moonslav59

Updated: .885 Nunez (171 PA) .864 Devers (168) .798 Pedey .794 Betts .792 Travis (63) .788 Beni .764 Moreland .757 JBJ .749 Vaz .749 HRam .732 Bogey .723 Lin (63) .717 Young .634 Leon .582 Marrero (170) .490 Holt (128) 2nd Half .974 Travis (19) .885 Nunez .880 Vaz .864 Devers .861 Pedey .766 Beni .720 Betts .708 Moreland .699 Young .682 HRam .604 Bogey .604 JBJ .563 Leon .496 Holt .451 Davis (28) .410 Marrero (28)

Weird. B-R usually updated by now.

Where did I ever even hint that we "mailed in an AB?"

Updated Team OPS: (With Sox numbers only/ 250+ OPS unless noted) .885 Nunez (171 PA) .873 Devers (164) .813 Travis (59) .791 Pedey .788 Beni .777 Betts .764 Moreland .757 HRam .755 JBJ .742 Vaz .723 Lin (63) .722 Bogey .634 Leon .582 Marrero (170) .494 Holt (127) .473 Davis (22) For those who wanted a "balanced line up with no black holes," we got it. The problem is, we have "balanced" mediocrity. Our top 8 PA players all fall between .722 (Bogey) and .791 (Pedey). I'm not sure any team in MLB has such a tight range with their top 8. Here's our 2nd half OPS numbers (60+ PAs) .885 Nunez .873 Devers .866 Vaz .832 Pedey .766 Beni .708 Moreland .700 HRam .693 Young .672 Betts (big jump from last night) .597 JBJ .573 Bogey .563 Leon .501 Holt

Stupid play is an entirely different subject than thinking you are seeing a lack of desire. Agreed, and that's why I separated them into the two major issues I have with JF: lack of fundamentals and lack of fire. That being said, I do think someone could argue that not paying attention of lacking focus so often could be a sign of not caring, which is a symptom of not having "fire". Seeing half the team not runnnig out grounders? I don't. I've seen close to half not do it one an one occasion or more. Seeing half the team standing in the batters box with the bat on their shoulders? I don't. Maybe not on their shoulder's, but clearly close to a handful of players are pretty much known for not swinging at first pitches. If anything, the team is probably guilty of taking things a little too seriously and not just going out and playing. I totally disagree. (Maybe a few players or so might have been trying to hard to a level of causing ineffectiveness at points this year (in my opinion).

No, but I'm not claiming to have a perfect prediction on 2021 and 2022 Sox projections either.

The Sox have been quietly acquiring extra bonus money as well. It could be a big showdown.

There seems to gave been a little lull recently, but HRam hasn't gotten the memo. If we do keep a log, we should not link aggressive outs as "bonehead".

Yeah, dolt rhymed with Holt but wasn't very nice. I apologize. It's not his fault JF put him one or 2 eight times. It wasn't his fault getting hit in the head. I sometimes get cranky on players who are poor fielders. My bad.

Just got caught up with the tape delay. Wow, this is the same A's team that just swept the Astros by scoring like 12 runs a game. Great to see Betts come alive. Pitching looks awesome!

Max, you crack me up!

You don't see what I see, okay. Maybe I'm the only one (with maybe S5) that sees a lack of spark. I'm not saying they never show excitement after an HR or walk-off, but to me, it looks muted. There is no "evidence" because it's just what I perceive. Again with the "trying to do too much" reason for blunders. Running with your head down, forgetting how many outs there are and losing focus is very hard for me to view as a "result of trying too hard". Maybe some outs are a result of trying too hard or over aggressiveness. Again, I have no issues with that. Blunders are freaking blunders. They are bonehead plays caused by lack of focus or just plain stupidity by the player or coach/manager. (Note: is is possible to try very hard and lose focus at the same time, but the blunders I'm speaking of are seemingly not of that ilk.) Holt was pretty much a dolt before the injury. (Alert: obvious hyperbole) Trying hard is worth nothing when you can't hit or field. he's a good base runner- rah rah! He had value when he could hit over .700, because that made up for his lack of defensive skills at any of the 7 positions he apparently knows how to field. When we had a DH only DH, his versatility made him a net plus. Now, he's not. I don't blame Holt. The injury probably messed him up. My beef is with JF leading him off 5 times and batting him 2nd 3 times. He should be the last guy off the bench, That's the value he gives JF- flexibility to use everyone else when needed.

Of course everything having to do with baseball can not be captured by numbers. It's one reason the game is the greatest game ever invented. While I love stats, I played this great game and know there's a lot to it that is not quantifiable.

Good one. I guess maybe I'm asking too much for expecting players to (show they) care. In all seriousness though, I do think when players seem interested it at least gives the impression they are focusing. When you observe lethargy and untold amounts of bone head plays, frustration sinks in. I realize over intense states of mind can be counter-productive, and winning and losing is not tied to how I feel about this team's state of mind. I'm just saying what I'm feeling. For once, I can't back up my opinions with stats or data. "Stat geeks" can have gut feelings too.

It's not easy to repeat Fister year-to-year, if we could of course I'd love that method. One of our last "build from the top" attempts (Price) hasn't worked out too well. Too many Mastersons for my liking, and he wasn't all that cheap either.

Good to see Betts come through. Maybe he's finally snapped out of it and will go on the tear we've been waiting for all year.

I never said every player lacks it or that every player needs to exude it.

My temperature is normal. I've said it's just my opinion, but I have seen a lack of excitement, energy and focus. I called it "fire and desire". Holt is a dolt. His "fire" is not rubbing off on anyone. Maybe if he could hit over .500, it might. Pom has been a big part of our success. I never said every player has to be the energizer bunny, but I'm just been getting a feeling or lethargy. I'm not talking smash the water cooler madness of the Trot Nixons of the world either, but it might be nice to actually get excited when we hit one of our rare HRs, or to show some team spirit in the dugout when the game is on the line. Maybe we're missing the spirit of Papi, and maybe no manager could breathe life into this team and keep them focused on fundamentally sound baseball. Look, I can't prove what I feel, but I feel it very strongly. Maybe I'm in a distinct minority. Maybe I'm totally wrong, but I feel what I feel. I've also said that teams can win without "it", I'm still very hopeful this year. I love pitching and defense, and we have both. I'm just hoping we don't end the season on a major blunder, cause I'll go ape-doo-doo.

Running with your head down, forgetting how many outs there are and not focusing on what's going on is not "trying to make things happen". I've said over and over, I have no issues with being aggressive, and if trying too hard creates a few out due to over aggressiveness, I can live with that. I wouldn't hold that against JF either, unless it was too often. I don't think it has been too often. I keep talking about bonehead plays and people keep responding like I'm talking about aggressiveness or over aggressiveness. The only over aggressive plays I might label as "bonehead" is if the runner is out by 15 to 20 feet, and even that might be the coaches fault for sending the runner. Either way, that could and probably should be called a mental mistake. I don't think this has happened much. Heck, one time I remember we sent a runner from 3rd when we clearly shouldn't have, and he was safe due to a weak throw. Bonehead is bonehead-not aggressive.

...but a "huge advantage?"

I really & truly thought we were going to turn things around with our offense for the second half. The, we add Devers and Nunez and still end up with much worse numbers. Thank God our pitching and defense has carried us.

Glad to hear. It could have been so much worse.

Hopefully, like the Dodgers.

I mentioned Lynn a while back and didn't get much positive response. Cardinal pitchers usually don't do well after moving on. Maybe they see something that makes them okay with letting certain guys go.

The turtle and the hare comes to mind.