Referendum on John Farrell

[S5Dewey]

Because it's great strategy!

[Kimmi]

Looking at today's game in the 8th with substitute runner JBJ on first and no outs and Hill up with a 3 run lead, why not bunt? Seems like a 4th run would be extremely valuable. Instead of offering at a bunt, Hill takes 2 strikes and then hits into a double play. I realize it is a manager's choice, but given Hill's meager hitting, it would seem a smarter move.

 

IMO, rarely is it a good idea to bunt with a man on 1st. And by rarely, I mean almost never.

[Kimmi]

Pinch running for Young turned out to be a great move, BTW, knowing that JBJ would go to center and Benintendi would move to left. Does Young make that catch on the HR ball? Being a left-handed glove, probably not.

 

Good job Farrell.

[Behindenemylines]

I think the biggest issue with Farrell has been his use of the pen over the last few weeks. Tazawa is useless now and Abad has been very bad. A couple of the loses can go to Farrell continuing to use these two in high stress situations.

[Bellhorn04]

I think the biggest issue with Farrell has been his use of the pen over the last few weeks. Tazawa is useless now and Abad has been very bad. A couple of the loses can go to Farrell continuing to use these two in high stress situations.

 

Except those two are supposed to be late inning relievers. We just don't have any late inning relievers who haven't taken their lumps lately.

[Behindenemylines]

Except those two are supposed to be late inning relievers. We just don't have any late inning relievers who haven't taken their lumps lately.

 

These two look lost though. Tazawa might be out of gas, and Abad looks like a deer in headlights on the mound. How stressful where his days in Minnesota. Hopefully, he gets it straightened out because the Sox don't make the playoffs without help from the pen.

[illinoisredsox]

These two look lost though. Tazawa might be out of gas, and Abad looks like a deer in headlights on the mound. How stressful where his days in Minnesota. Hopefully, he gets it straightened out because the Sox don't make the playoffs without help from the pen.

 

I've described this pen a Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get.

[Spudboy]

If they don't know how to bunt, why would you make them?

 

Or, a team could prepare for such a contingency by teaching and practicing bunts.

 

As a rule I favor swinging away in most cases. But a well timed and well placed bunt can be a weapon too.

[Bellhorn04]

I've described this pen a Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get.

 

I've described it as playing Russian roulette with 4 bullets in the chambers.

[Spudboy]

The situations where bunting (as a sacrifice, not as an attempt to hit) and intentionally walking guys are way, way, way, WAY smaller than the world seems to think.

 

Maybe so but that does not mean that a team should not be prepared to bunt when the situation arises. Certainly a team with speed like the Sox could sneak a few in successfully.

[Behindenemylines]

I've described it as playing Russian roulette with 4 bullets in the chambers.

 

The problem is the Sox don't make playoffs if they don't keep better results from the pen.

[Spudboy]

I've described it as playing Russian roulette with 4 bullets in the chambers.

 

Your description is apt.

 

I think that this situation will calm down soon. Mostly because I suspect bullpen performance is cyclical. Or maybe I just hope so.

[a700hitter]

Don't agree with the word asinine, do agree it took me quite awhile to agree on Wright. "A few others" is in the eye of the beholder. You seem to think that the bullpen can do no wrong and that it's the manager who simply failed to use the right guys at the right time. I see a very inconsistent bullpen in addition to a manager with a wealth of information/stats, constant up close observation of his players/pitchers, and two good advisers--Lovullo and the pitching coach--with whom to consult well in advance of any pitching changes. Your rule seems to be, "if the Sox lost, it must be Farrell's fault." Mine is, "if the Sox lost, the players weren't hitting or the pitchers weren't pitching or errors were committed or 2 out of 3."

Max, please stop misstating my positions. If you are going to take issue with my positions, please get them right. I will defend my positions, but I get tired of pointing out that you don't understand what my positions are. First, I do not believe that the bullpen can do no wrong. I don't know where you get that. I am screaming out for bullpen help. However, when a pitcher is clearly cooked and is getting smacked around, it is time to go pick out one of the guys from the pen to try to stop the bleeding. Farrell gets paid a lot of money to figure out when his pitcher is done. In one of those games, Price got him to the 8th inning. Prce had done his job, and he lost it quickly and obviously. Farrell was positioned to go to his 2 horses in the pen for the 8th and 9th innings -- Ziegler and Kimbrel. He didn't have to go to the other bums.

 

Second, my "rule", as you state it, is not that it is Farrell's fault when we lose a game. My rule is that I point out when he makes a mistake imo. Sometimes we win those games despite his bad moves. Despite the fact that he has more data than any of us, incredibly he still makes some very low percentage calls. Stop saying that I blame all losses on the Farrell. That is not even close to true. If you want to say that I have a low regard for Farrell's intelligence, that would be accurate. The guy looks like he is all backed up when he tries to think. If you like and respect his intelligence, good for you, but I don't blame him for every loss. However, if we miss the playoffs or the Division title by a couple of games, he has certainly cost us that many games.

