Red Sox To Sign J.D. Martinez

[sk7326]

Fangraphs has him as a putrid outfielder. -15 UZR/150 in 17, below -20 in 16. That’s an abysmal fielder. He’ll get some OF PT just as routine maintenance of the 3 solid defensive OFers, but with the Lisfranc injury, I’d assume no more than 40-50 games out there. If you figure each OFer, if healthy, will see 145-150 games, that’ll give you 45-51 games out there. JD probably only plays LF with Beni shifting to CF or RF when the other guys are rested

 

I figure he probably plays in the field in 6-7 of the 9 NL park games. And I imagine he will play LF against a few of the trickier LHPs, where Benintendi can move to CF. And I could see him playing some 1B too.

[sk7326]

Some truth spouted by the masses. JD is an abhorrent defender. Advocating for him to play the OF is both detrimental to your team defense and potentially detrimental to JD’s health.

 

If I were DD or Cora, I’d have David Ortiz glued to JD throughout camp. Have David go over the transition from field to no field and the mentality required. It’s far harder than people think. I was a 1b in college and my senior year, I moved to DH as our SS hurt his shoulder and was a far better fielder than I. I couldn’t do it. I felt like I wasn’t a part of the game. It’s far harder than you think, especially when you haven’t been transitioned to it gradually. I’d have David there to show JD what to do during the downtime. Aside from literally 5 minutes of action, you have no role for the other 2 hours and 55 minutes.

 

Yeah - at least in the big leagues there are some ways to work between the at-bats ... take some cuts in the cage, break down some video etc.

[SoxnCycles]

I figure he probably plays in the field in 6-7 of the 9 NL park games. And I imagine he will play LF against a few of the trickier LHPs, where Benintendi can move to CF. And I could see him playing some 1B too.

 

That's it for NL away games?

I thought there'd be more than 3 series.

[harmony]

That's it for NL away games?

I thought there'd be more than 3 series.

The Red Sox are scheduled to play 10 games in National League parks against the Marlins (2), Nationals (3), Phillies (2) and Braves (3):

 

Boston Red Sox Schedule | Boston Red Sox

WWW.MLB.COM

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The Official Site of Major League Baseball

[sk7326]

That's it for NL away games?

I thought there'd be more than 3 series.

 

Sox interleague schedule

 

April 2-3: AT Miami (2 games) ... Last of a 6 game roadtrip to start the season, so it makes sense for JD to sit one of these games

May 25-27: VS Atlanta (3 games)

July 2-4: AT Washington (3 games) ... The July 4 game is an 11:00 AM start after a night game, so could easily see JD held out of this or the night before

July 30-31: VS Philadelphia (2 games)

Aug 14-15: AT Philadelphia (2 games) ... days off on both ends of this, let's say Martinez gets both starts here

Aug 28-29: VS Miami (2 games)

Sep 3-5: AT Atlanta (3 games) ... 2 of the 3 games are afternoon starts, so figure Martinez sits at least one of these.

Sep 14-16: VS NY Mets (3 games)

[notin]

Why would Martinez sit out from fielding on day games after night games? He did play the outfield last year in those same games plus a whole bunch of others with this same injury. ..

[notin]

I'm assuming JD plays the outfield in NL parks and not 1b. If he does play the outfield and none of the starters are injured, who sits?

[moonslav59]

I'm assuming JD plays the outfield in NL parks and not 1b. If he does play the outfield and none of the starters are injured, who sits?

 

Whoever needs a rest or JBJ vs RHPs and Beni vs LHPs.

[moonslav59]

Sox interleague schedule

 

April 2-3: AT Miami (2 games) ... Last of a 6 game roadtrip to start the season, so it makes sense for JD to sit one of these games

May 25-27: VS Atlanta (3 games)

July 2-4: AT Washington (3 games) ... The July 4 game is an 11:00 AM start after a night game, so could easily see JD held out of this or the night before

July 30-31: VS Philadelphia (2 games)

Aug 14-15: AT Philadelphia (2 games) ... days off on both ends of this, let's say Martinez gets both starts here

Aug 28-29: VS Miami (2 games)

Sep 3-5: AT Atlanta (3 games) ... 2 of the 3 games are afternoon starts, so figure Martinez sits at least one of these.

