Who is the Biggest Problem Right Now?

[SoxHop]

I'm just frustrated with how the season is gone, and how bad the front office has handled the rotation. I really haven't been bitching lately, I just watch the games for laughs at this point and hope the offense continues progressing because the pitching sure isn't lol.

 

 

I've been bitching up a storm.......... and why the hell shouldn't I....... this season is a joke........ this team is a joke.......... the FO is a joke.......

 

Screw anyone that tells you that you are bitching too much......... another last place finish for the Sox........... we are a joke......

 

at this point it is clown town time...... it's past bitching...........

[a700hitter]

I've been bitching up a storm.......... and why the hell shouldn't I....... this season is a joke........ this team is a joke.......... the FO is a joke.......

 

Screw anyone that tells you that you are bitching too much......... another last place finish for the Sox........... we are a joke......

 

at this point it is clown town time...... it's past bitching...........

Clown Town Time. That about describes it. But it isn't intentional. That would be much worse. Edited August 17, 2015 by a700hitter

[a700hitter]

David Ortiz lobbied the Red Sox to go out and get slugger Nelson Cruz, but Boston didn’t make a play for him, WEEI’s John Tomase writes. “He was all in,” Cruz said. “Anytime we played, he reminded me that he wanted me here. It meant a lot. I’m a fan of him, and also a good friend. When a player like him, a future Hall of Famer, requests for you to play with him, it’s definitely something that grabs you.” The Red Sox might be in a different position today if they went out and got Cruz to play left field instead of Hanley Ramirez, Tomase writes. Ramirez got a four-year, $88MM deal from the Red Sox while Cruz signed for $57MM over four.

We could have had a real power hitting outfielder with $31 million left over to spend on pitching.

[reYoukilis]

We could have had a real power hitting outfielder with $31 million left over to spend on pitching.

Its a bummer. I was a proponent of him being in the Red Sox, watching him in Texas where I live. That steroid thing made him a bargain.

[a700hitter]

Its a bummer. I was a proponent of him being in the Red Sox, watching him in Texas where I live. That steroid thing made him a bargain.

 

And the Red Sox decided to be holier than thou and put together a white bread team devoid of controversy and way short on talent.

[a700hitter]

As of this morning the Red Sox offense is 3rd in on base percentage and runs scored. They remain dead last in ERA by a comfortable margin. Surprise surprise. What an enigma!

[Thunder]

As of this morning the Red Sox offense is 3rd in on base percentage and runs scored. They remain dead last in ERA by a comfortable margin. Surprise surprise. What an enigma!

 

What were the offensive rankings before the weekend series against Seattle? 45 runs in 3 games is pretty darn good.

[a700hitter]

What were the offensive rankings before the weekend series against Seattle? 45 runs in 3 games is pretty darn good.

Over the course of a season, that doesn't matter.

[Thunder]

Over the course of a season, that doesn't matter.

 

Very true. How naive of me.

[Kimmi]

We could have had a real power hitting outfielder with $31 million left over to spend on pitching.

 

If this had happened and Cruz fell apart, I can hear the criticism about why the FO would sign a known steroid user who was obviously only hitting well because he was on steroids. I know it's a hypothetical argument, but you know it's true. To some, the FO is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[Kimmi]

Very true. How naive of me.

 

Not naive of you. You have a valid point.

 

It's just like the putrid offense in May really hurt this team, regardless of the fact that they are hitting better now.

[a700hitter]

If this had happened and Cruz fell apart, I can hear the criticism about why the FO would sign a known steroid user who was obviously only hitting well because he was on steroids. I know it's a hypothetical argument, but you know it's true. To some, the FO is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Those "if this had gone, wrong people would have been mad" hypotheticals are childish arguments. What they did has gone wrong and we are hearing it. If it had gone right everything would be coming up roses. I prefer to deal with what is and not what hasn't been.

[Kimmi]

Those "if this had gone, wrong people would have been mad" hypotheticals are childish arguments. What they did has gone wrong and we are hearing it. If it had gone right everything would be coming up roses. I prefer to deal with what is and not what hasn't been.

 

Of course it's gone wrong. It's gone very wrong. Have I ever said otherwise? Your suggestion that we could have had Cruz and that he would have performed well with Boston is just as hypothetical. You are not dealing with what is, despite stating that that's what you prefer to deal with.

