Sox hitting??

[bosoxmal]

Lol.

 

I suppose so since I can not substantiate my opinions with stats!

 

I expect little more than nothing from this guy going forward.

 

He can't or won't play 1st base even occasionally.

 

He can't do the job as a dedicated DH either.

 

I'd get rid of him at any chance.

Amen

[bosoxmal]

Did Mookie wave his bat around last year like he's doing now? I don't know. Maybe he was and the pitching coaches have just caught on the fact that his timing is vulnerable. Since this man is the Red Sox only hope to reach the AL finals, it should be discussed.

 

TW's Maxim was "wait, wait, wait; quick, quick, quick" There was no "wave, wave, wav" in there.

 

Mookie, Pay Attention!. This team is going nowhere with Mookie Betts hittin .260!

[Spudboy]

We don't need a glove only right fielder.

 

If there are batting quirks that interfere with him being a big producer they should be addressed and fixed with maximum haste.

[Bellhorn04]

Mookie's turnaround starts now.

[Kimmi]

Is it possible that he has earned this rap over his career? Hasn't he been a problem child in the past? hasn't he "suffered from injury" quite a bit in years past?

 

Maybe this is a case of there being fire where there is smoke.

 

Also, I find his shoulder injuries curious in the way that Manny's knees were curious.

 

No one can say which one is THE problem and how it affects his ability to play.

 

He has his biceps. He has his money. He has his girly-man hair. He has attention.

 

No need to perform bigly. He is all set in his mind.

 

He has had issues in the past. Has he had any, other than what's been speculated by fans, since he's returned to Boston? Is it possible that he has matured since his earlier escapades?

 

People said the same thing about Pablo's attitude last year. Those accusations seem to have been proven false.

 

Just because a player is playing poorly or is dealing with continual injuries (or weight problems) does not mean he has a bad attitude.

[a700hitter]

He has had issues in the past. Has he had any, other than what's been speculated by fans, since he's returned to Boston? Is it possible that he has matured since his earlier escapades?

 

People said the same thing about Pablo's attitude last year. Those accusations seem to have been proven false.

 

Just because a player is playing poorly or is dealing with continual injuries (or weight problems) does not mean he has a bad attitude.

No one has accused Pablo of having a bad attitude. He smiles ear to ear while he does nothing to earn his money.

[Spudboy]

Hanley has done little other than play unexpectedly decent 1st base and hit close to his career norms for one out of two and a half years of the biggest contract of his career.

 

There is always something with that guy and his big smile can't cover it up. So much for maturing.

 

As for Pablow, exactly how has he proven any critic of his wrong? I must have missed that display of greatness.

 

Both are legitimate and worthy targets of criticism from what I have seen.

[Spudboy]

No one has accused Pablo of having a bad attitude. He smiles ear to ear while he does nothing to earn his money.

 

^^^^^

[Kimmi]

No one has accused Pablo of having a bad attitude. He smiles ear to ear while he does nothing to earn his money.

 

Of course they have. They're not doing it this year, but last year pretty much everyone did.

[Kimmi]

Hanley has done little other than play unexpectedly decent 1st base and hit close to his career norms for one out of two and a half years of the biggest contract of his career.

 

There is always something with that guy and his big smile can't cover it up. So much for maturing.

 

As for Pablow, exactly how has he proven any critic of his wrong? I must have missed that display of greatness.

 

Both are legitimate and worthy targets of criticism from what I have seen.

 

I didn't say he proved his critics wrong in terms of play.

 

He has in terms of attitude.

[Kimmi]

Hanley has done little other than play unexpectedly decent 1st base and hit close to his career norms for one out of two and a half years of the biggest contract of his career.

 

There is always something with that guy and his big smile can't cover it up. So much for maturing.

 

As for Pablow, exactly how has he proven any critic of his wrong? I must have missed that display of greatness.

 

Both are legitimate and worthy targets of criticism from what I have seen.

 

Criticize the play all you want. That is warranted. Criticizing the attitude and the character of the player is not.

[Spudboy]

I didn't say he proved his critics wrong in terms of play.

 

He has in terms of attitude.

 

Well f***. I am not capable of doing my job, either.

 

Maybe I would be in a better mood if someone was paying me $96. mil to sit around and smile.

[Spudboy]

Criticize the play all you want. That is warranted. Criticizing the attitude and the character of the player is not.

 

Why not?

 

Second of all, I have not assailed Pablow's character this year.

 

He is just useless. With a smile.

[bosoxmal]

Mookie's turnaround starts now.

I hope you're right! When I see him holding that bat a little steadier, IKNOW you'll be right!I never saw anything like. At least in a hitter as good as he is/

[cp176]

We don't need a glove only right fielder.

 

If there are batting quirks that interfere with him being a big producer they should be addressed and fixed with maximum haste.

