Position Changes Needed

[sk7326]

I haven't clocked them, but my betting is that Bernie was faster. They maybe comparable in that Bernie was also not a good base stealer. But Bernie could fly, especially going first to third.

 

I don't think Bradley's speed prevents him from doing that as well as playing one hell of a centerfield.

[sk7326]

Between injuries and players not hitting the Sox are having a hard time scoring runs. Hopefully, Middlebrooks isn't to far away because this team lacks power. If Pedrioa is out any length of time who is the long terms solutions? Betts?

 

Right now, the problem has been injuries. The on-base has not been that bad all things considered - this will get better. If Pedroia is out - my first call is to Stephen Drew to see if he is up for something interesting. Failing that, you basically throw short term options at it until something sticks. One thing we have seen is that the Sox have worked Middlebrooks out at 2B. So if they really wanted to keep the bats there, signing Drew and moving Will to 2B is something that is at least possible.

[SoxSport]

Drew is just too expensive, and limited to one position. He is no longer a fit in Boston. He'll get a job somewhere when some SS goes down for 6 months. It's very telling that Dombrowski went elsewhere when Iggy went down. Drew is way too expensive. The $14 million was thrown out there to get a draft pick. I'm sure they were delighted when he declined.

 

Vic going down so soon has hurt them. But they have discovered Size and JBJ. Hopefully those 3 guys will make a great OF, but don't hold your breath. Farrell is in love with last year's players, which means Nava/Gomes/Carp will see plenty of action in LF and maybe RF. Carp should be used strictly at 1B. They need to play out the string on JBJ, and let the kid develop. He is showing confidence now.

[a700hitter]

I don't think Bradley's speed prevents him from doing that as well as playing one hell of a centerfield.

He can definitely play well in CF, but his speed is not really a big weapon offensively, stolen bases aside.

[User Name]

Drew is just too expensive, and limited to one position. He is no longer a fit in Boston. He'll get a job somewhere when some SS goes down for 6 months. It's very telling that Dombrowski went elsewhere when Iggy went down. Drew is way too expensive. The $14 million was thrown out there to get a draft pick. I'm sure they were delighted when he declined.

 

Vic going down so soon has hurt them. But they have discovered Size and JBJ. Hopefully those 3 guys will make a great OF, but don't hold your breath. Farrell is in love with last year's players, which means Nava/Gomes/Carp will see plenty of action in LF and maybe RF. Carp should be used strictly at 1B. They need to play out the string on JBJ, and let the kid develop. He is showing confidence now.

 

Do you ever make a post that is based on objective logic and not a load of sensationalist nonsense? In love with last year's players? It's April 14th! Where do you come up with this drivel?

[sk7326]

Drew is just too expensive, and limited to one position. He is no longer a fit in Boston. He'll get a job somewhere when some SS goes down for 6 months. It's very telling that Dombrowski went elsewhere when Iggy went down. Drew is way too expensive. The $14 million was thrown out there to get a draft pick. I'm sure they were delighted when he declined.

 

Vic going down so soon has hurt them. But they have discovered Size and JBJ. Hopefully those 3 guys will make a great OF, but don't hold your breath. Farrell is in love with last year's players, which means Nava/Gomes/Carp will see plenty of action in LF and maybe RF. Carp should be used strictly at 1B. They need to play out the string on JBJ, and let the kid develop. He is showing confidence now.

 

I think Cherington was unsentimental. But he will also be unsentimental if Pedroia had to go out for a couple of months. Bringing Drew back is easily the cleanest answer (and none of the answers are perfect) available. I don't think Farrell is being sentimental with Nava/Gomes/Carp. If you haven't noticed, Sizemore has the knees of a 52 year old man, and was slipping defensively before he destroyed them - Farrell needs those guys around just to be able to manage Sizemore's reps.

[d-money]

No fracture for pedroia.Thats great news.

[d-money]

Team needs to try and sweep the white sox on the road.

[Jasonbay44]

Some good news regarding Napoli:

 

 

Mike Napoli has been diagnosed with a dislocated left ring finger.

That much could be seen by looking at the gruesome picture of Napoli's finger after he slid into second base following a ninth-inning wild pitch. However, the good news is that X-rays on the finger came back negative, and it appears it might be more of a day-to-day type injury rather than something that could send him to the DL. Mike Carp will handle first base while Napoli is out.

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/425953/mike-napoli-diagnosed-with-dislocated-finger

[seabeachfred]

Some good news regarding Napoli:

 

 

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/425953/mike-napoli-diagnosed-with-dislocated-finger

 

I noticed the game thread was locked before I had a chance to vent my spleen so I will vent it here. With all due respect, I don't want to hear any more s*** from any of you out there who took offense a few weeks ago when I warned that our s***** Spring Training season would result in our coming out the gate punch drunk. Well guess what? Just as in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 we had a s***** spring and are now in a s***** start to a new season. Understand this....with the Red Sox there is a real correlation how we play down in Florida and how we start off when the bell rings. It's a shame some of your memories are worth a warm pitcher of spit on that subject.

