Red Sox Spring Training 2023

[Old Red]

I no longer know what a "great #4" means, but agree Yoshida should help the Sox lineup.

 

Batting orders are out of whack from what they used to be with the likes of Judge, and Schwaber batting leadoff, so batting cleanup isn’t what it used to be either. It used to be your best hitter hit third, which is where I think Raffy should hit, but it’s not the way they do things now.

[Maxbialystock]

Apropos of nothing, Sunday I discovered mlb.com had stopped sending me live TV feeds of Sox games. I called and got the run around. Yesterday I called again and discovered they stopped showing me games because they used a cancelled credit card number, so I had to re-apply. In so doing, I discovered vets get a pretty nice discount, so I'm a happy camper even though I still can't get games vs. the Braves, Orioles, and Nationals.

 

Plus, like everyone else, I am fascinated by the effect of the pitching (and batter) clocks in the spring training games. I'm all for speeding things up, but also wonder whether there will be adverse effects. The flatter and bigger bases--but not by much--are also a good idea.

[Maxbialystock]

Batting orders are out of whack from what they used to be with the likes of Judge, and Schwaber batting leadoff, so batting cleanup isn’t what it used to be either. It used to be your best hitter hit third, which is where I think Raffy should hit, but it’s not the way they do things now.

 

Agree on all.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It's already evident from watching Yoshida in ST and the WBC that he has the approach of a good hitter: early in the count, use the middle of the field; ahead in the count, look for something to drive; down in the count, look away.

 

It would greatly behoove the Red Sox if the guy they bat behind Yoshida isn't an all-or-nothing swinger.

[mvp 78]

I no longer know what a "great #4" means, but agree Yoshida should help the Sox lineup.

 

So peak Yoshida may be more like 2011 Pedroia than 2018 JD Martinez. 20 HR with a high OBP. Randy Arozarena if he didn't strike out over 25%. 2022 was a bad year for LFers, but he could be a top 5 LFer.

[notin]

Batting orders are out of whack from what they used to be with the likes of Judge, and Schwaber batting leadoff, so batting cleanup isn’t what it used to be either. It used to be your best hitter hit third, which is where I think Raffy should hit, but it’s not the way they do things now.

 

Batting Devers second gets him 18 more PA on average. It might not seem like much but Devers’ plate appearances are good to maximize.

 

The #3 spot is the most likely hitter to come up with 2 outs and no one on base. Obviously it’s not a place to dump a mediocre hitter, because the 3 spot still gets lots of plate and should have a fair amount of RBI opportunities, but it’s not the ideal location for Devers. Not really sure who I would bat there (and absolutely no idea who Cora would).

 

I also liked the idea of Yoshida at leadoff since the Sox haven’t had a good leadoff hitter since Betts. Cora probably sticks with Kike there, which seems like a bad idea that he just keeps trying…

[notin]

It's already evident from watching Yoshida in ST and the WBC that he has the approach of a good hitter: early in the count, use the middle of the field; ahead in the count, look for something to drive; down in the count, look away.

 

It would greatly behoove the Red Sox if the guy they bat behind Yoshida isn't an all-or-nothing swinger.

 

So… not Duvall…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

So… not Duvall…

 

If Duvall bats behind him, Yoshida will lead the league in walks.

[notin]

Tough to really have a good (IMO, not Cora’s) batting order.

 

I’d go with:

 

Yoshida LF

Devers 3b

Turner DH

Casas 1b

Duvall CF

Verdugo RF

Hernandez SS

McGuire C

Arroyo 2b

 

But I honestly don’t like it much…

[Old Red]

Batting Devers second gets him 18 more PA on average. It might not seem like much but Devers’ plate appearances are good to maximize.

 

The #3 spot is the most likely hitter to come up with 2 outs and no one on base. Obviously it’s not a place to dump a mediocre hitter, because the 3 spot still gets lots of plate and should have a fair amount of RBI opportunities, but it’s not the ideal location for Devers. Not really sure who I would bat there (and absolutely no idea who Cora would).

 

I also liked the idea of Yoshida at leadoff since the Sox haven’t had a good leadoff hitter since Betts. Cora probably sticks with Kike there, which seems like a bad idea that he just keeps trying…

Batting #3 was good enough for Ted, Yaz, Rice, Manny, and David, and in my opinion would be the best spot for Raffy now especially if you had some guys to get on base ahead of him. Schwarber had 46 HR last year, and 94 RBI. He would have had more rbi if he would have hit a little lower in the lineup, which is more important to me. To say the #3 hitter comes up more often with 2 outs, and no one on if true would not be a deterrent to me. A good leadoff, and #2 hitter would take care of that.

[notin]

Batting #3 was good enough for Ted, Yaz, Rice, Manny, and David, and in my opinion would be the best spot for Raffy now especially if you had some guys to get on base ahead of him. Schwarber had 46 HR last year, and 94 RBI. He would have had more rbi if he would have hit a little lower in the lineup, which is more important to me. To say the #3 hitter comes up more often with 2 outs, and no one on if true would not be a deterrent to me. A good leadoff, and #2 hitter would take care of that.

