Red Sox Offense 2016

[Kimmi]

The whole lefty-righty thing is over-rated.

I can see not messing with the top 4, but I still like this line-up best:

1) Betts

2) Bogey

3) Papi

4) Pedey

5) JBJ

6) HanRam

7) Shaw(1B) /Young (LF)

8) Swihart (LF)/Shaw (1B)

9) Vazquez/Hanigan/Swihart ©

 

The whole lefty/righty thing might be overrated, but it is less overrated than the impact of making subtle changes to the lineup like switching the spots of 2 batters.

[Kimmi]

I hope Shaw gets out of his funk, he was starting to turn me into a believer. Although I always saw some type of regression coming I was hoping he wouldn't turn back into a pumpkin.

 

Still, I will practice the same patience I show with everyone. He deserves an earned time, even the best players in the league slump.

 

But over the last month he is hitting .191/.232/.319

 

Just as he is not as good as he was hitting in April, he is not as bad as he has been over the last month or so. His BABIP has gone from one extreme to the other. He will bounce back to a level somewhere in between.

[Kimmi]

His numbers are skewed because of the last two weeks where he's hitting 137/200/196. He's pulled out of slumps before and this isn't really unexpected. I like Shaw, but don't see him as an irreplaceable guy. To me, he's a spot holder until one of the younger IFers is ready. A good comp for him would be Brian Daubach.

 

Or until Pablo comes back.

[moonslav59]

The whole lefty/righty thing might be overrated, but it is less overrated than the impact of making subtle changes to the lineup like switching the spots of 2 batters.

 

I'd be very happy with the subtle change of moving JBJ to 5th.

If HanRam gets hot or JBJ slumps, then make another subtle adjustment.

[a700hitter]

or until pablo comes back.

lol!

[mvp 78]

Or until Pablo comes back.

 

:( :(

[Jasonbay44]

I can't wait for Pablo to come back! He can do what Shaw does, except worse, fatter and for 20x the money!

[moonslav59]

I can't wait for Pablo to come back! He can do what Shaw does, except worse, fatter and for 20x the money!

 

Yeah, I doubt Pablo could match Shaw's .551 OPS over the last 28 days

[User Name]

Well he couldn't right now, what with the bum shoulder and all.

[Jasonbay44]

Yeah, I doubt Pablo could match Shaw's .551 OPS over the last 28 days

 

Yeah hopefully Pablo can match last years .658 OPS season with a -0.9 WAR and awful defense. It would surely be welcomed back and would be fun to watch again. or maybe he can play 2 games, break his belt, throw a ball in the crowd and suffer a season ending injury like this year. He's been a real blessing to watch. At least it's all for the cheap price of $19 million!

[moonslav59]

I was joking. I meant to put this...

 

 

not this

 

[Jasonbay44]

All good - I was hoping there wasn't anymore Sandoval supporters, even with Shaws horrible slump he's still been way better than Pablo was last year.

[moonslav59]

All good - I was hoping there wasn't anymore Sandoval supporters, even with Shaws horrible slump he's still been way better than Pablo was last year.

 

No doubt.

 

Let's hope this is just a slump for Shaw.

[devildavid]

The whole lefty/righty thing might be overrated, but it is less overrated than the impact of making subtle changes to the lineup like switching the spots of 2 batters.

 

If the changes are to give better hitters more plate appearances, I think it is worth doing.

[moonslav59]

Agreed, but it's also about getting JBJ closer to the guys who get on base more often.

[mvp 78]

@peteabe Hanley's last two weeks

.413/.526/.761 with 10 BB, 8 K, 7 2B, 3 HR

[Bellhorn04]

@peteabe Hanley's last two weeks

.413/.526/.761 with 10 BB, 8 K, 7 2B, 3 HR

 

Maybe it was an OK idea to leave him in the 5 spot?

[mvp 78]

Maybe it was an OK idea to leave him in the 5 spot?

 

Maybe!

[Jasonbay44]

Maybe it was an OK idea to leave him in the 5 spot?

 

Nah, he needs to hit 8th and Mookie 9th. I don't get why either of them hit so high in the order.

[mvp 78]

@redsoxstats Last year Bogaerts had a .372 BABIP and .326 expected BABIP. Most expected that to be more aligned in 2016.

So far: .376 BABIP, .291 xBABIP

[Jack Flap]

Wasn't sure where else to put this, but here's Mookie on why he declined MLB's invitation to participate in the Home Run Derby:

fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2016/07/08/mlb-asked-mookie-betts-to-participate-in-home-run-derby-but-he-politely-declined/

 

“I don’t know why the ball goes over the fence, but it does. How? Why? I have no idea how it does, but for me to go out there and try and do it on purpose I would mess myself up.”

 

...

