drop Napoli a few spots in batting order?

[jimbo50]

tired of seeing Napoli striking out so often after Papi to kill a potential scoring threat. Need a contact hitter in #5 slot, maybe Drew (hot lately) or Holt?

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Example A of why a thread should be bumped, instead of making a new one.

[Jasonbay44]

Brock Holt as a #5 hitter? Lol

[mvp 78]

The only RH bat that could go after Papi would be Gomes, but I think it's the best slot for Napoli. You want to put contact hiiters in front of Papi not after. Putting Drew or Holt after Papi would mean 4 IBBs a game.

[Palodios]

I think the best option for a RHH hitter after Ortiz would probably be that Xander guy.

[jimbo50]

True about contact hitters hitting ahead of Papi, weakest hitters usually go to bottom of order. If you don't put the ball in play you can't advance a runner. Napoli is on pace to break Bellhorns season K record.

[mvp 78]

In the absence of a better option, he stays at 5.

[RedSoxNC84]

Only one solution: DFA!

[sk7326]

man strikes out a ton - but he is also getting on at a solid clip. Not really a better option - and he has been solid. The strikeouts look bad but really don't matter.

[SoxSport]

They want their best RHd power hitter behind Ortiz. And right now, that's Napoli. Middlebrooks hasn't hit, and is in AAA. Gomes doesn't play full time. Pedey doesn't hit for power enough. RHd power has been a problem since Manny and Bay.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Example A of why a thread should be bumped, instead of making a new one.

 

You do realize that these are not the only two options, right? There are others. Such as "post in the gamethread while everyone is there to discuss it" or "don't create a thread at all for every single tiny thought that flits through your mind while you happen to be near the computer".

 

And once again, bumping threads in and of itself is not the problem. I don't know how many times I have to tell you guys that the issue is how annoying you all are to each other, and bumping threads just to say "SEE YOU WERE WRONG THAT ONE TIME" to someone who isn't even online at the time is a symptom of that problem. If discussions could be held for more than a page without turning into arguments about who follows who around the site insulting them and who does and does not 'stick to baseball', then it wouldn't be an issue. This is the last time I am saying this. The next person who makes some snide or 'subtle' remark about bumping threads or whatever the hell else is getting banned for a week, along with everyone else I can think of depending on how annoyed I am.

[SCM33]

Example A of why a thread should be bumped, instead of making a new one.

 

 

I asked Yeszir about creating "player performace" threads like they have at nyyfans.com.......I think that would eliminate alot of the "crap" on this site.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I like the idea of a pinned thread per player for the whole season, unpinned if they are traded or DFAed, where ALL discussion about them goes into that thread. Or, to avoid clutter, a thread per position.

[italstallianion]

I condone in it. If nothing else it organizes the "crap" if it doesn't "eliminate" it. I like organization.

[marklmw]

I think the best option for a RHH hitter after Ortiz would probably be that Xander guy.

 

I could not agree more. Time to bring the lad up.

[mvp 78]

You're not bringing a guy straight from AAA and hitting 5th. That's crazy talk. He's not better than Napoli as of this moment.

[Palodios]

You're not bringing a guy straight from AAA and hitting 5th. That's crazy talk. He's not better than Napoli as of this moment.

 

Blasphemy.

[mvp 78]

Blasphemy.

 

It's the truth. Xander has 0 ABs at this level.

 

If you're not expecting a learning curve, you are fooling yourself.

Edited August 5, 2013 by mvp 78

[Palodios]

It's the truth. Xander has 0 ABs at this level.

 

If you're not expecting a learning curve, you are fooling yourself.

 

I don't seriously expect XB to come up and rake. I just happen to think he is a significant upgrade over the guys at 3B right now.

[User Name]

He is, but he can't be counted on to provide middle-of-the-order production right off the bat like some here expect. He will struggle a bit eventually.

[Lord Snow]

Napoli has been as advertised. An .860 OPS post-ASB I say leave him where he is.

[sk7326]

Napoli is effective and frustrating - just one of those "three true outcomes" sort of guys - homerun, walk, strikeout. Not a ton of homeruns, but hitting the ball very hard when he can make contact. I wish he made more contact, but admire how he does not give at-bats away.

