Spring training

[User Name]

Well I'm thinking that's a possibility CP, but we may also wind up needing a left fielder depending on what we get from the utter wildcard that is Rusney Castillo

 

LF is a hell of a lot easier to fill through any avenue than 2B/3B.

[Dojji]

That's true, but if the bat is adequate there, it might be a way to get into the lineup, in which case I'd expect the team to be willing to explore that kind of option before going outside to look for LF talent.

[User Name]

That is, of course, provided Rusney really sucks.

[Dojji]

i think we can't count on Rusney until he proves he can be counted on. The burden of proof is on Castillo right now.

[User Name]

But we can't count him out either until he proves he's absolutely not an MLB talent. Goes both ways. Same for JBJ (offensively) honestly.

[mvp 78]

Yeah, he's come a long way since those 23 errors he made in 71 games last year in A ball...

 

So not too far off of Pedroia's 15 errors in 84 games in his first pro season ( that coming from a guy who won defensive awards in college).

[mvp 78]

Porcello ("got my ass handed to me") and Elias (5 ER) both pitched like dogshit today.

[cp176]

Porcello ("got my ass handed to me") and Elias (5 ER) both pitched like dogshit today.

 

saw that - sucked

[jung]

Castillo is swinging early in counts this spring to avoid his death pitch...the late count breaking ball. But real MLB pitching won't let him get away with that. In fact he did that in the regular season last year and they didn't let him get away with it then either. I think JBJ is set up to finally get to that .250 mark we have been setting for him but that won't do much to help this team score enough runs to matter which is what the Hanley, Pablo, JBJ Castillo, Ortiz on his victory lap lineup will struggle to do.

 

Hanley caught a pop up on Saturday but he was late getting there and it was not much of a pop up at all. They need to just drop Pablo off the back of the barge...just forget about him before he starts to pack on his in season pounds. If they can rotate Shaw, Holt at 3rd and Shaw, Hanley at 1st AND can convince Hanley to hit the way DD wants him to hit they have a shot at being a decent run scoring lineup. Hanley is simply not smart enough to try to be a power hitter without making himself too vulnerable. Hanley is like a 2 year old with a new toy. Ortiz is smart enough and I think the Sox will depend on him for power and to some extent depend on Shaw.

 

Eddie's set back just goes to point out how thin we really are in starting pitching. Owens is a joke...Johnson has not returned from injury. Owens.....a control pitcher has such poor control that he throws it and looks like a bowler hoping his roll is going to hook back into the pocket instead of going in the gutter. Most ridiculous post throw pose by a pitcher I have ever seen. So far it is looking like Price and pray for rain. Wright will likely get the call while Eddie is out....hopefully for a very short time. Porcello is again having trouble throwing his sinker and if that follows him into the regular season.........yuk!

[User Name]

Oh, jung is making stuff up. What are the odds?

[Kimmi]

Porcello ("got my ass handed to me") and Elias (5 ER) both pitched like dogshit today.

 

On a bright note, Craig had 2 hits today!

[cp176]

Castillo gets a chance! he is hitting the ball. If he stays healthy, we should get a chance this year to see if he can play or not.

[jung]

Of course Castillo gets a chance what the hell else are they going to do with him at $11m per

[Dojji]

[Bellhorn04]

So not too far off of Pedroia's 15 errors in 84 games in his first pro season ( that coming from a guy who won defensive awards in college).

 

What year did Pedroia have 15 errors?

[mvp 78]

What year did Pedroia have 15 errors?

 

His first season in the minors.

[Spudboy]

On a bright note, Craig had 2 hits today!

 

Yeah. He needs to get a s*** ton more hits.

[gojohn99]

Yes 8 ER in 3 innings for Porcello... ouch

 

Porcello ("got my ass handed to me") and Elias (5 ER) both pitched like dogshit today.

[Spudboy]

Yes 8 ER in 3 innings for Porcello... ouch

 

I saw it. Yes, overall, he was not effective. But he also suffered some bad luck. He kept the ball on the ground a lot but several soft hit grounders got through producing runs.

[cp176]

Of course Castillo gets a chance what the hell else are they going to do with him at $11m per

 

Put him in a basket with tubby and send them off on a salty cruise? What's a little do, re, me to the boys with the bottomless budget.

[User Name]

In what basket would Pablo fit though? It'd be more like a crate.

