So the Red Sox are Pretty Good.....

[jung]

What would prevent the Jays from simply not making the "we are sellers" decision. A team can decide that they don't think their chances very good to get into the post-season in a given year and not make wholesale changes to their team.

 

The whole thrust of the league's rules changes has been to keep more teams in the mix and have more teams gamble on being in the mix. We have had a grand total of one year with the two wild card system.....talk about a small sample size. For example, I would consider attendance more critical to a team's decision to be a seller at the deadline than the raw lose column numbers. Attendance is a leading indicator of future TV revenue fluctuations.

 

I for one think there are bigger issues for the Jays that are having an impact on their on field performance. However just deciding that the Jays or any team for that matter MUST decide they are sellers at the earlier date is just logic that we come by too easily. The Jays may decide that they are sellers and they may not. They like every other team will more likely make the decision to be sellers or not based on a set of dynamics that is particular to them, coupled with the likelihood of making the post season just based on the raw lose column numbers.

 

I do think the Jays are in a lotta' trouble and I for one don't think they are just going to snap out of it. They are surely one of the more interesting stories to watch from afar this season.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Can we take a step back real quick and realize how good of an acquisition Mike Carp has been? We literally got him for cash. That's it.

 

He's currently hitting (SSS Alert) .455/.500/.864.

 

And while those numbers are eye popping, it's not like he's a complete bum. He's actually a pretty good player.

 

ZIPS projected him (preseason) to hit .269/.332/.469 (.801 OPS).

Updated ZIPS now projects him to hit .280/.342/.484 (.826 OPS)

 

Steamer projected him (preseason) to hit .263/.330/.463, and now has updated to .290/.355/.505.

 

Either way, the guy can play 1B or LF, and is projected to hit at or above an .800 OPS, some projections even up to .860.

 

Just to be clear, an .825 OPS would have been good for 7th best in the AL last year for all Left Fielders (min 250 AB), ahead of a guy named Alex Gordon.

 

Between him and Nava, this team has a couple guys who have very solid versatility and can hit the baseball well.

 

Good move by Cherrington.

[Dojji]

I took a dim view of Carp early on because I didn't think we needed him, and I thought he endangered Nava's position, Nava being (IMHO) the more useful player. I thought he should have gone away in order to keep Iglesias up a little longer.

 

Looks like the bench is big enough for both of them and they both have come up very big at times.

[RedSoxNC84]

Some fun facts about the pitching staff.

 

With the exception of Alfredo Aceves, the starting staff has only given up 43 runs so far.

 

The only pitcher in the rotation with a K/9 less than 9 is Jon Lester.

 

Ryan Dempster has only 4 less strikeouts (43) than Clay Buchholz (47) in 14.2 less innings.

 

Dempster and Buchholz OPP AVG are the same three numbers .178 for Buch, .187 for Dempster.

 

Dempster and Doubront have given up the same amount of ER (11) despite Dempster having pitched 6.2 innings more. They have also given up the exact same amount of hits (20)

 

In two starts, John Lackey has a K:BB almost as good as Uehara. 12:3 - 12:1

 

Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, and Felix Doubront have only given up 1 HR each. Lester has given up 2, Dempster 4.

 

in 44.2 IP Buchholz has only allowed 27 hits. Buchholz is tied with Felix Hernandez in WHIP (.96)

 

Only Jake Westbrook has an ERA lower than Buchholz, which isn't necessarily true since Westbrook gave up something like 5 runs in a game that was canceled so it didn't count against him.

 

The starting staff's record is 15-3 (excluding Aceves, 16-4 with his starts included.) All losses are shared between Dempster and Lackey (and Aceves)

 

Buchholz, Lester, and Doubront combine for a 13-0 record.

 

The only relievers to have not given up a HR yet are Miller, Wilson, Bard, and surprisingly Wright.

 

Koji Uehara has a WHIP of 0.75

[RedSoxNC84]

Now for some offensive facts:

 

David Ortiz and Mike Carp have struck out the exact same amount of times (7)

 

Carp is currently Slugging 1.080. He has hit as many triples as he has HRs (2) His OPS is an absurd 1.599

 

Mike Napoli owns the most strikeouts (40) He is tied for 3rd most in the MLB with Colby Rasmus.

 

In 118 AB Jacoby Ellsbury has only struck out 16 times. Dustin Pedroia and Daniel Nava have struck out 16 times as well in 103 AB (Pedroia) and 81 AB (Nava)

 

To their credit they both own two of the highest walk counts, with 19 (Pedroia) and 10 (Nava) They are among the top 3 in BB on the team along with Jonny Gomes (12)

 

Pedroia and Nava also have the exact same amount of runs scored (17)

 

Mike Napoli has 31 RBI. The next closest batter is Nava with 18.

 

Napoli and Middlebrooks have hit the same amount of HR (6)

 

Mike Napoli leads the majors in doubles (14) His 31 RBI also lead the majors.

 

So far in the season, the Red Sox have scored 145 runs.

 

The Sox lead the AL in total bases (426) Triples (9) OBP (.351) and OPS (.814)

 

The only players to have played every game so far are Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Napoli.

[SoxFanForsyth]

The Red Sox are officially the last to double digit losses.

 

Also, if the Sox win 1 of the next 2 games, they will be the first to 20 wins. At 19 wins, they are 2 ahead of the second closest (Rangers, Yankees, Braves, & Rox all at 17).

 

Through 27 games, the Sox have a +47 run differential. That's best in the bigs, and it's not close. Coming in 2nd place is a tie between the Rangers, Braves, and Rockies, all at +29. Yep. That's a difference of 18 runs between 1st and 2nd, and a 162% increase.

 

The Red Sox SP ERA (3.10) is 1st in the AL (Detroit #2 at 3.23). Their team ERA is 3.49, second in the AL. Surprisingly, the bullpen has severely underperformed thus far (4.34 ERA), but the back end (Taz - Uehara - Bailey) have been elite, throwing 35.1 IP to a 2.02 ERA.

[RedSoxNC84]

Another fun fact: I just read on fangraphs that the Sox have the highest team pitching strikeout rate in baseball history at 26.7%