mvp 78

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/27/red-sox-planning-more-aggressive-approach-plate/IvhnEH6O9BE6UFYuRI58oM/story.html The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier runs through some troubling numbers for the Red Sox’ offense from 2017, observing that the team’s lineup was startlingly ineffective in hitters’ counts. Boston took an abnormally passive approach at the plate last season, per Speier, and while they were among the game’s more productive clubs in 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 counts, they ranked in the bottom third of baseball in 3-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-1 and 0-1 counts (by measure of OPS). The Red Sox ranked last in the American League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 0-0 counts, he adds. Speier spoke at length with principal owner John Henry about the trends, which did not go unnoticed by ownership or the front office and may have played a notable role in the organization’s coaching overhaul. Notably, Speier adds that new skipper Alex Cora saw his Astros pounce on the first pitch with regularity and with great success in 2017.

@jcmccaffrey In his fifth Grapefruit League game, Swihart is now 6-for-13 with four doubles and a homer. Bye Sandy.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/juiced-baseballs/ Dingers for everyone!

At this point, the Yanks are really no different than the Rays or Orioles to me. There is only one X factor in this "rivalry". https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=12161&position=SS

People take this place seriously?

It would have came with the qualifier that JD and Stanton are injury risks and can't be counted on.

Sox players that can hit 20 HRs: Mitch Xander Devers Betts JBJ Beni JD Hanley (could hit 20 off the bench)

Moving Betts to 2b and putting Beni in RF is legitimately a nightmare scenario. Betts can move to 2b when he hits his mid 30's.

Chris Sale is a clubhouse cancer! Despicable! http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2018/03/jason_groome_chris_sale_pushed.html#incart_river_index When Red Sox top pitching prospect Jason Groome got a text from an unknown number last winter claiming to be from Chris Sale, he thought one of his friends was pulling a prank on him. Groome checked with a mutual friend. The number did indeed belong to Boston's ace starter. Sale, who lives in Naples, found out that Groome was living on his own in Fort Myers and figured he could use a workout partner. "It's not like I'm going to teach him anything profound," Sale said. "Just like hey this is your first year down here and in the organization, I live down here, and I've got a guy I work out with and kind of show him what it's like to put work in in the offseason." Sale has worked out for years at a Naples gym called Beyond Motion where part of his training includes Pilates. The core strength and flexibility that Pilates promotes is a nice compliment to the rest of Sale's offseason work. He thought it might work for Groome, too. The 19-year-old lefty had never done Pilates before, but was willing to try anything Sale suggested despite being a little nervous at first. "I grew up watching him and he asked me to work out so I was really pumped up that he even went out of his way to arrange that," Groome said. "It was just so cool to be a part of his offseason." Groome worked out at JetBlue Park on Mondays and Tuesdays and then spent Wednesdays doing Pilates at Beyond Motion with Sale and sometimes Rick Porcello. Thursdays and Fridays were back to lifting sometimes at Beyond Motion and other times at the park. Groome was well accustomed to the Red Sox strength program, but Pilates was something completely different and harder than he imagined. "The first couple sessions I guess it didn't live up to the hype and I guess in my head I was like 'Oh that isn't too bad,'" Groome said. "But then after the first two it really, it hurts but it works in a very good way. I noticed it because I would go in there some days sore after squatting the day before, and I would wake up the next morning and not be nearly as sore as I was on Tuesday morning." Having Groome as a workout partner also pushed the competitor in Sale. While both are 6-foot-6 lefties, Groome has about 40 pounds on Sale. "It's always nice for me to have someone to work out with pushing you and keeping you in check," Sale said. "He's a lot stronger than I am. You've got a guy 10 years younger than you, lifting twice as much, it'll stroke your ego and motivate you a little bit, too, so it was fun though. I think we both got something out of it." The offseason workouts with Sale put Groome in a good position for a healthy 2018 season. Last year, his first full year in professional baseball, Groome missed a large chunk of time due to two separate injuries. In his first start of the year for Single-A Greenville he suffered a mild lat strain and missed a month and a half. When he returned in June, he made three starts in Short-Season Lowell and 10 starts in Greenville before a forearm strain ended his season. Groome had been receiving regular treatment on his arm and elbow from the training staff, but after a start in late August, he didn't feel right the following day. He told the training staff and with just a month left in the season, they opted to shut him down. Despite the injuries and a 5.69 ERA over 14 starts, Groome, Boston's 2016 first-round pick, still ranked as a top 100 prospect in baseball and the top overall prospect in the Boston system in all the preseason projections. Groome took three months off from throwing following the forearm strain and didn't pick up a ball again until December. But over the past three months, he's been on a regular schedule and hasn't felt any issues with his arm or lat muscle. "Besides being hurt, I just look at that season as a big learning season for me," he said. "Just going into my full season and just finding my routine once I got back to being healthy but just learning was the biggest thing for me last year and especially with my body. Knowing when my body has had too much and when to take off. It wasn't an unsuccessful season last year, I can say that." An offseason working out with Sale helped put the injury-riddled 2017 season behind him. "I put in a lot of work this offseason so I feel like my body is right where it needs to be at," Groome said. "I'm just ready to get after it this year."