[a700hitter]

Not naive of you. You have a valid point.

 

It's just like the putrid offense in May really hurt this team, regardless of the fact that they are hitting better now.

If you are truly a devotee of statistics, the larger seasonal numbers tell the more accurate story of the team's season. To pick out a month of bad offense and conclude that it is the reason for the horrid season, is misleading cherrypicking. If our pitching was middle of the pack or better to go along with the #3 offense, you would have to dig deeper for an explanation and maybe the flat offense in May would be the answer, because top 3 offense and top half pitching finishing in last place would be an enigma. However, top 3 offense paired with dead last pitching fininshing in last place is no mystery. It means that the pitching sucks and needs a lot of improvement.

[a700hitter]

Of course it's gone wrong. It's gone very wrong. Have I ever said otherwise? Your suggestion that we could have had Cruz and that he would have performed well with Boston is just as hypothetical. You are not dealing with what is, despite stating that that's what you prefer to deal with.

I didn't say that he would have made the team better. That would have been a hypothetical. I said that Cruz wanted to come to Boston and that Ortiz recommended him to management and that he cost $30 million less than Hanley and he would not have had to change positions and that Boston made no attempt to kick the tires on him. None of that is hypothetical.

[Thunder]

Of course it's gone wrong. It's gone very wrong. Have I ever said otherwise? Your suggestion that we could have had Cruz and that he would have performed well with Boston is just as hypothetical. You are not dealing with what is, despite stating that that's what you prefer to deal with.

 

I agree. We have a track record of marquee free agent signings that pan out, like Crawford, Gonzalez, Drew, and so on. You could put Hanley, Porcello, Miley, and Sandoval in that list, but I won't, because it hasn't been enough time yet.

[SoxnCycles]

"We could have had a real power hitting outfielder with $31 million left over to spend on pitching."

 

Sounds like "better" to me.

[Thunder]

No matter how we look back at last winter, at least we can feel good going into this winter. His name eludes me at the moment, but the old Angels GM who was hired to come in to help Cherington devise an offseason plan seems to know his stuff. I'm very curious to see what kind of moves he tells Cherington to make. I still want to see Cherington let go, but this is a good consolation prize.

[sk7326]

No matter how we look back at last winter, at least we can feel good going into this winter. His name eludes me at the moment, but the old Angels GM who was hired to come in to help Cherington devise an offseason plan seems to know his stuff. I'm very curious to see what kind of moves he tells Cherington to make. I still want to see Cherington let go, but this is a good consolation prize.

 

I think DiPoto is in to do self scouting - give an independent assessment of the roster.

[Kimmi]

If you are truly a devotee of statistics, the larger seasonal numbers tell the more accurate story of the team's season. To pick out a month of bad offense and conclude that it is the reason for the horrid season, is misleading cherrypicking. If our pitching was middle of the pack or better to go along with the #3 offense, you would have to dig deeper for an explanation and maybe the flat offense in May would be the answer, because top 3 offense and top half pitching finishing in last place would be an enigma. However, top 3 offense paired with dead last pitching fininshing in last place is no mystery. It means that the pitching sucks and needs a lot of improvement.

 

First off, I have never said that May is the reason for the horrid season. Secondly, I have never said that the pitching doesn't need improvement.

 

If one is a true devotee of statistics, she knows that in order to truly understand the whole picture, she has to dig deeper into the stats than just looking at the overall season numbers. She knows that some outliers can skew the data, making the data misleading.

 

This is an extreme example, but let's say that over 30 games, the Sox scored 100 runs in 3 games, and 0 runs in 27 games, for a record of 3-27. Let's also say that the team ERA was 7.5 during those 30 games. Well since the offense averaged 10 runs/game during those 30 games, the 3-27 record must be the fault of the pitching, right?

 

I'm not saying that our pitching hasn't stunk. I only said Thunder has a valid point about the Sox scoring 45 runs this past weekend skewing the overall placement of the Sox being 3rd in runs scored.

[a700hitter]

First off, I have never said that May is the reason for the horrid season. Secondly, I have never said that the pitching doesn't need improvement.