 

Spud - come on - he really is a second baseman - good glove - good production for a second baseman. lol

Sadly it looks as though we have lots of second basemen.

[cp176]

Of course they have. They're not doing it this year, but last year pretty much everyone did.

 

i think that many of us might have though and said as much that he was stupid. When he was sitting (not a pun of any sort) on the can between innings last year texting, i think that most of us thought that maybe we weren't dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed. He might be stupid. i'm ok with that. if his attitude is good and he works to get the job done, then he is coachable. To date, he really hasn't done much to alter my thinking. i'm thinking he might be stupid and possibly even a little uncoachable. That is a combination that probably can't be fixed.

[a700hitter]

I really don't remember people criticizing Pablo's attitude last year, never mind almost everyone criticizing his attitude last year. That is pretty much in Kimmi's head. He was criticized for sucking. for being overweight and possibly lazy and stupid, but people didn't criticize his attitude.

[a700hitter]

Why not?

 

Second of all, I have not assailed Pablow's character this year.

 

He is just useless. With a smile.

This about sums him up. And calling someone a fat slob is not an attack on character.

[S5Dewey]

i think that many of us might have though and said as much that he was stupid. When he was sitting (not a pun of any sort) on the can between innings last year texting, i think that most of us thought that maybe we weren't dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed. He might be stupid. i'm ok with that. if his attitude is good and he works to get the job done, then he is coachable. To date, he really hasn't done much to alter my thinking. i'm thinking he might be stupid and possibly even a little uncoachable. That is a combination that probably can't be fixed.

 

That's a really good post. We all need to remember that many of these players aren't Rhode's Scholars. However, smart or not, they have to be coachable to be able to succeed at this level, not only to get there but to stay there.

[SoxHop]

i think that many of us might have though and said as much that he was stupid. When he was sitting (not a pun of any sort) on the can between innings last year texting, i think that most of us thought that maybe we weren't dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed. He might be stupid. i'm ok with that. if his attitude is good and he works to get the job done, then he is coachable. To date, he really hasn't done much to alter my thinking. i'm thinking he might be stupid and possibly even a little uncoachable. That is a combination that probably can't be fixed.

 

A twentyish year old guy making millions securing some action after a game............ I don't call that stupid...... I call it being a 20 year old making a ton of cash......

 

I just think his priorites, might not align with our priorities.........

 

at best...... maybe not forward thinking............ but he already banked close to 100 mil from the ........Sox............... which in the end may look like the most stupid player at the table dealing with tail chasing.... burrito eating Pablo...........

[cp176]

A twentyish year old guy making millions securing some action after a game............ I don't call that stupid...... I call it being a 20 year old making a ton of cash......

 

I just think his priorites, might not align with our priorities.........

 

at best...... maybe not forward thinking............ but he already banked close to 100 mil from the ........Sox............... which in the end may look like the most stupid player at the table dealing with tail chasing.... burrito eating Pablo...........

 

Is that what he was doing while taking a crap between innings? I did not know that. I'm still probably going to go with stupid because I never heard that other story.

[Slasher9]

He's an unexplained scratch today.

 

he got drilled in the kneecap on sunday. i'm guessing that is the reason.

[moonslav59]

At the start of the season many felt losing Papi and not replacing him with a big hitter was a huge mistake. They did not think that acquisition of Sale, Thornburg and Moreland would be enough. We only have a .750 team OPS as we near the halfway point. Those of us who felt we would still be a top 3 or 5 run-scoring team appear to have overestimated our projections on offense.

 

There is another area that was of great concern to some at the start of the season: un unbalanced offense with 2-3 "black holes" in the line-up. On this point, I will say that as of now, we only have just one black hole, and it's a big one: 3B.

 

We are actually one of just a very few contending teams that only has two position with an OPS below .708. One is a surprising 2B! After JBJ's slow start, some felt CF would be a black hole. Now, CF is our highest OPS position on the team! Many felt that since Leon's 2016 season was a fluke, our 2017 catcher OPS would be worse. I argued that losing Hanigan and Holaday's putrid offense would balance out the projected decline in Leon's offense. I also projected a better year for Vaz. While catchers have our third worst OPS, the OPS is significantly better than 2016. Here are our positional OPS:

 

.558 3B (Totally unacceptable)

.666 2B (This is a big surprise. Pedey is at .720 though.)

.708 C (When compared to other teams, this is good.)

.732 LF

.753 DH (One expects better from this position.)

.807 RF (I expected near .900 here.)

.827 1B (Mostly coming from Moreland.)

.838 SS (Bogey has pulled his weight and then some on expectations.)

.879 CF (I'll say it again--MOVE JBJ UP IN THE LINE-UP! He's now got our best OPS.)

