Sox hitting??

[moonslav59]

At least vs RHPs, right? He's already proven enough with his bat he can handle MLB pitching and he's faster than Betts. If we see zero gains, it's still the right move.

 

Yes, vs RHPs, it looks like a no-brainer, unless you want his power utilized in the 3 slot.

[Emp9]

Yes, vs RHPs, it looks like a no-brainer, unless you want his power utilized in the 3 slot.

 

How much power do you think he'll show this season? I think he's good for 15 HRs total (vs LHP & RHP combined). Is it worth waiting for this year when the other aspects of his game may play a more important role? IDK, it's definitely something to keep in mind but...

[moonslav59]

How much power do you think he'll show this season? I think he's good for 15 HRs total (vs LHP & RHP combined). Is it worth waiting for this year when the other aspects of his game may play a more important role? IDK, it's definitely something to keep in mind but...

 

Since we have no clear leadoff hitter, I'd put him there.

 

I guess Bogey could lead off vs LHPs.

 

I never liked the idea of Pedey leading off.

 

Yes, 15-18 HRs seems about right year one.

[dgalehouse]

Capt. Edward Smith , HMS Titanic; " If we just move the red deck chairs over here and put the blue ones over there , we should be alright ".

[SoxHop]

Capt. Edward Smith , HMS Titanic; " If we just move the red deck chairs over here and put the blue ones over there , we should be alright ".

 

ahahahah.................. yea........ this team needs to turn the dial to winning mode..........

[Nick]

You can't get as much as you think. It not about a trade clause , about 90% of MLB players wave it for a chance 2 win. It is about the return.

 

A bad teammate is a different story entirely.

 

So you want Hernandez or Holt replacing him. Plus Hernandez and Holt are about a tick above average in the field... I'm more concern about the clubhouse and leadership, as of his loss of his own skill.

 

Just wait until his skills are diminished..........his teammates will be snickering

Edited April 28, 2017 by Nick

[illinoisredsox]

Pedroia has not been a stolen base threat in a long time. But not every lead off hitter has to be. He has a high OB%. Once those batters behind him begins to swing the bat, they'll reap the benefits of his OB%.

 

Pedroia is off to a slow start, let's give him 2-4 weeks before removing him from lead off.

 

Right now they need to do a little more by setting runners in motion. A team that makes this type of contact should not be immediately doubled up once they got something brewing.

 

Ding ding ding. The primary job of a lead-off hitter is to get on base so that the so-called big boppers can do their thing and drive him in.

 

Speed is vastly overrated for a guy in the #1 lot. Is it a plus? Absolutely. Is it a necessity? Absolutely not. If you disagree, Wade Boggs is on line 1 for you.

[illinoisredsox]

Capt. Edward Smith , HMS Titanic; " If we just move the red deck chairs over here and put the blue ones over there , we should be alright ".

 

The funny thing is, while that never works with icebergs, it can sometimes work with baseball teams. Not always, but sometimes.

[mvp 78]

True, but maybe sometimes shaking things up gets the players energized.

 

I thought Pedroia was the Energizer Bunny?

[Station 13]

I thought Pedroia was the Energizer Bunny?

 

Battery not included.

[Maxbialystock]

That begs the question, "what are we waiting for?"

 

I'm not saying making that move is going to energize our offense right away, but we should make an effort to try and jump start things.

 

The line-ups I suggested in December:

 

vs RHPs:

1) Beni

2) Bogey

3) Betts

4) Pedey

5) HRam

6) JBJ

7) Pablo

8) Moreland

9) Leon

 

vs LHPs

1) Beni

2) Bogey

3) Betts

4) HRam

5) Young

6) Pedey

7) JBJ

8) Rutledge/Hernandez

9) Vaz

 

 

 

Not bad, not bad at all.

[Maxbialystock]

Nobody has hit like a "stud" in April. I agree.

 

I do feel Betts is a stud.

