Kristian Campbell Agrees To Eight-Year Extension With Red Sox

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

9 minutes ago, Old Red said:

 and at the moment it looks like his say courtesy of JH.

Huh?

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Huh?

Huh? Brez I believe wants Raffy at 1B, and I believe Cora does not, and that’s why Cora said he wasn’t going to talk with Raffy about it. Also IMO JH just didn’t fly to KC to talk with Raffy, but Cora, and Brez as well. At the moment i haven’t heard of any movement of Raffy towards 1B except after he’s hit the ball.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Huh? Brez I believe wants Raffy at 1B, and I believe Cora does not, and that’s why Cora said he wasn’t going to talk with Raffy about it. Also IMO JH just didn’t fly to KC to talk with Raffy, but Cora, and Brez as well. At the moment i haven’t heard of any movement of Raffy towards 1B except after he’s hit the ball.

Well, that's just like your opinion because your actually watching what's happening around here. 🥸

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Well, that's just like your opinion because your actually watching what's happening around here. 🥸

Different day, and a different angle to the story. At least Raffy doesn’t seem bothered by the turmoil, and is pounding the ball around.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

22 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Huh? Brez I believe wants Raffy at 1B, and I believe Cora does not, and that’s why Cora said he wasn’t going to talk with Raffy about it. Also IMO JH just didn’t fly to KC to talk with Raffy, but Cora, and Brez as well. At the moment i haven’t heard of any movement of Raffy towards 1B except after he’s hit the ball.

You can "believe" whatever you like, but in the end it's just an opinion.

I could just as easily say that I believe that cora wants raffy at 1B, but is too scared to bruise his ego further.

[Bellhorn04]

1 minute ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

You can "believe" whatever you like, but in the end it's just an opinion.

No kidding.  We're mostly here to express our opinions.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No kidding.  We're mostly here to express our opinions.

soxfacts.com would be a very boring place to post at. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

soxfacts.com would be a very boring place to post at. 

Now you're just speaking out of your veracity.

[Hitch]

TheSplinteredSplendor and SPLENDIDSPLINTER have got to be the same person right? Their posting styles are exceedingly similar. 

I hope they are just for the fact they had a conversation with each other a day or two back. 

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, Hitch said:

TheSplinteredSplendor and SPLENDIDSPLINTER have got to be the same person right? Their posting styles are exceedingly similar. 

I hope they are just for the fact they had a conversation with each other a day or two back. 

No. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

TheSplinteredSplendor and SPLENDIDSPLINTER have got to be the same person right? Their posting styles are exceedingly similar. 

I hope they are just for the fact they had a conversation with each other a day or two back. 

Certainly not.

I don't post Henny Youngman one line zingers like he does.

[Kimmi]

On 5/18/2025 at 10:14 AM, Old Red said:

KC is a Rookie who will do anything to stay in the Big Leagues, and Raffy is an established veteran. Two entirely different situations. KC also played many different positions in the minor leagues, which is an entirely different situation also. 

I have to disagree.  IMO, it doesn't matter whether you're an established veteran or a rookie, the response should be a willingness to do whatever is best for the team.  Now, perhaps there are reasons beyond what the fans know as to why Devers is unwilling to move to 1B, but I am very disappointed in his responses to the media.  The correct response is, "whatever the team needs me to do."

I'm thinking this should hold even more for a veteran team leader than it does for a rookie.

[Kimmi]

On 5/18/2025 at 12:44 PM, Hitch said:

I was vehemently against Campbell playing 1st. I thought that if you've got a young kid looking like a very good player, you let him play his position and stay there. If he's as good as you hope defensively you've got the position (a problem position for us) sorted. But I hadn't realised he'd been as poor at 2nd base as the stats had shown. I'm definitely more on board with it now. And it does open up 2nd for Mayer. 

I also thought Devers should play there and eventually would. but if he keeps hitting like he has been at DH that's fine by me. My main worry was that he wasn't adapting to the role. That seems to be in the past. 

I thought Devers should play first base.  It made the most sense for several different reasons.  That said, with the way he's been hitting, I hate to mess with that.

I guess Campbell at 1B would be the next best choice, but IMO, it's really a lot to put upon a 22 year old rookie.  He has struggled mightily since being moved up to the clean up spot.  It may be coincidence, but it may also be that he's pressing with the added weight of batting 4th.

Perhaps Vaughn Grissom is the answer at 1B.

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Perhaps Vaughn Grissom is the answer at 1B.

Grissom has a 718 OPS in AAA (493 for May). He did a lot of damage in Rochester, a hitter friendly environment, but really hasn't done anything anywhere else. 

 

[Kimmi]

7 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Grissom has a 718 OPS in AAA (493 for May). He did a lot of damage in Rochester, a hitter friendly environment, but really hasn't done anything anywhere else. 

 

I know he hasn't panned out.  Once upon a time, the Braves were pretty high on him.  I'm willing to give him a pass on last year and give him another shot.  

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

I know he hasn't panned out.  Once upon a time, the Braves were pretty high on him.  I'm willing to give him a pass on last year and give him another shot.  

He needs to perform in AAA first. If he can't do it in WOO, he definitely can't do it in BOS. 

