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4/29-5/2 Red Sox @ Rangers Series Thread
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Post by kevfc89 on Apr 29, 2021 21:01:57 GMT -5
The good pitching in NY proved a distraction from the slow-down on the O side. Honestly, the two walks of JDM seems like a good plan: you mix a few walks in to X, JDM, and Devers, you might immobilize this offense. Verdugo's included with those guys as the major threats. All four of them are over .900 OPS now. But yea, it would be good to see some of the lesser parts of the lineup contribute more...
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Post by fenwaydouble on Apr 29, 2021 21:03:40 GMT -5
I know putting the lead guy on is a sin, but I’d have walked Devers. He was clearly trying not to give him anything to hit. Devers just went and got it. Too good.
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Post by congusgambler33 on Apr 29, 2021 21:05:49 GMT -5
C'mon Bogey thats 5 errors already this year.
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Post by manfred on Apr 29, 2021 21:06:33 GMT -5
I know putting the lead guy on is a sin, but I’d have walked Devers. He was clearly trying not to give him anything to hit. Devers just went and got it. Too good. More I think of it, the more I think it is criminally negligent to put anything a bat length from Devers. You have a whole different team after him... why pitch to him with two outs? Not just up one.... ever?
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Post by kevfc89 on Apr 29, 2021 21:10:20 GMT -5
This series might be cursed. You can't beat deGrom without punishment from the baseball gods.
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Post by Guidas on Apr 29, 2021 21:11:20 GMT -5
Dammit.
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Post by manfred on Apr 29, 2021 21:12:20 GMT -5
Sawamura is fun but not in my circle of trust.
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Post by Coreno on Apr 29, 2021 21:12:43 GMT -5
Ooof, just in time to switch over to see the Pats take their QB of the future.
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Post by marrcus on Apr 29, 2021 21:12:49 GMT -5
Well I think that finishes things for this evening. The error leading to a few runs in short order. Everybody seems off and a rally seems distant..
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Post by manfred on Apr 29, 2021 21:24:27 GMT -5
It feels like there comes a point when you can point to BABIP or other things, say bad luck or whatever, but it just isn’t getting it done. The bottom third of this lineup seems basically like it is 0-1 hits every night. That can’t go on forever.
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Post by manfred on Apr 29, 2021 21:28:13 GMT -5
NYY and Rays have both already lost today. It would be nice to pick up a game on each. Maybe at this point you should say “Orioles won, gave to keep ahead.” They have the same record as the New York AL Baseball Club.
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Post by kjkramer on Apr 29, 2021 22:14:38 GMT -5
Offense is MIA right now
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Post by manfred on Apr 29, 2021 22:56:37 GMT -5
I like Kiké. I do. But there might be a certain kind of hubris to taking on so many projects at one time. Kiké was on the Dodgers seven years and averaged 278 ABs a year. Getting him and starting him and not imagining his numbers — when he is getting the ABs that disadvantage him that previously he wasn’t getting— wouldn’t go down might have been too optimistic.
I’d lump Renfroe (ditched by Rays), Franchy (multiteam cast off), and even Marwin in that group — all guys that it seems like the Sox thought they could get more out of than even their previous teams thought.
This team is looking really good, and they are (shockingly after last year) being led by pitching. I’d be much happier if they had gone a little lower risk with maybe one OF position, though. The off-season crop of everyday players is a real drag on the offense that could easily have lost them these last three games.
There is only so long they can get so little out of five spots in the lineup.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Apr 29, 2021 23:34:06 GMT -5
I guess there was a baseball game tonight. 35 years ago tonight I kind of ignored the Red Sox game because I didn't have cable TV back then and WTIC AM was broadcasting the 7th game of the 2nd round of the playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and my Hartford Whalers which ended with Claude Lemieux's overtime goal past Mike Liut to end my fantasy of the Whalers making it to the Stanley Cup and winning it. So I missed the Red Sox game and Roger Clemens striking out 20 Seattle Mariners.
Tonight I kind of ignored this game because I was dying to see who the new Patriots QB would be, Jimmy Garropolo, Justin Fields, or Mac Jones and we got our answer.
So I didn't notice that the Red Sox lost 4-1. Apparently their offense has been on vacation this week. I guess Martin Perez picked a bad time to pitch very well. Unfortunately Sawamura took a step back, away from the circle of trust.
As Manfred was mentioning, there are just too many easy outs in the Sox lineup so that if the Sox core of Verduo, JDM, X, Devers, and Vazquez go into a slump, there's not much left to pick them up.
