A Realistic View at 2018: Part II

[moonslav59]

Those Manny/Ortiz/Pedro/Schill teams come to mind too. Those teams had Teck behind the plate' date=' he handled pitchers ever bit as well as this group does and he wasn't a black hole in the lineup. And those teams had far better pens.[/quote']

 

That 2004 line-up was pretty solid top to bottom. It wasn't just Manny & Papi.

 

We had the following year's batting title winner, Bill Mueller (.811 in '04), batting 9th!

 

VTek was not only great behind the plate, he had an .872 OPS that year!

 

Millar & Damon were at .857!

 

OCab (.785), Youk (.780) and Mirabelli (.893) had good seasons.

 

Bellhorn gave us .817!

 

Nixon .887!

 

Maybe best of all, we only needed 5 starts from outside our top 5. (32-33 starts by all our 5 starters!)

 

[notin]

That 2004 line-up was pretty solid top to bottom. It wasn't just Manny & Papi.

 

We had the following year's batting title winner, Bill Mueller (.811 in '04), batting 9th!

 

VTek was not only great behind the plate, he had an .872 OPS that year!

 

Millar & Damon were at .857!

 

OCab (.785), Youk (.780) and Mirabelli (.893) had good seasons.

 

Bellhorn gave us .817!

 

Nixon .887!

 

Maybe best of all, we only needed 5 starts from outside our top 5. (32-33 starts by all our 5 starters!)

 

 

A fun trivia question (without looking it up) is - who as third on that team in home runs?

[moonslav59]

A fun trivia question (without looking it up) is - who as third on that team in home runs?

 

Millar?

 

Maybe VTek?

[notin]

Millar?

 

Maybe VTek?

 

Actually it was Johnny Damon with 20, a distant third from the 41 Ortiz hit.

 

Millar and Varitek had 18 apiece and Bellhorn had 17...

[Bellhorn04]

That 2004 line-up was pretty solid top to bottom. It wasn't just Manny & Papi.

 

We had the following year's batting title winner, Bill Mueller (.811 in '04), batting 9th!

 

VTek was not only great behind the plate, he had an .872 OPS that year!

 

Millar & Damon were at .857!

 

OCab (.785), Youk (.780) and Mirabelli (.893) had good seasons.

 

Bellhorn gave us .817!

 

Nixon .887!

 

Maybe best of all, we only needed 5 starts from outside our top 5. (32-33 starts by all our 5 starters!)

 

 

Those were very juicy days for offense. Pun intended.

[moonslav59]

Actually it was Johnny Damon with 20, a distant third from the 41 Ortiz hit.

 

Millar and Varitek had 18 apiece and Bellhorn had 17...

 

I never thought of him. I think he hit 24 one year with KC.

[oldtimer]

True, and we'll need this more and more as the next seasons approach.

 

Signing a FA catcher or trading for one will take away from what we can do at high need areas.

 

Our catching position is NOT a need area at all.

 

Yes, I'd like more offense from our catchers, but offense is so far down on the list of what is the most valuable skills a good catcher needs.

 

Say that after we lose two to the Guardians in extra innings when we only have a couple of guys hitting. Offense coming from anywhere in the lineup can make the difference in winning or losing. We have a throwaway at bat with the catcher as it now stands.

[oldtimer]

Again, why do people assume those players that are slumping will continue to do so?

 

A player's recent week, 2 weeks or even 2 month sample size is not a good indicator of what is to come. Yes, it is part of the equation, but not the dominant one.

 

You don't throw out great results from our staff just to try and gain a little bit of offense from the catcher position.

 

I'm hopeful Moreland and Kinsler turn things around, but we do have Devers showing life, and Pearce hitting righties better than ever. We also have Nunez and Holt taking up some slack.

 

I'm confident our offense will be fine. Maybe, I'm just being a homer, but our guys are getting some rest, and I think that should help.

 

Yes, Cora is resting some people and sometimes that means giving away games we could have won. I also realize that PO series only last for short periods and guys that remain in extended slumps may easly wind up costing us series. We need to play the guys that are getting it done once we are in the Post Season.

[Bellhorn04]

Yes, Cora is resting some people and sometimes that means giving away games we could have won.

