2015 Red Sox In-Season Thread

[iortiz]

Another relevant number is the $20. mil or so difference in pay.

 

I have nothing against Middlebrooks and I hope he can have a career in MLB. His time was over in Boston.

 

So far Sandoval has not come anywhere close to earning his money. And we have 4 more years to go.

Well, not sure if somebody has of the recent signed/traded.

Edited June 11, 2015 by iortiz

[Spudboy]

Well, not sure if somebody has of the recent signed/traded.

 

Hannigan was on his way!!!!

[Kimmi]

I am not sure what point you are trying to make with this information by calling it a " double whammy". Are you making the point that his performance is not his fault or is it commentary on his inability to make adjustments. I'm not sure what you meant by this.

 

Whammy #1 - Napoli is getting more strikes called on him outside of the zone than most batters are.

 

Whammy #2 - Having to expand his strike zone takes him away from being the type of hitter that he is. He is known for being a patient hitter, having a good eye, and working the count. That's part of what makes him such a good hitter. When he has to swing at balls that are off the plate, that takes away from his strength.

[Kimmi]

My guess is that Henry and the rest of the FO are in shock at what they've seen. They made a lot of moves and spent a lot of money and almost all of it has backfired. At the moment they're not sure exactly what to do. But history tells us they won't just sit back and watch it for the next several months.

 

Of course they're in shock. We're all in shock. No one could have foreseen this offense being so bad. It really is an enigma.

[jacksonianmarch]

Kimmi, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Napoli has been awful and unlucky.

[Kimmi]

Kimmi, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Napoli has been awful and unlucky.

 

Speaking of unlucky, Speier had a good article about Ortiz today which addresses your question of whether he is done or not.

 

Here is the pertinent part of the article:

 

The fact that Ortiz ranks in the top 20 in Major League Baseball in exit velocity is intriguing, given that the other members of the group represent something of a who’s-who of the game’s top sluggers, with names like Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Donaldson near the top of the list. Meanwhile, lining up Ortiz’s statistics next to the other members of the MLB top 20 in exit velocity is something of an exercise in “one of these things is not like the other.”

 

 

No one else in the top-20 group is hitting below .240. Ortiz has a .297 OBP; the only two players with worse OBPs in the top-20 exit velocity group (Ryan Howard and Mark Trumbo) have drastically higher strikeout and lower walk rates than Ortiz. Of the group, Ortiz has a middle-of-the-pack walk rate – just over one walk per 10 plate appearances, ninth best in this group – that suggests solid if not elite pitch selectivity and the third-lowest strikeout rate of this group.

 

Ortiz has a .372 slugging percentage, last on the list by a lot. In fact, only one other player (whiff machine Jorge Soler of the Cubs, with a .403 slugging percentage) has a slugging mark under .450. If Soler made contact as often as Ortiz, his slugging percentage would be considerably higher.

 

There is the possibility that Ortiz has encountered a considerable run of bad luck. Even though he's hitting the ball hard, he has a career-worst .234 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), a mark that is well below his career-average BABIP of .300 and that ranks 19th in this group of 20 hitters.

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/06/11/david-ortiz-hammering-baseballs-why-slumping/HVG6xRDtLc9IAeNXJe1gZM/story.html

 

 

In short, the fact the he is struggling doesn't make any sense. I would go so far as to say it's an enigma.

[a700hitter]

Whammy #1 - Napoli is getting more strikes called on him outside of the zone than most batters are.

 

Whammy #2 - Having to expand his strike zone takes him away from being the type of hitter that he is. He is known for being a patient hitter, having a good eye, and working the count. That's part of what makes him such a good hitter. When he has to swing at balls that are off the plate, that takes away from his strength.

 

He has been declining for 2 seasons.

[wyo-sox]

The awful crash at the end of 2011, The 2012 last place team, the last place 2014 team, the embarrassing 2015 basement performance. .... 2013 was the enigma.

[Bellhorn04]

Or was 2013 an anomaly. You say enigma, I say anomaly.

[a700hitter]

Unearned run courtesy of Panda. His errors have directly cost us two games.

[wyo-sox]

Or was 2013 an anomaly. You say enigma, I say anomaly.

 

Not mutually exclusive, but anomaly would be the better word.

[wyo-sox]

I keep hearing how this generation of Red Sox fans is spoiled by all the recent success. I have enjoyed the World Championships immensely. Other than family events, I have had no bigger thrill than attending Game 6 in 2013. The real great powerhouse teams of 2003 to 2008 were a pleasure to watch, but the team has not been the same since those years. If we come in last place again to make it 3 out of 4 years, that will be a record for futility that I have not witnessed in my 50 years of rooting for the Sox. I never witnessed 2 last place finishes in 3 years. It is beyond belief to me to witness this.

 

Thank you!!! I've also heard about how we are spoiled... If someone has been watching the last 5 years and is still watching most of the Red Sox games, they are a die-hard fan...

[User Name]

No, Red Sox fans are entitled and spoiled, and have been ever since 2004. Don't excuse the general douchebaggery of certain Red Sox fans because of the current clusterf***.

[sk7326]

Thank you!!! I've also heard about how we are spoiled... If someone has been watching the last 5 years and is still watching most of the Red Sox games, they are a die-hard fan...

 

That's because it's true.

 

If you look at the 5 seasons:

 

2010: One of their proudest non-title seasons. Playoff spot alive with last weekend despite serious horrendous injury problems.