Manfred mentioned the five spots - I would say four as I think Vazquez will pull out of his slumps and is already starting to. I do think Dalbec will provide offense and when the weather warms up he'll start on his HR tear. And even though he started to slump I have hope that Christinan Arroyo can be adequate, so that leaves two areas of mediocrity or badness. I figure Hernandez is miscast as a leadoff hitter, that if he manages to be near average it will be because his SA pulls up his OPS. So that leaves one glaring hole, LF, which I'm guessing that Duran will fill eventually, although Santana will get a shot at some point, but yeah, there are a lot of outs between Hernandez, Gonzalez, Renfroe, and Cordero.
I was hoping they'd pick up a game on everybody but at least everybody else lost too (other than Baltimore), so hopefully the Sox can find a way to win 2 of the next 3.
Texas is a lousy team but for some reason the Sox just cannot win in Arlington for whatever reason.
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ericmvan
Veteran
Supposed to be working on something more important
Posts: 8,922
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Post by ericmvan on Apr 29, 2021 23:54:55 GMT -5
This series might be cursed. You can't beat deGrom without punishment from the baseball gods. Opposite?
You have to play a game when everyone was on an airplane instead of in their beds the night before.
You also have to play a game that features your #5 starter against their #1.
Can we please, please have the them both be the same game? Thank you!
Remaining matchups are 2 vs. 2; 1 vs. 5; 3 vs. 3 or 4.
Re too many easy outs in the bottom half of the lineup ... welcome to MLB Baseball. That's just being like almost everyone else. We've been spoiled for years with the strength of the second half of the batting order.
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Post by patford on Apr 30, 2021 7:33:40 GMT -5
This series might be cursed. You can't beat deGrom without punishment from the baseball gods. Opposite?
You have to play a game when everyone was on an airplane instead of in their beds the night before.
You also have to play a game that features your #5 starter against their #1.
Can we please, please have the them both be the same game? Thank you!
Remaining matchups are 2 vs. 2; 1 vs. 5; 3 vs. 3 or 4.
Re too many easy outs in the bottom half of the lineup ... welcome to MLB Baseball. That's just being like almost everyone else. We've been spoiled for years with the strength of the second half of the batting order.
The thing with the bottom on the order is Bloom loaded it up with guys who would realistically be expected to hit 20+ HR and so far that hasn't happened. Not even close. As in baseball things tend to even out there is still time.
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Post by manfred on Apr 30, 2021 10:13:54 GMT -5
Opposite?
You have to play a game when everyone was on an airplane instead of in their beds the night before.
You also have to play a game that features your #5 starter against their #1.
Can we please, please have the them both be the same game? Thank you!
Remaining matchups are 2 vs. 2; 1 vs. 5; 3 vs. 3 or 4.
Re too many easy outs in the bottom half of the lineup ... welcome to MLB Baseball. That's just being like almost everyone else. We've been spoiled for years with the strength of the second half of the batting order.
The thing with the bottom on the order is Bloom loaded it up with guys who would realistically be expected to hit 20+ HR and so far that hasn't happened. Not even close. As in baseball things tend to even out there is still time. I’m not sure Renfroe, Franchy, and Marwin will end the season with 20 HRs combined. Right now, they have 3 total barrels. I don’t think there is much time left for the first two to get the ABs they’d need to reach 20. Or 5. I have a soft spot for Marwin... oddly, I feel more optimistic about him even though looking at baseball savant his numbers are far worse than it feels like watching him. Kiké? Maybe. Dalbec? 100% certitude. 25+. He’s gunna have a streak soon.
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Post by patford on Apr 30, 2021 10:28:27 GMT -5
The thing with the bottom on the order is Bloom loaded it up with guys who would realistically be expected to hit 20+ HR and so far that hasn't happened. Not even close. As in baseball things tend to even out there is still time. I’m not sure Renfroe, Franchy, and Marwin will end the season with 20 HRs combined. Right now, they have 3 total barrels. I don’t think there is much time left for the first two to get the ABs they’d need to reach 20. Or 5. I have a soft spot for Marwin... oddly, I feel more optimistic about him even though looking at baseball savant his numbers are far worse than it feels like watching him. Kiké? Maybe. Dalbec? 100% certitude. 25+. He’s gunna have a streak soon. In seasons where he had at least 400 plate appearances Renfroe had between 26 and 33 HR. Unfortunately it looks like he is headed for by far the worst year of his career. Franchy was obviously a crap shoot based on potential but he does not look remotely ready. Anyhow I think it was a good idea. I mean if you have a bunch of guys who hit around .220 then they might as well hit a bunch of HR.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Apr 30, 2021 10:33:54 GMT -5
Worth keeping in mind that for all of the guys we're discussing, the team isn't locked into them. Cordero and Renfroe are arb guys who, essentially, are on one-year deals but under team control for 3. Hernandez is on a 2-year deal that doesn't break the bank - he can definitely stick around as a utility guy if his play warrants that role instead of a full-time one. Gonzalez is on a one-year deal.
