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Post by brianthetaoist on Sept 8, 2013 6:41:52 GMT -5
8.5 game lead ... 8.5 GAMES! I never thought the Sox would run away with it quite this markedly in September. Sure, crazy things happen in sports, but the Rays are cooked.
And, meanwhile, my boys in Cleveland are only 1 game back of the second wildcard, the Yankees are setting AL records for awfulness ... happy times! Go Tribe!
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Post by brianthetaoist on Sept 8, 2013 7:21:11 GMT -5
OK, here's another fun statenfreude I just realized: the *combined* age of the left side of the Sox starting infield yesterday is only 5 years older than Derek Jeter and only 6 more than Alex Rodriguez. Xander's 20 + WMB's 24=44. Jeter's 39, ARod's 38.
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Post by bluechip on Sept 8, 2013 7:51:57 GMT -5
You know, 1-4 with a walk really isn't that bad. He hasn't ever really been given an extended chance to play in the bigs and he was very recently playing well at Pawtucket. We watched him turn on a fastball and hit it out earlier in the year, the last time he was called up. He did the same today on the shot he hit down to first base. What he needs is playing time. He may get it if Ellsbury is hurt again. I said this about Bogaerts in his thread, but its even more true with Bradley, with an 8.5 game lead, Bradley should be playing almost every day. He needs to adjust to big league pitching, and now is the time to do it. Ellsbury should not play for the rest of the regular season, do there at bats to be had for Bradley. Victorino is also banged up, so he should be getting some rest too.
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Post by bluechip on Sept 8, 2013 7:56:38 GMT -5
Thought this comparison might be useful. It changes day to day of course, and it doesn't include Napoli's two HRs this game: Player | OBP | SLG | OPS | Mike Napoli | .358 | .461 | .819 | Adrian Gonzalez | .333 | .452 | .784 | Josh Hamilton | .298 | .421 | .719 |
He may frustrate a lot of people with the Ks, but the guy can hit. He always could. The strike ours don't frustrate me. I am scared that the OBP is boosted by an unsubstainable BABIP. If his BABIP falls, and the strikeouts remain...
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Post by station13 on Sept 8, 2013 7:57:02 GMT -5
Is Thornton related to Joba and why does Farrell keep using him?
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wcp3
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Posts: 3,834
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Post by wcp3 on Sept 8, 2013 8:54:25 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell.
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Post by threeifbaerga on Sept 8, 2013 8:54:57 GMT -5
The strike ours don't frustrate me. I am scared that the OBP is boosted by an unsubstainable BABIP. If his BABIP falls, and the strikeouts remain... Just based on my expert scouting analysis I'd say don't worry about the BABIP. The BABIP and K's come from the same place: Dude swings oh so hard. If he connects it goes very far, the problem is more often than not he doesn't.
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Post by klostrophobic on Sept 8, 2013 9:05:44 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell. With the off-day tomorrow, probably just didn't want to have Drew sit for three days. Xander is still going to get 600 PA by the end not the season.
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Post by jmei on Sept 8, 2013 9:24:57 GMT -5
Of the teams in the Wild Card mix, I think the best true-talent teams are the Rays and Rangers, considering their elite top of the rotations. So I would be thrilled if the Indians and one of the Yankees or Orioles won the two Wild Card spots.
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Post by larrycook on Sept 8, 2013 9:44:45 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell. I don't know, a crafty guy like Kuroda could get inside Bogey's head. Hopefully Bogey gets as many at bats against TB pitching as possible, since TB could be a playoff opponent and the more Bogey sees of their pitchers, the better.
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Post by larrycook on Sept 8, 2013 9:45:58 GMT -5
Is Thornton related to Joba and why does Farrell keep using him? Thorton looks cooked. His fastball has no life on it at all. Should he even be on the post season roster?
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Post by Gwell55 on Sept 8, 2013 10:01:22 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell. Bogaerts also had a pretty good leg cramp when he hit that home run. His face was pretty contorted when he left the box. Let the kid rest and also keep Drew's head in the game.
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Post by station13 on Sept 8, 2013 10:04:02 GMT -5
Is Thornton related to Joba and why does Farrell keep using him? Thorton looks cooked. His fastball has no life on it at all. Should he even be on the post season roster? He might not even make it through in the next 2 week.