[jung]

Porcello was up in the zone today and his sinker, the most important pitch he throws was not working for him today. That is really the only thing to be concerned about. While there were a couple of balls that were of the seeing eye variety in the man he got clobbered...deep balls, against the wall or over it in one case. That was a nastier stretch than you would want especially against the Rays. But it all really revolves around his sinker. It either works or it doesn't.

[Spudboy]

In what basket would Pablo fit though? It'd be more like a crate.

 

He'd likely capsize a container ship.

[a700hitter]

He'd likely capsize a container ship.

If nothing else, Pablo is a fertile source of funny jokes.

[SoxHop]

Oh man..... Porcello......... come on.... WTH???

[jung]

At least Porcello's issue is pretty much there to see. His sinker has been going to hell in a hand basket and it has been now for more than just his time here. If you look at his numbers....he has been throwing it less and less since I think as early as 2011. It has been very gradual till the last couple of years. But he really has been cutting back on it and there are has been more instances, more stretches during a season when he throws it in some cases not at all.

 

He really has no replacement for his sinker. Last year when he could not or would not throw it, he threw mainly a FB as a replacement and he threw more curves. He does not have a great curve. But his standard FB is just meat...especially if hitters know with a high degree of confidence that it is coming. Then also, when his sinker is not working and he still tries to throw it, it is also pretty much meat.

 

So I would not be that worried were this not a trend that now goes back to 2011 of fewer sinkers being thrown and less effective sinkers being thrown. I can only hope that as he did for at least a time last year, he finds his sinker again. Because he just does not really have a replacement for it and he is so hittable when he is throwing too many FB's and an ineffective sinker.

Edited March 14, 2016 by jung

[User Name]

Rick Porcello sinker usage by season:

 

2009: 77%

2010: 70%

2011: 65%

2012: 67%

2013: 61%

2014: 57%

2015: 66%

 

In 2014, his best year in MLB, he threw the least sinkers of his entire MLB career. Last year he was actually more sinker-reliant than any year in the last three seasons. Also, Porcello's main problem last year was a change in pitching philosophy and sequencing (why change what worked?). Last but not least, per pitch value, Porcello's sinker has been a plus pitch for the last three years (with 2015 being the worst of course). But yet again, this is another instance where jung doesn't take the thirty seconds needed to actually check numbers, and spouts a bunch of made-up crap. Par for the course.

[User Name]

Also, to further the point that Porcello's problem was mostly sequencing, he generated the lowest GB% of his career, gave up the most homers by both numbers and rate of his career, but also generated the most strikeouts while providing negative value on all three of his secondary pitches. None of that had ever happened in Porcello's career. A quick glance at his pitch locations for the last couple years also shows no huge differences in the place he located his GB-inducing pitches.

[cp176]

At least Porcello's issue is pretty much there to see. His sinker has been going to hell in a hand basket and it has been now for more than just his time here. If you look at his numbers....he has been throwing it less and less since I think as early as 2011. It has been very gradual till the last couple of years. But he really has been cutting back on it and there are has been more instances, more stretches during a season when he throws it in some cases not at all.

 

He really has no replacement for his sinker. Last year when he could not or would not throw it, he threw mainly a FB as a replacement and he threw more curves. He does not have a great curve. But his standard FB is just meat...especially if hitters know with a high degree of confidence that it is coming. Then also, when his sinker is not working and he still tries to throw it, it is also pretty much meat.

 

So I would not be that worried were this not a trend that now goes back to 2011 of fewer sinkers being thrown and less effective sinkers being thrown. I can only hope that as he did for at least a time last year, he finds his sinker again. Because he just does not really have a replacement for it and he is so hittable when he is throwing too many FB's and an ineffective sinker.

 

Old Schoolers see it this way - We all know that it is just a meaningless spring training game - yada-yada-yada. the simple fact remains is that a guy we are counting on to be a mainstay in our rotation for years to come just got the crap kicked out of him by a bunch of guys who aren't supposed to hit. Unless Porcello has virtually no personal pride, which I doubt very much, at some point or another, he will actually have to start getting people out. When you look at our potential rotation after Price without Rodriguez, if it doesn't ring a small alarm even now, you must be a flat liner. Big question might be is how patient DD will be before he decides to make a big move that is going to get everybody talking?

[User Name]

It would be more worrisome if it was actually true (the trend I mean).