Red Sox (Tolle) vs Blue Jays (Yesavage): 4/28/26, 7:07pm

[Old Red]

30 minutes ago, iortiz said:

It’s not a personal theory. Look at the lineup. He basically has to replace Bregman/Devers production. No Contreras, no Abreu. Anthony. 
 

Exactly, everyone thought (still think) he’s going to be a superstar but thus far he’s been a bust. Common sense says he is a concern but hey… ppl can go to StatCast to feel better. 

It seems going Geekie makes things look better than they really are.👍👍👍👏

[JoeBrady]

24 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Anthony could hit a ton from May on, but it’s not going to erase all the losses in April, and all the losses that are piling up now is what’s most important at the moment.

But if he does a hit a ton, we will win a lot more going forward.  The timing of when guys hit doesn't impact the overall winning % of a team.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, Deja Doh said:

Hyping players who have never repeated performance year over year,  which is the result of salesmen

Nothing personal, but that is laughably wrong.  BA and BP have been around a long time, and pay good money for scouts.  The idea that they are salesmen with some type of vested interest in hyping Red Sox players is so wrong that I don't know how to process it.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, notin said:

I mean, are you really calling for patience on a hitter “an excuse” IN APRIL?!??!   

Nothing personal, but you are wasting your time.  The same people that wanted to get rid of Mayer, Monasterio and Durbin, now want to bat them #3-4-5.  Guys with his K/W and EV virtually always hit.  Some fans refuse to acknowledge the numbers underlying the results.

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, JoeBrady said:

Nothing personal, but you are wasting your time.  The same people that wanted to get rid of Mayer, Monasterio and Durbin, now want to bat them #3-4-5.  Guys with his K/W and EV virtually always hit.  Some fans refuse to acknowledge the numbers underlying the results.

Who wants DUBin to bat anywhere but 9th?🤔

[Old Red]

14 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

But if he does a hit a ton, we will win a lot more going forward.  The timing of when guys hit doesn't impact the overall winning % of a team.

Understood that if little Anthony starts hitting the team may win more games, but it’s not going still won’t erase the April losses waiting for him to get there.

[notin]

1 minute ago, iortiz said:

It’s not a personal theory. Look at the lineup. He basically has to replace Bregman/Devers production. No Contreras, no Abreu. Anthony. 
 

Exactly, everyone thought (still think) he’s going to be a superstar but thus far he’s been a bust. Common sense says he is a concern but ppl can go to StatCast to feel better. 

That’s not anything the team said.  In fact, they said they expected Abreu to break out this year.  And they tried to bring back Bregman and to some extent, explores options like Marte, Paredes, and even Seager in some unsubstantiated rumors.  That doesn’t sound like handing the team over to Anthony.  Don’t confuse fan expectations with team plans.

Anthony’s numbers will work themselves out.  Sure he won’t be Ken Griffey Jr Jr, but does the team really expect him to be?  I think right now they (and we) had higher expectations from Duran…

[notin]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Understood that if little Anthony starts hitting the team may win more games, but it’s not going still won’t erase the April losses waiting for him to get there.

And those are not all on Anthony.  Duran and Story each need Ruthian hot streaks to get back to a .600 OPS first.  That’s certainly not on Anthony to make that up…

[notin]

12 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Nothing personal, but you are wasting your time.  The same people that wanted to get rid of Mayer, Monasterio and Durbin, now want to bat them #3-4-5.  Guys with his K/W and EV virtually always hit.  Some fans refuse to acknowledge the numbers underlying the results.

And many fans wanted Like Keaschall over Mayer despite Keaschall putting up numbers that are worse than what got Campbell demoted…

[JoeBrady]

27 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Who wants DUBin to bat anywhere but 9th?🤔

9th is perfect for Durbin.  He's a good base-stealer, and that should help the top of the order.

[JoeBrady]

27 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Understood that if little Anthony starts hitting the team may win more games, but it’s not going still won’t erase the April losses waiting for him to get there.

Of course.  That's history,  But it doesn't matter when you win the games.  It is your total that counts.

[JoeBrady]

46 minutes ago, Old Red said:

It seems going Geekie makes things look better than they really are.👍👍👍👏

Only if you don't believe in math.  I look at KC's peripherals and they are cringe-worthy.  I look at Anthony's peripherals and see very good things.  Some people look at Tolle's game last night and see an 0-1 and a 5.79 ERA.  I prefer to look at hard-hit balls and composure to see what to expect in the future.

