Sox to hire Alex Cora as manager

[Bellhorn04]

Not according to the boxscores I've seen?

 

Look again.

[mvp 78]

Look again.

 

The boxscores on google don't match the boxscores on MLB. Weird.

[Kimmi]

Where else would they be if not the lineup? Concession stand?

 

LOL

 

On the bench?

 

Because as Moon would say, the idiot manager keeps putting Brock Holt in the lineup!

[Kimmi]

Honest to God Kimmi there are those among us who believe that a blend of analytical information coupled with a healthy dose of what has worked since the game was created is really the way to go. Guess I am one of those people. It just doesn't have to be one or the other.

 

I have never said it has to be one way or the other.

 

But I am saying that perhaps just because something has 'worked' since the game was created doesn't mean that it can't be improved upon.

[cp176]

I have never said it has to be one way or the other.

 

But I am saying that perhaps just because something has 'worked' since the game was created doesn't mean that it can't be improved upon.

 

Do you think that I disagree with this? I'm sorry if you do. It would be wrong. I think that I have been very clear that I believe in using every bit of available information to help create a winning program. I have never said that you absolutely feel that it has to be one way or the other. You might tend to lean one way - I might tend to lean a different way don't you think? It's all good.

[Emp9]

LOL

 

On the bench?

 

Because as Moon would say, the idiot manager keeps putting Brock Holt in the lineup!

 

If a manager is leaving his best players on the bench, that team would have bigger problems than it’s batting order. Could be time to fire their manager.

[jacksonianmarch]

Holt will be temporary. Once Pedroia comes back, Nunez will shift into Holt’s roster spot and Holt will be cut

[sk7326]

I'm not suggesting that the players have to understand it, just that they have to buy into it. If they don't buy into it, it's likely not going to work.

 

I think that a lot of the managers themselves don't buy into the analytics, and therefore don't use much of the information given to them by the FOs, and therefore didn't see the need to communicate this information to the players. I really think that there is a disconnect between the analytically minded FOs and the traditionally minded managers, though I believe the trend is changing.

 

The Red Sox have a special coach, Ramone Vazquez, whose job it is to make that connection, and to relay such information to the players in a way that it's not threatening. My understanding is that Cora specifically asked for this coaching position to be added.

 

Right ... that said Farrell and Francona were certainly schooled in this stuff too. The communication line seems to have changed. It's exciting - Cora was one of the two or three very best managerial prospects out there, so I am looking forward to seeing what he can do.

[moonslav59]

Holt will be temporary. Once Pedroia comes back, Nunez will shift into Holt’s roster spot and Holt will be cut

 

Holt might be in AAA when Pedey comes up, as we might keep the out-of-options Marrero and Swihart to start the year.

 

Depending on how Holt, marrero and Swihart are doing once Pedey returns, any one of them could be traded or DFA'd.

 

I'm wondering if Pedey and marco start on the 60 day DL.

 

(Can you begin a 60 day DL in spring training, so it only goes 45 days into the season?)

[moonslav59]

If a manager is leaving his best players on the bench, that team would have bigger problems than it’s batting order. Could be time to fire their manager.

 

Yes, my biggest beef was Holt even starting, but then putting him 1st or second was what blew my gasket.

[mvp 78]

Holt might be in AAA when Pedey comes up, as we might keep the out-of-options Marrero and Swihart to start the year.

 

Depending on how Holt, marrero and Swihart are doing once Pedey returns, any one of them could be traded or DFA'd.

 

I'm wondering if Pedey and marco start on the 60 day DL.

 

(Can you begin a 60 day DL in spring training, so it only goes 45 days into the season?)

 

It's big that Holt still has an option remaining.

[mvp 78]

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/03/01/we-need-to-talk-about-alex-cora-using-the-word-slacks/

 

The key from Cora is that he’s going to let the veterans lead and see where that goes:

 

“I think you give them the space,” Cora said in a sit-down with NBC Sports Boston. “Obviously, we’re going to have some rules. Dress codes, and who can be in the clubhouse, all that stuff. … I will get the veterans or the core of the team in my office. Tell ‘em what I want from them, and then they meet and they’ll come back with a set of rules that they feel it’s appropriate for the team, and then we’ll discuss and we go.”

