8/14 even more Dbags!

[Bellhorn04]

I agree with taking Porcello out after 7 innings and only 80 pitches, but Farrell demonstrates such consistency in his managing.

 

Consistency is a hobgoblin.

 

But seriously, as Kimmi noted on the other thread, Farrell did have more reason to conserve the pen Friday with Buchholz starting Saturday .

[Slasher9]

some quick observations from at game Sunday:

-It was HOT. Humid, Hot, Sticky, Sweaty. everyone drank alot.

-in between innings they would douse the homeplate umpire with ice/water/cooling towels. he earned his pay yesterday for sure.

- pedey swung at a first pitch! but unfortunately it was a rocket that the CF tracked down for a flyout. and knowing how superstitious ballplayers are we may not see him swing at another first pitch the rest of the year.

- the diving stop pedroia made on defense in a game we were up 16-1 should force mvp to remove "trade pedroia" from his sig. seriously.

- benintendi passed the eye test. his swing looks great. i forget if it was his 2nd or 3rd AB but it was vs Lefty and all he got was curveball after curveball. he ended up getting a baseknock to LF with 2 strikes. no way i platoon this guy right now even if young is healthy.

- Porc looked GREAT. easy motion. got the ball and threw it. didnt let the big lead change his focus. shook off the early HR and just kept throwing strikes. i cant recall him walking anyone? he's my starter in a 1 game playoff. no hesitation.

- Win. Dance, Repeat. is extra fun live and in person.

- Mookie. it might be time for some "MVP" chants?

- Fenway Park. i still get goosebumps walking up the ramp and seeing the green grass and the green wall. we got there early so i took Manny to the red seat to get an idea just how far Ted hit that ball. when you are sitting there it is mind boggling how far homeplate is.

[Kimmi]

Yay, more sarcastic comments defending Farrell. Lets all take a moment to appreciate how good Farrell is at his job. Maybe today Ortiz can be on 3rd and he can pinch run for him with Craig Kimbrel!

 

I really don't get all the criticism of the move of having Wright run for Papi. The fact that Wright got hurt is a fluke, not to be blamed on Farrell.

 

Papi cannot run. He is in serious pain. Even if Wright was not much faster than Papi, Papi needed to be taken out to help preserve him for the remainder of the season. The decision to take Papi out was the right one.

 

As far as using someone else besides Wright, the options were very limited. The remaining position players or any of the relievers would have been poor choices. That leaves one of the starters. It's a coin toss, really, as to which starter to use.

[Kimmi]

Counting today...

4 cities in 5 days.

3 flights in 4 days.

 

Tough way to start an 11 day road trip!

 

The rainout in Cleveland to start the season is really coming back to haunt us. We could have really used the off day, not to mention the reduced travel if we didn't have to go to Cleveland for one game.

 

Thank goodness we finished off the homestand so strong. Hopefully the momentum and the hot bats carry into the road trip.

[Kimmi]

I was at the game today. I change my mind Mookie should never never leave the third spot. He's a great player. Those balls where hammered. The outs he makes are stung as well.

 

Nice at the game mojo by both you and Slasher. I'm glad you all had an enjoyable game to watch.

 

To be honest, I was getting a little bored by the game. That said, after all the tense games we've played recently, boring was a welcome change.

[a700hitter]

some quick observations from at game Sunday:

-It was HOT. Humid, Hot, Sticky, Sweaty. everyone drank alot.

-in between innings they would douse the homeplate umpire with ice/water/cooling towels. he earned his pay yesterday for sure.

- pedey swung at a first pitch! but unfortunately it was a rocket that the CF tracked down for a flyout. and knowing how superstitious ballplayers are we may not see him swing at another first pitch the rest of the year.

- the diving stop pedroia made on defense in a game we were up 16-1 should force mvp to remove "trade pedroia" from his sig. seriously.

- benintendi passed the eye test. his swing looks great. i forget if it was his 2nd or 3rd AB but it was vs Lefty and all he got was curveball after curveball. he ended up getting a baseknock to LF with 2 strikes. no way i platoon this guy right now even if young is healthy.

