2014 Offseason Thread

[Spudboy]

What do you have against Craig? You don't think he can rebound?

 

I have nothing against him other than his inability to hit last season.

 

I see him a excess baggage that could be used to better the team in trade.

[cp176]

I have nothing against him other than his inability to hit last season.

 

I see him a excess baggage that could be used to better the team in trade.

 

If Craig has a good spring and hits the way that he has in the past - no trade means that Nava is the one in trouble. Sorry

[Ogden]

How about the Yankees? They say they have some worries about the health of their rotation. Lee to the Bronx is not out of the realm of possibility for me since that team has been relatively quiet all off season.

 

 

Worries? They should be down right terrified. Their only problem in trying to bring somebody in on a trade is they have no minor league studs to trade.

[Ogden]

What do you have against Craig? You don't think he can rebound?

 

 

When Craig has been healthy, he has been a heck of a hitter. I don't see any reason to expect him to be the player he was last year. He's been a better hitter than Napoli when he hasn't been hurt.

[User Name]

When Craig has been healthy, he has been a heck of a hitter. I don't see any reason to expect him to be the player he was last year. He's been a better hitter than Napoli when he hasn't been hurt.

 

This is debatable, at best.

[Bellhorn04]

Napoli is an underrated offensive player. His career OPS of .850 is #22 among active players.

[SoxnCycles]

This is debatable, at best.

 

Better may not be the correct term.

How about more consistent?

When Napoli is on, he's a scary hitter, but he does have some pretty nasty slumps.

 

I'd like to see what Craig can do when fully healthy.

[Palodios]

Napoli is an underrated offensive player. His career OPS of .850 is #22 among active players.

 

He's also suffered some sleep apnea for most of his life. What do you think he can do when he gets a full nights sleep in an extremely protected lineup?

[Kimmi]

Napoli is an underrated offensive player. His career OPS of .850 is #22 among active players.

 

 

I don't think Napoli's offense is underrated, at least not by those who understand that his Ks are just not that big of a deal. I think Ogden is just trying to say that Craig can be that good, if he's healthy.

[sk7326]

Better may not be the correct term.

How about more consistent?

When Napoli is on, he's a scary hitter, but he does have some pretty nasty slumps.

 

I'd like to see what Craig can do when fully healthy.

 

Yes and no - he doesn't hit the baseball all that much, which makes him look worse than he is. But because of his style, he still gets on base at a decent clip even when he is not making contact regularly. Craig is definitely more "classic" in this sense.

[Spudboy]

I've never seen Graig hit. He was awful last year. He says his foot injury had nothing to do with it. Who knows?

 

It's funny. I read many people talking about three years of decline in offense for Pedroia ( all associated with significant injury ). Few expect Pedroia to ever be anywhere near what he has been at the plate ever again.

 

At the same time many people are expecting Craig to revert to form and be productive again.

 

I'm putting my money on Pedroia.

[a700hitter]

I've never seen Graig hit. He was awful last year. He says his foot injury had nothing to do with it. Who knows?

 

It's funny. I read many people talking about three years of decline in offense for Pedroia ( all associated with significant injury ). Few expect Pedroia to ever be anywhere near what he has been at the plate ever again.

 

At the same time many people are expecting Craig to revert to form and be productive again.

 

I'm putting my money on Pedroia.

Me too. Craig looked like he had been stuck blind last season. I don't know if hitters recover from a season like that.

[Spudboy]

Me too. Craig looked like he had been stuck blind last season. I don't know if hitters recover from a season like that.

 

Well if you watch Bradley and say that "he will never hit" then you have to conclude the same thing when watching Craig. Regardless of his record.

 

The guy was lost.

[a700hitter]

I don't think Napoli's offense is underrated, at least not by those who understand that his Ks are just not that big of a deal. I think Ogden is just trying to say that Craig can be that good, if he's healthy.

I hate k's with a man on 3rd with less than 2 out or a man on 2nd and no one out. Shorten up and put the ball in freakin play. It's part of the strategy of the game for goodness sakes. It drives me crazy, and it does matter, especially in the post steroid age. Scoring is down. There aren't many 40 HR guys like there were before. 25 HR guys who swing for the fences all the time and strike out 140 times annoy me.

[a700hitter]

Well if you watch Bradley and say that "he will never hit" then you have to conclude the same thing when watching Craig. Regardless of his record.

 

The guy was lost.

 

I read an article where the author researched how hitters do after disastrous seasons like Craig had. In a few rare instances the guy bounced back, but generally they were toast. Bradley probably has a better chance than Craig, because he is still learning. He could find something that will help him.

[Kimmi]

I've never seen Graig hit. He was awful last year. He says his foot injury had nothing to do with it. Who knows?

 

It's funny. I read many people talking about three years of decline in offense for Pedroia ( all associated with significant injury ). Few expect Pedroia to ever be anywhere near what he has been at the plate ever again.

 

At the same time many people are expecting Craig to revert to form and be productive again.

 

I'm putting my money on Pedroia.

 

 

As I've posted a couple of times, I would never bet against Pedroia.

 

As far as Craig is concerned, he might have said that his foot injury had nothing to do with it, but he is saying something different this spring. There is probably a degree of decline going on with Craig, but I'm hopeful that the bulk of his struggles last season were due to injury. He was also the victim of an unusually low BABIP for him, and that should normalize this year. There is reason to be hopeful.

