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Spring Training Gameday Thread
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Post by sarasoxer on Mar 13, 2016 17:31:56 GMT -5
Bryce Brentz is bad at baseball Sad. It appears that he has regressed. A couple of years ago when he hit 30 hrs. with a high average...and displayed a just sub-JBJ arm, I thought he would be a latter day Jackie Jensen. He seems to have trouble with or laying off the high fastball....and whatever else.
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Post by thursty on Mar 14, 2016 8:42:13 GMT -5
Mookie had a very nice lined single to RF yesterday; waited on a CB. Still no walks
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Post by sox fan in nc on Mar 14, 2016 10:55:22 GMT -5
I REALLY hope Porcello is just "working" on stuff. They were taking some pretty healthy cuts on him. I mean slow pitch softball type swings.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Mar 14, 2016 12:33:04 GMT -5
Too bad they didn't start the game at 1:59:26.
Wish I saw the Xander double play on TV. As described by Pirates radio, inside pitch hit the knob of Xander's bat and went out to the pitcher who turned two.
Defensive yips continue, Xander dropped a double play ball on the transfer and Vazquez with a high throw on a Polonco throw.
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Post by jimed14 on Mar 14, 2016 12:33:26 GMT -5
Interesting that Farrell has Xander in the cleanup spot and Papi batting 3rd today. I wonder if that is an indicator of things to come. I don't personally think he belongs there now and should probably be batting 2nd in Pedey's spot.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Mar 14, 2016 12:48:02 GMT -5
He said a few days ago that he wanted to see how alternating bat sides looked.
Interesting tidbit, Pirates SS is from South Africa. I hadn't heard of a South African making it to the cusp of the majors before. I was curious because the picture looks black but the name Ngoepe sounds Asian. (Ng is a letter in several Southeast Asian dialects.)
Pablo with a HR to right field.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Mar 14, 2016 13:00:35 GMT -5
Pablo battling back against Shaw to be the future face of the franchise. He just went yard.
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Mar 14, 2016 13:16:19 GMT -5
Pablo battling back against Shaw to be the future face of the franchise. He just went yard. On the other hand... Alex Speier @alexspeier 3m3 minutes ago Sandoval struggles to get a handle on a grounder for the second time this inning. E5.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Mar 14, 2016 13:23:01 GMT -5
March Madness
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Mar 14, 2016 13:26:30 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe 8m8 minutes ago Joe Kelly with four shutout innings. Left five runners stranded. #RedSox 1-0.
Me: At least three of which were due to shaky defense.
Edit actually 4.
Xander dropped ball missing the DP. Vazquez not getting Polonco stealing. Panda hesitation for a single. Panda error. . . Brian MacPherson @brianmacp 21s21 seconds ago Overpowering inning for Matt Barnes -- two swinging strikeouts and an awkward attempt at a bunt. . . According to the announcers, Castillo's wall ball single is a HR almost anyplace else. . . The Pirates have elected to have their pitchers bat. . . Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats 7m7 minutes ago Maybe Swihart was right about Barnes being the biggest surprise before games started. 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K so far for him. . . Brian Johnson in now. . . Johnson being taken out, he's limping. He pitched to two batters after he started limping. Sounds like a cramp. Radio guys talking about a limp, tweeter guys talking about 'dead arm'. We'll have to find out the story later but he allowed 4 straight singles. . Alex Speier @alexspeier 4m4 minutes ago Stadium scoreboard has had Brian Johnson's fastball running from 85-90. Not good command. Trainer coming out. . . Alex Speier @alexspeier 23s23 seconds ago Sandoval adds a single and leaves the game. Timing in the box seems to be coming around in the last few games. . . Brian MacPherson @brianmacp 7m7 minutes ago Joe Kelly is throwing his slider harder this year, getting up to 88, hard enough that it works as a cutter he can throw in to lefties. . . Is there something ironic about Albert Einstein's birthday being on Pi day ? . . Brian MacPherson @brianmacp 28s29 seconds ago Brian Johnson left the game with a sprained big toe on his right foot. . . So. Boston would be proud, current pitching matchup O'Sullivan vs O'Flaherty . . Nick Cafardo @nickcafardo 1m1 minute ago Red SoX OF Bryce Brentz has struck out 12 times in 16 at-bats. No hits. . . Alex Speier @alexspeier 5s5 seconds ago Bard enters as "Shipping Up To Boston" plays. Some recognition and applause. . . Pete Abraham @peteabe 3m3 minutes ago Johnson says x-rays were negative. Not a serous thing.
