7/06 Jays @ SOX 7:10PM ET

[notin]

He’s got 33 RBI’s batting out of the 3-4 hole all season. JBJ, hitting 100 points lower, having 85ish fewer plate appearances and batting in the 8-9 slot, has 25.

 

JD isn’t being paid to get on base ala a leadoff guy; he’s paid to drive in runs, and for most of this season he’s come up very small in that department. Ditto Bogaerts, who only has 34 RBIs.

 

The whole “he isn’t getting paid to” commentary is silly. JD and Bogaerts are getting paid to play baseball, with JD specifically being paid to hit. Both are among the top in the AL in just about every hitting category, and they were not signed to contribute solely to one singular stat. When Bogaerts makes a good defensive play, should the follow up also be “Hey!! You’re not paid for defense!!”?

 

 

The two do not have a ton of RBI, but they’re both also 2nd and 3rd on the team in runs scored. That IS an offensive contribution.

 

And yes at some point JD will no longer be an effective hitter. But the Sox just need him for a few more months. Fangraphs does have his hat hit % lower than it was in 2020, but they also show it wasn’t much better last year and he had 99 RBI. And those last 3 years are far below his career 2019 and prior…

[JDavis76]

The whole “he isn’t getting paid to” commentary is silly. JD and Bogaerts are getting paid to play baseball, with JD specifically being paid to hit. Both are among the top in the AL in just about every hitting category, and they were not signed to contribute solely to one singular stat. When Bogaerts makes a good defensive play, should the follow up also be “Hey!! You’re not paid for defense!!”?

 

 

The two do not have a ton of RBI, but they’re both also 2nd and 3rd on the team in runs scored. That IS an offensive contribution.

 

And yes at some point JD will no longer be an effective hitter. But the Sox just need him for a few more months. Fangraphs does have his hat hit % lower than it was in 2020, but they also show it wasn’t much better last year and he had 99 RBI. And those last 3 years are far below his career 2019 and prior…

 

While I understand what you are saying, one of the primary jobs of your 3-4 hitters is to drive in runs.

[Maxbialystock]

While I understand what you are saying, one of the primary jobs of your 3-4 hitters is to drive in runs.

 

Once upon a time, the rbi leader in either League was in the hunt for MVP. Now it's the WAR leader.

 

Right now the Yankees lead the AL in run production (runs scored) with 421. After them, the 2d , 3d, 4th runs leaders are the Twins, Jays, and Sox with 386, 386, and 383--and the Sox have played just 82 games to 83 for the Jays and 85 for the Twins.

 

So, while I too am disappointed in their rbi's, I think it is also true that the Sox are somehow managing to be among the AL leaders in runs production.

 

Last year when Bogey, Kike, Devers, JDM, Renfroe, Verdugo, and Arroyo had pretty good seasons, the Sox finished 4th in the AL in runs production.

[notin]

While I understand what you are saying, one of the primary jobs of your 3-4 hitters is to drive in runs.

 

 

The job of the lineup is to score runs. It doesn’t matter how they do it, just that they do it. The Sox are 4th in the AL in runs scored, 3 runs being the two teams tied for second. They’re scoring. And if this offense has currently been using the 3-4 hitters in a table setter role, that’s not a problem just yet…