A Realistic View at 2018: Part II

[Nick]

i'd release holt before i'd trade jbj. However, since both have options, i'd do neither.

 

JD freaking Martinez!

[oldtimer]

Who would have believed that we would have two guys with 15 HRs by May 20th?

[moonslav59]

JD freaking Martinez!

 

Love it!

[cp176]

Who would have believed that we would have two guys with 15 HRs by May 20th?

 

Martinez does not surprise me. He is a big guy who is a student of hitting. He is the power hitter. Mookie Betts amazes me. He very well might be the best hitter in the game today. Maybe even the best baseball player. He is without a doubt the face of this franchise.

[oldtimer]

Martinez does not surprise me. He is a big guy who is a student of hitting. He is the power hitter. Mookie Betts amazes me. He very well might be the best hitter in the game today. Maybe even the best baseball player. He is without a doubt the face of this franchise.

 

Things are looking up. Mookie is staying hot and JDM is just a great hitter. Something new is that Beni is heating up to the extent he is over 280 and is contributing daily. Bogaerts and Moreland are also very solid this year. Devers will get some key hits and Nunez is a pro and will get better probaly prett soon. Our weak spots remain a slumping Hanley, JBJ and the catcher. With Pedey returning we are gaining something at 2nd base we can certainly use. We are a solid club and worthy of our current position.

 

Our pitching isn't super but is not that ad either. We still have Sale, Price can have good days, Porcello is now 6 & 1 I believe and Erod can be very solid.

 

Lots to be optimistic about on this team.

[Kimmi]

On the surface, it looks like the right approach but I am unsure that Moreland may have some physical issues. I hope Cora is handling this rationally but in other areas he seems fine, so I continue to give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

Cora said something today about how he's not going to give up on his slumping players on May 20. He realizes that it's still a small sample size. I have confidence in Cora to handle the players' playing time correctly.

[dgalehouse]

I think MLB has a growing problem with competitive balance. There is an abundance of crappy teams. You could almost cut to the AL playoffs right now.

[moonslav59]

Cora said something today about how he's not going to give up on his slumping players on May 20. He realizes that it's still a small sample size. I have confidence in Cora to handle the players' playing time correctly.

 

Me, too.

 

I'm very happy with Cora.

 

Maybe JBJ's hit today will be the start of something good.

[mvp 78]

@peteabe

 

#RedSox are changing their rotation a little with the day off.

 

Sale, Price and Porcello at TB. Looks like Pomeranz is being pushed back until Saturday against Atlanta.

[Natick to NC]

@peteabe

 

#RedSox are changing their rotation a little with the day off.

 

Sale, Price and Porcello at TB. Looks like Pomeranz is being pushed back until Saturday against Atlanta.

 

TY MVP ...few of you folks called this last week .

[Nick]

Never thought I'd say this but I'm anxiously waiting for Dustin's return.

 

Nunez looks not to be 100%. His defense is just lacking. I like him but again, he looks like he's playing hurt.

[moonslav59]

MLB Leaders

 

OPS

1.198 Betts

1.077 JDM

1.072 Trout

1.070 Machado

1.010 Bryant

1.007 J Ramirez

1.006 B Belt

 

Total Bases

127 Betts

119 JDM

116 Machado

 

Team TBs

779 BOS

702 OAK

692 ATL

690 NYY

 

Team XBHs

186 BOS

164 NYY

163 OAK

 

HRs

68 BOS

67 CLE & NYY

62 LAA

61 OAK & TOR

 

OPS

.802 NYY

.795 BOS

.775 ATL

 

Runs

254 NYY

253 BOS

243 ATL

 

Runs allowed

122 HOU

164 AZ

165 CC

169 STL

171 PHI

173 WSH

175 MIL

178 BOS & NYY

 

[moonslav59]

If you go by just this year's OPS as a quide, here might be our best line-up: defense be damned.

