Sox player of the month for April

[Maxbialystock]

I nominate Pedroia who was great in the field and at bat and played the game the way it's supposed to be played, which is a great example for the younger guys. I'm sure others have different ideas, which is fine.

[devildavid]

I have to go with Rick Porcello. He has been shockingly good. I have been critical of him and really had low expectations based on his track record. But he has been outstanding, performing above and beyond what I would have imagined.

[Bellhorn04]

Travis Shaw

[SoxnCycles]

It's always nice to have options.

[iortiz]

At Offense. I like Papi. Based on his wOBA & wRC+ he is the best hitter of the team (440, 190).

At the Rotation, Wright should be the one. He is our ace thus far LOL!. He is 1.37 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 0.4 fWAR.

At the BP I love what I have seen in Hembree. His numbers are just ridiculous. 0 ERA, 11 K/9, BB/9 1 HR/FB 0. Sure, He has not pitched much but his performance is encouraging and makes me think that he will continue just great.

[Jack Flap]

Papi, Shaw, Porcello, and Wright come to mind as worthy candidates.

 

Is there a way to make this a poll (maybe one for position players and one for pitchers)?

[Jasonbay44]

Porcello. I admittedly wasn't high on him when we got him, and nothing he did last year helped that, but where would this team be without him? Especially considering how bad everyone else in the rotation aside from Steve Wright has been.

[mvp 78]

1. Shaw

2. Porcello

3. Wright

[Youk Of The Nation]

Porcello. Maybe other guys could be argued as having a bigger impact (Ortiz, for example), but given what was expected of him, Porcello has blown everything away, and that deserves recognition.

[mvp 78]

Papi, Shaw, Porcello, and Wright come to mind as worthy candidates.

 

Is there a way to make this a poll (maybe one for position players and one for pitchers)?

 

I believe you have to set it as a poll right when you make the post?

[RiceLynnEvans]

Papi, Shaw, Pedy, Wright, Porcello, Hembree.....even JBJ or Holt - all worthy candidates, but I'm giving my vote to Hanley. All of Soxdom expected the worst, but his play at 1B has been excellent, and aside from some baserunning gaffes and a couple of moments of "Hanley being Hanley", he has been a very, very pleasant surprise. With the whole Pablo fiasco, we're lucky Hanley hasn't been basketcasing things.....another year of two sunk contracts would supersuck.

 

Plus, we haven't seen Hanley do what he does best....rake, rake, rake! As the weather warms, we should see Hanley heat up as well.

Edited May 3, 2016 by RiceLynnEvans

[sk7326]

One month of SOX fWAR

 

Bogaerts 1.2

Ortiz, Shaw, Pedroia 1.0

Bradley, Betts 0.5

Holt 0.3

Vasquez 0.2

Ramirez -0.2

 

PITCHERS

 

Price 0.9

Wright, Porcello, Hembree 0.4

Uehara 0.3

Tazawa 0.2

 

For me, pitching nominees are Porcello and Wright. Price's FIP is very favorable because of crazy high BABIP - but if there is a drop in velocity that persists, then the BABIP might be for real. Either way, I am more comfortable with the other two guys. I have to go with Wright, who has been a shade more consistent than Porcello.

 

Position player wise really a lot to choose from. You pick any of Bogaerts, Ortiz, Pedroia or Shaw and it is hard to disagree.

 

But I'd go with Bogaerts. Defense continues to improve, and he has upped the walk rate. There is some untapped power there - but even without it, he has been really really solid. It is easy to forget that he won't be 24 until October.

[a700hitter]

Shaw.

[Emp9]

We have a lot of players w/ good to great contributions, but I'd say Wright. He's got his work cut out for him tonight vs Quintana and some good bats.

[Kingface]

Porcello from the mound.......Papi at the plate.

[Kimmi]

It's always nice to have options.

 

It's really difficult to pinpoint one. As you say, we have many options.

 

If I had to choose one, it would be Pedroia. I could make a case for about 7-8 players though, even Vazquez, who doesn't have flashy numbers.

[User Name]

Vasquez.....he da real mvp.

[cp176]

Pedroia

[Spudboy]

Shaw and Wright.