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Only if you don't believe in math.  I look at KC's peripherals and they are cringe-worthy.  I look at Anthony's peripherals and see very good things.  Some people look at Tolle's game last night and see an 0-1 and a 5.79 ERA.  I prefer to look at hard-hit balls and composure to see what to expect in the future.

It looked like he wasn’t as sharp as he was his first game, his velo was down, and he ran out of gas. Good old eye test to me, and no math needed.

[Old Red]

14 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Of course.  That's history,  But it doesn't matter when you win the games.  It is your total that counts.

That’s the point that they all count March, and April included, and April is where we’re at.

[Old Red]

18 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

9th is perfect for Durbin.  He's a good base-stealer, and that should help the top of the order.

He has to get on base first. He did hit a HR against a non pitcher though.

[iortiz]

47 minutes ago, notin said:

That’s not anything the team said.  In fact, they said they expected Abreu to break out this year.  And they tried to bring back Bregman and to some extent, explores options like Marte, Paredes, and even Seager in some unsubstantiated rumors.  That doesn’t sound like handing the team over to Anthony.  Don’t confuse fan expectations with team plans.

Anthony’s numbers will work themselves out.  Sure he won’t be Ken Griffey Jr Jr, but does the team really expect him to be?  I think right now they (and we) had higher expectations from Duran…

When they let Bregaman walk and didn't sign another elite bat, all the responsibility by definition went to Anthony, whether it was said or not. It's called logic. Let's not fool ourselves, Duran and Abreu are not supposed to be at the same tier as Anthony will, at least not on paper.  Anthony is supposed to be the face of the franchise, period. Heck, Abreu and Duran were trade chips not long ago. Anthony? He's Boston's Holy Grail! The real question was, Is he going to smash the ball this early of his life? The FO made it clear, and said Yes; again, when they didn't sign another elite bat to protect him. Said that, yeah, I still believe he's going to bounce back but for now, he has officially entered into my book of concerns, mostly regarding his glove and durability. Time will tell though,

Regarding Duran and using your same geek logic, isn't he hitting the ball hard? What does StatCasts say? I haven't checked out but I would bet his BABIP is below league's average. Duran's problems are different though. He still has mental issues IMO. 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, iortiz said:

When they let Bregaman walk and didn't sign another elite bat, all the responsibility by definition went to Anthony, whether it was said or not. Let's not fool ourselves, Duran nor Abreu are not supposed to be at the same tier as Anthony, at least not on paper.  Anthony is supposed to be the face of the franchise, period. Heck, Abreu and Duran were trade chips not long ago. Anthony? He's Boston's Holy Grail! The real question was, Is he going to smash the ball this early of his life? The FO made it clear, and said Yes; again, when they didn't sign another elite bat to protect him. Said that, yeah, I still believe he's going to bounce back but for now, he has officially entered into my book of concerns, mostly regarding his glove and durability. Time will tell though,

Regarding Duran and using your same geek logic, isn't he hitting the ball hard? What does StatCasts say? I haven't checked out but I would bet his BABIP is below league's average. Duran's problems are different though. He still has mental issues IMO. 

I’d say that sums things up pretty well.

[iortiz]

35 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Only if you don't believe in math.  I look at KC's peripherals and they are cringe-worthy.  I look at Anthony's peripherals and see very good things.  Some people look at Tolle's game last night and see an 0-1 and a 5.79 ERA.  I prefer to look at hard-hit balls and composure to see what to expect in the future.

Tolle's velocity AND location last night was off and the fastball is his major asset. Didn't he rest enough? When it is close to 100, it's almost unhittable mostly because it has a lot of movement. Tolle needs to keep working in his secondary pitches, otherwise he's going to be relegated to the pen for the rest of his career. You don't need advanced stats to know that.  

[drewski6]

32 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Only if you don't believe in math.  I look at KC's peripherals and they are cringe-worthy.  I look at Anthony's peripherals and see very good things.  Some people look at Tolle's game last night and see an 0-1 and a 5.79 ERA.  I prefer to look at hard-hit balls and composure to see what to expect in the future.

Looking at underlying metrics to put results into perspective isnt math.  Its valid context, but it isnt math.