 

Now we have almost half the starters on the sideline, we aren't hitting worth s***, we have no speed, we have no offense, we play station-to-station baseball and leave a bunch of runners on base game after game---and here's the worst part of it. It is becoming possible that our Xander Bogaerts may actually be a choker and if so that is a crusher.

[User Name]

Fred, you don't get to tell anyone here what they can and can't say. Your idea that they are struggling because they let off the gas in ST after a WS run is: A) Unproven at best, and fabrication at worst, and B ) f***ing retarded. Stop it with the goddamn whining, no one wants to read it dude, seriously. You're just making it up as you go and don't have a clue.

[User Name]

Talksox. com shouldn't be anyone's vent-place or whine-receptacle. It's a place where we're supposed to be able to come talk about the Red Sox and baseball in general. People keep leaving the site because of the ******** attitude of some posters but they just don't get it. For the love of God, dial the whining, negativity and know-it-all, told-you-so ******** back just a little bit.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I noticed the game thread was locked before I had a chance to vent my spleen so I will vent it here. With all due respect, I don't want to hear any more s*** from any of you out there who took offense a few weeks ago when I warned that our s***** Spring Training season would result in our coming out the gate punch drunk. Well guess what? Just as in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 we had a s***** spring and are now in a s***** start to a new season. Understand this....with the Red Sox there is a real correlation how we play down in Florida and how we start off when the bell rings. It's a shame some of your memories are worth a warm pitcher of spit on that subject.

 

Now we have almost half the starters on the sideline, we aren't hitting worth s***, we have no speed, we have no offense, we play station-to-station baseball and leave a bunch of runners on base game after game---and here's the worst part of it. It is becoming possible that our Xander Bogaerts may actually be a choker and if so that is a crusher.

 

You are unbelievable. It's APRIL 15th. There are almost 150 games left in the baseball season. Calling someone a choker after slightly more than two weeks of the season is ridiculous.

 

For every season the Sox started slowly in the spring and the beginning of the season, I can pull up a season that they did well in spring and sucked to start the season, or one where they sucked in spring training and did well to start the season. And you know what? They didn't win the World Series in lots of those seasons. My memory is fine. I remember week or two week long periods in EVERY season since I joined this site where the Sox did poorly and everyone reacted like they had just executed all of the starters with machine-gun fire and replaced them with Special Olympians.

 

The Sox will pick up. Things are starting slow, but Victorino, Pedroia, and Middlebrooks will be back. The pitchers who are struggling will stabilize and they will not suffer from poor run support forever. The Sox will contend.

 

There is still snow piled in parking lots here in Connecticut, for christs sake. It's early. The sky is not falling, the Sox are just slumping. If this was happening in September, I would be concerned. I'm pretty sure it won't still be happening then.

[User Name]

You are unbelievable. It's APRIL 15th. There are almost 150 games left in the baseball season. Calling someone a choker after slightly more than two weeks of the season is ridiculous.

 

 

Slightly more than two weeks in his career.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Slightly more than two weeks in his career.

 

?

 

Bogaerts played a bit last season. I don't know what you mean, unless you are talking about someone else.

[User Name]

?

 

Bogaerts played a bit last season. I don't know what you mean, unless you are talking about someone else.

 

I'm talking about Bogaerts. His playing time amounts to less than a month in total games.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Not that there's any such thing as a choker anyway, but attaching that label to f***ing BOGAERTS of all people is batshit insane.

[d-money]

Yes its early but they need wins pronto!! This losing streak has to stop.They are 4 games under 500.They look like they going through the motions.

[Navafan29]

Spice things up to wake the Sox up.

 

Mike Carp full time DH

Move Napoli to 3rd

Move Ortiz to CF

Players get chicken and beer every time they win as a motivator.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Finally found what I was looking for.

 

In 2013 we led MLB in pitches seen by a comfortable margin. So far this year we're tied for 10th, which isn't bad, but it's definitely not where we want to be. Part of it can be blamed on injuries, getting people like Herrera out of the lineup should help. Middlebrooks was our second-best guy last year at padding pitch counts (although Victorino was the worst of the starters). But I'm concerned about the team as a whole getting away from what made them so good last year, which was padding pitch counts and not being greedy dickheads. I'm concerned about someone like Pierzynski, who prides himself on not taking pitches and swinging at dumb s***, having a voice in the clubhouse. The f***ing guy is seeing less than 3 pitches per plate appearance. That's pathetic. The jump from 2 to 4 pitches in one single at-bat may not be a game changer, but those extra pitches will add up if the entire lineup buys into it. If the other team's starter throws more pitches, he gets tired quicker, and subsequently leaves the game quicker. He could also get frustrated and end up serving up better pitches to hit. Once he's gone, you get to feast on middle relievers, who aren't as good as starters.