 

That dress code led to this comment from Cora:

 

“I signed with the Dodgers in 1996, and that was an organization that from Double-A on every trip, it was a [must to wear a] sports coat on the road,” Cora said. “Have to wear a collared shirt. Slacks on the road … it was very clean. So I know it’s different now. I know that what for me is a dress shirt for another guy is not.

[mvp 78]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/27/red-sox-planning-more-aggressive-approach-plate/IvhnEH6O9BE6UFYuRI58oM/story.html

 

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier runs through some troubling numbers for the Red Sox’ offense from 2017, observing that the team’s lineup was startlingly ineffective in hitters’ counts. Boston took an abnormally passive approach at the plate last season, per Speier, and while they were among the game’s more productive clubs in 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 counts, they ranked in the bottom third of baseball in 3-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-1 and 0-1 counts (by measure of OPS). The Red Sox ranked last in the American League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 0-0 counts, he adds. Speier spoke at length with principal owner John Henry about the trends, which did not go unnoticed by ownership or the front office and may have played a notable role in the organization’s coaching overhaul. Notably, Speier adds that new skipper Alex Cora saw his Astros pounce on the first pitch with regularity and with great success in 2017.

[moonslav59]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/27/red-sox-planning-more-aggressive-approach-plate/IvhnEH6O9BE6UFYuRI58oM/story.html

 

The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier runs through some troubling numbers for the Red Sox’ offense from 2017, observing that the team’s lineup was startlingly ineffective in hitters’ counts. Boston took an abnormally passive approach at the plate last season, per Speier, and while they were among the game’s more productive clubs in 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 counts, they ranked in the bottom third of baseball in 3-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-1 and 0-1 counts (by measure of OPS). The Red Sox ranked last in the American League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 0-0 counts, he adds. Speier spoke at length with principal owner John Henry about the trends, which did not go unnoticed by ownership or the front office and may have played a notable role in the organization’s coaching overhaul. Notably, Speier adds that new skipper Alex Cora saw his Astros pounce on the first pitch with regularity and with great success in 2017.

 

Taking first pitches right down the middle is one thing that has bugged me for years.

 

Things have changed since the days of trying to get to opposing pens as soon as possible.

 

I'm glad Cora seems to be on top of this, and we'll see some adjustments this year.

[mvp 78]

Taking first pitches right down the middle is one thing that has bugged me for years.

 

Things have changed since the days of trying to get to opposing pens as soon as possible.

 

I'm glad Cora seems to be on top of this, and we'll see some adjustments this year.

 

The single most maddening thing about watching the 2017 Sox...

[moonslav59]

The single most maddening thing about watching the 2017 Sox...

 

Agreed.

 

Mental blunders was second.

 

Lost power third.

[Kimmi]

Do you think that I disagree with this? I'm sorry if you do. It would be wrong. I think that I have been very clear that I believe in using every bit of available information to help create a winning program. I have never said that you absolutely feel that it has to be one way or the other. You might tend to lean one way - I might tend to lean a different way don't you think? It's all good.

 

It's all good CP.

[Kimmi]

If a manager is leaving his best players on the bench, that team would have bigger problems than it’s batting order. Could be time to fire their manager.

 

Of course a manager is not going to leave his best players on the bench, but there are times when there is a better hitter sitting on the bench than someone who is in the line up. And I'm not just talking about when a player needs a day off.

[Kimmi]

Taking first pitches right down the middle is one thing that has bugged me for years.

 

Things have changed since the days of trying to get to opposing pens as soon as possible.

 

I'm glad Cora seems to be on top of this, and we'll see some adjustments this year.

 

My only fear is that some players may take the aggressive approach to the other extreme.

 

Be aggressive, but be selectively aggressive.

[Spudboy]

My only fear is that some players may take the aggressive approach to the other extreme.

 

Be aggressive, but be selectively aggressive.

 

And what if players see JD's uppercut swing and say to themselves "I can do that"?

 

I doubt that this will happen but who knows?

[moonslav59]

My only fear is that some players may take the aggressive approach to the other extreme.

 

Be aggressive, but be selectively aggressive.

 

I doubt anyone changes their approach to an extreme.

 

Just stop being so predictable, is all I ask.

[Emp9]

Of course a manager is not going to leave his best players on the bench, but there are times when there is a better hitter sitting on the bench than someone who is in the line up. And I'm not just talking about when a player needs a day off.