 

Because not very many people had much confidence in them starting the season.

 

In fact, many people probably assumed that Wright was kept only because he was out of options.

 

And Shaw was seen as unproven even after his great 60 games last year.

[Maxbialystock]

Great responses because I agree there are several good choices. No need for a poll.

 

I was surprised at the number of pitcher picks--Porcello or Wright. But in a month when the rotation was so bad, we should applaud the two who were not. They were in fact badly needed.

 

I even like the Hanley pick. He wasn't that good at the plate, but his solid play at 1b and positive attitude were no doubt infectious.

[Slasher9]

Pitchers - Porcello

everyone else - HanRam. his defense has been (dare i say it) GG worthy. his offense approach is excellent. his baserunning is hustle. he runs hard out of the box everytime trying to pressure the defense.

[Kingface]

Pitchers - Porcello

everyone else - HanRam. his defense has been (dare i say it) GG worthy. his offense approach is excellent. his baserunning is hustle. he runs hard out of the box everytime trying to pressure the defense.

 

You may remember that on the BDC I was the biggest guy AGAINST Hanley going to 1B. I thought it was stupid to put the worst defensive player on the team at a position that handles the ball more than anybody other than Catcher..........

 

This is why I don't run a baseball team.........

[Spudboy]

You may remember that on the BDC I was the biggest guy AGAINST Hanley going to 1B. I thought it was stupid to put the worst defensive player on the team at a position that handles the ball more than anybody other than Catcher..........

 

This is why I don't run a baseball team.........

 

I had similar concerns about Hanley going to first. So you were hardly alone in your opinion.

 

Fortunately he has applied himself and as a result, he is making all the plays.

 

I'm glad that I was wrong. Now I am just waiting for it to warm up so he produces more with the bat.

 

I still see him as a premium hitter in MLB.

[Kingface]

I had similar concerns about Hanley going to first. So you were hardly alone in your opinion.

 

Fortunately he has applied himself and as a result, he is making all the plays.

 

I'm glad that I was wrong. Now I am just waiting for it to warm up so he produces more with the bat.

 

I still see him as a premium hitter in MLB.

 

Agree. He's been so solid that I think we have our full time 1B for the next few years. We have all been thinking that he would be the DH after this year......but I'd rather keep him at 1st! I'd rather do a revolving door DH for the the next few years and keep Hanley at 1B.....it's not as easy to find solid defensive 1basemans with a great bat!

 

HAPPY 100 POSTS TO ME!!!!!!!

[sk7326]

Pitchers - Porcello

everyone else - HanRam. his defense has been (dare i say it) GG worthy. his offense approach is excellent. his baserunning is hustle. he runs hard out of the box everytime trying to pressure the defense.

 

He has played well. GG is a bit much - really folks are just so happy he can walk and chew gum at the same time compared to last year that is makes him seem like 1982 Keith Hernandez out there.

[TheBabeStrikesBack]

I'd have to go with Allen Craig followed by Castillo and Price.

[Dojji]

Going with Shaw amid a wide field of candidates. My tiebreaker is... hmm, how shall I put this -- his excellent performance is highlighted in contrast to what we could have been stuck with. But for Shaw, 3B would have been a major problem position for us yet again, and instead he leads the team in bWAR and looks like he may be our 3B going forward.

[Spudboy]

I'd have to go with Allen Craig followed by Castillo and Price.

 

I'll give this a Lol.

[Spudboy]

Going with Shaw amid a wide field of candidates. My tiebreaker is... hmm, how shall I put this -- his excellent performance is highlighted in contrast to what we could have been stuck with. But for Shaw, 3B would have been a major problem position for us yet again, and instead he leads the team in bWAR and looks like he may be our 3B going forward.

 

Sound reasoning.

 

About him being the 3rd baseman going forward, I'm not so sure.

 

It's possible that he could be back at first next year if Hanley goes to DH. Who knows who will play 3rd next year? It's far from being determined.

 

But I am pleased with what Shaw has shown defensively at either position.

[Dojji]

I don't see a need to muck around with the 3B position if you have a guy there getting the job done.