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Post by okin15 on Mar 14, 2016 15:06:56 GMT -5
He said a few days ago that he wanted to see how alternating bat sides looked. Lineup is better constructed with R, R, L, R, R, L, R, R, L (ie. Xander in the cleanup role) but of course it depends on the batters you have in those spots. For me, as long as you don't have to pinch hit for the heart of your order, then it's a good lineup, and having fewer RHH or LHH in a row makes that less likely. I'm OK with giving up a bit or power at the cleanup in order to do that.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Mar 14, 2016 15:08:34 GMT -5
Xander shouldn't be the cleanup hitter IMO. The 3rd spot is less important than 1, 2, and 4 and he's not a top 3 hitter on this team.
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Post by ramireja on Mar 14, 2016 15:36:44 GMT -5
Xander shouldn't be the cleanup hitter IMO. The 3rd spot is less important than 1, 2, and 4 and he's not a top 3 hitter on this team. Fact or opinion? Doesn't seem intuitive to me that the 3rd spot would be less important than either the 2nd or 4th spot.
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Post by jmei on Mar 14, 2016 15:41:36 GMT -5
Xander shouldn't be the cleanup hitter IMO. The 3rd spot is less important than 1, 2, and 4 and he's not a top 3 hitter on this team. Fact or opinion? Doesn't seem intuitive to me that the 3rd spot would be less important than either the 2nd or 4th spot. Let's call it a long-standing sabermetric axiom: www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/3/17/795946/optimizing-your-lineup-by
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Post by ramireja on Mar 14, 2016 15:52:10 GMT -5
The thing is, if you optimize your lineup correctly at some positions, it should change the implications for others. For example, if a team loads up on OBP in spots 1 and 2, rather than speed, the #3 hole becomes more 'important.' Anyways, thanks for sharing.
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Post by jimed14 on Mar 14, 2016 16:20:50 GMT -5
He said a few days ago that he wanted to see how alternating bat sides looked. Really? Because teams are going all out with strategic pitching matchups in spring training games in the first few innings of games? Or does he just like looking at the RLRL pattern on the score card?
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Post by jimed14 on Mar 14, 2016 16:30:01 GMT -5
The thing is, if you optimize your lineup correctly at some positions, it should change the implications for others. For example, if a team loads up on OBP in spots 1 and 2, rather than speed, the #3 hole becomes more 'important.' Anyways, thanks for sharing. Teams are always loading up on OBP guys at 1 and 2 or should be. The #3 hitter is less important than #4, because he is slightly more often hitting with 2 outs and no one on than the cleanup guy. And it's slightly rarer that they are leading off an inning. And this is mostly based on the first time through the order so it's really not a huge factor. I'd rather that Papi be driving Xander in than Xander never driving Papi in because he doesn't have enough power and because Papi can't run at all. But I guess you can make the same argument down the lineup.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Mar 14, 2016 18:00:11 GMT -5
The thing is, if you optimize your lineup correctly at some positions, it should change the implications for others. For example, if a team loads up on OBP in spots 1 and 2, rather than speed, the #3 hole becomes more 'important.' Anyways, thanks for sharing. Teams are always loading up on OBP guys at 1 and 2 or should be. The #3 hitter is less important than #4, because he is slightly more often hitting with 2 outs and no one on than the cleanup guy. And it's slightly rarer that they are leading off an inning. And this is mostly based on the first time through the order so it's really not a huge factor. I'd rather that Papi be driving Xander in than Xander never driving Papi in because he doesn't have enough power and because Papi can't run at all. But I guess you can make the same argument down the lineup. Ramireja, this is more or less how I see it just FYI.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Mar 14, 2016 22:46:46 GMT -5
Interesting that Farrell has Xander in the cleanup spot and Papi batting 3rd today. I wonder if that is an indicator of things to come. I don't personally think he belongs there now and should probably be batting 2nd in Pedey's spot. Good that he's at least trying it. I've been saying all winter that I think it's probably their best lineup. Batting Ortiz 3 and Sandoval 6 greatly reduces the number of LHR that Sandoval sees. If he's still struggling from the right side, if they bring in a LOOGY to pitch to him, you pinch-hit with Young, so the other team doesn't bother. With Ortiz 4, though, they'll bring in their LOOGYs to pitch to Ortiz, Hanley, Sandoval.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Mar 14, 2016 22:52:27 GMT -5
That assumes that a) players perform the same no matter where they hit and b) different lineups produce the same reliever matchups. Not only is neither true, both factors dwarf the theoretical lineup optimization. Trying to get your three best hitters into 1, 2, and 4 is still one of the rules of thumb you follow in constructing an order, but it's lower down the list than "try to go from best to worst overall" and "try to to go from best OBP to worst" and even "9-hole OBP should be higher than 8 hole." (Yes, these rules contradict one another. That's what makes it fun.)
