Kimmi

For all of the criticism that our pen gets, it has really done a pretty good job.

When it comes to Mookie, my opinion is almost directly opposite from yours. I have no problem with Mookie leading off or batting clean up when he is producing like he should be. In fact, those are the two spots I think he should bat in, preferably in the clean up spot. I would not put him 3rd. The 3rd spot is not the spot for your best hitter. That said, it really makes more sense to let the batters hit in the spot where they feel the most comfortable.

In two of their not so fine moments, the FO panicked, both with that move and with removing Swihart from the catching position so quickly.

I am not that down on Porcello either. He still has a good K/W ratio and he's been somewhat unlucky. I think he'll be okay.

In terms of production, if the other guys in the rotation pitch like they should pitch, then I'm good with Pom giving us 5-6 innings per start and keeping us in the game. We were all hoping he'd be more than that, but for a #5 pitcher, I can't complain. However, in terms of what we gave up for him, it's hard to be satisfied.

My man.

I could see giving up one of our catchers (provided Swihart is is healthy), but trading JBJ would make no sense to me. That would be creating a hole to fill another.

Our offense has been the cause of a lot of frustration, and through most of the frustration, Mookie has gotten a free pass. For the past couple of weeks, there have been times when he has looked pretty bad. Is it my imagination, or is he hitting a lot of weak pop ups lately? Anyway, he's supposed to be our table setter. He has not been getting the job done. He was moved to the cleanup spot on May 6th. For one week, he killed it, batting .387/.472/.935/1.408. Over that span, the offense scored 53 runs, averaging about 7.6 runs/game. After that 1st week, however, since May 14th, Mookie has been hitting .194/.272/.333/.605. While we have blamed JBJ, Marrero, Pablo, Hanley, etc. for stinking with the bat, Mookie has been a big part of whatever offensive struggles the team has had over the past 3+ weeks.

WIN!!! That is all.

CC has been pretty good over his last 4 starts. It's time to bring him back to reality.

And on Leon: On the other side of things, his defensive reputation is ahead of how he’s actually performed behind the plate. Leon has actually been below-average in terms of framing this year, costing the team a little under a run in 2017. That doesn’t seem too bad, but it places him 50th among the 78 catchers who have caught at least one pitch this season. Additionally, he’s had some trouble blocking pitches, at least anecdotally. The numbers mark him as roughly average here, but there have been multiple instances in which he’s stabbed at the ball rather than putting his body in front of it and it’s caused the pitch to roll to the backstop.

From Matt Collins this morning: Vazquez, of course, came up with a strong reputation on the defensive side of things. His glove was always going to carry him to and through the majors. For the most part, nothing this season has changed that. Over the last couple years the baseball community has started to realize the value of framing, and it is easily the most important part of catcher defense. There, Vazquez thrives. According to Baseball Prospectus’ caching metrics, he has been worth 3.5 runs just from framing pitches this season, which makes him the seventh-most valuable catcher in the league in this regard. It’s not all about framing, though. While Vazquez clearly has talents in other areas of the defensive game. His arm is still strong even after undergoing Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, and he has the athleticism required to block pitches behind the plate. There’s also his game-calling ability, which has been lauded by his pitching staff. With all of that being said, he has had some lapses this season. Mostly, they’ve involved throwing errors, but he’s also allowed some balls to pass him that could have been stopped. The good news is that it isn’t an indictment on his talent. Rather, the mistakes have seemingly resulted in him trying to do too much. It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow at the time of the errors, but it provides more hope that he’ll recover from these lapses. In the end, Vazquez has taken a real step forward this year, even if his offense isn’t going to stay at this level all year. He deserves his current standing as the primary catcher.

In a very, very small sample, however, Kimbrel's numbers are better with Vazquez than they are with Leon.

I think that sometimes Vazquez is a little too busy behind the plate. Maybe trying to do too much? As far as the visits to the mound, I think that had something to do with there being a runner on 2nd base. That said, IMO, our other pitchers need to take a page out of Sale's book. No thinking on the mound - let the catcher do that. Get the ball back, get the sign, and pitch.

Agree on all counts. Of course we'd like to see Pom be more efficient with his pitches, but I'll take giving up only one run in 5 innings against a very potent offense. It was good enough for the win.

I will not accept a loss tonight. Get it done boys. I don't care how, just get it done.

I was so stressed out during that game it's not even funny. Thank goodness we won.

Girardi said today that Tanaka would make his next start against the Os. I am surprised that they don't give him a phantom DL stint.

More code for 'random'?

Stolen bases are another one of those things that are overrated. That said, JBJ has an excellent stolen base rate, so I do not have much of an issue with him attempting a steal there. That said, the batter at the plate has a better chance of getting a hit with a runner on 1B than he does with a runner on 2B.

Nice. I may have to start using the word 'funny' instead of 'random'. LOL Good post, BTW.

Dear Beloved Red Sox, Please just win. Thank you.

Also, I have no issues with Notin.

Good points made sk. As has always been the case, one should never take a single stat as gospel. As I said, if I had to choose one stat by which to assess a player, it would be WAR, but I understand that limiting myself to just WAR, or any other single stat, will not give me the complete picture.

Sigh.....