The Alex Cora Managerial Decision Thread

[OH FOY]

I would have loved to know Reggie Jackson's exit velocity on that HR he hit in Detroit, at the All-Star Game. Back then they went by distance of the Bomb.

Edited August 6, 2018 by OH FOY!

[moonslav59]

Your off base with your observation. When Lou Boudreau initiated the first shift which became known as the 'Williams shift', Williams made it quite clear to anyone who would listen, sportswriters, teammates, and fans alike, that he was not going to change his style or manner of hitting. Time after time the situation would scream for a hit to the opposite field, but Teddy was stubborn to say the very least, and he was determined to do it his way and be damned with what anyone else thought. It was definitely not a case of him being unable to adjust, it was simply his refusal to willingly adjust.

 

He still got way more than his share of hits, regardless of the shift, so there was no need to adjust.

[a700hitter]

Your off base with your observation. When Lou Boudreau initiated the first shift which became known as the 'Williams shift', Williams made it quite clear to anyone who would listen, sportswriters, teammates, and fans alike, that he was not going to change his style or manner of hitting. Time after time the situation would scream for a hit to the opposite field, but Teddy was stubborn to say the very least, and he was determined to do it his way and be damned with what anyone else thought. It was definitely not a case of him being unable to adjust, it was simply his refusal to willingly adjust.

In reading and listening to Teddy Ballgame talk about it, it seemed to me that he had no doubt that he could hit the ball the other way.

[dustcover]

Two observations IMO:

 

Given Price's history with the Yankees, after going 6 shutout innings with a pitch count in the mid-90's, giving up only a handful of hits, and the Sox leading 1-0 at home, you thank him for his effort, pat him on the back, and congratulate him for doing his job and tell him to take a seat. PERIOD!

 

Then you call on your bullpen to do their job, Hembree for the 7th, Barnes for the 8th, and Kimbel for the 9th with Brazier and Thornburg as back ups.

 

My 2nd observation is really a question. In last night's game, tied up at 4, with 2 outs in the 10th, Leon gets a bloop hit. Mookie up to bat. Boone intentionally walks Mookie. Cora sends in Renda to pinch run for Leon at 2nd. At which time, one of the commentators questions whether Boone might intentionally walk Benintendi thus loading the bases, in order to get to JBJ who earlier went in to pinch run for Pearce the DH.

 

If this had taken place, could Cora then have pulled a double switch by sending Swihart up to pinch hit for JBJ and if the move failed to produce the winning run, could Swihart remain in as the catcher replacing Leon, and Renda remaining in as the DH?

[dgalehouse]

Two observations IMO:

 

Given Price's history with the Yankees, after going 6 shutout innings with a pitch count in the mid-90's, giving up only a handful of hits, and the Sox leading 1-0 at home, you thank him for his effort, pat him on the back, and congratulate him for doing his job and tell him to take a seat. PERIOD!

 

Then you call on your bullpen to do their job, Hembree for the 7th, Barnes for the 8th, and Kimbel for the 9th with Brazier and Thornburg as back ups.

 

My 2nd observation is really a question. In last night's game, tied up at 4, with 2 outs in the 10th, Leon gets a bloop hit. Mookie up to bat. Boone intentionally walks Mookie. Cora sends in Renda to pinch run for Leon at 2nd. At which time, one of the commentators questions whether Boone might intentionally walk Benintendi thus loading the bases, in order to get to JBJ who earlier went in to pinch run for Pearce the DH.

 

If this had taken place, could Cora then have pulled a double switch by sending Swihart up to pinch hit for JBJ and if the move failed to produce the winning run, could Swihart remain in as the catcher replacing Leon, and Renda remaining in as the DH?

 

Swihart is on the DL. Butler is the backup catcher. But you can't make that kind of switch without losing your DH.

[mvp 78]

Will we ever see MLB make most if not all these shifts illegal defense?

 

No.

[Maxbialystock]

Your off base with your observation. When Lou Boudreau initiated the first shift which became known as the 'Williams shift', Williams made it quite clear to anyone who would listen, sportswriters, teammates, and fans alike, that he was not going to change his style or manner of hitting. Time after time the situation would scream for a hit to the opposite field, but Teddy was stubborn to say the very least, and he was determined to do it his way and be damned with what anyone else thought. It was definitely not a case of him being unable to adjust, it was simply his refusal to willingly adjust.

 

I'm not sure Williams was merely being stubborn. My memory is that he knew he had a great swing that in fact allowed him--along with his great eyesight and reflexes--to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely and do so on a regular basis. One way to beat that shift regularly was/is to hit the ball hard, which makes it difficult to field even if within reach. This also enabled him to keep hitting dingers.

 

I believe he was able to hit to left on occasion by shifting his stance, not by adjusting his swing. But he normally did not do that because his swing and especially his ball contact were so good that he still had a high OPS throughout his career. Remember 1941 when he hit .406? His OPS that year was 1.287. Fantastic! In 1957 when he was 39 years old his OPS was 1.257, and that was 11 years after Lou Boudreau used his shift for the first time, so by 1957 it's a good bet everyone was using it against in Williams.