 

This really has nothing to do with what I was talking about, but... whatever no big deal. Go Sox!

[Kimmi]

I read this morning that JBJ is expecting to steal more bases this year. He says that Cora has given him the green light.

 

What I found interesting was that Jackie said that he did not have the green light last year. With the aggressive base running approach that the team had last year, which resulted in many OOBs, I was under the assumption that the runners, at least the decent baserunners, all had the green light.

 

I wonder why Jackie would not have the the green light when Farrell said continually that he wanted his players to be aggressive on the bases.

 

And, I wonder if this was the case with all the players.

[MADSTORK]

I read this morning that JBJ is expecting to steal more bases this year. He says that Cora has given him the green light.

 

What I found interesting was that Jackie said that he did not have the green light last year. With the aggressive base running approach that the team had last year, which resulted in many OOBs, I was under the assumption that the runners, at least the decent baserunners, all had the green light.

 

I wonder why Jackie would not have the the green light when Farrell said continually that he wanted his players to be aggressive on the bases.

 

 

 

 

This is why Manager John is selling cars in Nashua.

[moonslav59]

I read this morning that JBJ is expecting to steal more bases this year. He says that Cora has given him the green light.

 

What I found interesting was that Jackie said that he did not have the green light last year. With the aggressive base running approach that the team had last year, which resulted in many OOBs, I was under the assumption that the runners, at least the decent baserunners, all had the green light.

 

I wonder why Jackie would not have the the green light when Farrell said continually that he wanted his players to be aggressive on the bases.

 

And, I wonder if this was the case with all the players.

 

2014-2017 Base Running Numbers from fangraph's value page:

 

(Note: games played has a lot of impact on these numbers.)

 

29.9 Betts

18.8 Bogey

11.0 Bradley

10.3 Holt (If you counted this number per PA, Holt wouldprobably be number 1.)

2.3 Beni (low PAs)

1.9 Swihart

1.2 Marrero

0.1 Devers

 

-2.4 MOreland

-5.3 Vazquez

-6.1 Leon

-9.2 HRam

-11.5 Pedey (Can we stop with the Pedey batting 1st and 2nd slot talk?)

-22.1 Papi

 

[Bellhorn04]

2014-2017 Base Running Numbers from fangraph's value page:

 

(Note: games played has a lot of impact on these numbers.)

 

29.9 Betts

18.8 Bogey

11.0 Bradley

10.3 Holt (If you counted this number per PA, Holt wouldprobably be number 1.)

2.3 Beni (low PAs)

1.9 Swihart

1.2 Marrero

0.1 Devers

 

-2.4 MOreland

-5.3 Vazquez

-6.1 Leon

-9.2 HRam

-11.5 Pedey (Can we stop with the Pedey batting 1st and 2nd slot talk?)

-22.1 Papi

 

 

Shows why Holt was a good choice to bat second after all.

 

Kidding!

[moonslav59]

Shows why Holt was a good choice to bat second after all.

 

Kidding!

 

I set myself up for that one.

[Kimmi]

This is why Manager John is selling cars in Nashua.

 

I guess. It just doesn't make any sense to me not to green light JBJ if you are preaching aggressiveness on the basepaths.

[Kimmi]

2014-2017 Base Running Numbers from fangraph's value page:

 

(Note: games played has a lot of impact on these numbers.)

 

29.9 Betts

18.8 Bogey

11.0 Bradley

10.3 Holt (If you counted this number per PA, Holt wouldprobably be number 1.)

2.3 Beni (low PAs)

1.9 Swihart

1.2 Marrero

0.1 Devers

 

-2.4 MOreland

-5.3 Vazquez

-6.1 Leon

-9.2 HRam

-11.5 Pedey (Can we stop with the Pedey batting 1st and 2nd slot talk?)

-22.1 Papi

 

 

I'm not advocating stealing bases just to be stealing bases, but if you're going to have a team philosophy of being aggressive on the bases, then the guys with speed should have the green light in most circumstances, IMO.

 

FTR, I am a fan of the aggressive base running philosophy. Not necessarily stealing bases, but trying to advance that extra base when possible.

[moonslav59]

I think JBJ is savvy enough to be given the green light and not mess it up.