Angels (Detmers) vs Red Sox (Sandoval): 09/08/26, 6:45 PM

[Bagwell Anderson]

1 minute ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

We know who Story is: a career 28% K-rate. The MLB average is 22%.

But Anthony had a 27.7% K-rate last year, after which many fans and media called him the Red Sox next superstar. This season -- at the start and now the stretch run -- Roman has a 26.4% K-rate. 

Strikeouts are a big part of their games, even when they're doing well.

Like or not, we have to admit this was the main risk of incorporating the duo back into a batting order that won the summer because of contact.

No one feared their personalities wouldn't match...

 

1 minute ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

We know who Story is: a career 28% K-rate. The MLB average is 22%.

But Anthony had a 27.7% K-rate last year, after which many fans and media called him the Red Sox next superstar. This season -- at the start and now the stretch run -- Roman has a 26.4% K-rate. 

Strikeouts are a big part of their games, even when they're doing well.

Like or not, we have to admit this was the main risk of incorporating the duo back into a batting order that won the summer because of contact.

No one feared their personalities wouldn't match...

Agreed but  27 plus strikeout rate cannot be in the lead off spot.  He’s trending toward a late middle of the order spot at best. Story is Story. Can’t hit the slider and having trouble catching up to good fastballs.  That doesn’t get fixed this late in the season.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

25 minutes ago, Bagwell Anderson said:

Agreed but  27 plus strikeout rate cannot be in the lead off spot.  He’s trending toward a late middle of the order spot at best. Story is Story. Can’t hit the slider and having trouble catching up to good fastballs.  That doesn’t get fixed this late in the season.  

I talked about leadoff and the order yesterday. The only regular (besides Story's current 31.6% K-rate) slightly worse than Anthony is Duran, who's at 27.8% and  statistically one of the worst hitters in the majors this year.

And yet some consider Anthony the Red Sox' "best hitter." 

Meanwhile, here are 2026 Sox with better than average K-rates: Abreu and Rafaela at 20%, and the following -- all under 20%: Sogard, Gasper, Seigler, Monasterio, Durbin, IKF and Yoshida HIP (Heal in Peace).

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

We know who Story is: a career 28% K-rate. The MLB average is 22%.

But Anthony had a 27.7% K-rate last year, after which many fans and media called him the Red Sox next superstar.

Story 326 career OBP

Anthony 382 career OBP

Anthony has a high BB rate. Story has a low BB rate. 

[FredLynn]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

We know who Story is: a career 28% K-rate. The MLB average is 22%.

But Anthony had a 27.7% K-rate last year, after which many fans and media called him the Red Sox next superstar. This season -- at the start and now the stretch run -- Roman has a 26.4% K-rate. 

Strikeouts are a big part of their games, even when they're doing well.

Like or not, we have to admit this was the main risk of incorporating the duo back into a batting order that won the summer because of contact.

No one feared their personalities wouldn't match...

Last year when Anthony was healthy his OPS/OPS+ was .859/139. I think that once he finds his swing again he will get close to that. I don't much care if his strikeout rate is slightly above average if he can match those numbers.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

Last year when Anthony was healthy his OPS/OPS+ was .859/139. I think that once he finds his swing again he will get close to that. I don't much care if his strikeout rate is slightly above average if he can match those numbers.

822 OPS since coming back. Swing seems fine to me. I don't want to blame the Sox losing a few games on Roman. Duran and Durbin have been scuffling even worse for much longer. 

 

[JoeBrady]

16 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

When a starter has 20 more strike outs than innings pitched along with a 1.06 WHIP, he just might be tough to hit.

I'd love to see us trade for Detmers.  We don't have the farm (outside of Arias) to make such a move, but with LAA, you never know.  

[JoeBrady]

14 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Chad and Cora share one thing. When he gives a player the day off, that player isn't playing no matter what. Unless Wong gets hit by a bus.

Same with Tito.  I think a lot of managers consider a day off to be the entire day off.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I talked about leadoff and the order yesterday. The only regular (besides Story's current 31.6% K-rate) slightly worse than Anthony is Duran, who's at 27.8% and  statistically one of the worst hitters in the majors this year.

And yet some consider Anthony the Red Sox' "best hitter." 

You can't include Anthony, Duran and Story in the same comparison.  Anthony strikes out a lot because he takes a lot of pitches and takes a lot of walks.  He has an excellent eye.

Story & Duran strike out a lot because they can't read the pitches.

[drewski6]

33 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

822 OPS since coming back. Swing seems fine to me. I don't want to blame the Sox losing a few games on Roman. Duran and Durbin have been scuffling even worse for much longer. 