 

HRam, Beni, JBJ, Pedey and Bogey are plus hitters.

 

I'm hoping April was just a fluke with everyone slumping at the same time. It's hard to imagine 5 of our best hitters all having a serious decline year at the same time.

 

I sure as hell hope not!

 

I still see top 5, but we better warm up real soon for that to become a reality.

 

Darn. Much too sensible for my typical wise-ass response. I not only agree those 6 are plus (or better) hitters, but that maybe Moreland will be too. Losing hope at 3B and C however.

[mvp 78]

Not bad, not bad at all.

 

I'd rather not have Pedey bat cleanup when he's only has one extra base hit so far.

[moonslav59]

Ding ding ding. The primary job of a lead-off hitter is to get on base so that the so-called big boppers can do their thing and drive him in.

 

Speed is vastly overrated for a guy in the #1 lot. Is it a plus? Absolutely. Is it a necessity? Absolutely not. If you disagree, Wade Boggs is on line 1 for you.

 

But when you have two good OB guys- put the faster one first.

 

Ding-Ding-DONG!

[Kimmi]

I would ask fans here if they think that this is the best hitting and scoring we are going to see from this team. HR power is lacking right now, so how many think that Mookie and Hanley won't hit for power all season? How many think Pedroia won't hit better? Moreland has actually contributed more hitting than expected so far and is a doubles machine. Bogaerts and Benintendi are hitting good so far, albeit with little power. Would one power bat really make that much difference?

 

The problem is not the lack of Papi. Yes, our offense was going to drop off a little without him, but it should still be one of the best in the leagues. Saying that they need Papi in the line up is an excuse. It's time for these guys to step up and hit like they are capable of hitting. Simple as that.

 

IMO, the offense and the team will be fine.

[Kimmi]

These guys have 2-3 months to start hitting before Dombrowski executes Order 66 on what prospects we have left and ships Devers, Groome, and whatever else remains in the farm system for a bat.

 

Yikes. The offense better get its act together.

[Kimmi]

I think those who are arguing that the hitting will improve are missing a key point. Yes, of course, the hitting will improve because right now it is 26th in MLB in runs scored, which is abysmal.

 

What you are missing is that these guys have to improve a lot, not a little. Meanwhile, the lousy hitting is costing us games lost which cannot be recovered. and let's not forget another key point--the sox are in the same division with the yankees and orioles, both of whom have excellent pitching and better hitting than the sox.

 

so yes, it's early in the season, hope is not dead, etc. Meanwhile, the sox are 3.5 games out of first--despite having the 4th best ERA in MLB.

 

Both the Orioles and the Yankees are playing over their heads right now. Our offense will come around enough.

 

If anyone thought the Sox were going to run away with the division, that was not going to happen.

 

Relax. We'll be fine.

[Kimmi]

I'd say absolutely not. It's an early season slump and everyone is slumping at the same time. I'm not too worried about it. Far too many good to great hitters on this team for it to last much longer. Not having Papi anymore may be playing on their minds a bit, but that's not the overall reason. It's early in the season and everything is magnified like usual. Certain guys need to step up: Pedey, Hanley, Betts, and Bogey. I see alot of pop-ups, HIDPs, and weak contact and some of that is just plain bad luck that will turn around.

 

I like this post.

[a700hitter]

Both the Orioles and the Yankees are playing over their heads right now. Our offense will come around enough.

 

If anyone thought the Sox were going to run away with the division, that was not going to happen.

 

Relax. We'll be fine.

The Yankees are definitely playing over the heads. Their pitching will not keep up their recent performance is not sustainable.

 

As for our offense, we are going to have a big down tick losing Big Papi. That HOF bat does not leave without it hurting. People who think otherwise are kidding themselves.

[Kimmi]

Ding ding ding. The primary job of a lead-off hitter is to get on base so that the so-called big boppers can do their thing and drive him in.