 

I normally accept all managerial in-game decisions but hold managers, Farrell included, accountable for overall wins and losses. On July 28 or August 12, I would have been fine with firing Farrell. But I honestly do not sweat the small stuff the way you do. As I recall, you also agonize over "miscalled" balls and strikes, whereas I firmly believe they do not prevent the better team that day from winning, nor do they prevent good pitchers from excelling and weak pitchers from failing.

I already corrected you on this. I do not and have not advocated for replacing umpires for calling balls and strikes, and I am not one who agonizes over ball and strike calls. The umpire's strike zone is something that both teams have to deal with. If the premises of your arguments continue to be wrong, it invalidates your opinions. It is getting to the point where I have to take all of your posts with a grain of salt, because of the frequent inaccuracies.

[a700hitter]

I've described this pen a Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get.

I use this one too. LOL!!

[Spudboy]

Excellent post.

[S5Dewey]

Pinch running for Young turned out to be a great move, BTW, knowing that JBJ would go to center and Benintendi would move to left. Does Young make that catch on the HR ball? Being a left-handed glove, probably not.

 

Good job Farrell.

 

I think you may be giving Farrell a little bit too much credit there.

[SoxnCycles]

I think you may be giving Farrell a little bit too much credit there.

 

Kimmi does what she can to balance the books around here.

[Slasher9]

i blame first place on JF

[mvp 78]

i blame first place on JF

 

Nope, can only blame the players.

[Slasher9]

Nope, can only blame the players.

fine. i blame first place on Panda.

[mvp 78]

fine. i blame first place on Panda.

 

Thanks based Panda. I can finally wear that Panda hat I bought!

[Kimmi]

Or, a team could prepare for such a contingency by teaching and practicing bunts.

 

As a rule I favor swinging away in most cases. But a well timed and well placed bunt can be a weapon too.

 

For the most part, I am not a fan of sac bunting, but it does have its place, as does bunting for a hit. You're right, it can be a valuable weapon and it should be taught and practiced.

 

And as was pointed out by another poster, pitchers should practice running the bases. These are basic skills that all baseball players should be able to do, IMO.

[Kimmi]

Excellent post.

 

Thank you.

[Kimmi]

I think you may be giving Farrell a little bit too much credit there.

 

LOL Perhaps.

 

I don't really give Farrell credit for anticipating that catch, but IMO, this is the type of thing that Farrell would be blamed for if things didn't go our way.

[Kimmi]

Kimmi does what she can to balance the books around here.

 

Exactly.

[oldtimer]

JF made the right pitching moves tonight and both starting and relief pitching came through. Pulling Buchholz against a tough lefty when he had around 95 pitches made sense, as did the shift to Ziegler and Kimbrel. Nice when it works.

 

Can't say much for the lineup tonight. Struck out a lot and little hitting with men on base. Only 5 hits and two of those to Beni. We won a close one and I hope the lineup comes through in the next game.

[a700hitter]

JF made the right pitching moves tonight and both starting and relief pitching came through. Pulling Buchholz against a tough lefty when he had around 95 pitches made sense, as did the shift to Ziegler and Kimbrel. Nice when it works.

 

Can't say much for the lineup tonight. Struck out a lot and little hitting with men on base. Only 5 hits and two of those to Beni. We won a close one and I hope the lineup comes through in the next game.

Farrell managed the starter and the pen very well tonight. Both neurons were firing tonight.

[oldtimer]

Farrell managed the starter and the pen very well tonight. Both neurons were firing tonight.

 

The one thing I wish JF would do more of is play some small ball when it is called for. Not often for this team, but we will need to win close games by manufacturing some runs should we make the playoffs. I advocated bunting in a situation a couple of nights ago. Last night I wondered why with all our team speed that we didn't attempt a steal to put a runner in scoring position. I can understand not doing it with Ortiz at bat (even though he hit into a double play once and stuck out and was called for interference for a second double play with men on base). We have Bogaerts, Betts, Bradley and Beni who have superior speed and we aren't using it very often. We will face increasingly tough pitching in the playoffs and have to avoid that big LOB statistic that we saw last night.

[sk7326]

The one thing I wish JF would do more of is play some small ball when it is called for. Not often for this team, but we will need to win close games by manufacturing some runs should we make the playoffs. I advocated bunting in a situation a couple of nights ago. Last night I wondered why with all our team speed that we didn't attempt a steal to put a runner in scoring position. I can understand not doing it with Ortiz at bat (even though he hit into a double play once and stuck out and was called for interference for a second double play with men on base). We have Bogaerts, Betts, Bradley and Beni who have superior speed and we aren't using it very often. We will face increasingly tough pitching in the playoffs and have to avoid that big LOB statistic that we saw last night.

 

Easier to let Ortiz, Betts or Pedroia do the manufacturing ... LOB correlates with teams that can hit

[User Name]

But there is truth to what he speaks. In certain situations, the impact of a single "manufactured" run on WPA is massive.