Should DD be fired?

[cp176]

We aren't firing anyone. We don't need a new approach for our hitters because that is what they are. We don't need to win games with homeruns instead of driving in runs. The team won the ALE so it wasn't poorly constructed. We won many games off off of other teams bullpens, and taking pitches made that happen.

 

What we need is one damn starter to show up in the playoffs a couple of games.

 

There is no way to manage our Ace who fades months before the playoffs.........

 

Summed it up pretty well!

[Kimmi]

Until last year, almost all the complaints on this board were about pitching, pitching, and pitching. You can't win without pitching. It's the pitching, stupid! The offense is not the problem, we need pitching! Etc.

 

So, Dombrowski gets us the pitching that we need. Now suddenly, the complaints have turned to how important offense is, in particular, the long ball.

 

I understand that it takes a balance, which we mostly have. A strong pitching staff and an average offense should be a winning recipe.

[Kimmi]

We aren't firing anyone. We don't need a new approach for our hitters because that is what they are. We don't need to win games with homeruns instead of driving in runs. The team won the ALE so it wasn't poorly constructed. We won many games off off of other teams bullpens, and taking pitches made that happen.

 

What we need is one damn starter to show up in the playoffs a couple of games.

 

There is no way to manage our Ace who fades months before the playoffs.........

 

Very nice post SoxHop.

[Bellhorn04]

Until last year, almost all the complaints on this board were about pitching, pitching, and pitching. You can't win without pitching. It's the pitching, stupid! The offense is not the problem, we need pitching! Etc.

 

So, Dombrowski gets us the pitching that we need. Now suddenly, the complaints have turned to how important offense is, in particular, the long ball.

 

In fairness, many people have been complaining about the offense all year LOL

[Northern Star]

Until last year, almost all the complaints on this board were about pitching, pitching, and pitching. You can't win without pitching. It's the pitching, stupid! The offense is not the problem, we need pitching! Etc.

 

So, Dombrowski gets us the pitching that we need. Now suddenly, the complaints have turned to how important offense is, in particular, the long ball.

 

I understand that it takes a balance, which we mostly have. A strong pitching staff and an average offense should be a winning recipe.

 

I sincerely enjoy your posts, which are the equivalent of pouring water on our lighted torches.

[Kimmi]

Our run differential against teams over .500 was +10. We had positive run differentials against the Cubs, Guardians, Twins, and Cardinals. We had negative run differentials against the Astros, Brewers, and Yankees. It's interesting to note that only 50 of our games were against teams that ended up over .500, Our W-L record against them was 27-23.

 

So yes, most of our 'damage' was done against below .500 teams, but I think that would be the case with any of the contenders. And we ended up in the good on both differential and W-L record.

 

In comparison to the other AL teams still in the playoffs:

 

Yankees: +198 run differential, +20 run differential with a 26-22 record against teams over .500

 

Guardians: +254 run differential, +23 run differential with a 27-22 record against teams over .500

 

Astros: +196 run differential, +33 run differential with a 18-15 record against teams over .500

 

The Red Sox look to be right in line with the other top teams as far as how they played against teams above .500. As would be expected, most of the run differential is coming against the weaker teams.

[Kimmi]

In fairness, many people have been complaining about the offense all year LOL

 

LOL

 

I guess my point is that there's more than one way to build a winning ball club, and if the team is winning, should it really matter whether they get it done with pitching/defense or offense? My preference is great pitching, mediocre offense, but I believe a great offense, mediocre pitching team could get the job done as well.

[Kimmi]

I sincerely enjoy your posts, which are the equivalent of pouring water on our lighted torches.

 

Thank you. It's not good when I have to defend the job that Dombrowski has done (for the short term), and I'm not even a Dombrowski fan.

[cp176]

Building any good team in any sport depends on balance in most situations. If Hanley Ramirez was the Hanley Ramirez of yesteryear, Sandoval had actually been able to play and help, Pedroia and Nunez had remained healthy, maybe that balance would have been there. Not really replacing the bat of Ortiz was a gamble that many of us felt wasn't worth taking. I would be quite surprised if the Hanley we are seeing right now is anywhere near this lineup next year. We are not out of it yet though and regardless I do think some of our guys have progressed and not all has been regression. I believe that quite a few of them have learned how to win by any means possible - short of cheating (lol). I have no quantifiable proof to back up my theory that thinking you can win can actually lead to you having the confidence that it takes to actually win.

[SoxHop]

Building any good team in any sport depends on balance in most situations. If Hanley Ramirez was the Hanley Ramirez of yesteryear, Sandoval had actually been able to play and help, Pedroia and Nunez had remained healthy, maybe that balance would have been there. Not really replacing the bat of Ortiz was a gamble that many of us felt wasn't worth taking. I would be quite surprised if the Hanley we are seeing right now is anywhere near this lineup next year. We are not out of it yet though and regardless I do think some of our guys have progressed and not all has been regression. I believe that quite a few of them have learned how to win by any means possible - short of cheating (lol). I have no quantifiable proof to back up my theory that thinking you can win can actually lead to you having the confidence that it takes to actually win.

