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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Aug 9, 2014 7:40:09 GMT -5
It seems that one of the keys to succeeding in mlb is an environment where there is reduced pressure. Remember the "idiots" in how they dealt with the "curse" and how so often it seems that clubhouse chemistry helps a team win. Players can tighten up when under pressure. Look at what seemed to happen to Bogaerts with RISP and what happened after they brought in Drew. Examples are endemic throughout baseball. Francona's ability to take pressure off his guys and his loyalty towards his vets maybe helping his team win for years. If guys know they have a role and will be given time to work through their slumps generally they will work through their slumps.
Of course a team can go into "chicken wing" mode also but pressure has largely been relieved for this team. I bet they perform better going forward than we might anticipate. Even with a rookie pitching staff.
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Post by waterview on Aug 9, 2014 8:07:56 GMT -5
Webster has been projected as a mental case by many here....I bet eventually he will be fine. Buchholz had tremendous stuff coming up also but they were patient with him and overall he has given us decent value. While I agree with the tenor of your comments -- I always wish people would be more patient as these kids try to get their starts in the bigs -- your Buchholz comparison is exactly why Webster makes me incredibly nervous. Unfortunately, I'm fearful the comparison is all too apt: incredible talent, endlessly uneven results. I do NOT want to watch that play itself out for the next few years. I find Webster almost as painful to watch as Clay on a bad day. I feel for the kid; that's part of why I hate watching him, he seems petrified and as if each pitch gives him pain. Last night's performance was terrific. He clearly has lots and lots of talent. For me, however, unless his demeanor changes radically, I'd prefer he establish his value and then get used as an important chip to get something else we need.
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Post by zimmerdown on Aug 9, 2014 8:23:13 GMT -5
Nice win tonight. Good to see Webster pull it together mentally. Are you serious? One minute he's falling apart like a cheap suit [deleted]. Then when he actually begins to find his command (as others have mentioned, he has been working on finding his proper release point, etc.), In your mind, he just miraculously fit all of the pieces of [deleted] back into place mid game and now he is ready to put the ball over the plate. amfox1 edit: no need to call names. edit: I wasn't calling names, people had been calling Webster a mental midget (in his previous start). I was paraphrasing what others were saying. Not my words or thoughts about him.
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 9, 2014 9:28:44 GMT -5
Webster has been projected as a mental case by many here....I bet eventually he will be fine. Buchholz had tremendous stuff coming up also but they were patient with him and overall he has given us decent value. While I agree with the tenor of your comments -- I always wish people would be more patient as these kids try to get their starts in the bigs -- your Buchholz comparison is exactly why Webster makes me incredibly nervous. Unfortunately, I'm fearful the comparison is all too apt: incredible talent, endlessly uneven results. I do NOT want to watch that play itself out for the next few years. I find Webster almost as painful to watch as Clay on a bad day. I feel for the kid; that's part of why I hate watching him, he seems petrified and as if each pitch gives him pain. Last night's performance was terrific. He clearly has lots and lots of talent. For me, however, unless his demeanor changes radically, I'd prefer he establish his value and then get used as an important chip to get something else we need. So you want him to look like Papelbon when winning the World Series while he's walking 8 batters? WTF is it with this crap? Let's stick to wanting him to pitch well and knock the crap off with this head case, facial expression and body language nonsense. If he pitches well, he'll look way more confident. Duh.
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Post by Guidas on Aug 9, 2014 9:30:44 GMT -5
If he pitches well, the "worry face" will become "Webster Face" and everyone will say that means he's on.
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Post by amfox1 on Aug 9, 2014 10:33:18 GMT -5
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Aug 9, 2014 10:51:11 GMT -5
If he pitches well, the "worry face" will become "Webster Face" and everyone will say that means he's on. It's amazing that teams continue to employ sports psychologists when every single fan is completely qualified to do that kind of analysis just by watching a player on TV. They should save some money and just ask people about Alan Webster's mental state on Twitter. Seriously people, no one cares about your assessment of Alan Webster's confidence. Keep it to yourselves.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Aug 9, 2014 13:35:31 GMT -5
It has to help that he has Vazquez, who's proving his worth more every day, laying it out for him when it comes to the mechanics. Also different were the results, more fly balls. He was really cutting batters off at the knees with the fastball, perhaps as end-product of the focus on extending, but still with the killer change-up. It comes out of the same arm slot and lays hitters flat. There were also a handful of sliders off the plate - three that I remember - that had righthanded hitters swinging wildly, looking completely foolish. That's probably because they thought they were looking at that diving changeup with the armside run. That pitch got missed by two feet. Again, I credit Vazquez for setting those hitters up with the previous sequencing, and then knocking them down. We'll see what it looks like going forward, but if he can repeat the delivery well enough to keep a good K/B ratio going, there may be hope.
