moonslav59

Pedey is being a poor role model.

Leon is a plus in many areas not measured by data. He is ranked highly on pitch framing and blocking WPs. If we wanted Swihart to be a back-up catcher, we wouldn't have taken him away from catching in AAA this year. Leon is not going anywhere. He's Sale's caddy.

The 2015 Kansas City Royals won the World Series with a team OPS of .734. Granted, they had 5 guys with an OPS over .800 while we have 1 or 2 right now, but they had those dreaded black holes everyone seems to abhor. .614 by the guy with the second most PAs on the team (A Escobar) .706 by their catcher (6th most PAs) .552 by their 2Bman (7th most PAs) .640 by their RF'er (9th most PAs) Having Zobrist (.816) helped mitigate those "holes", but can you imagine this site right now, if the Sox had 3 of their top 9 PAs players with an OPS below .640! We're not talking about below .700. Two were below .615! Now, couple that with what their rotation looked like, and you have to be able to see that there are many ways to reach the promise land. Starters: 4.34 ERA and 1.371 WHIP (113 OPS+ against) They had Edison Volquez at 3.58/ 1.311, but their next 3 starters by IP'd were: 4.08/ 1.30 Ventura 6.10/ 1.75 Guthrie 4.35/ 1.76 Duffy Yeah, they picked up Cueto, but he went 4-7 4.76/ 1.451 with the Royals. They won on defense, base running, strong pen pitching and hitting when it counted. If they can win, so can we. We have better SP'ers and a more balanced line-up. Our team OPS is 10 points higher than the 2015 Royals. Our SP'er ERA is over 30 points better (4.01). Our pen and defense are not as good as their's was, but we are in the top 5 in both areas. Just make the playoffs and just about anything goes.

Yes.

There's that, too. Especially with RISP!

Yes, a .716 MLB OPS is a lot like Holt's .688 career OPS, actually slightly better than Holt's career mark, but much better than his recent OPS. However, the ability to be our 3rd catcher is a huge asset. BTW, he also had a nice .843 OPS in AAA, so I wouldn't say there is "nothing in his resume." I realize the sample size was small and long ago, but it was something. In Holt's defense, depending on what we do about the 4th OF'er slot, Holt's ab ility to play the OF is something in his favor.

Agreed. While Swihart has struggled at the plate in AAA (.615 in 485 PAs), he did much better in the Majors (.716 in 384 PAs) and AA (.843 in 387 PAs). Combined, his AA and MLB PAs are a much larger sample size (771 PAs) than his 485 PAs spread over 4 AAA seasons surrounding a severe injury and position change. I get why ZIPS and others are down on Swihart, but I still see a lot of promise.

We seem to be slow on adjusting to teams that have adjusted to our style of play by throwing first pitches right down the middle to some of our hitters. Often, that is the best or only good pitch they will see the whole game, and their bats are on their shoulders.

We have used Holt as our utility guy for years. He's hitting under .600 now and can barely field any position well enough to play long term. If Swihart could learn to play 1B and LF a little more and maybe give 3B a try, I think having a utility player that could act as a 3rd catcher, if needed, provides much more flexibility than Holt ever did. JF could PH for a catcher and not have to worry about the second one getting hurt. He could even PH for the catcher twice in the same game. Given that our catching position looks to be our weakest hitting area next year (not 3B), I'd rather have a utility guy that can catch over one that can barely play every position but catcher. We could still have Holt, or as I'd prefer, Hernandez, Lin or possibly Marrero to cover the middle IF. I'm not 100% sold on the idea. Swihart is going to have to start showing the offensive promise he had years ago for me to advocate for him to be on the 25 man roster, but to me, that's his best shot. Not DH. Not FT 1B.

You are right, but one thing is different, for me, than earlier in the year. While I still have high hopes for this team's success, I no longer believe our hitting will improve. I expected a strong second half as many of our players would return to their recent year norms, but instead the opposite happened. Most got worse. Had we not added Devers and Nunez and given Vaz more ABs, our second half team OPS would be well below .700. That's sick! Now, that being said, I've always been a firm believer that there are many ways to win a championship without strong hitting. I still am a believer in this team.

My favorite hitting style is probably Pedroia's. He is pretty aggressive but smart enough to take the walk when it is there. One thing that really bugs me about Pedey is that he almost always takes the first pitch in every AB. He's good enough to get away with it, but others on the team, who try to emulate him, do not have the same skills at hitting while behind in the count.

Sox hitting?? What hitting?

I've been a strong critic of JF but never about how he handles the staff. I'd look to give Sale and other an extra day of rest from now until the end of the season. I know we need to worry about winning the division, but it will all be for not, if Sale and others break down when it counts.

Well said. He's off to a very good start. Other Killer B career starts: Betts: .812 (231 PAs) Yr 1 .820 (654 PAs) Yr 2 Bogey: .684 (50 PAs) Yr 1 .660 (594) Yr 2 Bradley: .617 (107 PAs) Yr 1 .531 (423) Yr 2 Beni: .835 (118 PAs) Yr 1 .807 (550) Yr 2 (not counting tonight)

Brentz with his 31st tonight.

That's because you blew it on the Sale trade. (You should have agreed with me!) ... just kidding! I caught a lot of flack, and rightfully so by the looks of things this year, for bashing the Pom & Kimbrel deals, so I think we might be even.

Here's an example: as most of you know, I love defense. I remember when Ellsbury first came up, I felt he was a sure plus defender. I knew his speed had a major role in his "plus skills". I remember defending Ellsbury against some who bashed him (on "that other site"). When I looked at his numbers, I was surprised. I started watching more closely and saw things I must have missed before. I ended up admitting I was wrong. I even argued about Ellsbury not playing LF, so Cameron could play CF. Then, Jacoby improved on his routes and positioning. (He never had even a decent arm.) I had to re-evaluate again.

Thanks. Sometimes I state opinions like they are facts....like an encyclopedia. Using data can also gives an air a of know-it-all, when we all know data can be used to support opposite viewpoints. I think I should say, "In my opinion..." more often, but I guess I just assume people know that's what it is.

The whole league centers around the Yanks. No wonder every non Yankee fan hates them.

It's possible to be great and a bonehead. Manny was case in point.

I disagree. I think teams often pass on waivers knowing the team will pull him back if claimed. If the Sox could have had Stanton for no return players, we made a mistake.

There's at least 5 teams that would sign Stanton to his current remaining deal. The luxury tax hit of "just" $25M makes it even better to those teams looking to go over the limit. The issue is how many teams would pay that money AND give up what the Marlins want. Who knows how desperate they are to shed his salary, and how many teams are willing to up the bidding. It's a tough call to estimate what it will take to get him.

Well said. I know I come off sounding like an authoritarian at times, and I really don't mean to give that impression. It's all relative.

I watch just about every game on delay. I rewind some plays- that's what I meant about 2-3 times. I fast forward commercials. That helps me save time, so I can spend hours and hours studying data. (Just kidding)

I think all three B's are just having a down year. I expect all to do better next year. Maybe they can begin right now.