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/03/01/we-need-to-talk-about-alex-cora-using-the-word-slacks/ The key from Cora is that he’s going to let the veterans lead and see where that goes: “I think you give them the space,” Cora said in a sit-down with NBC Sports Boston. “Obviously, we’re going to have some rules. Dress codes, and who can be in the clubhouse, all that stuff. … I will get the veterans or the core of the team in my office. Tell ‘em what I want from them, and then they meet and they’ll come back with a set of rules that they feel it’s appropriate for the team, and then we’ll discuss and we go.” That dress code led to this comment from Cora: “I signed with the Dodgers in 1996, and that was an organization that from Double-A on every trip, it was a [must to wear a] sports coat on the road,” Cora said. “Have to wear a collared shirt. Slacks on the road … it was very clean. So I know it’s different now. I know that what for me is a dress shirt for another guy is not.

It's big that Holt still has an option remaining.

Holt was a FA last year?

Oh s***, you just hit me with a 30 year old SNL reference. I'm dead. Yankees are still a 2nd place team. For them, that's still pretty special since the Sox have been the better franchise for the past 15+ years.

Sometimes they do (it just means they rise so high that they go over the backstop). https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcdowsa01.shtml

Red Sox vs Yankees C - Vaz v Sanchez - Sanchez is better 1b - Mitch v Bird - Not even close, Bird can't play a full season 2b - Pedroia v Torres - Pedey even with his s***** baserunning SS - Xander v Gregorius - Xander is going to mash this year 3b - Devers v Whoever - Devers all day RF - Betts v Judge - sophmore slump for Judge CF - JBJ v Hicks - I like Hicks, but JBJ is better right now LF - Beni v Gardner - Gardner kinda sucks DH - JD v Mike Stanton - JD will have the better year this time, Stanton will miss half the year due to injury Red Sox 99-63 Yankees 87-75

@redsoxstats On his podcast today Olney asked Dombrowski about JDM's opposite field power. Dombrowski said the analytics returned that it would play just fine in Fenway. Taking a quick peek at statcast, 43% of his opposite field HRs over the past couple of years have gone over 410'. Insane. Oh la la! I know it doesn't really work that way, but still...

If he's a "3" he's probably worth his contract. Considering his nice ST beard, I may be on the Porcello train this year.

The boxscores on google don't match the boxscores on MLB. Weird.

@PeteAbe Thornburg said he felt better on the mound today than he did at any time in 2016. He had a 2.16 ERA for the Brewers that season over 67 games.

Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez weren't on the team 3-4 years ago. Duh!

When I average the last two seasons, the Yankees should wind up in second place. Those are the rules.

Duda was just signed at 1/3.5. I can't say Moreland's deal is horrible though. If they had someone that could take over at 1b (Shaw), then they wouldn't have needed to sign him for 2 years.

Not according to the boxscores I've seen?

Thornburg is throwing off a mound today.

WE STILL DON'T KNOW IF THE SOX WERE THE HIGHEST BIDDER THO? Do we?