- Porc looked GREAT. easy motion. got the ball and threw it. didnt let the big lead change his focus. shook off the early HR and just kept throwing strikes. i cant recall him walking anyone? he's my starter in a 1 game playoff. no hesitation.

- Win. Dance, Repeat. is extra fun live and in person.

- Mookie. it might be time for some "MVP" chants?

- Fenway Park. i still get goosebumps walking up the ramp and seeing the green grass and the green wall. we got there early so i took Manny to the red seat to get an idea just how far Ted hit that ball. when you are sitting there it is mind boggling how far homeplate is.

It sounds like you had a great day despite the traffic and long trip.

 

I agree about Benintendi, although I don't think farrell agrees with us.

 

Pedey has been vintage this season, even though he is reputedly the 8th worst base runner in baseball.

 

Porcello has been our ace. He is in a great groove.

[Kimmi]

I would like to know the exit velocity on his 1st and third homer.

 

According to ESPN homerun tracker, the first HR was 103.6, the 2nd was 94.0, and the 3rd was 103.7.

[Station 13]

According to ESPN homerun tracker, the first HR was 103.6, the 2nd was 94.0, and the 3rd was 103.7.

 

Thank you!

 

The 1st was a majestic blast. The third was a laser beam.

[a700hitter]

I really don't get all the criticism of the move of having Wright run for Papi. The fact that Wright got hurt is a fluke, not to be blamed on Farrell.

 

Papi cannot run. He is in serious pain. Even if Wright was not much faster than Papi, Papi needed to be taken out to help preserve him for the remainder of the season. The decision to take Papi out was the right one.

 

As far as using someone else besides Wright, the options were very limited. The remaining position players or any of the relievers would have been poor choices. That leaves one of the starters. It's a coin toss, really, as to which starter to use.

I would have gone with anyone who has scored a run in the major leagues. Wright has not scored a run since high school. That is a really long time. I'd also pick one of the crappy bullpen guys (who cares if they blow a tire) before I pick a starter. It wasn't a fluke. It was an accident waiting to happen -- and it did.

[Kimmi]

some quick observations from at game Sunday:

-It was HOT. Humid, Hot, Sticky, Sweaty. everyone drank alot.

-in between innings they would douse the homeplate umpire with ice/water/cooling towels. he earned his pay yesterday for sure.

- pedey swung at a first pitch! but unfortunately it was a rocket that the CF tracked down for a flyout. and knowing how superstitious ballplayers are we may not see him swing at another first pitch the rest of the year.

- the diving stop pedroia made on defense in a game we were up 16-1 should force mvp to remove "trade pedroia" from his sig. seriously.

- benintendi passed the eye test. his swing looks great. i forget if it was his 2nd or 3rd AB but it was vs Lefty and all he got was curveball after curveball. he ended up getting a baseknock to LF with 2 strikes. no way i platoon this guy right now even if young is healthy.

- Porc looked GREAT. easy motion. got the ball and threw it. didnt let the big lead change his focus. shook off the early HR and just kept throwing strikes. i cant recall him walking anyone? he's my starter in a 1 game playoff. no hesitation.

- Win. Dance, Repeat. is extra fun live and in person.

- Mookie. it might be time for some "MVP" chants?

- Fenway Park. i still get goosebumps walking up the ramp and seeing the green grass and the green wall. we got there early so i took Manny to the red seat to get an idea just how far Ted hit that ball. when you are sitting there it is mind boggling how far homeplate is.

 

Nice observations Slash. I'm glad you had a good time.

[Bellhorn04]

I really don't get all the criticism of the move of having Wright run for Papi. The fact that Wright got hurt is a fluke, not to be blamed on Farrell.

 

Papi cannot run. He is in serious pain. Even if Wright was not much faster than Papi, Papi needed to be taken out to help preserve him for the remainder of the season. The decision to take Papi out was the right one.

 

As far as using someone else besides Wright, the options were very limited. The remaining position players or any of the relievers would have been poor choices. That leaves one of the starters. It's a coin toss, really, as to which starter to use.

 

I still can't absolve Farrell for this one. I think letting Papi run for himself was an option. After all Farrell didn't run for him until he went from first to second on Betts's single. If Betts had hit one in the gap Papi might have had to run from first to home.