 

In other words, Williams was simply that great a hitter. Not many today, if any, are that great, so those shifts generally work.

[Bellhorn04]

I would have loved to know Reggie Jackson's exit velocity on that HR he hit in Detroit, at the All-Star Game. Back then they went by distance of the Bomb.

 

I remember that one, saw it live. A ball can't be hit much harder than that. It was a drag that it hit the tower.

[moonslav59]

I'm not sure Williams was merely being stubborn. My memory is that he knew he had a great swing that in fact allowed him--along with his great eyesight and reflexes--to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely and do so on a regular basis. One way to beat that shift regularly was/is to hit the ball hard, which makes it difficult to field even if within reach. This also enabled him to keep hitting dingers.

 

I believe he was able to hit to left on occasion by shifting his stance, not by adjusting his swing. But he normally did not do that because his swing and especially his ball contact were so good that he still had a high OPS throughout his career. Remember 1941 when he hit .406? His OPS that year was 1.287. Fantastic! In 1957 when he was 39 years old his OPS was 1.257, and that was 11 years after Lou Boudreau used his shift for the first time, so by 1957 it's a good bet everyone was using it against in Williams.

 

In other words, Williams was simply that great a hitter. Not many today, if any, are that great, so those shifts generally work.

 

Would anyone really have wanted Williams to try and change his swing and go to LF more often?

 

Teddy was the best hitter of all time. You don't mess with that or criticize him.

 

(Not that anyone was.)

[moonslav59]

I remember that one, saw it live. A ball can't be hit much harder than that. It was a drag that it hit the tower.

 

I remember that hit, too. It seemed like it was still going up when it hit the tower or transformer- whatever it was.

[Bellhorn04]

I remember that hit, too. It seemed like it was still going up when it hit the tower or transformer- whatever it was.

 

I think it was still going up.

[dgalehouse]

I think it was still going up.

 

The ball was hit higher than the pitcher he hit it off of. Dock Ellis.

[dannycater]

the Jackson home run was pretty much as fast a ball to leave a park as anything from Stanton and others. absolutely one of the most crushed balls ever, and certainly made it memorable that it occured on the grand stage in an All-Star Game. Mr. October was a winner.

[Kimmi]

While I think my disdain for WAR has been pretty well documented here I do think that there are a lot of other advanced metrics that are useful. I'll confess that I'd never heard of BAPIP until Kimmie brought it up and I believe that Exit Velocity is something new this year. I believe those were the two metrics that Cora was thinking about when he kept saying that JBJ was on his way out of that horrendous slump in spite of the fact that JBJ's BA wasn't improving.

 

Stick with me S5. I won't steer you wrong.

 

I remember clearly that my very first post ever was a post about BABIP to the poster 30 Something, aka Valentine. The man was literally a genius. I miss him.

[Kimmi]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the primary reason why all teams now use shifts and use them often is precisely because the adjustment ain't that easy. If it were easy, teams would use the shifts less. I believe I am correct in saying that Ted Williams never really adjusted, and he was not only a great natural hitter, but a real student of the swing.

 

I read a recent article where several players stated that they are usually pitched to the shift, so going the other way is much easier said than done. They also brought up the point that getting players to hit weak singles or bunt against the shift is exactly what the other team is trying to get these guys to do. So, if a hitter allows himself to be taken out of his game, the defense has essentially 'won'.

[Kimmi]

Will we ever see MLB make most if not all these shifts illegal defense?

 

I think there's a very good possibility of seeing some restrictions placed on shifting. Manfred is very much opposed to the current shifting. In general, people seem to think that more offense is better for baseball.

[Kimmi]

I've read a lot of criticism about Boone's decision not to walk Beni to get to JBJ.

 

Intentionally walking a batter, like sac bunting, is almost never a good idea.

 

I wouldn't have done it if it were my call.

 

Once again, just because a decision doesn't work out, it doesn't mean that it was the wrong call.

[Emp9]

I think there's a very good possibility of seeing some restrictions placed on shifting. Manfred is very much opposed to the current shifting. In general, people seem to think that more offense is better for baseball.

 

I think its the type of offense though that we’ve seen lately. Homerun or bust. One of the reasons why I think this Red Sox team is better than the rest is having guys like JD, Betts and Beni who use the whole field. Sure, they hit their fair share of HRs but thats not all they can do.

 

Just like MLB has tried to limit mound visits or challenges, I could see them limiting how many times a team could implement a shift, or along with that, create a shift pool (for lack of better term) that before every game teams pick only a few select player the could use one shift against per player. It could create more strategy if they do it right.

[S5Dewey]

Stick with me S5. I won't steer you wrong.

 

I remember clearly that my very first post ever was a post about BABIP to the poster 30 Something, aka Valentine. The man was literally a genius. I miss him.

