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Post by redsox04071318champs on May 25, 2018 17:28:59 GMT -5
Hanley in his Marlins years was no .800 OPS player. He was a .900 OPS players some years. No I don't expect Miami Hanley. Never did. I do think he could be in the .750 - .800 OPS range, which I know you disagree with. The other point I'm trying to make is that it's more than Hanley. His bat is "decent" when you compare it to the noodle bats of JBJ and the catchers. I mean would you really not pinch-hit Hanley for Leon/Vazquez or more JBJ in a late situation in the game? There's no power off of the bench. Do you trust Moreland to keep hitting like he's been hitting? And what happens if there's an injury and somebody misses a month or so? Who gets the ABs? Nunez has been terrible. I guess Swihart gets the ABs. Fine as a catcher but not so good as a LF/1b/DH. Ultimately if Hanley isn't a stud with the bat - I get why they wanted no part of that option. Makes sense. They can do better things with that money. No doubt. If Hanley is relegated to a bench spot he has very little value as a pinch hitter. I know this isn't worth much, but to put it into perspective, he had the same wRC+ as Vazquez last season. So if JBJ or Vazquez were up and you were down and needed a guy who can run into a HR, you wouldn't pinch-hit for him? Are you telling me that Ramirez is not as good a hitter as Vazquez is this year and JBJ this year and most of the time? And if somebody gets hurt, like one of the OF, or Moreland, is there a better bat off the bench than Ramirez? Are you telling me if you had the choice between DFAing Nunez or Ramirez, you'd go with Nunez? Look if Hanley is going to be an issue with diminished playing time....well I get it. I'm not sad that the Sox have 22 million to spend on their own players or whatever.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on May 25, 2018 17:31:48 GMT -5
Hands down, the head scraching comment of the season for me: I think all along the plan was for the Sox to DFA Swihart when Pedroia came back. Why get Swihart into the catching rotation when he's not going to be around anyways? Well now Cora has decided that he wants Moreland full-time at 1b and suddenly Swihart has a better than temporary spot on the team. Now they can mix him into the catching rotation and see what happens. That's just about the only thing that makes any sense at all regarding that comment. Otherwise I'm at a loss.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 25, 2018 18:44:45 GMT -5
Really, who needs reality television (and it's drama) when you get to watch the Sox situation when it comes to Swihart. So many ups and downs and indecisions.
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Post by soxfando on May 25, 2018 19:04:47 GMT -5
Really, who needs reality television (and it's drama) when you get to watch the Sox situation when it comes to Swihart. So many ups and downs and indecisions. Seriously, seems absurd for a player with a career .687 OPS in the majors (.727 in the minors).
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Post by ghostofrussgibson on May 25, 2018 19:33:01 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but hopefully Boston has learned from the Ramirez and Sandoval deals to more closely evaluate where they're spending their $$$. I'd much rather see them invest in youth... trade vets for young studs and lock them up, long term. Easier said than done.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on May 26, 2018 0:36:41 GMT -5
Slightly off topic, but hopefully Boston has learned from the Ramirez and Sandoval deals to more closely evaluate where they're spending their $$$. I'd much rather see them invest in youth... trade vets for young studs and lock them up, long term. Easier said than done. Literally everyone in baseball is trying to do this.
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Post by costpet on May 26, 2018 7:52:12 GMT -5
This is like a crime drama where everyone has figured out who did it. Then we find out the butler did it. Nobody saw that coming.
This is why it's so much fun to be a Sox fan.
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Post by GyIantosca on May 26, 2018 11:34:03 GMT -5
To be fair the Hanley and Pablo money is on the previous FO. Actually Castillo and they finally squared Craig contract. To me Cherrigton should of got a little more from the sell off. Castillo was a waste of money and time. That’s probably scouting. One more season and they cleared a lot of that crap.
