrooks producing nothing with their bats? Think these guys will turn it around?

 

Wyo, in a word YES---they will. It might take a little more time for Drew but remember he missed most of ST with that concussion. WMB should get it going in a couple of more games.

[jung]

WMB will likely be better than he has been in the short term. In the long run to truly live up to the potential I think we and the Sox organization see in him, he is going to have to learn to lay off that slider that starts on the outer third and finishes in the 1st base dugout (and I don't mean as a foul ball!).

 

A first step in that direction would kill two birds with one stone. WMB swings at some pretty lousy pitches early in counts. If he forces himself to lay off pitches that are outside corner even outside corner strikes early in counts, he will see better pitches to hit and he will begin the process of learning how to lay off that pitch that finishes in the 1st base dugout.

[dduncan6er]

People forget WMB had only played 3 months in the majors before opening day. He's going to go through growing pains in the majors. He'll bounce back soon.

[jacksonianmarch]

WMB was a candidate for regression per a lot of baseball heads because he benefitted from being in the bottom of the order up until the big trade and then was injured when the sox lineup really had holes in it. Now, he is being relied upon to produce, and for a relative free-swinger, there will be adjustments. He is probably going to have a subpar yr by expectations before turning it around after he adjusts part way through the yr. His big breakout yr is coming next season once he really figures it out

[SoxSport]

MBrooks hit one out tonite--that will keep him on some fantasy teams. But he won't get much above the mendoza line batting until he gets more patient, takes pitches and swings at strikes.

[BSN07]

MBrooks hit one out tonite--that will keep him on some fantasy teams. But he won't get much above the mendoza line batting until he gets more patient, takes pitches and swings at strikes.

 

His 1B AB was bad, but he put together a few nice AB's after. It wasn't perfect but it looked to me like he was able to lay off some of the outside stuff. I saw enough last night to make me believe it's something he is at least working on.

[Thunder]

Middlebrooks is part of the future of this team. It's his first full year. Leave him alone. Anybody remember Pedey's first year?

[Beaneater]

Middlebrooks is part of the future of this team. It's his first full year. Leave him alone. Anybody remember Pedey's first year?

 

In about two months we'll be calling WMB "Lil' Laser Show".

[redsoxbeatz]

Alright, I'm gonna be the doof to say it.

 

Kevin Youkilis should have been brought back in the offseason. Our 3B was young and we spent most of the offseason with a hole at first base. Youk can play both positions and is a better option than Napoli if they're both healthy and he's proving it this year.

 

lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol

 

 

as if bringing back Youkilis was even an option.

[wyo-sox]

Just to be clear, I was not "panicked" about Middlebrooks. It's a baseball forum about the red Sox. If our 3b goes 0 for 50 it's worth talking about,I think. Doesn't mean I'm panicking, a hater, impatient or anything. Just conversation.

[jung]

WMB must have been thrilled to see something he could actually hit last night. It has been awhile. However Griffin must either be a complete dolt or just could not throw the ball where he wanted to as the pitch to WMB was in the absolute without doubt worst place he could throw it.

 

I suspect based on the overall performance Griffin put in, he just could not throw to locations last night. It has to help WMB to know he can still kill a mistake pitch though. He has to be working on his hitting problems and he is so young.....time is surely on his side.

 

Plus he is improving in the field and I do not expect the Sox to try to bring somebody to challenge for his job. Let him continue to develop as a player.

[seabeachfred]

Just to be clear, I was not "panicked" about Middlebrooks. It's a baseball forum about the red Sox. If our 3b goes 0 for 50 it's worth talking about,I think. Doesn't mean I'm panicking, a hater, impatient or anything. Just conversation.

 

Just to be clear wyo-sox, you don't have to explain your position about Middlebrooks with respect to "panic". That's what this board is for----as you said conversation, and anything concerning the Red Sox is fair game on Talk Sox, or should be. What is not defensible is when someone takes a personal pot-shot at you or someone else because you might have said something they didn't like about a player or front office individual. That's when the personal and nasty exchanges often take place. It can be open season on players and front office personnel, it should never be open season on posters.

 

There was no mistaking your intent from where I sit and personally I appreciate it when a poster weighs in with something is of concern to him.

[Thunder]

In about two months we'll be calling WMB "Lil' Laser Show".

 

Got a taste of it last night.

[SoxSport]

I tweeted MBrooks to make like Ted Williams at the plate. Be patient. be fussy. swing only at strikes. get walks. easy to say, but you have to know the strike zone and be focussed.

[FredLynn]

In about two months we'll be calling WMB "Lil' Laser Show".

 

I sure hope so. But watching WMB's approach at the plate is worrisome. He has a hole in his swing: he cannot lay off outside off speed pitches and routinely fails to make contact with them. Admittedly, its a tough pitch to handle, but he has to learn to swing only at strikes most of the time and fight off those tough pitches. I hope he can solve this soon.

[wyo-sox]

Will is still looking sad, but Drew May be getting ready to catch fire. He had a nice two rbi hit last night. A lot of his recent outs have been hard, well hit balls defended very well. He can work a walk and seems to have patient long at bats.

[FredLynn]

Will is still looking sad, but Drew May be getting ready to catch fire. He had a nice two rbi hit last night. A lot of his recent outs have been hard, well hit balls defended very well. He can work a walk and seems to have patient long at bats.

 

Drew is an established proven MLB player who missed some of spring training and got behind. I think he will be fine, though not spectacular, both in the field and at the plate. If Middlebrooks were simply in a slump but had a sound approach at the plate I would not be so concerned, but he is having a real problem with offspeed pitches on the outer half of the plate. Until he solves that opposing pitchers will exploit him.

[reYoukilis]

I sure hope so. But watching WMB's approach at the plate is worrisome. He has a hole in his swing: he cannot lay off outside off speed pitches and routinely fails to make contact with them. Admittedly, its a tough pitch to handle, but he has to learn to swing only at strikes most of the time and fight off those tough pitches. I hope he can solve this soon.

Exactly. If theres 2 strikes stop swinging for the fences and start fouling pitches until you get the pitch you want.

[jung]

I am not sure WMB sees the pitch on the outer third like you would want him to. One thing I notice is not only does he swing at pitches that start on the outer third and finish off the black, he is trying to pull them still as if he thinks they are in some other location. You never see him try to take the ball the other way even when the location begs for it, like a pitch that finishes on the outer third instead of starts on the outer third.

 

As suggested in the post above, you almost never see him simply try to get wood on a ball that is in a bad location with two strikes just fouling it off in an effort to get a look at something better.