 

1. Betts RF 1.198

2. Beni CF .844

3. Moreland 1B .991

4. Martinez LF1.077

5. Bogey SS .881

6. HRam DH .750

7. Devers 3B .705

8. Holt 2B .887

9. Leon C .546

 

Top May Sox OPS

1.239 JDM

1.228 Betts

1.076 Moreland

.973 Beni

.900 Leon

.733 Holt

.676 Bogey

.653 Devers

.587 Nunez

.567 HRam

.449 Vaz

.350 Swihart

.342 JBJ

 

 

[Slasher9]

How many games will JBJ cost us with his bat? I am thinking it may be a few already.

I'm going to say zero.

 

Red Sox record with JBj starting: 25-11. .694 winning %

Red Sox record without JBj starting: 7-4. .636 winning %

[Slasher9]

Which really isn't all that different percentage wise. 7-4 extrapolates to 21-12.

 

exactly. so perhaps JBj's woeful offense doesn't hurt the Boston Red Sox winning % at all. Perhaps his D is worth 1 measly single every 10 ab's....

[oldtimer]

Me, too.

 

I'm very happy with Cora.

 

Maybe JBJ's hit today will be the start of something good.

 

Ever the optimist

[oldtimer]

Cora said something today about how he's not going to give up on his slumping players on May 20. He realizes that it's still a small sample size. I have confidence in Cora to handle the players' playing time correctly.

 

We have a slumping player batting third in the order. He is 35 years old and by all means a good clubhouse presence. What I have noticed is that he is having more trouble getting around on the fastball these days. Cora can stay with him but maybe a better choice is to give him additional rest with Moreland playing well. If he is n the decline due to his age, regular extra rest may be what is needed to get him back to being a solid contributor when he does play.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

What a strange season. We have a few players playing out of this world and carrying the team offensively and we have half the lineup either in a slump or having disappointing, in some cases disastrous, seasons. They need more balance, they need the last 4 spots to play up to expectations or this will start to fall apart because obviously Mookie and JD can't keep this pace up forever.

[moonslav59]

Ever the optimist

 

JBJ has almost always had a hot streak or tow that brings his season OPS to a respectable level. I see no reason to not expect it to happen again.

 

Of course, it may not, but the odds favor it happening vs it not happening.

 

Those who believe he will end up being below .600 on the season are being pessimists.

[moonslav59]

What a strange season. We have a few players playing out of this world and carrying the team offensively and we have half the lineup either in a slump or having disappointing' date=' in some cases disastrous, seasons. They need more balance, they need the last 4 spots to play up to expectations or this will start to fall apart because obviously Mookie and JD can't keep this pace up forever.[/quote']

 

I think if you look at most seasons, you'll find a couple players carrying their team from month to month- not always the same two either.

 

I'm not sure why this season seems so different. Did anyone really expect every player to meet expectations over the first quarter of the season?

 

Yes, it seems a bit shocking that 2-3 players are way below expectations (JBJ, Vaz and Leon or Nunez), but with all of these guys, it's not really all that surprising.

 

I'm not really surprised by Betts or JD either. I know some posters were suggesting maybe 2016 was the best Betts would ever give us, but the kid hasn't even reached prime yet. I always felt we might see better or even much better.

 

Things will even out a little as the season goes on. Some different players will carry us for a while as HRam and Bogey did early on.

 

And, BTW, yes Betts and JD can come pretty close to keeping up this pace forever. They are really that good!

 

Will they? Who knows, but I do think someone else will take up the slack, if they decline.

[Bellhorn04]

What a strange season. We have a few players playing out of this world and carrying the team offensively and we have half the lineup either in a slump or having disappointing' date=' in some cases disastrous, seasons. They need more balance, they need the last 4 spots to play up to expectations or this will start to fall apart because obviously Mookie and JD can't keep this pace up forever.[/quote']

 

I see it more optimistically. 32-15 is not strange, 32-15 is great. It indicates a lot of all-around strength.

