Halfway Point-- Biggest Surprises and Biggest Disappointments

[rjortiz]

We probably could get Young for a nothing prospect. I think he'd be a good pinch hitter. However, the risk of Farrell playing him everyday is too high.

[User Name]

Young's OPS for 2012 was only .682. Any way you look at it the guy is aging out and a mediocre hitter at this point.

 

And sucks at defense. No redeeming qualities. Can't understand the love affair with the guy.

[italstallianion]

Young's OPS for 2012 was only .682. Any way you look at it the guy is aging out and a mediocre hitter at this point.

 

I'm not disagreeing with that, but I still think he'd be a better bat than Drew/Holt/Snyder/Middlebrooks for the remainder of this season.

[rjortiz]

I'm not disagreeing with that, but I still think he'd be a better bat than Drew/Holt/Snyder/Middlebrooks for the remainder of this season.

 

I agree, but I think his awful defense negates any value his bat has. I think they should gamble with Bogaerts.

[italstallianion]

That'd be my plan for next season, I'm not sure about Bogaerts for the rest of this season. I guess we can do worse than giving Holt/Snyder at bats.

[rjortiz]

That'd be my plan for next season, I'm not sure about Bogaerts for the rest of this season. I guess we can do worse than giving Holt/Snyder at bats.

 

Not much worse, considering Holt/Snyder are replacement level players.

[SoxSport]

You hope they don't compromise defense. Especially in LF and 3B. Gomes has a tendency to make plays look tougher. Kind of like Manny used to. Bradley is just waiting to take over. At 3B, they had a couple of late innings errors which affected two coast games, though they got some timely hitting from Snyder and Holt.

[Palodios]

And sucks at defense. No redeeming qualities. Can't understand the love affair with the guy.

 

Calling him a stopgap bench warmer isn't exactly a love affair. I also think that Iglesias should absolute get priority over him. The production the Sox are getting from Drew/Holt/Middlebrooks isn't quite as valuable as Young's .350 OBP.

[User Name]

Calling him a stopgap bench warmer isn't exactly a love affair. I also think that Iglesias should absolute get priority over him. The production the Sox are getting from Drew/Holt/Middlebrooks isn't quite as valuable as Young's .350 OBP.

 

That'd be true, if he could play D.

[SoxFanForsyth]

By early August, Bogaerts can likely give you a slash line of .265/.335/.450 at the MLB level. That's 1. as good or better than what you'd get from Young (certainly more pop), 2. Free, and 3. You get a bonus of giving your top prospect significant playing time this year.

 

There is no reason to go out and pay for Michael Young when you've got internal options that are likely as good or better than him. And Youngs defense is just horrid.

[Palodios]

Even if XB starts producing immediately, the "problem" is that the Red Sox have three shortstops and no third baseman. Playing Iggy at 3B is a mistake.

[User Name]

You know who else isn't a 3B? Michael Young.

[mvp 78]

Even if XB starts producing immediately, the "problem" is that the Red Sox have three shortstops and no third baseman. Playing Iggy at 3B is a mistake.

 

Manny Machado was a SS too. 3b has worked out for him.

[italstallianion]

Sorry to be that guy but wasn't A-rod a SS at one point?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Even if XB starts producing immediately, the "problem" is that the Red Sox have three shortstops and no third baseman. Playing Iggy at 3B is a mistake.

 

You do realize that Michael Young has a -16.6 UZR/150 at 3B this year, and had a -35.0 UZR/150 at 3B last year, correct?

[a700hitter]

Young is real pro. He's a tough out, and he'll do a representative job anywhere in the infield. You'll never see him shotput a throw into RF on a ball that should have ended a game. If the Phillies are looking to dump him cheap, we could do a lot worse.

[User Name]

Except that we probably couldn't. Being a pro isn't a substitute for diminished ability.

[a700hitter]

Except that we probably couldn't. Being a pro isn't a substitute for diminished ability.

Drew is stinking up the place with his bat. I think Young would do much better. I'd slide Iggy to SS (an upgrade defensively) and bench Drew. I think it would be an upgrade offensively also.

[lospunchados]

Biggest surprises-pitching- Lackey and Doubront. I don't think anyone knew what to expect form John Lackey this year, and even the biggest optimist couldn't have predicted this big of a turnaround. The 2015 club option he has signed for league minimum looks pretty good if he maintains even 80% of what he is doing now. Doubront started the year with diminished velocity and looked terrible. Though the velocity is still down a ways from last year

he has managed to be really effective for the last ten starts.

