Sox hitting??

[devildavid]

I don't believe that hitting is contagious game to game, but I do believe that it can be contagious AB to AB.

 

The thing I've always wondered about is whether that's because of the adrenaline of the hitters or if it's because the pitcher loses his focus and gives up better pitches to hit. Or a combination of the two.

 

Adrenaline is bad for hitting. Bad pitching is good for hitting.

[devildavid]

Only real difference is Ortiz vs Moreland.

 

What past teams are we talking about?

[S5Dewey]

Adrenaline is bad for hitting. Bad pitching is good for hitting.

 

No to the first sentence, yes to the second.

[Spudboy]

Unlike in past years, where the team could always battle and often beat premium pitchers, this group looks helpless against top pitchers.

 

Yes it does seem that way.

 

Of course with no supporting stats I must be wrong.

[SoxnCycles]

Mookie has always done this. He has one fantastic game and we get all excited. He still needs to do this more consistently. But a lot of the young hitters are like that.

 

Consistency (or lack thereof) has been an issue all season long and we do have a lot of young hitters..

They've got a respectable run differential because of good pitching and their habit of scoring 8+ runs about once every 6 or 8 games and less than 5 the rest of the time.

 

Let's hope the consistency improves next season.

[Spudboy]

No to the first sentence, yes to the second.

 

I am not an Endocrinologist but I would expect adrenaline to enhance and accelerate all body functions.

 

I bet Dr. Jacko could enlighten us with facts.

[Emp9]

I had to rehash this. I read it earlier. Emp you come up with some really good stuff. I thought this was really strange reading this...

 

Thanks SoxHop, but I'm just confused. LOL It's been a difficult team to figure out, and not for lack of trying by any of us on here, all season long. They're not a bad team, but they are a weird one. I hope they can find the right switch to flip come play off time and show what they're capable of. The talent is there.

[SoxnCycles]

Thanks SoxHop, but I'm just confused. LOL It's been a difficult team to figure out, and not for lack of trying by any of us on here, all season long. They're not a bad team, but they are a weird one. I hope they can find the right switch to flip come play off time and show what they're capable of. The talent is there.

 

"Weird" describes them perfectly.

[Spudboy]

Consistency (or lack thereof) has been an issue all season long and we do have a lot of young hitters..

They've got a respectable run differential because of good pitching and their habit of scoring 8+ runs about once every 6 or 8 games and less than 5 the rest of the time.

 

Let's hope the consistency improves next season.

 

Boom.

[devildavid]

Yes it does seem that way.

 

Of course with no supporting stats I must be wrong.

 

You are. And what past teams are we talking about?

[Maxbialystock]

Unlike in past years, where the team could always battle and often beat premium pitchers, this group looks helpless against top pitchers.

 

Maybe, maybe not--and I am referring to past years. Look at 2013 and winning the WS. We had the best hitting and scoring in the AL, but in the ALCS against Detroit we lost game 1, 1-0, and won game 3, 1-0. Lester was great in game 1 and Lackey even better in game 3. But we could easily have lost both but for that 7th inning dinger by Napoli (off Verlander) in game 3.

 

This year, no question we seem to struggle against good pitching. What gives me some hope is that on August 12 we beat the Yankees Severino 10-5, on August 20 the Yankees' Gray 5-1, on August 22 the Guardians Carrasco 9-1, and on August 23 the Guardians Kluber (yes, that Kluber) 6-1.

 

Maybe August is ancient history and should be totally discounted. But maybe not.

[Bellhorn04]

Mookie has always done this. He has one fantastic game and we get all excited. He still needs to do this more consistently.

 

Not to be a wiseass, but...well, OK, I am a wiseass...nobody has 11 total bases in a game consistently.

 

I'm guessing Mookie will end up with an OPS of .825 or more this year...down from last year but still decent.

[devildavid]

Not to be a wiseass, but...well, OK, I am a wiseass...nobody has 11 total bases in a game consistently.

 

I'm guessing Mookie will end up with an OPS of .825 or more this year...down from last year but still decent.

 

I don't expect him to. I'm just saying that he has these one game outbursts that may make him look better than he is. He does not consistently produce game to game. This kind of stuff seems common with him. Other players don't seem to have as many of these big offensive games as Mookie does. Of course, like clutch, it is not a repeatable skill. And maybe he really doesn't have more of these type of games than other players. But when he does, they are as spectacular as fireworks and get our attention.

 

The weakness of looking at season averages is that they don't tell you how the player got there. They don't measure consistency.

[Bellhorn04]

The weakness of looking at season averages is that they don't tell you how the player got there. They don't measure consistency.

 

I can't disagree with that. But when you find a stat that measures a hitter's consistency let me know.

[SoxnCycles]

I can't disagree with that. But when you find a stat that measures a hitter's consistency let me know.

 

That's where game logs come in handy.

There are 2 or three games stretches where Mookie iwas getting multiple XBH, followed by fairly long stretches of 0-1 hits per game.

 

How that compares to other hitters takes more time, but it does give you an idea of how often he goes on a tear, then quiets down.

Maybe he's just another streaky hitter.

Seems like we've got a lot of them.

[Nick]

That's where game logs come in handy.

There are 2 or three games stretches where Mookie iwas getting multiple XBH, followed by fairly long stretches of 0-1 hits per game.

 

How that compares to other hitters takes more time, but it does give you an idea of how often he goes on a tear, then quiets down.

Maybe he's just another streaky hitter.

Seems like we've got a lot of them.

 

Similar to simply looking at total runs scored. 14-0 win followed by 1-5 and 0-1 defeats may give us 5 run per game average but fact remains we didn't hit in 2 of the 3 games. There has to be a better metric than 'average' runs per game.