 

If one is a true devotee of statistics, she knows that in order to truly understand the whole picture, she has to dig deeper into the stats than just looking at the overall season numbers. She knows that some outliers can skew the data, making the data misleading.

 

This is an extreme example, but let's say that over 30 games, the Sox scored 100 runs in 3 games, and 0 runs in 27 games, for a record of 3-27. Let's also say that the team ERA was 7.5 during those 30 games. Well since the offense averaged 10 runs/game during those 30 games, the 3-27 record must be the fault of the pitching, right?

 

I'm not saying that our pitching hasn't stunk. I only said Thunder has a valid point about the Sox scoring 45 runs this past weekend skewing the overall placement of the Sox being 3rd in runs scored.

So, you no longer maintain the position that our last place position is enigmatic?

 

BTW, you have stated that but for the poor offense in May, that the Red Sox would have been in first place at the All Star break.

Edited August 17, 2015 by a700hitter

[Kimmi]

I didn't say that he would have made the team better. That would have been a hypothetical. I said that Cruz wanted to come to Boston and that Ortiz recommended him to management and that he cost $30 million less than Hanley and he would not have had to change positions and that Boston made no attempt to kick the tires on him. None of that is hypothetical.

 

"We could have had a real power hitting outfielder"

 

Sounds kind of hypothetical to me.

[Kimmi]

So, you no longer maintain the position that our last place position is enigmatic?

 

It's very enigmatic.

 

The whole team stinks far worse than anyone expected. It's a huge enigma.

[a700hitter]

"We could have had a real power hitting outfielder"

 

Sounds kind of hypothetical to me.

He is a power hitter and he said that he wanted to play for us.

[a700hitter]

First off, I have never said that May is the reason for the horrid season. Secondly, I have never said that the pitching doesn't need improvement.

 

If one is a true devotee of statistics, she knows that in order to truly understand the whole picture, she has to dig deeper into the stats than just looking at the overall season numbers. She knows that some outliers can skew the data, making the data misleading.

 

This is an extreme example, but let's say that over 30 games, the Sox scored 100 runs in 3 games, and 0 runs in 27 games, for a record of 3-27. Let's also say that the team ERA was 7.5 during those 30 games. Well since the offense averaged 10 runs/game during those 30 games, the 3-27 record must be the fault of the pitching, right?

 

I'm not saying that our pitching hasn't stunk. I only said Thunder has a valid point about the Sox scoring 45 runs this past weekend skewing the overall placement of the Sox being 3rd in runs scored.

BTW, you have stated that but for the poor offense in May, that the Red Sox would have been in first place at the All Star break.

[a700hitter]

It's very enigmatic.

 

The whole team stinks far worse than anyone expected. It's a huge enigma.

The offense is #3 in the league. The pitching stinks. There is no enigma.

[Kimmi]

BTW, you have stated that but for the poor offense in May, that the Red Sox would have been in first place at the All Star break.

 

I have. And I still believe that. And at the ASB, the team was still very much in the race.

 

That's not to say that the pitching was great during the first half. It also says nothing about the slide that the team took after the ASB.

 

My statement that the team would have been in first place at the ASB if the offense hit in May is not the same thing as saying May is the reason for this horrid season.

[a700hitter]

Here is an inconvenient fact for those who thought that our current team ERA of 4.63 was completely unforeseeable. The combined ERA of Miley, Porcello, Buchholz, Kelly and Masterson in 2014 was 4.55. This year's 4.63 was probably within the margin of error.

 

It was not unforeseeable. It was in fact predictable.

[mvp 78]

The biggest problem right now is that they aren't tanking hard enough.

 

Also, JBJ, Mookie, Castillo, Xander, Shaw and Swihart should start 90% of the remaining games.

[Kimmi]

Here is an inconvenient fact for those who thought that our current team ERA of 4.63 was completely unforeseeable. The combined ERA of Miley, Porcello, Buchholz, Kelly and Masterson in 2014 was 4.55. This year's 4.63 was probably within the margin of error.

 

It was not unforeseeable. It was in fact predictable.

 

Without going into all the details again, here is another good example of the importance of digging deeper into stats to understand why it was reasonable to expect a better combined ERA from the starting five. Not great, mind you, but better.