 

Hitting- Nava and iggy- Nava has had a spectacular first half and forced his way into the lineups most days. At the very least he has shown that he is worthy of a platoon role as his numbers are fantastic against righties. Iggy is coming down to earth a bit but everyone always said if he could hit .260-.270 he could play because of the glove so hopefully he can keep a decent average and work a little more on plate discipline.

 

Biggest dissapointments so far for me would be Middlebrooks and the two "closers" we had to start the year.

[Bellhorn04]

Drew is stinking up the place with his bat. I think Young would do much better. I'd slide Iggy to SS (an upgrade defensively) and bench Drew. I think it would be an upgrade offensively also.

 

Drew hasn't been that bad at all after April. He had a .771 OPS in May and a .791 OPS in June.

 

Drew has 31 RBI in 232 AB. Young has 28 RBI in 333 AB.

 

Young is a minimal upgrade over Drew at best.

[User Name]

Drew is stinking up the place with his bat. I think Young would do much better. I'd slide Iggy to SS (an upgrade defensively) and bench Drew. I think it would be an upgrade offensively also.

 

The problem is that Young isn't doing that much better offensively than Drew and he's an absolute butcher with the glove at 3B.

[User Name]

Drew hasn't been that bad at all after April. He had a .771 OPS in May and a .791 OPS in June.

 

Drew has 31 RBI in 232 AB. Young has 28 RBI in 333 AB.

 

Young is a minimal upgrade over Drew at best.

 

Drew: 6.0 UZR and 13.8 UZR/150

 

Young: -8.9 UZR and -16.6 UZR/150

 

If you take defense into account, can you seriously say he'd be even a minimal upgrade?

[Bellhorn04]

Drew: 6.0 UZR and 13.8 UZR/150

 

Young: -8.9 UZR and -16.6 UZR/150

 

If you take defense into account, can you seriously say he'd be even a minimal upgrade?

 

No I can't.

[BornToRun]

That's because he wouldn't be an upgrade. The reason he's not an upgrade is because he sucks. He's a mid 30's middle infielder who blows away from Citizens Bank and is worse with the glove than a blind guy in a wheel chair.

 

Give me Drew all day, every day because he doesn't cost us a prospect and has been great defensively as we'll as putting up offensive numbers that are more than enough for a shortstop.

[Palodios]

Drew: 6.0 UZR and 13.8 UZR/150

 

Young: -8.9 UZR and -16.6 UZR/150

 

If you take defense into account, can you seriously say he'd be even a minimal upgrade?

 

The problem with Drew is that he's played shortstop his entire career, and we have no idea how he'd respond to moving to 3B. Take Iggy for example, it hasn't been a smooth transition.

 

Iglesias at 3B : -4.1 UZR -31.9 UZR/150

Iglesias at SS : 2.0 UZR 14.9 UZR/150

 

Iglesias is rotting at 3B. The baseball gods will punish the Red Sox if Iggy's glove isn't playing at shortstop.

[mvp 78]

He's rotting by getting to play everyday? C'mon...

[User Name]

The problem with Drew is that he's played shortstop his entire career, and we have no idea how he'd respond to moving to 3B. Take Iggy for example, it hasn't been a smooth transition.

 

Iglesias at 3B : -4.1 UZR -31.9 UZR/150

Iglesias at SS : 2.0 UZR 14.9 UZR/150

 

Iglesias is rotting at 3B. The baseball gods will punish the Red Sox if Iggy's glove isn't playing at shortstop.

 

No one has suggested Drew move off SS. Him at SS and Iggy at 3rd is better than Young anywhere. I don't get the constant need to try to fit a square peg in a round hole. Young is just not that good.

[a700hitter]

The problem is that Young isn't doing that much better offensively than Drew and he's an absolute butcher with the glove at 3B.

I am not advocating for Ben to get Young, but if he does, I wouldn't have a big problem with it. He's definitely an upgrade over Drew with the bat.

[Palodios]

No one has suggested Drew move off SS. Him at SS and Iggy at 3rd is better than Young anywhere. I don't get the constant need to try to fit a square peg in a round hole. Young is just not that good.

 

Putting a square peg in a round hole? That's exactly what they're doing by playing Iglesias at 3B.

 

Look over the stats again. Iglesias's UZR this year is equally as bad as Young at 3B. We can't expect him to outhit his poor 3B defense for the rest of the season.

[italstallianion]

I'd never want to mess with the greatness that's Iglesias at SS. I'd put David Ortiz at 3B if I had to in order to prevent Iglesias from having to move.