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Post by kman22 on Aug 9, 2014 15:11:18 GMT -5
If he pitches well, the "worry face" will become "Webster Face" and everyone will say that means he's on. It's amazing that teams continue to employ sports psychologists when every single fan is completely qualified to do that kind of analysis just by watching a player on TV. They should save some money and just ask people about Alan Webster's mental state on Twitter. Seriously people, no one cares about your assessment of Alan Webster's confidence. Keep it to yourselves. What about my thoughts on Allen Webster?
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Post by ramireja on Aug 9, 2014 16:34:50 GMT -5
If he pitches well, the "worry face" will become "Webster Face" and everyone will say that means he's on. It's amazing that teams continue to employ sports psychologists when every single fan is completely qualified to do that kind of analysis just by watching a player on TV. They should save some money and just ask people about Alan Webster's mental state on Twitter. Seriously people, no one cares about your assessment of Alan Webster's confidence. Keep it to yourselves. It's actually even easier than asking fans about his mental state.....if he throws a ball or gives up a hit...then he's clearly shook. Of course on the flip side, throwing strikes and getting outs clearly exhibit a cool and calm demeanor.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Aug 9, 2014 16:57:09 GMT -5
Lackey is getting absolutely rocked by the Orioles. That trade could end up looking pretty good for us.
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ianrs
Veteran
Posts: 2,418
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Post by ianrs on Aug 9, 2014 17:01:55 GMT -5
St. Louis gets to keep Piscotty and Grichuck and Taveras and all their shiny OF prospects...but have to trot a tired Lackey and/or broken Masterson out there for the playoffs.
I'm liking what Ben did at the deadline more and more. Hopefully Joe Kelly keeps up the solid performance and earns himself a rotation spot for next year.
On a more gameday related note, how many more poor starts before Buchholz loses his spot?
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Post by adiospaydro2005 on Aug 9, 2014 17:17:24 GMT -5
Holt playing again with his .538 OPS and wRC+49 in the second half. The fact that he continues to steal ABS away from Bradley, WMB and Bogaerts continues to be a puzzle to me.
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Post by Gwell55 on Aug 9, 2014 17:29:42 GMT -5
St. Louis gets to keep Piscotty and Grichuck and Taveras and all their shiny OF prospects...but have to trot a tired Lackey and/or broken Masterson out there for the playoffs. I'm liking what Ben did at the deadline more and more. Hopefully Joe Kelly keeps up the solid performance and earns himself a rotation spot for next year. On a more gameday related note, how many more poor starts before Buchholz loses his spot? 200 more IP
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Aug 9, 2014 17:59:17 GMT -5
Buchholz has his rotation spot at least one more year. If he turns it around next year we'll keep him.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 18:12:56 GMT -5
Buchholz has his rotation spot at least one more year. If he turns it around next year we'll keep him sell high. Fixed.
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Post by station13 on Aug 9, 2014 19:09:04 GMT -5
St. Louis gets to keep Piscotty and Grichuck and Taveras and all their shiny OF prospects...but have to trot a tired Lackey and/or broken Masterson out there for the playoffs. I'm liking what Ben did at the deadline more and more. Hopefully Joe Kelly keeps up the solid performance and earns himself a rotation spot for next year. On a more gameday related note, how many more poor starts before Buchholz loses his spot? 200 more IP Is that spread out over 2.5 years?
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Post by oregonbutnotnorm on Aug 9, 2014 19:50:07 GMT -5
First: Thank you all for making my experience as a Sox fan infinitely better (at arms length) over the last few years. Despite the recent loss of posting tact/candor, this is the finest fan website I've ever encountered. Gratitude to the staff and contibutors.
My first question: Is Dan Butler ever going to get a start (is CV ever going to get a day off --- lets' not break him, please)?
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Post by amfox1 on Aug 9, 2014 19:55:46 GMT -5
Butler starts tomorrow (Sun.). Day game after a night game.
He may also get starts on Wed, next Sun and the following Sat (more day games after night games).
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Post by Oregon Norm on Aug 9, 2014 20:06:59 GMT -5
Richards is the best pitcher on the Angels and it isn't even close. Right now I think he's the best in the league
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Post by redsox4242 on Aug 9, 2014 20:10:56 GMT -5
Richards throwing gas, he has nasty stuff. We need to make him work and throw pitches and battle.
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ianrs
Veteran
Posts: 2,418
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Post by ianrs on Aug 9, 2014 20:23:23 GMT -5
Surprise, Clay Buchholz is awful/injured/out of sync/select one or all of the above. Get this guy off the team please.
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Post by redsox4242 on Aug 9, 2014 20:23:29 GMT -5
Put Buchholz on the DL, enough is enough. He is AWFUL.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Aug 9, 2014 20:23:43 GMT -5
Bradley would have caught both hits to the outfield.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Aug 9, 2014 20:24:13 GMT -5
Put Buchholz on the DL, enough is enough. He is AWFUL. You can't. He's not hurt.
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