 

Guys who are as good as Anthony is, as young as Anthony is - generally do not fail.  Maybe there are a couple things that I would like to see Anthony correct before I pencil him in as our franchise player next 10 years (staying healthy, ground-ball rate, some throwing yips) but just because these concerns exist do not mean that he has a high chance for failure (defining failure as less than 30 accumulated career WAR)

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, Bagwell Anderson said:

Agreed but  27 plus strikeout rate cannot be in the lead off spot.

He can if he gets a lot of walks.

[drewski6]

I dont overfocus on K rates, also theres an argument to be had that youd rather have a high k guy hitting first than 2,3,4 becasue you want your contact guys hitting 2,3,4 to move runners along.  Id rather see a strikeout with nobody out, nobody on than one when runners are on first and second with no outs.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I'd rather see a strikeout when a Red Sox pitcher is on the mound.

We all want Anthony to be the next Ted or Yaz, but there is a lot of swing and miss with his "great" eyes. There was last year and at the beginning of this season and there is now.

Maybe he's feeling the pressure of expectations, which would be totally normal for a young guy, even a future star. But he did well in the WBC, leading USA in RBIs batting 6th or 7th for Mark DeRosa.

[drewski6]

20 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I'd rather see a strikeout when a Red Sox pitcher is on the mound.

We all want Anthony to be the next Ted or Yaz, but there is a lot of swing and miss with his "great" eyes. There was last year and at the beginning of this season and there is now.

Maybe he's feeling the pressure of expectations, which would be totally normal for a young guy, even a future star. But he did well in the WBC, leading USA in RBIs batting 6th or 7th for Mark DeRosa.

I think he needs to swing more.  Im sick of seeing him take strike 2 and even strike 3.  One way to avoid a strikeout is to stay ready and jump on a hittable pitch early in the count.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

You can't include Anthony, Duran and Story in the same comparison.  Anthony strikes out a lot because he takes a lot of pitches and takes a lot of walks.  He has an excellent eye.

Story & Duran strike out a lot because they can't read the pitches.

Taking a strike 3, even if you have a high walk total - is not the sign of a good eye. Its the sign of an overly passive approach.  I dont like the mindset. Be aggressive and look to eat.  Confident.  Oh no, I better not swing at a ball is too beta 4 me.

[drewski6]

Be the bigger dog.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I think he needs to swing more.  Im sick of seeing him take strike 2 and even strike 3.  One way to avoid a strikeout is to stay ready and jump on a hittable pitch early in the count.

Strike Out Looking %

Adley 47.4

Gasper 42.9

Triston Casas 2024 39.5

Sogard 39.0 

Seigler 35.7

Durbin 35.6

Mona 27.4

Masa 27.3

Anthony 25.5

Jones 25.0

IKF 22.2

League Av 22.0

 

[Nick]

BOSTON — Patrick Sandoval took the loss in the Red Sox’ 6-1 defeat to the Angels on Tuesday at Fenway Park, but interim manager Chad Tracy saw positives in the lefty’s start.

“I was actually pleased with it,” Tracy said. “I’ll take hovering around 70% strikes the whole game. They obviously got some hits off of him.”

10 Hits and 2 Walks? So he'll take the L every 5th day?

[Nick]

11 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Be the bigger dog.

We are not paying him to be a singles hitter. Another overblown prospect. Basically he had a Kristian Campbell moment?

[vegasbob]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Strike Out Looking %

Adley 47.4

Gasper 42.9

Triston Casas 2024 39.5

Sogard 39.0 

Seigler 35.7

Durbin 35.6

Mona 27.4

Masa 27.3

Anthony 25.5

Jones 25.0

IKF 22.2

League Av 22.0

 

If K looking is a negative attribute and the league average is 22.0%, then you have just listed 10 red Sox batters who exceed that average , not counting Casas who gets a break because he doesn't play.  

With 2 strikes, making contact , even 4-5 foul balls should be a mindset in most situations .   A lot of taking strike 3 could be misguessing the pitch which means too much thinking or not being able to adjust to the pitch location.

In either case, you are relegated to grabbing some pine, not advancing runner, not generating errors, not getting a run home on an FC or Sac Fly.      Swing the bat, but in Story's case let the wide low breaking ball just go by for Ball 4

[vegasbob]

17 minutes ago, Nick said:

BOSTON — Patrick Sandoval took the loss in the Red Sox’ 6-1 defeat to the Angels on Tuesday at Fenway Park, but interim manager Chad Tracy saw positives in the lefty’s start.

