Spitball

He was not with the Sox at the time but terrible fielding former Red Sox first baseman Dick Stuart from the early 1960s had a classic. Lefty hitting Eddie Mathews hit a liner towards right field that Stuart caught. As Mathews approached first, Stuart said, "I must be slowing down, Eddie, because I used to be able to get out of the way of those." Red Sox fans once gave Stuart a standing ovation when he cleanly picked up a hotdog wrapper that was blowing by first base.

Fred, like you said, the favorites seem to have advanced so far, but it is always difficult to impossible to call the playoffs. Usually I am a pessimistic Red Sox fan (due to history), but I feel the current team has the personality, but not really the talent, of the 2004 team. I see the Sox winning this series. I honestly believe the modern game has passed Leyland by.

Nice post, OJ. In fact, I have found all your recent "Sizing up the ALCS" posts very interesting. Thanks!

You have to love this team!!!

Can you elaborate on this with some statistical data? I do know that there is a complex "jock tax" which requires players to pay taxes in all states in which they play. How is $18 million offsetting the income tax? Why are athletes not all signing with teams in states with low income taxes like Florida and Arizona?

I like Pence a lot but don't see him at $18 million a year. That is about what Joey Votto made this season. I believe Sabean simply makes up values based on skewed logic. Pence is a fifth hole batter making three hole money.

Geez, the Giants overpaid for Pence! He is no $18 million dollar a year superstar. It is a good thing the Sox have built strong farm system because there are some stupid organizations out there pushing the salary bar to ridiculous levels.

There are lots out there on strikeouts and team offense. It is all pretty interesting and contrary to what I would have believed even three years ago. http://www.athleticsnation.com/2013/7/3/4479932/does-striking-out-matter http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/37209/do-strikeouts-matter-in-postseason-play http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9404316/mlb-players-striking-record-pace

I agree about the strikeouts. Here is an interesting point. Ichiro Suzuki is greatly admired for his high batting averages, but he rarely walks. Adam Dunn is usually criticized for his high number of strikeouts and low batting averages, but he walks a lot. It simply amazed me when I realized Adam Dunn has a high career OBP at .366 than Ichiro does at .361. Dunn has a much higher OPS at .861 to Ichiro's .775. Ichiro has long been overrated in my opinion and Dunn underrated. Strikeouts are not all that important and batting averages are not as important as OPS.

Bradley has gotten on base at a .404 rate in 989 minor league at bats. That seems to be a pretty good indicator that he can handle the lead off spot. There are no guarantees when building a team or replacing players. The Red Sox have replaced Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez with considerably cheaper parts...and have been a better team. It is now time to replace Jacoby Ellsbury with a considerably cheaper part. It makes nooo sense to pay him the kind of money Boras will want him to make.

Like Ellbury, Choo is represented by Boras and will be too expensive for a guy who does not hit lefties particularly well and has a history of injuries.

Personally, I am happy with the new direction. The Sox got rid of the big contract, big name guys in Beckett, Crawford and Gonzalez. They are about to finish an unexpectedly great season. Why do they need Stanton, his injuries, and his eventually large contract? I would love to see the Sox continue to build from within and sign the Vitorinos, Napolis, and Drews to fill in the voids while the prospects develop. The throw big money at big names days are surely over. The Red Sox got lucky with the Dodger trade while the Yankees and Angels try to figure out how to rebuild around bad long term contracts. I would love to see Stanton with the Red Sox, but he is not a need. The Sox are doing very well with their new philosophy.

You have one for Yastrzemski and one for Williams, two of the greatest Red Sox of all-time. How is that trending into "a thing?"

You can't really control the posts of others, you can only control your response to those posters...and I need to listen to that advice more than most.

Slumps will happen. I won't worry until it becomes a prolonged situation.

He was my first Red Sox hero even though I did not understand his real greatness until I was much older. He was probably the greatest hitter in the history of the game, and he was a Red Sox.

But the Sox had Javier Lopez pitching and Javier Lopez catching. It created great confusion in the opposing dugouts.

I hate the West Coast trips. So far they are 2 and 3 (leading today's game as I type). Btw Behindenemylines, the Sox figure to face lefties Capuano, Chen, and Hector Santiago in the next five games.

I understand BABIP. I understand its use and its weaknesses. I just don't see using it as an argument over 162 plate appearances. Some statistics are reliable over that span, but not BABIP. It has its place but not in this discussion.

I wish you would elaborate here. Cabrera's ability to hit line drives with power will improve his chances of a higher BAPIP. His .409 is not majorly out of line for a hitter of his ability.

Actually, 162 plate appearances is not really that small of a sample size. It is equivalent to the at-bats a starting first baseman might have against left handed pitchers in a whole season. Joey Votto faced fewer left handers last season. Way too many managers are old school and adhere too strictly to the fear of the lefty batter facing the left handed pitcher. Okay, so now I am glad to see you throw out the small sample size argument. Actually, the greater strikeout and lesser walk rates can be expected, but they are not such a worry if the OPS is not significantly affected. As for his BABIP, now we can talk small sample size. This statistic is a better measure of pitcher's effectiveness, but it is far from an exact measurement in any way. It might tell of an artificially inflated statistic, but it does not tell us a player's statistics are totally skewed. I agree they should not pay for an Adrian Gonzalez, but the Mike Carps of the world are not really easy to find. Seattle probably hurt his numbers. The Sox were lucky to get him.

For his career, Carp's splits are pretty even. Versus RHP .261/.338/.446 and versus LHP .294/.333/.458. He has far more at bats versus righty pitchers, but that is probably old fashioned thinking that all lefties can't hit lefty pitching.

Not exactly the Reds' fault. There is an interesting story here with the Mets and Marlins signing Willy Mo as a teenager (contracts voided), but the Yankees eventually signed him as a 17 year-old to major league contract. That meant he had five years to make it to the majors or be a free agent. The Reds had acquired Drew Henson (see Tom Brady) in a trade for Denny Neagle, but he threatened to return to Michigan rather than be out of the Yankee system. The Reds were desperate and agreed to take Pena's bad contract for Henson who would not play for them.

The statue will look great! http://fenwayrefugees.com/red-sox-planning-yaz-last-at-bat-statue/

I worry Abreu will turn out to be another Willy Mo Pena. Like Pena, he has tremendous power potential, but there are concerns about his bat speed and fielding. And how much will he cost? Cespedes was 4 years at $36 million and Puig signed for 7 years at $42 million. Abreu is already 26-years-old and the market for a first base/DH type will be limited because the Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers have first basemen. The NL doesn't need DHs. I figure that leaves the Rangers and Red Sox bidding on the guy. If he turns out to be another Cespedes or Puig, that would be great. If he is another Willy Mo...