Even on the pitching side, the deals were all short-term.
This is the definition of a bridge year. They want to see if they can tap into the upside of these players, even if it's to then just flip them, although the window on them just selling off everything because they're not in contention is very small at this point (a good thing!).
If this keeps up, the reinforcements are Santana (I'd guess for a DFA'ed Brice) and Duran (if Franchy needs to get sent to Worcester). Yairo Munoz posted a video to his IG that he's hitting, so maybe he comes off IL soon and plays his way into consideration. There are internal options they can assess for the next couple months if the current configuration is still deemed wanting.
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Post by Soxfansince1971 on Apr 30, 2021 11:42:10 GMT -5
Worth keeping in mind that for all of the guys we're discussing, the team isn't locked into them. Cordero and Renfroe are arb guys who, essentially, are on one-year deals but under team control for 3. Hernandez is on a 2-year deal that doesn't break the bank - he can definitely stick around as a utility guy if his play warrants that role instead of a full-time one. Gonzalez is on a one-year deal. Even on the pitching side, the deals were all short-term. This is the definition of a bridge year. They want to see if they can tap into the upside of these players, even if it's to then just flip them, although the window on them just selling off everything because they're not in contention is very small at this point (a good thing!). If this keeps up, the reinforcements are Santana (I'd guess for a DFA'ed Brice) and Duran (if Franchy needs to get sent to Worcester). Yairo Munoz posted a video to his IG that he's hitting, so maybe he comes off IL soon and plays his way into consideration. There are internal options they can assess for the next couple months if the current configuration is still deemed wanting. Chris, how soon could Santana replace Cordero? Is Santana healthy?
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Post by foreverred9 on Apr 30, 2021 11:47:34 GMT -5
The interesting thing is that we were thinking of these offensive additions as bridges to help us be a mid-80s win team. On a mid-80s win team I think they are fine, but if this team sustains their success and becomes a mid-90s team and playoff contender then they are going to stick out like a sore thumb (like they are right now).
The good news is that we'll have options to fix it if we do sustain at the mid-90s level. We can either go into the minors with Duran or go shopping in the market at the deadline for an offensive addition.
Did anyone get in on that 77-win Vegas over/under projection that I posted in late March? It looks for certain that the over is going to hit.
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Post by Soxfansince1971 on Apr 30, 2021 12:01:54 GMT -5
The interesting thing is that we were thinking of these offensive additions as bridges to help us be a mid-80s win team. On a mid-80s win team I think they are fine, but if this team sustains their success and becomes a mid-90s team and playoff contender then they are going to stick out like a sore thumb (like they are right now). The good news is that we'll have options to fix it if we do sustain at the mid-90s level. We can either go into the minors with Duran or go shopping in the market at the deadline for an offensive addition. Did anyone get in on that 77-win Vegas over/under projection that I posted in late March? It looks for certain that the over is going to hit. Yes, Munoz, Santana, and Duran are in house options. Everything you said I totally agree with. The players signed in the off season, cost, and length of contracts (1 year plus an option or 2 and 3 years of control) were all signed to flip for prospects in a bridge year. The 16-10 record leads an AL that has no clear favorite, so I would expect a transaction (with AAA/alternative site) sometime soon as there have been 0 other than COVID and 27th man. Cordero clearly needs to go to AAA and work out his mechanics there. Santana switch hits and Duran is left handed, so both could fill Cordero’s role.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Apr 30, 2021 15:24:36 GMT -5
Am I missing something with Renfroe? He looks terrible and has less upside than Franchy. Why keep Renfroe if he is going to hit .150 with average defense and baserunning?
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Post by patford on Apr 30, 2021 15:35:18 GMT -5
Am I missing something with Renfroe? He looks terrible and has less upside than Franchy. Why keep Renfroe if he is going to hit .150 with average defense and baserunning? If Renfroe were having his average season he would be hitting around .230 and on pace to hit around 30 HR while playing a better than average RF. Unfortunately he's been horrible so far. I assume the Sox will give him some more run as at 29 he should be in his prime.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Apr 30, 2021 15:55:21 GMT -5
I understand giving it another month or so but Franchy and Renfroe have both been terrible, to the point even a replacement level guy would be a big upgrade. I’m not sure how much longer than that you wait to replace that poor production.
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