Sep 14-16: VS NY Mets (3 games)

 

Spread out pretty well.

 

Plan resting OF'ers and JD accordingly.

[SoxnCycles]

I'm assuming JD plays the outfield in NL parks and not 1b. If he does play the outfield and none of the starters are injured, who sits?

 

I would hope it depends on who's hitting and who isn't.

I wouldn't be stunned to see Benintendi and JBJ see a slump or two.

[sk7326]

Why would Martinez sit out from fielding on day games after night games? He did play the outfield last year in those same games plus a whole bunch of others with this same injury. ..

 

Same reason catchers do - and we know (from history with Ortiz and Ramirez) that the DH will almost certainly sit during some of these games.

[Spudboy]

Fangraphs has him as a putrid outfielder. -15 UZR/150 in 17, below -20 in 16. That’s an abysmal fielder. He’ll get some OF PT just as routine maintenance of the 3 solid defensive OFers, but with the Lisfranc injury, I’d assume no more than 40-50 games out there. If you figure each OFer, if healthy, will see 145-150 games, that’ll give you 45-51 games out there. JD probably only plays LF with Beni shifting to CF or RF when the other guys are rested

 

One of the reasons Holt may stick.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Spudboy

[moonslav59]

I would hope it depends on who's hitting and who isn't.

I wouldn't be stunned to see Benintendi and JBJ see a slump or two.

 

Plus, Beni's numbers need to improve vs LHPs, or else we'll have an easy choice.

[moonslav59]

One of the reasons Holt may stick.

 

Nunez plays better OF than Holt or JD.

[cp176]

One of the reasons Holt may stick.

 

Who the hell is this fangraphs guy Spud? His name seems to come up a lot here. He must have been a hell of a player. I'm going to check in with Pedroia just hear to what he thinks of him. lol

[Natick to NC]

Who the hell is this fangraphs guy Spud? His name seems to come up a lot here. He must have been a hell of a player. I'm going to check in with Pedroia just hear to what he thinks of him. lol

 

Watching JD hit cages today with Mookie asking him how he's pulling his hands through on his outer most impact was reallllllly freaking Awesome !! JD will teach Mookie and Mookie will Teach JD Aton .JD and Mookie by the end of that session had what looked like similar swing paths ....Mookie is a baseball savant people .....Mookie will get the largest contract in Red Sox History .

[moonslav59]

Mookie's greatest attribute might be the one we drafted him on: super twitch responses.

 

I'm not saying he's not smart, and I think he will learn and grow and get better.

[notin]

Same reason catchers do - and we know (from history with Ortiz and Ramirez) that the DH will almost certainly sit during some of these games.

 

The Sox also moved Adrian Gonzalez to RF to keep Ortiz in the lineup. And hopefully JD works out better than Hanley has where sitting him has been a no-brainer.

 

Not sure I like the catcher comparison. You're trying to compare the most physically demanding position to the least physically demanding position. .

[Kimmi]

I hope we get chance to see how bad he is. lol

How many of you out there can honestly say that you have watched and scrutinized the way he plays in the field? Raise your hands.

 

I have not watched him play that many games, and certainly have not scrutinized the way he plays defensively. Do I have to have done that to know that he is pretty bad defensively when I have the stats (and scouting reports) that say he's that bad?

 

If there were a pitcher with as much experience and playing time as JD, and every year his ERA ranged from 6 to 6.5, would you know that he's a bad pitcher or would you have to see him pitch first to make that determination? I know I'd feel pretty comfortable forming the opinion that said pitcher stinks.

 

Why are defensive metrics any different?

[Kimmi]

How many times have you seen him play the outfield?

 

I trust what the defensive metrics tell me.