 

It seems like Pomeranz was the logical choice among the pitchers, since he has some experience running the bases this year. Wright had never been on base in his life in a real game.

[Kimmi]

It sounds like you had a great day despite the traffic and long trip.

 

I agree about Benintendi, although I don't think farrell agrees with us.

 

Pedey has been vintage this season, even though he is reputedly the 8th worst base runner in baseball.

Porcello has been our ace. He is in a great groove.

 

One of the reasons why Pedroia is one of the worst base runners in baseball is because he hits into so many double plays. The inability to avoid a DP on a ground ball counts against him as a base runner.

 

That said, he also ranks negatively in the other components of base running.

 

As someone else mentioned, I really do think that Pedroia's grit and scrappiness give us a false impression of his base running ability.

[Spudboy]

I really don't get all the criticism of the move of having Wright run for Papi. The fact that Wright got hurt is a fluke, not to be blamed on Farrell.

 

Papi cannot run. He is in serious pain. Even if Wright was not much faster than Papi, Papi needed to be taken out to help preserve him for the remainder of the season. The decision to take Papi out was the right one.

 

As far as using someone else besides Wright, the options were very limited. The remaining position players or any of the relievers would have been poor choices. That leaves one of the starters. It's a coin toss, really, as to which starter to use.

 

And this is your opinion, which I respect by the way.

 

How about starting Ortiz at 1st in LA. Was that also to help preserve Papi for later in the season?

 

Both were idiotic moves, in my opinion.

[Kimmi]

I would have gone with anyone who has scored a run in the major leagues. Wright has not scored a run since high school. That is a really long time. I'd also pick one of the crappy bullpen guys (who cares if they blow a tire) before I pick a starter. It wasn't a fluke. It was an accident waiting to happen -- and it did.

 

It was a fluke. He couldn't go with the BP guys who might have needed to pitch in that game. None of our pitchers have much base running experience.

[illinoisredsox]

I still can't absolve Farrell for this one. I think letting Papi run for himself was an option. After all Farrell didn't run for him until he went from first to second on Betts's single. If Betts had hit one in the gap Papi might have had to run from first to home.

 

It seems like Pomeranz was the logical choice among the pitchers, since he has some experience running the bases this year. Wright had never been on base in his life in a real game.

 

No matter what anyone thinks of the decision/choice, IMO ALL the pitchers need to get some practice in running bases in spring training (and have drills in it during the season as well), if for no other reason than it gives whoever the manager is more options in this day and age of 12 man pitching staffs. NL pitchers pinch run, there is no reason AL pitchers can't.

[Kimmi]

I still can't absolve Farrell for this one. I think letting Papi run for himself was an option. After all Farrell didn't run for him until he went from first to second on Betts's single. If Betts had hit one in the gap Papi might have had to run from first to home.

 

It seems like Pomeranz was the logical choice among the pitchers, since he has some experience running the bases this year. Wright had never been on base in his life in a real game.

 

I think that there is a difference between having a runner on 1st versus having a runner in scoring position. I have often watched managers wait until a runner is on 2nd before putting in a pinch runner for him.

 

I can agree with the argument of using Pomeranz instead of Wright. However, there might have been a viable reason not to use him. Porcello and Pomeranz were the next two scheduled starters. Perhaps that was the reason why?

 

I just don't think it was the terrible decision that some of you are making it out to be. The injury to Wright makes it look bad when it really wasn't.

[Kimmi]

And this is your opinion, which I respect by the way.

 

How about starting Ortiz at 1st in LA. Was that also to help preserve Papi for later in the season?

 

Both were idiotic moves, in my opinion.

 

If Papi is in as much pain as is being reported, I would not have started him against LA.

 

My understanding is that he asked to be put in the game. Also, wasn't Hanley still dealing with an injury?

[illinoisredsox]

It was a fluke. He couldn't go with the BP guys who might have needed to pitch in that game. None of our pitchers have much base running experience.

