cp176

JD Martinez's overall effect on the Red Sox offense is obvious to me. Putting him in either the third or fourth spot has definitely made our lineup much much stronger. As to what his presence in the lineup has meant with respect to the intangilbles, I am listening to and believing his teammates. They say that he has definitely helped them all be better hitters. That is good enough for me. Assuming that our current lineup minus JD would have performed as well this year without him, seems like it would have been just a little to risky a chance to take.

You are probably right but I wouldn't want to be the guy who told him that. lol Did you see the size of his forearms? Linebacker.

You are so right here. We used to call it - attitude vs aptitude - It is unbelievable how much influence just having the right mindset can affect an athlete's play.

Lot of talk about bunting I guess but in reality the best hitters hit regardless of the shifts. they understand how to hit away from them so to speak. IMO it tends to allow for the cream to rise to the top. I'm really not interested in some duffers who can just hack away without thought. I love the guys who turn it into a science.

Do we see a great deal of that right now? The Manager, umpire, arguments as they were seem to be a thing of the past. I'm ok with that which clearly proves that I am not reluctant to change.

It isn't the umps per se but taking any part of the human experience from the game. We disagree - not a bad thing. I guess I could say that umps are an integral part of the game. The home plate ump goes away so do the rest of them. Robots can do what they do. I can live with it at MacDonald's I guess but not on the baseball field. Do we need an ump or even replay to tell us whether a ball is fair or foul? Probably not - technology can take care of that. And it really doesn't have anything to do with my feelings about change. Once these changes come, I will stop watching and I'm pretty sure that I won't be alone.

Oh by the way, you want these .225 power hitters to be able to beat the shift, teach them to become better all around hitters or be happy with what you got.

Great discussion here with some really good thoughts. For what it's worth, I do not feel that tampering with the game whether through rules changes or even the trying to get everything right attitude necessarily is advancing it. I'm sorry if it makes me appear reluctant to change (which I'm not) but I do not feel that the game has to undergo dramatic change in an effort to make a better product. It is a pretty good one just the way it is. I feel bad for those who don't embrace it as is but oh well. I also think that much of what is being done recently with respect to swing changes for instance is not new at all. A new language , yes I buy that, but that is about it. Someone feels really good I guess because they think that they have reinvented the wheel.

I think that anyone who has lived in this century and the previous one Moon and been successful has not only seen but also embraced many changes. My feelings about baseball probably will not change with respect to anyone suggesting mechanizing it - as in robots of any kind. Baseball for me anyway has always been about people. It has evolved into a huge money maker for owners and players for sure but the more attempts to purify the game I think that you will see more and more people turning their backs on it. I believe that some of the changes that we have seen have been made to protect investments and to appeal to a huge audience that really doesn't have the patience to enjoy real baseball.

I think that you would be surprised at how much I actually agree with you! You are one of the ones that I think we can have a little fun with. We need to have some fun with this forum. I might come off as being a little serious from time to time but for the most part I'm full of ********. Keep posting my friend.

I am officially apologizing for my rant. For the record, I'm not calling everyone who disagrees with me an idiot. There certainly are a few idiots other than myself on here. If your implication is that I am calling anyone who disagrees with me an idiot, then you are wrong. With respect to shifts, I don't mind them at all. That is the type of strategy that comes about from an actual study (metrically I guess) of the game. I personally think that this gives an advantage to any player who has learned bat control no matter how difficult a skill that is to learn.

I'm with you! I also really don't think that it has anything to do with the fact that I am older and stubborn! lol

I've always supported the guy. I just liked him a lot better when he could throw the the ball about 3 miles per hour faster.

I read the article and I really would like to know what other players in the game feel.

Moving Pomeranz to the bullpen accomplishes nothing if he continues to struggle finding the plate.

??? - not everybody - DD did not eviscerate the farm even though he dealt your favorite and someday he may even pitch in a major league game. I could give a s*** what Cherington is doing now. Closers I guess might be over rated by some - not by me. Thing is though, elite closers don't come along that often! Kimbrel is elite. You sign him if you can. You don't just let him go and throw s*** at the wall and hope it sticks. What the f*** do I know right slasher - I hate replay. In an effort to get everything right, most people here would have a f***ing robot calling balls and strikes. Maybe even eliminate shifts right. If losing more fans is your gig, lets all just endorse all of the changes coming to the game. My world just isn't perfect - I love this game but oh well I am growing tired of the geniuses who think that they can make it better by continually eliminating the human factor. I really do wonder what the guys who play the game for a living think about all the new wave s*** that clutters the game? I have hunch I know. Is this where some idiot calls me out because I don't name the geniuses or maybe people like me just get written off because we are old school.

In my mind and in the minds of many others, JD Martinez has helped this offense in many many ways. In the minds of most who have experience in the game, he has in fact offered the type of protection that this team so badly needed. It has to be easier hitting in a lineup that has a hitter of this quality in it.

Does the fact that this information came from a Yale professor supposed to make some sort of impression Slasher? It is probably information that most of us simply could have guessed at. I'll bet that who ever compiled this info was paid for it as well. My question would be why? Why is it important to know something that we already know. Human error! That is how it works. Constantly changing this game in an attempt to make it perfect will eliminate much of this human factor. As a result, the audience who gives a s*** about the game will continue to get smaller than it is right now.

Why really would a franchise like the Red Sox take a chance on cheaping on a closer if they didn't have to? Im sure that there are lots of peckerheads out there who just might become damn good closers but really - why take the chance? It would be a poor man's move and in the case of a large franchise team, absolutely ridiculous. Right - Let's go bargain basement shopping just to prove a point - stupidity personified.

Really Slasher - say it ain't so.

Personaly it is this subjectivity that comes as a result of the human element that has made the game so very entertaining over the years. The more the effort made to clean up and correct all of the faults that occur as a result of human error in many cases, the game just doesn't feel the same.

Multiple ways of looking at things I guess I see here. I like the path the Red Sox have chosen to travel. I believe that they will continue to move along in the right direction. It certainly isn't a discussion that says anything about anyone who thinks they might have a deeper thought process than someone else. I think that it is unique that anyone can vehemently disagree and sound like they might dislike the way a team does business and still be a true fan of that franchise. Understand that I am not saying they aren't fans just that it seems unusual to me. It is one thing to criticize play on the field and management decisions day to day, but to constantly question the overall direction the team is and has been going in?

I read and appreciate your posts even though I may not always agree with what you say because you have actually played the game and understand from a non- sterile perspective What makes it a great game. I understand how important the use of metrics has become and I think that it is important to use them but when too much emphasis is made of them, it tends to make the game a little too clean for me. It is the human element with all of its warts that made me fall in love with baseball. Personally, the statistics for me have always been important but it is the actual play on the field with all of its unmeasuralbes that make it work.

boiled eggs aplenty.

Jerry Remy was the second baseman I always wished that I could have been. Local kid made good! An endearing, humble, fun loving man in the booth. He'll beat this again.