Good base runners know how much lead to take, how to round the third base bag properly and how to slide etc. There was really no reason to think Wright would be anything but s***** at all the necessary skills.
Wright might be a little faster than Ortiz but you can't really expect him to have much clue how to run the bases...so it doesn't seem like much was gained replacing Ortiz with him.
Run differential is a good correlator, but I don't put much trust in it. The 2002 Red Sox won 93 games with a plus 194. The 2012 Orioles won 93 with a plus 7. It's all subject to the vagaries of randomness.
That is true. I presume it's because foot speed makes a bigger difference when trying to score from second on a single.
But if the concern was about Papi's health they should have pinch run right away, and if it was about foot speed Wright was a questionable upgrade.
It's certainly true that all the scrutiny of the move is because of the injury.
I still can't absolve Farrell for this one. I think letting Papi run for himself was an option. After all Farrell didn't run for him until he went from first to second on Betts's single. If Betts had hit one in the gap Papi might have had to run from first to home.
It seems like Pomeranz was the logical choice among the pitchers, since he has some experience running the bases this year. Wright had never been on base in his life in a real game.
Consistency is a hobgoblin.
But seriously, as Kimmi noted on the other thread, Farrell did have more reason to conserve the pen Friday with Buchholz starting Saturday .
I agree with you, I'm just not sure how they can fit him into their 2017 plans. Seems like they're grooming Moncada for third base. Plus we have Shaw. The only spot for Pablo would seem to be DH, and his bat may not be good enough for that.