 

The big difference offensively from 2012 is how our team has put together a collection of tough outs again - a staple of our best teams. Napoli is definitely "of" that sort of style.

[Orange Juiced]

I wasn't sure if this belonged in this thread or if I should start a new one (I didn't want to hijack this one, but it IS about Napoli so....). Anyway, I want to talk about 1b moving forward. I am so glad that the Sox are not on the hook for 2 more seasons with Napoli, based on what we've seen this year. Certainly amazing raw power and when he connects, see-ya. But so much impotence at the plate far too often. I think 1b is a real issue moving forward. Obviously this year you just keep it as-is and ride it out, but for 2014, what are some 1b options?

 

Could the Sox have Gomes/Nava platoon in left and then find a RH-hitting platoon partner with Carp and have them fill the role at 1b? Maybe Lavarnway, since it doesn't seem like the Sox are super comfortable with him behind the plate? That sure would be an inexpensive way to probably get about 20-25 homers out of the 1b spot, which would free up considerable cash to upgrade elsewhere.

 

Thoughts on how to deal with 1b moving forward?

[mvp 78]

Is Lavs' bat good enough for 1b?

 

I think the most likely outcome is a FA. Internal options are WMB, Cecchini, Brentz and even Nava (just need RH platoon).

[Orange Juiced]

Is Lavs' bat good enough for 1b?

 

I think the most likely outcome is a FA. Internal options are WMB, Cecchini, Brentz and even Nava (just need RH platoon).

 

I think Lavarnway's bat could be good enough as a RH platoon. It would have the added benefit of having an emergency 3rd catcher on the roster as well.

[mvp 78]

Who would be the LH platoon: Carp or Nava?

[sk7326]

I wasn't sure if this belonged in this thread or if I should start a new one (I didn't want to hijack this one, but it IS about Napoli so....). Anyway, I want to talk about 1b moving forward. I am so glad that the Sox are not on the hook for 2 more seasons with Napoli, based on what we've seen this year. Certainly amazing raw power and when he connects, see-ya. But so much impotence at the plate far too often. I think 1b is a real issue moving forward. Obviously this year you just keep it as-is and ride it out, but for 2014, what are some 1b options?

 

Could the Sox have Gomes/Nava platoon in left and then find a RH-hitting platoon partner with Carp and have them fill the role at 1b? Maybe Lavarnway, since it doesn't seem like the Sox are super comfortable with him behind the plate? That sure would be an inexpensive way to probably get about 20-25 homers out of the 1b spot, which would free up considerable cash to upgrade elsewhere.

 

Thoughts on how to deal with 1b moving forward?

 

Napoli has been ok at 1B. Nothing special, but not bad. Helps that he takes a ton of pitches and draws a lot of walks so the cold stretches are still salvageable. I like the thought on Lavarnway. In his 2011 callup, when he was DHing, he showed that there was some real power there. But clearly he has had trouble hitting and receiving at the same time. Maybe he tried so hard to become an adequate catcher that he let his hit tool (which is really what will let him afford his house payments) go stale. He and Carp could make a good platoon at the position. Middlebrooks could make sense too - although his bat becomes even weaker at 1B where the "replacement level" is a bit higher. An year+option extension for Napoli is not the worst thing in the world, especially if they can fix their production at 3B.

[mvp 78]

I don't know how people can still extrapolate Lavs' future production off 2HRs in 2011, but ignoring the past two seasons.

[sk7326]

I don't know how people can still extrapolate Lavs' future production off 2HRs in 2011, but ignoring the past two seasons.

 

Well the last 2 seasons also coincided with a focus on a really hard position he is probably no good at. This sort of happened with Jesus Montero in Seattle when you consider how he smashed in the minors to how poorly his big league career has gone. It does make you wonder if you just told a guy like that "just focus on hitting - we'll work around it", that it would improve things. I wonder if Lavarnway is just a guy who can't handle both jobs at the same time (really the last 2 seasons might be hinting at that more than anything)?