 

Isn't it possible that Cora knows exactly what he's doing when he rests people and that it has something to do with the team's 105-51 record?

[moonslav59]

Say that after we lose two to the Guardians in extra innings when we only have a couple of guys hitting. Offense coming from anywhere in the lineup can make the difference in winning or losing. We have a throwaway at bat with the catcher as it now stands.

 

But, the gain we get on the other end of the catching spectrum is so fantastic, it makes no sense to give that up for a couple hundred OPS points, at most. Plus, the cost to improve our catching position will keep us from signing RP'ers.

[moonslav59]

Yes, Cora is resting some people and sometimes that means giving away games we could have won. I also realize that PO series only last for short periods and guys that remain in extended slumps may easly wind up costing us series. We need to play the guys that are getting it done once we are in the Post Season.

 

Like when, whoever does well the last week or two plays?

 

This makes zero sense, to me.

 

All good players go through slumps. If we benched every player who slumped, we'd have nobody left to play.

 

We are going to go with the horses that got us here. Hopefully, Cora will get players rested or not rusty by game 1. I have confidence, despite our resent struggles on offense.

[notin]

Isn't it possible that Cora knows exactly what he's doing when he rests people and that it has something to do with the team's 105-51 record?

 

Better to give away those games in September than in October...

[moonslav59]

Better to give away those games in September than in October...

 

He's doing this SO we win in October- or at least increasing our odds of winning.

 

It's the fans who think everyone needs to go 2-4 in their last game to guarantee they do well in the playoffs that get upset over this crap.

[Kimmi]

Isn't it possible that Cora knows exactly what he's doing when he rests people and that it has something to do with the team's 105-51 record?

 

Amen, brother Bell.

[notin]

He's doing this SO we win in October- or at least increasing our odds of winning.

 

It's the fans who think everyone needs to go 2-4 in their last game to guarantee they do well in the playoffs that get upset over this crap.

 

Especially since getting hot in September is pretty meaningless, what with the league so full of AAA pitchers...

[moonslav59]

Especially since getting hot in September is pretty meaningless, what with the league so full of AAA pitchers...

 

Good point.

 

Also, with 5 days off before the first PO game, I'm not sure what anybody did over the last week or two matters that much. And, I don't even value 2 week sample sizes much at all anyways.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Seems to me even when Cora rests his starters the Sox still win.

 

LOL at Joe Kelly again last night. I've seen enough, I hope he does not pitch one meaningful inning in October.

Edited September 25, 2018 by Yaz Fan Since '67

[S5Dewey]

Isn't it possible that Cora knows exactly what he's doing when he rests people and that it has something to do with the team's 105-51 record?

 

No. Not possible at all.

 

When the players win it's in spite of the manager and they lose it's because of him.

 

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

By the way congrats to the Boston Red Sox for setting their all time win record. 107 wins is unbelievable and they are not done. I see 110 possibly 111.

[jacksonianmarch]

They just clinched top seed. Who cares how high you go. Cora needs to focus on ALDS

[oldtimer]

Good point.

 

Also, with 5 days off before the first PO game, I'm not sure what anybody did over the last week or two matters that much. And, I don't even value 2 week sample sizes much at all anyways.

 

My view is that each of the PO teams has strong starting pitching and also strong relief pitching. Each also has very good defense. The point being that I expect games to be low scoring where a couple of hits or conversely errors may be citical in determining the series end results.

 

To me Red Sox pitching ranks behind the Astros and Cleveland, while I haven't seen enough of Oakland to know. To me, the Yankee pitching rates behind the others.

 

As far as defense, I believe our outfield and catcher defense is as good or better than the other teams while our infield tends to lack range and can be slightly error prone. The Yankees infield defense without Gregorious is weaker. They tend to make a lot of errors and if they use Sanchez catching they are bad there too.

 

As far as run scoring we lead BB in that but we can't afford to have many weak spots in the lineup. Players mired in slumps are not suddenly going to come out of them when facing top pitching from PO caliber teams. The only case to me made for going with them is if their defense is enough of a plus to counter the easy out (or double play) they become. I'll be interested to see how Cora handles things, but if it were me calling the shots, I would go with the hot hands. That would be Holt over Kinsler for certain and probably Nunez over Devers. Catcher is that gray area where starting pitching should have their say and the alternative is not that much superior offensively.

