oldtimer

Lots of bitching about his signing but with Hanley getting plunked it is good to still have a player who can do a good job at first.

Not sure i would put Holt in the lineup tonight with Lin available. Neither can hit, but Lin has more range.

Interesting article about the Red Sox newly found aggressiveness. https://bosoxinjection.com/2018/04/11/red-sox-hitters-thriving-aggressive-approach-plate/

Certainly a different approach from what I would expect. The real problem last night was pitching though.

Remember, JBJ struggled last year and in Sept he had a BA under 200. I believe it is up to the player to make the adjustments and if he is unable to do so, you have to look at alternatives. In his case he has shown flashes of ability at the plate and is excellent in the field, so he gets more leeway than most, but eventually he has to perform or be replaced. I hope for the former of these choices but it is up to JBJ.

Yes, we had Ortiz in the past and that made us better and so will JDM. Having three guys over their injuries and a 4th in Pedey returning has got to make us better. Having coaching changes result in changes in aggressiveness appear to have made an improvement. You may not see what I see in Bogaerts, but I believe he has changed his swing mechanics and is now hitting the ball harder than virtually any time in his past career. In addition, Hanley's attitude appears more upbeat for whatever reason. Maybe just being in a winning environment. Last year we had a talently team which underperformed, almost across the board. Perhaps this year we will have a team where the players have haad their right buttons push and will perform closer to their best. I can hope.

Time to move away from the bickering and bring up a different subject. It is my opinion that the Sox have one of the best hitting lineups that they have had in years and that Cora and his staff is at least partly responsible for that in stressing being aggressive early in the count when balls are in the strike zone. Some of the credit for the emergence of the offense has to go to the improved health of Betts, Bogaerts and Rameriz as well. I'll let Moon go on with his statistics if he wants but I will go strictly on the basis of observations this season to date. Betts has excellent hand eye coordination and has a very quick bat. He is being more aggressive and hitting in the one hole he is producing at an amazing rate. It's unlikely to continue at such a rate but with his pop and speed, we have one of the premier lead off hitters in the game. Beni has good plate discipline a very nice swing and can go either to left or can pull the ball. He will draw walks and when the weather warms and he gets to play in Yankee stadium, camden Yards or the like, I expect to see him go deep and be a threat there as well. I believe he can hit lefties as right handed batters have learned to hit right handed pitchers. His OPS will climb and be very respectable as the season progreesses and having another speed guy up front has got to be helpful. Hanley's health is better now and he is thriving in the third hole with JDM behind him. He has always had good pop, but I also notice he is shortening his swing and going to right wihen down on the count. He doesn't seem to have that disinterested look that so often showed up last season. JDM impresses me as a guy who resets after every pitch and has a hitting plan that he follows. Obviously he has a lot of power and would have more home runs already in the weather was warmer. I expect him to become more comfortable in a Red Sox uni and start to produce at a higher rate as the season moves along. Devers has a lot of pop, good bat speed and good hand eye coordination. At this point his pitch recognition is not the best and he will have a lot of swing and miss situations but his natural talent will keep him firmly in the lineup. Don't try to get a fasball past him on the plate as he will kill it. Bogaerts (while out briefly) got over his wrist injury, took to the idea of being more aggressive and seems also to have changed his swing mechanics. Love what I see from him as he has become a truly dangerous hitter and one that can hit for average and also decent power. Hope he can get back soon and he is a big part of the order. Nunez is a professional hitter and we havee seen what he can do from last year. It is a testament to the team that a guy with his ability is in the hole. I expect him to hit close to 300 and add decent pop from the 7th position. Vaz is a good catcher and surprised me when he started to hit for average last season and is continuing to look decent at the plate this year. He will probably get to start 125 games this year if he can remain healthy. Tough for a catcher with all the tipped balls but Cora appears to believe in giving guys a rest from time to time and he has Leon and Swihart on the teaam as backup. JBradley had a bad September hitting under his weight and is contiuing into this year. He takes a big cut at the ball and his contact rate is low. At his experience level, he should be hitting better if he was going to. My hope is that the coaches can help him as a hitter but it is up to him to want that. He brief hot periods seem to indicate he has it in him but it doesn't seem to be realized. That is for certain a scary lineup for any pitcher to face and when Pedey gets back, his hitting is likely to get back into the 300 BA region. Someone currently in the lineup will have to become the utility man and that is likely to be Nunez. He can get a lot of ABs substituting and giving the rest that Cora seems to advocate. Moreland is a professional hitter and will get his time and produce well enough to be used to rest Hanley. Holt still seems to be hitting in the Farrell era. He is patient and then takes called third strikes on the plate. Not impressed with his hitting. Leon can get hot but is likely to be a lower 200 hitter. Swihart is a bit of an unknown. Who goes down when Pedey is ready and Bogaerts back? Clearly Lin and possibly Holt. Our best hitter in the minors is Travis but he doesn't have the positional flexibility to be brought up so seems to be stuck there.

