I would never think of you as dumb, Oldtimer. FTR, I just copied that tweet from another site.
I can understand why people want to move him to 1B. He will likely eventually end up there. Personally, I think it's too early to give up on him at 3B though.
Red Sox Notes @SoxNotes 9m9 minutes ago
Lowest starting pitcher ERA in the AL since Apr. 12:
1. Red Sox – 3.29
2. Yankees – 3.56
3. Rays – 3.76
4. Astros – 3.86
It was never a choice between Leon or Vazquez. Vazquez is a highly touted defensive catcher in his own right.
It was a decision between Leon or Swihart. No contest who is better defensively between those two.
Red Sox Stats
@redsoxstats
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20h
Devers is hitting .299/.387/.371 and his average launch angle is rocketing upward.
Devers made 68% of routine plays as a rookie, he made 70% last season, he is making 76% this season. League average 3B makes 72%. His range is excellent. He's been -1 defensive run this season, so league average. People that want to move him off 3B are legitimately dumb.
I agree with all of that.
I'm wondering, though, if the rotation, the offense, and the defense were all solid and the BP were blowing games, would you be saying the same thing, or would you be blaming the 'economical' pen?
The bullpen has not been the problem.
As somebody pointed out this off season, if the team fails to make the playoffs, it will be because the rotation or the offense or both are not getting it done.
I can't imagine that they made this decision on a whim. I can't imagine they re-signed Pearce, then decided they were going to stay under the next tax limit. They almost certainly knew how much they were willing to spend this off season before they made any signings.
It seems that his bat is ready, but he was not ready defensively.
He's in the same boat as Devers was. Devers has not taken the next step yet, like we all hoped he would, either offensively or defensively. Not saying that he won't, but he has not progressed much since being called up.
Perhaps we are doing these youngsters a disservice by calling them up before they are ready.
That's fine if Swihart was not meant to be a catcher. But after he played left field for a brief stint, then returned from injury, the Sox committed to having Swihart play only at catcher.
But then gave him no playing time.
His numbers do not look good at the moment, but Jackie has been a 5.3, 2.2, and 2.8 fWAR player the last 3 years. He is our #8 or #9 hitter. He is not supposed to carry this team offensively.
Jackie's hitting, or lack thereof, is not the problem with the offense. The problem is that most of the rest of the line up is not getting the job done.