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Sox hitting??

Maxbialystock

By Maxbialystock
in Boston Red Sox Talk

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devildavid Draft Eligible

devildavid

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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.

 

Very logical, as always. The Yankees should be in first place but they have had worse "luck". They have a losing record in 1 run games while the Sox have a winning one. But the bottom line is quite simple; score more than your opponent. It doesn't matter how you get there.

 

See the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Not an offensive powerhouse, but their pitching/defense got them a championship.

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notin MVP

notin

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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.

 

Astros have a very good rotation on paper, but they have also had their share of injuries in it...

notin MVP

notin

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Very logical, as always. The Yankees should be in first place but they have had worse "luck". They have a losing record in 1 run games while the Sox have a winning one. But the bottom line is quite simple; score more than your opponent. It doesn't matter how you get there.

 

See the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Not an offensive powerhouse, but their pitching/defense got them a championship.

 

And health. The 2005 White Sox got over an unheard of 150 starts from their opening day rotation. ...

Bellhorn04 MVP

Bellhorn04

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And health. The 2005 White Sox got over an unheard of 150 starts from their opening day rotation. ...

 

Good point, but awkwardly phrased...:D

oldtimer FCL Red Sox

oldtimer

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This string has morphed into a discussion of pitchning or god knows what. Sox hitting is what the string is named so I will come in with comments on hitting.

 

Pray for the return of Nunez, who is our only really aggressive hitter. If it's over he will make his cut instead of taking a lot of pitches as it appears the others are instructed to do. He adds an aspect to this team they need. Pedey is a very capable hitter and a veteran. Just hope he can hold it together as we continue the pennant race. Beni is hitting well of late and may start popping a few if he will pull the ball. Can't complain with a guy who has been delivering. Vaz and Devers both show decent bat control and can give us a lift at times. Devers might just explode again going down the stretch.

 

After those, it is difficult to be particularly happy with Betts. We know he has a lot of capability but for whatever mechanical issue, he is popping up an awful lot of pitches. The pitching coaches should be all over him as he was doing it before his big day and right back to it after. He ccould well be one of the best hitters if he can straighten his swing mechanics out and lay off the sliders away.

 

Bradley will give something once in a while but doesn't appear to see pitches well and often swings at bad balls. Moreland does produce at times and is at least capable of hitting deep. Too often he is hitting the ball off to the left or into center. He power will most likely be better to right. Seems to be slightly late with his swing.

 

I have no faith at all in Bogey, Hanley or Leon. If on rare ocassions they contribute something, that is all we can hope for. JF should either rest them more often or put them deep enough in the order so they aren't primary rally killers. We need to keep winning and JF needs to put our strongest lineup in to do it.

Kimmi Boston Red Sox

Kimmi

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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.

 

This team's inability to score runs has been a source of frustration all season long. You are right about our hitters taking good pitches right down the middle and swinging at pitches way out of the zone. It seems like that is happening way more this year with Bogaerts, Betts, and Hanley. It's like they lost their pitch recognition ability.

Kimmi Boston Red Sox

Kimmi

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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.

 

The Guardians run differential is what scares me. Their streak means little, but that run differential is telling. Not that we can't beat them. We certainly can, but they are a darn good team.

Kimmi Boston Red Sox

Kimmi

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Very logical, as always. The Yankees should be in first place but they have had worse "luck". They have a losing record in 1 run games while the Sox have a winning one. But the bottom line is quite simple; score more than your opponent. It doesn't matter how you get there.

 

See the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Not an offensive powerhouse, but their pitching/defense got them a championship.

 

Unfortunately, you are correct about the Yankees. They have played better ball than the Sox and they should be in first place. That said, the Red Sox are a pretty good team in their own right.

devildavid Draft Eligible

devildavid

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This team's inability to score runs has been a source of frustration all season long. You are right about our hitters taking good pitches right down the middle and swinging at pitches way out of the zone. It seems like that is happening way more this year with Bogaerts, Betts, and Hanley. It's like they lost their pitch recognition ability.

 

Taking pitches can be a two edged sword. The ability to take more pitches can lead to a higher OBP and cause teams to use their bullpens sooner they they want to. It can also lead to missing a lot of first pitch strikes down the middle. Its hard to say what the best approach is, but aggressive free swingers often tend to have lower OBP's.

oldtimer FCL Red Sox

oldtimer

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Taking pitches can be a two edged sword. The ability to take more pitches can lead to a higher OBP and cause teams to use their bullpens sooner they they want to. It can also lead to missing a lot of first pitch strikes down the middle. Its hard to say what the best approach is, but aggressive free swingers often tend to have lower OBP's.