[Kimmi]

Me too. Craig looked like he had been stuck blind last season. I don't know if hitters recover from a season like that.

 

 

I didn't watch him bat much when he was with the Cards, but I'm guessing that being traded to the Sox did nothing to help his already shattered confidence, which in turn, didn't help his performance for the short time he was with us.

[Kimmi]

I hate k's with a man on 3rd with less than 2 out or a man on 2nd and no one out. Shorten up and put the ball in freakin play. It's part of the strategy of the game for goodness sakes. It drives me crazy, and it does matter, especially in the post steroid age. Scoring is down. There aren't many 40 HR guys like there were before. 25 HR guys who swing for the fences all the time and strike out 140 times annoy me.

 

 

It's frustrating to watch a guy strike out in those situations, no doubt. However, all other things being equal, even counting for the times when a sac fly scores a run, a batter who makes an out by striking out is not hurting his team significantly more than a batter who makes an out putting the ball in play.

[SoxnCycles]

It's frustrating to watch a guy strike out in those situations, no doubt. However, all other things being equal, even counting for the times when a sac fly scores a run, a batter who makes an out by striking out is not hurting his team significantly more than a batter who makes an out putting the ball in play.

 

Yup.

That was one of the factors that killed the Sox chances last year, abysmal hitting with RISP.

Particularly with Pedrioa and Napoli.

K's with RISP are definitely frustrating, but an out is an out.

[a700hitter]

It's frustrating to watch a guy strike out in those situations, no doubt. However, all other things being equal, even counting for the times when a sac fly scores a run, a batter who makes an out by striking out is not hurting his team significantly more than a batter who makes an out putting the ball in play.

I am a proponent if micro strategy in games as opposed to placating myself with macro statistical results. You are free to have the other approach. Edited February 27, 2015 by a700hitter

[sk7326]

Yup.

That was one of the factors that killed the Sox chances last year, abysmal hitting with RISP.

Particularly with Pedrioa and Napoli.

K's with RISP are definitely frustrating, but an out is an out.

 

Definitely a lot of bad luck in the RISP situations.

 

Outs are the only measure of time in baseball - and the only thing you can't get back. The occasions where there are "good outs" are very very very scant. 8th inning or later, tied/down a run - a guy is already on base ... maybe

[cp176]

Yup.

That was one of the factors that killed the Sox chances last year, abysmal hitting with RISP.

Particularly with Pedrioa and Napoli.

K's with RISP are definitely frustrating, but an out is an out.

 

It's back to the past - Dave Kingman - a clout or an out. I still like to see the ball in play. Lots of things can go right from a hitter - baserunner perspective when contact is made.

[mvp 78]

A's claimed Alex Hassan off waivers!

 

That dude is being passed around like __________ at a party.

[SoxnCycles]

It's back to the past - Dave Kingman - a clout or an out. I still like to see the ball in play. Lots of things can go right from a hitter - baserunner perspective when contact is made.

 

If you're going to compare a .250 hitter to a .300 hitter, then sure, there will be more opportunities for 'things to go right'.

 

I'm sure Napoli would like to boost his BA some, but whether he Ks or grounds out to to second is inconsequential.

[User Name]

If you're going to compare a .250 hitter to a .300 hitter, then sure, there will be more opportunities for 'things to go right'.

 

I'm sure Napoli would like to boost his BA some, but whether he Ks or grounds out to to second is inconsequential.

 

Actually with men on base and less than two outs, a GO to second is way worse than a K.

[a700hitter]

I'm sure Napoli would like to boost his BA some, but whether he Ks or grounds out to to second is inconsequential.

Unless there is a man on second base with no one out.

[cp176]

Unless there is a man on second base with no one out.

 

I choose to take the path less travelled here - the second baseman might even boot the ball. I speak from experience.

[Kimmi]

I am a proponent if micro strategy in games as opposed to placating myself with macro statistical results. You are free to have the other approach.

 

Well, this is where your anecdotal evidence is going to get you into trouble. You are going to tend to remember the plays that support your point of view, and not think as much about the times when a batter hit into a rally-killing double play. Sure, there are going to be specific instances when a sac fly, or lack thereof, is the difference between winning or losing a game. But in the long run, the numbers say that a strike out is really not any worse than any other type of out.

[a700hitter]

Well, this is where your anecdotal evidence is going to get you into trouble. You are going to tend to remember the plays that support your point of view, and not think as much about the times when a batter hit into a rally-killing double play. Sure, there are going to be specific instances when a sac fly, or lack thereof, is the difference between winning or losing a game. But in the long run, the numbers say that a strike out is really not any worse than any other type of out.

I get that, but whenI am at the game at there is a man on 2nd or 3rd with no one out, I want the goundball to second not the k. At that point, the law of large numbers is meaningless to me. Edited February 27, 2015 by a700hitter

[Kimmi]

It's back to the past - Dave Kingman - a clout or an out. I still like to see the ball in play. Lots of things can go right from a hitter - baserunner perspective when contact is made.

 

 

The debate is not about putting the ball in play versus not putting it in play, but rather putting it into play for an out, even a productive out, versus striking out. There's essentially no difference. There are times when the batter is better off striking out.