 

Before I get labelled as a Hanley hater I have to say I just really like the guy. His showing at first last year stuck with me, I'm a huge fan of the guy.

 

But he killed us this year. He was supposed to be the pop we needed.

 

I think when healthy is a pure hitter when on. And he wasn't.

 

Hanley is a huge problem....... you can't dump him, you have to play him.............. he needs to get his stuff together for next year. He's dead weight in a position that we should have pretty much the highest offensive production.

[Spudboy]

I don't hate Hanley. I actually enjoy watching him do stupid s*** and joke around. It's funny and fun.

 

But. The guy is nowhere near the productive player that he was earlier in his career. He was paid big money by the Sox for what he had been, not what he was almost certain to do in Boston. He was an expensive mistake.

 

Not as bad an investment as Fatboy, certainly. But a bad one never the less.

 

I liked the way Hanley adapted and played 1st last year. And he was a decent offensive player, just not what his paycheck would lead you to expect.

 

Going forward I don't see a resurgence in his game. Maybe getting rid of him is not a financially viable idea but if his presence deters or prevents the Sox from getting a better player than he is a f***ing liability. To say otherwise is nuts.

[SoxHop]

I don't hate Hanley. I actually enjoy watching him do stupid s*** and joke around. It's funny and fun.

 

But. The guy is nowhere near the productive player that he was earlier in his career. He was paid big money by the Sox for what he had been, not what he was almost certain to do in Boston. He was an expensive mistake.

 

Not as bad an investment as Fatboy, certainly. But a bad one never the less.

 

I liked the way Hanley adapted and played 1st last year. And he was a decent offensive player, just not what his paycheck would lead you to expect.

 

Going forward I don't see a resurgence in his game. Maybe getting rid of him is not a financially viable idea but if his presence deters or prevents the Sox from getting a better player than he is a f***ing liability. To say otherwise is nuts.

 

I really dug watching him play first last year after that crap left field experiment. Hanley was engaged, and I think really liked being out there. Heck, after a good play he was about the most animated player in the infield.

 

I think we are seeing the end of a career of a star........

[S5Dewey]

I really dug watching him play first last year after that crap left field experiment. Hanley was engaged, and I think really liked being out there. Heck, after a good play he was about the most animated player in the infield.

 

I think we are paying for the end of a career of a star........

 

I corrected that for you. I hope you don't mind. Ugh

[SoxHop]

I corrected that for you. I hope you don't mind. Ugh

 

ahahah........ thanks for correcting me...

[Elktonnick]

In fairness, many people have been complaining about the offense all year LOL

 

Actually there are a whole lot of professional baseball people who argue generically that teams are taking a new approach toward hitting which Boston clearly is not.. There is a movement away from the approach the Sox have traditionally employed toward more upward cuts trying to loft the ball and swinging earlier in the count.

 

The Sox may have won the East but they are clearly not as good as the Astros, Guardians, Dodgers, Nationals and perhaps the Cubs. Arguably despite beating the Yankees for the ALE they aren't as a team as well set up to win in the playoffs as are the Yankees. If the Sox wish to be a serious World Series contender they will need to reconfigure their offense, change their approach toward hitting to reflect the changes in the game over the past few years as well as continue efforts to improve their pitching.

[Spudboy]

Actually there are a whole lot of professional baseball people who argue generically that teams are taking a new approach toward hitting which Boston clearly is not.. There is a movement away from the approach the Sox have traditionally employed toward more upward cuts trying to loft the ball and swinging earlier in the count.

 

The Sox may have won the East but they are clearly not as good as the Astros, Guardians, Dodgers, Nationals and perhaps the Cubs. Arguably despite beating the Yankees for the ALE they aren't as a team as well set up to win in the playoffs as are the Yankees. If the Sox wish to be a serious World Series contender they will need to reconfigure their offense, change their approach toward hitting to reflect the changes in the game over the past few years as well as continue efforts to improve their pitching.

 

More good stuff.

[mvp 78]

Yes.

[moonslav59]

Actually there are a whole lot of professional baseball people who argue generically that teams are taking a new approach toward hitting which Boston clearly is not.. There is a movement away from the approach the Sox have traditionally employed toward more upward cuts trying to loft the ball and swinging earlier in the count.

 

The Sox may have won the East but they are clearly not as good as the Astros, Guardians, Dodgers, Nationals and perhaps the Cubs. Arguably despite beating the Yankees for the ALE they aren't as a team as well set up to win in the playoffs as are the Yankees. If the Sox wish to be a serious World Series contender they will need to reconfigure their offense, change their approach toward hitting to reflect the changes in the game over the past few years as well as continue efforts to improve their pitching.

 

Great post.

 

The way the best teams have stocked up their pens, getting the starter out early doesn't carry the weight it used to do, especially once in the playoffs.

