June 16th, 2013 - Boston Red Sox @ Baltimore Orioles - 1:35 PM ET

[Standing Room]

Gomes is so f***ing terrible.

[Standing Room]

I know, we play 4 in Detroit next weekend. Lead could exchange that series.

 

and Gomes is so bad in LF.

 

Anything could happen, but I doubt the O's would pass us for long. They don't pitch well against the other 29 teams in baseball.

[Jasonbay44]

Great.

[Station 13]

Iggy gets that if he play SS.

[Station 13]

Anything could happen, but I doubt the O's would pass us for long. They don't pitch well against the other 29 teams in baseball.

 

They pitch ok when it counts, against the Sox. They do hit the s*** out the ball as a team.

[Standing Room]

They pitch ok when it counts, against the Sox. They do hit the s*** out the ball as a team.

 

All 162 games count. No team is going to lead their division by only pitching well against one team.

[Standing Room]

I'm starting to think it's just not our day.

[jung]

So you've changed your stance that Middlebrooks should stop hitting the ball the other way?

 

I have not changed my stance one bit. If you go back to the discussion we had weeks ago I already covered pitches up and out over the plate. My stance has been that he should just ignore pitches starting below the belt to low on the outer third with less than two strikes as they are not good pitches for him to do much with even if he does hit them AND more often than not he just ends up swinging at air when he does offer at them as they are often headed off the plate. In swinging at them, he denies himself the opportunity to catch a mistake pitch anywhere on the inner third up, down or sideways as those are pitches he just crushes every time.

 

I can't believe you still don't get it when we just left Loney in Tampa who has done EXACTLY what WMB should do and has turned his entire career around in the process. In fact Loney had one two pitch AB in Tampa that he would never have had before this and that simply said it all. First pitch....taken...strike 1 called....a pitch low and on the outer third. Second pitch.....strike on the inner third pounded into right center for a base hit.

 

You guys insist that WMB can't be a good hitter unless and until he learns to handle that pitch that Loney now ignores and I insist that even more than Loney, WMB should just ignore them because Loney cannot do with pitches on the inner third what WMB can do with them. I am willing to see a called strike with less than two strikes on that s*** pitch heading low and outside in trade for a pitch WMB can crush on the inner third which has nothing to do with pitches up and out over the plate which are meat for almost anybody in an ML uni!

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

I'm starting to think it's just not our day.

 

It's not, but it is what it is. Seems like the O's are the Sox biggest competition in the division.

[Station 13]

Miller has been good after April.

[Standing Room]

I have not changed my stance one bit. If you go back to the discussion we had weeks ago I already covered pitches up and out over the plate. My stance has been that he should just ignore pitches starting below the belt to low on the outer third with less than two strikes as they are not good pitches for him to do much with even if he does hit them AND more often than not he just ends up swinging at air when he does offer at them as they are often headed off the plate. In swinging at them, he denies himself the opportunity to catch a mistake pitch anywhere on the inner third up, down or sideways as those are pitches he just crushes every time.

 

I can't believe you still don't get it when we just left Loney in Tampa who has done EXACTLY what WMB should do and has turned his entire career around in the process. In fact Loney had one two pitch AB in Tampa that he would never have had before this and that simply said it all. First pitch....taken...strike 1 called....a pitch low and on the outer third. Second pitch.....strike on the inner third pounded into right center for a base hit.

 

You guys insist that WMB can't be a good hitter unless and until he learns to handle that pitch that Loney now ignores and I insist that even more than Loney, WMB should just ignore them because Loney cannot do with pitches on the inner third what WMB can do with them. I am willing to see a called strike with less than two strikes on that s*** pitch heading low and outside in trade for a pitch WMB can crush on the inner third which has nothing to do with pitches up and out over the plate which are meat for almost anybody in an ML uni!

 

I have no idea where any of this is coming from. You stated:

 

WMB is a dead pull power hitter with the potential to be an absolute monster swinging at anything middle middle, middle in or on the inner third.

 

Either he's a dead-pull hitter or he's not. It has nothing to do with James Loney.

[Standing Room]

I get why people give up on games early now. It makes it much less frustrating when our three outs in an inning are a warning track shot, a line drive right at an outfielder and a running catch on a ball headed to the corner of the outfield.

[jung]

Standing Room...look at the hot zones for dead pull hitters in this league and you will find that none of them ignore pitches up and out over the plate. Often you will find their hot zones are all three inner third zones and that zone up and away. That is exactly what I said weeks ago.

 

What...you are going to tell me now that this is all about semantics? You think a dead pull hitter is a guy that ONLY swings at pitches on the inner third? You can't be serious. I said all of this weeks ago.

 

The only difference and the reason I pulled Loney into the discussion is because he has done exactly what I suggest WMB should be doing as far his approach to the plate is concerned. The difference between Loney and WMB is that WMB CRUSHES anything in any of the three inner third hit zones. James Loney can't do that but has still completely turned his career around. WMB should do what Loney has done. He should be able to duplicate Loney's success at the plate and then some because WMB will take those inner third pitches and send them into orbit. If you STILL don't get it, I am exhausted explaining it to you!

[Standing Room]

Standing Room...look at the hot zones for dead pull hitters in this league and you will find that none of them ignore pitches up and out over the plate. Often you will find their hot zones are all three inner third zones and that zone up and away. That is exactly what I said weeks ago.

 

What...you are going to tell me now that this is all about semantics? You think a dead pull hitter is a guy that ONLY swings at pitches on the inner third? You can't be serious. I said all of this weeks ago.