 

Not sure what the best measurement for winning is. How about won/lost record for each team based on runs scored 0,1,2,3,4 and 5+?

Edited September 13, 2017 by Nick

[harmony]

I can't disagree with that. But when you find a stat that measures a hitter's consistency let me know.

BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) can sometimes help explain a player's failure to post a consistent stat line. Randomness plays a large part.

 

Some players seem to be streakier than others. I've divided Seattle catcher Mike Zunino's season into four uneven streaks starting with Opening Day:

 

29 G, .148/.227/.239/.465

27 G, .330/.392/.725/1.117

31 G, .160/.233/.383/.616

22 G, .343/.432/.629/1.061

 

For the season Zunino has posted a .239/.316/.487/.803 line in 383 plate appearances but that line does not suggest his lack of consistency.

[Bellhorn04]

Similar to simply looking at total runs scored. 14-0 win followed by 1-5 and 0-1 defeats may give us 5 run per game average but fact remains we didn't hit in 2 of the 3 games. There has to be a better metric than 'average' runs per game.

 

If a team is winning more than its share of blowouts and losing more than its share of close of games, or vice versa, this will show up in the difference between the actual W-L record and the Pythagorean record which is based on run differential.

 

There really are no perfect measurements for any of this stuff.

[Bellhorn04]

BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) can sometimes help explain a player's failure to post a consistent stat line. Randomness plays a large part.

 

Some players seem to be streakier than others. I've divided Seattle catcher Mike Zunino's season into four uneven streaks starting with Opening Day:

 

29 G, .148/.227/.239/.465

27 G, .330/.392/.725/1.117

31 G, .160/.233/.383/.616

22 G, .343/.432/.629/1.061

 

For the season Zunino has posted a .239/.316/.487/.803 line in 383 plate appearances but that line does not suggest his lack of consistency.

 

One of the most uncanny up and down seasons I've seen was Jason Bay in 2009. Here are his OPS by month:

 

A 1.123

M .978

J .701

J .689

A 1.097

S .966

 

It all added up to a .921 with 36 HR and 119 RBI. A great season, in spite of the fact he was not very good in June or July.

[Slasher9]

I can't disagree with that. But when you find a stat that measures a hitter's consistency let me know.

 

no stat for it = it doesnt exist

[oldtimer]

I wonder if there is a statistic which considers our hitting vs the era of the pitcher we face. Complicated to do since we face so many pitchers in the course of a game. Tonight the guy has higher than a 5 rpg era. We should hit him better. You would think up against Kluber we would hit much worse. Baseball is a crazy game and it doesn't work that way so much on a game by game basis, but it should be on an average basis over time. Thats unless Apple Watches come into play.

[Maxbialystock]

I wonder if there is a statistic which considers our hitting vs the era of the pitcher we face. Complicated to do since we face so many pitchers in the course of a game. Tonight the guy has higher than a 5 rpg era. We should hit him better. You would think up against Kluber we would hit much worse. Baseball is a crazy game and it doesn't work that way so much on a game by game basis, but it should be on an average basis over time. Thats unless Apple Watches come into play.

 

We beat some pretty good pitchers, 12-23 Aug. Was that by means of the apple watches?

[Slasher9]

We beat some pretty good pitchers, 12-23 Aug. Was that by means of the apple watches?

 

maybe. that's the problem with cheating. and getting caught.

[Kimmi]

Consistency (or lack thereof) has been an issue all season long and we do have a lot of young hitters..

They've got a respectable run differential because of good pitching and their habit of scoring 8+ runs about once every 6 or 8 games and less than 5 the rest of the time.

 

Let's hope the consistency improves next season.

 

The run differential is really the bottom line. OK, not really. Wins and losses are. But in terms of how good a team is overall, run differential is it. It doesn't matter whether the run differential comes from pitching or hitting.

[Kimmi]

"Weird" describes them perfectly.

 

I think the word we're looking for here is 'enigma'.

[Kimmi]

Similar to simply looking at total runs scored. 14-0 win followed by 1-5 and 0-1 defeats may give us 5 run per game average but fact remains we didn't hit in 2 of the 3 games. There has to be a better metric than 'average' runs per game.

 

Not sure what the best measurement for winning is. How about won/lost record for each team based on runs scored 0,1,2,3,4 and 5+?

 

Run Differential

[oldtimer]

Run Differential

 

Lack of hitting with runners in scoring position. Not enough guys who in the end who put the bat on the ball and hit it hard. We had another example of that tonight. Nunez would help but that is all we have left to change the dynamic of this team. Betts back to popping out. Leon an easy mark. Lots of ground balls with men in scoring position. Taking good pitching and swinging at ones out of the zone. Lots of players do it for all teams, but our team just doesn't have enough to get the runs in. Pretty discouraging watching this team unable to get the hit they when they needed it.

 

That is not to mention a subpar pitching performance from our starter and relief pitching was not particularly sharp.

[SoxnCycles]

I think the word we're looking for here is 'enigma'.

 

Who the heck can spell "enigma" off the top of their head,

besides you?

[SoxnCycles]

Yeah, I've fallen into the trap, where I think "this game is their breakout game!"

If the season continues like it has previously, they'll score 2 runs tonight.

 

Well, they fooled me, they scored 3.

[mvp 78]

Run Differential

 

Sox are 7th behind Guardians, Dodgers, Yankees, Nationals, Diamondbacks and Astros. It's interesting that the 'Stros are only 6th. Their offense has been a powerhouse. Their rotation is solid, but not spectacular. I don't know much about their pen.