[Old Red]

8 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Grissom has a 718 OPS in AAA (493 for May). He did a lot of damage in Rochester, a hitter friendly environment, but really hasn't done anything anywhere else. 

 

Bottom line 0-15, or 4-50 with 16K’s warrants someone posting that the young lads luster isn’t shining as brightly. I know in some other venues some have suggested he goes back down to Woo to work on things. 

[mvp 78]

16 hours ago, Old Red said:

Bottom line 0-15, or 4-50 with 16K’s warrants someone posting that the young lads luster isn’t shining as brightly. I know in some other venues some have suggested he goes back down to Woo to work on things. 

To work on what, hitting against AAA pitchers? He can already demolish those guys. What's the point in that? 

[Kimmi]

On 5/22/2025 at 8:54 AM, mvp 78 said:

To work on what, hitting against AAA pitchers? He can already demolish those guys. What's the point in that? 

Campbell needs to just work through it.  He'll get it back.  Not that batting order makes much difference in run production, but I wish Cora would have left Campbell in the 7 hole.  The problem now with Bregman out is that we have too many hitters who are slumping bigly.     

[notin]

On 5/22/2025 at 7:54 AM, mvp 78 said:

To work on what, hitting against AAA pitchers? He can already demolish those guys. What's the point in that? 

Sometimes it helps.  The Cubs demoted Matt Shaw after he got off to a terrible start.  After a few weeks in AAA, they brought him back and he’s been much better.

Of course, it could easily be the small sample size…

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

On 5/20/2025 at 12:23 PM, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Certainly not.

I don't post Henny Youngman one line zingers like he does.

Actually, I am Henny Youngman, back from the grave to talk baseball.

Now take my Red Sox--Please!

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Btw, are Old Red and Oldtimer the same person? I mean they're both old.

[mvp 78]

Something like this is an indictment on coaching to me. Has something changed on his swing? What's happened to the approach? 

[cp176]

Sorry but is beginning to look like maybe this kid was brought up too quickly.  he was promoted over the top of Mayer.  Mayer may struggle as well going forward but he is a competent fielder who certainly helps our team’s defense.  Many of this team’s managerial decisions are and continue to be puzzling to me.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, cp176 said:

Sorry but is beginning to look like maybe this kid was brought up too quickly.  he was promoted over the top of Mayer.  Mayer may struggle as well going forward but he is a competent fielder who certainly helps our team’s defense.  Many of this team’s managerial decisions are and continue to be puzzling to me.

Mayer is struggling as much at the plate as Campbell, but we can ignore it because he has a competent glove? That's exactly the reason I was saying Mayer needed to stay in AAA a little longer to begin with. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

21 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Something like this is an indictment on coaching to me. Has something changed on his swing? What's happened to the approach? 

MLB pitchers? More likely, advance scouts and analytics departments...

While the Sox front office has been recovering from 89 Tommy John operations from high-fiving each other, other teams took the Campbell mantra -- "hit the ball in the air" -- and plotted.

Nobody is working KC at the bottom of the strike zone with pitches he can elevate. He's fed high heat, and junk that starts at the knees, then crosses his ankles (or bounces off the ground). Results are pop-outs if he's late, grounders if he's early, and strikeouts if he's fooled.

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

MLB pitchers? More likely, advance scouts and analytics departments...

While the Sox front office has been recovering from 89 Tommy John operations from high-fiving each other, other teams took the Campbell mantra -- "hit the ball in the air" -- and plotted.

Nobody is working KC at the bottom of the strike zone with pitches he can elevate. He's fed high heat, and junk that starts at the knees, then crosses his ankles (or bounces off the ground). Results are pop-outs if he's late, grounders if he's early, and strikeouts if he's fooled.

A lot of the pitches he gets at the bottom of the zone are GB. Biggest struggle is with all pitches out of the zone and the bottom corners of the plate if you look at SLG, xSLG, wOBA, xISO, etc. He's made good contact on pitches in the top of the zone per Batter Run Value. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

A lot of the pitches he gets at the bottom of the zone are GB. Biggest struggle is with all pitches out of the zone and the bottom corners of the plate if you look at SLG, xSLG, wOBA, xISO, etc. He's made good contact on pitches in the top of the zone per Batter Run Value. 

Because he angles his entire body into his swings, I always thought that high and inside pitch would be the first chapter of the book on him. But this chart shows all corners are lethal... he's even a negative on middle-middle?

If one of us just stood there with an Old Hickory and held it parallel to the plate middle-middle, some pitches are bound to ricochet over an infielder, right? 1 out of 100? 1000? (probably wouldn't survive for that many, since at least 10 out of 100 would deflect into our eye sockets, off ankle bones and through rib cages).

[mvp 78]

I used to get on Casas for being too passive at the plate and watching too many called strikes go by. By the numbers, Campbell is even worse than Casas at zone swing %, called strike % and has a similar strikeout looking %. 

[moonslav59]

On 5/21/2025 at 7:12 AM, mvp 78 said:

Grissom has a 718 OPS in AAA (493 for May). He did a lot of damage in Rochester, a hitter friendly environment, but really hasn't done anything anywhere else. 

 

Grandal has a higher OPS and could catch in a pinch.

I like notin's idea of giving Jh Garcia a 1Bman's mitt.