2011: A heartbreaking collapse, which missed the playoffs by one game. It was a 90 win season. Most teams that year did not win 90 games.

2012: This sucked a lot

2013: This was pretty good

2014: This sucked a lot when Lester wasn't pitching

2015: This has been annoying so far, no doubt, but nothing has really been decided one way or the other

 

This was not perfect, but I suspect a lot of teams would take it.

[User Name]

And of course, 2004 and 2007 after 86 years of futility.

[mvp 78]

It is my BIRTHRIGHT as a Sox fan since 2003 to complain about everything and demand World Series wins!!!

[a700hitter]

No rumored moves by the Sox today. Another game will come off the schedule-- approaching irrelevance at an accelerated rate. We will continue to do battle with pitchers with 5 plus ERA s supported by a lineup that can't score runs. Even if the hitting comes to life, which I think it will, the poor pitching will be too much to overcome.

[a700hitter]

The news today is that Victorino is getting closer to a rehab assignment, which sadly only means that he is that much closer to another DL stint.

[Bellhorn04]

No rumored moves by the Sox today. Another game will come off the schedule-- approaching irrelevance at an accelerated rate. We will continue to do battle with pitchers with 5 plus ERA s supported by a lineup that can't score runs. Even if the hitting comes to life, which I think it will, the poor pitching will be too much to overcome.

 

Moves? Like what - trading our whole team for the Cardinals whole team LOL?

 

This season is screwed unless the players we have now somehow turn it around.

 

So yeah, this season is probably screwed. We'll be sellers again. Wait till next year!

[a700hitter]

Moves? Like what - trading our whole team for the Cardinals whole team LOL?

 

This season is screwed unless the players we have now somehow turn it around.

 

So yeah, this season is probably screwed. We'll be sellers again. Wait till next year!

I don't think it is hopeless, unless they decide to do nothing and give up. We are not that far off from the pack and the strategy was to hang with the pack until reinforcements were needed. They are needed. They sould execute their strategy. Otherwise, their strategy going in was just BS and there was no intent to address issues (other than minor tweaking, i.e., d'Aza). Issues need to be addressed when you are behind, not when you are in first place.

[sk7326]

No rumored moves by the Sox today. Another game will come off the schedule-- approaching irrelevance at an accelerated rate. We will continue to do battle with pitchers with 5 plus ERA s supported by a lineup that can't score runs. Even if the hitting comes to life, which I think it will, the poor pitching will be too much to overcome.

 

23rd out of 30 in fWAR for the season for pitching ... on the bright side, 5th of 30 teams in June and 15th of 30 teams in the last month. Even the fielding has perked up a little. It has been the mystifying inability to score which has been the real bane here. I will not let management off the hook (buck stops there of course) but there was little of the hitting which a sane person could have predicted in February.

[a700hitter]

23rd out of 30 in fWAR for the season for pitching ... on the bright side, 5th of 30 teams in June and 15th of 30 teams in the last month. Even the fielding has perked up a little. It has been the mystifying inability to score which has been the real bane here. I will not let management off the hook (buck stops there of course) but there was little of the hitting which a sane person could have predicted in February.

Whether or not it is their fault is for the post-mortems. They should attempt to fix this instead of just throwing in the towel and riding what we have. Standing pat doesn't seem like a very hopeful option.

[VA Sox Fan]

The news today is that Victorino is getting closer to a rehab assignment, which sadly only means that he is that much closer to another DL stint.

 

Ha ha ha!!

[Bellhorn04]

Whether or not it is their fault is for the post-mortems. They should attempt to fix this instead of just throwing in the towel and riding what we have. Standing pat doesn't seem like a very hopeful option.

 

How can they fix the offense, that's the $184 million question.

[a700hitter]

How can they fix the offense, that's the $184 million question.

I don't think the offense needs a total revamp. Some of these guys will get hot. Pedey is red hot. XB has gotten very hot and consistent. I expect Mookie's hits will start falling. If Ortiz still has his bat speed as I have been reading, he should start putting more balls in the seats. It will not take much to get the offense going. A key hit here and there and the run production will increase. Maybe they get a backup catcher to upgrade Leon's offense. When is Hannigan due back? Maybe they get someone to platoon with Napoli or play 1B full time if Naps continues hitting at the Mendoza line. Everyone is so negative about the offense improving, but that can change rather quickly.

[Bellhorn04]

If the offense does get it going and we stay in the race, the Sox might trade for Cueto. But the Reds aren't expected to make him available until after the All-Star Game. So that's a month to see what's what.

[gojohn99]

Right - Sandoval was signed for a boatload of money, and Middlebrooks was given away. I don't disagree, just found it interesting that we could have saved $95 million and gotten the same production from WMB.

 

Another relevant number is the $20. mil or so difference in pay.

 

I have nothing against Middlebrooks and I hope he can have a career in MLB. His time was over in Boston.

 

So far Sandoval has not come anywhere close to earning his money. And we have 4 more years to go.

[SoxnCycles]

So, we're counting the days until a change is made and every day is another day closer to elimination...

 

But, we can wait for the offense to come around.

 

What?

[gojohn99]

I just love a Facebook post I saw yesterday that said fix the Sox by trading Craig and Victorino. For what exactly, a box of balls?

 

How can they fix the offense, that's the $184 million question.

[a700hitter]

I just love a Facebook post I saw yesterday that said fix the Sox by trading Craig and Victorino. For what exactly, a box of balls?

Throw in Masterson and get a second box of balls.