 

Speed is vastly overrated for a guy in the #1 lot. Is it a plus? Absolutely. Is it a necessity? Absolutely not. If you disagree, Wade Boggs is on line 1 for you.

 

I like this post also.

[Kimmi]

The Yankees are definitely playing over the heads. Their pitching will not keep up their recent performance is not sustainable.

 

As for our offense, we are going to have a big down tick losing Big Papi. That HOF bat does not leave without it hurting. People who think otherwise are kidding themselves.

 

Our offense will not be as good as it was last year, but it was so much better than the rest of the league, that even without Papi, it should still be one of the best offenses in the league. The guys just need to start performing to par.

[Fisk]

Our offense will not be as good as it was last year, but it was so much better than the rest of the league, that even without Papi, it should still be one of the best offenses in the league. The guys just need to start performing to par.

 

I agree, we should still have one of the best if not the best offense. This start has really surprised me.

[Maxbialystock]

The problem is not the lack of Papi. Yes, our offense was going to drop off a little without him, but it should still be one of the best in the leagues. Saying that they need Papi in the line up is an excuse. It's time for these guys to step up and hit like they are capable of hitting. Simple as that.

 

IMO, the offense and the team will be fine.

 

Completely agree.

[Kimmi]

Lead off walks always seem to find a way to bite you.

[Kimmi]

Lead off walks always seem to find a way to bite you.

 

Oops, wrong thread. LOL

[S5Dewey]

Oops, wrong thread. LOL

 

I think it's a State Law. If you walk the leadoff man he HAS to score. Ugh

[Nick]

Young, Not me/it's them and Xander have slugging % close to their BA.....our propensity to hit into double play negates what little offense we are producing. We're playing tee ball and everyone is playing man's game.

 

I really hate watching this offense. It's not Red Sox offense I'm accustomed to.

[oldtimer]

Lots of talk about how we are going to be okay because we have so many good hitters. I hope it is true, but I have observed enough games so far to have draw some conclusions.

 

1. JBJ said he had done a lot of work in the off season and expected to hit much better. To date it looks like he isn't seeing the ball well and still has that long looping swing that limits his value at the plate. Good thing for him he is an exceptional center fielder. I hope he gets hot again this year but right now he is showing little at the plate and if we are counting on him for serious production, we may be overly optimistic.

 

2. To date Vasquez is a better hitter than Leon and should be the principle catcher since both are a toss up defensively. When you compare a 180 BA with a 400+ BA and the general appearance in the box I would limit Leon to right hand pitchers who he has hit in the past and hope for the best. Unless he shows more, Leon won't help us as he did last year.

 

3. Hanley has been and is likely to continue to be erratic at the plate. Without Ortiz to keep him straight he could well have a fall off in homers and RBI's

 

4. Comparing Pablo to Marco as far as hitting is concerned, Pablo is a free swinger with more power but likely to have a significantly lower BA and on base % than Marco, who is a more disciplined hitter. Marco is also at least Pablo's equal in the field so when Pable gets healthy again, how short a least do we have.

 

Like others, I think Betts, Bogaerts, Beni, Pedey and Moreland are solid hitters but unless Betts can recreate his power of last year we have no big home run threats. JBJ, Leon,Hanley and Pablo were a hope in that area but don't appear to me to be a relaible source.

[notin]

I think a lot of fans might also be underestimating the impact of the flu. The influenza virus can be deadly in cases and can have lingering effects. Most people don't realize this because the "flu" they had that time was probably not the actual flu, but some other weaker virus with"flu like symptoms"..

[a700hitter]

Sitting at the Cubs game last night, I saw what we are lacking. They have 2 aircraft carriers in their lineup-- Bryant and Rizzo surrounded by nice good professional hitters. We are missing the centerpieces who make everybody better. The pitcher's have to approach those guys differently to keep them in the park. We don't have those threats. Losing Papi will have a cascading effect. We will not have 3 guys with 30 fingers this year. We will probably have 1.