[Elktonnick]

Why did the offense come alive today? My reply is that Hanley, Moreland, Devers, and Leon were aggressive at the plate. On WEEI before the game Lou Merloni was making the same points that I made, namely that Sox hitters needed to stop taking first and second pitch strikes. ( I confess my comments reflect what I have been hearing from analysts on MLB TV and radio so I claim no special insight just good listening skills)

[iortiz]

Haven’t read the thread, but with all due respect it’s ridiculos.

[Northern Star]

Haven’t read the thread, but with all due respect it’s ridiculos.

 

No more or less ridiculous than anything else we debate to death here. I said just because I created the thread, doesn't mean I think he should, but I wanted to get the debate started.

[iortiz]

No more or less ridiculous than anything else we debate to death here. I said just because I created the thread, doesn't mean I think he should, but I wanted to get the debate started.

 

Fair enough NS.

[Spudboy]

Why did the offense come alive today? My reply is that Hanley, Moreland, Devers, and Leon were aggressive at the plate. On WEEI before the game Lou Merloni was making the same points that I made, namely that Sox hitters needed to stop taking first and second pitch strikes. ( I confess my comments reflect what I have been hearing from analysts on MLB TV and radio so I claim no special insight just good listening skills)

 

It makes sense.

[SoxHop]

Why did the offense come alive today? My reply is that Hanley, Moreland, Devers, and Leon were aggressive at the plate. On WEEI before the game Lou Merloni was making the same points that I made, namely that Sox hitters needed to stop taking first and second pitch strikes. ( I confess my comments reflect what I have been hearing from analysts on MLB TV and radio so I claim no special insight just good listening skills)

 

So it took them 165 games to figure that out? And you figured this out when? I guess better late than never.

[Larry Cook]

It's not complicated. If you swing at pitches you can hit, good things will happen.

[oldtimer]

It's not complicated. If you swing at pitches you can hit, good things will happen.

 

Something Bogey seems to forget too often.

[Elktonnick]

Bogaerts looks paralyzed at the plate. He is as hitters often say caught "in between". While his wrist injury obviously set him back and I believe he should been placed on the DL, nevertheless he is still using that classic Charlie Lau- Walt Hrinieke swing that ruined Rich Gedman those many years ago.

[Elktonnick]

So it took them 165 games to figure that out? And you figured this out when? I guess better late than never.

 

Truth is I have been spouting this since the end of last season. Virtually every analyst on MLB network and elsewhere has been saying for close to a year that baseball has changed because of the shifts and power arms out of the bullpen and hitters must adjust. It seems from my point of view that Sox hitters with the exception of Benintendi who has an upper cut swing and Devers have been slower to adapt than have other hitters on other teams.

[Spudboy]

Truth is I have been spouting this since the end of last season. Virtually every analyst on MLB network and elsewhere has been saying for close to a year that baseball has changed because of the shifts and power arms out of the bullpen and hitters must adjust. It seems from my point of view that Sox hitters with the exception of Benintendi who has an upper cut swing and Devers have been slower to adapt than have other hitters on other teams.

 

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

I would add in the part of the Sox hitters sitting on the first pitch. I understand that for some reason it was in search of OBP and taxing a starter to et to the lesser arms in the pen. Or so I have read and have been told.

 

I have almost never understood how going down in the count 0-1 can be a good thing but alas I concede that there are still aspects about this great game that I do not understand.

 

So I have thought that standing in the box scratching their balls and fidgeting with their gloves was dumb, even for players who have been very productive like Pedroia. That guy actually backs out of the box as the pitcher is delivering his pitch.

 

Whatever the justification for taking the first pitch may have been or continues to be, It seem that the idea will work against a team looking to get into a pen loaded with power arms and specialists.

 

Again, I don't claim to know "all that" about baseball. It just seems prudent to allow ones philosophy and strategy evolve as the game changes.

[Elktonnick]

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

I would add in the part of the Sox hitters sitting on the first pitch. I understand that for some reason it was in search of OBP and taxing a starter to et to the lesser arms in the pen. Or so I have read and have been told.

 

I have almost never understood how going down in the count 0-1 can be a good thing but alas I concede that there are still aspects about this great game that I do not understand.

 

So I have thought that standing in the box scratching their balls and fidgeting with their gloves was dumb, even for players who have been very productive like Pedroia. That guy actually backs out of the box as the pitcher is delivering his pitch.

 

Whatever the justification for taking the first pitch may have been or continues to be, It seem that the idea will work against a team looking to get into a pen loaded with power arms and specialists.

 

Again, I don't claim to know "all that" about baseball. It just seems prudent to allow ones philosophy and strategy evolve as the game changes.

 

With the advent of the pitch count it made sense to drive up the pitch count so teams who bring in a reliever from the bull pen. Chances were that the reliever wouldn't be as good as the starter, at least that was the thinking over the past 15 years. It worked well for the sox then. However times have changed. Now there are so many power arms in the bullpen that chances are the reliever will be better than the starter for one inning any way. Now it makes no sense to pass up perfectly hittable pitches to drive up the pitch count only to face a more dominant reliever. That's what many analysts are pointing out today.