 

How about balance by batting slot? We only have 1 slot below .725 and that is the 9 slot at .553- a black hole if ever there was one. What's shocking to me is that our second worst slot has been the 5 slot. Again, moving JBJ might solve this.

(Top PA players listed)

.553 9th slot (Marrero 94, Marco 48, Vaz 45, Leon 42)

.725 5th (Moreland 118, HRam 83, Beni 44, Young 33)

.730 7th (JBJ 110, Rutledge 54, Pablo 48, Young 30, Leon 30, Vaz 24)

.742 6th (JBJ 69, Moreland 64, Bogey 40, Young 40, HRam 31, Pedey 20)

.760 8th (Leon 74, Vaz 67, Pablo 46, JBJ 35, Rut 31, Young 22)

.779 1st (Betts 218, Pedey 78, Bogey 39)

.791 4th (HRam 141, Moreland 101, Beni 80)

.810 2nd (Pedey 158, Beni 156)

.830 3rd (Bogey 212, Betts 111)

 

Some other offense observations. We have a .750 OPS as a team, and...

 

.727 the last 28 days

.709 the last 14 days

 

.745 vs RHP (but .754 when a righty starts)

.775 vs LHP (but surprisingly .734 when a lefty starts)

 

Not surprising: .764 at home and .738 away, although the gap is lower than recent years.

 

By age group:

.803 25 and under (This is encouraging)

.676 26-30 (This from the prime years of a career?)

.763 31+

 

.794 RISP (Something many have been crying about in recent years, buy is now better than our overall OPS!) It's .798 with RISP and 2 outs.

 

.717 Late & Close (disappointing)

.752 High Leverage

 

.429 vs NYY

.592 vs HOU

.650 vs TOR

.651 vs SEA

.673 vs STL

 

1.102 vs MN

.896 vs TEX

.877 vs MIL

.870 vs PHI

.869 vs CWS

.838 Cubs

(The rest are between .693 and .803)

 

.780 Day

.736 Night

 

 

If you subscribe to the philosophy (as I do) that one of the best ways to improve a team is by upgrading the weakest link, then one big fix is needed:

 

FIX the 3B Problem!

 

[Behindenemylines]

The Sox are tied for first and it feels like they are treading water. As bad as the Spanks have been the last few weeks the Sox had a chance to put some distance between them. I knew we where going to miss Big Papi, but getting nothing from 3B and Hanley being so inconsistent has not helped. I think other then Moreland (I think his production is more then we could have asked for), we need more from the rest of the lineup from here on out.

[oldtimer]

The Sox are tied for first and it feels like they are treading water. As bad as the Spanks have been the last few weeks the Sox had a chance to put some distance between them. I knew we where going to miss Big Papi, but getting nothing from 3B and Hanley being so inconsistent has not helped. I think other then Moreland (I think his production is more then we could have asked for), we need more from the rest of the lineup from here on out.

 

Looks like a revised lineup in tonight with JBJ in the 5th hole and Beni moved back in the 7th. Travis will start as well. I think Hanley is still hurting from the hit by pitch on the knee.

[bosoxmal]

I really really really hope I'm wrong, but I think the offense is going to be a problem.

It will be only if Mookie doens't stop waving bat around like it's Flag Day, and start hitting. rom this point on, he would have to hit .340 in order to end the season at .300. That's a helluva drop off from the guy we saw, last year;who was the second most offensive weapon we had.

[Jasonbay44]

You know a guy is good when through the midway point he has a 3.2 WAR and its been a disappointment. Mookie obviously hasn't been as good as I would've hoped but he's still been very good and I still think he has a big hot streak coming. He's always been a 2nd half hitter.

[Kimmi]

Why not?

 

Second of all, I have not assailed Pablow's character this year.

 

He is just useless. With a smile.

 

You have no idea what kind of character Pablo or any of the players have.

 

Making assumptions about their characters based off of impression is unfair.

[Kimmi]

i think that many of us might have though and said as much that he was stupid. When he was sitting (not a pun of any sort) on the can between innings last year texting, i think that most of us thought that maybe we weren't dealing with the sharpest tool in the shed. He might be stupid. i'm ok with that. if his attitude is good and he works to get the job done, then he is coachable. To date, he really hasn't done much to alter my thinking. i'm thinking he might be stupid and possibly even a little uncoachable. That is a combination that probably can't be fixed.

 

I'm not talking about the cell phone incident. There were plenty of posters here who called him lazy, a slob, a loser, and said that he didn't care about whether he played well or not because he had a big contract whether he played or sat on the bench, among other things. Based off of what we've seen and heard this year, those things to do appear to be true.

[Kimmi]

I am wondering if you guys would rather be in the Yankees position or the Red Sox position? In other words, which team do you think is in better shape to get to the playoffs?

 

For me, it's definitely the Red Sox.