6/28 Twins at Fenway, Game 3

[Station 13]

This season the Red Sox rank sixth among 30 MLB team in batting average with runners in scoring position:

 

 

and last in HR in a league that matters.

[SoxHop]

Marrero is about to go on a tear. I predict another hit for him tonight.

 

Well...... 1 for 2 tonight with a hard hit ball.............. ............................. He's heating up....!!!!!!!!

[SoxHop]

and last in HR in a league that matters.

 

3rd best in ALE at run diff matters more than that stat....

[Station 13]

3rd best in ALE at run diff matters more than that stat....

 

That sure helps them like tonight.

[TylerD]

Ranked in the top or not..... offensively we s*** the bed at the absolute worst times. This team will never be in clear possession of first place in this division. Any time we get a chance we kill outselves. Yankees are going to win tonight and be at the top tied with us again.

[SoxHop]

That sure helps them like tonight.

 

So every other team has more homeruns right?

 

How many of those other teams are in first place?

[Station 13]

So every other team has more homeruns right?

 

How many of those other teams are in first place?

 

It's not only the HRs. The entire hitting is quite below average.

 

Sale+ Kimbrel keeps them in contention.

[SoxHop]

It's not only the HRs. The entire hitting is quite below average.

 

Sale+ Kimbrel keeps them in contention.

 

ok......name me another team with better hitting that is in first........ or another team with better pitching which is in first....

[moonslav59]

ok......name me another team with better hitting that is in first........ or another team with better pitching which is in first....

 

Houston has way better hitting than us, so far.

 

They have 7 guys with 11 or more HRs, including a guy who is 12th on the most PAs list. They have 10 guys with 8 or more HRs.

 

They have 12 guys with over a 133 PAs, and out of those 12 guys...

 

4 are over .900

 

7 are over .800

 

10 are over .740

 

While are pitching has been better (118 ERA+), Houston still has a respectable 108 ERA+ despite having used 9 different starters and currently have 4 starters on the DL.

 

We have 13 guys with over 108 PAs, and out of those 13 guys, we have....

 

0 over .900

 

4 over .800

 

9 over .740

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by moonslav59

[Station 13]

Houston has way better hitting than us, so far.

 

They have 7 guys with 11 or more HRs, including a guy who is 12th on the most PAs list. They have 10 guys with 8 or more HRs.

 

They have 12 guys with over a 133 PAs, and out of those 12 guys...

 

4 are over .900

 

7 are over .800

 

10 are over .740

 

While are pitching has been better (118 ERA+), Houston still has a respectable 108 ERA+ despite having used 9 different starters and currently have 4 starters on the DL.

 

We have 13 guys with over 108 PAs, and out of those 13 guys, we have....

 

0 over .900

 

4 over .800

 

9 over .740

 

Houston is running away for a reason, a balanced team. We're not.

[moonslav59]

ok......name me another team with better hitting that is in first........ or another team with better pitching which is in first....

 

The Dodgers have a better pitching WAR and way better ERA- (79 to 85).

[moonslav59]

Houston is running away for a reason, a balanced team. We're not.

 

The possibly weaker division may help some.

 

The AL East has a better winning percentage from their

 

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

 

place teams. The Sox are 13-15 vs the AL East, so that helped them some.

 

We are 9-7 vs the AL West.

[SoxHop]

Houston is running away for a reason, a balanced team. We're not.

 

Low.... Hanging..... Fruit

[Kimmi]

Not a good start, agreed, but the hitting tonight is worse. Are you watching how our guys just rollover when they come to the plate? With men on 1st and 2d and no one out, Pedroia pops to the infield and Bogaerts and Moreland strike out.

 

Like I said earlier, the Sox are 39-10 this year whenever they score 4 runs. Tonight the hitting is just abysmal at least over the first 5 innings.

 

Porcello was not great, but I am far more frustrated with the offense than I am with him or with the pitching in general. Just when I think the offense might be ready to break out, they make another mediocre pitcher look like an All Star.

[Kimmi]

3rd best in ALE at run diff matters more than that stat....

 

My man.

[Kimmi]

So every other team has more homeruns right?

 

How many of those other teams are in first place?

 

My man.

[Bellhorn04]

Our offense is still sporadic and mediocre. Good games and bad games in equal measure.

[Kimmi]

Our offense is still sporadic and mediocre. Good games and bad games in equal measure.

 

No argument there.

[Maxbialystock]

Last night the Sox were 0 for 10 with RISP and that's what killed us. To me the definitive at bat was Bogie with the bases loaded reaching way out to get a slider well outside the strike zone but nevertheless pulling it to produce a weak groundout to SS. This did bring in a run, but blew a golden opportunity to get more. Bogaerts left 6 guys on last night. I think he has fantastic hand-eye coordination at bat, but still has trouble identifying pitches. In that particular at bat he seemed to come to the plate determined to swing the bat wherever the ball was and to rely on the hand-eye coordination to produce something good.

 

The Sox are still 39-10 when they score 4 or more runs, which also means they are 4-25 when they don't score 4 runs.

 

That the Sox are still "tied" for 1st in the AL East is to the great credit of the pitching staff, especially the bullpen, and the by product is that nobody in the AL East has a very good W-L record this year. Heck, nobody in the AL Central does either. In fact, just one team in the AL, the Astros, has a solid W-L record. Everybody else is in a dog fight.

 

I would say that the biggest danger to the pitching is not another injury--although one to Sale would be huge--but the infield at the 3b, 2b and SS positions. One indicator is that the Sox are 14th in the AL in double plays but of course are 2d in the AL in GIDP. Pedey still still has the good hands but has lost at least a step in range. Some of that, I hasten to add, could be because he is banged up from spikes coming into 2b (Machado), HBP, collision with a firstbaseman, etc.

 

Porcello still struggles with location in my opinion. The 4 runs were almost OK, but he also only went 5 innings. Assuming ERod returns at the same level he was at, Porcello will be our 5th best starter unless, of course, that fingernail hampers Price.

 

If the Sox can't make a deal for solid third baseman or bring Devers up, I would be tempted to move Bogie to 3B and Lin to SS.

[S5Dewey]

 

If the Sox can't make a deal for solid third baseman or bring Devers up, I would be tempted to move Bogie to 3B and Lin to SS.

 

I mentioned this possibility a week or so ago and it wasn't well received. :-) In thinking about it a bit more I now realize why. With Marrero at 3B our problem isn't the defense from 3B, it's the offense there. What we'd essentially be doing is trading Marrero for Lin - which I see as more of a wash than an improvement. Both of them have good gloves but can't hit a lick.

 

You'll remember that I'm that 'solid up the middle' guy, the one who would have a GG'er at every position up the middle regardless of their offense (a bit of hyperbole there, but you get my point!) and give up some defense at the corners to get Silver Sluggers there. However, this team is so offensively challenged that we need all the offense we can get from every position. Consequently I don't see how trading Marrero for Lin solves our offensive problems and is, as I said, a wash on defense. We'd be doing nothing but rearranging the pieces on the board with no net gain at the team's weakness.

[mvp 78]

If the Sox can't make a deal for solid third baseman or bring Devers up, I would be tempted to move Bogie to 3B and Lin to SS.

 

Nope. Why move around an AS caliber player for no reason?