“I was actually pleased with it,” Tracy said. “I’ll take hovering around 70% strikes the whole game. They obviously got some hits off of him.”

10 Hits and 2 Walks? So he'll take the L every 5th day?

Tracy's mindset wanders back to the WooSox development program days.

[drewski6]

24 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Strike Out Looking %

Adley 47.4

Gasper 42.9

Triston Casas 2024 39.5

Sogard 39.0 

Seigler 35.7

Durbin 35.6

Mona 27.4

Masa 27.3

Anthony 25.5

Jones 25.0

IKF 22.2

League Av 22.0

 

But thats only strike 3.

[notin]

4 hours ago, Bagwell Anderson said:

 

Agreed but  27 plus strikeout rate cannot be in the lead off spot.  He’s trending toward a late middle of the order spot at best. Story is Story. Can’t hit the slider and having trouble catching up to good fastballs.  That doesn’t get fixed this late in the season.  

Not uncommon for hitters with high BB rates to also have elevated K rates.  Anthony has a high BB rate…

[drewski6]

8 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

If K looking is a negative attribute and the league average is 22.0%, then you have just listed 10 red Sox batters who exceed that average , not counting Casas who gets a break because he doesn't play.  

With 2 strikes, making contact , even 4-5 foul balls should be a mindset in most situations .   A lot of taking strike 3 could be misguessing the pitch which means too much thinking or not being able to adjust to the pitch location.

In either case, you are relegated to grabbing some pine, not advancing runner, not generating errors, not getting a run home on an FC or Sac Fly.      Swing the bat, but in Story's case let the wide low breaking ball just go by for Ball 4

Having 2 strikes is a hard place to be, even 3-2.  I say, dont let it get to strike 2.  Swing early and often.

[drewski6]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

Not uncommon for hitters with high BB rates to also have elevated K rates.  Anthony has a high BB rate…

Catch a pitcher by surprise thinking they can toss a "get me over" for strike 1.  Not here.  Swing it early and swing it often.

To me, letting a fastball go by in the zone for strike 2, and then waving at a slider low and outside running away for strike 3....Your mess up was strike 2.

Jump on em.

[drewski6]

The best way to not strike out is to sit fastball, and jump on the first fastball you get.  Pitchers arent going to give you 5 sliders in a row.

[drewski6]

A walk should be considered a disappointing but acceptable outcome for a star player.

Barry Bonds wasnt looking to walk.  He took em when he had to.  But he wasnt looking for em.

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

A walk should be considered a disappointing but acceptable outcome for a star player.

Barry Bonds wasnt looking to walk.  He took em when he had to.  But he wasnt looking for em.

He holds the MLB record in walks. he could have retired 3 seasons earlier and still be holding the record today. He was 4th in walks in the league from 86-92 when he was with the Pirates and a skinny string bean. He led MLB in walks in 12 seasons. 

[drewski6]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He holds the MLB record in walks. he could have retired 3 seasons earlier and still be holding the record today. He was 4th in walks in the league from 86-92 when he was with the Pirates and a skinny string bean. He led MLB in walks in 12 seasons. 

And do you think that Giants fans and Bonds himself were always jazzed at every walk he incurred?

Im not saying walks are terrible, Im just not celebrating them.  Now if we are down 2 runs in the ninth, and draw a leadoff walk, of course , Im celebrating that.  But aside from late game situations, small-ball, #9 hitters..... Im not pumped too see , say Roman Anthony (lets say 3 years from now), if hes up with a runner on second, nobody on first, 1 out and he draws a walk, Im disappointed.  And if someone isnt, then Romans overpaid.

Im not paying big dollars for walks

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

And do you think that Giants fans and Bonds himself were always jazzed at every walk he incurred?

Im not saying walks are terrible, Im just not celebrating them.  Now if we are down 2 runs in the ninth, and draw a leadoff walk, of course , Im celebrating that.  But aside from late game situations, small-ball, #9 hitters..... Im not pumped too see , say Roman Anthony (lets say 3 years from now), if hes up with a runner on second, nobody on first, 1 out and he draws a walk, Im disappointed.  And if someone isnt, then Romans overpaid.

Im not paying big dollars for walks

If Anthony breaks Bonds's BB record, I'll be very happy. 

[NHNative]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Strike Out Looking %

Adley 47.4

Gasper 42.9

Triston Casas 2024 39.5

Sogard 39.0 

Seigler 35.7

Durbin 35.6

Mona 27.4

Masa 27.3

Anthony 25.5

Jones 25.0

IKF 22.2

League Av 22.0

 

Does this mean that each man is that % likely to strike out or they strike out that % of the time?

;-)