 

You can help yourself by just making the other guy throw. There was an awful lot of hacking going on in Yankee Stadium. If nothing else is working for you, you can at least make the other pitcher throw. It's like boxing out and rebounding in basketball. You don't need to be hot or in the zone to do it, you just have to be focused on what actually helps your team win. They made Nova throw for 3 innings on Sunday, then cancelled it all out by hacking like idiots for the rest of his outing. This isn't like hitting home runs or hitting with RISP (which is luck anyway). You don't need to be a naturally gifted baseball player to see 3 pitches in at bat. Anyone from this forum could see 3 pitches in a major league at bat. No matter how fat, old, slovenly, out-of-shape or otherwise physically disadvantaged we may be, it wouldn't be possible for a major league pitcher to strike us out in less than 3 pitches.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Jacoby_Ellsbury

[Navafan29]

Finally found what I was looking for.

 

In 2013 we led MLB in pitches seen by a comfortable margin. So far this year we're tied for 10th, which isn't bad, but it's definitely not where we want to be. Part of it can be blamed on injuries, getting people like Herrera out of the lineup should help. Middlebrooks was our second-best guy last year at padding pitch counts (although Victorino was the worst of the starters). But I'm concerned about the team as a whole getting away from what made them so good last year, which was padding pitch counts and not being greedy dickheads. I'm concerned about someone like Pierzynski, who prides himself on not taking pitches and swinging at dumb s***, having a voice in the clubhouse. The f***ing guy is seeing less than 3 pitches per plate appearance. That's pathetic. The jump from 2 to 4 pitches in one single at-bat may not be a game changer, but those extra pitches will add up if the entire lineup buys into it. If the other team's starter throws more pitches, he gets tired quicker, and subsequently leaves the game quicker. He could also get frustrated and end up serving up better pitches to hit. Once he's gone, you get to feast on middle relievers, who aren't as good as starters.

 

You can help yourself by just making the other guy throw. There was an awful lot of hacking going on in Yankee Stadium. If nothing else is working for you, you can at least make the other pitcher throw. It's like boxing out and rebounding in basketball. You don't need to be hot or in the zone to do it, you just have to be focused on what actually helps your team win. They made Nova throw for 3 innings on Sunday, then cancelled it all out by hacking like idiots for the rest of his outing. This isn't like hitting home runs or hitting with RISP (which is luck anyway). You don't need to be a naturally gifted baseball player to see 3 pitches in at bat. Anyone from this forum could see 3 pitches in a major league at bat. No matter how fat, old, slovenly, out-of-shape or otherwise physically disadvantaged we may be, it wouldn't be possible for a major league pitcher to strike us out in less than 3 pitches.

 

I say we swing at good pitches early in the count when we're against a team with great relievers. But if you're up against a really good starter, work that count.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

With relievers all bets are off. Starters always need to be pushed though.

[mvp 78]

I tend to take a lot of stock in baseball games lost by one run in 20 degree weather.

[redsoxrules]

The thing that worries me about XB is that his defense hasn't impressed the least bit.

I can understand slumping at the plate and give him time with the bat but the defense should be there.

A lot of bounced throws to first base ( not just lastnight ).He also should have 4 errors but the scoring was generous on him on a few plays. He looks shaky fielding. Defensive statistics shows it too.

[jacksonianmarch]

Bogaerts is a minus defender at SS and expected to be a 3b long term

[seabeachfred]

Fred, you don't get to tell anyone here what they can and can't say. Your idea that they are struggling because they let off the gas in ST after a WS run is: A) Unproven at best, and fabrication at worst, and B ) f***ing retarded. Stop it with the goddamn whining, no one wants to read it dude, seriously. You're just making it up as you go and don't have a clue.

 

********!!!!!!! Wake the hell up!!!! This is exactly what happened in 2009 and 2011 and to somewhat lesser extent in 2010 and 2012. We did the same thing then and we got off to s***** starts. Look it up and get your head out of the sand. If you don't want to hear me whine then don't read my posts, and keep in mind if you've been reading the game thread there are plenty of people here who are as pissed off as I am. I don't know what they have in the water where you live but to think that all is right with the team only tells me you haven't a f***ing clue about what's going on. To be precise.....we had a lousy ST. We are having a lousy start. We had a lousy ST in those aforementioned years and got off to other bad starts. Your brain can't be that scrambled that you can't see the relationship unless you're more f***ing retarded than previously thought to be.

[sk7326]

The thing that worries me about XB is that his defense hasn't impressed the least bit.