 

The only difference and the reason I pulled Loney into the discussion is because he has done exactly what I suggest WMB should be doing as far his approach to the plate is concerned. The difference between Loney and WMB is that WMB CRUSHES anything in any of the three inner third hit zones. James Loney can't do that but has still completely turned his career around. WMB should do what Loney has done. He should be able to duplicate Loney's success at the plate and then some because WMB will take those inner third pitches and send them into orbit. If you STILL don't get it, I am exhausted explaining it to you!

 

Jung, Middlebrooks can't be a dead-pull hitter who routinely hits for power the other way. That's the opposite of a dead-pull hitter. We're not talking semantics here, we're talking antonyms. It has absolutely nothing to do with where in the strike zone the pitch is, or James Loney or Carlton Fisk or whatever else you come up with.

[Standing Room]

Johnson has been much better lately. I have a feeling this will be a quick 9th.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Father's Day miracle? :dunno:

[Standing Room]

f*** the O's, I hope the Tigers destroy them.

[VA Sox Fan]

That sucked. Much needed day off tomorrow.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

f*** the O's, I hope the Tigers destroy them.

 

This.

[jung]

Jung, Middlebrooks can't be a dead-pull hitter who routinely hits for power the other way

 

MMB DOES NOT routinely hit for power the other way. He takes a pitch in the up and out over the plate zone, a pitch that every power hitter that I know about offers at and hits and often deposits into the bleachers....and does the same thing with it. He got one in Minnesota a few weeks ago that was WAY wind assisted and one again today. Being able to hit that pitch does nothing to resolve WMB's problems from the belt line down and on the outer third and is not even relevant to the discussion.

[jung]

Notice what Jim Rice just said about WMB and the tape they just rolled.

 

Jim Rice on the HR ball "WMB did not try to hit that ball to RF at all".

[iortiz]

They need to do something with Lester, he is far away to be an ace or even a good pitcher these days.

[TylerD]

They need to do something with Lester, he is far away to be an ace or even a good pitcher these days.

 

Ya not quite sure what to say about Lester. I think confidence is a huge thing with him. He is pretty streaky. When he has a bad game, it seems to really get to him, and then he plays like s*** for another 3 or 4 starts. I personally am not to worried, I think he will snap out of this funk. (Hopefully sooner rather then later) As much as I hate to say it, Baltimore played pretty damn good this series.... Our offense didnt really help matters much either. Best we can do now is move on and hope for the best. We have a series against Tampa at home which is very winnable. Tampa has not looked good as of late. Hopefully we can turn things around a bit.

[Standing Room]

MMB DOES NOT routinely hit for power the other way. He takes a pitch in the up and out over the plate zone, a pitch that every power hitter that I know about offers at and hits and often deposits into the bleachers....and does the same thing with it. He got one in Minnesota a few weeks ago that was WAY wind assisted and one again today. Being able to hit that pitch does nothing to resolve WMB's problems from the belt line down and on the outer third and is not even relevant to the discussion.

 

Jesus Christ you're stubborn. I've already shown you his spray chart (twice), and he clearly does hit the ball the other way. Would it kill you to admit that you were wrong?

[Standing Room]

Spray charts not your thing Jung, how about video evidence?

 

Opposite-field home run.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=28081323&c_id=mlb

 

Opposite-field home run.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=27257113&c_id=mlb

 

Opposite-field home run.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=27157557&c_id=mlb

 

Opposite-field home run.

http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=26082091&c_id=mlb&topic_id=vtp_opening_week

[SoxSport]

The story of this 4 game series with the Orioles is Lester s***ing the bed again and Buchholz staying in bed. They can't win without Lester and Buchholz topping the rotation. Life is simple.

[VA Sox Fan]

Napoli, Carp possible for Tuesday

 

Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff June 16, 2013 07:00 PM

 

BALTIMORE — A few updates before leaving Camden Yards:

 

• Mike Napoli came out of Thursday’s game in the third inning because of an illness and hasn’t played since. He was scheduled for further tests in Boston on Sunday but showed significant improvement. John Farrell said he hopes that Napoli will be able to play on Tuesday.

 

• Mike Carp left the game in the seventh inning with a tight right hamstring. He was injured going to second base after a double to left field. “I think it’s more of a cramp than anything else. Based on how I feel and what the medical people said, it’s not something serious,” Carp said.

 

Carp had strength testing done when he came out and it was close to normal.

 

“Hopefully with the day off, he’d be available again on Tuesday,” Farrell said. “It wasn’t a pull, it was more of a cramping sensation. Probably because of the humidity.”

 

• Daniel Nava batted third for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career. He was 0 for 4, although he did drive a ball to the wall in left field in the sixth inning. Nava is 1 for 15 without a RBI batting third.

 

• Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado doubled in the first inning to extend his hit streak to 14 games. He has 32 doubles this season. The Baltimore record is 56 by Brian Roberts in 2009. Earl Webb of the Red Sox set the major league record of 67 in 1931. The 20-year-old Machado was 9 for 19 in the series with four doubles and three RBIs.

 

• Jose Iglesias started at second base for the first time in his career. He handled three chances without any issues and was 1 for 4 at the plate. That extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest for a rookie in the majors this season. Iglesias is 26 of 61 (.426) in his streak with six extra-base hits and eight runs scored.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Machado is going to be the MLB Doubles Leader* this season.

[italstallianion]

At least Tampa also lost 3 out of 4 (to the Royals), the Yankees had lost plenty out west to the A's and Angels, and Toronto swept a 4 game series vs. Texas.

 

Hell even St. Louis lost 2 out of 3 to Miami.

[Station 13]

Tomorrow is a much needed day off for the team. All the pitchers have thrown a lot of pitches in the last 10 day.