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Elktonnick

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Everything posted by Elktonnick

  1. Elktonnick
    I absolutely agree with the premise that WMB is badly served by the building up the pitch count that permeates the Red Sox hitting philosophy. He frequently would watch one or two perfectly hittable fastballs sail in for strikes only to fan on an off speed pitch, usually a slider, breaking out of the strike zone. He needs to be swinging more at those hittable pitches early in the count. Finally, I can't understand why he is unwilling to play winter ball.
  2. Elktonnick
    Webster pitched well tonight. He was confident on the mound. As Yogi said "90% of this game is half mental" If Webster can build his confidence may be he'll have a future as a starter. Too bad Breslow and Bogie cost him the win. Bogie's biggest defensive weakness is that he makes too many throwing errors. Perhaps with experience he'll become more confident and position himself better to make solid throws to first.
  3. Elktonnick
    The only way the Sox could get anything of value for WMB is if they included Jenny Dell as part of the deal. OOPS they cut DEll from NESN. There goes that idea;)
  4. Elktonnick
    Somebody posted that Middlebrooks couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat! That's how bad he is going now.
  5. Elktonnick
    Bellhorn, I think you are on track re Bradley. First of all he didn't get enough ABs in the minors. Second ML pitching adjusted to him andhe was either unwilling or unable to adjust to them. Finally I think Bradley believes he can hit for power and as a result refuses to adjust his swing to inside out the ball and take what is given. He is not a power hitter. But he can and could hit for more power from time to time if and when he learns to use the whole field instead of trying to pull the ball virtually every time at bat. That's the paradox of this game.
  6. Elktonnick
    Bradley has deceptive speed but he can close quickly on a ball. Bradley thinks he is Willie Mays and a power hitter. He doesn't have quick wrists like Betts and his ridiculous leg kick or toe tap has him always off balance especially with his long upper cut swing. He should consider shortening his swing and keeping his hands inside the ball, taking what is offered and going the other way. What is particularly upsetting is that he doesn't change his approach with two strikes. So he strikes out..... a lot!
  7. Elktonnick
    That is the first time I've heard anyone say that Bradley wasn't fast enough, I'd bet he is as fast as Aoki.
  8. Elktonnick
    I heard a short re broadcast of Vin Scully calling part of Don Larsen's perfect game which is available online. Hard to believe but he really has aged very well. I remember him doing national broadcasts several years back he was terrific.
  9. Elktonnick
    You and I are on the same wave length. They do need a big stick, to go with at least two frontline starters. Napoli and Ortiz will really be on their last legs next year. Who knows whether Craig will return to form. Castillo is an unknown. Middlebrooks is a strike out machine and a lost cause in my book and Victorino could easily injury himself and be out for the year sliding into second base. BTW I think your Vin Scully quote is right on the money.
  10. Elktonnick
    Whether XB is a choker or not misses the point. Right now he is. Both offensively and defensively he tends to freeze in pressure situations. We see that with his low average with RISP or when he makes stupid base running decisions. We see that defensively when he makes poor throws to first because he rushed. The question is: will he outgrow these mistakes made because of his youth. The answer is we don't know. One can hope he does, but one really doesn't know with certainty. There have been cases where some guys never mature and live up to their promise because they can't adjust to the pressure of the game. Others have. Only time will tell in Bogaerts case. However, a prudent GM and FO would be well advised to have a Plan B in case he doesn't. Is Cherrington a prudent GM? In any case Bogaerts certainly isn't going to be another Nomar, not by a long shot. Right now he projects to be a serviceable ML shortstop whether a choker or not.
  11. Elktonnick
    Ever since I can remember real baseball experts have warned against making judgments based on September stats and late inning blow out hits. The only ones who pay attention to such phony numbers are those saber geeks who couldn't tell a curveball from a slider if they actually held a bat in their hand. (Or as the farmer's say straw from hay) No one is giving up on Bogaerts yet. We are only saying he isn't the super stud that some would have you believe. Hell he is no Nomar, Rypken or Jeter that's for sure. He might not be as good as Stephen Drew in his prime. The jury is still out. But from what I've seen, he isn't the guy I want to see hitting with the game on the line in a pennant race.
  12. Elktonnick
    It is like hitting in garbage time in a blow out.
  13. Elktonnick
    45 years 5 daughters and 15 grandchildren but then who is counting, Fred
  14. Elktonnick
    Winning at all costs is not in my lexicon. I was brought up to believe in good sportsmanship and not to divorce a woman right after she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lackey wll always be a slug in my book no matter how many games he wins.i
  15. Elktonnick
    Several years ago a number of posters jumped all over me because I called Lackey a "slug". Well he was a slug then and continues to be a slug now. I am glad he is gone. The Cardinals can keep him.
  16. Elktonnick
    I lost all respect for Middlebrooks as a baseball player when he said earlier this year that "strike outs didn't bother him" He was" up there to hit home runs!" I don't think he has homered since. The baseball gods are cruel like that!
  17. Elktonnick
    Bogaerts consistently makes rash in game deicsions. He should bend over and try real hard to see if he can pull his head out of his........
  18. Elktonnick
    Once again Bogaerts makes a dumb decision. That was the stupidest play he has made to date.
  19. Elktonnick
    And this kid reportedly told the FO that he wasn't going to play winter ball. Hope he has got a real job lined up for next summer.
  20. Elktonnick
    Thanks for the compliment "Spud ole boy" Holt reminds of Pete Rose BTW. He plays with the same type of drive. Apart from Pedroia and Vasquez he has the best game awareness of anyone on this club. I believe Holt will become an even better hitter with experience so long as he "stays within himself" as the saying goes. So yes barring injuries I think he'll be around 300 consistently if he continues to play every day. I think the Sox would be wise to have Holt and Pedroia being their starting DP combination next year.
  21. Elktonnick
    Like I said before Will Middlebrooks isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
  22. Elktonnick
    The point is that BABIP is just one of many sabermetrics. It is subject to interpretation as Wiser points out. Regarding Holt, of course he was super hot in the spring. Of course he was destined to cool off. The BABIP is just a metric which explains to the statistically minded what any knowledgeable fan already knew. But he also is the classic Pete Rose or Wade Boggs type of hitter who can hit to any field and can adjust well to pitchers who make adjustments to him. He is not a JBJ type of hitter with a long swing unwilling or unable to change his approach to fit the situation. I believe Holt will have a higher than 300 BABIP (and hit around 300 consistently) if you place credence in such a metric because I've seen virtually every one of his at bats not because I place any value in BABIP as a meaningful metric to predict future results especially after less than several seasons.
  23. Elktonnick
    I guess we won't know for a few years now will we, which by the way was the point Wiser was making.
  24. Elktonnick
    Platoon Middlebrooks with whom? He really can only play 3rd and perhaps 1st. They have already at least 5 guys who can play 1st. Napoli Craig, Nava Holt and Ortiz. Gomes is an outfielder who could play left or right field and whose personality lights up a clubhouse. Middlebrooks is a 25 watt bulb who no one ever claimed was a spark plug. Untli he learns to adjust to a major league breaking ball he has no value.
  25. Elktonnick
    For the baseball purist such as myself while this season has been frustrating and very depressing it actually has been quite interesting especially from an analytical point of view. There is a lot to discuss as to what the club needs to do to right the ship. It is easy to root for a winner. The mark of the true fan are those who follow this team day to day when they are down. I just hope the franchise doesn't go into a twenty drought as they did in the fifties and early sixties. I am too old to wait that long.
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