 

I don't think I ever expected to see "Valentine", "genius" and "I miss him" in the same post. Jus' sayin'.

[S5Dewey]

I read a recent article where several players stated that they are usually pitched to the shift, so going the other way is much easier said than done. They also brought up the point that getting players to hit weak singles or bunt against the shift is exactly what the other team is trying to get these guys to do. So, if a hitter allows himself to be taken out of his game, the defense has essentially 'won'.

 

It would seem that pitchers would do that, but I've also seen times when they were pitched away from the shift, especially against a pull hitter (like JBJ used to be!). When a pull hitter tries to pull an outside pitch he'll usually hit a weak ground ball near 2nd base. Some hitters are now getting smarter and learning how to go with the pitch and hit it to the opposite field.

 

If more hitters would do this the issue of banning shifts would become a moot (NOT MUTE! - that's one of my pet peeves. LOL) point.

[Maxbialystock]

I've read a lot of criticism about Boone's decision not to walk Beni to get to JBJ.

 

Intentionally walking a batter, like sac bunting, is almost never a good idea.

 

I wouldn't have done it if it were my call.

 

Once again, just because a decision doesn't work out, it doesn't mean that it was the wrong call.

 

Actually, it did work out. Beni hit a routine grounder which turned out to have eyes. He did not hit the ball hard.

[Spudboy]

I remember that one, saw it live. A ball can't be hit much harder than that. It was a drag that it hit the tower.

 

I remember that one. I also have permemntly etched in my mind's eye the image of a George Scott tater ascending as it passes by the netting on the Monster. Same for Boog Powell and Frank Howard. In real time, those were interplanetary shots.

[Bellhorn04]

I've read a lot of criticism about Boone's decision not to walk Beni to get to JBJ.

 

Intentionally walking a batter, like sac bunting, is almost never a good idea.

 

I wouldn't have done it if it were my call.

 

Once again, just because a decision doesn't work out, it doesn't mean that it was the wrong call.

 

There were runners at first and second, so the intentional walk was a questionable move.

 

But if there was only a runner at second and everything else was the same, the intentional walk would have been a no-brainer, right?

[S5Dewey]

There were runners at first and second, so the intentional walk was a questionable move.

 

But if there was only a runner at second and everything else was the same, the intentional walk would have been a no-brainer, right?

 

With 1B open? Boone should absolutely have walked him. But I do understand the reluctance to put the runner at 3B where a passed ball or wild pitch would have allowed him to score.

 

I would have walked Beni, but that's just me. That's because, as a Red Sox fan, in spite of how well JBJ has been hitting lately I'd rather have Beni up in that situation. I may be a big JBJ fan but I'm not stupid! LOL

[dgalehouse]

No question that Benintendi is the more dangerous hitter in that situation. But loading the bases is a very risky proposition. Leaves no room for error. Boone is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier , but I really can't fault him on this.

[Slasher9]

There were runners at first and second, so the intentional walk was a questionable move.

 

But if there was only a runner at second and everything else was the same, the intentional walk would have been a no-brainer, right?

 

100% no brainer. unless there was a sample size of 50 AB's that showed Beni 2 for 50.....

[vegasbob]

I've read a lot of criticism about Boone's decision not to walk Beni to get to JBJ.

 

Intentionally walking a batter, like sac bunting, is almost never a good idea.

 

I wouldn't have done it if it were my call.

 

Once again, just because a decision doesn't work out, it doesn't mean that it was the wrong call.

 

I think if you are in an age of analytics and probabilities, you do walk Beni to get at JBJr. Not knocking Jackie here, just playing the percentages. Beni's hit was no scorching line drive, but a fortunate bouncer that eluded the Yankee shift, thank you baseball gods.

[vegasbob]

I don't think I ever expected to see "Valentine", "genius" and "I miss him" in the same post. Jus' sayin'.

 

Brilliant response !

[oldtimer]

I think its the type of offense though that we’ve seen lately. Homerun or bust. One of the reasons why I think this Red Sox team is better than the rest is having guys like JD, Betts and Beni who use the whole field. Sure, they hit their fair share of HRs but thats not all they can do.

 

Just like MLB has tried to limit mound visits or challenges, I could see them limiting how many times a team could implement a shift, or along with that, create a shift pool (for lack of better term) that before every game teams pick only a few select player the could use one shift against per player. It could create more strategy if they do it right.

 

There has been a long drought between the last Beni HR as he continues to hit mainly to left and center. He had one against Baltimore that he golfed over the fence, but it was taken away due to the rain out. I still would like to see him pull some of the inside pitches.

[Emp9]

There has been a long drought between the last Beni HR as he continues to hit mainly to left and center. He had one against Baltimore that he golfed over the fence, but it was taken away due to the rain out. I still would like to see him pull some of the inside pitches.

 

Sure, I’d put guys like Beni and Bogaerts on a lower tier compared to JD and Betts on this subject. It’s also about being able to take the pitches you’re getting and putting them in play instead of auto striking out.