Rockies (Freeland) vs Red Sox (Bello): 7/8/25, 7:10pm

[Soxlover]

1 hour ago, FredLynn said:

JBJs OPS+ was 82 for his career. That sucks and its why we got rid of him. Like Rafaela he was a below average hitter who was great defensively. I admit I could be wrong about Rafaela. He might surprise me (pleasantly), but from what I see of him he STILL has no discipline at the plate. Sure, he can hit mistakes. Most ML hitters can. But few can hit GOOD pitches well and if he keeps swinging at pitches that are a foot off the plate he will eventually sink to his expected level.

I’m encouraged by the improvement. It looked like he went through the minors and 2 years of pro ball with zero gains.

going from worst to just bottom 20% dies still suck but it’s a big gain that may or may not continue.

It’s been my contention that he only needed slight improvement to be an overall plus. His D and BR make up for sub O. I think the league OPS is now .715, so the bar to just mediocrity on O is lower and more reachable, now.

i still think if he hits .675 he’s a plus, but I’ve been hoping he can hit over .690 or .700. The OBP needs the most help. His power is decent.

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, Soxlover said:

I’m encouraged by the improvement. It looked like he went through the minors and 2 years of pro ball with zero gains.

going from worst to just bottom 20% dies still suck but it’s a big gain that may or may not continue.

It’s been my contention that he only needed slight improvement to be an overall plus. His D and BR make up for sub O. I think the league OPS is now .715, so the bar to just mediocrity on O is lower and more reachable, now.

i still think if he hits .675 he’s a plus, but I’ve been hoping he can hit over .690 or .700. The OBP needs the most help. His power is decent.

We are talking about two players here. I assume you are referring to Rafaela. 
If we are trying to build a team that competes for a ring most years I want a CFer who not only plays good (not necessarily excellent) defense but who can also hit the baseball with authority. Now for the last month Rafaela has been doing that. But his lack of plate discipline imo is going to be the limiting factor to his contribution to the offense. Like all fans of the team I hope he’s the exception and can hit balls out of the strike zone but players like that are rare. 

[Kimmi]

Have to give a shout out to Bello for being so efficient with his pitches last night.  Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come for him.  

[Maxbialystock]

1 hour ago, FredLynn said:

We are talking about two players here. I assume you are referring to Rafaela. 
If we are trying to build a team that competes for a ring most years I want a CFer who not only plays good (not necessarily excellent) defense but who can also hit the baseball with authority. Now for the last month Rafaela has been doing that. But his lack of plate discipline imo is going to be the limiting factor to his contribution to the offense. Like all fans of the team I hope he’s the exception and can hit balls out of the strike zone but players like that are rare. 

Meh.  I agree the Sox have tended to prefer hitters over fielding in CF, but I think it's a little early to condemn Rafaela in his 2d full season.  

I offer two thoughts on the lack of plate discipline.   First and foremost, right now he is hitting up a storm while lacking it.  Second, we can only assume it will improve.  

And who wouldn't want a terrific centerfielder whose cumulative DWAR after 1 1/2 seasons is 3.5.  Jackie Bradley's over 9 seasons was 9.9.  

 

 

 

 

[Maxbialystock]

1 minute ago, Kimmi said:

Have to give a shout out to Bello for being so efficient with his pitches last night.  Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come for him.  

10 K's and 1 BB.  He was hitting corners and had good stuff.  The dinger in the 9th was off a sweeper that was low and away--but still definitely in the strike zone--to Goodman, who has 17 dingers.  

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Meh.  I agree the Sox have tended to prefer hitters over fielding in CF, but I think it's a little early to condemn Rafaela in his 2d full season.  

I offer two thoughts on the lack of plate discipline.   First and foremost, right now he is hitting up a storm while lacking it.  Second, we can only assume it will improve.  

And who wouldn't want a terrific centerfielder whose cumulative DWAR after 1 1/2 seasons is 3.5.  Jackie Bradley's over 9 seasons was 9.9.  

I'm not sure it's about condemning Rafaela. He's on a bit of a hot streak, but I'm still concerned about his extremely high chase rate (3rd percentile) and high whiff rate (34th percentile). That's the recipe for a bit of a rollercoaster ride IMO. 

[Kimmi]

2 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

10 K's and 1 BB.  He was hitting corners and had good stuff.  The dinger in the 9th was off a sweeper that was low and away--but still definitely in the strike zone--to Goodman, who has 17 dingers.  

He looked really good.  I'm glad he was able to complete the game.  I was worried that if he allowed another baserunner, Cora would pull him because his pitch count was getting up there.  Bello looked so happy after the game, deservedly so.  What a confidence builder that must have been.

[FredLynn]

29 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I'm not sure it's about condemning Rafaela. He's on a bit of a hot streak, but I'm still concerned about his extremely high chase rate (3rd percentile) and high whiff rate (34th percentile). That's the recipe for a bit of a rollercoaster ride IMO. 

Bingo! Very few batters have had success chasing like Rafaela does. Vlad senior comes to mind. It didn’t matter where the pitch was he could hit it hard it seemed. That kind of chase rate is a recipe for failure.

[Bellhorn04]

2 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

Bingo! Very few batters have had success chasing like Rafaela does. Vlad senior comes to mind. It didn’t matter where the pitch was he could hit it hard it seemed. That kind of chase rate is a recipe for failure.

Maybe has a little Vlad in him.  

[FredLynn]

15 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Maybe has a little Vlad in him.  

Not even close. Vlad would hit balls nearly in the dirt with authority. Rafaela hits meatballs only but swings and misses at balls outside the zone.

[Maxbialystock]

6 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

Not even close. Vlad would hit balls nearly in the dirt with authority. Rafaela hits meatballs only but swings and misses at balls outside the zone.

Well said.  I sure hope Breslow dumps him at the first opportunity.  

[Maxbialystock]

55 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

He looked really good.  I'm glad he was able to complete the game.  I was worried that if he allowed another baserunner, Cora would pull him because his pitch count was getting up there.  Bello looked so happy after the game, deservedly so.  What a confidence builder that must have been.

Plus a wonderful day off for the bullpen.  

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, Maxbialystock said:

Well said.  I sure hope Breslow dumps him at the first opportunity.  

Hopefully we can get a bag of golf balls for him

🙄

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 hour ago, FredLynn said:

Hopefully we can get a bag of golf balls for him

🙄

Did Rafaela run over your dog? Your dislike for him seems to be personal.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

...

 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

...

[Bellhorn04]

2 hours ago, FredLynn said:

Not even close. Vlad would hit balls nearly in the dirt with authority. Rafaela hits meatballs only but swings and misses at balls outside the zone.

Well, MLB pitchers must be crazy to keep throwing him all those meatballs.  Apparently they have no data or video to go on. 😀

[FredLynn]

9 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Did Rafaela run over your dog? Your dislike for him seems to be personal.

He gave me the EVIL EYE during a game once. 

[FredLynn]

Story’s had a productive night so far….🙄

[FredLynn]

At least Story can play acceptable defense even if he’s choking at the plate

[moonslav59]

On 7/8/2025 at 6:45 PM, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

I believe the Rockies should change their name to the Rockettes.

How about the "Rock Bottoms?"