I can understand slumping at the plate and give him time with the bat but the defense should be there.

A lot of bounced throws to first base ( not just lastnight ).He also should have 4 errors but the scoring was generous on him on a few plays. He looks shaky fielding. Defensive statistics shows it too.

 

Defense was always the uphill battle with him - the assumption is that the bat would make it ok. It's work in progress.

[SoxSport]

The sample size is much too small to reach any conclusions. Anyways, there are people in the organization who are paid very well to identify any problems and correct them. The best thing they can do is ignore the media--which is paid to make instant judgments on everything.

 

Having said that, my own judgment (LOL) is they are getting injuries they have to deal with. Lots of injuries early could mean some of their regular players haven't gotten enough conditioning in Florida. It's easy to conclude that with all the PT the minor leaguers got who haven't a chance to make the team. They should change that next year.

 

Last year, they got off to a slow start, too. They lost two closers early. But they straightened out eventually to become the best team in baseball the 2nd half. It's a marathon, so you just have to ignore the early setbacks and the media which views every day as a season. X makes a bad throw, and the media yells Drew as if they were getting a commission from Boras. One conspiracy theory that is probably accurate. The guy is capable of it.

 

Cherington & Co have some work to do. Carp is showing his primary use should be Papi's backup at DH--which makes him eminently expendable. They have discovered two very good outfielders in Sizemore and JBJ. Combined with Vic, that's a good OF. Not sure who plays where, but they are the top three. Badensomething has disappointed--they should cut him, but he's got a 2 yr contract?, so they will suffer with him until he gets in shape.

 

A reminder that this team won the championship last year--and pretty easily. They have nothing to prove this year. A good time to let the kids develop and ignore the media. Luck is a big factor in winning, and lightening rarely strikes twice. Except for the Miami Heat--who have been damn lucky for several years James has stayed sound.

[sk7326]

********!!!!!!! Wake the hell up!!!! This is exactly what happened in 2009 and 2011 and to somewhat lesser extent in 2010 and 2012. We did the same thing then and we got off to s***** starts. Look it up and get your head out of the sand. If you don't want to hear me whine then don't read my posts, and keep in mind if you've been reading the game thread there are plenty of people here who are as pissed off as I am. I don't know what they have in the water where you live but to think that all is right with the team only tells me you haven't a f***ing clue about what's going on. To be precise.....we had a lousy ST. We are having a lousy start. We had a lousy ST in those aforementioned years and got off to other bad starts. Your brain can't be that scrambled that you can't see the relationship unless you're more f***ing retarded than previously thought to be.

 

They are struggling because of some injuries and because it's a 14 game sample. Schedule will get easier - and guys may or may not return. The latter is the key. All of the other hooey is just stuff to give fans something to talk about. The Sox had tons of guys hurt by the end of 2011 and all of 2012. They were very lucky last year on that front. So far, not so much.

[seabeachfred]

You are unbelievable. It's APRIL 15th. There are almost 150 games left in the baseball season. Calling someone a choker after slightly more than two weeks of the season is ridiculous.

 

For every season the Sox started slowly in the spring and the beginning of the season, I can pull up a season that they did well in spring and sucked to start the season, or one where they sucked in spring training and did well to start the season. And you know what? They didn't win the World Series in lots of those seasons. My memory is fine. I remember week or two week long periods in EVERY season since I joined this site where the Sox did poorly and everyone reacted like they had just executed all of the starters with machine-gun fire and replaced them with Special Olympians.

 

The Sox will pick up. Things are starting slow, but Victorino, Pedroia, and Middlebrooks will be back. The pitchers who are struggling will stabilize and they will not suffer from poor run support forever. The Sox will contend.

 

There is still snow piled in parking lots here in Connecticut, for christs sake. It's early. The sky is not falling, the Sox are just slumping. If this was happening in September, I would be concerned. I'm pretty sure it won't still be happening then.

 

That's yours and User's opinion but it is astounding that you and he can't see the lack of energy and even more lack of urgency in what we've been seeing so far. You say it will get better. It might....it did some of those other years only to collapse at the end. Opinions vary but when you get off to a slow start and rally you often extend so much energy that you're spent near the end of the season.....read 2009 and 2011 when we got off to similar pathetic starts. Just for the record, we have no speed, we're not hitting, we look flat. Am I suppose to believe you and your lodge brother or what I saw with my own eyes in Boston and have seen on the screen the past week. Kudos to you if you're right and I hope that's so, but I don't like what I'm seeing right now, and it was a question I asked about Bogaerts and not an accusation. IS IT POSSIBLE HE IS A CHOKER????? He has shown a serious inability to drive in runs and unlike some others I think RBI's and clutch hitting count for a lot. Well, let's see how the next week goes and whether there will be improvements or whether the excuses will keep flying out off the board. I'm now very concerned.