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Post by Guidas on Sept 8, 2013 10:07:32 GMT -5
Of the teams in the Wild Card mix, I think the best true-talent teams are the Rays and Rangers, considering their elite top of the rotations. So I would be thrilled if the Indians and one of the Yankees or Orioles won the two Wild Card spots. Yes! I have been rooting for this for 10 days now, as well.
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Post by bsout2 on Sept 8, 2013 10:11:22 GMT -5
If Ellsbury is done you could have a playoff game in October where the 7,8,9 guys are Middlebrooks, Bradley, and Bogaerts. Flash forward three years and those same guys might be the heart of the order in October.
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Post by gregblossersbelly on Sept 8, 2013 10:55:07 GMT -5
Of the teams in the Wild Card mix, I think the best true-talent teams are the Rays and Rangers, considering their elite top of the rotations. So I would be thrilled if the Indians and one of the Yankees or Orioles won the two Wild Card spots. Yes! I have been rooting for this for 10 days now, as well. I can't believe any Red Sox fans would root for anyone but the Tribe. Tito managing the team. Justin Masterson is their ace. He's a great kid. Never thought he'd be this good. Plus, they're probably the best matchup for us. Justin pitches wild-card game. We only see him in Gm 3 in Cleveland. We can throw 7 LH hitters at him as we go for the sweep. Or, just win Game 4.
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Post by bluechip on Sept 8, 2013 11:00:37 GMT -5
Good to see Bradley starting today.
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Post by brianthetaoist on Sept 8, 2013 12:23:07 GMT -5
Would be great to win this one 4-1 or 5-2 or something like that, just a solid, well-pitched victory. The Sox have bludgeoned this team so badly the last three days, just feel like it'd be fun to beat them another way.
But, hey, I'd take 10-9, too.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 8, 2013 12:27:31 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell. How is that a dreadful decision? Kuroda is a righty and Drew is a lefty. Also: Just another productive at bat by Mike Carp. Nothing new here.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 8, 2013 12:44:30 GMT -5
The umps have been very generous to Kuroda so far.
Good to see the plate discipline from Bradley and WMB
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Post by ikonos on Sept 8, 2013 12:48:04 GMT -5
Sitting Xander today is just a dreadful decision by Farrell. How is that a dreadful decision? Kuroda is a righty and Drew is a lefty. Also: Just another productive at bat by Mike Carp. Nothing new here. Not commenting on the decision but your reasoning might make sense if XB has a split like Drew. He is one of the top prospects in baseball and if you are saying he can't handle a righty then he is not that elite of a prospect. There are other reasons mentioned above like his calf and Farrell not wanting to sit Drew much etc for sitting XB today.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 8, 2013 12:56:17 GMT -5
How is that a dreadful decision? Kuroda is a righty and Drew is a lefty. Also: Just another productive at bat by Mike Carp. Nothing new here. Not commenting on the decision but your reasoning might make sense if XB has a split like Drew. He is one of the top prospects in baseball and if you are saying he can't handle a righty then he is not that elite of a prospect. There are other reasons mentioned above like his calf and Farrell not wanting to sit Drew much etc for sitting XB today. I'm not saying he can't hit righties. I just don't see whats dreadful about starting your 1st string SS against a righty, whom he hits very well against. What I think is dreadful is sitting Drew against the righty and then playing him against the lefty, because Drew is pretty awful against them.
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Post by ray88h66 on Sept 8, 2013 13:03:38 GMT -5
The umps have been very generous to Kuroda so far. Good to see the plate discipline from Bradley and WMBYes, I've been more encouraged by WMB taking a few walks lately than seeing his power.
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Post by Guidas on Sept 8, 2013 13:58:00 GMT -5
Not only has this umpire been inconsistent, strikes at a location on one side of the plate are not strikes on the other.
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danr
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Posts: 1,871
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Post by danr on Sept 8, 2013 14:06:34 GMT -5
Every hit by the Yankees in the 5th inning was on a fastball. Every pitch but two was either a fastball, or a cutter. He threw one changeup and got a swinging strike, and one curveball, the last pitch. All the rest of his pitches ranged between 91 and 95. It appeared on gameday that he might have been squeezed a little in a couple of cases by the ump, but given a break or two in other cases.
A little more mixing up of his pitches might have yielded a better result.
Also it is interesting to note how similar are the BA, HRs, and RBIS of Cano and Ortiz. Ortiz's OPS is quite a bit higher, I think, due to his walk rate.
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