 

There are some guys who need to get it going a bit, we know that.

 

But look at the box score from yesterday's game. Every single guy in the lineup reached base by hit or walk.

[OH FOY]

They play 51 games with 4 days off till All-Star break after today. This is a tough stretch of playing a lot of games with little time off till All-Star break. This is when injuries hurt. This is good time to see how Cora Manages the team, for days off for rest, and the Bullpen. Not to overwork them.

Pedey coming back will help a lot.

Edited May 21, 2018 by OH FOY!

[Maxbialystock]

What a strange season. We have a few players playing out of this world and carrying the team offensively and we have half the lineup either in a slump or having disappointing' date=' in some cases disastrous, seasons. They need more balance, they need the last 4 spots to play up to expectations or this will start to fall apart because obviously Mookie and JD can't keep this pace up forever.[/quote']

 

Meh. I see six good bats--Betts, Beni, Hanley, JD, Bogie, Devers, and Moreland--with just Hanley and Devers a little below where they should be and will be. The bottom third is a problem, but Pedey will help and Vazquez/Leon won't stay this bad. Heck, JBJ might even turn things around--a long shot, but possible.

 

And don't forget that pitching. I've griped about the rotation, but right now ERod, Porcello, Sale, and Price have all just had good starts if not "quality" starts (6 innings, 3 runs). Only Porcello worries me now. And the bullpen is looking better.

[Maxbialystock]

JBJ has almost always had a hot streak or tow that brings his season OPS to a respectable level. I see no reason to not expect it to happen again.

 

Of course, it may not, but the odds favor it happening vs it not happening.

 

Those who believe he will end up being below .600 on the season are being pessimists.

 

Then I'm a pessimist. But of course I always have been although right now I am not pessimistic about the team as a whole. But give me time. The best case for JBJ is that Cora appears to think what you think.

[mvp 78]

Meh. I see six good bats--Betts, Beni, Hanley, JD, Bogie, Devers, and Moreland--with just Hanley and Devers a little below where they should be and will be. The bottom third is a problem, but Pedey will help and Vazquez/Leon won't stay this bad. Heck, JBJ might even turn things around--a long shot, but possible.

 

And don't forget that pitching. I've griped about the rotation, but right now ERod, Porcello, Sale, and Price have all just had good starts if not "quality" starts (6 innings, 3 runs). Only Porcello worries me now. And the bullpen is looking better.

 

If Vaz/Leon start to hit and Pedey takes over 2b full time, I think the hand-wringing about JBJ goes away.

[moonslav59]

Then I'm a pessimist. But of course I always have been although right now I am not pessimistic about the team as a whole. But give me time. The best case for JBJ is that Cora appears to think what you think.

 

JBJ looks bad right now, but he looked bad all the other years during his cold streaks.

 

What makes this year feel different?

[Bellhorn04]

If Vaz/Leon start to hit and Pedey takes over 2b full time, I think the hand-wringing about JBJ goes away.

 

If everyone else on the team was hitting over .300, and JBJ was hitting .175, there would still be piles of posts about what to do with JBJ.

[mvp 78]

If everyone else on the team was hitting over .300, and JBJ was hitting .175, there would still be piles of posts about what to do with JBJ.

 

I think the pile would be a little shorter.

[mvp 78]

JBJ looks bad right now, but he looked bad all the other years during his cold streaks.

 

What makes this year feel different?

 

I think him being overmatched by 90mph heaters in the middle of the zone has people a little worried.

[Dojji]

Not worried about Jackie at all. He's steaky, we all get that. If he's regressed, he's still a rock solid 4th OF and we can assemble a hell of an outfield without him. I don't see any reason to be all that alarmed.

 

Personally I think he catches fire in June and July and carries the team for a month and a half like he does every year, and the skeptics get to spend the middle of the season eating their words before the annual September slump