 

“I can’t hit home runs with those guys,” Betts said. “That’s like me going up in a Home Run Derby against Hanley and David. I can’t. That would be a complete waste of time and I don’t want to try and change my swing because I feel like I have more of a line-drive swing and not a 15-home run swing.

 

“I’ll say it over and over again. I have no idea how or why it goes over the fence, but whatever. I won’t ask any questions.”

 

 

Smart kid.

[Kimmi]

Gotta love Mookie.

 

I'm glad he declined the invitation.

[oldtimer]

Last night brought up a question about how the Red Sox approach to hitting works when facing a team with a very strong bull pen but weaker starting pitchers. The Red Sox often take the first pitch even if it is grooved down the middle. That seemed to be the case last night again. The approach is good at accumulating a lot of pitches(work) for the starter, but with the Yankees the bullpen is very strong. Also Tanaka was good when he got ahead of batters, mixing splitters and getting low strikes. Maybe Betts and Shaw in particular would have been better served to swing at the first pitch at least once in a while to avoid getting into a pitchers count.

 

Another not is that Hanley looks kind of pathetic at the bat and needs to get back on track soon or the offense will take a significant hit. A middle of the lineup guy has to do more that wave at pitches outside of the strike zone.

[SoxnCycles]

Last night brought up a question about how the Red Sox approach to hitting works when facing a team with a very strong bull pen but weaker starting pitchers. The Red Sox often take the first pitch even if it is grooved down the middle. That seemed to be the case last night again. The approach is good at accumulating a lot of pitches(work) for the starter, but with the Yankees the bullpen is very strong. Also Tanaka was good when he got ahead of batters, mixing splitters and getting low strikes. Maybe Betts and Shaw in particular would have been better served to swing at the first pitch at least once in a while to avoid getting into a pitchers count.

 

Another not is that Hanley looks kind of pathetic at the bat and needs to get back on track soon or the offense will take a significant hit. A middle of the lineup guy has to do more that wave at pitches outside of the strike zone.

 

Yup, I was thinking the same thing.

They didn't have a very good approach at the plate last night.

They'd get behind in the count and end up swinging at a slider or splitter out of the zone.

A frustrating game to watch. They should've been a little more agressve.

[mvp 78]

Yup, I was thinking the same thing.

They didn't have a very good approach at the plate last night.

They'd get behind in the count and end up swinging at a slider or splitter out of the zone.

A frustrating game to watch. They should've been a little more agressve.

 

It's pretty annoying when Papi and Pedroia barely even get into a stance on the first pitch.

[S5Dewey]

Last night brought up a question about how the Red Sox approach to hitting works when facing a team with a very strong bull pen but weaker starting pitchers. The Red Sox often take the first pitch even if it is grooved down the middle. That seemed to be the case last night again. The approach is good at accumulating a lot of pitches(work) for the starter, but with the Yankees the bullpen is very strong. Also Tanaka was good when he got ahead of batters, mixing splitters and getting low strikes. Maybe Betts and Shaw in particular would have been better served to swing at the first pitch at least once in a while to avoid getting into a pitchers count.

 

Another not is that Hanley looks kind of pathetic at the bat and needs to get back on track soon or the offense will take a significant hit. A middle of the lineup guy has to do more that wave at pitches outside of the strike zone.

 

Yep. I hadn't thought about it in that context but you're right. Running up the pitch count is actually counterproductive when the guys who are going to be replacing the starter are harder to hit than the starter! This is a strategy that could really backfire in the playoffs when we're not facing a team's #4 or #5'.

 

Of course the good news is that the team the Sox played last night most likely aren't going to make the playoffs.

 

And a slight continuation here...

It has occurred to me that the Y's may be the one team you don't want to face in a one-game playoff because they can do exactly what they did last night. Get 6 good innings out of their ace and then and finish the game with their three relievers. In that scenario they may be close to unbeatable. But in a 3, 5, or 7 game series they're very vulnerable.

[mvp 78]

I don't see the Yankees getting far enough above .500 to be a Wild Card factor.

[S5Dewey]

I don't see the Yankees getting far enough above .500 to be a Wild Card factor.

 

Ya. I agree with that. The past paragraph of my post was more of a 'sidebar' comment. In addition, since the WC game comes on the day after the last regular season game the Y's would have to be uncannily lucky to have it be in Tanaka's spot in the rotation and with full rest. No - or at least very few - worries.

[User Name]

The Red Sox lead the majors in most offensive categories, but they should change their approach because Tanaka had a hellacious split last night? Are y'all serious?

[mvp 78]

The Red Sox lead the majors in most offensive categories, but they should change their approach because Tanaka had a hellacious split last night? Are y'all serious?

 

They shouldn't change their approach, but maybe they should at least pretend that there's a chance they would swing at the first pitch.