 

Agree. I had no problem with the decision to run for Ortiz that day. I had no problem using a pitcher. I think Pomeranz would have been a better choice but any of them would have been okay IMO. As far as bullpen guys, Barnes and Ross would have been the only possibilities; Barnes had gone 1 2/3 and Ross 1 1/3 the day before and so were the least likely to be used (Barnes less likely than Ross)

[Bellhorn04]

I think that there is a difference between having a runner on 1st versus having a runner in scoring position. I have often watched managers wait until a runner is on 2nd before putting in a pinch runner for him.

 

That is true. I presume it's because foot speed makes a bigger difference when trying to score from second on a single.

 

But if the concern was about Papi's health they should have pinch run right away, and if it was about foot speed Wright was a questionable upgrade.

 

It's certainly true that all the scrutiny of the move is because of the injury.

[Spudboy]

If Papi is in as much pain as is being reported, I would not have started him against LA.

 

My understanding is that he asked to be put in the game. Also, wasn't Hanley still dealing with an injury?

 

Hmm. A-Rod wanted to start the last few games at Fenway and Girardi said no.

 

If Hanley was hurt then start Shaw at 1st and Hill at third.

[Spudboy]

Well it's all milk over the dam as I see it.

 

Except that one our 3 best starters is now on the shelf when we need him.

[illinoisredsox]

I think that there is a difference between having a runner on 1st versus having a runner in scoring position. I have often watched managers wait until a runner is on 2nd before putting in a pinch runner for him.

 

I can agree with the argument of using Pomeranz instead of Wright. However, there might have been a viable reason not to use him. Porcello and Pomeranz were the next two scheduled starters. Perhaps that was the reason why?

 

I just don't think it was the terrible decision that some of you are making it out to be. The injury to Wright makes it look bad when it really wasn't.

 

I've read that Porcello was already on his way back to Boston, so he was not available. ERod had just pitched the day before, so I can somewhat understand not using him.

 

I could even beleive that holding Pomeranz back for possible use as a pinch hitter later on (he has some halfway decent stats for a pitcher) was a thought, but that may be giving Farrell a little bit too much credit. I suspect it was mostly because Pomeranz was pitching Wednesday and Wright wasn't scheduled until Thursday.

[Kimmi]

That is true. I presume it's because foot speed makes a bigger difference when trying to score from second on a single.

 

But if the concern was about Papi's health they should have pinch run right away, and if it was about foot speed Wright was a questionable upgrade.

 

It's certainly true that all the scrutiny of the move is because of the injury.

 

I think it also has to do with the run expectancy of having a runner on 2nd versus having a runner on first. Obviously, run expectancy increases with a man on 2nd versus a man on first.

 

I can certainly understand the argument for pinch running for him right away though.

[Kimmi]

Hmm. A-Rod wanted to start the last few games at Fenway and Girardi said no.

 

If Hanley was hurt then start Shaw at 1st and Hill at third.

 

Well ARod = Poop (excrement reference!!!) and Papi = The Man, so there is no comparison between the two.

 

As I said, I would not have started him, but I can certainly understand the reasoning behind doing so.

[Kimmi]

I've read that Porcello was already on his way back to Boston, so he was not available. ERod had just pitched the day before, so I can somewhat understand not using him.

 

I could even beleive that holding Pomeranz back for possible use as a pinch hitter later on (he has some halfway decent stats for a pitcher) was a thought, but that may be giving Farrell a little bit too much credit. I suspect it was mostly because Pomeranz was pitching Wednesday and Wright wasn't scheduled until Thursday.

 

I agree with this rationale. I think Farrell deserves more credit than he is given. He is not making his decisions haphazardly. We may not agree with his reasoning, but there is rationale that goes into his decisions.

[Maxbialystock]

Consistency is a hobgoblin.

 

But seriously, as Kimmi noted on the other thread, Farrell did have more reason to conserve the pen Friday with Buchholz starting Saturday .

 

It is of course irrelevant that the bullpen, rested except for Abad, did yeoman's service backing up Buch's 4.1 innings on Sunday. The important point is that Farrell is an idiot no matter what he does.

[a700hitter]

It is of course irrelevant that the bullpen, rested except for Abad, did yeoman's service backing up Buch's 4.1 innings on Sunday. The important point is that Farrell is an idiot no matter what he does.

This is true. He isn't going to get any smarter at this age.