Maxbialystock

Youk, apropos your earlier comment on Yankee fans. On BDC we had two. Jeter02 (incomplete name) was anything but obnoxious and had great insights and sometimes even joined game threads. The other was I think pinstripe and sometimes a pain, but mostly not. I agree obnoxious is worth banning, whether a Yankee fan or not.

I have assumed Swihart needed to switch to the outfield, but here is the scouting report on him-- Physical Description: Athletic build, lean muscle, solid core. Has filed out considerably since signing, especially in his lower half, but still has some room for added bulk without losing athleticism. Hit: Switch hitter with fluid, line-drive stroke from both sides. Plus bat speed and bat control through the zone with loud, consistent contact. Uses whole field. Solid pitch recognition, hand-eye coordination, and understanding of the strike zone. Future plus hit tool (.275-.285 average) with average-to-above-average on-base percentage. Battles. Doesn’t use batting gloves. Power: Strong for his size. More to come as he physically matures. More present power from the right side. Squares balls up with consistency. Doesn’t sell out for power. However, plus bat speed, raw strength and hand-eye coordination to square balls up consistently will translate to future average power potential (15-20 home runs). Arm: Plus-to-better arm strength. Accurate thrower. Gets out of his crouch easily. Consistently throws out runners at a high percentage. Field: Consistent sub 2.0 pop times, typically between 1.8-1.9. Athletic behind the plate with quick feet and lateral movements. Frames well, and athleticism provides mobility for excellent blocking skills on balls in the dirt. Future plus defense with plus athleticism. Began getting reps in left field after being optioned back to Pawtucket in April 2016. Run: Average runner, but above-average for catcher. Can go first to third and score from second. Alert on the basepaths with good instincts. Career Notes: Committed to the University of Texas prior to signing. Primarily played shortstop and outfield in high school. Played for Team USA 18-and-Under National Team in 2010. Also played basketball in high school. Summation: Future first-division regular and solid contributor across the board. Potential above-average hit tool and average power potential at a premium defensive position. Athleticism behind the plate immediately stands out. Natural instincts. Confident actions. Elite makeup and strong work ethic. Arguably the best catching prospect in the game right now.

Well stated. I was never a big gun at BDC. Just someone with opinions and a penchant for arguing, and the latter appears to be the difficulty because sometimes I continue the argument--in Young's case it started on the Referendum on Farrell thread--on another thread, this one, which is probably inappropriate. But I tend to think of game threads as pretty free-wheeling. Remember the injunction about not starting a new thread when a current one will suffice. I also found it irresistible to point out that Young hit a dinger off a righty pitcher after he had been universally condemned--not just by a few--as being unable to hit righties. I did so on a game thread in which Farrell was the manager of record and the guy who inserted Young into the lineup against a righty starter.

Another tough game tonight. Price pitching well, rising to the occasion. But offense still a little off--even the dingers were solos.

Well put, even though commenting on someone else's comments is frowned upon.

Sox now need to avoid a sweep by a team that was great last year but going into this series had a losing record.

Sox had 9 hits and 2 runs, KC 5 hits and 2 runs. To me the two key plays were our inability to bring a man home from 3d with no one out and KC's ability to do exactly that.

Brock at least hit a hard grounder.

He's a knuckleballer, so of course there will always be residual concern. But so far this season he has impressed the heck out of me. Right now he is our ace, simple as that. He eats innings and doesn't give up a lot of runs. And he might be giving Hanigan ulcers over all those PB's.

Interesting and productive are obviously in the eye of the beholder, especially when the commentator is a newby. Changing the subject back to the game, I think Wright has pitched a heckuva game despite the early dinger, but he ain't getting much support. I think the key play was earlier when the Sox had one run in, men on 1st and 3d, and nobody out, and Shaw and Rutledge struck out--Shaw looking.

Helluva game. Two great plays by KC to cut our guys down, but especially Bogaerts going to third. In his defense, if he is safe, that fly to left would have scored him.

Let's see if I have this right. I commented on my own statement that Wright looked bad in the 1st inning, which has caused now four different comments discussing, not the game or the action on the field, but me and my comments. And the specific complaint was that I wasn't commenting on the game. Hmmmmm Meanwhile, back to the game: Shaw, Rutledge, and Bradley between them have left 11 guys on base. Also, the Sox overall have struck out 13 times and been walked once.

Agree. I also thought your sarcasm was self-evident and very appropriate. Note that there will never, ever a be a comment from the Farrell-bashers that playing Young today against a righty paid off. Nosiree. The Farrell bashers know for a fact that Farrell does not understand the intricacies of making up a lineup card, who to pinch hit for or with, who to bring in from the bullpen and when, etc.

Man on third with one or no outs, you must make contact but don't need to get a hit. Even a GIDP by Shaw would have been preferable to the K.

Hey, dipstick. Did you notice Wright has now thrown three straight shutout innings? What you don't know about baseball would fill a book.

Wow. Just wow. Man on third with no one out and the 5th and 6th hitters, Shaw and Rutledge, strike out. Shaw struck out looking at a pitch in the middle of the strike zone. Bradley finally hit a grounder to 2B to bring Ortiz home only there were two outs already. At this point Wright should consider calling his lawyer to see what he can get for non-support.

For all those who want to blame this game on Young, I might point out that four other batters have K'd against Kennedy.

It was on another thread, but I could swear someone was assuring me, very recently, that our rotation is fine. We basically don't have a 5th starter. Our ace is a deuce. Buchholz continues to struggle. And now Wright and Porcello are showing feet of clay. Top of the 3d, and we have 1 hit, Young, in for Holt who is in a slump, just struck out on 3 pitches (against a righty of course), followed by a K by Hanigan and another 3-strike K for Betts. Hmmmmm

Looks like the same lineup as last night--Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz. Ramirez, Shaw, Bradley, Vazquez, and Holt. Back to back lefty bats, Shaw and Bradley, have been a rarity this season.

Royals are 1 game under .500 but were great last year. They are much better at home than on the road. Pitching is slightly above average for AL but their hitting thus far is sub par. Sox have a 3 game set here, then go back to Boston for 6 against Cleveland and Colorado.

Royals ballpark is very nice with good sight lines--just an hour from Leavenworth and Fort Leavenworth, KS, and several state and federal prisons, including the Army's Disciplinary Barracks. Tonight it's Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz, Ramirez, Shaw, Bradley, Vazquez, and Holt, maybe the first time this season Farrell has gone with back to back lefty bats.

One nutty thread because OPS does not claim to be anything more than adding to numbers (percentages) together. It is almost impossible to see OPS without seeing, right next to it, the actual OBP and slugging percentage. It is far from being the ideal representation of a hitter's worth, but it's not bad and has the virtue of simplicity.

Buchholz and Price both have 8 starts. Price has pitched 48 innings and Buchholz 45.2 innings. Wright and Porcello both have 7 starts and have pitched 45.2 and 46.1 innings. So the average innings/start for all four starters are 6 innings for Price, 5.7 innings for Buchholz, 6.5 innings for Wright, and 6.6 innings for Porcello. That looks like a pretty tight shot group to me. How about you?

The Sox are one of very, very few MLB teams with 8 relievers, but it's pretty obvious why.

Everyone else, he was the most sensible poster on BDC. Youk of the Nation, feel free to kill this after about 12 hours or so.