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Mar 14, 2016 22:58:07 GMT -5
Teams are always loading up on OBP guys at 1 and 2 or should be. The #3 hitter is less important than #4, because he is slightly more often hitting with 2 outs and no one on than the cleanup guy. And it's slightly rarer that they are leading off an inning. And this is mostly based on the first time through the order so it's really not a huge factor. I'd rather that Papi be driving Xander in than Xander never driving Papi in because he doesn't have enough power and because Papi can't run at all. But I guess you can make the same argument down the lineup. Ramireja, this is more or less how I see it just FYI. Actually, the ability to drive in your teammates is approximately 75% BA and 25% SA. And walking works against it, while providing RBI opportunities for the next guy. A guy who hits for a high BA with solid but not great power and discipline is therefore a great teammate-RBI guy and an excellent 4 hole-hitter, if he's good enough overall..
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Post by jrffam05 on Mar 15, 2016 1:31:15 GMT -5
I don't buy the 3 hole being less important than 4 and 5 argument here. The bias is that most managers bat their best hitter 3rd, creating more opportunities for the 4th and 5th hitters to have men in scoring position. For example, Miggey, Goldy, Harpery, Trout, and McCutchen all get the majority of their at bats batting third. I also don't think it properly factors in the extra at bats a player would get over the course of a year batting in the first inning. I realize the small effect over the course of a season a lineup has, but it's a real pet peeve of mine when they don't bat the top 6 guys in the order I like. Sequencing in small samples make all the difference. Plus it's one of the most obvious inputs a manager has into a game. Since I'm a believer that I'd be a better manager than anyone else, my line would start 1. Pedroia 2. Betts 3. Ortiz 4. Hanley 5. Bogaerts 6. Sandoval Betts has to much power potential to be batting lead off IMO, I'd put Pedroia or Bogaerts lead off and let BEtts hit 2nd. I'm not sure who I think is a better hitter between Ortiz and Ramirez, probably Ortiz based on consistency but Ramirez on potential. Having Ortiz split the righties up makes sense to me here. If Young is in the lineup Id bat him behind Sandoval. I have to give more thought to 7-9, but that's my starting 6.
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gerry
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Post by gerry on Mar 15, 2016 1:55:59 GMT -5
I am sold on the baserunning/OBP/ speed of Mookie, Pedey, XB in front of The power/OBP and likely RBI potential of Papi and Hanley.
Even better, of the speed/baserunning potential of Castillo, Swihart, Bradley, Betts, Pedroia, Bogoaerts in front of Papi, Hanley, Panda/Shaw/Holt.
In terms of LRL. Holt, Shaw and Young will be getting a LOT of AB's on this team, so balance is easier done than said. But those six (6) consecutive, run manufacturing, speedy baserunners (7 with Holt) setting it up for the big power bats should be fundamental to any lineup construction. Especially with the likely run suppressing bullpens of the ALE
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Mar 15, 2016 8:23:04 GMT -5
I was at the game yesterday - Barnes quietly looked pretty impressive. Pedroia had a few nice line drive 2 baggers. Bradley's arm in mid season form.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Mar 15, 2016 8:43:34 GMT -5
I was at the game yesterday - Barnes quietly looked pretty impressive. Pedroia had a few nice line drive 2 baggers. Bradley's arm in mid season form. Barnes has a nice line so far. I really believe he'll be at least a good reliever.
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