 

Can you determine whether a hitter is a bad hitter by looking at his stats?

[Kimmi]

He can be everyday LF in NL parks.

 

I have no doubt that he will get playing time in the outfield. I also don't have a problem with that, in a limited, 4th outfielder type role.

 

I'm just saying he's not very good out there.

[Kimmi]

Also,

 

Boston would be able to make Martinez a qualifying offer, should he decide to opt out of the remaining three years of the deal...

 

Excellent.

[Kimmi]

I didn't watch him hit all 45 bombs last year, but based on the numbers, I think I have a fair bit of confidence that he has great power. I know people are generally more suspicious of defensive numbers for whatever reason, but at a certain point they, coupled with the consensus around the game that seems to have him as a fairly mediocre defender (although there were other factors at play, the fact that the only team willing to offer him a long-term deal plans to use him primarily as a DH seems noteworthy), are worth something, right? Not to denigrate the value of anyone's eyeballs, but the idea that you can't know anything about a player's defensive skill, and have to be purely agnostic on the subject, until you, personally, have watched them extensively seems...a bit preposterous to me.

 

Perhaps more to the point, all of us have had the opportunity to watch our current group of outfielders at work, and I for one feel no urgency to break up what should be one of the better defensive outfields in the majors on account of JDM. I expect we'll see him start from time to time to rest one of the starting three, but if it's any more than that, it means that one of the Beni/JBJ/Betts trinity has gotten hurt or their playing time has been cut for some reason, so for that reason alone, I certainly hope we don't see too much of him in the field. As someone else said, he was signed to hit, and I'm excited as hell to see him hit...not terribly concerned about the rest.

 

Thank you.

[Kimmi]

Worse than Manny?

 

Manny was pretty bad. So was Hanley.

[notin]

Manny was pretty bad. So was Hanley.

 

Manny was bad all around. But when he was good, he was good.

 

 

Not the best highlight reel defense, but maximum bonus points awarded for high-fiving a fan and still completing the double play...

[cp176]

I have not watched him play that many games, and certainly have not scrutinized the way he plays defensively. Do I have to have done that to know that he is pretty bad defensively when I have the stats (and scouting reports) that say he's that bad?

 

If there were a pitcher with as much experience and playing time as JD, and every year his ERA ranged from 6 to 6.5, would you know that he's a bad pitcher or would you have to see him pitch first to make that determination? I know I'd feel pretty comfortable forming the opinion that said pitcher stinks.

 

Why are defensive metrics any different?

 

No one has even come close to saying that people should not consider any metric that might help them make an educated decision. I certainly would but ultimately my mind would not be made up until I saw him play. It seems to me that people who have great great faith in metrics do not even think for one minute that there is any other way to even help evaluate talent. I think that that is very sad. With respect to your view on pitchers - 6 to 6.5 really - 4 to 4.5 absolutely I would have to see him throw before I made up my mind.

[notin]

To me the metrics make it a level field for comparing. Watching one shortstop 150 times and another one 6 times shouldn't lead anyone to conclude whose better.

 

But the best thing about metrics is they made me and a lot of other people look beyond errors and fielding percentage, which was a very common method of evaluating defense, and easily the most flawed.

 

Eye Test defense is OK, but it has far more flaws than metrics do...

[Spudboy]

"You have any of them French fried taters?"

 

[cp176]

"You have any of them French fried taters?"

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]587[/ATTACH]

 

The game of baseball is a beautiful game filled with all kinds of strategy that the average player could give two big shits about. The brainiacs as you like to call them seem to be out in force trying paint lipstick on the pig here. Best of luck to any manager who tries to convince these guys that what fangraphs has to say about them daily has any significance what so ever! Gets a big f***ing lol from me Spud but remember I am one of the old fools.

[mvp 78]

I have no doubt that he will get playing time in the outfield. I also don't have a problem with that, in a limited, 4th outfielder type role.

 

I'm just saying he's not very good out there.

He’s not good at all out there.