 

And do the Sox have guys to get on base in front of him?

[Old Red]

And do the Sox have guys to get on base in front of him?

 

I would say at this time it’s TBD. I think Arroyo will start off batting leadoff, and who bats ninth will determine how many guys Raffy has on base when he gets up. I just think he would have more RBI chances hitting third.

[Bellhorn04]

I would say at this time it’s TBD. I think Arroyo will start off batting leadoff, and who bats ninth will determine how many guys Raffy has on base when he gets up. I just think he would have more RBI chances hitting third.

 

What the nerds discovered was that the #3 hitter gets fewer RBI opps than the #4 and #5, mainly because of all the times the first 2 batters of the game get out. It seems odd but the numbers do back it up.

[Old Red]

Tough to really have a good (IMO, not Cora’s) batting order.

 

I’d go with:

 

Yoshida LF

Devers 3b

Turner DH

Casas 1b

Duvall CF

Verdugo RF

Hernandez SS

McGuire C

Arroyo 2b

 

But I honestly don’t like it much…

I would go with :

 

Arroyo

Yoshida

Raffy

Turner

Casas

Duval

Dugy

Kike

C

[Old Red]

What the nerds discovered was that the #3 hitter gets fewer RBI opps than the #4 and #5, mainly because of all the times the first 2 batters of the game get out. It seems odd but the numbers do back it up.

 

It seems that Story, and Dugy had more RBI chances even hitting further down last year.

[notin]

I would go with :

 

Arroyo

Yoshida

Raffy

Turner

Casas

Duval

Dugy

Kike

C

 

That’s ok too.

 

Not sure about this whole Yoshida-4th thing.

 

I do think Arroyo is an underrated leadoff option. I thought about him there but his durability bothers me…

[notin]

I would say at this time it’s TBD. I think Arroyo will start off batting leadoff, and who bats ninth will determine how many guys Raffy has on base when he gets up. I just think he would have more RBI chances hitting third.

 

That’s why I like Yoshida first and why I was (sort of) on the Nimmo bandwagon last season. The Sox haven’t really embraced OBP as an offensive weapon in a while.*. It worked when they did it. Time to bring it back.

 

 

*Yoshida could change this.

[Maxbialystock]

Meanwhile, Chris Sale is in a train wreck vs. the Orioles: 2 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits (2 HR's), 1 K.

[Bellhorn04]

Meanwhile, Chris Sale is in a train wreck vs. the Orioles: 2 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits (2 HR's), 1 K.

 

He's just working on something!

[Old Red]

That’s ok too.

 

Not sure about this whole Yoshida-4th thing.

 

I do think Arroyo is an underrated leadoff option. I thought about him there but his durability bothers me…

 

My biggest worry with the lineup going into the season is how well Turner, and Duval will produce. They’ll be in the middle somewhere, and I think they will be a key one way, or the other.

[Old Red]

He's just working on something!

 

He doesn’t want to show his real stuff until he faces them in the opening series.

[Maxbialystock]

He doesn’t want to show his real stuff until he faces them in the opening series.

 

Very good point. I just noticed he's actually pitching with his right arm, so a little off the fastball, now at 46 mph.

[Old Red]

Very good point. I just noticed he's actually pitching with his right arm, so a little off the fastball, now at 46 mph.

 

As long as he comes out healthy I’m not panicking yet.

[notin]

He's just working on something!

 

Lowering expectations?

[notin]

My biggest worry with the lineup going into the season is how well Turner, and Duval will produce. They’ll be in the middle somewhere, and I think they will be a key one way, or the other.

 

Duvall gives me more concern than Turner…

[mvp 78]

Tough to really have a good (IMO, not Cora’s) batting order.

 

I’d go with:

 

Yoshida LF

Devers 3b

Turner DH

Casas 1b

Duvall CF

Verdugo RF

Hernandez SS

McGuire C

Arroyo 2b

 

But I honestly don’t like it much…

 

I think it's going to be:

 

Verdugo

Devers

Turner

Yoshida

Duvall

Casas

Kiké

McGuire

Arroyo

[mvp 78]

I would say at this time it’s TBD. I think Arroyo will start off batting leadoff, and who bats ninth will determine how many guys Raffy has on base when he gets up. I just think he would have more RBI chances hitting third.

 

I don't see Arroyo batting leadoff. They are a very left handed heavy team right now. Good chance 1 and 2 are both left handed hitters IMO.

[mvp 78]

Meanwhile, Chris Sale is in a train wreck vs. the Orioles: 2 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits (2 HR's), 1 K.

 

As long as he's healthy, I'm not worried about it.

[Bellhorn04]

Lowering expectations?

 

I was going to the Pollyanna Fallback Plan when a pitcher has a bad outing in a spring training game.

[Bellhorn04]

Duvall gives me more concern than Turner…

 

Your concern is baked into his price.