I could have managed the team to a win tonight. I love the aggessiveness at the plate the year and credit Cora for that change. Great win over the Yankees with Betts on fire and the top of the order not making outs. Hope they stay hot as Bogaerts won't return until around the 24th.

I replied to the comment that we didn't have any prospects for CF in the minors. I pointed out the best prospect we have and identified his weaknesses. I didn't say he was ready to replace JBJ, but you hear what you want to hear and react accordingly.

Yes, by all means, let Kimbrel go. We always have Kelly and Smith who can be our closers.

Those pulling for Hanley to have a great season and getting to vest believe it could lead us to a world series and if it does it would be a good thing. We also should be aware of the ramifications that wuld have on which players we might have to dump next season if that happens. How much of our young talent could be impacted? Moon has been pretty thorough with his scenarios so we keep Betts, Bogaerts and Beni? Something to think about.

Cole Brannen has the talent to be a terrific defensive CF. He has a long way to go to prove himself with the bat, but we have just such a young player in the system. He is only in Greenville at this point and is 19 years old.

We could use our own "Shoeless Joe".

They are bringing Lin up as he is the best defensive shortstop currently in the system. Lin is not much of a hitter, so the other guys are going to have to pick it up for the next couple of weeks.

The way I read what you say here is "how many runners he leaves on base compared to the average CF'er. Then that number can be compared to how many run he saves with his defense (Versus the average CF'er). I for one had hoped he would flourish under the new Red Sox batting coach, but haven't seen evidence of that to date. I think the discussion of Bradley,especially long term, is an important one.

E-Rod has a lot of capability. Educate him to throw 1st pitch strikes and to nibble on the corners a little less. The rewards for the team would be worth the effort.

Rodriquez could learn something about throwing first pitch strikes. His high pitch count has been a bugaboo for him throughout his career. 73 pitches in 3 innings is a poor outing for him and I think he can hit the strike zone but he is pitching to get batters to swing out of the strike zone. He has decent zelocity and a good mix of pitches, so he can do better. Lets hope he talks to Price who knows how to get away with 10 pitch innings.

Back to Bogaerts. I don't buy the argument that Bogaerts sudden resurgence of power is due solely to his wrist injury getting better. It seems to me that he has changed his plate approach and his swing this year and it has resulted in better pitches to hit and better contact when he does swing. Other healthy periods at the plate never showed the kind of power he has now, so he has gotten the coaching and taken it seriously and has made a remarkable advance in his hitting. It really enhances his value and he compares favorably with the better SS's despite his fielding limitations.

He is making some hard contact but just not yet getting the warm weather and good hitters ball parks. I think he will be fine.

At the same time we have faced some of the weakest offensive teams, but perhaps the pitching against us was decent. Too early in the season for statistics to mean a lot. Maybe two weeks into May we should revisit those updated stats.

You have to look at his defense against the defense of a sub we would likely put in should he be traded and we needed a sub for the entire season. We would have either Beni or perhaps a solid replacement from outside. While JBJ is aqn excellent defensive outfielder, the difference in runs saved might be smaller than he is being given credit for while a new players offense might more than offset the defensive gain. Otherwise we would need someone to compare against for equivalent money.

Whatever the reasoon, intentional or not, he is out for 80 days and that will put his career on hold likely for all of this season as far as the Sox team is concerned. It sounds like travis is their backup plan for a hitter should someone underperform or get injured. With Pedey coming back in a month or two, we may not need anyone so it is not a huge loss at this point.

I agree that no one is arguing that the start has been good, but we need to see how well we handle the perceived top teams like Cleveland, the Yankees and the Astros before getting too elated. Our starters and Kimbrel have held up pretty well but and extra hit or two against us and we could well have lost the games we won. I would like to see the hitting get going, as I think it could, before getting any giddy feelingss.

Lets play a few of the better offensive clubs before we celebrate. Good showing so far but our pitching staff will be tested against the Yankees.

Yes, all he had to do was hit it to the outfield, which meant don't try to kill it. He did just that and the result was good.