[cp176]

Based on records, there are some great teams in the American League. It is hard to believe that the Yanks may wind up winning 100 and still finish 9 or so games out of first place. It has been a long season, and when October arrives anything can happen in any series. The record may indicate that someone kind of lays over the field but I think it best to forget what the regular season records indicate pretty soon. I would imagine that Cora will proceed as he has been. You want to make sure that everybody is rested but you don't want to shut anybody down right now.

[sk7326]

Based on records, there are some great teams in the American League. It is hard to believe that the Yanks may wind up winning 100 and still finish 9 or so games out of first place. It has been a long season, and when October arrives anything can happen in any series. The record may indicate that someone kind of lays over the field but I think it best to forget what the regular season records indicate pretty soon. I would imagine that Cora will proceed as he has been. You want to make sure that everybody is rested but you don't want to shut anybody down right now.

 

You never bet any baseball team vs the field ... also luck impacts record so much. The Red Sox have won 106 games, but have the run differential of a 103-59 win team. That is a great record but yes we have outplayed our record.

 

Cleveland has the run differential of a 97-65 team yet they are on pace for 92 wins. If you compare Boston and Cleveland position for position, there are only really 3 positions where Boston has a decided edge. (LF, CF, DH). It would be hard to be cavalier about Boston's chances in that series.

 

I am confident but realistic.

[oldtimer]

You never bet any baseball team vs the field ... also luck impacts record so much. The Red Sox have won 106 games, but have the run differential of a 103-59 win team. That is a great record but yes we have outplayed our record.

 

Cleveland has the run differential of a 97-65 team yet they are on pace for 92 wins. If you compare Boston and Cleveland position for position, there are only really 3 positions where Boston has a decided edge. (LF, CF, DH). It would be hard to be cavalier about Boston's chances in that series.

 

I am confident but realistic.

 

The other thing to realize is that we don't play all of the teams so if we move forward it will be against either the Astros or Cleveland. Both are excellent teams and both present a difficult challenge. I wouldn't have it any other way. To win it all, you have to prove it on the field.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I will never come off my position that this year has been a great run and a whole lot of fun but this bullpen will be their downfall in the playoffs. They have only one guy they can count on and even Kimbrell has had his issues of late. None of the others, not a one of them, can be trusted in tight spots against playoff lineups for the number of games it takes to win the World Series. Edited September 25, 2018 by Yaz Fan Since '67

[Slasher9]

If you compare Boston and Cleveland position for position, there are only really 3 positions where Boston has a decided edge. (LF, CF, DH).

 

RF??? i think we have the league MVP.....

[sk7326]

RF??? i think we have the league MVP.....

 

You're right - my oversight ... the Red Sox have edges in the outfield - particularly striking in CF and RF. The edges in LF are not as pronounced. The Guardians have edges all around the infield, at catcher and in the starting rotation.

 

There is no reason it shouldn't be a tough pick 'em sort of series.

[sk7326]

I will never come off my position that this year has been a great run and a whole lot of fun but this bullpen will be their downfall in the playoffs. They have only one guy they can count on and even Kimbrell has had his issues of late. None of the others' date=' not a one of them, can be trusted in tight spots against playoff lineups for the number of games it takes to win the World Series.[/quote']

 

I think the starters will be expected and leveraged quite a bit here ... either Eovaldi or Rodriguez will be among the earlier guys out of the 'pen.

[dgalehouse]

I feel very confident no matter who we face in the playoffs. The Sox are the best team and if they can just play to their ability , they should have no problem. It would make it easier if Oakland can beat the Yanks and Cleveland can eliminate Houston. Beating Oakland and Cleveland would be the quickest and easiest route to the Fall Classic.

[notin]

I feel very confident no matter who we face in the playoffs. The Sox are the best team and if they can just play to their ability , they should have no problem. It would make it easier if Oakland can beat the Yanks and Cleveland can eliminate Houston. Beating Oakland and Cleveland would be the quickest and easiest route to the Fall Classic.

 

Yeah we all thought Cleveland was the most favorable ALDS opponent two years ago, too.

 

Then they swept us...