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Post by patford on May 27, 2018 7:33:48 GMT -5
i gotta say I am surprised at people's opinions of Swihart at non-catching positions in the Hanley thread. I get that some folks are really good at projecting this stuff and it comes through visual and analytical analysis, but frankly, this kid is in his prime and just hasn't played enough MLB to say anything with certitude, IMO. The whole situation with Ramirez kind of dictates that the Sox find some way to play Swihart almost every day just to find out what he has. They did it with Ramirez. They are doing it with Pomeranz. They decided to keep Swihart so now they have to logically give him an extended try. That should not be too difficult between 1B, DH, LF and ideally catching. I think it would be a nice gesture if Chris Sale asked for Swihart. Sale isn't stealing any strikes anyhow so I doubt it matters who he is pitching to.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on May 27, 2018 11:42:45 GMT -5
i gotta say I am surprised at people's opinions of Swihart at non-catching positions in the Hanley thread. I get that some folks are really good at projecting this stuff and it comes through visual and analytical analysis, but frankly, this kid is in his prime and just hasn't played enough MLB to say anything with certitude, IMO. The whole situation with Ramirez kind of dictates that the Sox find some way to play Swihart almost every day just to find out what he has. They did it with Ramirez. They are doing it with Pomeranz. They decided to keep Swihart so now they have to logically give him an extended try. That should not be too difficult between 1B, DH, LF and ideally catching. I think it would be a nice gesture if Chris Sale asked for Swihart. Sale isn't stealing any strikes anyhow so I doubt it matters who he is pitching to. Actually I think it matters a great deal to Sale. He never calls his own game. He totally goes 100% by what the catcher puts down. If Leon is a better more experienced game caller I'd think Sale would prefer Leon. For a pitcher inclined to call his own game or if Wright winds up in the rotation the lack of game calling experience is less hurtful.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 3, 2018 22:17:03 GMT -5
www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/06/03/whether-stays-goes-blake-swihart-hopes-catch-somewhere/dR8cYn5Z3Kj8CiGyPeyBqI/story.html"Alex Cora might have answered the most important question facing his depleted roster on Saturday before Boston’s 5-4 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. When I asked him when Blake Swihart might catch in a game, Cora said it would likely be on the upcoming homestand." This story keeps getting weirder and weirder. They wait until June to have him start his first game behind the plate. I hope it's not a Stephen Wright game and he ends up with 3 or 4 passed balls. I have a feeling they are starting him just to shop him in a trade.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jun 4, 2018 6:16:59 GMT -5
I’m not so sure they can afford to trade him at this point considering Pedroias health and their possible need for another bat. Swithart needs to play and if he produces then they need to keep him not trade him.
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Post by greatscottcooper on Jun 4, 2018 8:16:17 GMT -5
At one point this season it looked like there was no path for Swihart to reclaim a future here in Boston. Those thoughts may have been premature, for everything he's been through he has a golden opportunity here for some playing time and if he plays well then I have no doubt the team will find more playing time for him.
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Post by huskies15 on Jun 4, 2018 9:58:09 GMT -5
It seems like Wright will be getting a start so I'd assume thats the game where Swihart would get work behind the plate.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jun 4, 2018 11:31:42 GMT -5
It seems like Wright will be getting a start so I'd assume thats the game where Swihart would get work behind the plate. I would certainly hope not... hey kid you haven’t caught in a while go catch the knuckleball. Don’t screw up!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jun 4, 2018 11:58:14 GMT -5
It seems like Wright will be getting a start so I'd assume thats the game where Swihart would get work behind the plate. I would certainly hope not... hey kid you haven’t caught in a while go catch the knuckleball. Don’t screw up! I would guess they'd pair Swihart with Wright because perhaps they're more concerned about his game calling abilities than his ability to block a knuckle ball or throw out a runner? With Wright, you know what the pitch call is going to be 95% of the time.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jun 4, 2018 18:56:55 GMT -5
Swihart is the worst possible option to catch Wright. He really is. He should catch someone else. I will be ticked off if his first start is at catcher this week will be with Wright on the mound.
I don't know why this team thinks the way it does. Leon and Vazquez are much more sure handed with the glove. It would defy logic if they threw him out there tomorrow.
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ericmvan
Veteran
Supposed to be working on something more important
Posts: 8,931
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Post by ericmvan on Jun 5, 2018 1:06:22 GMT -5
Swihart in Houston (* batted right):
Strikeout Hard-hit FB out to deep LF (caught by CF) Medium-hit GB out to SS
Hard-hit FB out to deep LF-CF Foul out to 3B Hard-hit "Fliner" LD out to deep LF Medium-hit GB out to SS
*Hard-hit "Fliner" FB out to RF Strikeout Hard-hit LD out to 2B Hard-hit GB 1B to CF Strikeout
.667 Hard, .111 BABIP. The pitchers he faced had given up a .287 Hard going into the series (weighted by balls in play Swihart had against each). They gave up .529 in this series (so Blake hit them harder than his average teammate) and finished at .310.
All he needs to do is keep swinging the bat like this.
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