 

Well Nunez is our most aggressive hitter and his numbers are impressive.

Maxbialystock MVP

Maxbialystock

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My two cents on swinging at first pitches is that overall our guys seem to be lousy at it--see tonight's and last night's game. Sometimes they seem to be swinging just to be swinging and hit a pitcher's pitch--leading to an easy out. Other times it's the right pitch, but they still can't get a hit--another easy out. So right now I am tempering my enthusiasm for aggressive hitting. Exceptions would be Nunez and Pedey who seem to be pretty good at it (and also at getting walks). Smart hitters, both.
S5Dewey FCL Red Sox

S5Dewey

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With all the research that's done about pitchers and what they throw and when they throw it, shouldn't we have a good idea of who has control problems and who doesn't? If a hitter is facing a pitcher who throws a lot of strikes he should be swinging at the first pitch he thinks he can handle - but not necessarily the first STRIKE.

Maybe that's what they're doing. I don't know. It's possible that pitchers have done their research on the hitters too and they know what strikes a hitter doesn't like, but when I see a hitter take a first pitch in the middle of the plate I have to wonder.

harmony FCL Red Sox

harmony

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I don't give a f*** about the Mariners.

:D

I was responding to notin's post about the Chicago White Sox:

And health. The 2005 White Sox got over an unheard of 150 starts from their opening day rotation. ...

... but I recognize that some folks prefer to live in a small world.

devildavid Draft Eligible

devildavid

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:D

I was responding to notin's post about the Chicago White Sox:

 

... but I recognize that some folks prefer to live in a small world.

 

Yes, and I'm the one who brought up the White Sox as an example of not needing a top offense to win a championship. I also referred to the Yankees in another post. But I guess its ok because I'm a Red Sox fan.

moonslav59 GOAT

moonslav59

Old-Timey Member
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But over the last 2 seasons, his game has hit another gear.

 

.325 in 2016 is not vastly better than .319.

 

Career SLG: .414.

2016 SLG: .432

 

Significant, but not really eye-opening.

a700hitter GOAT

a700hitter

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
.325 in 2016 is not vastly better than .319.

 

Career SLG: .414.

2016 SLG: .432

 

Significant, but not really eye-opening.

Actually, I should have mentioned the last 3 years. While his OBP is up modestly, his OPS went up more than 100 points and is increasing.
moonslav59 GOAT

moonslav59

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Actually, I should have mentioned the last 3 years. While his OBP is up modestly, his OPS went up more than 100 points and is increasing.

 

Yes, and I think the newer Nunez is more likely what we'll see in the next few years than the old one, but he'll turn 31 next year.

 

I'd offer him a nice 2 year deal but might go 3, if the bidding got high.

 

 

Note: the guy was between .654 and .723 his first 5 years (mostly partial or half seasons worth of PAs). 2015 saw a .758 OPS in just 188 PAs. He followed that up with the exact same OPS in 2016 in over 500 PAs- his most PA season by over 250 PAs.

 

I really like Nunez, but it's really hard to know what to expect next year. He had a .732 OPS the first half this year.

 

Maybe he'll fall in love with the A.L.

 

a700hitter GOAT

a700hitter

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Yes, and I think the newer Nunez is more likely what we'll see in the next few years than the old one, but he'll turn 31 next year.

 

I'd offer him a nice 2 year deal but might go 3, if the bidding got high.

 

 

Note: the guy was between .654 and .723 his first 5 years (mostly partial or half seasons worth of PAs). 2015 saw a .758 OPS in just 188 PAs. He followed that up with the exact same OPS in 2016 in over 500 PAs- his most PA season by over 250 PAs.

 

I really like Nunez, but it's really hard to know what to expect next year. He had a .732 OPS the first half this year.

 

Maybe he'll fall in love with the A.L.

 

I would go 3 years. I don't think he will attract many offers longer than that unless he wins World Series MVP.
mvp 78 GOAT

mvp 78

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted

If we optimized the Sox batting order by OBP, it would look like:

 

Pedroia

Devers

Betts

Beni

Nunez

Vaz

Xander

JBJ

Moreland/Hanley

 

How does that lineup look to you? It even alternates RLR for the top of the lineup.

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