[drewski6]

19 minutes ago, iortiz said:

When they let Bregaman walk and didn't sign another elite bat, all the responsibility by definition went to Anthony, whether it was said or not. It's called logic. Let's not fool ourselves, Duran and Abreu are not supposed to be at the same tier as Anthony will, at least not on paper.  Anthony is supposed to be the face of the franchise, period. Heck, Abreu and Duran were trade chips not long ago. Anthony? He's Boston's Holy Grail! The real question was, Is he going to smash the ball this early of his life? The FO made it clear, and said Yes; again, when they didn't sign another elite bat to protect him. Said that, yeah, I still believe he's going to bounce back but for now, he has officially entered into my book of concerns, mostly regarding his glove and durability. Time will tell though,

Regarding Duran and using your same geek logic, isn't he hitting the ball hard? What does StatCasts say? I haven't checked out but I would bet his BABIP is below league's average. Duran's problems are different though. He still has mental issues IMO. 

Correct, whether it was the original plan or the team we wound up with due to not being able to execute on the original plan - the issue is that we went into the season with too much expected of Anthony (and Duran). Thats why we argue back in forth over which one should hit first and third.  Because we need them to be the primary producers.

Now I do believe that Anthony will ultimately be fine at the plate.  Guys who hit as well as he did last year, at 20 years old, have a very very good track record. Now, that doesnt mean hes not without his current warts.  For example, he looks for walks too much and is often down in teh count after letting fastballs go by.

Regardless, sophmore slumps are very common, and the team absolutely should not have put this much on Anthonys shoulders.  The problem isnt how hes hitting, its how much we need him to hit.  Most sophmores have to adjust, and Anthonys struggles are magfified due to how much importance is placed on him producing.

I dont think Anthony himself is a problem, I think the problem is not having enough hitters or established hitters or elite hitters, guys who you can count on to hit, so when promising youngsters hit a very likely and very foreseeable rough patch - the producing established guys hide that.

[iortiz]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Correct, whether it was the original plan or the team we wound up with due to not being able to execute on the original plan - the issue is that we went into the season with too much expected of Anthony (and Duran). Thats why we argue back in forth over which one should hit first and third.  Because we need them to be the primary producers.

Now I do believe that Anthony will ultimately be fine at the plate.  Guys who hit as well as he did last year, at 20 years old, have a very very good track record. Now, that doesnt mean hes not without his current warts.  For example, he looks for walks too much and is often down in teh count after letting fastballs go by.

Regardless, sophmore slumps are very common, and the team absolutely should not have put this much on Anthonys shoulders.  The problem isnt how hes hitting, its how much we need him to hit.  Most sophmores have to adjust, and Anthonys struggles are magfified due to how much importance is placed on him producing.

I dont think Anthony himself is a problem, I think the problem is not having enough hitters or established hitters or elite hitters, guys who you can count on to hit, so when promising youngsters hit a very likely and very foreseeable rough patch - the producing established guys hide that.

With the current lineup plus Marte we would have had at the very least a 500 record thus far. Bello would have been very likely in the package to land Marte and would have meant an addition by subtraction, so sum a couple of extra wins there too. 

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Correct, whether it was the original plan or the team we wound up with due to not being able to execute on the original plan - the issue is that we went into the season with too much expected of Anthony (and Duran). Thats why we argue back in forth over which one should hit first and third.  Because we need them to be the primary producers.

Now I do believe that Anthony will ultimately be fine at the plate.  Guys who hit as well as he did last year, at 20 years old, have a very very good track record. Now, that doesnt mean hes not without his current warts.  For example, he looks for walks too much and is often down in teh count after letting fastballs go by.

Regardless, sophmore slumps are very common, and the team absolutely should not have put this much on Anthonys shoulders.  The problem isnt how hes hitting, its how much we need him to hit.  Most sophmores have to adjust, and Anthonys struggles are magfified due to how much importance is placed on him producing.

I dont think Anthony himself is a problem, I think the problem is not having enough hitters or established hitters or elite hitters, guys who you can count on to hit, so when promising youngsters hit a very likely and very foreseeable rough patch - the producing established guys hide that.

I’m not even arguing that little Anthony should even hit high up in the order at the present time let alone 1st, or 3rd. Anthony not hitting is a problem whether guys are hitting around him, or not.